Lies

De: A.L. Woods

Narrado por: Lilly Drake, Logan Anare

A standalone angsty second-chance married couple romance set in the Reflections universe from best-selling author, A.L. Woods.

Dougie

Rich girl, poor boy.
It was the oldest story.
Yet it was ours.
I knew Penelope was different the moment I laid eyes on her.
But all she wanted was to be friends-with-benefits.
My best friend told me not to mess around with the new girl.
He didn’t say anything about marrying her.
Or what might happen if we broke our vows.

Penelope

I was the rebellious trust fund baby.
The one who threw the finger to her parents.
I designed a life I loved.
No rules, no expectations.
Something easy.
Dougie didn’t want easy, he wanted commitment.
Babies, marriage, the postcard perfect house in the ‘burbs.
The life. It was all ours.
Until it wasn’t.
All we had now were lies and betrayal.
Lies that might just cost us everything.

©2022 AL Woods (P)2023 Pink Flamingo Productions

A Roller Coster of Romance, Recollection, and Reflection

A fateful meet-cute on a construction site in the charming backdrop of Boston (that is its own character) burst into your mind and transport you from the first pages.
This second chance tale goes back and forth between our two romantic leads, Dougie and Pen, from past to present, in love to on the break of losing it all.
A nice love despite social classes. Them a beautiful future in the mirror. But situations are thrown at them, some self-inflected, cracking the image to the point that although you can figure the story and it’s reveals, knowing if the mirror, the portrait, or Dougie and Penny’s true love can be saved keeps you absorbed.
Dougie is such a fun, charming fella. He makes me smile or go, “Oh Dougie.” I even think of what he would do in other book situations too.
Mr. Logan Anare brought such energy, pizzazz, and rawness to Dougie. And his Boston accent is spot on! I was rooting for him the whole time, even when he messed up. He truly is those rare nice guys, despite his mouth. Ha! How he expressed his love for Penny, conflicted with his tough guy bestie Shawn (also epically accepted and played,) and broke down makes you feel Dougie is sitting next to you in his truck. I always felt I was having a fast paced conversation with him. That is what Mr. Anare brought to the table.
Penelope is a rich girl who rebelled through her trust fund upbringing. Insanely beautiful. But she knows the beauty in life is simple things (and Iron Maiden.) Her kind heart, but blunt fire was oddly refreshing and played to the nines by Miss Lilly Drake. She had a softness to her pitch that paired brilliantly for the emotional scenes she dragged you into with her whole performance. Her pacing was phenomenal. But when Pen showed her ire or independent side, she owned it while keeping her composed tone.
Well-written. Well-expressed. Well-worth the listen.

Lies

This title was perfect for this book. This book was a little hard to get into. It flashes back and forth over a span of year from when Dugie and Penelope were happy. Dugie was a hard working lower class man. Penelope was an entitled rich girl trying to rebel from her parents. Lilly Drake and Logan Anare did a great job narrating this book.

Super Emotional and Real!

I'm going to tell you, this is one of the best books I've read lately. That is because it is real, relatable, and about real life struggles. This novel, for the most part, is not about a happy relationship or marriage. It alternates between the present and past, roughly three years ago. Penelope is a rich girl who should've been a socialite. Dougie is the poor, blue collar, working class man, who will never be good enough for Penelope's parents. Penelope doesn't want her parents life though. The problem is, life isn't easy. This couple makes bad decisions and instead of talking about what they should, they both don't communicate and sweep things under the rug. This causes their relationship to suffer, where they can't stand to be around one another. Can their relationship be fixed? There are a lot of secrets and lies to wade through to get to the truth. Honestly, what marriage hasn't gone through struggles at some point? I think that's why I like this book. It's honest and real, even though it's fiction. Be prepared, it is emotional but in the best way! I really liked this novel but obviously hold a grudge to certain characters!

I received a free copy of this book and voluntarily left this review.

Lies!

The story is an angst and emotional second chance for a married couple. I listened to the story and although the narrators did a good job the story was just okay. The characters were a little irrigating and frustrating at times. The story is about Dougie and Penelope. He wanted marriage, children and the good life but forgot the commitment part. Although a marriage can be a roller coaster ride love, commitment, trust and communication are keys to a successful marriage. Both of these two people forgot that. I thought the story could have developed better. The story dragged some and was overly wordy.

Beautiful and painful!

Lies is one of those stories that is painful and difficult to read and there's no doubt in your mind that there can be no happy ending. It started so well with Dougie and Pen meeting at the construction site where Dougie worked, and she came to interview for the interior decorating job. Dougie noticed her within minutes and he told himself that she is the one and shortly after, Pen found herself stealing glances at him. They quickly got together, but where Dougie was looking to settle down and raise a family, Pen told him she didn't date. She grew up in a wealthy and rigid family where Pen felt like a disappointment. As an adult, she would rather refuse to do whatever they said or flip them the bird. She vows to be free of their pressure, but it comes back to almost break her. Dougie feels a little insecure because his blue collar background will never be enough for her. What he hasn't figured out is that he's just the person she needs. The angst begins in a flashback to their wedding, when Pen notices how he looks at another woman, and it's just the beginning of the end. And if that isn't enough, their wedding is ruined by something that happens and Pen will keep it a secret because she's ashamed. She's guilty, but doesn't say anything to her husband because she shuts down. The past and present timeline is most effective in telling the story with all sides and all information as the characters see it. In a sense, it was a comfort because you know that once Dougie and Pen actually sit down and have a conversation that leaves nothing out, things will eventually turn out right. I had a hard time liking Dougie for over half the book and never did accept his intention to cheat. I don't know if I could have forgiven him because the intention to cheat is just as despicable as the act itself. It was his mother's words that saved it for me. He came to understand that he was just like his cheating father who intentionally hurt his mother with other women until he left. His mom told him that he had to fix it because she didn't raise him to become this man. It took a lot of work, time and self-understanding before they found their happy ending. The happy ending was hard-fought and perfect with an epilogue that brought their lives full circle. Lilly Drake and Logan Lanare did an exceptional job with the narration. Their dynamic, well-modulated voices brought just the right amount of emotion and personality to the individual characters. This story truly came to life!

3 star listen

Ok this book has so much angst
3 star listen
Fmc doesn’t communicate after trauma and everything falls over from there. I do enjoy that this book is very “real life” esk.
I really enjoyed the male narrator in this one.
It is quite long and the bulk of the story has the two main characters at odds with each other and the story line flicks from past to current time line.
There is a hea
There is a little boy who’s super cute.

Sad but Real

Sad but realistic. Penelope and Dougie go through very common relationship issues, but the issues almost destroy them due to lack of communication. I won't go into plot details. The description and other reviews give enough of that. I'll just say that this book could be a warning to anyone who feels like their relationship is hitting a rough patch. The story was well written (if a little too long). The dialog was realistic, and the story overall was believable. This was my first listen from these narrators, and they were a refreshing surprise. I listen to over 30 audiobooks a month, so I was pleasantly surprised how good these narrators were and I had never heard of them.

long

ok. This is one of the longest, most detailed love stories that I have heard. Dougie is just the sweetest thing and Pen is bipolar. I know Dougie has his issues and is at fault through the audiobook too but then Pen has been through some very heartbreaking things. At first I didn't think I was going to make it through but hung in there and finished it. I'm glad I did. Good narration and storyline.

Lies

this was a Rollercoaster of emotion the heartbreak, the secrets, and lies. so much drama, Dugie is madly in love with his wife from the 1st time he saw her. but for some reason after their wedding, she started pushing him away. and that's when all the problems start. and the secret begins. till finally he can't take it anymore and doesn't know what he did wrong. Can they fix their relationship or is too late for them?

One of the best books I've ever listened to!!!

One of the best books I've ever listened to!!!
I loved the characters and their complexity, the story was heart wrenching, and though infidelity is a trigger for me, it was dealt with so delicately, that it was bearable and forgiven.
I'm going to look if there are stories written about the supporting characters, as I loved them as well.
A. L. Woods is a new author for me, and I'm going to look for her other books on Audible, as I fell in love with her writing.
The narrators did an amazing job bringing these characters to life.
I can only thank everyone who had part in this book for creating it.
I received a free review copy of this book and am voluntarily leaving a review.