Fragile Illusion

Stag Brothers, Book 3

By: Lainey Davis

Narrated by: Nikola Muckajev

It started with a lie.

A story to clean up his bad-boy reputation.

But he never bargained on falling for the girl.

Thatcher Stag doesn't give a sht what his family thinks. He works hard, sells his art for a f--k-ton of money, and celebrates with the ladies. But his brothers just won't ease up, so he blurts out the first thing that comes to mind. It seemed like such a small deception to get his family off his back. Only now, he needs to find a fake fiancé.

Emma Cheswick would do anything to get ahead in her newspaper job…except maybe spend time alone with notorious womanizer Thatcher Stag. When Thatcher makes a pass, she tries to turn down the assignment, but her boss gives her an ultimatum: interview Thatcher, or find someplace else to work.

They strike a dangerous deal: Emma plays the part and Thatcher gives her the scoop she needs to keep her job. The illusion seems shatter-proof until Thatcher shows Emma the cracks in his inked-up armor, and she reveals a secret about her health. Can she stick to the rules or does he have a new plan in mind?

Fragile Illusion is a stand-alone contemporary romance with scorching heat and a guaranteed happily ever after.

©2018 Lainey Davis (P)2024 Lainey Davis

Fantastic book!

This was an amazing book made better by a fantastic narrator. Emma and Thatcher is a joy to experience and I would highly recommend to all!!

Fantastic Audible Book!!!

This is one of those books that you'll definitely want to re-read numerous times. Lainey Davis has written a story containing drama, angst, heart-wrenching and heartwarming emotions, secrets, forgiveness, hot passionate love scenes, and compassion. This is an enemies to friends love story that wasn't instant. The character and plot development were exceptional. A great deal of the story shows how good communication is important in a relationship. There are glitches along the way, of course, but these two are made for each other. It's heartwarming to watch Thatcher's family interact with Emma . Thatcher never thought that a woman would accept him for just him. I loved how the family despite their differences still remained close. Emma 's bestie brought a lot of humor to the story.

Nikola Muckajev did an outstanding job of bringing the story to life. The story flowed smoothly and the listener can feel the emotions that the characters are experiencing. He is an excellent storyteller. I highly recommend this Audible book for your listening pleasure. The author and narrator have created a book that comes from the heart.

Sexy and sweet

Their first meeting was a disaster. She went to interview him for the newspaper she worked for, and he thought she was a groupie, so, womanizer that he is, he hit on her. But when her scathing article doesn’t cut it with work, and he finds himself in need of a fake fiancé, they strike up a deal. Of course there’s a physical attraction, but they both do their best to ignore it and stick to their arrangement. But as they get to know each other, things start to change. This was a sweeter story than I expected. Thatcher is a total playboy, living his life day to day, women and his art. Emma is a junior reporter trying to improve her career and not interested in any kind of love life. As they let their guard down around each other and open up their vulnerabilities they can’t fight their attraction anymore. But things are bumpy. Thatcher is still that overconfident, speak his mind type, and then, surprisingly, Emma does something that derails everything. When they find their way back to each other, it works, and it’s very sweet.

There’s plenty of steam, they definitely have chemistry. For the most part, they are the characters of focus, but since this is the third of a series, we’re getting glimpses of the other couples, and the group dynamic/relationship that they have as a family, which is a nice boost to the story. Thatcher’s cockiness, while sometimes a bit stark, actually brings a brilliant and hysterical moment when he meets Emma’s father and he makes a comment about one of his art pieces (no spoilers, but it had me rolling, you’ll know it when you get there). There is a decent amount of lightness in the book as well, which adds to their sweetness, especially when we get to see Thatcher with his nephew Peter. Overall, very engaging and enjoyable.

The narration was well done. It can be tricky when you have a man doing the female voice, but it was good, and overall not distracting or awkward.

Fragile Illusion

This was a perfectly enjoyable experience for me it was gritty tantalizing sexy tons of fun.
All around 5 🌟 ⭐ 💫 🌠 🌃 for me .

Great writer. Definitely worth the time spent with this writer.

love the way she gives an epilogue to the story. The way she expands on the story line with either full length or the short background stories of the characters involved with the main characters