Synopsis:
Lucas Thorn wasn’t born a cheater. All it took was a single moment—say, a certain disastrous incident on the night before his wedding—and boom. Reputation destroyed forever and always. So now he owns it. He has a lady friend for every night of the week (except Sundays—God’s day and all), and his rules are simple: No commitments. No exceptions.
But a certain smart-mouthed, strawberry blonde vixen is about to blow that all to hell.
Avery Black has never forgiven Lucas for cheating on her sister. And suddenly being forced to work with him is pretty much a nightmare on steroids. Of course, it does afford her the opportunity to make his life as difficult as possible. But no good revenge scheme comes without payback. Because he didn’t become the Lucas Thorn without learning a few things about women.
Now Avery’s lust for vengeance has turned into, well, lust. And if Lucas stops cheating, it’s definitely not because he’s falling in love…
(Synopsis from Goodreads).
My Thoughts:
Rachel Van Dyken is one of my favorite authors. I'm making it a goal of mine this year to catch up on all of her books (and a few other of my favorite authors) that I've missed out on over the last few years. For some reason, I really fell behind on reading my favorite authors' books. I decided to start listening to the first book in the Curious Liaison's duology, Cheater. After finishing the book, I have mixed emotions.
I don't read other reviews until I finish typing mine, so I'm not sure if I'm in the minority on this, but I found Cheater to be very problematic. I didn't really have an issue with the "cheating" because in a round about way, it wasn't cheating. There were a few things that I did have an issue with. First and foremost, there was a lot of the female main character, Avery, hitting and slapping, the male main character, Lucas very hard. Instead of being addressed as abusive behavior, it was just brushed off, or Lucas chuckled about it. Men being abused by women is a real thing that happens everyday, and the way the author treated the slapping and hitting in this book almost like it was cute was not okay with me.
The other thing that I found to be problematic in Cheater was a specific scene in the wine cellar. I don't want to get into to much detail because I don't want to spoil things for those that want to read the book, but there's a scene of dubious consent that really made me cringe. Lucas kisses Avery without her permission. She is obviously very upset about this, and Lucas just laughs off the fact that she's upset like it's no big deal.I know it's just kissing, but consent is consent, and I think he should have dealt with her feelings in a better way instead of just brushing them off like it didn't matter. It really upset me that the author chose to handle the situation that way.
Usually I love Rachel Van Dyken's books, but I found Cheater to be very problematic. There were parts that I enjoyed. I did like the humor that was throughout the book, especially the scene at the gynecologist's office. I also liked the side characters, Austin and Thatch, a lot. I am excited to read their book. However, for me, this book was more cringe worthy than enjoyable. Hopefully the second book, Cheater's Regret, fixes those issues so it can be a more enjoyable read.
I give Cheater: 3/5.
Want to know more about the author?
Website: http://rachelvandykenauthor.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/RachelVanDyken/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/RachVD
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rachvd/
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4882127.Rachel_Van_Dyken
I received this book from the publisher, via NetGalley, in exchange for an honest review. I was in no way compensated for this review.
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