Cheater (Curious Liaisons, 1) Paperback – Illustrated, February 28, 2017

I'm not a fan of reading about cheating but this book is really good... surpassed my expectations.Lucas Thorn was engaged to his childhood sweetheart, the prom king and queen, the “it” girl and boy and because of the length of their relationship and the friendship of their parents he kinda felt he had to go through with it, even though he knew he had feelings for someone else. They were one of those couples that weren't really "in love" anymore but everyone ELSE told them they should be together for life.... and then a moment comes that ruins it all.Now Lucas has a reputation as a cheater—some say its well-deserved, others say this isn’t him at all. But Lucas does whatever he can nowadays to live up to the rep he has of a manwh*re. He does make sure the ladies all know the rules before he crawls into bed with a woman and never stays with the same woman twice. He doesn’t want there to be any hurt feelings on anyone’s part.Avery is a woman haunted by the memories of that long ago time when she was secretly in love with a man who was supposedly in love with her older sister and a man who was supposedly her friend. She wants him but she doesn't WANT to want him and fights it every day while feeling guilty over her own needs.I loved the banter and relationship development. Apart from being a fun, easy read Cheater also explores a variety of themes having to do with sibling rivalry, forgiveness, and how oftentimes, in trying to avoid the sins of the past, we can sometimes wind up cheating ourselves out of a future.

Cheater (Curious Liaisons #1) by Rachel Van Dyken4 stars!!!“That’s the Lucas Thorn effect.”Rachel Van Dyken has had me in hysterics reading this book, I have had tears of laughter and even had a “spat my tea” incident and I have to admit I haven’t laughed as much in ages. The dialogue in this book is some of the best I have read in a while and the humour, wit and banter was prevalent throughout.“Never did figure out how he got his little hot dog in there!”However, I will preface this review with a little disclaimer. If you have an issue with a total manwhore who has a schedule for a different woman in his bed Monday to Saturday, you will not like this book. However, if like me, it doesn’t bother you and you can read it for what it is, tongue in cheek, then you will definitely laugh as much as I did. Some of the treatment of secondary characters is rather shady and definitely not empathetic, but if, like me, you read it for the rom com it is, then this will not bother you either. I read this as a light hearted, funny read, yes, it is a bit unrealistic, yes, the situations are a little over the top, but it is rom com and it is that, that I base my review. Do I condone some of the actions, definitely not, but it made for hilarious reading none the less.“Sometimes a guy just needs good sex.”Lucas Thorn was engaged to his childhood sweetheart, the prom king and queen, the “it” girl and boy and because of the length of their relationship and the friendship of their parents he kinda felt he had to go through with it, even though, deep down, he knew he had feelings for someone else. The night before the wedding though, he gets cold feet and is determined to come clean and this night will forever be known as “the night that shall not be named.”Having escaped “wedded bliss” Lucas is determined to never fall into the same trap again, so he has a different woman in his bed six nights of the week. They all know the situation, they all know they are one of six and all are happy with the arrangement. It works perfectly, until the woman, the one that made Lucas question his engagement all those many years ago, comes to work for him. Oh, and did I mention that she is the younger sister of the original bride to be!!“It’s not cheating if you know.”Avery Black was a fantastic heroine, her witty comebacks and her ballsy attitude really brought Lucas to his knees. It is her spitfire personality that really reigns him in and makes him want to change. Avery was always his unicorn, the one he couldn’t have, but give him the possibility and this man changes in the blink of an eye. It was this immediate change that really emphasised the depths of his feelings towards her. Lucas just needed a reason to change.“There would be blood, folks. There would be blood.”Rachel Van Dyken seemingly does the impossible with making me root for these two as a couple, I mean come on, this is Lucas Thorn, manwhore extraordinaire. However, once Rachel Van Dyken explains their past and explores Lucas’s feelings all those many moons ago you begin to understand why he did the things he did. He was trapped and he didn’t know how to escape. So, while getting a huge dose of the feels and all those emotions that an “I’ve loved you forever” storyline brings Rachel Van Dyken cements these two in your heart as a couple you want to make it. With love/hate thrown into the mix and some decidedly dodgy situations Rachel Van Dyken will also have you in fits of laughter and it is this light-hearted side that really cemented this as a great read for me.“The last time I tried I fell for someone else. A girl with bright green eyes and strawberry-blonde hair who smelled like grape gum and called me by my last name. She made me feel alive. I think she’s the only one capable of giving a cheater a reason to change his ways. That’s all I can give you, the truth.”

Don’t hold this title against this book. I was hesitant at first to read this book but OMG this was a really good read. The prologue will draw you in immediately and what you think you know, isn’t what is going on at all. It sets the stage for how the book will start off and the emotions that rifle throughout. Note this is an unconventional love story which is a good change that I have been looking for.Lucas Thorn has a reputation as a cheater—some say its well-deserved, others say this isn’t him at all. But Lucas does whatever he can nowadays to live up to the rep he has of a tomcat. He does make sure the ladies all know the rules before he crawls into bed with a woman and never stays with the same woman twice. He doesn’t want there to be any hurt feelings on anyone’s part. He’s been there before and doesn’t want to go down that road again. He lives alone yet has his hookups..that is his penance for what happened. For what he was unable to fix on that night long ago and his determination to never revisit the past until the past comes back to haunt him in the flesh.Avery Black is haunted by the memories of that long ago time when she was secretly in love with a man who was supposedly in love with her older sister and a man who was supposedly her friend. Until everything blew up in her face when she caught that guy in a very compromising position with another woman on the night he was supposed to marry her sister. 5 years since all that went down yet now Avery is in a position where she will be working in the internship position for this man, this former best friend and her secret crush. If she only didn’t need this job.There is so much angst told with a touch of wistfulness to it. There is also a bitter aftertaste of betrayal flavored with heartbreak on both sides. But there is this attraction that flavors the MC interactions. Lucas doesn’t make excuses for what happened and he definitely took ownership for what happened but he never talked to his supposed friend Avery about it at the time and tried to explain and there comes the anguish. For we will never know what could have been for them if Lucas his just tried to speak, to get his feelings across. Avery is one woman you root for and I definitely did so.This is a fast and easy read. It was one that I much enjoyed= a beautiful 2nd chance romance novel with themes of forgiveness, jealousy, sibling rivalry and love. I am so looking forward for Thatch’s story next.My rating: 4.5 stars **** "I voluntarily reviewed an Advance Reader Copy of this book in exchange for an honest review***

I chose this book because a lot of people liked it, I can see why, even if it's not a life changing story it made me laugh so hard that I enjoyed more than I expected. Take a chance on it you'll be surprised.

I liked it and read it in one sitting, but I found the writing and dialogue quite chaotic. I think it was meant to be funny and comedic in places, but it just didn’t quite get there for me.Also the way Lucas was painted as a repeat cheater was a bit bizarre. Yes he betrayed Layla with his feelings, but I truly don’t think he would’ve gone through with the wedding. Instead he ran away and created his rota of women. For me he wasn’t cheating, they all knew about each other. Avery and others kept repeating that it was cheating but it really wasn’t. It started to get annoying after a while. The time line felt rushed as it all happened very quickly. II liked the ending, but found it all quite shallow.

Whilst looking through my return KU books, I spotted this so decided to read it again.There are a lot of things in this book that are used so often, it starts to get a bit boring. MLC afraid of commitment but has love for one person. FLC is snarky but has sister's who are a bit dull/put together and a bitchy one. Ott parents on both sides. Some authors can get away with it and RVD just manages it here, but it's a close call.Avery is a good lead character. She seems intelligent, is snarky but funny and feisty. She has a bit of a chip on her shoulder about her sisters to begin with but you find out it's warranted towards the end. She's trying to make it on her own although struggling, which is why she continues to work for Lucas.Lucas is a bit more complex. Having really cocked up 4 years previously, it's lead him to weird arrangements with women. However, the author shows almost straight away the depth of his feelings,so unlike similar characters in other books, it's not a complete turnaround in personality or life style. He fits with Avery. He is as snarky as her and does try to do the right thing.The plot is essentially a fake to real romance. It spirals out of control because of his parents. The scenes with his mother are cringeworthy and really Ott.That said, the parts where it's just the two of them mean its worth the read, and I'm not just talking about the sex either. There's genuine humour and the push pull between them that works. They are both trying to do the right thing but the love and chemistry is obvious. I like that that Avery really loves her food and its her kryptonite! The author doesn't get Lucas going on about how novel it is to see a women enjoy food, unlike other women they have been with. I also like that Lucas isn't shown as only having one type of women he goes for. It shows he's not shallow, which again happens a lot.One last thing. I've noticed in a lot of books set in US that add 'bug' to a womens name. Is this really a thing?!Overall, a good read but I think Rachel has done better.

I, inadvertently, read some of the reviews before starting this book and when I saw some negative ones, I wondered what had happened to RVD’s writing. Had she decided to take her style and flair for the slightly disjointed but extremely funny writing in another direction or had she morphed into another writer altogether? I’m pleased to say neither occurred, I found this story as rewarding her all of her others, yes I know, despite the title and theme of the book.Ok, so the anti-cheaters are going to run a mile from this story but it will be their loss. Whilst the form of cheating addressed in this book is not secretive or carried out to the detriment of others, although, it could be said that the girls in question are slightly stupid in their wish to be nothing more than a one-day thing but still, this is a story to be savoured.The cheater in question is Lucas Thorn. He’s a playboy extraordinaire but you need to appreciate what made him become the man he is today because that’s where the beauty of the story lies. In essence, he grew up knowing three sisters, he was due to marry one, had misplaced feelings for another and ended up in an unfortunate situation with the third - on the night before his wedding! You could say that he deserves everything that came to him when he broke his fiancee’s heart but in some respects, he did do the honourable thing and remained true to himself.Nowadays, as mentioned above, he’s more than playing the field. He had his regular girls who are all attributed to a day of the week, except Sunday which is God’s day, and also his sister’s. When one girl leaves her position, she is quickly, and easily, replaced. Life appears good for Lucas, although some would question his ethics here, that is until his ex-fiancee’s sister, yes the one he grew up enamoured by, starts working in his office, as his secretary. Avery Black is his new nemesis. When she realises just why different woman visit his office, she finds his whole act atrocious and more than lets him know her feelings on the matter. Avery is extremely feisty and, despite her young age, is more than ready to tackle Lucas Thorn.Lucas immediately finds that his feelings for Avery have never dimmed and despite finding her infuriating, he also reawakens his need to protect her and as a result, Avery ends up sleeping in his apartment, albeit in the spare bedroom, only to be found there by Lucas’s sister. With an opportunity to cause mayhem within her reach, and feeling slightly mischievous, she starts a chain of events which creates all sorts of problems for Lucas. When she realises that her actions are starting to impact on her as well the fun really commences and the duo find themselves facing more and more dilemmas which escalate at an alarming, but very comical, pace.From engagement parties to gynaecological appointments, this is one book which will keep you on the edge of your seat, laughing hysterically and at the same time, hoping that Lucas and Avery can find a way towards their own brand of HEA in a safe and adult manner.

The author is good however some of her plotting isn't. I loved the humour until Lucas mother stepped in. That spoiled the story, what resulted was lunacy. I loved that this was story that could hold up without sex but some parts are ill thought out. My Summer In Seoul is one of the best books RVD has written but there are flaws in the books I have read since. I dont mind things not being politically correct but there needs to be believability, this went off the rails with Lucas mother and subsequent scene at the gynaecologist, it was just too silly. The initial story and humour was ruined by it