Beautiful Skye Starling has everything she could want in life, except love. Skye is smart, beautiful, caring and rich, a catch for anyone. But, she has a form of OCD that cripples her everyday life. Each time she enters or leaves a room, she must knock on the door 16 times. If she glances at a clock and it has double digits, she needs to kiss the clock to correspond to the number. Sometimes she has to knock on all the wood in a room. Then she meets Burke, a handsome older man who claims that her OCD is part of her, and he loves her unequivocally. Which he does. It’s just that he also loves his wife, Heather, and now, Heather is mad.

This thriller is all about betrayal, revenge exacted through deception, greed, and a woman scorned. The story is told over a 30-year time span, alternating between Skye, Burke and Heather. Don’t let that deter you as It is immensely readable and so well-written there is no confusion with the plot. The story will keep you wondering, and great character development makes this one you will want to pick-up. I wavered between 3 and 4 stars, just because the last half of the book bogs down a bit and the ending was just a bit too neat.

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I COULD NOT PUT THIS BOOK DOWN! A compulsive page-turner. While I thought I had the plot figured out, the twist in the second half definitely got me, That said, I found the ending a little disappointing...it just felt a bit slow and contrived?

Also posted to Goodreads.

Skye Starling is the most amazing type of heroine. Sure, she’s rich and beautiful, but also totally relatable. And while she was born with a silver spoon in her mouth, she’s also been through hell. So really, the reader, we’re rooting for her from page one.

Now Burke, on the other hand. I totally from the very beginning got a seriously Dirty John vibe from him. You know, the true crime series on USA based on the real-life story of John Meehan? I digress, but he gives off that super sexy older man, but I’m seriously hiding something vibe.

Then we also meet Heather, whose story is taking place a long time ago. And of course, it will meet up with the other story, but let it run it’s course. But Heather seriously thinks the world owes her something and who knows why?

Too Good to Be True started out like any thriller, but then, like any amazing thriller, the twists started coming. And fast. And while I can’t say much without giving details away, just know that this book is not too good to be true. See what I did there?

I’d recommend Too Good to Be True to fans of Sarah Pekkanen and Greer Hendrick’s collaborations, and Lisa Jewell fans. You won’t be disappointed! Special thanks to Netgalley and St. Martin’s Press for an advanced e-galley in exchange for my honest review. This one is out March 2, 2021.

I was extremely impressed with the twists within this story!!
Alternating between present (Skye and Burke are deeply in love) and past (Heather is dating a bad boy named Burke), we can assume that Burke is up to absolutely no good with Skye, and we’d be right.

But, we’d also have totally wrong assumptions about why or what will happen next.

I was slightly disappointed with the end of the story, but since it’s a spoiler I won’t include it here! All I can say is don’t get burned twice!

4.5 stars****

Too Good to Be True by Carola Lovering is a suspenseful, twisted love story; it is a must read! I've got to admit I've read way too many thrillers/suspense novels on couples and revenge, etc, and the plots tend to become the same thing over and over again.

The story centers around Skye Starling, a beautiful, rich girl who has OCD, and her new boyfriend, Burke Michaels. Burke is married to Heather but in desperation of money to support his family, he gets involved with Skye and plots to scam her money.

The story alternates between different narratives of Skye, Burke, and Heather. Some perspectives are also told from a diary POV, and switches from past and present narratives. There's a lot going on in the plot of this book, so you need to really focus, but the author's use of the different perspectives really gets the flow of the story moving.

Early on in the story, I figured there would be a huge plot twist -- and it was not hard to figure out what it would be. What I wasn't expecting was to be hit with several other plot twists I wasn't expecting. It's been a while since I read a suspense novel that really intrigued me and caught me off guard. Applause to author Carola Lovering! Love this book! Must read.

Too Good To Be True by Carola Lovering hooked me hard for last three days.
The book is revolving around three main characters all of them narrating their side of the story. The story is fast-paced and unputdownable.
I really enjoy reading it and I have to remind myself that the author is comparatively new as her writing is exact gripping for a thriller. .The best part is that all the stories are moving simultaneously and keep the reader interested
A great thriller with a sprinkle of romance a perfect read..
I rate this 4 stars and recommend to every thriller reader

#netgalley #carolalovering #toogoodtobetrue

Too Good to Be True had me at "hello" and didn't let up for a second! This book was amazing and I can't think of enough good things to say about it. We have all been in relationships where we felt in our hearts that he/she was too good to be true...and sometimes we ended the relationships because it turned out they WERE too good to be true. Well this fantastically written novel takes it to a whole new level of "what the" and keeps you guessing until the very end. I couldn't put it down and read it as fast as I could. I highly recommend it to ANYONE who has ever felt a "red flag" about a person and didn't go with their gut. I can't wait for Carola to write her next one!

There is a fine line between love and trust and although there is no doubt that Skye loves Burke, I was left to.wonder if she could ever fully trust him given his willingness to participate in the Big Plan and his prior criminal history. He and Heather together thrived in darkness and capitalized on Skye crippling OCD. It begs the question; whom.was worse? Heather certainly seemed more of the mastermind given her deviance and multiple ways in which she participated but Burke did commit to seeing it through marraige. A real plot twister.

This book was pretty fun. I definitely loved the three character perspective & it had some good twist and turns throughout. I thought Skye was a great character and it was nice to see the plot play out.

I enjoyed this book! It had some unexpected moments and I couldn't predict how it would end. I would recommend this book.

I really enjoyed this book, and stayed up halfway through the night to finish it. The story is told from the POVs of Skye, her partner Burke, and Burke's wife Heather, varying between real-time and 30 years ago, and some from journal entries. This is not hard to follow at all, though I did figure out the connection between the storylines in the different timeframes almost immediately.

This was a twisty read- the first bit twist comes about halfway through the book and totally caught me off guard. There were a couple others that I saw coming but it all made for a very engaging read. It was fascinating to see what greed and revenge can make a person do and I found the characters to be totally believable, though not all likable.

The ending was really satisfying, though perhaps a bit unrealistic (maybe not, though- depends on how much you believe in redemption. You be the judge).

I would absolutely recommend this twisty and engaging book to readers of the mystery and domestic suspense genres. Thanks to Netgalley for providing me a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

From the author of Tell Me Lies, comes a new and twisty story of lies, revenge, and love.

Three points of view here, Heather, Burke, and Skye. Three people who could not be more different and yet are joined by a bond that only two of them know about.

Heather had a hard life and blames Skye’s mother for that and the death of her little brother years ago. But Heather can hold a grudge! Even her husband, Burke, isn’t sure about her. But she has a plan and for better or worse she drags Burke in.

Skye is trying to live her life on her own terms. With unlimited funds, you would think that would be a piece of cake. It is not. And when she meets Burke, well sparks fly.

But is any of it real? And how far is Heather willing to go in order to exact revenge on a dead woman?

Twisty and full of flawed characters just trying to get by in life. The ending was very satisfying.

NetGalley/ March 2nd, 2021 by St. Martin’s Press

FABULOUS BOOK!!!! Thank you so much to NetGalley for the ARC!! This was a great domestic thriller that kept me reading (instead of playing with my grandchildren!!). I didn’t figure out very much ahead of time, and I was guessing through most of the book. The author did a great job of tying everything together, and the epilogue finished some loose ends. I highly recommend this one!

Carola Lovering goes from unrequited love in Tell Me Lies to obsessive (although not romantic) attachment in Too Good To Be True. The plot unfolds in layers-culminating in a stunning "what would you do?" moment that is the heart of the story. It would be easy to define the characters in Too Good To Be True as either "totally bad" or "completely good," but that would be foolish. Even the most benevolent among them has an entirely human reaction to an unimaginable dilemma, while the worst (legally and morally) shows the most compassion and forgiveness. What Too Good To Be True does best is show how even the most flawed among us has the potential to do great things and become a better person. Make no mistake, the novel does have flaws-it takes a real stretch of the imagination to believe Burke gets as far as he does with his "get rich quick" scheme. In an era when you can find anything you want about a person with a few clicks of a button, it seems unlikely Skye's father would not have taken the time to do at least a cursory background check on the man who wants to marry his daughter. But Miss Lovering makes up for this by not wrapping up the story in a tidy bow and giving everyone a "happily ever after." Too Good To Be True is a perfect story about imperfect people finding their way in the world. It's a "lovely" gem of a novel.

I really enjoyed this book! It's told from the different points of view of the three main characters, with some of the events taking place in the distant past. Although I was slightly confused at the beginning--a hazard of sometimes reading in short spurts--the narratives were all interesting and soon enough the three threads came together beautifully with lots of amazing twists. It was so skillfully done, with everything tying together perfectly in the end. Highly recommended! Many thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the e-ARC of this book.

Wow! What a great book! To Good To Be True by Carola Lovering, will keep you turning the pages. I found all the characters in this book to be fully developed and especially loved Skye. While she experienced tragedy at a young age, the resulting condition from that trauma, unfortunately affected many areas in her life. Burke was the knight in tarnished armor, and had his own interesting life story. The most complex character was Heather, who, in many ways, captures one’s sympathy. The story takes you along and then you are suddenly slammed with a turn in the road. This book, written by a very skilled author, has characters so fully developed you really get to know each and every one of them. I love a good suspense and this story delivered exactly that. If you want to dive into a book that captivates you, keeps you turning the pages AND then find out that things are just not what you thought they were—then you will love this book. (I was given this book from NetGalley for my honest opinion, but I can honestly say that I would have gladly paid to read this book—it really is that good!)

Wildly imaginative! Wonderful characters. Interesting plot. Vivid descriptions. Simply a GREAT read!

*I received a complimentary ARC of this book in order to read and provide a voluntary, unbiased and honest review, should I choose to do so.

This was a good read.

The main characters developed well, with plenty of twist and turns,

Who to believe, who to trust?

We all know what “they” say about if something is too good to be true…Step inside Carola Lovering’s TOO GOOD TO BE TRUE and you decide if that old adage is true or not.

Told through multiple eyes, we get a glimpse of how “life” in this tale are perceived, kind of like “he said-she said…” but where does the truth lie? Is Burke the man he claims to be? What lay in his past? Do we ever truly know the people we love?

Carola Lovering starts out with a bang, hooks us in and takes us on a twisted journey of love, lies and manipulation, as well as revenge.

I received a complimentary ARC edition from St. Martin's Press! This is my honest and voluntary review.

Skye Starling knows that money cannot buy happiness. If it could, she would be able to find true love. However, her illness prevents her from truly being herself around another person allowing them to see her debilitating OCD. Everything changes when she meets Burke Michaels. They are so perfect together, and he accepts her, even cherishes her, the way she is! This is a dream come true... or is it? Just after their wonderful Italian honeymoon, she discovers that this man might actually be “too good to be true”.

This is truly a book that you cannot put down. Narrated by the three main characters, the plot unfolds enticingly slowly, taking twists and turns that are totally unexpected! Full of surprises with each chapter, these realistic characters take the reader through a winding maze up until the very end. This has to be read to be appreciated! All I can say is, “Wow! What a ride!”