Thank you to St Martin's Press and NetGalley for an advance copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

I actually read this book a bit ago and when I sat down to write the review, I couldn't remember any details of the book until I reread the synopsis. In saying that, once I had refreshed my mind on the events of the book, I had enjoyed the storyline. The characters were the love to hate kind, at times I empathized with them and at others I was cursing their stupidity, vindicatory actions and their greed.
Although I didn't find this to be a really good read, it was very enjoyable with enough twists to keep my interest.

Too Good to Be True was an intriguing mystery full of twists and turns that will keep you guessing until the very end.

Skye Starling has finally found the man she's ready to spend the rest of her life with and is ecstatic when he proposes. To the world, Skye seems to have it all; she's smart, beautiful, has the perfect guy, and she's from a well-off family. But hidden from the world is the fact she's living with severe OCD. With her chance at the fairytale, Skye throws herself into planning her wedding. But what Skye doesn't know is that Burke Michaels isn't who he claims to be. That's he's already married and is using Skye for his own end.

Too Good to Be True is told in three alternating points of view; Skye's, Burke's, and Heather's (Burke's wife). Skye's perspective is set in present day and we follow her from her engagement onward. Burke's perspective is told in letters/journal entries to his therapist starting from the beginning of his relationship with Skye to the present. Heather's perspective is set in two different time periods; the first half is set thirty years ago and the second in present day. I liked the alternating perspectives as it kept things interesting as you would learn things in one point of view that would soon directly influence another. The author did a great job at making each voice unique, so I always knew who I was reading from.

The characters in this book aren't inherently likeable but that makes them no less interesting. Skye is desperate for love and with her OCD, she feels like it won't happen for her. She's very naïve at times but it comes from a place of wanting to be accepted for who she is which isn't necessarily a bad thing. Burke I had a bit of a hard time with as I didn't see him as charming or sweet or however else Skye saw him. I struggled with the relationship between these two because of this and just couldn't figure out what Skye saw in him. In my mind he was a manipulative liar which made him hard to like but I feel like he was well written for what he was. Heather was the most interesting of the three characters to me. She's quite different in the first half of the book compared to the second, but once you know why she's that way, it makes perfect sense.

Ultimately what dropped this book from a four stars to a three was the ending. I didn't like the ending at all and will explain why under a spoiler tag. (view spoiler)

Overall while I didn't like the ending, Too Good to Be True was still an enjoyable read and I would recommend it if you're looking for an intriguing thriller.

I didn't love Carola Lovering's Tell Me Lies, but Too Good To Be True is a fun read! The story is filled with twists and keeps you guessing. I loved the multiple narrators and the ending was great! I look forward to the author's next book. Thank you to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for an e-arc in exchange for an honest review.

Carola Lovering does it again! I absolutely adored her debut novel, Tell Me Lies, and this one was just as good! There is a love triangle that features heavily in this one, but I can't say too much about it without giving the entire thing away. If you are a fan of toxic relationships, full of lies and twists and turns, look no further. You've found your next read. 5 solid stars.

Too Good to Be True by Carola Lovering was entertaining, but very far fetched. Skye fell head-over-heels in love with an an older man named Burke and that surprises her because he does not seem to mind her extreme OCD. Meanwhile, we read his letters to his therapist about their relationship, which tell a very different story. With present day, letters, and flashbacks, the story becomes more and more outlandish and difficult to believe. However, it is a quick read and entertaining like a Lifetime Movie.

Wow! I did NOT see this coming. Throughout this story we meet Skye Starling, a young woman who comes from a well-off family. Skye's mother died when she was young, which crippled Skye with horribly severe OCD. This has caused her to struggle with romantic relationships, but she's finally found love with handsome, older Burke. The problem is, she doesn't know everything about her new fiance.

This story is told through dual timelines. Burke is featured in both timelines; the present with Skye and 30 years earlier with Heather.

When I say I did not see the twist, I mean it! It was incredible. I don't know why I slept on this book for so long. I definitely recommend.

Thank you Net Galley for this ARC ecopy! This was sure a good book and I enjoyed every minute of it! It was all about revenge, craziness, and just was an overall great psychological thriller. It was a fast paced book filled with a few twists and turns which I really enjoyed as well. I love a good book with twists, makes the story that much better!
Lookin forward to reading more by this author in the future.

Wow! This book has the twists and turns that keeps you turning the page and staying up way too late. The story grabbed me from the very beginning. I like the multiple POV's that kept me on the edge of my seat. A definite must read!

A strong 4 stars. Brilliantly plotted, character development at its best. What else can you ask of a thriller?

Well that was fun. Twisted and I loved the different perspectives. The audio was excellent. First by this author but definitely not my last.

Wow! What a book! It started out with a bang, all the twist at the end left me gasping! Powerful writing and plotting and amazing characters kept me up reading all night. I hope there’s going to be a sequel. 4 stars. Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

Too Good To Be True by Carola Lovering is an addictive thriller that keeps you guessing! It revolves around Burke and Heather in the timeline from about 25 years prior. Two teenagers with rough family lives who find each other and promise to seek a better live for themselves out of their dead-end small town. Present day, we meet Burke and Skye, who enjoy a whirlwind romance. Skye is very wealthy and we’re wary of Burke’s intentions towards her. The story is told in all three of their perspectives in dual timelines, which were very well done and came together seamlessly. This and the short chapters kept me engaged. It was a bit of a slow burn for the first half, but really picks up steam as we find out more and action propels the story. I love the twists and turns this book took! I guessed some of the twists, but others really surprised me. A really solid thriller and I can’t wait to read the author’s other book.

Thank you St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for providing this ARC.

Wow! This story comes out strong and kept me reading long after "one more chapter" turned into 10 -12. Differing POV's give a unique look at how each one's story played into the whole. With a twist midway through, the ending will be a huge surprise!

An older man with decades of sobriety behind him, a felony conviction, and a WIFE (!) courts and marries a young heiress who has OCD, consequential past trauma, and is being stalked.

Told in past and present from different POVs ("The truth has to be somewhere in these tangled narratives"), the love and revenge story might reel in casual readers (who don't reside in Manhattan, to lose their place due to involuntary eyerolls), catch them off guard at the turning point à la "The Wife Between Us", and hold their interest even greater after the shift.

It felt to me as though it was written to give rabid fans of twisty tales a smorgasbord that would turn "Gone Girl" on its ear, by incorporating a variety of techniques and elements from other books in the genre; and, in trying too hard to be all things (a jigsaw puzzle/cat and mouse/why- and howdunit), the author had boxed herself into a corner from which she managed to extricate herself — but not cleanly.

Due to the plot structure (confusing sequences: Loc 3504 65%; Loc 3667 68%) and plot devices, it has to explain too much before tying up in a neat little bow.

tl; dr: Overwrought.


TW: sexual assault

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I created a playlist from mentions in the book, and would add to it a song by The Doors:

Earth Wind and Fire – September
Billy Joel – River of Dreams, She's Got A Way, The Longest Time, The Stranger
Beyoncé
Katy Perry – Hot n Cold
U2 – With or Without You
The Beach Boys
Frank Sinatra

Thank you to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for the advance copy.

Thank you to NetGalley for the the review copy of this book in exchange for a review. I have been on a major mystery/ thriller kick and this one did NOT disappoint. The twists and turn and the many different cases of back stabbing were amazing and not in an out landish way at all. When all the puzzle pieces fell into place my jaw hit the floor. I love the character growth in both Skye and Burke and the absolute lengths to which Heather goes to for revenge. 5 star read for SURE!!!

Tell Me Lies by Carola Lovering is one of my favorite books of all-time, so needless to say, I was highly anticipating her latest release. While I didn't love it quite it as much, it was still an entertaining psychological/contemporary thriller focused on women in their 20s/30s. I'll read anything she writes!

The first half of this book had a great pace and had me really invested, unfortunately the second half was not as good and the pace slowed along with my interest in how this was going to end. It's an okay psychological suspense book but the the anticlimactic ending just left the whole book feeling flat.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a copy in exchange for an honest review.

This is the first book I have read by Loverling and I am hooked - what a suspense it was and what a great psychological thrill! There are usually people that you "love to hate" , but I couldn't bring myself to not like any of the characters that I thought I should dislike. This book contained it all -- great characters, great timeline, thrill, suspense, and the twist is crazy. I thought I had it all figured out, but then another twist happened. Thank you NetGalley.

Theis book was narrated by the 3 main (unreliable) characters who were in a love triangle. The author wove several subplots into the story to make a suspenseful, intersting story.

I thought the romance was a little unbelievable - it happened too fast and just didn't ring true.
The book kept me guessing which character was telling the truth, why Burke was so invested in the relationship, and why he was such a creep.

I suspected the twist but I have to say that I was surprised at the revelation and the details supported the Plan.
During the first half of the book, I kept asking myself how could this be possible. I guess that she was so needy and had such low confidence that this chance at romance fulfilled her needs.

The furst half bouilt up the story and set the stage for the last half. The author built up the lies, the betrayal, and my empathy forthe characters. However, the book turned into an unbelievable story after the big reveal. I thought that there were too many details making the ending too drawn out. I was disappointed in the ending - it was too pat, and I don'tthink any of the characters really discovered anything about themselves.

Well, that was definitely a wild ride.

Skye and Burke are set to be happily married after only six months of knowing each other. Finally happy that she has found someone to accept her—-OCD and all—Skye couldn’t be more overjoyed. But what seems too good to be true, almost always is. Told in three alternating perspectives, Too Good to be True follows a twisted story of loss, love, deception, and revenge.

To the people who have compared this to Gone Girl, you are absolutely spot on. They both have the same thrilling, page-turning appeal while also being unbelievable. But if you can overlook that fact, it’s super easy to get caught up in the intricate scheming and plot twists. I managed to figure out the first one and was pretty disappointed, until I learned that wasn’t even half of what the author had in store.

I really can’t say too much about the characters, because revealing who I liked/disliked would be little bit of a spoiler in itself. I will say that all of them did have a ton of depth, and I definitely hated/pitied/loved the ones that I was supposed to. As for their endings, I get why some people hated it. I was personally a little annoyed, but didn’t think it was awful (as I said earlier, just a little unbelievable).

Now, of course, I have to talk about the OCD representation. I liked that the disorder was shown in a non-stereotypical way, and even acknowledged how much people misperceive it. However, it also absolutely broke my heart. It was like someone took everything I fear about having OCD, and then wrote about it. The people who pretend to be ok with it, who actively think you’re a freak, that you belong in an institution. The fact that it is constantly referenced that Skye is “beautiful and still single at 29” but ohhhh NOW it makes sense because she has OCD! Ouch.

On the one hand, wow did the author get that fear spot-on. On the other, it kind of put me off. And maybe I can’t complain because hey, it is accurate representation (although Skye suffered way more outright abuse for her OCD than I have). But that part was really, really painful to read. I think knowing if the author had OCD would definitely influence my opinion of the rep.

While I was definitely hooked, I still don’t really know how I feel about this book. I can definitely say it will stick with me for a while, though.

Pacing: fast first half, medium second half
Intended audience: adult
Content warnings: drowning, death of a family member, cancer, on page sexual assault