When We Lied was a deliciously twisty suspenseful romance that kept me questioning everything. Josslyn and Finn had this immense pull to each other that they both tried to fight but in the end it was inevitable. I went into this book mostly blind and that was amazing, as I had no idea where the story was going to go and I was truly shocked at the twists and turns Claire infused into this story. It was great catching up with Lyla and Lachlan from Until I Get You as well, I loved seeing them as parents and great friends to Joss and Finn. You definitely need to read or listen to this book if you like any sort of suspenseful romance. The narration from both Stephen Decter and Janina Granda was amazing. They were the perfect narrators to bring Joss and Finn to life, infusing all the emotion into the story.

I waited for the audio of this one since I listened and loved the first book so much. I am glad I did! This is an experience to listen to this story... You will be at the edge of your seat until the very end!

Finn is one of my all-time favorite characters! He is so OTT, and I loved it! I loved he was so protective of Josslyn.
Josslyn is so sweet and kind. I loved her heart and the way she cared for everyone. But she still had a backbone when needed.

The audio of this is fantastic! I can't get over how much I loved listening to this story.
Stephen Dexter brought it all with this book and reading Finn! In my opinion, it is his best work. I loved the emotions you heard in his voice and the conviction when needed.
Janine Granda is awesome! This is the first book I have listened to that she narrated, and she did such a great job. I couldn't get over the way she read for Josslyn and the way you could feel what she was going through. I loved every second of this book.

I am still reeling from this story and that ending!!

When We Lied is the second book in the Fairview Hockey series, but it can be read as a standalone.

Finneas Barlow and Josslyn Santos spent one night together, no strings attached, four years ago. Now, he’s back in their town, and a tragedy has drawn them together again.

Josslyn was a star basketball player and an influencer, well-loved by everyone. Finneas was a pro hockey player and a playboy. But when he met Josslyn, he fell hard and fast (and kept trying to deny his feelings).

Whew, this was angsty, and it was full of tension and suspense. I loved the whole “whodunnit” aspect!

Now, Finneas was a total a**hole, even to Josslyn. But he became obsessive, possessive, and protective over her. He also had some sweet moments though, and I loved seeing him slowly realize how he really felt.

I wasn’t super surprised by the plot twist, though I didn’t expect how crazy certain characters were.

Anyway, this was my first book by Claire Contreras and I really enjoyed it!

Audio:
Narrators: Stephen Dexter and Janine Granada
Style: Dual

These two did a great job bringing the story and the characters to life. They, Janine especially, put so much emotion into the story, which made it seem even more suspenseful. The only thing that bothered me was the way Janine pronounced some words — she didn’t really enunciate. Other than that, I enjoyed this audiobook!

Thank you to NetGalley for sending me an advanced copy of this audio book.

I’ve seen some mixed reviews online for this book, however, I have to say I actually loved this book.

I did find the plot a little confusing and predictable at times. But, this is why we read romance novels! I liked the interesting take on relationships Claire had when writing this book, I liked the broody male and the closed off FMC, highlighting that the world you seen online isn’t necessarily the real life of the person posting.

LOVED THE TWIST AT THE END

Overall I gave this book
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
🌶️🌶️🌶️

This audiobook is truly amazing!! This book was a five star read! I love Claire’s writing style. The narrators did a fantastic job. I highly recommend you pick up this audio

holy confusing. this was all over the place. honestly the beginning and end of it was fine but everything inbetween was difficult to follow. all the characters, all the different storylines going on, and honestly fin and her relationship was confusing too. i also didnt realize this would be so mystery thriller vibes too. first book by this author, i will definitely give another one of her books another shot but this one was a mess.

I had loved the first book in this series, so I was excited to jump back into this world!

Josslyn and Finn's story was filled with mystery. These two had instant chemistry, but a mystery that binds them together. I loved how Joss was related to Lyla from book 1 and we got a snippet of what was going on with Lyla and Loch.

The background that connects Joss and Finn is intense and brings them together again in an usual twist. I loved the man that Finn was and how strong Joss was. These two together were a power couple. When Finn finally allowed himself to fall, he was all in. A man possessed and it was HOT!

That narrators did a great job with this one and even though the audiobook was long I finished it quickly since I had to know what happened! Great story!

i really enjoyed this one during the first 15% and the last 15% but the middle of the book honestly just bored me. i felt like i got confused on what was going on a lot when it came to the plot. the main characters had good chemistry but for some reason i just wasn’t super interested in their story. safe to say this one wasn’t for me🥲

Until I Get You was the first Claire book I’ve read and I couldn’t wait for her to continue her Hockey Era. I was excited to get my hands on this audio.

I enjoyed the story. I couldn’t put it down. I just wished it was a tad bit shorter.

The audio was also great. The narrators were amazing.

The audio had long pauses between chapters. Hopefully those were fixed.

Rating
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Audio Rating
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.5

I loved absolutely everything about this book! I do highly recommend consuming this as an audiobook if you can; the narrators were amazing!

Plot: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Quantity of spice: 🌶️🌶️🌶️.75
Quality of spice: 🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️
**There were 10 spicy scenes**

The two main characters of When We Lied are Finn and Josslyn. Finn is your typical professional NHL player fuck boy. He's had bad experiences in the past and now has a rule that he won't have sex with the same woman more than once. That is until he sees Joss. Joss is a college basketball player and has a HUGE social media presence. The first time he lays eyes on her, they are at Finn's sister's birthday party and Joss is wearing a form fitting hot pink dress. He approaches her and offers her one night, to which she refuses because she has a new boyfriend. The following night, they are at the same sex club and Joss' awful boyfriend has left her to go fuck two other women. Finn approaches her again and she agrees to hook up with the exception of no penetrative sex.

Fast forward three years, Finn is back in town because he has now signed a contract to be on Fairview's new professional hockey team AND he's secretly working on determining who killed his sister, Mallory. His sister was killed the year prior at another sex club and it was made to look like a suicide but he doesn't believe that it is. Finn is convinced Joss' step father, Titus, is behind it and has both her and Titus followed by a PI.

So while you have the budding romance between Finn and Joss occurring, there is this mystery aspect to find Mallory's murderer. The journals will have you thinking one thing and trying to solve who did it right along with both of them. And the TWIST at the end, I want to say I didn't see it coming but it was in the back of my mind.. 👀

The spice in this book was A++ and I just love a reformed playboy turned ooey gooey romantic for the love of his life. Finn is top BBF material!

when we lied 🪩🥂🏒🏀🤳🏼📂🌻🚁🖤

“i think i've been yours for a long time."

“hockey was my first love for a long time, but nothing compares to what i feel for her.”

5 ☆ book two in fairview hockey series by claire contreras

the minute i found out this book was in the same universe as until i get you, i RAN so fast for an arc!!! i don’t think you understand how much i LOVE this universe! 😭 claire did not disappoint. this book did not disappoint. and finneas alexander barlow did not disappoint 🤭

finn is a walking thirst trap. and four years ago, a fated meeting led to an inevitable hook up. his rule: one-time hook-up, no information exchanges, and no repeats. a year ago, when a tragedy hits and finn finds himself back in fairview, seeking her. but josslyn santos is more than just a one-time hookup.

this book was everything i needed!!! easily one of my fav reads of 2024! thank you claire and valentine pr for this arc! 💙

tropes ➞ found family / mutual pinning / obsessed hero / sports romance / hockey mmc x basketball fmc / suspense

4.25 stars!

If Claire Contreras writes it, I will read it. "When We Lied" is excellent: scandalous, surprising, deliciously spicy, and it blurs the lines between what's appropriate and what's not appropriate. Let's just say: I wouldn't want to have a boyfriend or husband who does the things that Finn does (staking, jealousy, etc), but in this book, Contreras made me a fan (in fiction, LOL). We've got Finn, a grumpy hockey player MMC, and a sunshine basketball player FMC, who dislike each other at first, but quickly become obsessed with each other. They have both experienced severe amounts of trauma and bond in their shared misery. At first, their pairing is purely physical, driven by jealousy and need and the thrill of the unattainable. Slowly but surely, they both begin to fall in love. There are a surprising amount of tender moments between Finn and Jocelyn sprinkled between the spice, too. Around the romance aspect is a thrilling mystery full of suspense and intrigue that I did not see coming. I read this book in a day and a half because I just couldn't put it down! Claire Contreras sure knows how to hook her readers with the drama! I loooooved the dual audiobook narration by Stephen Dexter and Janine Granda. They were *perfect* for this book. They bring the characters to life in such a salacious, wonderful way! I absolutely recommend this book!

Thank you to NetGalley, Claire Contreras, Dreamscape Select, and The Wicked Pen for the complimentary ALC of this book. All opinions are my own. I was not compensated for this review.

Whoa!! I didn’t see that coming!! This was a whirlwind of a listen!! Finn is a broody male and Josie is lovable. The classic grumpy/sunshine trope. The plot is very engaging, and I enjoyed it all. There are lots of steamy scenes as well as those tender moments we all love. The narrators, Stephen Dexter and Janine Granda, were great. The tones and inflections they used were spot on. Many times, I felt like crying along with them. So much happens in this book: deep emotions, mystery, angst. So good!

This book was good, not great. It had a lot of potential though - I wish it was slightly darker and that they had kept that animosity and tension they had in the beginning going for slightly longer. However, the narration for this audio book gets a solid 5/5 because they were both fantastic.

I would recommend it if you’re looking for a spicy romantic suspense with a MMC that falls first and definitely falls harder.

Thanks to Dreamscape Select & The Wicked Pen for the audio ARC ❤️

3.5 stars for the audiobook!

I love a Claire Contreras book because it has a great amount of suspense & the men are always so down bad for their women <3 I loved how obsessed Finn was with Josslyn even when he thought he hated her and how drawn they were to each other, even from their first time meeting to what they ultimately developed into. I will say, I struggled a bit with the pacing of this one and overall it felt a bit too long. The first half of the book dragged a bit for me, but once it hit the 55% mark I was cruising and was back in it, but it definitely took me until the halfway point to really be in it.

All in all, though I enjoyed this & would recommend it!

I loved this book and when I got the opportunity to listen to the audiobook, I knew I had to listen to it. Let me tell you that the narrators did such an amazing job with this book. They were so good and perfectly captured the characters. I loved listening to all of my favorite scenes and the way the emotions you can hear from the narrator's were perfectly done. I recommend checking out this book and the audiobook. It's for sure something you don't want to miss out on.

4.5⭐️ rounded up! I have absolutely no idea what I was expecting going into this book, but whatever it was it was MORE!! I think I’m maybe obsessed with these characters. And I cannot wait to go back and read Lyla & Lachlan’s story now!

This follows Josslyn, a college basketball player who is also a very popular influencer && Fin, a pro hockey player that is trying to figure out if his sister’s death was an accident or murDer. After they share a spicy night together, their paths never cross again until Mallory’s funeral. While they each are fighting their own demons, they find that they keep getting drawn back to each other & end up teaming up to figure out what really happened to Mallory.

I really enjoyed this!! It was unique while also not feeling too “out there.” At first I wasn’t sure about the spicy club scenes, but they weren’t a big part of the book. It has a very split focus on the relationship and the mystery elements. It wasn’t a slow burn, but I loved the time they spent getting to know one another & I was obsessed with how OBSESSIVE Fin was over Joss. It had me actually giggling and swooning. Who knew I liked an obsessive hero?!

I ended up really loving the narration. Told in duel narration by Stephen Dexter and Janina Granda. While I wasn’t sure about Janina at first, by the end of the book I felt like she was a perfect Josslyn. 4.5/5🎙️

📸read if you love📸
•influencer & basketball player fmc
•pro hockey mmc
•mystery/suspense elements
•darker backstories
•fun friend groups
•he hates everyone but her
•spicy!! 3.5/5🔥

4.5 stars

When We Lied is the second book in the Fairview Hockey series that takes place in the same world as book 1.

Four years ago, Finneas meets Jocelyn at a club and hook up one time because that's his rule. Then a year ago tragedy strikes and Finneas comes back to town looking for Jocelyn. He believes Jocelyn has information that can help him. It's only a matter of time before the truth comes out.

Performed in dual narration by Stephen Dexter and Janine Granda. These two gave a compelling performance. Stephen voiced Finneas so well with his deep voice capturing all the feels. Janine had a wide range of voices in this one. I especially enjoyed listening to her kid voice. Super adorable. I thought the story was interesting with the mystery element of whodunnit. It definitely kept me guessing. I was surprised by the twist. It's very twisted. I thought Finneas and Jocelyn had great chemistry. Also the friend group was an interesting group of people. Overall, I enjoyed it.

WOW! This book is not what I anticipated at all!! Genuinely picked this up thinking that this story was going to be a typical sports romance (and lets be real who doesn't like a sports romance?!) but this was far from it but in the best way possible. This to me is more of a suspenseful romance or a romantic drama.

This is definitely a spicy story and that should surprise no one who starts the book there is a sex club very early on in the book. It is a little insta-love for me but it didn't stop me from continuing the story. That being said the romance is really not what drew me in. The drama and side plot really takes over towards the end and that is what really sold the story to me. This book definitely feels like the start of a series and I have to say that if that is the case I will definitely be continuing it.

I would recommend this book to anyone who liked 'Verity' or a dramatic romance. Thank you NetGalley for the opportunity to read this story.

Another solid book from Claire! I don’t know how she always captivates me but I love her writing style so much. This book was amazing and my fave of hers by far!