Never showed up on my NetGalley shelf app so I didn’t get to listen to it :( but I’m gonna buy the book because I’ve only heard great things about this one!

I did enjoy this story, but there's something missing from it that would make it a great book

The characters are fairly interesting and there were enough twists and turns to keep me intrigued and interested on in the outcome of the story... but other parts of the story (and sometimes the characters and their motivations) felt a little flat in parts.

The use of time jumps and multiple POVs was a good choice, but it never really satisfies that itch of knowing what really happened 30-40 years ago and I found the lack of communication between several of the characters (especially those said to be best friends) to be infuriating.

However, I did enjoy the author's writing style and would be interested in checking out more of her work and the narrators did an excellent job of bringing this story to life.

This was my first Jillian Cantor book and I truly enjoyed it. The book told in dual timelines has it all, mystery, romance and suspense as it follows Amelia Grant through the highs and lows of her career. After a very public breakup, Amelia gets cast to play romance novelist Gloria Diamond. To prepare for the role, Amelia travels to Seattle to spend a few days with Gloria hoping to get a get feel for the starlet. What she gets is a very cold reception, a romance with Gloria’s son and an unpleasant co-star.
The characters are relatable and the story is intriguing. You want to keep reading to find out who the real Gloria is.
Thank you NetGalley and Harlequin Audio for my advanced audio copy.

I went into this not having much of an expectation. I didn’t reread the description before starting it so I just assumed it was a historical fiction. What a fun twisted tale of Gloria’s life, lies, and entanglement with Amelia’s story!
I also loved the narrator! Her voices were different enough to track who was talking without being distracting or too fake.

This was such an interesting book!

The things I loved:
The narration! Campbell is so good. Honestly.
The time jumps! One of my favorite ways to share a story.
The mystery of the story. I love what what that added to the story.

Add in a little romance and you have a really solid read!

This story has an intriguing premise, focusing on the connection between the past and present. However, the execution leaves something to be desired. The characters, particularly in the present-day storyline, feel underdeveloped and fail to create a strong emotional connection. Their actions often lack depth, making it hard to fully invest in their journeys.

The past timeline also doesn’t provide as much depth as expected, missing an opportunity to deeply explore its influence on the characters and events in the present. This weakens the connection between the two timelines, making the story feel less cohesive.

While the ending does provide a satisfying resolution, it doesn't offer the depth or insight I hoped for, especially regarding the connections between the past and present. The story shows promise, but ultimately, it doesn't reach its full potential.

This is a dual POV historical mystery/romance. I really enjoyed it, I'm not usually a fan of mysteries but I was very invested in this one! We follow actress Amelia as she takes on the biggest role of her career, a biopic of her moms favorite romance author, she goes out to meet her and gain some inspo for how to play the role. Only to find a cold, distant woman who doesn't seem at all like the woman she's presented in her memoir or public appearances, and her life doesn't seem to add up. Amelia meets her son and they try to dig into her past, while also fighting an attraction for each other. We also flip back and forth to Gloria, the author, and see the past through her eyes, she was a very well-rounded and flawed woman and I'm glad we got to see her younger years through her eyes because I don't think it would've been as impactful if they had found out her past through like letters or a diary. Very good twist and turns and I genuinely didn't see a lot of it coming.

This book was such a delight to read! It has a little bit of mystery, suspense and romance. The story follows Amelia as she has landed a role of a lifetime in a movie about a famous novelist. She spends time with Gloria to get to know her story and get into the role of her. I loved getting to know Gloria and her past life as she talked with Amelia. The story is told in dual timelines and slowly unfolds the story of the past to the future.

The audiobook was narrated Karissa Vacker and Cassandra Campbell. These two were such great voices for Amelia and Gloria. I felt so captivated by this story. They both have fantastic story telling voices.

Thanks to NetGalley and Harlequin/HTP the Hive for the arc/alc.

This was a fantastic novel that I would recommend to anyone who enjoyed The Seven Husband's of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid. This book had everything. Drama, Mystery. Suspense. Romance, and more. I especially loved the mystery element of this book. I was honestly hooked from the very first page, and I just had to know how the story was going to end. I was actually surprised about how the book ended as well, as the ending was different than I predicted it to be....which I think is a good thing?!

If you enjoy audiobooks, you may want to check out the audiobook version of this book which is narrated by the fabulous Karissa Vacker and Cassandra Campbell!

Thank you so much to NetGalley and HTP the Hive for the arc.

Jillian Cantor is back with another mysterious and compelling story.—after her last compelling read—The Fiction Writer—expectations are high. Cantor doesn’t disappoint as we meet actress Amelia in her quest to portray famous romance novelist Gloria Diamond. Nothing is as it appears when Amelia clashes with Gloria and meets her son. The narration is excellent and makes it easy for the reader to differentiate characters. I loved the unveiling and anticipate Cantor’s next novel.

Excellent audiobook! The story was so good! It started and wrapped up nicely. I loved the twists! I liked how majority of the story was told in two POV: Amelia vs Mer (Gloria). Then added the additional POV when needed with Bess and Annie. The mystery and suspense was good. The narrators did a great job. I liked the past vs present timeline. Some good humor. I enjoyed this audiobook while declutterring. Last night I was woken up and couldn't get back to sleep. Well this book kept me up longer than intended. I really wanted to know what happens next! It got me teary eyed at work!

The story followed Amelia, an actress. She got offered a big role. She will act as this big shot romance author. The author is private and lived in a secluded area. Amelia wanted to stay with the author at her house for a few days getting to know the author so that she can prepare herself for the role. The alternating view was Gloria, the romance author. Gloria's view started back in 1981 leading up to 1991 when she was in college and met the guy she liked named Max. For reasons of her own she decided to push Max away towards her roommate. She ended up with George. In the current day, Gloria's adult son Will just mentioned about a picture of a man he saw at 5 that he didn't recognize who. He only saw it now because he caught Amelia went snooping in Gloria's office. They started digging into the past. When the past involved someone close to Amelia, she started to wonder if the past should be left alone or would it better knowing than not knowing. She also started questioning which are lies.

Thank you HTP_Hive for the complimentary audiobook!

An actress signed at the last minute to star in the biopic of a famous romance author heads to the author’s home just before filming begins to become more familiar with her subject. She’s met with an inexplicably frosty reception there.

Told through actress Amelia’s point-of-view with flashbacks from the author Gloria’s past, the story has multiple mystery elements and touches of romance.

The overall mystery that Amelia needs to crack is who Gloria truly is behind her public persona and why her memoir feels more fictional than factual.

For the most part, I enjoyed this one. Go in understanding that Gloria’s married life wasn’t all sunshine, diamonds, and roses, which means some of the scenes may be tough to read. I liked Amelia’s romance arc and some of the revelations—even the ones I saw coming—but multiple characters felt one-dimensional to me.

I listened to the audiobook version. I especially enjoyed the sections narrated by Karissa Vacker—no surprise there—but also felt like Cassandra Campbell was well-cast to portray the unpublicized version of the author’s life, the person behind the romance persona.

I received an advance copy of the audiobook from Harlequin Audio. All review opinions are my own.

I enjoyed listening to this and trying to figure out what the best-selling romance author Gloria Diamond was hiding from Amelia Grant, the actress playing her in the movie based on her memoir. Gloria is also desperate to keep Amelia away from her son Will. Amelia and Will have a connection that is growing and both want to figure out the secret Gloria is keeping. The secret and the truth discovered after it was revealed was a surprise to Amelia, Will (Gloria’s son), and to readers. Told in dual timelines and from multiple points of view the story kept me engaged. The characters were interesting and I found myself wanting to know more about them, especially about how Mare became Gloria Diamond. This is a story about family and how secrets and not discovering the truth can change lives. The narrators do a good job giving the characters a voice and pulling me into the story.I recommend this for readers that enjoy stories about family and how the past can change the future mixed with a little romance.

Two strangers brought together by their mother's complicated relationship learn secrets from the past and get entangled in a romantic relationship when one of them signs on to act the part of the other's mother in the film adaptation of her life story. Twisty and emotional, this was good on audio read by Karissa Vacker and Cassandra Campbell (two fav narrators) and an entertaining, messy domestic story of love found and lost and the implications it has on the next generation. Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an early audio copy in exchange for my honest review!

After losing her mother, Amelia takes a role in the biopic of her mother's favorite author Gloria Diamond. To prepare for this role, she goes to stay at Gloria's estate where she meets her son Will. Soon she discovers that Gloria's life wasn't at all what she said. This book has alternating points of view, which I liked. I loved the mystery elements the best and thought it was fast-paced and entertaining overall.

Actress Amelia Grant's life personal life is a mess. She recently lost her mother and she catches her long term boyfriend cheating on her. So when the opportunity of play the lead role in a biopic of the glamorous romance writer Gloria Diamond comes her way, she jumps at the chance. Amelia requests that she be able to spend some time with Gloria Diamond before filming starts so she can get a feel for the character.
Amelia finds herself drawn to Gloria's son Will. Although Gloria warns Amelia to stay away from her son, they cultivate a relationship.
The more Amelia questions Gloria about the past, the less she tells. So Amelia turns to Will to help her discover he truth about Gloria Diamond's past.

I enjoyed this one so much. I listened the audiobooks and its was extremely well done. I highly recommend this one.

If you loved, The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo you’re going to be interested in this book! The secrets and lies surrounding this book will have you at the edge of your seat. I always enjoy dual POVs because I feel as if you get more insight to the story and the characters mindset, especially with the past and present coming into fruition, you get more information on why the characters are the way they are and what events shaped their life. Throughout the story, there’s many lies, secrets that’ll be revealed. I enjoyed listening to the audiobook, Karissa and Cassandra did a wonderful job bringing these characters to life. This will definitely be an audiobook I’ll be listening to often.

I loved the characters in this story! Gloria's story has many layers and I loved how it unfolded. Annie is a great young actress too and she is playing Gloria's character in a movie. The Hollywood aspect, but also the flashbacks are so well done and so well intertwined that I couldn't stop listening to this book! I also love both Karissa Backer and Cassandra Campbell so the audiobook narration is absolutely fantastic! Thank you to Harlequin Audio and HTP Books (The Hive) for the audiobook copy of this book!

As a fan of Beautiful Little Fools, I was excited for Jillian Cantor’s newest book! I truly enjoyed this bittersweet and multi-layered novel with dual timelines and riveting characters.
When Amelia Grant is offered the opportunity of her career – to star in a biopic about the renowned best-selling romance author Gloria Diamond whose own tragic life is a story in itself. As a method actor, Amelia will spend a week with Gloria in her personal home, but she’s not as welcomed as she expected. Gloria’s disdain for Amelia sets her on edge. And when Amelia discovers a secret from Gloria’s past, she’s determined to discover what part of Gloria’s story is fact and what parts are fiction.
More than a romance and a mystery, this book is about perseverance, discovery, ambition and love. Cantor’s writing has a poetic feel to it that adds to the atmosphere of the setting.
The narration by Karissa Vacker and Cassandra Campbell was spot on! I didn’t feel like I was listening to a book being read. I truly felt like I was listening to Amelia Grant! They truly brought the characters to life!
If you enjoyed The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo, you will enjoy this one as well!

Secrets and lies abound in The Greatest Lie of All. Amelia has been cast in a biopic of world-renowned romance author Gloria Diamond. As she tries to get to know the star, she realizes that everything she ever knew about her might have not been entirely truthful.

I listened to this on audio and thought that really brought the characters to life. The dual POV was a great way to tell the story. I really loved getting to know Amelia in the present day, as well as Gloria's past that shaped her into the seemingly bitter woman she has become. Just when I thought the story was going to go one way, it completely went the opposite and the ending was full of surprises that I did not see coming. There are multiple stories and lies that weave together to create a story full of relationships, loss, mystery, secrets, betrayal, and ultimately love.