Two Little Lies

This book was great! Of course I love all of Liz Carlyle's books. She hasn't let me down yet.

I stayed up until 3 in the morning with tissues in hand, unable to sleep until all was settled in Carlyle land. I am a huge Liz Carlyle fan and books like this are the reason why. This is the story of the Earl of Wynwood (Quin) and Italian opera singer Viviana Alessandri and their life-altering but badly ended love affair, which is revisited ten years later. Viviana returns to England from Italy as a widow with three children and a lot of hidden baggage. Quin, after ten years of a dissolute life, has recently become engaged to a woman whom he likes but does not love for the sake of begetting an heir. How Quin and Viviana's story progresses and is resolved is compelling and passionate and extremely moving, with the high calibre of writing which one always gets from this author. Her dialogue is genuine and her storytelling engrossing. One immediately feels invested in the outcome, not only for Quin and Viviana, but for the wonderful cast of supporting characters as well. This book is a definite keeper for me and I will be recommending it to my friends.

I thoroughly enjoyed this second in the new series by this author, even more than the first (One Little Sin). It was reminiscent of her earlier books that had extensive drama and more intricate plots. It was impossible not to empathize with both of the main characters, and I read it nonstop over the holidays. There was not as much humor as in some of her other books, but the drama and emotion more than made up for its absence.

And I don't say that lightly. I've known other authors that I liked that had books tank and I either say so or remain silent. Liz Carlyle is rapidly becoming one of my favorite authors right up there with Jo Goodman and Mary Balogh. This is a second book in the trilogy after One Little Sin. One of the reasons I love Ms. Carlyle is that she gives me what I love in romance books, interesting heroes, strong and capable heroines and the happily ever after (with some passionate lovemaking thrown in), but with plots that are unusual and a certain realism that just makes it all believable. In this book Quin, the Earl of Wynwood and Viviana Alessandri, a singer with a remarkable voice, met and fell in love when they were both too young and inexperienced to know what they were doing. The title of the book is most appropriate, because two little lies makes sure that both of them are unhappy until they meet again 9 years later. How they find each other and what happens next is where the story really begins. I thought the characters were superbly written. I loved that Quin was so obsessed with Vivie and vice versa. The things keeping them apart didn't seem so much like plot devices but more like life that had conspired against them. And if they made mistakes, well, at least they owned up to them. I felt the passion raging between the two as well as the fear and uncertainty. And I like how Ms. Carlyle often manages to slip in some social commentary or heavier themes than you usually find in a romance book but doesn't beat you over the head with it. This was an extremely satifying book for me and I can't wait to read the last book in the trilogy.