Savage Lies (Hidden Valley Elite Book 1) by Isla Vaughn – Review by Dr. Anya Schultz

Savage Lies by Isla Vaughn
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

In the prequel we met Cole and Riley. Both coming from different backgrounds, Cole was privileged and Riley was a thief who was always on the run from her psycho father. In book 1, Riley finds herself back in Cole’s town not understanding why because her mother and her never pulled a con twice in the same place. Riley finds out that her mom has a new boyfriend and wants to place down roots for real. The problem with this is Riley can’t believe her mother would want to do this because she has never acted like this before and Riley’s father was still looking for them. However, because she loves her mom she decided she will go along with whatever this is for now, especially since her mom was making promises she only dreamt of. What she doesn’t know is that she is about to get thrown right into the path of a cute guy she had a moment with a year ago. Throughout the book, her and Cole become enemies due to past circumstances, lies, and miscommunications. Cole has a lot of pull in school and the area and produces many enemies for Riley. They find themselves playing each other to make each one of them miserable, while actually having a lot of sexual tension. Once truths start to come out, so do feelings. But will the truths come out in time to save both of them?
If you love a bully and stepsibling romance this is a good one. These books are short, sweet, and full of entertainment. I enjoyed the story as much as the romance. Each of the characters was great as well. Because we have the prequel, it made loving Cole, even though the bullying, easy. You knew where a lot of the heartache was coming from and could also see how much he loved her at the same time. And Riley, well she was just badass. She had a soft side that was easy to love but also didn’t let people just take what they wanted. She stood up for herself, was cunning, and also sympathetic. This book does end on a cliffhanger and I enjoyed it so much that I immediately read book 2.

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