What do You think about Sweet Liar (1993)?
I am so disappointed that I cannot give this book a higher rating, however, I think I am in the minority. Sweet Liar is written by the infamous Deveraux, received 4.5 stars on Amazon, and made the top 100 romance novels of all time on AAR. I had hoped for a slam dunk awesome book and am so sad to say that this book did not deliver. In all fairness, this is the first Deveraux book I've ever read, so the Montgomeries and the Taggarts families meant nothing to me. This was not the only problem though. Samantha just bothered me so much. She resisted Mike at every turn. Spent the first half of the book giving him green lights and then putting on the brakes making Mike feel like a criminal. Wasn't really interested in him..(ie. went on dates with his cousin, wasn't jealous of him when he went out on dates), spent most of the time depressed and irritatingly self absorbed. Mike was like a big muscle head that I just never really got. I don't understand why he immediately and irreversibly loved Samantha. Lucky for her he did, but I just don't think it's realistic after how she treats him that he would keep coming for her like he did. His constant use of sexual innuendos bugged me and I never really liked either of them. I need to read at least one more of her books before completely writing her off.....maybe A Knight In Shining Armor, although I think that's time travel as well, which was another reason I did not like this book. I hate all this negativity so I think I'll stop, but I cannot recommend this book.
—Crista
A typical Jude Deveraux romance novel. Not a favorite book but, I loved the story line. A young woman, Sam, newly divorced, unsure of herself, promises her father, on his death be, that she will look for her long lost grandmother. In order to collect her inheritance she has to move to an apartment in NY, which is terrifying for her. She finds much more than she bargained for as she meets her new landlord and then the characters from her grandmother's past.I loved the male character but don't understand how or why he put up with the female character for the first 3/4 of the book. He was perfect, (almost too perfect). She was a nutcase mess. This was an easy read and I read it in a little more than a day. Some of the situations were a little far fetched, and the disposition of the gangster was bland and disappointing. I did enjoy meeting up with some of the Montgomery's and Taggert's again. I'd recommend this to a true romance lover, but I fear this reminded me that the genre is no longer my favorite.
—Sharon
To be completely honest, romance novels are my thing. I've read a fair few Deveraux books, and until this one, Legend was my favorite. The only reason I had this book in the first place, was because my mother had it given to get, and she absolutely abhors ANY books about love. (I think I've been give close to 100 from her just because of the genre, lol.) Anyway, I loved the way the book flowed from beginning to end, the strength of the characters, and the fact that "love" was just PART of the focus, and not the WHOLE focus. I enjoyed the way the characters pieced together Sam's Grandmother's disappearance. The character's family ties were depicted nicely as well. The bonds between the individual characters, even the ones that did not play prominent parts in the plot structure, were noticeable, and that made it easy to relate. For me, this book was a 1-day read, as I could not pull my eyes from the pages, and even now, this is my first choice for a "fall-back" book. So far, every Deveraux book that I have read has pulled me the same way, and that is a very difficult thing to do in my case. Avid reader that I am; it shames me to admit that this is the only one in the series that I have read. Most of her older books are really hard to come by unless you use the internet, and I don't like to when it comes to purchasing items. However, if ever I gain the chance, I certainly will purchase the rest. If they are anywhere near as good as this one, my reader's heart will be in heaven.
—Ginny
