EXQUISITE BETRAYAL by A. M. Hargrove

EXQUISITE BETRAYAL

by A. M. Hargrove

ARC Review

Published: December 17th, 2013

My rating: 3.5 of 5⭐️

Excited for her weekend away in Las Vegas, Fallon McKinley has a few goals in mind. First off, to finally hang out with her online friends and fellow bloggers, to meet her favorite romance author, R.T. Sinclair and lastly to lose her virginity. But she is barely off the plane or she ends up on her ass with her boob hanging out of her shirt being ogled by the most glorious set of green eyes she has ever seen on a man equally as scrumptious. How embarrassing! Only to bump into the same guy twice more under no less mortifying conditions!

Being a male romance writer is not usually the greatest for sales, which is why, Ryland Thomas Sinclair asked his twin sister years ago to attend these public appearances for him. Nobody but the two of them and his agent are aware of R.T. SInclair's true identity. Which is part of the reason why, even though he thinks she is the most adorable and gorgeous creature, he tries to create distance between himself and the clumsy but cute blogger. But her draw is just too much for him to resist.

Betrayal is something that Ryland is very sensitive to, having been at the receiving end of it, and he has avoided the possibility by simply not becoming involved. Being with Fallon, however, feels like it could be more than just a pastime and the thought of it sends him running in the other direction, leaving Fallon pretty devastated. She has her own history of mistreatment by the opposite sex, leaving her with insecurities and Ryland is adding on to it. Especially when he doesn't just run once........

Ryland will have to do some serious grovelling will he ever have a chance with Fallon again....

*****

Interesting trope with a good dose of humour!!!

A fun story line with an interesting twist at the end that actually added overall value to the story.

The book started off fairly good, with a strong sense of a comedic romance. The characters were somewhat over the top and without a lot of depth, but it fit in the overall style. The first 30% of the book is quick-witted and steeped in humour, with a loose and free style of writing.

Then some drama was added to the story and suddenly I needed to look at Fallon and R.T. in a more serious light, and that is where I ran into a bit of trouble.......the tone of the story had changed a bit on me, and it didn't fit with the characters I had in front of me. Some of the more serious components were repeated a few times as if to make sure we are aware of their importance, just like some of the dialogue between R.T. and Fallon was at times a bit repetitive. All this occurred through the middle section of the book, which dragged a bit.

Towards the last third of the book, the story entered it's most interesting phase, where intrigue was added, causing some major damage to both protagonists and triggered another breakdown of communication. This was the section of the story where I have to admit I was most engaged and even blinked a tear or two.

EXQUISITE BETRAYAL was by no means a challenging read, so an easy one to throw in your bag or suitcase and read wherever, whenever......

✨A unique, witty and at times touching read!✨

**ARC provided in return for an honest review.**