Yep, it’s Monday again (are we absolutely sure it’s been a week since the last one?) and since I haven’t got any favourite authors with surnames beginning with U, we’re up to the letter V in A-Z: My Favourite Authors & Books. It’s going to be another short post this week because I’ve only got 1 x favourite author with a surname beginning with V and that’s Rachel Van Dyken.
Since I’ve only got 1 x featured author this week, I’m going to break my own rules again and include 2 x favourite books instead of just 1 because they’re part of the interconnected Curious Liaisons Series and they were both Five Star Reads.
If you’ve missed out on any of the A-Z: My Favourite Authors & Books so far, you’ll find links to them all in the Archives.
Until next time, happy reading!
AUTHOR: Rachel Van Dyken (Author Website / Instagram)
Rachel Van Dyken is the #1 New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and USA TODAY Bestselling author of regency and contemporary romances. When she’s not writing you can find her drinking coffee at Starbucks and plotting her next book while watching guilty-pleasure TV. She keeps her home in Idaho with her husband and adorable sons (Author Website).
Books I’ve Read by This Author: 3
BOOKS:
‘Cheater’ is #1 in the Curious Liaisons Series but I actually read ‘Cheater’s Regret’ (#2) first so I’m going to switch them around and talk about CR first.
I’ve got to admit that before I started reading CR, it had two potential strikes against it: (1) I’d never read anything by Rachel before and (2) it starts off with the FMC, Austin getting cheated on and dumped by the MMC, Thatch. I know for some readers any form of cheating is a definite no-no but I’d seen this author’s name mentioned by several of the book bloggers I follow so I decided to buy it anyway.
To be honest, I was in the Kinokuniya bookstore in Singapore (aka My Happy Place) at the time and the fact that they had actual books by all these authors I’d only seen on Amazon before made me as giddy as a child in a candy store so that could have been a factor in me buying it as well. Most of the bookstores here in England don’t have a separate romance section so if you let me anywhere near a bookstore with American romance novels, I’m not going to be satisfied unless I come away with a bulging carrier bag full of goodies.
Anyway, back to CR and I’m so, so happy I took a chance on a new-to-me author because it has everything a great romance novel needs. It made me laugh (Austin’s the kind of girl you want to be friends with), swoon (can I claim Thatch as my next book boyfriend?) and sneakily skip to the end to make sure that they definitely 100% end up together.
Cheater’s Regret (Curious Liaisons #2) (2017) (My Favourite Books of 2020)
Austin Rogers’s dreams of domestic bliss involved watching Netflix and eating hot dogs with the love of her life. But then he cheated on her. And dumped her—as if the whole thing was her fault. To maintain her pride and restore her sanity, she decides to get revenge. It feels immensely satisfying to plot her ex’s downfall—but so does kissing him.
Thatch Holloway, a plastic surgeon straight out of residency, knows he ruined the best thing that ever happened to him. But not all cheaters are created equal. He got himself into this messed-up situation—true—but he has his reasons for what happened, and he’d do it all again to protect Austin.
He’s not over her. And she’s not over him.
Austin wants closure, but since Thatch refuses to give it to her, she takes matters into her own hands. She needs to write a human-interest piece for her MBA, so she demands the full plastic-surgery experience. Sparks fly as they’re forced to work together. But Thatch isn’t afraid to play dirty in return. And he’s still hiding something—something that has the power to destroy not only Austin but their second chance at finding forever…
Cheater (Curious Liaisons #1) (2017) (Five Star Reads – January 2022)
Lucas Thorn wasn’t born a cheater. All it took was a single moment—say, a certain disastrous incident on the night before his wedding—and boom. Reputation destroyed forever and always. So now he owns it. He has a lady friend for every night of the week (except Sundays—God’s day and all), and his rules are No commitments. No exceptions.
But a certain smart-mouthed, strawberry blonde vixen is about to blow that all to hell. Avery Black has never forgiven Lucas for cheating on her sister. And suddenly being forced to work with him is pretty much a nightmare on steroids. Of course, it does afford her the opportunity to make his life as difficult as possible. But no good revenge scheme comes without payback. Because he didn’t become the Lucas Thorn without learning a few things about women. Now Avery’s lust for vengeance has turned into, well, lust. And if Lucas stops cheating, it’s definitely not because he’s falling in love…
WHAT’S NEXT? The Unperfects (10 October 2023)
Louise Hall 
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