Book Title: Loving the White Liar
Author: Kate Stewart
Series: Standalone
Release Date: July 19th, 2015
Genres: Contemporary Romance
I met my true love when I was twenty-seven. He was handsome, charming, witty, and irresistible. Jayden Monroe came along when I was struggling with indecision and made things simple, turned monochrome into vivid color, and forever altered my perspective on life.
I was not naive enough to believe in happily ever after, but with Jayden, it seemed possible . . . until I realized something wasn’t quite right.
You see, I met a man who would be anyone I needed him to be, and after I found out that fact, I knew it would be impossible to walk away. His disorder, however, would change everything I ever thought about love and what it truly meant to accept someone for who they are.
This is not my sob story; this is his success story.
This is an ADHD love story and is for mature audiences only. This book contains explicit sex and strong language.
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{READ MORE FOR ALLISON'S REVIEW!}
When I'd gotten a message from Kate Stewart asking if I'd be interested in reading her newest novel, I did a little research. The blurb promised me a love story with a flawed hero and a heroine that wants to tell her story....not for sympathy, but for a chance to tell her happily ever after under the most trying of circumstances. She promised me angst and with that one word, I dove in immediately. One of the BEST book decisions I've made in a while.
Loving the White Liar is the story of Hilary and Jayden. Both in their late twenties, they meet at their apartment complex pool one day. Hilary is at a crossroad in life, quitting her dead-end waitressing job with no back-up plan other than wanting to do something, ANYTHING, more rewarding than the path she's on. Jayden is a hot, virile wood-maker and their chemistry is palpable from the start. And so their story begins. Jayden was such a chivalrous soul in those early days when Hilary was ready to mount him like a female dog in heat. It was honestly quite comical. But Jay just wanted to do this right by her. He somehow knew Hilary was different and he wasn't going to screw it up being a one-night-stand.
Loving the White Liar reads very much like a non-fiction memoir. I'm not entirely sure how much of this story is true and how much is fiction but let me say this- it will suck you in and not let you go! It's written entirely in Hilary's POV, taking you day by day into the all-consuming love they share. You will become so emotionally invested in her love story, feel everything she feels, you truly feel as if you're reading her diary. It's open. It's frank, raw, not a sob fest but telling of her story with Jay. This quote details the raw openness of the MC's thoughts and feelings with her readers...
"You never know how much strength you have until you are forced to push through the impossible. You never know how dirty things can get until you’ve been in the trenches. And you can never imagine how much you can truly love someone until you’ve experienced those hurts together and shared the shovel in digging your way out of the dark."
Jayden is much more than the muscled, tatooed doting man Hilary is fast falling for. In time, she notices his quirks- very structured, insanely clean, prefers to be home versus dining out. The flags start going up yet Jay doesn't open up regarding his struggles with ADHD. And even when he does, he's pretty closed-lipped about how he feels and what he struggles with on a daily basis just to quell the chaos within his head.
I learned so much about ADHD by reading this book. On a personal note, I have a brother that suffers from severe ADHD. He's 46 and single. I'm now seeing WHY he's likely single. Living with, loving a person with this disorder I now know cannot be easy. In a scene with Jay's therapist, the author takes this opportunity to educate the reader on what life is like suffering from ADHD as an adult. Let me say this- I HAD NO CLUE my brother survives this way mentally yet I saw all the similarities this therapist highlighted. It almost borders on bipolar disorder and I can see how it can be misdiagnosed. Couple this newfound knowledge with Hilary's experiences LIVING with a person with ADHD, I saw both sides of the equation.
Loving the White Liar gifts the reader with so much- a flawed hero, a heroine so much in love with said hero but also human, trying to salvage their relationship and understand his struggles on a daily basis. It gifts us with friendship that encompasses all the good times and bad in life- including snot cries. Family struggles and deep seated love and support for struggles life delivers without fail. And most importantly, a love story of epic proportions. Jayden and Hilary have something not many people get and with patience and understanding, they WILL get their HEA, ADHD be damned. I loved it!
I can't complete my review without highlighting the steam factor in the book. I think that was the biggest draw between them at first. Complete. Undeniable. Chemistry. Kate Stewart captured that draw tenfold. As I said, I'm very suspicious this story is very near and dear to her heart and I'm not going to ask her if it's HER love story- I'll just let my mind embrace these two as if they're real, living their HEA somewhere like they SO deserve.
I'd HIGHLY recommend this book for fans of contemporary romance with a fair amount of drama, angst, and steam. Readers that are looking for something different in their reading experience. A chance to learn something about people around us daily- struggling with life and love while suffering from adult-form ADHD. There's nothing contrived here. Just realistic, true life struggles to stay with your one true love when all the odds are stacked against you. Thank you for sharing this story with me. It will surely remain tops for my reads of 2015.
***A special thanks to my friend Patty for encouraging me to read this. You were so right. This book was totally my cuppa. Muah!
An ARC copy was kindly gifted by the author in exchange for my honest review.
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