The Reunion Lie

The Reunion Lie
Lucy King
224 pages
Publisher: Harlequin KISS
Releases: November 19, 2013
Source: NetGalley
★★★★☆

You can read the Goodreads summary here.

On a whim, Zoe decided to attend her high school reunion despite the fact that she was bullied by practically everyone in attendance.  She thought her successful professional career would finally impress them, but instead all they care about is her love life.  On the spot she makes up a boyfriend and convinces a stranger at the bar to play the pretend boyfriend… but little does she know that Dan Forrester is more than she bargained for and soon the two are embarking on something much more real.

Ah!  It's so strange for me to get all excited over a romance novel, but I really liked this book!  I was drawn in right away and read the whole thing on one sitting, turning the page as fast as I could so I could see what was going to happen next.  It is a romance novel, so we know how it's going to end, but watching Zoe and Dan get there was so much fun, they took so many twists and turns it was like a roller coaster.  And you know I'm a sucker for romances where the girl accidentally falls in love with a famous person (Decked with Holly by Marni Bates is another great read, especially this time of year!)

What I loved the most was the way the author tied Zoe's past as a high school student in with her current life.  As a fan of YA, I really enjoyed that realistic glimpse at Zoe's past and how she was still struggling to overcome it. As we all know, Bullying is a real epidemic right now and a book focusing on the outcomes for those who are bullied will always be relevant.  Zoe didn't need saving, but it was great to see Dan's primal instincts come out when he found out about the bullying.  That's when I knew they had to be together!

A quick note about the Harlequin KISS line of books - it's a relatively new line for the publisher and I've been wanting to try them out for awhile now because they seemed so refreshing.  This is the second books I've read from the line and I've really enjoyed both.  They seem to feature independent, driven women who know how to balance their careers with love.  They also feature some pretty steamy scenes, which is always a plus, eh?

Four stars!  The Reunion Lie and the rest of the Harlequin KISS line seems like a refreshing change for the romance publisher.  I'm looking forward to reading more KISS books soon and I recommend them for those readers who like traditional romance occasionally, but are sick of the formulated plot lines.