Kieran has vowed to keep Tomás safe and his alone, but their secrets keep tearing them apart only to have them cling more tightly together. Perhaps they can't keep each other safe, but they keep fighting even surrounded by chaos and violence.
From the Beautiful Liar blurb:
I gave in to temptation, but happily ever after was never part of the deal.
I am heir to a mafia kingdom and taking my place means leaving Arcadia behind. Arcadia U was built to house bastards of the criminal elite and wayward children of soldiers loyal to the four founding families. I am neither. When a death at the school puts everyone at risk, I return to keep my friends safe. But things have changed since the three months I've been gone. Loyalty must be earned, and my secrets revealed. But is it too late to save what I want most?
Tomás
I chose the enemy. I chose to be a secret. Kieran asked me to wait until he was ready, and I fell easily into the lies. But I have a lie of my own. After a death puts the school on lockdown, I'm forced to face a past I buried. A past that threatens everyone I love, including Kieran. To protect him, I must lie to him.
But lies fester. And the rot always finds a way out.
Beautiful Liar is best enjoyed if you've read Beautiful Dark Temptation.
SNik's review:
Second in series (Arcadia U), must be read in order. Semi-established couple. Dual POV. Heed content warnings. Mild cliffhanger as the series continues but HFN for main characters.
Arcadia U is still a dangerous place to be for Tomás, and being Kieran’s secret is no great thing, but unfortunately Tomás will do anything for the boy he loves. Kieran is desperate to keep Tomás as his, but secrets and their dangerous family intrigues threaten them from all sides.
This series remains chaotic and confusing at times, the underlying motivations of the main and secondary characters are not always clear and Kieran and Tomás still struggle with any kind of honest communication. But there are plenty of steamy times, really interesting characters, and the overarching plotline still kept me interested. Throughout the story both Kieran and Tomás can’t escape their mutual obsessions and possessiveness, and there are some loyal and supportive secondary characters that make the story work. I liked Kieran and Tomás and am interested to see what other characters will get their own story.
"𝚃𝚎𝚕𝚕 𝚖𝚎, 𝙺𝚒𝚎𝚛𝚊𝚗. 𝚆𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝚠𝚘𝚞𝚕𝚍 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚍𝚘 𝚝𝚘 𝚙𝚛𝚘𝚝𝚎𝚌𝚝 𝚢𝚘𝚞𝚛 𝚋𝚎𝚊𝚞𝚝𝚒𝚏𝚞𝚕 𝚕𝚒𝚊𝚛?"
WOW! This series is just so freaking good. It hurts and then it heals and then it hurts all over again. Nobody in this series is without faults. Not even Tomas, who is maybe the only character who shows his vulnerable heart. And that's the problem. Tomas isn't like the rest of the students at Arcadia U. He cares. He cares too much, and it gets him into trouble time and time again. And with Kieran no longer at school after being legitimized, he's no longer there to save the day when things go sideways.
"'𝙸'𝚖 𝚢𝚘𝚞𝚛𝚜, 𝚃𝚘𝚖𝚊𝚜. 𝙸'𝚟𝚎 𝚊𝚕𝚠𝚊𝚢𝚜 𝚋𝚎𝚎𝚗 𝚢𝚘𝚞𝚛𝚜.'
𝙸 𝚜𝚠𝚊𝚕𝚕𝚘𝚠𝚎𝚍 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚋𝚎𝚊𝚞𝚝𝚒𝚏𝚞𝚕 𝚕𝚒𝚎 𝚠𝚒𝚝𝚑 𝚊 𝚋𝚛𝚞𝚒𝚜𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚔𝚒𝚜𝚜. 𝚃𝚑𝚎 𝚠𝚘𝚛𝚍𝚜 𝚝𝚊𝚜𝚝𝚎𝚍 𝚕𝚒𝚔𝚎 𝚜𝚠𝚎𝚎𝚝 𝚙𝚘𝚒𝚜𝚘𝚗 𝚘𝚗 𝚖𝚢 𝚝𝚘𝚗𝚐𝚞𝚎. 𝙷𝚎 𝚠𝚊𝚜𝚗'𝚝 𝚖𝚒𝚗𝚎. 𝙷𝚎'𝚍 𝚗𝚎𝚟𝚎𝚛 𝚋𝚎 𝚖𝚒𝚗𝚎. 𝙽𝚘𝚝 𝚒𝚗 𝚊𝚕𝚕 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚠𝚊𝚢𝚜 𝙸 𝚠𝚊𝚗𝚝𝚎𝚍 𝚑𝚒𝚖.
𝙱𝚞𝚝 𝙸 𝚑𝚊𝚍 𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚜. 𝙽𝚘𝚠."
A lot of things happen in this book. There are so many plot lines going on that sometimes it would get a bit confusing, but not enough to dull my enjoyment. I liked the guessing. Figuring out who was going to end up betraying who. I particularly liked Luca, but then again I've always had a soft spot for a psychopath. I don't know what that says about me, but I am guessing nothing good. I also wouldn't say no if he had his own book in the future, just sayin'.
Speaking of future books. Beautiful Liar ends on what I'd call a HFN ending when it comes to Kieran and Tomas. I could see the author possibly leaving this couple here, but definitely not the series. There are still a PLETHORA of loose ends and questions. People are still missing. Plural. Half of the characters I've already shipped as couples, though whether I'm right likely won't be something I find out any time soon. There's a definite vibe between Wren and River. We already know something happened between Fox and Dasher, we just don't know what. Even Henry has me questioning if there is something going on between him and his bestie. Not to mention the big revelation about Maddox. So many places this series could go and I'm definitely looking forward to the ride.
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