Rating:

“The irony in unbearable things is that they actually are bearable.”

Author: Carola Lovering

You’ve heard the old saying – if it’s too good to be true, it probably is. This certainly describes Skye’s sudden whirlwind romance and marriage to Burke. Skye is a beautiful, wealthy woman. But her extreme OCD has turned away many a would-be suitor. Another event from her past has also left her traumatized and unable to trust. But Burke is different – or so she thinks.

After returning from the honeymoon, Skye “accidentally” receives an email that shatters everything. Burke’s digital diary is included as an attachment, and in it he reveals the entire sordid scam. He’s already married. He’s already stolen Skye’s money . . . and the revenge plot doesn’t stop there.

Too Good To Be True is told through the prospective of three narrators – but you can’t trust two of them. The idealistic Skye, of course, is our truthful yet oblivious protagonist. She’s bland in the way of all deceived heroines. There is no malice in her, just a fatigue of the world and yet, a nascent flame of love she’s ready to fully immolate herself inside. Our other two narrators – Burke and his real wife, Heather – are another story entirely.

The married scammers collude, of course, but are they really in it together? What is the true motivation behind this scam. It’s clearly something deeper than money, and something far more broken than a shattered marriage. It will take many false starts and stops, many lies and half-truths, many twisted secrets and best laid plans before the whole story is out in the open. And by then, one of the two villains might have undergone a crisis of conscience. Or maybe that’s all a part of the plan?

What I loved about this story was the continual clever shifts. We think we’re on solid ground and then – BAM – something new is revealed. It’s a fun chase, a scam in the making that collates greed and revenge into a glorious little plan. We’re in it for the twisty-turny nature of whatever is going on, and the tight writing keeps us involved.

Image by Eden Moon from Pixabay

Do we really care about the people in the story – nah. Skye is too milk toast, cookie cutter good. She’s forgiving and sweet, with no true verve to her personality. Burke is just so-so. We feel for him slightly, but it’s Heather, who arguably narrates most of the story, who truly captures our attention. The really interesting thing is that Heather is the most villainous, but we also know her the best.

Where the story started to lose me is in the final revelations. They don’t fully make sense. Heather’s actions are contradictory to her decision in the past, and Skye’s actions are far too goody-too-shoes, love is in the air, to feel satisfying or deserved. It doesn’t ruin the story, but it takes what could be a great story and makes it into a good one that requires the readers to ignore some key logical elements. Also – Skye’s OCD isn’t really that bad, and it conveniently disappears by the end of the novel anyway.

Despite the flaws, I found myself enjoying Too Good To Be True and decided to leave my questions to the side and just immerse myself in the twisty scheme. Recommended.

 

– Frances Carden

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Frances Carden
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