ARC Review: Crown of Lies by Pepper Winters

Title: Crown of Lies
Author: Pepper Winters
Series: Crown of Lies Duet #1
Publication: January 31st 2017
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Purchase: TBA
Rating: 3/5

“I met the boy I wanted. But then he vanished and a new man claimed me instead. My father approved, my colleagues congratulated, and behind closed doors, I was bedded by a stranger.”
Noelle Charlston lived a fairy-tale life: a doting father, a powerful job, and a future blessed with financial security.

However, two meetings with two men changed her happy existence forever. First, she met the boy who made her heart sing. Second, she met the man who made her blood quiver.

Noelle’s freedom was no longer hers. It belonged to the man her father believed was the perfect match. The man who pulled his lies over everyone he touched.
Including her.

Seduced and manipulated, Noelle lives two lives. The one everyone sees on the outside and the one no one sees on the inside. The lies he spins, the truth he hides, the mystery he webs—it’s all enough to slowly erode the woman she’d been and turn her into something else.

Until her past collides with her present.
And it’s her turn to lie.
To everyone…including herself.

Pepper Winters is one of my top favorite authors. I love her books but I gotta be honest and say that Crown of Lies isn't my favorite by her. I liked it but I'm sad because I wanted to love this book. It just isn't her best work, in my opinion. 

The story started out promising enough. It actually felt like a modern fairytale at the beginning. The main character, Noelle "Elle" Charlston was like a princess locked up in her tower waiting for her prince until she finally decided to go out on her own one night, only it was modernized to fit with these times. I don't know if that was the authors purpose, it just felt like that. 

It had everything I like in a book by this author, except that the majority of the characters and story felt a bit messy to me + I wasn't a huge fan of Penn. Sure, he intrigued me but he was a bit too big of a jerk to Elle. I usually love Pepper's men, but I don't know... there was just something off about this one. The sex scenes between them were really hot, though so that's a plus again. But damn it, I want to know who he really is. It was kinda driving me insane when I was reading and since this is a duology we won't know until the next and final book. Argh!

I really hate how conflicted I am about Crown of Lies. The storyline and the mystery surrounding Penn totally intrigued me and also messed with my head, which is why I love the author's books so much. I liked the book for sure but —and I'm sorry to say this— it just didn't feel as well-executed or well-written as I'm used to with Pepper Winters.

       About the Author:

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Pepper Winters is a New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and USA Today International Bestseller. After chasing her dreams to become a full-time writer, Pepper has earned recognition with awards for best Dark Romance, best BDSM Series, and best Hero. She’s an multiple #1 iBooks bestseller, along with #1 in Erotic Romance, Romantic Suspense, Contemporary, and Erotica Thriller. She’s also honoured to wear the IndieReader Badge for being a Top 10 Indie Bestseller. Pepper is a Hybrid Author of both Traditional and Self-published work. Her Pure Corruption Series was released by Grand Central, Hachette.
Her books have garnered foreign interest and are currently being translated into numerous languages, including already released titles in Italian and Turkish. Audio Books for her entire back-list will be available in 2016.