[ARC REVIEW] “A Wonderful Lie” By: Carrie Aarons

What is A Wonderful Lie by Carrie Aarons about?

Everyone lies around the holidays. We lie about the money we’re spending. We lie that we’re following our diets.

What am I lying about this year? The fact that my workplace nemesis has become my friend-with-benefits.

Collin Machlan and I have been each other’s competition since we joined our college’s radio station freshman year. Six years later, we’re both hosting shows for the country’s most popular podcast network.

Just as everything starts turning red and green, our boss announces a promotion, and whoever gets the most listens during this merry season will be crowned the winner.

There is just one catch; the only way to draw an audience in December is to theme every episode around Christmas. For a woman who typically celebrates alone with takeout and slasher flicks, I’m at a big disadvantage.

Going toe-to-toe with the guy I’ve never been able to intimidate is only made harder by the fact that Collin doesn’t seem to want to play our usual games. Add in some mistletoe and a Secret Santa swap, and I finally give in to his shameless flirting.

Maybe it’s the delusion of cuffing season, but suddenly I’m spending every night with him. No one at work knows. Neither does his family, or my friends. I lie that it’s just physical. That me, a self-proclaimed bachelorette, couldn’t possibly be on the brink of a relationship. I lie that we’re still competing for a job he doesn’t even want.

Until one too many lies threatens to topple my life like a crooked tree with poorly-distributed ornaments. And I’m left to decide between my lonely and blue traditions, or a love that lasts all year round.

Rating: 4/5 Stars

Review:

First and foremost, we need to talk about how much I absolutely adore this book cover — it encapsulates the story so well, and it’s so cute!! This book is such a fun holiday read, and I’m so thankful to Carrie for providing me with an early copy to review!

Lark and Collin are such great leading characters. They’re both, especially Lark, so unapologetically themselves, and that made the book even more fun to read. Lark definitely knows what she wants (or at least she thinks she does), and she’s not afraid to go after that wholeheartedly. I haven’t read a ton of books involving podcasting, and Lark and Collin having rival sex-themed podcasts was such an interesting take that really played a huge part in how they interacted with each other, and some of the other people around them, too. Collin has definitely been interested in Lark far before we first meet the two of them on page one, but it was nice to see his respect for her verbalized so early on in the book, and made me like his character right off the bat.

I love love love enemies-to-lovers romances, and although I’d say this one is more rivals than enemies, I still loved all of the witty banter that the two of them had together, and they complemented each other so well. That’s one of my favorite things to read in books, hence why I love the enemies-to-lovers trope so much, and this book didn’t disappoint. Plus, the story takes places not ridiculously long after they graduated college, so it was nice to read characters that are closer to their mid-twenties. It’s been awhile since I’ve read a workplace rivals romance, and I’m glad this is the one to bring me back to that trope!

Overall, I thought this was a fun read and would recommend it if you’re looking for a new adult book to get you in the mood for Christmas! As with all new adult books, I recommend it for 18+ due to some of the sexual content, but I won’t tell you what to do.

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