By: Amanda Eyre Ward
Narrators: Nora Roux Meckel,
Sarah Beth Goer
Random House Audio
ISBN: 9780593500293
Publisher: Random House (Ballantine Books)
Publication Date: 05/14/2024
Format: Other
My Rating: 5 Stars (ARC)
Three wildly different sisters reunite for a destination wedding at an English castle in this heartfelt and rollicking novel from the New York Times bestselling author of The Jetsetters.
“The sort of novel that simultaneously tempts you to devour it in one greedy gulp and begs you to slow down and savor each page.”—Jenny Jackson, author of Pineapple Street
Once upon a time, the Peacock sisters were little girls who combed each other’s tangled hair. But decades of secrets have led them to separate lives—and to telling lies, to themselves and to one another.
Sylvie is getting married. Again. A librarian and widow who soothes her grief by escaping into books (and shelving them perfectly), Sylvie has caught the attention of an unlikely match: Simon Rampling, a mysterious, wealthy man from Northern England. Sylvie allows herself to imagine a life beside him—one filled with the written word, kindness, and companionship. She’s ready to love again . . . or is she?
Cleo is the golden child. A successful criminal defense lawyer with the perfect boyfriend, she is immediately suspicious of Simon. Is he really who he says he is? Cleo heads to Mumberton Castle with a case of investigative files, telling herself she will expose Simon and save her sister from more heartbreak . . . but who is she really trying to save?
Emma is living a lie. She can’t afford this fancy trip—and she definitely can’t tell her husband and sons why. She once dreamed of a line of her own perfumes. Fragrances allowed her to speak in silence. Now, that tendency for silence only worsens her situation. Will she emerge with her dignity and family intact?
When their toxic mother shows up, the sisters assume the roles they fell into to survive their childhood . . . but they just might find the courage to make new choices.
Set over a spectacularly dramatic weekend, in the grand halls of a sprawling castle estate—amid floor-to-ceiling libraries, falconry lessons, and medieval meals—Lovers and Liars is the unforgettable story of a family’s ability to forgive and to find joy in one another once again.
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Praise
“Lovers and Liars is the sort of novel that simultaneously tempts you to devour it in one greedy gulp and begs you to slow down and savor each page. Come for the fabulous English estate and the rollicking plot, but stay for the genuine warmth and humanity infused in every page.”
—Jenny Jackson, New York Times bestselling author of Pineapple Street
“I love sibling stories for their shared histories, secrets, and loving, messy, honest, funny portrayals of a unique and unbreakable bond. The Peacock sisters share all of that and more. Add a destination wedding (in an English castle, no less) and you will RSVP YES toLovers and Liars.”
—Steven Rowley, New York Times bestselling author of The Celebrants
“Delicious, delightful, like crashing a royal wedding and ending up in the moat with a prince. Not a single page that isn’t scrumptiously satisfying. Oh, enjoy!”
—Andrew Sean Greer, Pulitzer Prize-winning and New York Times bestselling author of Less Is Lost
“Amanda Eyre Ward’s knack for unpacking messy family baggage with humor and heart is at its finest in Lovers and Liars. At once a propulsive unraveling of secrets and a sensitive examination of how old scars can shape futures, it hooked me from the start. The delightfully dysfunctional Peacock sisters are an unforgettable trio.”
—Shelby Van Pelt, New York Times bestselling author of Remarkably Bright Creatures
My Review
NYT bestselling author Amanda Eyre Ward returns following The Lifeguards and The Jetsetters with her latest charming and scandalous novel, LOVERS AND LIARS —A fun, lively, witty family drama featuring a librarian in love and three sisters reuniting for a wedding at an English castle.
The book is divided into ten parts and includes an invitation to a wedding: Sylvia Peacock and Simon Rampling's wedding on July 8, 2025, at Mumberton Castle in England.
The book opens with Sylvie Peacock the night before her wedding. She cannot sleep looking out the window of the massive castle over the moonlit treetops and the silvery ocean. What was she doing here? Had fate, lust, or the last glowing embers of hope led her here of all places to marry once again?
She missed her Miami, Florida, Coconut Grove Elementary School Library, where she worked with second graders. She wanted to go home to her rescue greyhound, Willie, and her bungalow on Hibiscus Street. She was only 25 when she married the first time. Alexander had been dead for ten years. Can she go through with this wedding? She wants to leave.
Sylvie, now 35, whose name is derived from Sylvia Plath, is about to marry Simon Rampling, a wealthy man. She was a lonely librarian known by her sisters as the victim of the family tragedy. Is she now happy?
Her sisters:
Cleo, 39, named after Cleopatra, lives in Brooklyn. She is a busy criminal defense attorney and has relationship issues. She was in love with her best friend, Isaac, and not her long-time live-in boyfriend, Danny.
The sisters were supposed to protect one another. Cleo was to investigate Simon's history to ensure she was marrying the right man.
Emma is the only one of the three Peacock sisters who stayed in their childhood area in Montana. Married to Rich with two sons, she has several issues to deal with in her life, including a huge financial loss and their family's savings. (Sweet Nothings is a scam, perfume, and personal empowering products for women—a pyramid marketing scheme.) She keeps secrets from her husband as the debt grows every day.
Alexander is dead (alcohol problems), her beloved dad, Police Chief Peacock (kind and selfless) is now in heaven, and her toxic mother, Donna, is in the Margaritaville Retirement Home—she had an affair with their next-door neighbor, Noah.
Narrated from the POV of the three sisters, we get to hear from all of them and their daily trials, secrets, and desires.
Is Simon what he seems? Does he have dark secrets, too? Simon lived on Indian Creek Island and had a posh address with an armed guard. He was also thirty-five and liked books and birding. They work.
The author takes us back to when Sylvie met Simon and their engagement to planning a wedding. We hear from each of the sisters and their issues as they prepare for the enormous upcoming wedding at elegant Mumberton Castle. From day one, two, and three, the wedding day. The ceremony was to take place in the castle library, with a reception following.
All three sisters are together again. Cleo is holding secrets about Alexander. Emma's debt is growing from her Sweet Nothings perfume business about to go bankrupt, and Sylvie spent her life trying to get Alexander sober until he was killed in an accident.
ALL THE SECRETS WILL COME OUT AT THE CASTLE!
Sylvie, the baby sister, finds herself reading letters like a Jane Austen heroine in a castle in a country other than her own. Was it all an impossible and thrilling dream? Will the girls get a happily ever after?
LOVERS AND LIARS is a fun, unforgettable story of family, forgiveness, and finding joy beyond all the chaos and scars of the past.
From castles, books, birding, literature, love, letters, lies, family dynamics, corruption, money, greed, betrayal, daughter, exes, a fire, forgiveness, feeling loved and wanted, healing, acceptance, and dark secrets with juicy family drama —will keep you glued to the pages to see how this one ends for all the Peacock sisters.
A book of second chances! Sometimes, the secrets hold more power and are worse than just coming out, ripping off the bandaid, and being honest with one another.
I do not read a lot of women's domestic and contemporary; however, I enjoy this author's writing and blending of literary fiction. I loved the Epilogue as we get an update from sisters! You will be smiling— A perfect summer beach read!
Thanks to Random House (Ballantine Books) and NetGalley for a gifted digital reading copy in exchange for an honest opinion.
@JudithDCollins | #JDCMustReadBooks
My Rating: 5 Stars
Pub Date: May 14, 2024
About the Author
Amanda Eyre Ward is The New York Times bestselling author of Sleep Toward Heaven, How to Be Lost, Love Stories in This Town, Forgive Me, Close Your Eyes, The Same Sky, The Nearness of You, The Jetsetters, The Lifeguards and Lovers and Liars. Her bestselling novels have been featured in People Magazine, The New York Times, and more. Amanda publishes nonfiction in Travel + Leisure, The New York Times, Texas Monthly, and more, and publishes original work on Audible.com. Amanda’s work has been optioned for film and television and translated into fifteen languages. She lives in Austin, TX.
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