This is an excellent story of two women whose lives are impacted by lies. Lies they have told for their own protection or lies told to them for their own protection. A lie brought them together and lies or omissions almost destroyed the life they were building together. It was an excellent story, one which I had a difficult time putting down. I was left wanting more when the story was complete.

Renee Roman wrote a fantastic book that I couldn't wait to finish at any chance I got. The chemistry was there and the characters couldn't have been more perfect for each other.

This showed a lot of promise, but I ultimately couldn't make it through. There was a lot of head hopping going on that wasn't clearly telegraphed and there just isn't enough going on plot wise to keep me engaged.

I liked the PI main character and thought she was really interesting, and the themes of contrasting privilege and disadvantage and loving family and past trauma promised a good set up.

Unfortunately it didn't quite follow through.

I liked the pacing of the story, and the plot was relatively interesting. The writing was not the best, but I could work with it. The thing that dragged down the experience for me was Sarah. I get the impression that she's supposed to be the amenable, likable one next to the "cynical" Camdyn. But Sarah just doesn't seem logical to me. She randomly has outbursts of anger over seemingly imagined slights against her, and the book treats it as if she's just a spunky individual. There's also some odd tension with Cam's assistant, Maggie.

All in all, the characters kind of tank what could have been a good story.

<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/46733501-where-the-lies-hide" style="float: left; padding-right: 20px"><img border="0" alt="Where the Lies Hide" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1562077079l/46733501._SX98_.jpg" /></a><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/46733501-where-the-lies-hide">Where the Lies Hide</a> by <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/16975224.Renee_Roman">Renee Roman</a><br/>
My rating: <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3027488701">3 of 5 stars</a><br /><br />
A thriller with a streak of romance. Main characters Camdyn/Cam (private investigator) and Sarah (artist) are written by the author as gritty but flawed individuals. There are some hiccups in the story but overall I was hooked enough to read to a slightly abrupt end. 3 stars.<br />I was provided with a copy by NetGalley/Bold Strokes Books for an un-biased review.
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<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/list/31134832-gail">View all my reviews</a>

Where the Lies Hide is a good book, providing a solid and enjoyable read. The stars of this story are Cam Stark, who is a private investigator, and Sarah Peters, who welds on a construction site for a living but also welds to create her own very good art.
Overall this book is well-written, and the story is well-plotted and a little different. Some things about their budding relationship did not flow as well as they might, and some things such as Sarah's art are not really developed enough. I didn't really relate to Sarah's stubbornness about her sibling either.
Nevertheless, this book is worth a recommendation.

At twenty-eight, after both her adoptive parents are no more, Sarah Peters discovers that she was born a twin and that her twin brother may be somewhere out there. She is desperate for some family again and hires a private investigator, Camdyn Stark.

The premise is interesting. We loved the feels we got from the attraction between Sarah and Cam. There are so many things going for this book: unusual professions, MCs you root for, rippling chemistry…

But…a few very huge buts here.

First we just didn’t understand why Sarah was completely unwilling to meet her biological father who is desperate to become family with her but so hung up on finding her brother.

Second, we didn’t understand Cam’s immediate distrust of the missing brother and even more, her conviction that he’d harm Sarah – without ever having met him or spoken to him.

Third, we don’t understand why said brother would try to kill Sarah almost immediately after meeting her.

This books didn’t leave us with the satisfied feeling a good well-written story can. In fact, it left us a little irritated with all the unfathomables.

I loved 70% of this book. The suspense kept me involved and I loved Cam’s character. She’s a tough one who looks out for the ones that she loves. But towards the end Sarah and her inability to see what’s going on, just drove me crazy. At the end I started to just bypass her parts. I still would recommend the book because the first part was just great.

Took me a little while to get into this book but it was an ok read when I did. If you were ever going to root for a character, it's wouldn't be Sarah, even though the book was set up to be about her and her search for her twin brother. She had a lot of issues which made her mean and moody at times, and if I'm honest, unlikeable. Cam was a nicer character with an interesting backstory.

The story idea was good but it never really delivered the punch it had the potential for.

As other reviewers have mentioned, I feel conflicted about this book as well. The premise was excellent and really caught my attention. I really enjoyed Camdyn as a main character. I wanted to like Sarah, but she was so frustrating all the way to the end. I wasn't a fan of the twin portrayal, at least in how fleshed out the character was. Either go deep or change the direction. I usually like this author's work and won't let this book prevent me from reading her future works.
I received an ARC of this book from the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

My response to this novel is a little mixed and I started off enjoying it but I was irritated by the end. Sarah Peters approaches Stark Revelations, a private investigations firm, when she discovers she had a twin brother that she was separated from at birth. Camdyn Stark is immediately draw to Sarah and it scares her. She takes on the case and decides to handle it personally in stead of handing it off to one of her investigators.

I loved that Sarah Peters was a metal worker and welder and I wish there had been more of both her work and artistic experiences throughout the novel. The plot of having a twins being given up for adoption with no knowledge of each other also had so much potential but the twin brother was reduced to a bit of a cardboard cutout rather than having explored some of the many configurations that could have come up.

In terms of the relationship and interaction between Sarah and Cam, I found it hard to discern where they were going to or coming from. Sarah seemed to be stomping out and slamming doors with what seemed like no real reason. The angst between them felt manufactured for tension’s sake and I didn’t feel that most of it was justified. Nothing that should have been there if they had simply communicated like adults; and not even in a complicated way.

I didn’t feel the twin brother aspect was given enough information or history to validate the fear surrounding the discovery either. My rating is hovering between two and three stars and given that I enjoyed the beginning I’m rounding up to three stars.

Book received from Netgalley and Bold Strokes Books for an honest review.

Private investigator Camdyn Stark’s life was full hard knocks. Her mother had been young and doing drugs when she decided that placing baby Camdyn with Social Service was the best thing to do, especially for herself. But Cam spend her young life moving from foster parent to foster parent. A few were good but most in Cam’s experience were in it not only for the money but the pure delight they seemed to get abusing the kids they were supposed to care for, sexually and emotionally. She wasn’t doing that well living on the street but with the help of an older woman, Liv she finally started to believe she was worth something after all. Going to college and starting her own agency was just what she needed. She still had problems relating to others so her personal life was a series of one night stands. How could she ever trust anyone with her heart.
Sarah Peters started her life much the same way but unlike Cam she had been adopted by loving parents. They were not well off money wise but Sarah never did without. She got into welding as a career but her real love was working on her art, designing works of steel into something that hopefully others would pay her for. When her father died and shortly after her mother passed she found a letter her mother had left her. It seems Sarah had a twin and now with her own family gone she wanted nothing more than to find him. She decided to hire a private investigator to help her with the search.
When I first started this book I wasn’t sure if I’d even like it but Ms Roman has given us a truly good read. Not only did she write about the romance between the two main characters but we also got to read a great thriller. Very much enjoyed.
ARC via NetGalley/ Bold Stroke Books

This story I think is relevant to current affairs with discovering family. Last year, I personally found a sister I didn't know I had and the author does cover all the "what if's" very well ie: what if she's an asshole? what if she's a close-minded racist twit? what if she's a professor and thinks I'm an idiot? what if we just don't get along?

The story and characters were enjoyable and relatable. Cam is such a softy underneath the tough exterior. Sarah was a bit annoying, and I didn't really care for them as a couple. They didn't have that spark. I enjoyed the author's writing and her use of metaphors and analogies. She expresses her character's emotions very well. Certainly I will read more of hers in the future.

Thanks to NetGalley and Bold Strokes Books for providing an Advanced Readers Copy in exchange for an honest review!

Thank you to NetGalley, Bold Strokes Books and Renee Roman for an ARC ebook copy to review. As always, an honest review from me.

Like:
- the main characters: smart, intriguing, want to be friends with them (and yes, I know it's a romance novel but to me the mark of a great romance novel and really any book is well written characters)
- Some sexy times but it doesn't overshadow the rest of the storylines

Love:
- chronic pain (migraines) is shown realistically - as part of life, annoying, frustrating, doesn't make you weak but also does truly impact your life
- The investigative mystery storyline of Cam trying to find Sarah's family. An intense captivating story that allows for other storylines to authentically come into play.
- The personalities of both main characters (and love interests) Cam and Sarah. They're super interesting to read about.

Wish that:
- Sarah's biological dad was featured more. He seemed like a great guy that could add a lot to the book.

Dislike:
- the flirting with older women at the beginning. Am I missing something? I don't really get it.
- The story wrapped up a bit too quickly. Another 20 pages would have allowed the final details to be explored more

Overall, a really great novel. Well written incredible characters, an interesting investigation storyline and the perfect amount of sexy times. I highly recommend giving Where the Lies Hide a read.

In this novel, Sarah is trying to find her long lost twin after the death of her parents. She hires Cam, a private investigator to help her find him. Together, they find themselves falling deeper in to mystery and also end up falling in love. This is a fire and ice romance wrapped up in an engaging crime plot that will keep you hooked.

I really love stories about losing and finding someone dear. They're so full of emotions. And I love books about crime. So this was the right book for me, I looked so forward to read it.

This was in intense book with a lot of hard topics. Cam is my favourtite character. She went through a lot of stuff but remained down to earth. The lovestory was okay, the crime aspect was better.

There are some flaws in the story and storylines that seemed to disappear over night but all in all I enjoyed this book and its story.

This was a frustrating read for me. I thought that having a broody, damaged private investigator as a lead would be amazing. She was, but there are so many things I didn't like that even with such a great character in Cam, it didn't do much for me beside ask when it would be done.

I have two major issues with this book. one is the massive plot threads that were built up to be this major aspect of the story, but ended up as only minor plot devices. They both revolve around Cam and her past. One is the migraines that were a huge part of Cam's experience in the first half of the book, but just disappeared after they were used to help Sarah see Cam's more vulnerable side. And the other is the side character of Olivia, Cam's one time lover, and now mentor. She is so much at the fore front of Cam's narration that it was a shame to not actually really meet Olivia in the flesh. This also ties into my second problem: there is way too much exposition. I think that Sarah's character would be a little more sympathetic, instead of coming off as a slightly toxic individual, if there was more of her showing her vulnerability to her friend and Cam. We don't see that - instead we get her backstory, her saying she's upset, but acting fine otherwise. There are parts where I did feel for Sarah, but her personality was all over the place. By comparison, Cam's motivations were clearer and more in tune with her personality. Which was not the brassy individual that the book really wanted her to be. If anything, Sarah and Cam's personalities should be reversed.

There's a lot of potential in this story, but there are too many missed opportunities, especially with a very well built character in Cam. Sarah, on the other hand, was not horrible, but with her abrupt shifts into a terrible person when the plot needed her to be does the whole a disservice. Especially when they found Sarah's brother. The switch from somewhat stuck up and stubborn, to downright mean was jolting. It hurt Sarah's story arc and damaged any kind of believability in the romance plot.

Sarah Peters has devoted the last several years to taking care of her ailing parents. When her mother dies, she discovers she had a twin. Determined to find him, she hires Private Investigator Camdyn Stark. Cam is cocky, professional, and amazing at her job, but when she finds herself attracted to Sarah and concerned for her well-being, what she finds may be better left undiscovered.

Summer burnout is hitting me hard, and this book is just what I needed. There’s plenty of romantic tension, intrigue, and mystery. I wanted Sarah to find her brother as much as she did, and I struggled right alongside Cam in her discoveries. I enjoyed the secondary characters, and while I found Brace a little flat, I absolutely loved Liv. I could read a whole book just about her.

This one is out on Tuesday, August 13th from Bold Stroke Books, and if you’re looking for something to make that last beach trip of the summer even hotter, check this one out.

Both Sarah and Cam have issues. Cam's are from her childhood. It was horrendous. Sarah's have come more recently. Her adoptive parents have both died, but her Mom left her with a letter saying she had a twin brother.

She hires Cam, who is a PI, to try and find her brother, but, she doesn't have much to go on. And, of course, as they slowly fall in love, it also seems like neither is quite ready or able to have that love. They also slowly find her brother (maybe).

The question is, what happens when two twins meet, to will they even meet at all?

It was an intense novel, and while the romance wasn't super surprising, the twin search did surprise me here and there. It was a fun read.

I received this book via Netgalley thanks to Bold Strokes Books.

The premise of the story is good but the execution of it less so. When Sarah hires PI Cam to find her twin brother from whom she was separated at birth when she was adopted, the two them are immediately attracted to each other. Cam tries to stay professional but she can't resist falling for Sarah.

Sarah is dead set on not listening to Cam about the dangers of meeting her twin brother. Cam and Sarah are basically masochists that keep seeking out to be hurt. Eventually, Sarah puts them both in danger by ignoring Cam's warning.

The story turns predictable.