Liars (Licking Thicket Book 2) by Lucy Lennox & May Archer: Exclusive Excerpt, New Release Review and Giveaway

Parrish Partridge’s True Facts:

There’s nothing hotter than a tall, gruff, bewildered, tattooed mountain of a man cuddling a sweet, orphaned baby, so you can tell yourself that you’ll resist him…

But that’s a lie.

And when that man asks you to do him a favor and pretend to be his very temporary, very fake fiance to help him get custody of that adorable baby, you can pretend you know better than to say yes…

But that’s a lie, too.

And when you actually get to know your kind, strong, pullet-loving prince of a fiance, and all his crazy, lovable, meddling neighbors, you can tell yourself you’re not really falling for Diesel Church and the town of Licking Thicket…

But that might be the biggest lie of all.

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“This is really pretty, actually.”

I followed his gaze as he looked around at the honeyed wood paneling I’d installed on the walls and ceiling in the kitchen and the living area just beyond it. Despite baby crap everywhere, my home was clean and bright. It may have been small and really run-down on the outside, but I’d been working hard to fix up the inside myself, and I was proud of it.

“Thank you,” I said gruffly, turning away to look for enough space in the fridge to fit his chicken dish. I didn’t have much in the way of food right now, so it was mostly an excuse not to have to meet his eyes after throwing him under the bus like I had.

“So… this is chicken pot pie with bacon-and-cheddar biscuits. I forgot to write down the reheating instructions. Do you have a pen and piece of paper?”

I glanced up at him from the door of the fridge. That was it? He wasn’t going to ask me what kind of crack I was smoking and why I’d claimed him as mine before we’d even officially met?

“Uh, sure. Lemme see…” I rooted around in the nearby junk drawer until I found a sticky-note pad and half-chewed pencil. “Sorry,” I muttered.

He took it delicately between two fingers and began to write the instructions in tidy penmanship before placing the sticky note onto the tinfoil.

“There. I hope you like it. I know it’s not much, but… I wanted to apologize for the way I snapped at you the other day, and Uncle Beau says no one’s ever gone wrong with an apology casserole.” He blinked rapidly and began looking everywhere but at me. “Which is probably not true. I kind of wonder if anyone’s accidentally poisoned someone with one, you know? Like, God forbid, at a funeral or a wake? What if they’d accidentally used old mayo or bad eggs or…” He blinked up at me and blushed as red as his old beater car out front. “Maybe that’s inappropriate. I promise I used all fresh ingredients in yours.”

He was adorably flustered, and I wanted to kiss his fool face off right there in the middle of my kitchen.

“It’s alright. I’m sure it’ll be fine,” I managed. I wasn’t about to tell him I was a vegetarian. I didn’t tell most people anyway, but I for damned sure wasn’t telling a man who’d gone out of his way to bring me a bacon-and-chicken casserole thing.

We stared at each other for a beat before he pulled the dish off the counter and shoved it at me. “Fridge is best. And, um… I probably have to go now.”

I took the dish and turned to throw it in the fridge, but when I turned back around, he was already halfway across the room waving goodbye over his shoulder and thanking me for my generosity in supplying him with writing implements. He reached the door and pulled it open, only to realize it was the coat closet. “Oh.”

I slapped my hand over my mouth as he turned in a few confused circles and tried a different door. That one was to my bedroom. He let out a little squeaky noise of alarm and slammed the door closed again. The sound shot like a crack through the small house, waking the baby he probably hadn’t noticed asleep in the portable crib on the far side of my bed. Suddenly, Marigold’s angry shrieks rang out around us.

The look of horror on Parrish’s face was almost comical. “Oh my God, my apology casserole visit is going to need an apology casserole,” he whispered in shock. “This is unprecedented.”

I really enjoyed the first book in this series, so the opportunity to read Parrish and Diesel’s story, was a “gimme”. These two authors write very well together, and bring the funny.

I laughed out loud several times. The fall festival??? HILARIOUS!

“Now everyone knows Johnsons are big fans of the Lickin.'” Amos rolled his eyes. “That ain’t no secret. Big Red Johnson goes crazy at Lickin’ time. And don’t get me wrong. Nutters like the Lickin’ too, But you might say bobbing is what Nutters do best.”

Just dying laughing. However, I also cried at some of it (you’ll know when you get there…it’s a nose blowing time).

Overall though, these two men…they definitely needed a class on communication. Liars was an apt name for this book. They had a really hard time telling the truth and actually talking to each other, not just about their needs and wants, but about things as simple as Diesel not eating chicken casserole because he was vegetarian.

The two MC’s really stood well together in the face of the challenge of raising one infant, and it was so endearing. Where Diesel had some challenges at being a sudden father, Parrish was able to step in, help, and teach Diesel some of what he needed to know.

Another fun, sexy (HAWT!), and endearing book by these two authors who know how to do small town romance right. 🙂

4 pieces of eye candy

After enjoying creative writing as a child, Lucy didn’t write her first novel until she was over 40 years old. Her debut novel, Borrowing Blue, was published in the autumn of 2016. Lucy has an English Literature degree from Vanderbilt University, but that doesn’t hold a candle to the years and years of staying up all night reading tantalizing novels on her own. She has three children, plays tennis, and hates folding laundry. While her husband is no shmoopy romance hero, he is very good at math, cooks a mean lasagne, has gorgeous eyes, looks hot in his business clothes, and makes her laugh every single day.

Lucy hopes you enjoy sexy heroes as much as she does. Happy reading!

May is an M/M author who lives in Boston. She spends her days raising three incredibly sarcastic children, finding inventive ways to drive her husband crazy, planning beach vacations, avoiding the gym, reading M/M romance, and occasionally writing it. She also writes MF romance as Maisy Archer.