Review of Uncovered

Synopsis

My name is Lizzie Connelly, and I have it all. The gorgeous apartment. The new job most women would rip out their own souls for—working for Margaret Emerson at Emerson & Taylor. I have one of those lives you’ve always dreamt about, the kind you only see on HBO. But, the thing is, that life is a lie. A façade.

It all started with one call. “Everything you know about your story—your father’s story—is a lie. It’s up to you to uncover everything.” One call, and I turned my world upside down to dig my way into Margaret’s life—the woman who I’d never laid eyes on until recently. My stepmother who took everything after my father died fourteen years ago.

The plan was simple—figure out what role she played in my father’s death and expose her to the world.

But here’s another thing: simplicity doesn’t exist, and my plans are flawed from the beginning because I never anticipated Oliver. Sexy, too smart for his own goddamn good, and infuriating, he’s the one person who could blow my plans to uncover Margaret. She’s his mother, and in another life, that would have made him my stepbrother.

I want to pretend that none of that matters, that I can simply finish what I came to do without sparing him a second glance and another thought.

Like I said, though, there’s no such thing as simplicity.

My real name is Gemma Emerson.

And this is my story.

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Review

I really enjoyed this book.  The mystery progressed nicely with a teaser in the beginning and little clues throughout the book.  The romance was what I would expect from the author, which is intense.  It had a lot of the elements I’ve seen in this genre such as an escort, a playboy, and a wicked witch (or two) but it was woven in a way that really worked.  One of the things I enjoyed was that the playboy didn’t transform overnight.  He simply grew more and more attached as he waited for the opportunity to consummate their affair and by the time he did, he wasn’t quite willing to call an end to things.  I also totally loved the best friend/partner in crime.  I have a real soft spot for resourceful women.

One of the things that didn’t quite work for me was that while the character’s action felt logical, I didn’t feel a strong connection to them.  I mean, I couldn’t quite understand how the heroine ever got involved in the career path she had chosen as that part of her life was glossed over.  I was also kind of surprised by the apparent lack of conflict for the son.  Again, there was enough of a foundation that I could understand his decisions but I felt like there should have been more of a struggle early on considering the fact that, while he disliked his mother, he didn’t hate her.  Lastly, I wanted more from the ending.  It was a happily ever after but I found myself full of questions wondering where things would go from there on the business front.  It was probably a good call to end things the way they were rather than gloss over what would have to be a complicated mess but I prefer an ending with at least a direction for each of the major elements of the heroine’s life.

While there are clearly some areas I would have preferred more elaboration, I enjoyed the story.  The mystery, and betrayals, felt unique, there was plenty of steam, and there were characters that I really liked.  I’m looking forward to the next book, which is a companion book, and will follow the best friend.  There is a lot of potential there and I am looking forward to reading it.

Try it for yourself! Goodreads | Amazon | Amazon UK

Katie