I voluntarily read an early copy of this book.
House of BS & Lies by Lani Lynn Vale Series: Don't Date Him #1
on January 13, 2026
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She was enraptured by the man they called Romeo the moment that he turned those butterscotch-colored eyes her way.
What wasn’t to love about a big, burly, plaid-wearing lumberjack?He was tall, gorgeous, and knew how to wield a chainsaw better than Leatherface. He could fell a tree in seconds, had thighs that were as thick as said trees, filled out a pair of Wranglers better than any cowboy ever, and didn’t care that she could operate heavy machinery better than him.
He was everything a girl like Mable could ask for.
The caveat? He was a convicted felon that’d just escaped from prison, faked his death, and ran from his home in Texas to the mountains of Montana.
At first, Mable didn’t know what kind of man he’d been before coming to her small, mountain town. He led Mable into a false sense of security, made her fall madly, deeply, and irrevocably in love with him, and then shocked her by sharing his darkest secret.
Now, she’s left reeling, thinking life couldn’t get more complicated.
Until she finds out her stepmother knows Romeo’s secret and plans to exploit him. To make matters worse, Romeo goes on the run to protect Mable from himself, and she realizes that she has a dark side, too. One that’ll stop at nothing, not even murder, to make sure that he can live free.
Gritty and emotional! It’s always fun to kick off a new series with Lani Lynn Vale, so a good bit of time was spent building up the list of characters and letting us get to know a little about each. Romeo is immediately endearing and heartfelt with his connection to her dog and returning him to her no matter how attached he was, etc. I felt like we were slightly overwhelmed with Birdie and the core of Mable and Romeo were rushed over a little bit more than normal in a LLV love story. I enjoyed them both, loved their connection and look forward to more in the series, I just wanted a little more here and now too. Overall, this was a well developed set up of the series and had a solid hook to keep us reading to get to know the other guys more. I enjoyed getting to see more of Apollo from the last series too!
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