Dishonestly Yours by Krista Ritchie, Becca Ritchie Series: Webs We Weave #1
Published by Berkley on July 2, 2024
Pages: 464
Format: ARC
Genres: New Adult, Romance
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Starting fresh is the only way Phoebe can escape a life of crime, but her best friend's older brother complicates honest dreams in this gripping new series from the authors of the Addicted series.
Phoebe Graves grew up in a family where deception and seduction are as commonplace as breathing. The Graves and her best friend Hailey’s family have been on the run their whole lives, but after a high-stakes con job goes south, Phoebe and Hailey decide to run away and start over. The small Connecticut town they settle in seems too good to be true.
The biggest flaw in their plan is Hailey’s frustratingly handsome brother, Rocky, who insists on coming with them. Living honestly isn’t in his DNA, and his past with Phoebe is downright messy. He’s everything she wants, but nothing she can have.
Phoebe worries that Rocky will tempt them back into their old ways, where lying is second nature. She doesn’t want Rocky to mess up the new life she’s begun for herself. The longer she stays in town, the more she realizes what it means to have a reputation—and what a normal life with the man she loves could look like.
Dishonestly Yours is the first book in a brand-new series about two con artist families, written by Krista and Becca Ritchie. Best friends Phoebe and Hailey try to leave their life of deceit behind and start over by living honestly in Connecticut. That’s difficult to do when their grifter siblings decide to follow them.
The Ritchie twins authored two of my favorite series: the Addicted/Callaway Sisters series and the Like Us series. Part of what made these series so successful in my mind was the excellent character development. Both series featured a unique and flawed but appealing cast of characters and their intricate relationships with each other. Unfortunately, the same can’t be said of the characters in Dishonestly Yours. They seem undefined—interchangeable personalities, vague relationships, even their ages are ambiguous.
The plot gets messy with an unnecessary fake dating scheme, flashbacks, and a confusing love-hate relationship between Phoebe and Hailey’s older brother Rocky. Phoebe is so chill that nothing phases her—not even violence and betrayal. I just didn’t buy it. I did enjoy the friendship between Phoebe and Hailey, but I kept waiting to learn more about the Graves and Tinrock families. Eventually, I lost interest and struggled to finish.
The book ends on a very predictable cliffhanger of sorts. While this may be a disappointing outing, it’s not too late to do greater character exploration in the future. There’s no word yet on the next book, and the jury’s still out on whether or not I’ll continue.
I received an early copy from the publisher. These opinions are my own.
About Becca Ritchie
Krista & Becca Ritchie are New York Times and USA Today bestselling authors and identical twins—one a science nerd, the other a comic book geek—but with their shared passion for writing, they combined their mental powers as kids and have never stopped telling stories. Now in their twenties, they write about other twenty-somethings navigating through life, college, and romance. They love superheroes, flawed characters, and soul mate love.
About Krista Ritchie
Krista & Becca Ritchie are New York Times and USA Today bestselling authors and identical twins—one a science nerd, the other a comic book geek—but with their shared passion for writing, they combined their mental powers as kids and have never stopped telling stories. Now in their twenties, they write about other twenty-somethings navigating through life, college, and romance. They love superheroes, flawed characters, and soul mate love.
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