Liar, Liar Hearts on Fire by Jennifer Zane
Release Date: January 16th, 2014
Pages: 225
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Violet Miller is a teacher savoring her summer break until she’s been called in as emergency reinforcements—of the dating kind. She volunteers to help an old flame by pretending to be his girlfriend. In Alaska. At a family reunion. Since the guy is a handsome, lumberjack-sized doctor she’s never quite forgotten, faking a relationship won’t be hard work.
Mike Ostranski is a desperate man on vacation. His mother wants grandchildren and sees a crazy Alaskan woman as a candidate for daughter-in-law. Mike needs Violet by his side to deflect the lady’s advances.
A week in Alaska as boyfriend and girlfriend should be easy for them. They grew up together, even had a brief fling. What could go wrong?
Everything.
AUTHOR’ S FAVORITE QUOTES
from LIAR, LIAR HEARTS ON FIRE by Jennifer Zane
Violet (a first-grade teacher) is questioning Goldie about who would read the Erotic Romance book she’s written. Goldie says:
“Young lady, are you forgetting where you are?”
I looked around the adult store filled with blow-up dolls, slutty lingerie, toys, videos, gag gifts. “Right. My view of the world is shifting from the ABC’s to XXX.”
Jennifer: Violet and Goldie. I like this quote because Violet realizes her world view has been a little skewed because of her job and her single-ness.
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My dating experience might have been sporadic—the seasonal flu came with more regularity than I did—but I was a woman and knew the signs. For one man. But with twins, it was like being hit over the head with a cartoon anvil. They could have been speaking Swahili and I would have understood their intentions. – Violet
Jennifer: Violet is thinking about Jean-Luc and Marc, Mike’s polyamorous French relatives who are interested in her. It shows how attraction is the same all over the world.
___
“They need to sniff around someone else.”
Sniff? Seriously? “I don’t think they understand what you just said.”
He looked down at me, eyes sharp. Intense. “Fine. Then I’ll speak in a language they’re sure to understand.”
The hand at my nape pulled me up onto my tiptoes as he lowered his mouth to mine. He kissed me. Not a simple peck on the cheek, but a ‘get a room’ kiss that left no doubt in either Jean-Luc or Marc’s mind—or mine—Mike’s meaning.
Jennifer: Mike and Violet talking about Jean-Luc and Marc. Like the quote before, this also shows that you don’t need words to make a point. It also is the first glimpse of Mike’s possessiveness toward Violet.
___
Mike gave me a questioning look through the rear-view mirror as if he’d never heard of crotchless panties before. The fact that I’d said ‘crotchless panties’ in a sentence meant I’d been around Goldie too much. – Violet
Jennifer: This is a subtle example of how Violet’s view on the world is changing. How, once she’s out of her element, she can see how staid and dull her life had been. Talking crotchless panties is just an example of something she’d never done before.
___
She was drop-dead gorgeous in a slutty way. Even before seven in the morning.
I, on the other hand, felt like roadkill. At least I wasn’t slutty roadkill.
I lifted my left hand up, gaudy ring and all, pretending to run my hand over my hair, flaunting what she didn’t have.
Her eyes flared in anger at the glaring reminder of Mike’s relationship status before she stomped off.
I inwardly grinned.
“Women are ruthless,” Mike whispered, shaking his head. “Nice one.”
Jennifer: Violet and Mike talking—they are talking about Susan, the crazy neighbor who will go to just about any length to get Mike. I love that Violet has to fight for her man in that catty, ruthless way women have. They don’t just go and punch the competition in the face. They are more subtle.
___
“Two men as gorgeous as them? You still have eight weeks left until school starts. You could go with them and brush up on your French.”
“Goldie,” I warned. If her meddling trend continued, I’d be on an Air France flight by dinnertime.
“I bet they could get you saying ‘Ooh La La’ double time.” Goldie chuckled. “Double time, get it?”
Jennifer: Goldie and Violet. Goldie’s perspective on the world of romance is so different from Violet’s (and everyone else in previous books) but, even though her ideas are wacky, they really are doable. Violet has no intentions of jetting off to France with the twins, but Goldie lets her see the possibility. Everyone wants that kind of possibility in their lifetime.
___
“Remember what I told you earlier?”
I melted a little more. What he’d whispered to me when we were at the park in Seward was his own version of word porn. Decadent, dominant and just a tiny bit dirty.
“I plan on doing every one of them with you.”
“But I’m a good girl.”
Mike arched a brow and smiled wickedly. “Not for long.”
Jennifer: This is Mike and Violet and he’s tempting her with words. I don’t really have a reason for liking this quote except for the fact that this is pretty darn hot. Mike is a nice guy, but he’s also a little Alpha and that comes out, especially when it comes to sex. Works for me!
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I had too many browser tabs open on my computer-like mind. When he told me to hold on to the headboard, it was like shutting down all of them but one. Just Mike. – Violet
Jennifer: I think most women can appreciate the long list of thoughts/things going on in life that run through our heads…all the time. The fact that Mike can shut all that down when he touches Violet shows how hot it is between them.
About the Author
Jennifer Zane has lived all over the country–from Georgia to Maryland, New York to Colorado, including an exciting five years in Montana. Her time in Big Sky country was the basis for this book. When she’s not writing, she savors the insanity of raising two boys, is figuring out how many meals she can make with a pressure cooker, and teaches a pretty mean karate class. She currently lives with her family in Colorado.
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