Little Liar: A Dark Taboo Romance (The Web of Silence Duet) Paperback – September 27, 2024

(This is book 2 in the Web of Silence Duet - A Taboo Dark Romance | READ TWs)Leigh Rivers did not disappoint with Little Liar! We got more of Malachi’s POV and back story to him which, to me, helped dim some of those red flags that were hanging around him. Was he psychotic at times, sure, but Leigh let us see that there was a broken human behind his chaos. Grayson Owens performed Malachi’s character amazingly and helped us to feel the hurt, the brokenness and the rage that was Malachi Vize.As for Olivia, we see her stand up more for herself but still have the same loving heart she has always had. She cares deeply which was a blessing and curse for her. Heather firth was a great choice for being the voice of Olivia. She was soft and firm when necessary. She allowed to feel the love Olivia had in her heart even through her brokenness due to certain events that took place (not gonna give any spoilers)Both Heather firth and Grayson Owens (along with Leigh Rivers’ writing) made my knees buckle with those spicy scene. I’m still questioning myself for how they felt during those scenes. Part of me was like Sebastian (you’ll get it once you read the book) and the other part of me was reasoning it away. Either way, I was doomed once Heather and Grayson started narrating those scenes. They were too good not to enjoy it!As for the rest of the cast (JF Harding, Michelle Sparks, Sean Masters, Shane East and Aaron Shedlock) they were like the cherry on top. Each character they voiced was definitely the right choice for them. While the story would have been great with just Grayson and Heather, giving us a full cast elevated the book and allowed us to be even more immersed in the story line.

I love love love Malachi. He is so broken, but so lovable. You just want him to succeed so badly in everything and find his happy. His love for Olivia is so intoxicating, that being said the way the end of this book was written diminished that feeling a little. I think some things could have been written differently to keep the relationship the same as well as add in the "extra" at the end. Loving one person doesn't make you love someone else any less or differently. I was happy they got their HEA though.The first half of this book was a retelling of the first book in Malachi's view instead of Olivia's. If I had read these two books back to back with nothing in-between, I think that I would have gotten bored with the retell. Since there was some time between the two it was a refresher and I did enjoy his view of things. The second half of the book was setting up the EOD series. I am not really sure how I really felt about that. While I love Olivia and Malachi's story, I felt like is was overshadowed by the new characters.I really wanted to love this book since I so loved the first one Little Stranger, but I do think I could have stopped at book one of the duet and been satisfied.

Book 2 in the web of silence duet. Malachi’s POV / continuation of their story.Little Liar absolutely destroyed me! Reading this story from Malachi’s POV hit so much harder & deeper. I cried so much reading his backstory & knowing what he endured as a child.. he deserved so much better. It broke me to freaking pieces! His struggles leading up to the infamous staircase scene would’ve drove anybody mad! To want to protect the love of his life at all costs, and being denied because of their background.. he just wanted to love Olivia. Speaking of, I did not like Olivia from Malachi’s POV. Not until Part Two when they were finally able to be together. But growing up, she was trash to Malachi when it came to playing with his head. — she eventually got there & pulled her head out of her hiny! 😂 I loved the weaving of the edge of darkness trilogy into the last few chapters. It had reminded me of Base’s personality & just how bold he can be 💀 the ending tied this duet together perfectly! And it gave me allllllll the more reason to dive back into The Edge of Darkness! 😈

The cliffhanger at the end of Little Stranger fueled enough curiosity for me to venture into Little Liars. Ugh. Oh Malachi… Okay so this book is mostly in Malachi’s POV. There’s a lot happening in his head; a potion of psychotic brain slime and young adult angst. There I am. In Malachi’s head on purpose. At least I have backstory on why he is like this and thank goodness, there’s a little more. Is he redeemable? You'll only know if you read this book. :-)

I was lucky enough to get early access to this audiobook—and thank goodness, because I couldn’t have waited a second longer. Little Liar grabbed me from the very first moment and didn’t let go.This story is dark, taboo, and intense, yet somehow still manages to deliver swoon-worthy moments that completely wrecked me (in the best way). It’s the perfect blend of twisted and tender, and I was feral the entire time.The duet narration by Heather Firth and Grayson Owens was absolutely flawless, and the full cast took the entire experience to another level. Every emotion, every secret, every spicy scene felt so real and immersive.If you love morally gray characters, forbidden romance, and emotional chaos that leaves you wrecked and grateful—this is your next must-listen. It will destroy you in the most satisfying way.

That ending was freaking beautiful! But really, that whole book was beautiful. I feel like I absolutely loved all of this book and its precourser. The storyline was deep, complex, and tugged at all my strings. The characters were fantastic, and I wanted to be fully embedded in their lives. The taboo of it all was just an additional delicious component, and I absolutely love the beautiful wrap-up that we got for these amazing characters. So sad it is over, but what a fun and satisfying read! ❤️