Arcadia U, 2
Kieran
I gave in to temptation, but happily ever after was never part of the deal.
I am heir to a mafia kingdom and taking my place means leaving Arcadia behind. Arcadia U was built to house bastards of the criminal elite and wayward children of soldiers loyal to the four founding families. I am neither. When a death at the school puts everyone at risk, I return to keep my friends safe. But things have changed since the three months I've been gone. Loyalty must be earned, and my secrets revealed. But is it too late to save what I want most?
Tomás
I chose the enemy. I chose to be a secret. Kieran asked me to wait until he was ready, and I fell easily into the lies. But I have a lie of my own. After a death puts the school on lockdown, I'm forced to face a past I buried. A past that threatens everyone I love, including Kieran. To protect him, I must lie to him.
But lies fester. And the rot always finds a way out.
Beautiful Liar is best enjoyed if you've read Beautiful Dark Temptation.
Be Warned: m/m sex
Excerpt:
The theatre building had been my first stop but for some fucked up reason it had been overrun by Ashton and his fucking idiot band of idiots. He’d gathered the largest, dumbest jocks to him plus a miniature crazed assassin by the name of Annika. Charity broke away from the group and approached me.
“He’s in the library,” she said still walking away.
I walked with her. “What’s going on?”
“Backroom alliances. We’re all fucked.”
She wasn’t wrong. She turned left to her housing while I continued to the library. The whole school was on edge.
The library had turned into a refuge for angsty students wanting to congregate and act as if the world made sense. When it did not make any type of sense at all.
Tomás sat hunched over the desk, flipping through a thick tome, taking notes, oblivious to everyone around him trying not to stare at him. He still had the bandage wrapped around his hand, concealing my brand underneath. His hair longer, touched his shoulder. The curls untamed made him look so damn young.
Morgan’s words that Tomás wasn’t like us stuck with me. He was too kind. Too naïve to think that he could escape me.
Be nice.
Be nice.
I had to chant the words as I slowly made my way to the table he occupied alone, ignoring the eyes on me.
The most important people knew how much Tomás meant to me. Tor and Fox. And once I got Tomás back into Arcas, I planned on telling everyone else. He didn’t look up as I approached. Not until I pulled out the chair next to him and sat down.
Those baby browns were lighter, and laser focused on me for a few seconds before he lowered them and popped out an earbud. “What do you want?” he asked in a huskier tone than normal. His voice still hurting him, but damn if it didn’t sound fucking sexy as hell. Considering how we had spent last night, I thought he should’ve been kinder. Maybe I’d used up my allotted kindness from him. He flipped the textbook page.
Be nice.
“Can we talk?”
“We are talking.”
I clenched my teeth. “Can we talk somewhere private?”
“I don’t think that’s a good idea.” Still, his eyes remained on the book. “You don’t know what rumors could spread around about us. You wouldn’t want—”
Niceties over, I pulled the book away from him, forcing him to look at me. “Come with me to talk, or I will drag your ass over my shoulder, and take you somewhere to talk.”
He narrowed his eyes, and I wanted him to test me. I needed him to test me so I could show him I wasn’t fucking kidding. He sighed, plucked his bag off the floor, and started walking to the exit. I left the book on the table but picked up his notebook and followed behind him.
Soooo good. This book was just as good as the first one. It also made me cry probably more than the first one did and I cried a lot in the first one. I am upset that we still didn't get closure between Tomás and Maddox. But I do love that him and Kieran are finally in the open. I would like to find out more about Luca. Where is Wren and did he take care of the problem? I still have so many unanswered questions about other characters in the book.
Danger, secrets, mystery, suspense, and more. Tomas is a student and Kieran is out for vengences. What will happen when he returns to Arcadia U? This attraction they have for each other is very complex. Follow their drama, but there is a cliffhanger.
“Beautiful Liar,” by Roxas Winters Perfect second book to the Arcadial U series. It followed the same as the first one with tension and a lot of back-and-forth complicated relationship. It was nice to see more growth of their relationship and solidifying their bond. I will never stop loving the characters and how morally grey they are. 5 out of 5 stars, loved every second. On top of this relationship I loved the best friends and kind of want to see more of their stories in the future too. -M/M -Mafia Academy -Dual/ Multi POV -Smutty Thank you for the ARC, Booksprout.
Beautiful Liar by Roxas Winters is a beautifully messed-up, gut-wrenching ride—and I loved every second of it. If you enjoy books filled with broken people, toxic relationships, mafia secrets, and intense emotional turmoil, this one is a must-read. Kieran and Tomás are a disaster waiting to happen, their love unhealthy, their choices questionable, and their world utterly unforgiving. But that’s exactly what makes this book so damn compelling. The tension is constant, the stakes are high, and the secrets and betrayals will have you on edge the entire time. This is not a sunshine-and-rainbows romance—it’s dark, chaotic, and emotionally brutal.
This was a very good book. I enjoyed reading it and catching up in the series. The authors writing style is very good and easy to follow. Love this series so much. Can’t wait for the next.
This is the second in this dark "Arcadia U" series. It is intriguing, intense, captivating and interesting MM romance. The story is a mafia read with some different twists. This is the continued story of Tomás and Kieran and does end with a minor or mild cliffhanger. The characters Tomás and Kieran are complex and the attraction drives some interesting developments. I enjoyed the story and how it develops.
Wow I don’t even know where to begin with this book. It is so fast paced and I’m telling you I went through every emotion reading this book. You’ve got Kieran who is an heir of mafia Kingdom but he has been working behind the families back to take them down. And as we found out in the last book, Kieran would do anything to protect Tomas. Kieran has kept the fact that he has been hooking up / in a relationship with.Tomas. Tomas said he was happy to wait for him but when Kieran leaves Arcadia university he can no longer return because he has been named as the heir leaving Tomas behind. And this is about their fight to survive to stay together when a member at Arcadia is found dead by Tomas. This is one wild read and it is so fast paced the passion between Kieren and Tomas is so hot these two cannot keep their hands off each other. Their connection is so strong that nobody will get between you. A great Read.
Loved this! A fantastic continuation from the first book so you really do need to read that first. I was completely captivated again with this mafia world and thoroughly enjoyed following the mcs journey. Some great secondary characters as well whose story i am hoping gets told!
This author can tell a story. This second book brings us back to Tomas and Kieran as well as the world of Arcadia U. The mysteries continue, the intrigue gets better and the characters reveal more depth. I would absolutely tell readers to start with the first book. This series continues to twist, turn and pull it's readers into its world. I can not wait to read more!
This is the second book in the Arcadia U series and they definitely need to be read in order, we continue with Tomás and Kieran’s story and it does not disappoint we finally finish with them getting a Hfn but we also get a cliffhanger so can’t wait to see what book three brings.
