Lying in Love: Part of the Love Series

by Alese Maree

How far would you go to keep a secret?As a teen, Amari Livingston killed her best friend, Rayne, in cold blood without remorse. At least that’s what the world believes. Now that she's back in society, Amari has a long list of people she can no longer trust. Anyone who wears a badge tops that list until she meets Lochlan Connors - a detective for Internal Affairs - investigating a local police officer on misconduct allegations. Their paths become intertwined and Amari stumbles into complicated feelings for the detective knowing love is a pipe dream for someone with her past.

Though Amari served her time behind bars for her crimes, she refuses to spill the details of what happened the night Rayne died and not everyone - her own powerful father included - believes justice has been served. After a murder attempt is made on her life and the lives of her small circle of loved ones, Amari realizes not all secrets have the power to stay buried with the dead.

Sometimes the truth will set you free. This time, it will destroy everyone in its path.

302 pages, Paperback

Published June 29, 2025

About the author

Alese Maree is a Pennsylvania girl now living in the desert. As a Summa Cum Laude graduate with a degree in English and Psychology, she loves words and studying behaviors. She is an avid romance reader who spends far too much time lost in the world of books.

Her passion is proofreading, beta reading and writing reviews - anything that helps authors make their books shine. If she's not reading or writing, you can find her listening to music (mostly 90s R&B), drinking iced chai's, or finding people to talk about books with.

Connect with her on social media: Instagram - @Alesemaree_books / Tiktok - @alesemaree_reads

Reviews

[Ember Netto · Rating 4 out of 5]

ARC Read: I geniunely enjoyed this book. There were so many twists and turns at no point do you know what’s going to happen next. Amari and Noelle went through some of the worst things one could think of and came out of it stronger people. The romance aspect was really cute and I’m glad everything tied up the way it did in the end.

I will say there are a lot of potentially triggering topics, so be weary going into it. Pay attention to the trigger warnings and make sure you know what you’re getting into. I took longer than I would’ve hoped to read because I had to take some breaks for my own mental health. That being said I’m glad I kept going because the story was well worth it.

[Shelly · Rating 4 out of 5]

My goodness, just when you think the twists and turns were done, here came another set! This story was absolute insanity, all in a good way! Alese Maree is a new to me author and I can't wait to read more of her work!

[Ashley Patricia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Such a good read! I loved this. The plot was fantastic. Never wanted to put this one down!