TAMING LILY is out today, and I'm so happy to be celebrating the spectacular end to Monica Murphy's Fowler Sisters series! Check out my review, and if you're a fan of Alex and Ani bangles, then you MUST check out the giveaway!
Taming Lily (Fowler Sisters #3), by Monica Murphy
Publish Date: July 7, 2015
Publisher: Bantam
Format: e-ARC, provided by the publisher
Genre: adult contemporary romance
To Buy: Amazon * Barnes & Noble
Rating: 4 STARS
(From Goodreads) I’m in trouble. Again. And instead of facing my problems head on, I’ve run away. Far away this time, and no one can catch me—not my two younger sisters, Violet and Rose, not my father, my grandmother, or that witch Pilar who wants to take control of my family’s cosmetics company. Now I’m in Hawaii, enjoying the sun and the sand and water, where nobody knows the hot mess known as Lily Fowler. And I’m loving every minute of it.
But someone is watching me. Following me. He’s gorgeous. And soon we’re talking, and against all my instincts, I reveal bits and pieces of myself to Max. It feels good, though I know he can’t be the man for me. These sudden feelings we share are way too complicated, too fraught, too intense.
Then everything explodes and I’m forced to return home. My intentions have always been true, but now everyone’s mad at me. I don’t know who to turn to anymore . . . except to Max. He’s who I want to trust. But I’m not so sure I should. Maybe it’s worth the risk—and what-ifs be damned. . .
I've been waiting for this ending all year! ever since we met the vile Pilar, I've been anxious for her to get what's coming to her, and to watch it happen with the backdrop of her arch nemeses, Violet, Rose and Lily, finding their one true loves. Paybacks are a bitch.
Lily is the black sheep of the Fowler clan. A wild, free spirit in her younger days, she did the damage to her relationship with her father and sisters early on, and now they don't trust her to be responsible and trust worthy. Lily has been my favorite from the very beginning. I get wanting to sow your oats while you can instead of being tied down a corporation and the title of "heiress." And, while Lily was the only one with the guts to do it, it sucks that she's paying for it now.
While she still has no desire to work for her father's company - computers are more her thing than cosmetics - she still desperately wants his approval. What daughter doesn't? And, Lily also really misses the closeness with her sisters. But, sometimes coming back from years of questionable decisions is nearly impossible, especially when her father now has an evil witch whispering in his ear and her sisters are preoccupied with their new loves.
Like always, Lily grabs the bull by the horns and decides to try and do something about the witch, at least. When she stumbles onto some questionable goings-on and is nearly caught, she flees to Hawaii to hide and reflect. Lily's hoping that, while she's waiting for the heat to die down, she can also get some perspective on how to get her life back on track. Lily is so lonely and just wants to belong again.
It's in Hawaii that she meets Max, a man she dubs her "watcher," because he always seems to have an eye on her wherever she is at her resort. It makes her feel special for a change. Wanted. She decides to just go with it and soon she finds herself falling in love with this mysterious man that she knows almost nothing about.
Of course, that's intentional on Max's part since he was hired by Pilar to swipe Lily's laptop while she's off guard on vacation. For Max, it's just a job. It's what his company does. But, as he gets to know Lily, he begins to question whether he's working for the wrong side, and whether it matters. If he's getting paid to do his job, he shouldn't get his personal feelings involved. Except, how could they not once he sees how vibrant and alive Lily could be if she wasn't so sad and abandoned? And how nasty and vindictive Pilar is.
Suddenly, Max feels like he's racing against time. He wants to get his ducks in a row before either Lily finds out what he's doing or he has to tell her. But, Lily's smart and is used to people counting her out. Her only chance to find a happy ending is to finally take charge of her life and stop running away from her problems - or a chance at happiness.
I loved Lily in this book. She's been beaten down so many times. I felt so badly for her and wanted so much for her to figure out what it was that would finally make her happy, and then go after it with gusto. It was so satisfying when she finally did that. I wanted to cheer for her.
For Max's part, you could never really fault him for his part in this scheme. He wasn't plotting to take Lily's laptop because he was a thief or a bad person. He was mislead about its status and purpose when his company was hired to track it down. And, although it took him longer than I'd prefer to catch on to who was really the good guy and who was really the bad guy, when he did that, he tried very hard to make it all right.
And the ending, which was what I have been waiting for for three books now, was satisfying. I wish Pilar's downfall would've lasted longer and been a bit more painful, but I'll take what I can get. I'll miss the Fowler sisters now that all of their stories have been told. They were fun and super steamy while they lasted.
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