Hidden Truths

Truths and Lies Duet, Book 1

By: Nikki Ash, K Webster

Narrated by: Jeffrey Holz, Sarah Puckett

From USA Today best-selling author K Webster and Nikki Ash comes Hidden Truths, a romantic suspense.

My life was easy, simple, fun. Light. Until I got wrapped up with the wrong people.

Nothing but a piece of property, to pay for the sins of my father. I’m to be married off to a handsome monster.

I see his truths every day, and it’s hard not to fall for the enemy. He won’t let me escape, but I’m not sure I want to.

I wanted to marry for love, but it looks like love is a lie.

Hidden Truths is book one in the Truths and Lies duet.

©2019 Nikki Ash, K Webster (P)2022 Pink Flamingo Productions

Hidden Truths

Hidden Truths is the first book in the Truth and Lies Duet. This audiobook is told from dual points of view by Kostas and Talia. Kostas's family has been stolen and he is going to get his payback. Talia is about to embark on a journey to America with her boyfriend, however, her father summons her to him.

When Talia gets there she learns she is to be married to Kostas for her father's debt. She does not handle this well at all. At first, Talia wants to get away, but as the book goes on she realizes she has nowhere else to go. A lot of things happen, and she has to learn to lean on Kostas.

Can Kostas get over the arranged marriage and treat Talia as his wife and not hide her away like a kidnapped victim. I was so surprised at a bunch of the twists and turns, and the crazy ending. Something happened to Talia before they got married and I have a feeling Kostas isn't going to take the news well when he finds out. I can't wait to see what happens next with these characters and see if they get their happy ending.

wow that cliffhanger!

*this review is for the duet as a whole*
Nothing will stand in the way of a man trying to protect what's his... not even his flesh and blood.

Kostas and Talia have been arranged to marry to clear Niles' -- her father -- debt to Kostas' father. If Talia were to refuse then Niles would die. Of course, as much as Talia may love her father she's not too keen on making herself complacent to this arrangement, especially not when she's made a life of her own and has a partner she loves. But the Demetriou's won't take no for an answer so when Talia watches Kostas brutally beat a man to death, she finds herself in a position to accept her fate. Kostas is immediately infatuated with Talia. Her sass turns him on. They'll go down the aisle and bind themselves together. But things are not easy as usual in a mafia romance. They're being attacked on all sides.

Hidden Truths ends on a cliffhanger and Stolen Lies picks up one year later. Kostas has become a shell of what he once was but when he leaves the bottle behind, he's back to being his usual self. Nothing will stop him from finding and protecting his beloved. Kostas must sober up to find her. Stolen Lies is much more action-packed than Hidden Truths. Talia rises to be a mafia queen, as she should be. She, too, will do anything to escape the life she's had to endure for a year and protect her baby.

Dark and suspenseful arranged marriage mafia romance!

Hidden Truths is a dark, arranged marriage, greek mafia romance written by the phenomenal duo Nikki Ash and K. Webster. I am a HUGE fan of these two authors individually and paired together they are just as fantastic as I knew they’d be! I am going to need more from them asap! From the moment I began listening I was riveted by this dark and dangerous mafia world. The emotion, suspense and mind blowing twists I never saw coming were endless and kept me guessing from start to finish.

Talia is preparing to join her boyfriend on a summer vacation when she is told by her family that she is moving to Greece and being forced into an arranged marriage as part of payment towards a debt her fathers owes. She tries to fight it at first but soon realizes there is not much she can do to stop it from happening, but Talia isn’t going to accept her new life so easily either.

Kostas has been groomed all his life by his father to take over as head of the family. He believes in his father, who has taught him what he believes loyalty and love look like only to have his world rocked when a passive family secret is revealed and he finds out all that he believed most of his life was based on nothing but lies. Kostas is struck by Talia’s beauty and the more time he spends with his soon to be wife the more he grows attached to her. He doesn’t expect her sassy mouth and brazen attitude, nor his growing feelings for her. If only he could stop his enemies from attacking.

Hidden Truths is book one of a duet so I was prepared for a cliffhanger but what I was not prepared for, was the grip these characters would have on my heart. I am eager to read Talia and Kostas’ conclusion in Stolen Lies as soon as possible!

Sarah Puckett and Jeffrey Holz are both talented narrators that brought Talia and Kostas alive with their animated and suspenseful story telling. I enjoyed every moment of their performances and look forward to hearing more of them in the future.

It's been a while since I've had a 5 star plus!

It truly has been many many months since I wanted to give a story more than 5 stars. It's the kind that I want to keep reading/listening without delay. I wish this was a trilogy!
I don't want to spoil the story, so just read!! The only thing I didn't like is when the male narrator does a female voice (or another character) he makes them sound whiney and petulant. I don't think that was the authors intention. He does a great job as the H, I wish he followed thru with other characters as well. The h is a strong character, I surely hope this narrator doesn't really believe this is how this female would sound/behave. I may read the next book vs. audio.

Twisted Deliciousness

Love this book! It's dark, it's gritty, ít's a little bit twisted - LOVE the foot scene! Makes me a little fearful of the mind that came up with that one! LOL Sarah Puckett's narration was excellent, Jeffrey Holz's was great for the men, but his female voice made me a little nutty. She sounded all whiney when the scenes didn't call for that. Not enough of a problem to dim the light on this book though! Loved it and can't wait for book 2!!

Captivating!

This is the first book in the Truths and Lies Duet, a Dark Mafia Romance. This story is captivating. Thalia and Kostas's story is suspenseful, filled with angst, secrets, lies, mystery and action. Thalia is beautiful, strong and determined. Kostas is ruthless, powerful, and enigmatic. Some scenes are intense. The supporting characters are intriguing. The story ends with a cliffhanger, and I am looking forward to listening to the next book in the duet. Sarah Puckett and Jeffrey Holz did an excellent job with the narration. There are perfect as Thalia and Kostas. If you like Dark Mafia Romance, this duet is for you. #TheFlock

Deliciously dark & seductive

This book grabbed me and didnt let me go. The pace is perfect and the writing is the perfect combo of drama, angst and steam.

Very slow, but gets good eventually!

This starts off pretty much exactly like a ton of other books in this trope … so don’t expect any surprises or originality.

That said, I did like Talia, pretty much off the bat, so I hung in there. It’s very slow-paced and very cliché (typical, highly used mafia plot, unoriginal) until about 2 hours from the end, action finally starts to go down, and things heat up quite a bit. The action occurs in short spurts, and then it’s sorta slow-paced again, but it’s done well, as more is clearly just on the horizon, keeping me engaged.

By the time I got to the end, I was hooked. And after that wicked cliffhanger, I definitely will need to listen on to book 2—very well played on the part of the authors.

Overall: 3.5 stars.



Audio:
Overall not bad at all, but could’ve been better.
-It could be confusing at times, because both narrators pronounced the main a major character’s name inconsistently, sometimes saying Aris < as it sounds in an American accent, and one saying “Edd-es”. (I get it, I can’t roll my Rs and it sounds similar if I try to say it, however, one consistent pronunciation would’ve made it a lot more seamless to listen to.)
- Both have good voices and both more perform than read like robots, which is amazing. Dual cast that sounded like a full cast thanks to accents.
-However: each narrator works well individually. It seems like they did not work together at all. Whenever the male covered female dialogue, he made her sound like a petulant, weak little girl. It was absolutely awful and a striking conflict from how Sarah portrayed her, and how the authors designed her (as she’s actually wise beyond her years, grows up quickly after being forced to, strong and brave).

Great performance

I must say I liked the story it kept me involved however something was missing at least for me the heroine was not a fave character certain actions and thoughts just seemed to not quite flow, yes beware of the trigger scene she gets assaulted but i have no triggers so that was not reason for the loss of the star, I hope by next nook I can put my finger on what it's missing I will say it's still a good story and should be checked out.

#pinkflamimgoproductions #audiobookobssessions 🎧

Forced Marriage Romance

Hidden Truths by Nikki Ash & K Webster is a deliciously dark forced marriage romance.

This suspenseful and drama filled mafia romance was a lot of fun to listen to, sarah puckett was a perfect fit for Talia and for a new to me narrator i was really happy with Jeffrey Holz's performance as Kostas.

Hidden Truths is a great listen for dark romance lovers.