Not What She Seems [Kindle Edition]

Victorine E. Lieske (Author)

Book Description

A New York Times bestseller!

Steven Ashton, a billionaire from New York, and Emily Grant, on the run from the law...and when they meet he can’t help falling for her. What he doesn’t know is that interfering in her life will put his own life in danger.

When billionaire Steven Ashton couldn’t stand his high society social life anymore, he left the stress of New York on a vacation for his soul. The need to meet real down to earth people led him to a small Nebraska town. He didn’t want to lie about who he was, but he couldn’t exactly tell them the truth.

Emily could have easily fallen in love with Steven, under different circumstances, but her past was catching up with her and she needed a new life. If the authorities found out about her, she could lose the one thing that meant everything, her four year old son.

Not What She Seems is approximately 67,000 words long.

This book is a "sweet" romantic suspense, appropriate for all ages.

Also by Victorine: The Overtaking - Book One of The Overtaking Series. (YA Romance)

Product Details

• File Size: 361 KB
• Print Length: 204 pages
• Sold by: Amazon Digital Services, Inc.
• Language: English
• ASIN: B003HS5LRO
• Text-to-Speech: Enabled
• X-Ray: Enabled
• Lending: Enabled
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #569 Free in Kindle Store (See Top 100 Free in Kindle Store)
  • #10 in Kindle Store > Kindle eBooks > Literature & Fiction > Genre Fiction > Romance > Mystery & Suspense > Mystery
  • #33 in Kindle Store > Kindle eBooks > Literature & Fiction > Genre Fiction > Romance > Mystery & Suspense > Suspense
  • #35 in Kindle Store > Kindle eBooks > Literature & Fiction > Genre Fiction > Mystery & Thrillers > Mystery

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

191 of 194 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars The Unexpected Twist April 20, 2010

By BrennyLou

Format:Kindle Edition

Haven't we all wished we were so wealthy we needed to pretend to be a "working stiff" just to get away from our own success? For me Victorine's character, Steven Ashton, is the embodiment of a modern Prince Charming for the poor misunderstood Emily, a single mom with a twisted history. From the start, and right up to the last chapter, this book kept me guessing as to just who held the smoking gun. Which is always a nice change from the other easy to foretell story lines.

I found, overall, the pace was good and captivated my interest. Though, perhaps not a polished printed publication, this book certainly delivers a high return of suspense, entertainment, and yes, even romance, on a less-than-a-hamburger investment. One of the book's biggest assets is the ease with which the author paints the players. The reader quickly gets to know and becomes emotionally invested in the characters. One of the book's biggest set-backs is the fact that the story could lend itself to several more chapters and this reader felt the end was a little rushed.

All-in-all an enjoyable read and worth every penny.

125 of 132 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars Pulls you in but needs a tighter grip July 20, 2010

By Alice Y. Yeh

Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase

I chose this novel after seeing a great number of Ms. Lieske's posts on Kindleboards. The summary sounded interesting, so I figured, "Oh, why not? It's only [...]" For the price, it was certainly a bargain, and hundreds of sales and positive reviews don't lie, right? Right.

I'll start off with the good. The storyline was interesting, keeping the reader in a constant "whodunnit" frame of mind. Every suspect had a reasonable motive, and all of it tied together rather nicely in the end.

Now, for the less appealing part of review-writing. In general, I'm able to appreciate shorter sentences. Few people can imitate Charles Dickens today and get away with it in that respect. With that being said, the language was occasionally choppy, which would have been really distracting were I not so drawn into the plot. There were also a couple of instances were a bit more variety would have been nice, such as scenes where "said" or "asked" was used first in one line, then again in the next...but this is nitpicking.

I was very interested in the heroine and what became of her. Overall, however, a lot of the emotions felt forced. The groundwork was there, but a few more chapters scattered throughout the novel would have developed the relationships and connections and character backgrounds a bit more. For instance, the interaction between Steven and Emily wasn't sufficient for me to believe in their feelings for each other. Motives were also being thrown in left and right without giving a reader the time really to absorb it all and weave it into his own mental construct of the complicated web of intrigue. In short, the fast-pacing of the story came at the cost of credibility. There were minor editing errors, but they weren't egregious enough to give me pause. I think I'll dub them "reasonable."

Overall, I did enjoy this story. I did. I just wish that there had been more of it to flesh things out.

Stimulated Outlet Book Reviews

152 of 183 people found the following review helpful

1.0 out of 5 stars Not Even Worth the $0.99 March 11, 2011

By S Brown

Format:Paperback

I can't believe anyone thought this book deserved 4 or 5 stars, but then I can't believe anyone thought this deserved to be published. It's total rubbish.

I'm giving it one star because even I believe the product description and synopsis sounded interesting, but that was the only part of the book that was actually interesting. I spent 2/3 of the book rolling my eyes at the ridiculousness of the characters and waiting for some enlightening at the end telling me that it was written by a fourteen year old.

Let's start out with the fact that this was not a romance: contemporary, suspenseful or otherwise. There was no romance in it at all. By page 50 they hold hands and at page 56 she kisses him on the cheek and he's so overwhelmed that he falls in love with her. In which world would that ever happen. But then again, in which world would a billionaire drop of his longtime girlfriend at her place on Valentine's Day and then be going home alone.

Steven is supposed to be a jaded billionaire trying to get away from his own notoriety and where everyone tries to use him because of his wealth. He goes into "hiding" and happens upon an attractive woman (Emily) in a seedy hotel in one state. A few days later, the same woman is all of a sudden a waitress at a cafe he started frequenting in a completely different state. How do alarm bells not start going off? And even if they didnt go off then, why didn't they go off when she starts hinting that she needs 'someone' to give her some money. Seriously?

She splits with his money and he realizes he's been duped. But he's a billionaire and it's only $5000, but he's so hurt because he loves her so much that he has to find her to let her know that he knows she duped him. Roll eyes here. Richard, Emily's partner in crime, then breaks into Stevens email account. This guy is a multibillionaire and his computer isn't even password protected? Locked? Something? Roll eyes here. Steven's PI finds Emily and on the same morning Steven goes to confront her, Richard shows up and they end up running for their lives, and big shot billionaire doesn't have the wherewithall to hire a bodyguard at that point? He waits until Richard tracks her down again.

If those situations aren't ridiculous enough, then we have the main characters. Apparently, the only decent people in the entire book are Steven, Emily, Rose, and Frank. How is that possible? Everyone else is either a killer or a blackmailer or paying a blackmailer. Steven is a wimp and Emily is just plain idiotic. Is there ever a time when she isn't discussing murder in front of her 4 year old son? Is there ever a time she isn't handing over her son for someone else to look after even when murderers are on the loose? Murderous Richard hasn't been caught, has just located her again and tried to break into the house, and she leaves her son there AT THE SAME HOUSE to go to a funeral. Any reason the son can't go with her? Any reason she couldn't send flowers and see Rose later?

She believes Vincent is a killer, but Vincent doesn't know of her suspicions. She races back from the funeral to get her son from Vincent, but instead of just leaving with her son so Vincent can be none the wiser, she blurts out (without any prompting) that she knows he was the one who killed her husband. If she really believes that, and she thought her son was in danger, why not just wait until they are safely out of the house and then notify the police. Why put your child in danger when the supposed murderer doesn't think you know anything. Would any sane person do anything that dumb?

How could any adult write such drivel.

And I dont know who the editor is, but in the last big scene, one of the characters apparently just vanishes. One minute he's there talking to Emily, Emily realizes that her son is missing, she goes to check, and the man is never heard about again. This man who apparently loves her so much, but doesn't think it strange when she never comes back. Queue another eye roll here.

I am still waiting for someone to tell me that this book was written by a teenager, because I refuse to believe that an adult could have created characters so one dimensional and who can also apparently also vanish into thin air. For readers out there with any modicum of intelligence, save your time and your 99 cents on another book. This one is akin to mental torture.

More About the Author

Victorine and her husband live in Nebraska where they raise their four children. They manufacture rubber stamps for the craft industry.