Never Leave, Never Lie

De: Thea Verdone

Narrado por: Curtis Michael Holland, Alex Kydd

The lies that brought them together will tear them apart.

Alek and Ian's relationship is built on lies, and the cracks are starting to show.

A pianist gifted with synesthesia, Alek sees sounds and hears colors and transforms all of his emotions into music. But no matter how hard he tries to hide behind a facade of apathy and seduction, he can't escape the dark past that haunts him.

Contractor Ian sees the beauty in something destroyed by neglect and his obsession with fixing extends beyond historical buildings. But when Alek's self-destructive tendencies turn their relationship to ruins, Ian fears Alek is the first project he'll have no choice but to abandon.

Now the Gothic Victorian mansion they're renovating is the only thing connecting them. Alek will do anything to keep Ian with him. Except tell the truth.

Because Alek is lying about everything, starting with his name, and when Ian learns the truth, their house of cards will collapse.

Contains mature themes.

©2024 Thea Verdone (P)2024 Tantor Media

Love Alek & Ian's story so much

This is Thea Verdone’s debut novel and it’s simply amazing. Ian has been kept in the dark about Alek’s past. A past that haunts him on a daily basis. Thea does an amazing job letting us into Alek’s brain. He also struggles with mental health issues and it’s hard to decipher what is real and what is imagined in his head. Love that Thea is able to use words to articulate it all. I felt like I was there with them living through allll of it. It’s a beautiful and touching story that you should definitely read. It really touched me in a way I can’t describe. Alex Kydd & Curtis Michael Holland did a tremendous job narrating this story. Loved the audiobook. It will be on my relisten list for sure!

5 Stars

Listening to the audio of Never Leave Never Lie has cemented it as one of my favorite books to come out in recent years. The narrators brought the characters to life brilliantly, their tones matching the gothic themes in the story and bringing them to a new level.

I’ve enjoyed Gothic Romance ever since stumbling upon Daphne du Maurier as a teen, but few authors are able to weave the elements of romance and suspense together in a way that feels seamless. Thea Verdone has not only accomplished this, but done it in a modern-day setting, which is even more rare. The Victorian home Ian and Alek are renovating is the perfect backdrop to their story, and when we meet them, their relationship is unstable as the house itself.

Alek has lied and manipulated Ian, but despite his deceit and the toxicity of their relationship, a true, unbreakable bond has formed. Ian is able to see the real Alek beneath the facade he has so carefully erected. Alek, who was taught love is a weakness and vowed not to trust anyone, has unintentionally made Ian the “middle C” of his life. Ian is what Alek can always come back to, the starting point for everything else.

This book takes a toxic relationship and examines every fiber and tangled knot. There is no quick fix or shortcut to HEA. Just like with Alek’s mental health issues, the healing of their love is not linear. Verdone artfully uses flashbacks to Alek’s youth to reveal his secrets to the reader and build suspense in a way that never slows down the current storyline. All the while, Alek is slowly revealing his truth to Ian, and Ian is doing his best to prove to Alek he will always be there. Ian working on the greenhouse and pruning vines that Alek comments seem to grow back overnight is a brilliant symbol of the work they’re doing on their relationship.

I could write an essay on Alek’s synesthesia and his struggle with getting it back. This was such a beautiful way to illustrate his mental and emotional struggles. Not only was he having to mend his relationship with Ian, but he was doing so without his normal coping mechanisms. This ultimately contributed to him hitting his lowest point, but also allowed him to rebuild a foundation solely on his own. The mental health rep in this novel is brutal and beautiful and painfully true. I love that we see every aspect of Alek’s healing; him struggling with medication and therapy, sitting in on an actual session with him, witnessing the full depth of his despair. The fox that plays a role in this story, often a symbol of trickery and cleverness, is more proof of Verdone’s understanding of not only mental health, but this genre too. By the time Alek enters treatment and is doing the hard work all on his own to get better, even the fox has left him. All the while that Alek is working on himself, Ian is rebuilding their home.

“Never Leave Never Lie” may seem like a simple romantic statement at first, but this book takes each word and has the characters carve them into you, then underline them several times. It is dark and suspenseful, psychologically and emotionally tough at times, all the while still feeling comforting. It is a masterclass in character development, proving love can’t conquer all, but it can endure it, and if each person puts in the work something even more beautiful can emerge from the ashes.