Review: The Opportunist by Tarryn Fisher

The Opportunist
(Love Me With Lies #1)
by Tarryn Fisher
Published: November 14, 2011



Olivia Kaspen has just discovered that her ex-boyfriend, Caleb Drake, has lost his memory. With an already lousy reputation for taking advantage of situations, Olivia must decide how far she is willing to go to get Caleb back. Wrestling to keep her true identity and their sordid past under wraps, Olivia’s greatest obstacle is Caleb’s wicked, new girlfriend; Leah Smith. It is a race to the finish as these two vipers engage in a vicious tug of war to possess a man who no longer remembers them. But, soon enough Olivia must face the consequences of her lies, and in the process discover that sometimes love falls short of redemption.

The sequel of this book, Red, has been sitting in my TBR list for a long time. A lot of my friends in Goodreads gave this series 5 or 4 stars. Knowing me, I was eager to see for myself what the hype was about. It wasn't even that long when I heard about The Opportunist again that I decided to finally read and just get it over with. No point giving the eye to my toppling TBR pile and bury it further under new titles I add every day. I can see why people would give this a high rating. I would, too, but I didn’t. I just didn’t have the heart to give it all my stars even though it was THAT addicting, even though I dismissed the whispered chant in my head ‘get your crap back to studying’ for more than a while longer to finish it. This book is drama, I tell you.

The book summary isn’t that remarkable. There’s nothing in there that would truly spark interest if you’ve had your fair share of books along these lines but the people loved it and I would love to be one of them too because why the hell not? And I did. I really did love the fact that I read this. It’s a great story with fantastic writing and characters that would draw the strongest emotion from you but be warned; these characters were made to be hated and not pitied.

The Opportunist is a love story. With lots of drama. The past and present lives of Olivia Caspen and Caleb Drake.

THE PRESENT. It’s been a few years since they last saw each other and not in good terms. It ended abruptly. Something that they believed can be worth a lifetime together. Now he’s back and she still loves him but he made a mistake and he hurt her. Thing is, he has amnesia. He doesn’t remember her. Girl takes advantage. Current girlfriend plots her death and all that stuff.

THE PAST. College. How it all started. It was typical. Although I’m sure not most love story starts with butterflies and hearts. Caleb is popular. Olivia isn’t but somehow she managed to catch his eyes and even got him to ruin his future in sports. She’s cold and hard to get and even before they started a relationship, Olivia goes ahead and ruins it. So when Caleb finally moves on to find love she does these frustrating things to get him back. So yes, I HATE HER! I did not like her attitude but I have to accept that because that’s what she is and that’s what the story is about.

Even though I found it really hard to stop reading the book, there's this part in me that keeps saying I drop it. The entire time I was reading it there is this underlying impatience, dread, and clammy, itchy feeling in my hand that made me torn between wanting to throw my reader across the room or tear my face into unrecognizable pieces or wish Olivia into reality so I can bash her head into that fugging tree 'their tree' with frustration.

Ugh. UGGGHHH! Seriously, my mind is jumbled. The Opportunist is one helluva book. I honestly don't know how to proceed from here. I've typed a couple of sentences only to delete it because the feelings and thoughts this book will bring you can't be written into coherent words. Or maybe that's only me. It's just that, it's so thought provoking in my opinion. Both Caleb and Olivia had their faults. They're very different from each other and although unspoken, they both know how deep their love for each other is. But one little, idiotic miscommunication and thoughtless actions between the two of them can render them useless inside and wasting away the years of their life. And when the point came that Olivia realizes and finally accepts all her faults, it's too late. They're too broken to be fixed. You don't expect someone like Caleb Drake not to try and build himself a life without Olivia, no matter how hurtful it is, when it was her who turned away first.

After all that, I don't know why I only gave this 3 stars. I think it's because of all the intense and negative feelings I had reading this. I did not like those feelings! Especially during the times when I badly resisted shouting the words 'You fcking deserve it!' to Olivia because in the end, they did not get to the Happily Ever After part. They've both gone separate ways but that was their fault so.. yeah. Aside from that, The Opportunist is a book you really shouldn't miss. Just try and remember to keep you emotions in check, fellas.