11. When Venus confronts Airic about his agonizing secret, she turns the conversation toward herself, rather than comfort him: “I wanted to finally be right, to finally be the person that someone could count on, through thick and thin. I wanted to be that person for you, Airic … Conviction, forgiveness, compassion, whatever it’s called. I thought you saw that in me. I thought you loved me the same way I loved you. I thought you trusted me.” Is Venus being fair? Is she honestly feeling injured here, or has this situation merely provided her with an easy “out” from the relationship?
12. After all her hard work on the JPWear account, Venus capitulates to “the dynamic duo” during their last meeting in LA, but not until she has a temper tantrum and balls out Legend. This is not her first loss of control in a professional setting. How do you feel about Venus abandoning her career ambitions so quickly, and in such a firestorm?
13. Discuss Airic’s assessment: “Most people saw what they wanted instead of what was really there. Venus was most people.”
14. Venus is delighted by the sabotaged wedding that closes the novel. Is this what she has needed all along in order to make a decision—a forced, public accounting of her own feelings? How would the novel have been different if Venus had freely chosen the timing and circumstance of her wedding?
Venus Johnston’s story begins in Trisha R. Thomas’s witty and wise first novel, Nappily Ever After.
Praise:
“A smashing debut … lively and engaging.”
—Essence
“Nappily Ever After is the vibrant tale of a young woman’s journey to independence. It’s an exquisitely passionate novel from an immensely gifted new author.”
— Pamela Walker-Williams,
the Page-Turner Network
Wherever books are sold
Three Rivers Press
CrownPublishing.com
Would I Lie to You? Page 32
