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A review by ladyhawke
Truth by Aleatha Romig
3.0
Truth is much better than the first book- and for the most part - a page turner that I couldn’t put it down. The pace is much quicker than the 1st book, there’s strong character growth, we have chemistry/romance injected into the story, and new characters are introduced and well thought-out. I would prefer more explicit sex scenes but that’s me and not a deal breaker.
That said, i took away some stars due to 3 big problems I had with it: — Spoilers!
1. Derek and Sophia’s story - they were a surprise introduction and their story took a lot of space throughout the 2nd book. And for the most part I enjoyed following it. Their story felt significant somehow like it was the slow burn leading to something explosive and I enjoyed trying to solve the mystery - who they are, how they fit in and what will happen to them. But in the end the answers are given in quick, anticlimactic fashion with no real twist or gain. What was the point of the investment?
2. I enjoyed Claire’s growth arc in Truth but whenever she would recap in her mind or in conversation the things Victor did to her- the constant omission of the brutal beatings she experienced at his hands, once almost to the point of death, was downright infuriating. Other times it was simply referred to as ‘the accident.’ Walking around that one point without ever explicitly calling it out for what it was felt like a gut punch, antithetical to her character’s growth and newfound strength, and almost like a way to let her character fall-in with Victor more easily. It also took away from the stark brutality of the first book almost like the beatings weren’t as bad as I’d remembered or they didn’t happen.
3. The last few chapters are just the worst and puts this book in the category of ‘will not re-read’. The story takes a drastic, WTF turn in the back-half that is hard to fathom really and kinda dumb, but at least that part of the story is written with enough care and suspense that you begrudgingly still follow along.
BUT THEN.. just as you’re entering the climax of the twist ..it’s like the author just stopped writing and took a long time-out before realizing the ending still needed to be written. But instead of diving back in…her heart is out of the story so she goes the lazy route, jumps forward in time to skip over all that messiness then tacks on a few vague chapters that potentially set up a 3rd book but mostly make no sense (like Victor ditching everything to enjoy tropical lovemaking bliss while his company spirals into decline in someone else’s hands). Seriously. ——The fuck.
That said, i took away some stars due to 3 big problems I had with it: — Spoilers!
1. Derek and Sophia’s story - they were a surprise introduction and their story took a lot of space throughout the 2nd book. And for the most part I enjoyed following it. Their story felt significant somehow like it was the slow burn leading to something explosive and I enjoyed trying to solve the mystery - who they are, how they fit in and what will happen to them. But in the end the answers are given in quick, anticlimactic fashion with no real twist or gain. What was the point of the investment?
2. I enjoyed Claire’s growth arc in Truth but whenever she would recap in her mind or in conversation the things Victor did to her- the constant omission of the brutal beatings she experienced at his hands, once almost to the point of death, was downright infuriating. Other times it was simply referred to as ‘the accident.’ Walking around that one point without ever explicitly calling it out for what it was felt like a gut punch, antithetical to her character’s growth and newfound strength, and almost like a way to let her character fall-in with Victor more easily. It also took away from the stark brutality of the first book almost like the beatings weren’t as bad as I’d remembered or they didn’t happen.
3. The last few chapters are just the worst and puts this book in the category of ‘will not re-read’. The story takes a drastic, WTF turn in the back-half that is hard to fathom really and kinda dumb, but at least that part of the story is written with enough care and suspense that you begrudgingly still follow along.
BUT THEN.. just as you’re entering the climax of the twist ..it’s like the author just stopped writing and took a long time-out before realizing the ending still needed to be written. But instead of diving back in…her heart is out of the story so she goes the lazy route, jumps forward in time to skip over all that messiness then tacks on a few vague chapters that potentially set up a 3rd book but mostly make no sense (like Victor ditching everything to enjoy tropical lovemaking bliss while his company spirals into decline in someone else’s hands). Seriously. ——The fuck.