ARC REVIEW: Tell Me Something True (Truth In Lies, #3) By Katherine Owen

Genre: Contemporary Romance
Buy The Book:B&N AMAZON KOBO 
Connect With The Author:

Goodreads / Blog / Twitter

Synopsis On GR:

Tell Me Something True is the third book in the Truth In Lies series and cannot be read as a standalone. Please read This Much Is True and The Truth About Air & Water, books 1 and 2 in the Truth In Lies Series, first.
 

TELL ME SOMETHING TRUE
The star ballerina finally marries the major league baseball player and the truth about Linc and Tally—his being her air and she being his water—becomes clear after the couple finally realize that their love is all that matters.

But that was the first day. The day they said, “I do." The day the demons seemed to leave them alone, at least, for a little while.
Nevertheless, there were other days, when all the lies of the past and their ways of coping with their fears caught up to them.

And, this is that story.

"If you believe in fairy tales and happy endings,
and you want to stop right here and bask in the wonderment and joy of it all, please do.
If you want to know the rest of our story,
you need to take a deep breath
and tell yourself that everything will be okay,
that everything works out,
and life happens,
and in the end
love is all you need.
Someone has to tell you these things,
just like someone had to tell me.
All I know is that the truth never dies,
and it does set you free, whether you want it to or not.
And in the end? All you have is love.
Love is all there is."
~ Talia Landon Presley

Author’s note: Tell Me Something True CANNOT be read as a standalone novel. There are two books in the Truth In Lies Series before this one. Those books are: This Much Is True, Book 1 - Truth In Lies and The Truth About Air & Water, Book 2 - Truth In Lies.

READ those two novels first and then read this one.

Truth In Lies Series Order:
This Much Is True
The Truth About Air & Water
Tell Me Something True
 

BUY the Truth In Lies Series that many readers say they just can't put down once they start reading! Enjoy!

Something for you! Are you a fan of Katherine Owen’s books or would you like to be? To hear first about Owen’s latest new releases, sign up for her newsletter and get a free ebook of Seeing Julia for doing so. Keep up to date on Owen's novel release dates and other news, sign up for her newsletter http://eepurl.com/benyOD or stop by her websites: www.katherineowen.net or www.katherineowenauthor.com

REVIEW 

 

That feeling when you are writing a review about one of your favorite new adult series...and it's a negative one. *sad sigh* That's why I'll keep it short. First of all I want to say that I pretty much devoured the first two books of Truth In Lies series, but unfortunately I did not like this one at all.

The reasons for my rating:
 

1. the never ending melodrama and overload of angst
2. cheesy content
3. disappointing behavior of the MCs

The only thing I liked about this book is the writing style, but as far as I've seen and read the reviews of other fans of the series I'm definitely in the minority, so as always- the only way to form your own opinion is to read the books yourself.

Check out my reviews of other books in the Truth In Lies series and the interview with the author:

•  Review Of Book 1
• Review Of Book 2  
• Interview 

xoxo, 

Purple

Buddy-Read Review: Cam Girl By Leah Raeder

Genre:
New Adult/ Contemporary Romance/ Suspense

Buy The Book:
AMAZON / S & S / B & N / BAM! / IB

Connect With The Author:
 Twitter / Facebook / Goodreads / Blog

 Synopsis On GR:

“Darkly erotic…a must read” (Publishers Weekly, starred review)

From the USA TODAY bestselling author of Unteachable and Black Iris comes a new, sexy romantic suspense novel about two best friends who are torn apart by a life-shattering accident…and the secrets left behind.
 
Vada Bergen is broke, the black sheep of her family, and moving a thousand miles away from home for grad school, but she’s got the two things she loves most: her art and her best friend—and sometimes more—Ellis Carraway. Ellis and Vada have a friendship so consuming it’s hard to tell where one girl ends and the other begins. It’s intense. It’s a little codependent. And nothing can tear them apart.

Until an accident on an icy winter road changes everything.

Vada is left deeply scarred, both emotionally and physically. Her once-promising art career is cut short. And Ellis pulls away, unwilling to talk about that night. Everything Vada loved is gone.

She’s got nothing left to lose.

So when she meets some smooth-talking entrepreneurs who offer to set her up as a cam girl, she can’t say no. All Vada has to do is spend a couple hours each night stripping on webcam, and the “tips” come pouring in.

It’s just a kinky escape from reality until a client gets serious. “Blue” is mysterious, alluring, and more interested in Vada’s life than her body. Online, they chat intimately. Blue helps her heal. And he pays well, but he wants her all to himself. No more cam shows. It’s an easy decision: she’s starting to fall for him. But the steamier it gets, the more she craves the real man behind the keyboard. So Vada pops the question:

Can we meet IRL?

Blue agrees, on one condition. A condition that will bring back a ghost from her past.

Now Vada must confront what she’s been running from. A past full of devastating secrets—those of others and those she’s been keeping from herself…

 PURPLE'S REVIEW

RATING: 5/5 STARS

"All art comes from pain."

Dark, raw, thought-provoking, erotic, poignant, inspiring... but above all beautifully written. It's such a complex, powerful and skilfully written story that makes me feeling inadequate to even write a review about it, that's why I'll keep it short. I thought it will be pretty impossible to dethrone Black Iris, but L. Raeder has yet again stolen a piece of my heart with Cam Girl and set the level much higher for my every next read. As always the synopsis does not do justice to her books and it's better to dive into it without any prior knowledge.

"My love is savage and rapacious. It isn't content to touch. It wants to be inside, crawl into the marrow, caress each vein until the cells are all mixed up and there is no you and me anymore, no secrets or shadows sliding between our skin. Only this endless devouring of each other."  

I won't say anything about the plot, because if you're familiar with this author's work you are aware that she is the master of mindfucks and this book is another one of those, meaning the less you know the better the reading expirience, so stay away from potential spoilerish reviews. All I can say that it's the type of a book which will make you question and give another, inside perspective about themes such as self-discovery, sexuality and genders in general. Knowing some background about the author I feel as if she has given us a sneak-a-peak of her soul. The book deserves 5 stars soley taking into consideration the superb writing style. It finds itself already on my top-reads-of-2016 shelf. That says it all. Highly recommended to every fan of dark, suspensful, steamy and thought-provoking mindfucks which will keep you second-guessing till the very end.

Her next book is due on May 31st 2016 and the only info we know it will be about one of the characters from Black Iris and Cam Girl. From the title itself I have my suspicion who will it be and can not freaking wait!

  

"If two people could make each other smile and laugh and forget all the pain and darkness in the world for a moment, why should we feel ashamed of it?"

BEATRIX' REVIEW

RATING: 4/ 5 STARS

What a strange world where we pay people to listen to our problems, and pay them to fuck themselves while we watch, and pay them to save us.

Once upon a time (okay, when I read Unteachable) I fell in love with Leah Raeder’s words. And ever since, I await her next novel with delightful anticipation. It’s like (s)he has this deep, profound relationship with words, and we, as readers, should feel lucky we get to read what comes out of her/his pen. (S)he is an artist, just like Vada, MC of this novel.

Cam Girl is another beautifully written novel, and one which raises a lot of important issues, main one being our preconceived notions about gender and sexuality. Masterfully portrayed, Cam Girl is a novel I will for sure recommend to many people!

You pretend everything’s fine. Even when you feel heavier every day, when the air smothers like a pall. When you feel something pulling you under but can’t escape, because it’s pulling from the inside.

Now, one may wonder, if I loved it so much why not give 5 stars? Well, the reason for that is that I loved Unteachable and Black Iris just a bit more. Plus, there were some parts that I found to be too slow. During the middle part there was also too much focus on Vada and Ellis’ relationship drama, which was also repetitive, same fight over and over.

On the other note, can I just say how happy I was that my favorite psycho made an appearance! (Zoeller, whom you may know from BI)

“I’ve always cared deeply about the Earth. I want it to be pretty for the day I assume control.”

Overall, despite some of my hang-ups, I think Cam Girl is a great novel, one that deserves praise and recognition. Firstly, the writing style will always be my favorite thing about Raeder’s novels, and secondly, the topics (s)he chooses.

Therefore, all I can say is – cannot wait for Bad Boy now!

* If you're interested in this author's work, check out:

~ my and Beatrix' buddy-read review of Black Iris 

~ Beatrix' review of Unteachable and Interview with Leah Raeder

Pre-Release ARC REVIEW: Butterfly Dreams By A. Meredith Walters

Genre: Contemporary Romance

Buy The Book:

AMAZON / KOBO / PRH

Connect With The Author:

GR / Website / Twitter / Facebook 

Synopsis On GR:

In a powerful romance for fans of The Fault in Our Stars and If I Stay, New York Times bestselling author A. Meredith Walters tells the story of a troubled young woman and the unforgettable guy who teaches her to live—and love—to the fullest.
She’s waiting to die. . . . Corin Thompson is paralyzed by her obsession with mortality. Having lost both of her parents, she is terrified by the idea that she too will die young, and she loses control at any sign of illness. But when Corin connects with someone who has survived a very real brush with death, she begins to see the world in a whole new way.

He’s learning to live. . . . As Corin struggles under the weight of her neuroses, Beckett Kingsley is attempting to rebuild a life that feels all too temporary. With the ever-present threat of heart failure never far from his mind, he just wants to make the most of whatever time he has left. And that means pursuing the girl he never expected to find.

Together, Corin and Beckett finally learn to let go of their fears and take solace in everyday pleasures. Who knows what the future holds? After all, nothing lasts forever—the only promise they have is right now. 

RATING: 2.5/5 stars

*** REVIEW ***

For me, if you compare yourself to The Fault in Our Stars, you have to be able to fill in the big shoes, because that's one of my favorite books ever. I don't mean to sound cheesy, but that's one of those books that leave a mark on your soul, at least in my case. That is why I was both eager and afraid to read this story which "dared" to compare itself to TFiOS. Another reason that gave me hope this might be my new favorite read is the fact that Walters is not an unfamiliar author to me. I read her Find You in the Dark (FYitD, #1) book before and loved it.Unfortunately, I can't say the same this time.

~ The main reasons "why":

1. Plot

The story was pretty slow-paced in the beginning. It was to0 ordinary for my liking and it simply failed to engage me. The first half of the story was overall okay, but I was mostly bored in the second half, with the exception of the epilogue which was the best part for me. It took me a week to read a 240 pages long book- that says it all.

2. Romance

The romance was quite instantish and therefore I just wasn't feeling any chemistry or connection between the MCs  since the very beginning which left me indifferent to their story in the end.

To be clear, my rating of this book is based on my personal reading preferances, meaning on the impression it left on me which can be summed by one word ~ forgettable. It is a well-written book with an inspiring and powerful message, but other than that it didn't leave the desired effect on me. All I can say is: read it and decide for yourself !

xoxo, 

Purple