Review: This Much Is True

Title: This Much Is True (Truth in Lies #1)
Author: Katherine Owen
Genres: New Adult, Contemporary Romance, Sports
Publication Date: August 11, 2013
Publisher: The Writing Works Group
Purchase Links: 
    

Both on the verge of fame. A ballerina who lies. A baseball player who believes her. Well, the truth changes everything. 

Tally Landon just wants to escape her tragic story if just for one night. She doesn't count on meeting Lincoln Presley, Stanford's baseball wonder, but plans to add him to her long list of one-night stands. That's the plan. Lying to him about her age and her name is just a part of her don't-get-emotionally-attached style. She doesn't count on being found out, nor on ever seeing Linc again or falling in love. 

Lincoln Presley's life is all mapped out. There is only baseball. With the major leagues circling their favorite prospect with a lucrative offer, he cannot afford to mess up. And, he doesn't; until he meets up with the girl he saved from the burning wreckage on the 101 on Valentine's Day months before. By the time he learns her real name and of all the lies she's told, he's in far too deep to ever really let her go. 

When fame and lies tear them apart, one truth remains; and fate, most definitely, has a different set of plans. This much is true.

Author's Note: A coming of age story? Could be. A powerful love story? Most definitely. An unforgettable read? Most likely. Intended for mature audiences, ages 17+? Absolutely. 

This best selling new adult contemporary romance novel will take you on an emotional roller coaster ride and is the first book (which should really be two books) in the Truth In Lies series, but it can be read as a standalone. It is 432 pages long in 12-point type so carve out some time.

I was definitely not prepared.

I started This Much Is True expecting it to be a romantic story with some sort of fluff, and some sort of seriousness. But, I was wrong. This Much Is True is definitely more than that.

Admittedly, at first, I was frustrated. It was just a very long novel, and when I think I was already halfway through it, I was nowhere there. However, by the end of the book, I realized that I would not have it in any other way but this. Yes, it may be very long (and a little bit draining for me), but I think it would have frustrated me more if it was separated in to several books. The way everything was woven made sense, especially with its length.

It made me appreciate everything more -- the characters, the plot, the romance, the emotions, everything. It was a slow development, which made it more realistic. While it was not easy for me to come to love the characters, especially when many are twisted with lies over lies, I found myself being with them. First few chapters in, and my heart was already breaking for Tally and Linc.

I can’t decipher if it’s the remembering that is more painful or if the incessant worry of not remembering everything about her that might be worse.

But when are you going to start loving yourself?

We are lost when we’re apart, but almost found when we’re together. And, we can’t go back. We can never go back.

My thoughts are all muddled up, and I don't think I can properly even express how I feel about this wonderful novel. I don't think my thoughts would even give it any justice. But, yes, this much is true: I just absolutely fell in love with it, in all ways possible.

I love how it was baseball and ballet -- two sports I would never have thought to be together. I love how it's about fate, and about the circumstances that we find ourselves in as a result of our decisions. I love how it shows that even the smallest lies can unravel us and our relationships. I love how each character wrestles with their options and choices. I love how it is about moving on, and staying. I love how it was a story of finding their way back. I love how we get both sides of the perspective: Tally's, and Linc's.

Lies. Untruth. We all buy into it because it’s just easier.

The characters, and the secondary ones, are not to be forgotten either.  They were all equally amazing, and outstanding. The dedication that each has for their passion and for the people that they love is beautiful. Each one is selfless in their own way, but it is absolutely beautiful how no matter it seemed like everything is crashing down, they remain. They stay, and even make sacrifices of their own (especially Marla, Tally's best friend).

My heart bled so much for this beautifully woven story of complicated relationships and interactions among dynamic characters. Above all else, I love how this is about love, loss, and finding the strength to start over again. This Much Is True is definitely a must-read, and can be read as a standalone, but I am preparing my heart to bleed all over again when I pick up the next book in the series. 

      

Dark. Edgy. Contemporary. Romantic.

Were we describing me? Or my fiction? Sorry. I drink too much...coffee, not enough water. 

I swear too much for God and my mother, and I slip these into my fiction. Sorry. 

I'm impatient, a perfectionist, a wordsmith, a dreamer, which ends up being good and bad. I'm always writing, just ask my family. 

I've written six novels in as many years: Seeing Julia, Not To Us, When I See You, as well as the Truth In Lies series (new adult fiction) including This Much Is True, The Truth About Air & Water and Tell Me Something True (latest release).

If you love angsty, unpredictable love stories, I'm yours. ♥