Fame & lies keep them apart
One truth remains…
She’s become the Paly High girl with the most tragic story…
At 17, Tally Landon just wants to graduate and leave for New York to pursue ballet. Her best friend Marla convinces her to attend one last party—a college party—where she can be among strangers and evade the whisperings about her heartbreaking loss of her twin that follows her everywhere she goes. She meets Lincoln Presley, Stanford’s famous baseball wonder and has a little fun at his expense—when she lies about her age and who she really is—intent on being someone else for the night and escaping her tragic story.
His only focus is baseball, but he can’t forget the girl he saved on Valentine’s Day…
At 22, Lincoln Presley’s star is on the rise—about to finish at Stanford and expected to be taken early in Major League Baseball’s upcoming draft—his cousin’s party serves as a welcome distraction. But then, he sees the girl from Valentine’s Day that he saved from that horrific car accident and can’t quite hide his disappointment when she appears to look right through him and not remember him at all. He vows to learn her name at least before he leaves. What’s the harm in getting to know this girl? What’s the worst that can happen?
They share this incredible connection, but fate soon tests these star-crossed lovers in all kinds of ways…
And yet, despite the lies being told to protect the other, and the trappings of fame that continually separate them, and in lieu of the deception by those they’ve come to trust the most; one truth remains.
This much is true.
Review
Sweet mother of fucking feels! I mean what in the effing fuck did I just read?!!! I feel like I’ve been run over by the angst bus, which then backed up and ran me over again for good measure. Then when I was lying there all helpless, the Feels truck ran me the fuck over and left me a whimpering, blubbering, emotional fucking mess in dire need of hard alcohol! I mean OH. MY. GAWD.
What I did get was a brilliantly written, emotionally gripping and poignant story.
LIFE CAN CHANGE in as little of fifteen seconds. I know this.
Fifteen seconds.
An SUV clips my car, kills my sister, and changes me and my life forever.Thirty seconds.
The time it takes for a stranger to lift me up and carry me away and save me from the burning wreckage.
Thirty seconds.One night.
The time it takes to fall in love with Lincoln Presley and forge promises that neither of us can keep.
One night.Thirty seconds.
In thirty seconds, a heart can break.
You do not get eased in to the story. Not even close. It starts with a tragedy and grips you from the very beginning, refusing to let go of your heart and emotions until the very end. I was’t even sure if I would survive the whole book.
Valentine’s Day may be a happy day for most people, but for Tally all that day signifies is loss. It is the day her life forever changed when she lost her twin sister in a horrific car accident. Tally always saw her twin, Holly, as the better half, the sun to her moon. And now that she’s gone, there’s no more sun in her life. So she focuses on the one constant in her life, ballet
The amount of devastating circumstances and events that Tally experiences it’s a wonder to me how she even functions. Just when you think that’s it, it can’t possibly get any worse…BAM! Some more shit happens.
The story is told through several years starting from when Tally is 17 and spanning to her at 21. It’s a story of poor circumstances, unlucky timing, and bad decisions. But beyond all the doom and gloom there’s also a story of a one-in-a-lifetime love.
This is not a book for everyone. It was depressing as hell for over 90%. I was equal parts unable to put it down and kicking my own ass for even reading it.
I wouldn’t label this as a YA book (Not really sure why it’s tagged that way on some sites). The only thing YA about it is Tally’s age when it starts. If you’re expecting a steamy NA book, well you can take that expectation and shove it where the sun don’t shine because you will not be getting that either. And for a self-proclaimed smut addict like me, that was one tough pill to swallow. However, the story itself was enough to keep me turning the pages.
I want to tell you that I absolutely loved it, and a part of me did. But then there’s another part of me that was screaming ENOUGH ALREADY! How much more shit can happen to this poor girl? It was almost too much.
If you enjoy emotional and poignant reads that are smut light but will stay with you for a long while, definitely give this book a shot. The writing was some of the best I’ve read. But is this a book I see myself ever going back to? Hell NO! As a matter of fact, I plan on submersing myself in mindless smut just to try and get my feels right again. And when smut won’t do? There’s always my other fix all
About the Author
Thanks so much for featuring "This Much Is True" on your blog. Most of all, thank you for reading my work! I loved your review and I'm pleased it moved you (tore you in two? made you cry? made you happy, sad, mad, or something else entirely, one of those, or all of them…). I'm always pleased when a reader/blogger/reviewer takes a chance on something that is way-the-hell-out-there-and-so-filled-up-on-the-feels and a little different (distinctive) from the rest of New Adult fiction. Thank you.
And I love the GIFs ~ Awesome!
Stopping.
On to the smut…there you go!
Best,
Katherine Owen
Author of This Much Is True & other emotional romantic literary fare
Wow this sounds intense with a capital I! I kinda love these kinds of stories though but I need to be emotionally ready for them! Great review!
Sounds good! Looking forward to it!
Another new to me author but added to my TBR pile and sounds like a good one too 🙂