Review: Truths We Tell by Brenda St. John Brown

Posted February 17, 2016 by Lola in Contemporary, Coyer, Review, Romance, Suspense / 8 Comments

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Truths We TellTruths We Tell (The Truth Series #2)
by Brenda St. John Brown

Blurb:
Ella Ingraham almost falls for Josh Devereaux’s easy charm and effortless smile. God knows, she wants to. He’s made her feel more than anyone has in a long time, both in and out of bed.

But one phone call changes everything. Especially when the truth about Josh is on the other end of that call.

Now Ella isn’t sure which is worse – Josh lying to her about his past, or the fact she can’t stop thinking about him anyway. Not that he’s making it easy.

Josh wants to make things right and he has a plan for stopping her ex’s slander campaigns against her before her next big book release. Even Ella has to admit it’s a better plan than she — or her lawyer — have come up with. For the plan to work, though, Ella has to not only rely on Josh but trust him. Implicitly.

Ella knows she’d be a fool to trust him a second time. So why is her heart trying to convince her otherwise?

My Review:
I received a copy in exchange for an honest review

As I really enjoyed the first book in this series, I was excited to start the second book. I think I wasn’t in the right mood for this one, as I just couldn’t get into the story. I just didn’t feel it. The first book ended at a cliffhanger and I was curious to see how this book continues, but it just fell a bit flat for me. I wasn’t 100% happy with where the story went and it just felt a bit slow, although that’s probably just me. The flashbacks in this book felt a bit dull and not as interesting as in the first book. there were still things I did enjoy, but I just felt like I was reading this book at the wrong moment and couldn’t fully appreciate it.

So the story is about Ella who’s ex sued her and convinced the public that she murdered her own baby. Trying to recover form the whole thing Ella makes a road trip and in a small village she meets Josh, they make a connection and form a great couple until something more comes to light and their relationship hits a difficult stride in this book. Ella her ex wants to sue her again in this book, even though it was obvious to both the characters and the reader that he had no case, didn’t need the money and was just being nasty for no reason. I don’t like it when characters act like that as it makes no sense.

So most of this book deals with Ella and Josh moving back to New York and trying to deal with her ex’s new attempt to sue her. And while I say Josh and Ella, they aren’t really in it together as there is some conflict they have to solve. I didn’t really care for the New York city and much preferred the small town of the first book. Then there is the whole plan on how they plan to deal with her ex that just felt wrong to me, the main character also acknowledges that luckily, but it still left a bit of a bad taste. In the end I was satisfied with how it got solved although I never really felt the suspense. And the solution seemed a bit too easy, they go through a whole book and a lot of trouble and in the end it got solved so easily, it just felt a bit off.

We get some flashbacks in this book to after the loss of her baby and how Ella dealt with it, the chapters are short and don’t really distract from the story, but I didn’t feel like it added much either, unlike in the first book where the flashbacks told the full story of how she lost her baby and her relationship with her ex. It’s important to keep an eye on the dates before each chapter so you know whether it’s in the past or now.

The one thing I did mostly enjoy in this book is the romance, Josh and Ella make for a nice couple and have some great chemistry. I wasn’t quite a fan of the conflict that’s introduced in this book and thought it could’ve been handled better, but it did ave them the chance to deal with some issues they needed to deal with before being able to fully commit to the relationship. There are a few scenes where they are a bit nasty to each other and I wasn’t a fan of that, but once they got past that point I was happy again with how their relationship played out. They both have made mistakes in the past and are a bit broken, but they are perfect for each other and I was happy overall with how the romance played out. I also liked how this felt like a bit of healing and moving forward for Ella and it made me happy to see her find a bit of happiness after all she had been through.

To summarize: I didn’t enjoy this book as much as the first book, but that’s probably partly as I didn’t quite feel this book and felt like I wasn’t in the right mood for it. The plan for dealing with Ella’s ex left a bit of a bad taste in my mouth and I didn’t like that part. Her ex also seemed to be nasty for no particular reason and I never really got why he decided to try and sue her again, it just didn’t make sense. In the end I was satisfied with how that plot line got resolved, although it seemed a bit too easy. The flashbacks were done okay, but I felt like they didn’t really add much to the story unlike in the first book. I did enjoy the romance, there’s some conflict which I didn’t like, but I did feel like it was necessary for them to work through those issues. Josh and Ella make for a good couple and they have some great chemistry. All in all is was a nice sequel and it wraps up the series nicely, but it fell a bit flat for me and I enjoyed the first book more.

3-star

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What’s the last book you read when you were in the mood for another type of book?

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8 responses to “Review: Truths We Tell by Brenda St. John Brown

    • Yes I think it was mostly that the first book just set my expectations very high and I didn’t enjoy this book as much as the first one.

  1. That always sucks when you’re just not quite in the right mood for a book. You never know if you might’ve liked it more or not had you just read it at a different time. And sometimes it can be hard for a second book to live up to our expectations when we really like the first. Sorry you didn’t love this one, but at least the romance and chemistry was good!
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    • I was thinking I was in the mood for this one, but once I started reading it I just wasn’t feeling it. And I think the first book set my expectations quite high and the second book wasn’t as good as the first book. But indeed at least the romance and chemistry was well done.

  2. I can relate quite well to your reactions to book two as I’ve had expectations after a really engaging first book only to not get that from the next book. Sometimes there is that one thing that doesn’t feel right and leaves a nasty taste even if its not a big thing, but it ruins the whole story. I set down two books this year b/c something early on happened and I could not get past it so you are beyond me just by finishing. 😉 And yes, I ran into the wrong book for the mood back in early January when I had a line of gentle Contemporaries to read, but I was more in the mood for gritty action or fantasy. Thankfully most of the time my moods don’t interfere with my schedule of reviews, but every once in awhile it’s a problem. 🙂

    • It’s such a shame as the first book was really good and this book just wasn’t as good. I thought I was in the right mood for this one, but once I started reading it, it just felt off. I still would recommend the first book and this book is a nice ending, but at the same time I wish things had gotten wrapped up in only one book. And sometimes putting the book down rather than forcing yourself to read a book you aren’t enjoying is better, but I knew I wouldn’t pick it up again if I put this book down and I did want to know how it ended, so I guess curiousity won out this time.

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