Reviewer: Rowena
The Truth About Letting Go (The Truth, #2) by Leigh Talbert Moore
Series: The Truth #2
Also in this series: The Truth About Faking (The Truth, #1)
Publisher: Self-Published
Publication Date: February 21st 2013
Genres: Young Adult
Pages: 276
Add It: Goodreads
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Series Rating:

Ashley Lockett has always followed the rules. She's always done the right thing and played it safe until her ideal life is shattered when her dad dies suddenly.

Fueled by anger and grief, she vows to do everything opposite of how she lived before. Then she meets Jordan. He has big dreams, he's had a crush on Ashley for years, and he's a great kisser. But he's also safe.

Enter Colt. He is not safe, and he's more than willing to help Ashley fulfill her vow.

This is the third book by Leigh T. Moore that I’ve read and I’m pretty stoked to say that she keeps getting better and better with each read.  I am definitely a fan of her work.  This book is about Ashley Lockett’s journey to coming to terms with her father’s death.  Her father died of cancer and she’s struggling with her grief and the grief that she doesn’t see her mother or brother showing.  She’s angry with God for not answering her prayers to cure her father.  She’s angry that her mother has thrown herself into work and isn’t showing an ounce of grief over the loss of her father and she’s angry that her brother has gone on with his life as if nothing has changed.

To make matters more complicated, Ashley is pulling away from her friends for reasons that she’s not aware of.  Her best friend feels like a complete stranger to her and the only girl that she looks forward to talking to is a plus size girl who she meets down by the creek.  The creek that she goes to, to think.  To clear her head and to talk about her Dad with someone who had nothing but good memories of him, along with her.

Ashley is mad at the world and she’s looking to be a little bad.  The very last thing that she wants or needs is someone to care about and to care about her but when she meets Jordan, thing start to get away from her.  Her intention to go after the bad boy Colt, her intention to do anything and everything that would make her forget her grief.

When we first met Ashley, I wasn’t at all sure that I was going to end up liking her because of the way that she lashed out at her brother Will and her mother.  She’s out of her mind with grief and she doesn’t know how to deal with it and she acted like a total brat about the whole thing.  I’m not a fan of teenagers who think that it’s their right to be douches because they’re hurting or because they’re sad.  But Ashley wasn’t that bad. She didn’t step over the line of no return and I’m glad for that.  I really enjoyed getting to know her as the book continued on.  It was pretty neat to see her come around and it made the story even better when the alleged bad guy, turned out to not be bad at all.

The characters all came to life for me throughout the book as well.  Jordan was a fabulous character that wormed his way into my heart at the very beginning and even though I should have hated Colt for being a punk for a lot of the book, I didn’t hate him.  I liked him and saw the goodness that he didn’t show many people.  Ashley’s family were pretty great too.  It was good to see Harley’s parents from The Truth about Faking It and it was nice to hear that Harley and Jason are still going strong.

Overall, I’m glad that I got this book for review.  I’m glad that I read this book and I definitely recommend this if you’re in the mood for a good, coming of age contemporary YA novel.  Leigh T. Moore is a great author that really knows how to weave a story in a way that keeps the reader invested throughout the entire story.  I enjoy the way that she tells Ashley’s story and I’m looking forward to reading even more from her.  Kudos to Leigh T. Moore on another winner of a story.

…and that’s your scoop!

This book is available from the author. This book was received from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
Buy the book: B&N|Amazon
Book cover and blurb credit: http://goodreads.com

Reviewer: Rowena
The Truth About Faking (The Truth, #1) by Leigh Talbert Moore
Series: The Truth #1
Also in this series: The Truth About Letting Go (The Truth, #2)

Publication Date: September 1st 2012
Genres: Young Adult
Pages: 328
Add It: Goodreads
Amazon | Barnes & Noble | The Ripped Bodice | Google Play Books

Series Rating:

Jason just wants a date with Harley. Harley just wants a date with Trent. Trent's still getting over Stephanie.

When Harley and Jason decide to fake date, they uncover a school of deceptions. Trent's got a secret, but so does Jason. And the more time Harley spends secretly kissing her fake boyfriend, the further she gets from her dreams with Trent.

Worst of all, Harley's mom is getting cozy with her hot massage therapy student, and even Harley's Reverend Dad can't fake not being bothered by it. But when the masks finally come off, can everyone handle the real truth?

This was a pretty fast read and while I ended up really liking it, there were times that I wanted to smack some hot dang sense into Harley.  I wasn’t a fan of the back and forth between Trent and Jason, especially when Jason was so good to her and so obviously infatuated with her.  There were a lot of things about Harley that got on my nerves but even though they got on my nerves, they also rang true.  She reacted the way that a young woman would react to the things that were thrown at her, but mostly I’m talking about the way she reacted to her mother and Ricky.  Sometimes, knowing things (how much her mother loves her father) and seeing things can trick your mind into believing things that you probably shouldn’t believe.  I thought that Moore did a great job of making the reader see this happen.  You want to believe the best in the character but you just don’t know…

One of the things that I enjoyed the most in this book was all of the Jason scenes.  Right from the moment he comes into the story, I’m a fan.  I loved his personality, his love for ugly, old cars and the way that he thought guys should act around girls.  I loved how upfront he was, even when Harley wasn’t all about him.  I loved that even though he went along with Harley’s stupid plan, he didn’t stop letting her know that he was interested in her, FOR REAL.  I loved that when Harley needed that wake up call, he gave it to her.  I loved that even though he was hurt and he didn’t want to be around Harley, he was there for her when she needed someone to listen.  I could really go on and on about how much I loved his character but I won’t because he’s in high school and I’m …not.  Haha.  He’s the kind of boy that I want my daughter to fall in love with in high school and he’s the kind of boy that deserves a girl as awesome as my daughter.  I enjoyed his character and thought he was a fantabulous love interest for the main character.

One thing that had me curious during this book was all of the couple swapping.  On Jason and Harley’s first “date”, they double with Trent and Shelly (Harley’s best friend) and then the next week, Jason and Shelly are going on a double date with Trent and Harley and then Jason is with Stephanie who used to be with Trent and I couldn’t help but wonder if that happens in real life.  I don’t remember it happening so much when I was in high school but does it happen now?  I must make a mental note to ask all of my high school attending nieces and nephews.

Anyway, I really did enjoy this book and I am glad that I read it but there were too many times when Harley’s attitude toward everything (Jason, her Mom, Trent, Shelley, etc…) made me want to smack her upside her head.  When she couldn’t stop thinking about Jason and yet she was still going out with Trent, I wanted to give her a swift kick to her shins but alls well that ends well.  I would have enjoyed it more had Jason made Harley grovel a bit more at the end but I got over it.  Harley learned her lesson and I was glad for it.

I’m definitely going to be reading more books by Leigh T. Moore.  I enjoyed this one enough to know that I would enjoy other books written by this author so she’s on my radar, for sure.

…and that’s your scoop!

This book is available from Leigh Moore. This book was received from the author in exchange for an honest review.
Buy the book: B&N|Amazon
Book cover and blurb credit: http://barnesandnoble.com