Rating: ⭐✨⬜⬜⬜
Title: Truth and Other Lies
Author: Maggie Smith
Genre: Fiction
Setting: Chicago, Illinois USA
Month Read: March 2022
Book Type: Audiobook
Publication: 2022
Publisher: Ten16 Press
Pages: 356
*April Books & Brews Book Club Pick
TRIGGER WARNING-
Assault / Abortion / Harassment / Language / Alcohol / Sexual Content / Rape
No Spoiler Summary:
Truth & Other Lies tells the tale of Megan Barnes, a budding young journalist who moves back home to Chicago after getting fired from her job in NYC and leaving her boyfriend. Upon returning home to live with her helicopter mom, she discovers she is running for Congress, and their political views couldn't be farther apart.
With Helen running for Congress, Megan finds it impossible to get a job in journalism, for fear of bias. While looking for a job at her alma mater, she ends up attending a rally, and gets noticed by Pulitzer Prize winning journalist Jocelyn Jones, after an altercation in her honor. Jocelyn ends up offering her a job in PR for her upcoming book release, and Megan accepts.
Soon, tweets start appearing accusing Jocelyn Jones of plagiarism, and Megan is on the case with cute computer whiz Nick. Will they figure out who is sending the anonymous tweets and save Jocelyn's reputation (and career?) Or will they fail to discover who is out to destroy her? Megan must juggle her new job on top of her personal life, and she quickly finds being pulled in all sorts of directions is almost too much to handle.
Review:
I'm being incredibly nice by giving this 1 and a half stars, because I can't accurately express how much I didn't like this book. The plot- forced. The characters- caricatures. The drama and suspense- almost non-existent. I am shocked to find that on both GoodReads and NetGalley this book has 4 star ratings because no one I've talked to likes this book even a little bit, and I cannot wait to discuss this and see the ratings my fellow book club members have given this.
My main qualm with this book is that a women in her 40's or 50's wrote a 25 year old liberal feminist, and could not make it believable at all. Megan reads as if a 50 year old Republican wrote what they thought a 25 year old liberal, feminist, city dweller would be. It was comical at times. So heavy handed, so annoying, and so self righteous. I cringed, often. The Audible narrator also really got to me, and I don't think that helped what I thought of this book at all.
The ending was the second worst part, next to Megan's entire character. I can't accurately talk about what I hated about it without spoiling things, but trust the fact that it was awful. Predictable and unpredictable at the same time. Characters completely abandoning their entire personalities to drop weird bombshell secrets. Making unlikable characters suddenly likeable, and likable characters unlikable. I didn't get it, I didn't like it, and I wish we picked another book this month.
I can't recommend reading this book, and I wish I could get 9 and a half hours of my life back, but at least I'll go through the rest of the year knowing I likely can't hate anything more than this book. I read a lot of books in March that I didn't really love, but most I wrote off as not being 'for me' - which is fine! But this book, this one was just bad. My apologies for this very harsh review, I actively don't like reading bad reviews, so I'm sorry Maggie Smith- I'm sure you're a very lovely person.
Recommendation:
Other Books I've loathed in recent memory if you want a good hate read:
The Spring Girls by Anna Todd
The Wife Upstairs by Rachel Hawkins
Search Similar Reviews:
#fiction
#femaleauthor