
Genre: YA/NA Contemporary Romance
Series: N/A
Publication Date: August 11th 2013
ISBN: N/A
Page Count: 432
Rating: ★★★
Review Copy: ARC
Reviewed by: Janice
Synopsis: Fate brings them together
Fame & lies keep them apartOne 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?
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.
REVIEW
I seem to be on a "whoa, that wasn't what I expected!" kick lately. Not intentionally, of course, that's just how it has worked out, and Katherine Owen's THIS MUCH IS TRUE definitely falls into that category. The blurb led me to believe I was reading one thing, and what I got was something else altogether. For starters, this isn't your everyday YA contemporary romance. It's more of a YA/NA crossover, and it deals with a lot of mature themes that give it a very adult feel. That's not a bad thing, by any means, but it was definitely a surprise.
When Tally and Lincoln first meet, it's under the worst possible circumstances. He is on-scene during the worst night of her young life. While Tally survived the tragic accident that killed her twin, in many ways, she's the one who died. There's a big gaping hole inside of her, and she's just trying to fill it - with lies and meaningless hookups and a rigorous ballet schedule that, I'll admit, gave me a whole new respect for the hell dancers go through in the name of their art.
And then fate brings Linc back into her life. Tally doesn't remember him from the accident scene, but he remembers her. A connection quickly forms - an incredible, powerful connection that neither one can deny.
It's a good thing that connection was established early on, because without it, I'm not sure their relationship - or this book - would have survived. Following a blink-and-you'll-miss-it halcyon period, Tally and Linc are thrown straightaway into life's vicious wringer, and needless to say, it isn't pretty. Sometimes it seemed the whole universe was conspiring against them, and other times, they were their own worst enemies. And it went on that way for years!
I haven't read Tolstoy's War and Peace, but for me, this book was the equivalent. It's long, and what's worse, it felt long at times. The angst and drama-fest just went on and on and on, with no apparent end in sight. It was like a soap opera on steroids, and after a while, I just wanted it to end.
Final verdict? I liked the book, it's a good read, but it drags at times, and the characters' constant "one step forward, two steps back" just plain wore me out.
3 Stars ★★★
ARC provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
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