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3.47 AVERAGE
3.47 AVERAGE
I really really enjoyed this one. Was definitely captivated throughout by the whole world of PR wrangling and the fast-paced world of the media.
After losing her journalism job and a devastating break up with her boyfriend in New York, Megan heads back home to Chicago to start over. Moving back in with her mother who she seems to have a love hate relationship with and having to start over and find a new job soon feels like it’s all going to be too much. Unfortunately for Megan, with her mother running as a candidate in an upcoming election, none of the newspapers will hire her for fear of being seen as biased towards the campaign.
Megan’s luck changes however when she is given a chance by Pulitzer Prize winning author Jocelyn Jones to work on her PR campaign for an upcoming autobiography she has coming out Although not a role she is entirely familiar with, Megan throws herself at the chance for a leg-up in the industry of which Jocelyn is Queen. Throw in a sexy new love interest and things are certainly starting to look up.
Unfortunately the euphoria is looking like it will be short lived when Jocelyn becomes the target of a cyber-bully. Hiding behind the screen as they are target her with mysterious yet obviously threatening tweets. Determined to find out if there is any truth behind this smear campaign, and desperate to protect the woman she idolises and looks to as a mentor, Megan leans on her journalistic skills to find out the truth. But what happens if the truth isn’t what she wants to hear, and what if finding the truth also puts her on a path where dangerous secrets can be exposed?
I found this really well written and really punchy, and other than a few personal annoyances, such as my own career choice apparently being enough to throw Megan off guard as it wasn’t prestigious enough. How dare she be described as an assistant of Jocelyn’s on a name badge (personally I’m quite proud of being an Executive Assistant thank you very much). Plus Megan’s attitude towards her mother and the flippant comments that seemed to suggest the fact that because she had chosen to stay home to raise her daughter it somehow meant her mother had no ambition and no drive and she was certainly in no way going to follow on in those footsteps…..hmmm…..
Hey, we can’t love every fictional character, and even though these thoughts/comments made me want to reach into the book and slap Megan stupid, it wasn’t enough to make me dislike the book, if anything it shows how strong I found the storyline.
Thank you so much NetGalley and Ten16 Press for the opportunity to read Truth and Other Lies.
After losing her journalism job and a devastating break up with her boyfriend in New York, Megan heads back home to Chicago to start over. Moving back in with her mother who she seems to have a love hate relationship with and having to start over and find a new job soon feels like it’s all going to be too much. Unfortunately for Megan, with her mother running as a candidate in an upcoming election, none of the newspapers will hire her for fear of being seen as biased towards the campaign.
Megan’s luck changes however when she is given a chance by Pulitzer Prize winning author Jocelyn Jones to work on her PR campaign for an upcoming autobiography she has coming out Although not a role she is entirely familiar with, Megan throws herself at the chance for a leg-up in the industry of which Jocelyn is Queen. Throw in a sexy new love interest and things are certainly starting to look up.
Unfortunately the euphoria is looking like it will be short lived when Jocelyn becomes the target of a cyber-bully. Hiding behind the screen as they are target her with mysterious yet obviously threatening tweets. Determined to find out if there is any truth behind this smear campaign, and desperate to protect the woman she idolises and looks to as a mentor, Megan leans on her journalistic skills to find out the truth. But what happens if the truth isn’t what she wants to hear, and what if finding the truth also puts her on a path where dangerous secrets can be exposed?
I found this really well written and really punchy, and other than a few personal annoyances, such as my own career choice apparently being enough to throw Megan off guard as it wasn’t prestigious enough. How dare she be described as an assistant of Jocelyn’s on a name badge (personally I’m quite proud of being an Executive Assistant thank you very much). Plus Megan’s attitude towards her mother and the flippant comments that seemed to suggest the fact that because she had chosen to stay home to raise her daughter it somehow meant her mother had no ambition and no drive and she was certainly in no way going to follow on in those footsteps…..hmmm…..
Hey, we can’t love every fictional character, and even though these thoughts/comments made me want to reach into the book and slap Megan stupid, it wasn’t enough to make me dislike the book, if anything it shows how strong I found the storyline.
Thank you so much NetGalley and Ten16 Press for the opportunity to read Truth and Other Lies.
Review in a sentence: Fast-paced and entertaining story about a women trying to carve her way into the world
My thoughts:
This was a fun read, it was fast-paced, and I really enjoyed it. It's a story about how lives come to the forefront, and the plot is strong. There was a slight mystery, aspiring journalism and hot topics like social media and fake news.
There are several layers and subplots happening simultaneously in the story and I think that's what kept the pacing up. But did find myself only really interested in the main storyline and the other stories kind of fell to the wayside. I liked how the story was focused on three female characters and how they deal with power and influence. This book read a bit like a Netflix series (in a good way) and I can see it being turned into a tv show that I'd watch.
It's a great debut and I can see myself reading Maggie Smiths writing in the future.
My thoughts:
This was a fun read, it was fast-paced, and I really enjoyed it. It's a story about how lives come to the forefront, and the plot is strong. There was a slight mystery, aspiring journalism and hot topics like social media and fake news.
There are several layers and subplots happening simultaneously in the story and I think that's what kept the pacing up. But did find myself only really interested in the main storyline and the other stories kind of fell to the wayside. I liked how the story was focused on three female characters and how they deal with power and influence. This book read a bit like a Netflix series (in a good way) and I can see it being turned into a tv show that I'd watch.
It's a great debut and I can see myself reading Maggie Smiths writing in the future.
This was a very powerful debut novel. Megan Barnes is a young reporter who moves back home to Chicago after losing her job. Megan’s mom is running for Congress, and while she wants to be supportive, their political views are drastically different. An opportunity arises for Megan to work for Jocelyn Jones, an award-winning journalist. As the story unfolds for these three women, two secrets and one lie are revealed.
Maggie Smith didn’t shy away from touching on heavy subjects. I thought each subject was handled very gracefully. There was also fantastic character development. Each of the three women were strong in their own ways, and learning about their pasts allowed me understand them better. Maggie Smith is a beautiful storyteller — I loved the writing style and pacing. Truth and Other Lies is a captivating story about three women navigating secrets and lies.
Maggie Smith didn’t shy away from touching on heavy subjects. I thought each subject was handled very gracefully. There was also fantastic character development. Each of the three women were strong in their own ways, and learning about their pasts allowed me understand them better. Maggie Smith is a beautiful storyteller — I loved the writing style and pacing. Truth and Other Lies is a captivating story about three women navigating secrets and lies.
Rating 4.5
Maggie Smith promises truth and lies, and she delivers! This story is not only about three women of different generations chasing their careers, and the diversity of their work ethics, but also about feminism, motherhood, and the world of media in which words have more power than they've ever had before. This story is tense, wise, and expresses the complexity of women's careers in different fields in great detail, without sparing the reader the ugly sides of climbing the success ladder.
Megan Barnes is a 25-year-old investigative journalist whose life's course took an unexpected, downward angle. She is determined to learn from her mistakes, nevertheless, she is forced to move back in with her mother, Helen, who has recently decided to run for US Congress, which jeopardizes Megan's career. Until she meets Jocelyn, a Pulitzer-price-winning journalist from the boomer generation, and a series of odd events and rush decisions results in Megan working in a field she has neither expertise nor experience in. Each of these women faces obstacles and is determined to overcome them to become successful. Until one anonymous tweet challenges the truth and demands the lies to be unraveled.
This story is tense, bold, wise, and gripping! I could see Maggie's journalistic expertise on every single page and it made my reading experience much more interesting. As a person who has neither experience nor education in journalism or any similar field, it was truly amazing to follow the dynamics of the industry from within and to realize that just like any other, it has its fair share of secrets.
I specifically admired the generational gap theme and how I believe Maggie Smith managed to wrap up the main characteristics of each generation's morals into these three women, interwind their stories, show their different colors for the reader to see clearly - that the times we live in, the issues world faces, the experiences we all have, they all greatly impact our view on life.
This story is much more than what I've mentioned! I definitely recommend you to go for it!
Read if you like:
- feminism
- women chasing career
- generational gap
- journalism from within
- women in politics
- confrontation of beliefs
- the power of media
Thank you, Maggie, @ten16press, and NetGalley.com for a chance to read it pre-release. I am leaving this review voluntarily.
"Everybody's got a secret"
"Most of us do. Some are worse than others."
Maggie Smith promises truth and lies, and she delivers! This story is not only about three women of different generations chasing their careers, and the diversity of their work ethics, but also about feminism, motherhood, and the world of media in which words have more power than they've ever had before. This story is tense, wise, and expresses the complexity of women's careers in different fields in great detail, without sparing the reader the ugly sides of climbing the success ladder.
Megan Barnes is a 25-year-old investigative journalist whose life's course took an unexpected, downward angle. She is determined to learn from her mistakes, nevertheless, she is forced to move back in with her mother, Helen, who has recently decided to run for US Congress, which jeopardizes Megan's career. Until she meets Jocelyn, a Pulitzer-price-winning journalist from the boomer generation, and a series of odd events and rush decisions results in Megan working in a field she has neither expertise nor experience in. Each of these women faces obstacles and is determined to overcome them to become successful. Until one anonymous tweet challenges the truth and demands the lies to be unraveled.
This story is tense, bold, wise, and gripping! I could see Maggie's journalistic expertise on every single page and it made my reading experience much more interesting. As a person who has neither experience nor education in journalism or any similar field, it was truly amazing to follow the dynamics of the industry from within and to realize that just like any other, it has its fair share of secrets.
I specifically admired the generational gap theme and how I believe Maggie Smith managed to wrap up the main characteristics of each generation's morals into these three women, interwind their stories, show their different colors for the reader to see clearly - that the times we live in, the issues world faces, the experiences we all have, they all greatly impact our view on life.
This story is much more than what I've mentioned! I definitely recommend you to go for it!
Read if you like:
- feminism
- women chasing career
- generational gap
- journalism from within
- women in politics
- confrontation of beliefs
- the power of media
Thank you, Maggie, @ten16press, and NetGalley.com for a chance to read it pre-release. I am leaving this review voluntarily.
Megan Barnes is a 25 year old reporter that loses her job and boyfriend in the same day. She returns to her Mother's home in Chicago. The home she couldn't wait to get away from.
Megan's mom, Helen Watkins, is politically conservative with pro life beliefs. She is running in the local Congressional race and wants Megan to help her campaign. But Megan has total opposite views.
Megan meets pulitzer pize winner and legendary journalist Jocelyn Jones who asks her to be a part of the PR team for her new memoir. Meghan accepts the offer hoping Jocelyn can introduce her to her newspaper connections.
When anonymous allegations appear on social media, Megan uncovers the secrets and lies of both her mother and Jocelyn.
This story covers the relationships between women, mother's and daughters, best friends and romantic relationships. Issues of social media, political and journalistic ethics, abortion and rape are woven into this fast paced story that was hard to put down.
Megan's mom, Helen Watkins, is politically conservative with pro life beliefs. She is running in the local Congressional race and wants Megan to help her campaign. But Megan has total opposite views.
Megan meets pulitzer pize winner and legendary journalist Jocelyn Jones who asks her to be a part of the PR team for her new memoir. Meghan accepts the offer hoping Jocelyn can introduce her to her newspaper connections.
When anonymous allegations appear on social media, Megan uncovers the secrets and lies of both her mother and Jocelyn.
This story covers the relationships between women, mother's and daughters, best friends and romantic relationships. Issues of social media, political and journalistic ethics, abortion and rape are woven into this fast paced story that was hard to put down.
This was an engaging story about a young woman coming to terms with her family and a powerful journalist that she admires. It is a story about finding the truth among all the secrets and lies and coming to terms with oneself
This is my last NetGalley review book for 2021. It's the story of a young journalist who moves back to her home town, has an adventure and makes peace with her past. It's well paced, well written and a hopeful novel to end the year on.
It lost one star for being a tiny bit too neat and tidy - but it's a quick, enjoyable read. It reminded me of what it was like to be young and to care deeply about everything.
It lost one star for being a tiny bit too neat and tidy - but it's a quick, enjoyable read. It reminded me of what it was like to be young and to care deeply about everything.
I was provided an advance copy of this book from @netgalley in exchange for my honest review.
When Megan losses her job as a journalist and her boyfriend in the same day, she moves home to Chicago to try to figure things out. But her mother's sudden announcement to run for US Congress is an unwelcome surprise. Not only do they have very opposing opinions, but being the daughter of a candidate also means no newspapers will hire her until after the elections. When she has an unlikely encounter with a Pulitzer prize winning journalist who offers her a job, she thinks it will be the break she is looking for. However, she will quickly come to realize that everyone has secrets they don't want revealed!
Overall I enjoyed this story. It held my attention, and I wanted to find out what was truth and what people were hiding! I did struggle a bit with connecting to Megan, at times she was self centered and judgy. Although, if we're honest we probably all struggle with those things at times too, but it made it hard for me to root for her all the time. One other complaint is the back of the book description giving too much away. Some of the events mentioned don't happen til very late in the book.
But overall it did hold my attention and I enjoyed the journey.
If this sounds like a book you might like, keep an eye out for it. It's currently set to be published 8 Mar 22.
#NetGalley #TruthAndOtherLies
When Megan losses her job as a journalist and her boyfriend in the same day, she moves home to Chicago to try to figure things out. But her mother's sudden announcement to run for US Congress is an unwelcome surprise. Not only do they have very opposing opinions, but being the daughter of a candidate also means no newspapers will hire her until after the elections. When she has an unlikely encounter with a Pulitzer prize winning journalist who offers her a job, she thinks it will be the break she is looking for. However, she will quickly come to realize that everyone has secrets they don't want revealed!
Overall I enjoyed this story. It held my attention, and I wanted to find out what was truth and what people were hiding! I did struggle a bit with connecting to Megan, at times she was self centered and judgy. Although, if we're honest we probably all struggle with those things at times too, but it made it hard for me to root for her all the time. One other complaint is the back of the book description giving too much away. Some of the events mentioned don't happen til very late in the book.
But overall it did hold my attention and I enjoyed the journey.
If this sounds like a book you might like, keep an eye out for it. It's currently set to be published 8 Mar 22.
#NetGalley #TruthAndOtherLies
emotional
hopeful
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes