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3.47 AVERAGE
3.47 AVERAGE
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Not the most gripping story, but a great ending!
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
emotional
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I’m trying to be kind, so I’ll say that the story was relatively entertaining. And yet…
By page 48 I realized that the age of the mother was completely wrong. That colored everything else I read, making the book difficult to enjoy because I felt the need to either read in sheer disbelief or fact-check everything.
Having been educated as a journalist myself, I wanted to like the lead character, Megan, but she came off as immature and arrogant. She considered herself quite the professional after a whopping THREE YEARS when she’d been “knee-deep in politics.”
Plus, the BIAS. Oh, my gosh! At one point she criticizes a “one-percenter” she’s just met, and nine pages later she states, “A good journalist doesn’t make assumptions.” Well, except about one-percenters, evidently.
Had the book not been written with such bias, had the journalist actually thought like a good one and not just a current one, the book would have been fine because the story was good enough.
By page 48 I realized that the age of the mother was completely wrong. That colored everything else I read, making the book difficult to enjoy because I felt the need to either read in sheer disbelief or fact-check everything.
Having been educated as a journalist myself, I wanted to like the lead character, Megan, but she came off as immature and arrogant. She considered herself quite the professional after a whopping THREE YEARS when she’d been “knee-deep in politics.”
Plus, the BIAS. Oh, my gosh! At one point she criticizes a “one-percenter” she’s just met, and nine pages later she states, “A good journalist doesn’t make assumptions.” Well, except about one-percenters, evidently.
Had the book not been written with such bias, had the journalist actually thought like a good one and not just a current one, the book would have been fine because the story was good enough.
challenging
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Moderate: Abortion
medium-paced
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
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.
See more reviews at:
https://jessgreads.wixsite.com
https://jessgreads.wixsite.com
Content Warnings
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Abortion, Gaslighting
Moderate: Bullying, Infidelity, Rape, Sexual assault, Toxic relationship, Violence, Religious bigotry, Pregnancy, Alcohol
Minor: Bullying
adventurous
lighthearted
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
4.5 stars rounded off to 5
A perfect book to come out into the world on Women’s Day!
Synopsis –
The book follows three women – Megan Barnes, a young reporter, who’s just lost her job and boyfriend and moved back home to Chicago; Megan’s mother Helena Watkins, upcoming politician running for the US Congress; Jocelyn Jones a renowned journalist of 40 years with an impeccable reputation.
Megan gets a chance to work with Jocelyn on her PR team, while at the same time, her disputes begin with her mother both at home and professional lives. When an anonymous tweet threatens to turn Jocelyn’s life upside down, Megan has to find a way to contain the damage.
Review –
Megan’s first-person narrative drew me right into the story. I loved the author’s character choices and pairings. Bringing the lowest career point of Megan together with the high flying eminence of Jocelyn, Smith explores both women’s personalities.
The partnership between Megan and Jocelyn’s followed a natural course. I especially enjoyed Megan’s inner voice that seemed to pop in with the precise advice she needs at any situation.
The mother daughter relationship dynamics between Megan and Helena also felt realistic. Although Helena appears as an over protective and nosy mother, I was really moved to find out the reason behind it . The addition of Megan’s romantic life was a great idea and it lightened up the tense circumstances that stressed her out.
The author brings several controversial tropics to the table here – abortion, nepotism, plagiarism, misogyny and morality. As friendships and loyalties are tested, a game of truth and lies begins to play out fuelled by the social media frenzy and the press.
I admired Megan’s conviction and her ability to persist. Even though making some difficult choices in the end, come back to bite her, I rooted for her as she stood up for herself and dealt with it all with integrity.
The ending was slightly anti-climactic, but otherwise I really enjoyed this book. With a refreshingly unique and entertaining plot, this is definitely a strong debut.
Thanks NetGalley and Ten16 Press for the ARC!
A perfect book to come out into the world on Women’s Day!
Synopsis –
The book follows three women – Megan Barnes, a young reporter, who’s just lost her job and boyfriend and moved back home to Chicago; Megan’s mother Helena Watkins, upcoming politician running for the US Congress; Jocelyn Jones a renowned journalist of 40 years with an impeccable reputation.
Megan gets a chance to work with Jocelyn on her PR team, while at the same time, her disputes begin with her mother both at home and professional lives. When an anonymous tweet threatens to turn Jocelyn’s life upside down, Megan has to find a way to contain the damage.
Review –
Megan’s first-person narrative drew me right into the story. I loved the author’s character choices and pairings. Bringing the lowest career point of Megan together with the high flying eminence of Jocelyn, Smith explores both women’s personalities.
The partnership between Megan and Jocelyn’s followed a natural course. I especially enjoyed Megan’s inner voice that seemed to pop in with the precise advice she needs at any situation.
The mother daughter relationship dynamics between Megan and Helena also felt realistic. Although Helena appears as an over protective and nosy mother, I was really moved to find out the reason behind it . The addition of Megan’s romantic life was a great idea and it lightened up the tense circumstances that stressed her out.
The author brings several controversial tropics to the table here – abortion, nepotism, plagiarism, misogyny and morality. As friendships and loyalties are tested, a game of truth and lies begins to play out fuelled by the social media frenzy and the press.
I admired Megan’s conviction and her ability to persist. Even though making some difficult choices in the end, come back to bite her, I rooted for her as she stood up for herself and dealt with it all with integrity.
The ending was slightly anti-climactic, but otherwise I really enjoyed this book. With a refreshingly unique and entertaining plot, this is definitely a strong debut.
Thanks NetGalley and Ten16 Press for the ARC!
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
This was really hard for me to rate. I liked the journalism aspect, but the ending just didn’t sit right with me. I just cannot in any way imagine an ultra conservative candidate doing what this one did and I dropped my rating because of it. I felt like it was done to help bring mother and daughter together but it just felt off to me, considering where the world is right now. I also felt like the way Jocelyn spiraled was so out of character for her. I don’t know what the author was going for with the ending of this book, but it just didn’t work for me.
I could not stand Megan for most of the book. Her blind support for Jocelyn was odd. I get being starstruck, but you barely know this woman.
Ultimately I can’t say I enjoyed this one. It seemed like major political points were thrown in randomly to make Megan seem “woke” or something. I can’t really pinpoint what bothered me, but it just felt cheap and amateurish.
Thank you Ten16 Press for the gifted copy.
I could not stand Megan for most of the book. Her blind support for Jocelyn was odd. I get being starstruck, but you barely know this woman.
Ultimately I can’t say I enjoyed this one. It seemed like major political points were thrown in randomly to make Megan seem “woke” or something. I can’t really pinpoint what bothered me, but it just felt cheap and amateurish.
Thank you Ten16 Press for the gifted copy.