A review by blandrea_reads
The Truth of Our Past by Heather Leighson

dark emotional medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes

5.0

 

This, I really enjoyed.  I was expecting a fairly standard MM romance, with a bit of pining, a 3rd act breakup and a bit of “New York is the best place in the world to live ever” propaganda. 

However, what I GOT was two complicated and well-formed men who were doing their absolute best, but life isn’t easy.  Von is in New York, obviously hiding from something and trying to make a new start, hesitant to do anything too permanent because he’s not sure what he wants to do with his life. Alec uses sunshine and casual hookups as a defence mechanism, but he is doing is best to heal from hurts in his past.  I really enjoyed the relationship because it felt very real.  None of the issues they were facing were a miscommunication that could be sorted out with one conversation.  The issues include family expectations and judgements, public pressures, friends who hurt even when they are trying to help, and visa paperwork.  And how they both try to navigate that while trying to both be open to each other and still protect their hearts was very well written. 

There is also a fully formed supporting cast.  I hate an “Interfering Best Friend” character as a plot device, but I really loved Mads, because she was so much more than a cardboard cutout trope.  She loves her friends and really wants to help, but her insistence that she knows what’s best for everyone hurts the people around her.  She hurts Alec, badly, but it’s not glossed over, they both spend a lot of time trying to bounce back from that.  I really appreciated the realism of that, having friends that you love, but who hurt you and trying to recover from it.  From the setup, I’m also expecting Mads to get her own book in the future. 

Themes I loved: Found family, grand gesture apologies that don’t work out like a movie, trying to do something nice and having it hurt people, but mostly people finding their person and working hard to make it work! 

All in all, this was a great book, and it will live rent free in my mind for a long time.