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A review by felixsanchez
The Truth of Things by Tasha L. Harrison
3.0
I really wanted to give this four stars, but there were certain things holding me back. But let's start with the positives.
This book, like Harrison's others, has a real basis in reality. She doesn't shy away from incorporating police brutality, racism, sexism, violence or trauma of any kind. While it these themes may not seem typical in romance, I think they do have a place, because they are part of the character's world. It is written in a heartbreakingly real way, and it truly effects the characters. I won't spoil anything, but Harrison doesn't just briefly mention these things in passing, they are a central conflict. They influence the decision making of protagonist Ava, and deeply effect her life generally. I think this is a really commendable element of Harrison's writing, and something I hope to see more of in the future.
I'm over the moon that the cast is entirely made up of POC, and Harrison's novels focus on WOC. I'd love to see some body diversity and LGBTQI+ representation in her upcoming pieces, but aside from that, these novels really have a special place in their genre. That is a real selling point of these, and another reason to keep supporting authors like Harrison.
Now... the negatives. There were sentences that, plainly, just didn't make sense. For example, "Cause Ava is good people.", or, "He was Marine as he was in his dress blues.". As well as grammatical errors, "And your bitchy,", or "Too kiss me...". There were also instances where Harrison appeared to invent words? "squicky" was one that stood out to me.
As well as errors, there were just phrases or turns of phrase that were clunky, or just poorly edited, i.e. "Women who were so anxious to be chosen or recognised that they bent over backward to be more cruel and misogynistic than the worst of the men around her". While the sentiment is utterly true, the phrasing is poor, and is clearly missing a few commas.
In addition to that, there were some instances of dialogue that were just unrealistic, and somewhat corny, like, "So tell me about you. What have you been up to? Did you photograph anybody famous at that newspaper job?". This just screams of 'oh! readers! she works at a newspaper! just casually dropping that in here!
But these things are nit picky, and just make for a slightly odd reading experience, above all else.
This book, like Harrison's others, has a real basis in reality. She doesn't shy away from incorporating police brutality, racism, sexism, violence or trauma of any kind. While it these themes may not seem typical in romance, I think they do have a place, because they are part of the character's world. It is written in a heartbreakingly real way, and it truly effects the characters. I won't spoil anything, but Harrison doesn't just briefly mention these things in passing, they are a central conflict. They influence the decision making of protagonist Ava, and deeply effect her life generally. I think this is a really commendable element of Harrison's writing, and something I hope to see more of in the future.
I'm over the moon that the cast is entirely made up of POC, and Harrison's novels focus on WOC. I'd love to see some body diversity and LGBTQI+ representation in her upcoming pieces, but aside from that, these novels really have a special place in their genre. That is a real selling point of these, and another reason to keep supporting authors like Harrison.
Now... the negatives. There were sentences that, plainly, just didn't make sense. For example, "Cause Ava is good people.", or, "He was Marine as he was in his dress blues.". As well as grammatical errors, "And your bitchy,", or "Too kiss me...". There were also instances where Harrison appeared to invent words? "squicky" was one that stood out to me.
As well as errors, there were just phrases or turns of phrase that were clunky, or just poorly edited, i.e. "Women who were so anxious to be chosen or recognised that they bent over backward to be more cruel and misogynistic than the worst of the men around her". While the sentiment is utterly true, the phrasing is poor, and is clearly missing a few commas.
In addition to that, there were some instances of dialogue that were just unrealistic, and somewhat corny, like, "So tell me about you. What have you been up to? Did you photograph anybody famous at that newspaper job?". This just screams of 'oh! readers! she works at a newspaper! just casually dropping that in here!
But these things are nit picky, and just make for a slightly odd reading experience, above all else.