Review of Leigh T. Moore's 'The Truth About Letting Go'

Title: The Truth About Letting Go

Author: Leigh T. Moore

Series: The Truth #2

Publication Date: February 21, 2013

Genre: Young Adult, Contemporary Romance

 

 

Synopsis:

 

Ashley Lockett has always followed the rules. She's always done the right thing and played it safe until her ideal life is shattered when her dad dies suddenly.

 

Fueled by anger and grief, she vows to do everything opposite of how she lived before. Then she meets Jordan. He has big dreams, he's had a crush on Ashley for years, and he's a great kisser. But he's also safe. 

Enter Colt. He is not safe, and he's more than willing to help Ashley fulfill her vow.

 

Author Bio:

 

I'm the hat lady--wife, mom, reader, writer, caffeine addict, chocoholic, southern expat, and beach bum. 

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*And I share books I think RULE right here on Goodreads! Be a friend~

HOT New Series!

-Dragonfly (#1) is now everywhere!

--Undertow (#2) is now everywhere!

Coming Soon!

-Watercolor (#3) will release Oct. 3!

-Book #4 will be out by Jan 2014.

After that

-Rouge #2 is on tap.

Working out the details to this untitled Paris sequel. More soon~

-I'll be prepping my YA sci-fi/PNR/dystopian (?) love story 21 DAYS!

THANK YOU so much for reading! <3

 

My Review:

I'm slightly conflicted about this book. I enjoyed the story and it was a pretty quick read, but the main character, Ashley kind of drove me insane. I wanted to yell at her and ask her just what the hell she was thinking throughout most of the book. 

The story begins shortly after seventeen year old Ashley's father, a big time healthy living writer, dies of cancer. Ashley, a gorgeous blonde cheerleader, is having a difficult time dealing with his death. She begins to question life, her faith, and pretty much everything else in her life. She ultimately makes a conscious decision that she no longer believes in God and that she wants to become the complete opposite of the popular good girl she has always been. When she finally gets back to school she decides to start talking to the nerdy yet good looking Jordan who shares the locker next to her whom she has never spoken to before. After a series of interactions she learns that he has always had a crush on her and that he has plans to become a pastor and is saving himself for marriage. She likes him, but he goes against the decision she made to change. They continue to hang out, but she soon meets bad boy Colt whom she decides is exactly who she needs to become the person she has decided to become. She continues to be somewhat torn between the two until she ultimately has to make a decision about not only who to love, but what kind of person she wants to be. 

This book was really well written and engaging, but it was hard to get past how much Ashley irked me. She continued to make terrible decision after terrible decision based on her original idea to become a different person. I admittedly have been lucky enough to have not lost anyone close to me (knock on wood) so I can't really say whether this is a normal or realistic reaction to losing a parent, but I just couldn't stand all of the stupid things Ashley did based on what seemed to me to be an arbitrary decision to basically be a crappy person. 

As far as the male characters in the book I kind of hated them too. Jordan was a decent person, but he was way too understanding for my taste. I know that sounds terrible, but I wanted him to just yell at Ashley to stop being such a spoiled, whiney brat. Colt was basically just a douche bag. He was basically the male version of what Ashley worked at being: spoiled, inconsiderate, and a poor little rich kid. 

That being said, I am curious to read more books written by Moore because it's clear to me she is a talented writer, but the main character, well actually most of the characters, in this one put me off. The book is well written, well organized, and managed to keep me hooked until the end in spite of my hating the characters. I would be curious to hear what someone who has dealt with the death of a parent at a young age has to say about Ashley and how she deals because like I said I have no personal experience with such a situation. 

My Rating: