Romance book reviews. Reviews of books that make my heart race, have a beautiful love story, and a happy ending.

Romance book reviews. Reviews of books that make my heart race, have a beautiful love story, and a happy ending.

Aestas Book Database
Book Review — Truth (Consequences #2) by Aleatha Romig

Book Review — Truth (Consequences #2) by Aleatha Romig

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“Could it be possible to hate and love someone too?“

In honor of the TRUTH Blog Tour, I’m reposting my original review today 🙂

4.5 stars.  Spoiler-free review.

I swear to God, this book should come with a care package – tequila, Valium, a stress ball and a punching bag. Just sayin’ !!

If you haven’t read Book #1, CONSEQUENCES, then you can check out my review HERE.

Ok.. here goes (warning: its a loOoOong review!!)

Honestly, when I was about to start reading this, I was just wondering where on EARTH could the story go from that point?? How could the mindfuck POSSIBLY get any deeper?

The facts were there. Actions had been taken. And I was absolutely positive that I hated Tony Rawlings. Like really, really hated!! I was sure he belonged in a jail cell and no where else. I mean… looooook what he did! Right? Riiiight?? …

WRONG.

Le sigh *deep breath*

Over the course of this book, my emotions were toyed with, and my heart was lead down a path I would have SWORN it would never go down.

I have to say that, having finished the book, I am officially on Team Tony ((I think)).

Whaaaat?? O_O

I’m sure any of you who have only read book #1 think I’m utterly insane now. I’m not. I swear. Just… stuff happened. Big stuff. Changes. Growth. An understanding. And in the end, I have to say that, honestly, I’m not 100% sold on the Team Tony thing, but… I’m about 95% there. Honestly, I don’t think there is ANYTHING in the entire world that will EVER make me able to be 100% in love with him. Why? Because of what he did in Consequences.

Having read Truth, I feel like I’ve come to have a deeper understanding for him. And a respect for the changes he made. BUT. Nothing can ever erase the past. The future can still be determined, but the past is fixed. And because of that, no matter WHAT he does, there will always be a small 5% of me on guard because I *know* that somewhere in that man lies (or, lay) the potential to make the events of Consequences happen. But… so long as those old actions never resurface, I am willing to be open-minded and accept the new Tony for who he is.

So, I’ll revise my statement…. I am officially Team (new) Tony. That is my team.
–> #teamNEWtony

I have to say that Ms Romig is an very talented author not only because the story is good, but in large part its because of the actual writing style – its an extremely well written book.

Did I dread going into this book? Yeah. A little. I wasn’t sure how far the mind fuck would go. Or if I was ready to handle it. But I bravely put my big girl panties on and dove in and seriously, woah!

There’s no ‘easing’ into this book. Nope! The prologue pretty much just slams you into the story and away you go – its a roller coaster ride of questions, more questions, the occasional answer, which in turn leads to more questions… I will say though, that we did make some big ‘discoveries’ in this book. It kept me guessing but I was pleased to see some of my theories work out too.

I was just in this constant state of… Wait, could it be him who did that? But then, why would he have done the other thing?? … Hmmm *wonders* …. Its this complete feeling of not knowing which way is up. Not being able to tell right from wrong.

Do the ends justify the means? I felt myself constantly asking myself that.

After the events of the last book, I’d become jumpy and deeply mistrustful. Of everyone. Now, every single thing was squinted at suspiciously, every possible action was eyed from all angles to try and figure out if it had a double meaning or a hidden purpose.

I have to say that, as a romance reader, I am usually either bored to tears by the ‘mystery’ side of stories but that was NOT the case with this one. I was really riveted to the story. It was so multi layered and multi dimensional with so many possibilities and outcomes that I found myself just needing to know the answers.

That being said, I will say that this book “felt” long. Its not a bad thing, or a complaint, but I found it a longer book to get through than the first one. Kind of like with book #1, I reached a point around 60% in where I was definitely intrigued and invested in the story, but no longer had any idea where it was going.  But once again, once I got to the final 20% I just couldn’t look away!!

This story had double layers to everything. The double layers even had layers… it was this spiral downward into more and more questions………

I don’t know how to explain how HARD the little reveals hit me. Every time we actually learned something that was a fact, a definitive piece to the puzzle, I got that same full body CHILLLLLLS feeling. It was pretty cool 😛

I liked that we got bits and pieces from all sorts of perspectives in this book. It was still primarily Claire’s story, but there was a LOT of back story into Tony’s early years that gave us a much better understanding of him and the complexity of where the plot originated (gosh, that’s vague, lol), and there were some side characters that got their perspective told to help round out the story as well.

Tony’s back story was one of my favorite parts because we got to see the life events that made him into the kind of person he was. I found it gave a lot of insight into his character and, although it didn’t excuse any of his actions, it DID help me understand him more.

I liked that in this book we got to see more of Claire’s strength shine though. She’d been through hell and now, despite her traumas was at a place where she was regaining a measure of control over her life. She was brave and smart about many things but there were still some moments of naivety where I wanted to shake her, moments where I couldn’t understand *why* she’d go along with something or make the decisions she made. She frustrated me in places but I got to a place where I felt I understood her  a lot more.

And then there was Harry. The anti-Tony. Was I in love with him? Hmmm, a little bit. Ok, fine, a lot. And I think that if Tony hadn’t changed, I would have loved him more. But… gah, I mean, he was kind of perfect. And I totally could see myself falling for him. I was soooooooo tempted by him! So. Freaking. Tempted!!  but… the sick twisted part of my mind is grumbling over the fact that he’s just not Tony so… even though, I will admit, there was a chunk of the book where I kind of was rooting for him, my heart ended up choosing Tony.

About Tony though….. *deep breath* I really felt like my emotions went though a long journey with him in this book. In my heart, I wanted to ‘fix’ him. Tried to justify things. But my brain thankfully kept stepping in and reminding me of everything he’d done in book #1 (and even, to an extent, book #2). I mean, where is the line drawn? The line after which the guy is just too fucked up to fix? Had he crossed it? … well, yes. But… could he still change? Well… apparently so!

He toyed with my emotions again in this book though because just when I thought he was turning over a new leaf, he’d AGAIN go overboard and leave me spluttering and wanting to throttle him.

I couldn’t tell if he was still being manipulative or if I should try and forgive him… Was he even WORTHY of forgiveness? His actions in book #1 were unforgivable in my eyes.

What if this was the story of the attempted redemption of an irredeemable man?

I wanted to love him. I loved his spark. I loved his intentions… but actions speak louder than words and a lot of his were just MESSED up. Not. Okay. There are some things you just can’t justify. But… what if its not about justification. What if it was about change? He WAS trying. That was impossible to deny. But… was the change enough?

Love should never be forced. Or bought. Or coerced… but what happens when you’re faced with someone who doesn’t know HOW to love. Who has never known it. Never been shown it. And never experienced it. Who had wrapped himself in a security blanket of control. Given his back story, I could see where his dominance came from – he had such a deep-seeded insecurity and fear stemming form a lack of a love and a fear of the loss of the only shred of love he’s ever know that his actions were, to me, for the first time, understandable as opposed to flat-out crazy (even though I still didn’t agree with them all).

He just didn’t know HOW to love having never really BEEN loved ever.

There was a turning point. A definitive turning point after which the change he made in himself was undeniable. He tempered himself, controlled himself and was put in many situations where he had the opportunity to go all old-Tony-psycho on us but he didn’t. To me, he was showing his self control and how strong his desire to be the kind of person Claire deserved was.

Also, the more he changed, and the more ‘sane’ his actions became, the more I began to see the world through his eyes more. He became a lot easier to relate too and I even found myself supporting many of his decisions that I might, in the past, have frowned upon because I could ‘get’ where he was coming from.

I even got to the point where I was flat-out AWWW-ing and grinning over some of his lines and scenes with Claire. Seriously guys! I even had a heart clench moment for him!! A heart clench!!!! Never thought I’d see that day.

I decided that you can’t fix the past or turn back time. But you CAN decide the future.

I do not take back any of my previous Tony-hating feelings from before. Those ALL remain the same. Yes, I hated him and truly believed he deserved to rot in a jail cell. But… as he changed, so did my feelings.

So yeah… given his changes and proof in certain scenarios which would have sent the old-Tony into a flying rage, but the new-Tony handled with an attitude I could understand and respect…. I have fallen for him.

I’m decidedly on Team (new) Tony.  #teamNEWtony

But let me tell you…. if he puts one TOE wrong in CONVICTED…. *shakes fist* . Let’s just say that my new “team” alliance is built on faith and trust and not much else and because of his past, it would be pretty easy to have that come crumbling down so I’m just saying…

About the ending… I know some of you will be wondering if its a cliffhanger so I’ll let you know there is clearly a TON more to the story – lots of secrets still to unravel, a lot more questions to answer, and of course a “conviction” to be made, BUT.. it ended at a point I could live with. I’m okay to wait at this point. The characters are all at a place where, in my mind, I’m okay to leave them until the next book is out.

Speaking of the next book, CONVICTED, it is due out October 8, 2013.

Here’s a break down of some of my reactions while reading… Spoiler-free of course!

27% – Ohhhhh FUCK. Guess that’s a lesson never to underestimate Tony! GURK!!

30% – Hmm there’s that *spark* again with Tony. Dammit. WHY AM I FALLING FOR IT?????? Cuz I so am :/

33% – O_O

39% – DAMMIT!! I swore this wouldn’t happen but yes, Tony is melting my heart just a wee bit.

45% – Grrrrr Tony, dammit, stop making it so hard to love you!!!! *mimes throttling*

58% – *blink* … *blink*

69% – SAY WHAAAAA???? Gahhhhh!!!! Ok This brings a whole extra level of NOT OKAY to the already high levels of NOT OKAY surrounding the dream thing. Just sayin’!

78% – Ok. I’m officially leaning towards Team (reformed) Tony now… Tony, pleasepleaseplease don’t make me hate you again!!! *whispers* #TeamTony

80% – Awwwwwww!!! Seriously, I can’t believe I’m awww-ing but I totally am.

84% – FFUUUUCCCKKKKKKKK!!!!

89% – *grins* seriously, AWWWWWWW

92% – HOLYYY FUCKING HELL!!!! OMG! I so so SO called it!!!!

97% – Pleasedontbeacliffhanger pelasedontbeacliffhanger pleasedontbeacliffhanger pleasepleasepleasepleasepleeeeeease

100% – *deeeeep breath* okay. I’m okay with it ending there. I FREAKING WANT THE NEXT BOOK. but I’m okay to wait…. *whew*

Teehee.

If I had to rate it, I’d give it the same rating as book #1 –> 4.5 stars.

CASTING:

READING ORDER

Book #1 — CONSEQUENCES
My review | Kindle | Paperback

Book #2 — TRUTH
My review | Kindle | Paperback

Book #3 — CONVICTED
My Review | Kindle | Paperback

************

SERIES SALE BUNDLE

This bundle includes all 3 books for $9.99 (savings of $3 overall)

Comments

  9. I’m almost half way done with TRUTH. Tony is becoming a favorite, however, I’m still on the fence. I sure do love these books! What I love even more is the fact that the sexy scenes aren’t as racy as I’m used to (don’t get me wrong, I love me some hot and steamy sex scenes). I would suggest these books to anyone! I cannot wait for the 3rd to come out!! 🙂

    Reply

  10. I absolutely love your reviews!

    This series has me re-thinking my sanity! I love Tony, then hate him, then I turned around and loved him again. At times I had to remind myself how horrible he was in Consequences.

    Reply

  12. Can’t wait to start reading this book!!! Aestas Book Blog review has moved Consequences up my TBR list!!! Truth please!

    Reply

  21. Ahhh…I need to get my hands on the second book now…I was recovering from the first and now have hope that Tony (may) have a heart based on this review! 🙂

    Reply

  23. I was going to wait to read this book since i finished Consequences recently, but you have convinced me to read it!

    Reply

  24. I bought Consequences a few weeks ago not knowing there was a second book. GAAAAHHHH…thank goodness I’ve not yet read it. Now I need to get Truth! Here’s to winning it and if not then to at least experiencing some kind of “oh, shit” reactions. HA!

    Thanks for another awesome giveaway!

    Reply

  25. I’m a little nerous to read…I have the first book but I haven’t read yet…But I’ll take the plunge….thanks for a great review on both books….

    Reply

  28. Thanks for this amazing giveaway! will def have to move this series to my next in line read if I win this book (:

    Reply

  29. This book was insane! I am totally #teamTony! But I’m with you! He puts one TOE outta line in Convicted & I will lose it. LOL! I read both books over a week ago & I am still in book hangover mode. I read a new book & then go back to completely daydreaming about what happened in Consequences & Truth! GAHHH! I need to get back to real life. Hahaaaaa

    Reply

  37. I was kinda torn on reading this one after I finished Consequences. I liked it but for me the middle dragged a bit but I have now made up my mind after your review and will brave the Tony/Claire storm once again. Awesome review!

    Reply

  44. My plan was to wait until the 3rd book comes out to read the entire series in a row. But I can’t wait that long. Thanks for the great review.

    Reply

  46. I was hoping to win these during a Christmas giveaway in one of my Goodreads groups…but didn’t. Maybe I’ll get lucky this time. *fingers crossed*

    Reply

  48. I haven’t read Truth or Consequences yet, I’m sort of “afraid” to read it but after reading your reviews, I sorta really want to!

    Thanks for the amazing giveaway! 😀

    Reply

  51. Loved, loved, loved this book!!! 🙂 Hated Tony but by the end I was loving him!!! Lots of yelling at the scream and wanting to throw the iPad across the room!! Awesome read!

    Reply

  54. Its on my to-read list. It would be a great opportunity to have a copy.

    Thanks for the giveway.

    Nice review. Excited to know who is Tony

    Reply

  57. I cannot get on board with Team Tony. I think Claire is nuts. I’m not seeing how the backstory we’ve learned really explains him or how he works enough to excuse his horrible abusive behavior towards Claire. I’m hoping in the third book she finds some sort of escape. I am very bothered that she seems annoyed with her sister and everyone else for their legitimate concerns in regards to her reunification with Tony. Can’t wait to find out what happens with book 3.

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  60. Love your review Aestas!! Consequences and Truth overwhelmed me and mind-fucked me senseless… Words have failed me and I’m emotionally spent. It is INSANELY MIND-BLOWING and I ABSOLUTELY LOVED IT. This series is the INCEPTION of books!! #TeamTonyFTW

    Reply

  64. You truly have the best reviews. They are open, honest, and uncensored(which I love).
    I can’t wait for the 3rd book so I can see how it all ends. I learned early on in this series never to assume anything, because these books are anything but predictable!

    Reply

  74. I’ve heard so many great things about this book. I’ve been really wanting to read it! Awesome giveaway! 🙂

    Reply

  75. I need more Tony! He’s the man I love to hate. Although, I will admit that I don’t hate him as much as I used to 🙂

    Reply

  77. I know but being in an abusive situation as Clare was, Im afraid I will read the second book and think oh my god NO, dont fall for it again…do you want to die. Then Ill want to jump in the pages and kick his ass. I DEFINETLY dontknow how hes going to redeem himself but Im freaking finding out tonight before I go to sleep, even if it takes me all mind fuck night.

    Reply

  80. I actually took a sick day to finish Truth, and avoided all homework until it was done. I am so in love with these two. I cannot wait for the next one.

    Reply

  88. Arghh I love these books and i want i want!! 🙂 Your reviews are awesome and you commentry whilst reading them help me know i wasnt nuts!!

    Reply

  95. I have yet to read Consequences but it is on my TBR list and I am so looking forward to the mindf*ckery!!! I would love to win this book!!! Reading ebooks are amazing things, but NOTHING can take the place of holding and actual book!!

    Reply

  98. I read both Consequenses and Truth last year and they are my favorite books of 2012. Loved them and can’t wait for Convicted!

    Reply

  107. Starting Consequences soon. Based on your review I think I’m going to need to have a mind cleansing after reading it.

    Reply

  110. I’ve heard about these books. Wow…what a review. I will be adding them to my TBRs & reading them soon. Thanks for the giveaway!

    JessieL62 at comcast dot net

    Reply

  113. All I know is I cant wait for installment 3..and in the meantime, Im gonna re- read the two books again, what good is it to have a book if you cant read it again right..Is that not why we keep them. And I definetly loved all the little quotes before each chapter infact I loved each one.

    Reply

  114. Ok, I gave in and read book #1, I am not so convinced, I am having a hard time with the story line I feel so overwhelmed with it… I know I need to read #2 because that is the only way I can get the heaviness out of my heart!!! these books have put me in such a dark place *insert sigh here*

    Reply

  115. I have been putting off Thruth because Consequences totally blew my mind, and I wasn’t sure I could take any more….but now I’m going to tough it up and read, although I may wait till closer to the next release…thanks for this awesome review!!

    Reply

  116. I only found your site Monday. I finished Consequences on Saturday and just finished Truth. Totally agree with you….would never typically read a love/mystery /suspense. I’m more about just love. But this series totally captivated me. It was difficult to get past Tony’s dark side…very difficult to continue reading more than once. But I’m so glad I did. Awesome review! I will be following your recommendations ….your “likes” are very similar to mine.

    Reply

  117. OMG! I know it’s been a looong time since you posted this, but I was looking through your blog for something to read and came across Consequences. This is not typically something I read, but I wanted something different so I gave it a chance. It screwed with my mind so much I just wasn’t sure about reading Truth. But I clicked after reading your review (I love your reviews!!!), I gotta say I am excited to start Truth. I love you Blog!!!

    Reply

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