True by Erin McCarthy

Genre: New Adult Contemporary Romance
Publication Date: 7th May 2013
Pages: 238
Book Source: Penguin Group & NetGalley

Synopsis: When Rory Macintosh’s roommates find out that their studious and shy friend has never been with a guy, they decide that, as an act of kindness they’ll help her lose her virginity by hiring confident, tattooed bad boy Tyler Mann to do the job…unbeknownst to Rory.

Tyler knows he’s not good enough for Rory. She’s smart, doctor smart, while he’s barely scraping by at his EMT program, hoping to pull his younger brothers out of the hell their druggy mother has left them in. But he can’t resist taking up her roommates on an opportunity to get to know her better. There’s something about her honesty that keeps him coming back when he knows he shouldn’t…

Torn between common sense and desire, the two find themselves caught up in a passionate relationship. But when Tyler’s broken family threatens to destroy his future, and hers, Rory will need to decide whether to cut her ties to his risky world or follow her heart, no matter what the cost…

Karen's Thoughts:

I’ll start my review by pointing out that I loved Erin McCarthy’s Fast Track series and I've had some of her other books on my wish-list for quite some time. I was really excited to get the opportunity to review her latest release True. The new New Adult genre is something I've enjoyed and want to explore more.

I generally enjoyed the story but there were a few things that just didn't sit well with me. With most romance novels I usually end up with another ‘book boyfriend’ to add to the long list I have going. In True, Tyler being a smoker was a turn off for me. I've read the occasional book where a character has lit up a time or two, but Tyler's a chain smoker at only 22.

Here’s a snippet of something that made me cringe - Rory has offered to cook a meal for Tyler and his two younger brothers so Tyler and Rory are grocery shopping. 

When I turned back around, plastic bag of cheese slices in my hand, I saw he had added a case of beer and three packs of cigarettes to the cart.

“I’m done shopping,” he said with a grin.

Sorry to say this sort of thing made me feel like the mother I am, I wanted to lecture Tyler about the health implications of smoking so much at such a young age. I am well aware that the new NA genre is targeted at a younger reading audience so it's probably natural for me to have this reaction.  

There were teenage girls bed hopping, mild use of drugs, a near rape scene (very near and not graphic) … maybe it was the combination of too much 'eww' factor ... by the end of the book instead of feeling lovey dovey, all I felt was a touch of sadness.  

Something I did enjoy in True, was the relationship between Tyler and his brothers, how they look out for and care for each other, particularly with having such a difficult home life. Tyler really looks out for his younger siblings, one of whom has Downs Syndrome. 

True ended very abruptly but there are more books planned for the series so I’m going to reserve judgment until after the next book before I decide if I will continue with this series.

To find out more about Erin McCarthy and her work visit her website.

Guest review by Karen Barr