I was excited to read a book that combines my two favorite genres, romance and thriller. Unfortunately, this book wasn’t as great as I hoped. The story was a slow build and felt like more of a drama than a thriller. I wish the story had more twists and thrills. 

Thank you Harper Collins Publishing and Netgalley for a copy of The Truth Hurts for an honest review.

I was really surprised by this book-- it was a well-written thriller that had me guessing and second-guessing until the (almost) literal end. Speaking of ending, the ending of this book blew me away! I cannot wait to read future titles by this author!

Such a satisfying thriller! It felt like a slow burn in the sense that you really didn’t know what was going on until the last 5% of the book, but the details and Poppy’s backstory interwoven into the present day narrative kept it moving really quickly.

Thanks to Netgalley and Harper Perennial for an advanced copy of this book.

There were some great twists in this novel and, without giving too much away, I thought the ending made complete sense for the characters. I'll look forward to reading another one by this author!

I think this is a 3.5 rounded up? I'm unsure where to land on the ending. Up until the very end The Truth Hurts is a pretty pitch perfect modern British domestic suspense Gothic. It even literally references Jane Eyre and Rebecca as books our young nanny has read, and we get said nanny-turned-wife to older rich man who won't talk about his past wondering if her house is "out to get her." It builds and builds and builds and had me turning pages.

And then it attempts to stick QUITE the landing. It was an emotional shock and I'm just not sure it worked for me? Haven't dipped into other reviews but I'd bet a lot of people had issues with the ending. I'll discuss that more with spoilers shortly. 

Regardless: 95% of this book is an excellent suspense read if you like ridiculous rich Brits, enigmatic old British manor houses, Keeping Up With the Joneses social torture (the kind where the fish out of water MC tries desperately to hold her own against the upper class set), that Gothic feel, and a slow burning GET OUT GIRL SOMETHING IS WRONG feeling. I was immediately drawn in and keen to return to the pages each evening. Though one quibble I have with the ARC formatting that I assume was fixed for the final printed copies--the prologue was BEFORE the table of contents and not actually IN the table of contents so I was a third into the book when I realized I had missed the prologue! Once I read it, it completely changed the suspense build of the book. 

The characters are vivid, I definitely cared about multiple of them, and as mentioned there is some delicious social torture moments. We're also going back and forth between past and present, and past chapters are from the POV of a mum with a young nanny, and you catch on pretty quick this MUST tie to Poppy (our former nanny character) and it's a slow build of "what the hell happened" to the end. 

One note, however: I found it ultimately very odd that both Poppy and Gina in two different spots were referred to using POC words but... I don't think they are POC? I literally went back and double-checked--neither is EVER fully described in terms of their appearance beyond hair color for both, and some freckles for Poppy. We know Poppy is beautiful and ginger but not much else, which wouldn't matter since everyone in the book defaults to white... except twice in the Ibiza scenes the author describes her skin as brown? Look there are 100% POC gingers, but given no where else does it ever come up that Poppy is non-white (and I think in this world it would?) so I think this was the author's hamfisted way of saying Poppy was tan from being in Ibiza... bad form! Don't call a white person brown b/c they are tan! And Gina is described by another character in a single scene late in the book as "exotic"... and I was like "wait wtf is she POC?" and I went back and reread both her introduction scenes--the first one on the phone in chapter one and the first time she physically appears at Thursday House and there is NEVER a physical description of her beyond "dark curly hair" and that she's tall and very thin. So I'm left over here like... if Gina is a POC it's poorly done which ultimately... no she can't be; she's defaulted to white. ARGH. I'm typically not a stickler for this, but when you use words that are coded to mean "POC" but otherwise your characters 100% default to white... it's weird. That said, I read an ARC and perhaps this was fixed before final copies.

Now onto my feelings about the ending... First, non-spoilery, because of the direction it goes in, it did feel like there were a few dropped plots, IMO. Or just things that didn't satisfactorily conclude. (The rest of my thoughts are spoilers and are on Goodreads)

This book is great! Would definitely recommend. Thanks so much to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

If it's too good to be true, it probably most definitely is. The Truth Hurts proves that the old cliché saying still holds true. 

The story follows Poppy and Drew, two complete strangers who coincidentally meet at a bar one night and instantly fall in love. Or is it a coincidence? Their random meeting isn't the only thing you'll question. You'll inevitably question the deal they make to never discuss their past. You'll probably question Gina's keen sense of intuition. You might question Poppy's job as a nanny. You might even question yourself. I know I did. 

Reid did an incredible job catching my attention from page one and I devoured the entire book in one sitting. The ending was a little rushed but honestly, I couldn't care less. The book more than made up for it. 

To avoid spoilers, I'll keep this review short. Go into this one completely blind. You can thank me later.

Absolutely loved this book!  I was unable to put it down and read it in one setting.  It moved quickly, with twists you never expect coming.  The ending was completely unexpected.  Will definitely be reading more from Ms. Reid.

While the overview of this book intrigued me, in practice, this wasn’t my favorite thriller and gets three stars from me. 

In general, I felt the pacing was rather off. The clues were there throughout, which I appreciated as a reader and I certainly wanted to keep reading, but even around 50%, it didn’t feel as though much had happen. Then, towards the end, we get an abrupt finish that is quite literally too crazy to believe. 

Nonetheless, I’m glad I gave it a shot and appreciated Reid’s short chapters and thorough character development! 

Special thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for providing me an advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.

A version of this review previously appeared in Shelf Awareness and is republished here with permission.

Rebecca Reid (Perfect Liars) delivers a cracker with The Truth Hurts. Poppy needs a plan after being unceremoniously fired despite years of dedicated nanny service. Instead, she's in a roadside bar in a foreign country with no friends or money. She's approached by an extremely attractive older man. After verbal sparring and an obvious connection, Drew offers Poppy his spare bed. She stays on in his decadent Ibiza summer home and, after a fairy-tale month, they marry.

Poppy isn't stupid. She knows "handsome rich men didn't just stumble into your life, buy you dresses and then offer to marry you.... There would be a reason." The other shoe begins to fall when Drew proposes an agreement: they never talk about the past. Poppy is wary but relieved. Drew is hiding something, but she also has much to conceal. Flashbacks to a prior nanny job swirl into the present timeline, revealing the awful events Poppy wants to stay secret. At the same time, she catches Drew in small lies and feels uneasy in their isolated London mansion.

Poppy invites her friend Gina to stay, then Drew's friends come for a weekend. As the longtime friends eat, drink and dig at each other, Poppy's and Drew's pasts are forced to the surface, to a shocking end. The tense, slow-burn relationship drama in The Truth Hurts unsurprisingly turns ugly and ends with a startling burst of intensity that works extremely well despite its abruptness. Reid's writing is engaging, taut and just plain fun to read.

STREET SENSE: I went into this one knowing nothing about it, not even familiar with the author. Honestly, I didn't expect to like it. Didn't seem like my thing. Another domestic thriller. But this one grabbed me good. And the ending was so somewhat out of left field I didn't know how I felt about it until I realized I kinda loved it.

COVER NERD SAYS:  If the truth hurts, I wouldn't really be attracted by this cover. That being said, it's really a great cover. I dig the font and the image. Really all of it. It's perfect for the book, it simply reinforced what I thought was a book that would not be in my wheelhouse. Cover gut was on point re quality of the cover, but missed on whether this one would be for me.

Be careful what you wish for seems to be this subtitle. Two strangers strike a bargain, have mind blowing sex and settle into life ever after. Until one of them decides the bargain no longer works for her. So begins the trek for the truth. Poppy  and Drew meet in a bar and a bit of conversation later they make a deal. Neither asks any of the pertinent questions as they enter into a pretty sweet deal for at least one of them . But old habits die hard and things begin to come to light . Oh did I mention there is lots of sex .

Poppy has just been fired from her nanny job and is stranded in Ibiza. With the last bit of money she has, she decides to drown her sorrow at a local bar. Drew sits down at her table and small talks his way into her life. He dazzles her with his money, nice clothes and fancy car. Deciding to live for the moment, Poppy and Drew marry. No prenuptial, just a pact between the two of them that they would never ask about each others pasts.
What are Drews secrets? Can she find out his without revealing her own? Did she make a mistake and married a murderer? Poppy is living the dream while she gets to know the real man she married

I couldn't put this down! I felt Poppys heart break when she gets fired, and then her elation when she gets married. Drew is lovable and mysterious and a little scary. There is an hint of creepiness and ghosts, just enough to make you believe it will be the twist of the story. The twist reveal left me shocked. Didn't see the end coming at all, and I'm happy with it. I love a good crazy ending.

This isn't a new story or concept. It was still interesting and kept my attention. It's an easy read...I finished within two days with reading breaks.

I had high hopes for this book from the beginning, as I’m a huge fan of the current thriller trend. However this one as ultimately very disappointing. The supposed dark secret from the last was actually kind of bland and didn’t fit whatsoever with how the entire novel had been structured around it. The reveal was incredibly flat and boring. That made the “shock” ending even more unpalatable - totally not credible or believable how callously the characters would behave. Their characters leading up to what happened did not seem like the type to be completely cruel and cold like that, especially the friendship between two key characters. Very odd.

I knew there was going to be a bombshell because just like that a woman gets a rich, handsome man just like that. I knew that there was something kept secret. It wasn’t the fasted paced book I’ve read and it took to the end for me to find out what happened although I felt the ending was predictable.

Thank you @netgalley and @harperperennial for a copy of ‘The Truth Hurts’ by Rebecca Reid.
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𝙸𝚗 𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚜 𝚝𝚠𝚒𝚜𝚝𝚢, 𝚌𝚘𝚖𝚙𝚎𝚕𝚕𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚝𝚑𝚛𝚒𝚕𝚕𝚎𝚛, 𝚊 𝚢𝚘𝚞𝚗𝚐 𝚠𝚘𝚖𝚊𝚗 𝚚𝚞𝚒𝚌𝚔𝚕𝚢 𝚎𝚖𝚋𝚊𝚛𝚔𝚜 𝚘𝚗 𝚠𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝚜𝚑𝚎 𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚗𝚔𝚜 𝚒𝚜 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚛𝚎𝚕𝚊𝚝𝚒𝚘𝚗𝚜𝚑𝚒𝚙 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚕𝚘𝚟𝚎 𝚘𝚏 𝚊 𝚕𝚒𝚏𝚎𝚝𝚒𝚖𝚎, 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚜𝚑𝚎’𝚜 𝚝𝚑𝚛𝚒𝚕𝚕𝚎𝚍 𝚠𝚑𝚎𝚗 𝚑𝚎𝚛 𝚗𝚎𝚠 𝚑𝚞𝚜𝚋𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚒𝚗𝚜𝚒𝚜𝚝𝚜 𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚢 𝚏𝚘𝚕𝚕𝚘𝚠 𝚘𝚗𝚎 𝚛𝚞𝚕𝚎: 𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚢 𝚍𝚘𝚗’𝚝 𝚝𝚊𝚕𝚔 𝚊𝚋𝚘𝚞𝚝 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚙𝚊𝚜𝚝, 𝚋𝚞𝚝 𝚒𝚝’𝚜 𝚊 𝚛𝚞𝚕𝚎 𝚝𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝚑𝚊𝚜 𝚍𝚊𝚗𝚐𝚎𝚛𝚘𝚞𝚜 𝚌𝚘𝚗𝚜𝚎𝚚𝚞𝚎𝚗𝚌𝚎𝚜.
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Wow, thank you Rebecca Reid for possibly getting me out of my reading slump! This book can hands down be read in one sitting. Rebecca’s writing was so addictive that I had a hard time wanting to stop at the end of a chapter. Totally a slow burn - but it didn’t bother me one bit. The story building was too good to even notice. The suspense kept me engaged throughout - I just HAD to keep going!!
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You knew every single character was flawed and keeping secrets. Although I couldn’t relate to Poppy, she was a very developed character and I found myself gravitating towards her wellbeing. I had way too many suspicions towards Drew - however, you know Poppy is also keeping secrets. You get a glimpse of Poppy’s ‘before’ and ‘current’ set of events. I didn’t see the ending coming..although abrupt..definitely jaw dropping. I would’ve loved another chapter added to the ending.
Highly recommend if you’re looking for a thriller with some romance.

This book was not what I expected!  I was immediately drawn into the story. Poppy was a very likable character. It started out with Poppy facing some unexpected hardships that quickly turned into what appeared to be a dream come true.  A rich, good looking, charismatic man immediately fell in love with Poppy; they got married; it seemed like all of Poppy’s woes were over.  Little did she know it was all just beginning.  This is definitely full of twists and turns, and you never quite know how it will end until the very last few pages.  Rebecca Reid did an excellent job of building the mystery and weaving the story of Poppy’s past and present together.  It turns out everyone has something to hide.

Many thanks to NetGalley, Harper Perennial, and Rebecca Reid for this digital ARC in exchange for my honest review. 

Romance meets psychological thriller in this whirlwind couple who agrees just days in not to talk about their past.  In true British fashion, a posh weekend in the country with friends starts to reveal the secrets they are hiding.

3 stars!

This is a super fun Cinderella story. Poppy grows up in an abusive household. She drops out of college and is a nanny. Her current employer ends up firing her while they are on holiday in Ibiza and tells her to leave then and there, in the middle of the night. She ends up going to a bar to drown her sorrows and meets Drew. Good looking, rich, older. They get married after a month together and vow to not talk about the past. Well, as the old saying goes, if it's too good to be true, it probably is.

I loved the characters, the writing style, and the plot is great. I feel the reasoning behind not talking about the past was a touch lame and could have been better developed. As you're reading, you keep wondering when you're going to get the big reveal of "the past" and it felt anti-climactic.There was also a bit too much back story about Poppy's mother which had no bearing on the story line.

A special thank you to NetGalley, HarperCollins Publishers, and Rebecca Reid for providing me with an ARC.

The Truth Hurts is a light domestic suspense novel, and I think it's a perfect pick for a summer read. It kept me interested, and I really enjoyed reading it. It has some gothic tones, and I could totally see this being a miniseries show. I hope to read more from this author!

CW - suicide, sexual harassment