I really enjoyed this book! It was a super cute & fast read. It wasn’t just another romance book. It was such an empowering message!

WoW! What a phenomenal debut!
I gotta start by saying that this book delivered way more than I ever thought I would get. I enjoyed this book incredible much. The main characters were wonderful, sympathetic and just 100% lovable. I clicked with them immediately!
This book is beautifully written with vivid descriptions and stunning surroundings I was absolutely captivated throughout. The cover and the synopsis work perfectly with the storyline.
Overall, A fabulous, amazing read and I can't wait for more of her work.

Expected Pub Date• 7/12/2022
Post Date• 7/11/2022

Dutton,
Thank You for your generosity and gifting me a copy of this amazing eARC!
I will post my review closer to pub date.

Yay! Holly James' Nothing But the Truth is THE book women need. All women. Everywhere..

"This sharp, bighearted, and magical novel tackles all the lies women are encouraged to tell just to get by in today’s world—in life, in love, and in the workplace—and the liberation that can come from telling nothing but the truth."

This is such a smart, inspirational, entertaining, also thought provoking version of Jim Carey’s Liar Liar movie! The idea about a celebrity publicist who is making her money by pretending, fake smiling, creating illusions and fictional portraits for people she’s working for, making a birthday wish that resulted with losing her capability of lying is brilliant! ( I quickly high five-d myself for forming this lost sentence! )

Lucy Green raises her cocktail glass to make a wish at her 30th birthday and when she wakes up next day, she realizes she lost her ability to form a lie! She can only tell the truth nothing but the truth! Her lack of capability to say things people want to hear can ruin her entire career, her relationships, everything she’s worked for! But it is also relieving! Truth eventually sets her free! No more pretending, faking, thinking other people’s opinions!

Lucy finds her true place in the world, standing up for herself, fighting against inequality at work space, mansplaining!

This was brilliant, intelligent, fresh, provocative, well written women’s fiction! And it’s also one of the quickest reads of mine! I am looking forward to read more works of the author in near future.

Special thanks to NetGalley and Penguin Group Dutton Books for sharing this amazing digital reviewer copy with me in exchange my honest thoughts.

I really enjoyed this! It's written with a real bouncey joyfulness, and the concept (Lucy makes a wish about her birthday, and then finds on the day that she cannot tell even the most basic lie) is brilliantly silly and also not silly at all. What would happen if you *had* to be truthful about your work, your relationships, your clothes? Would everything stay the same or change forever? Everything in Lucy's life unravels and she's panicking and yet also - free. Very witty, with great characters, and a strong post-#MeToo subplot. Already keen to see what Holly James does next.

With NOTHING BUT THE TRUTH, Holly James has crafted a sparkling debut that sings from the very first page. Filled with heart, humor and honesty, the themes of female empowerment and finding one's truth weave as naturally (and as magically) as Lucy's "no-lie" curse. A quick read that will entertain while also making you think.

this was cute but wasn’t my favorite but i can definitely see people enjoying it and wanting to read it for a beach read

If you could be granted one birthday wish, what would you hope for? Most of us wouldn't ask for the ability to not be able to lie, and neither does Lucy Green, but that's exactly what happens when she makes a wish over a cocktail on the eve of her 30th birthday. Since when does wishing for your birthday to "be perfect" equate to being relegated to truth-telling? Find out in Holly James' debut novel, Nothing But the Truth, a story about a celebrity publicist who finds herself experiencing a birthday like none other when she wakes the morning of her big day and discovers that she can no longer lie.

Nothing But the Truth is a Liar Liar-esque novel for the Millennial generation. While this book shares some elements with the 90s film starring Jim Carrey, James keeps it fresh and modern by giving the story a female perspective and drawing in elements of the #MeToo movement, unattainable beauty standards, and women's inequality. Women will see themselves in Lucy as she unwittingly advocates for herself (because she cannot lie to herself anymore) and stands up against the life that she has been told she is supposed to want, making this novel as much a female-empowerment piece as it is a romantic comedy.

James also gives us a glimpse into the life of a Hollywood publicist in Nothing But the Truth. I found the parts of the novel pertaining to Lucy's job to be quite fascinating, as I was only vaguely aware that celebrity publicists do in fact exist and cultivate an image of celebrities that we are supposed to like and admire. Choosing to give Lucy the career of a publicist was a brilliantly clever move on James' part because, as you can imagine, a lot of truth-spinning goes into maintaining the public image of the stars.

Nothing But the Truth is a fast-moving, no frills story of a woman discovering that her perfect birthday may just be everything she always imagined it NOT to be. Women everywhere will root for Lucy as she discovers she has no choice but to be true to herself, and she embraces this newfound realization with wild abandon. While Lucy does at times get on a soapbox because she can no longer hold back the truth, which may come across as annoying to some readers, nothing that she says is untrue, so say your piece, Lucy!

Nothing But the Truth will be loved by anyone who has ever wondered how their life would be different if they suddenly got everything they NEVER hoped for and started living the life they truly want to live.

This book really grabbed me from the beginning, and I almost finished it in a day! A lot of women's fiction I've read lately has been a pretty slow burn, so the plot movement and pacing of the book was a lovely change for me.. As someone who recently turned 30, I felt like Lucy and her worries in life really resonated with me, and I felt that her character development was excellent. The descriptions of LA were very on point. I'd recommend this book enthusiastically to all of my girlfriends and can't wait to read more by this author!

I did not like this book, which was quite the disappointment, because the cover art on it was gorgeous. Hopefully one day, I'll be able to get into it.

Don't let the cutesy cover fool you- this book is a story of female empowerment set in the #MeToo era publicist world. Mix together a likeable protagonist, a dash of romance and a cast of characters supportive in all the ways you'd want them to be, and you have a quick and enjoyable - but incisive read. While women reading this book won't be surprised by any of the lies the protagonist realizes she tells herself on a daily basis, it felt refreshing to see them laid out on the page all the same.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with a free copy of the book in exchange for an unbiased review.

What a wonderful premise: on the eve of her 30th birthday, publicist Lucy Green sips a cocktail confection while she waits for her boyfriend at an LA Bar and wishes for a perfect day: a proposal, a promotion, and successful moving in with her soon-to-be fiance. However: the next morning she wakes up unable to lie, and takes on the patriarchy, women's restrictive clothing, diets and cheat days and carb counting, the conformity of makeup, her mother's desire for a grandchild, and utmost honesty in dealing with her relationship and her sensitive and eccentric celebrity clients.

I cheered Lucy in her au natural hair, bohemian sundress and comfy shoes, and settling into a style more her and still socially (careeraly?) acceptable, her ordering a full breakfast and skipping spin class, and felt her rage and pain at having to work twice and hard and be criticized twice as much to get ahead.

Unfortunately, some of the charm is lost in the repetitive railing against bras, heels, food, and mascara. It's almost redeemed in a successful outcome for allegations of sexual misconduct by the CEO at the PR firm Lucy works for. Is the the Hot Bartender who coincidentally keeps crossing her path inevitably going to be her True Love's Kiss?

I received an advance review copy through #netgalley #NothingButTheTruth

I do not know why I did not expect very much from this book. I am pleased to say I was very wrong!!! This is a great quick read for anyone looking for a funny but yet soul searching read. I absolutely loved this book from the first few pages. I ended up staying up to finish this. This book will be recommended quite a bit for many people who read very different genres.