Cover Image: Nothing But the Truth

Nothing But the Truth

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Member Reviews

Uplifting, empowering and funny. A celebrity publicist is cursed (or blessed) with a single day -- her 30th birthday -- of not being able to tell a lie. An entertaining read.

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Story seems cute but I just couldn’t get into it. Very much could be a case of just wrong book for my mood these days. DNF. Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for the advance reading copy.

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This was an absolute delight! I was expecting a cute romcom, but got something even better! I loved the message of this story, and we still got a romance out of it. This cover is gorgeous, and I cannot wait to read more womens fiction from this author!

Thank you Dutton for my gifted e-arc!

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Quote: “Most people will find a way to disappoint you, no matter how much you want them not to suck.” - Oliver

This is more feminist / chick lit than romcom. I mean there were a couple funny moments but it was more serious than funny. There is a romantic interest that was intriguing and kept me interested. The main theme of this book was women being mistreated in the workplace and coming together to speak out against it. It’s about a woman finding her courage…finding her voice and taking charge of her own destiny.

Overall I enjoyed this one. I did have a hard time getting into it at first though. I didn’t start to really enjoy it until I was about 20% in. I thought about not finishing it, but I’m glad I stuck it out because I ended up really enjoying it.

The main character goes through a lot of growth on her “Nothing But The Truth”
30th birthday. I’m fact a lot of the characters do. I really enjoyed Hot Bartender, Joanna and Leo. This book definitely had a great cast of characters.

If you liked Liar Liar (Jim Carey) and want to see what that’s like with a feminist spin…then this book is for you.

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Thank you Dutton & NetGalley for this arc in exchange for a fair and honest review.

On the eve of her 30th birthday, publicist Lucy Green wishes for her birthday to be a "perfect day"! She anticipates her long-term boyfriend proposing at a romantic dinner. The next day, Lucy wakes up to find that she is physically unable to lie - to herself or anyone else. She cannot force herself through her usual fitness and beauty routine, has no desire to eat her yogurt for breakfast or put on her uncomfortable shapewear for a day in the office. This inability to lie forces her to address inauthenticities in different areas of her life and start anew on her 30th birthday.

To be completely honest, this book had a lot of potential. Sadly, it was not utilized. This book is meant to be very feminist-oriented, in that the MC breaks through a lot of stereotypes while she is not able to lie for that one day. Through Lucy, the author tries to be blunt about the things women do to appease society and how we aren't being honest about how we are feeling. Here, the female empowerment cliches went too far to the point where the book was just .... unrealistic. At times the constant cliches had me physically rolling my eyes while I read.

The author tried to make her point way too strongly. For me, the beauty of an author making a certain point through their writing is the subtlety of it. The author needs to let the reader do the mental work to piece together the point they are trying to make in order for the story to feel authentic. The author missed the mark on this by just stating every single feminist cliche she could think of and finding a way to incorporate (I use this term loosely) them into the story. The reason I am so hung up on the use of the cliches is because it completely distracted from the rest of the story.

Anyways, this book was a miss for me. But other people seem to really like it.

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I received an e-ARC via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

4 stars! This book! Oh my gosh! Such an inspirational and entertaining story. I loved the cute take on the movie Liar Liar, I love adding a little romance and feminist spin to anything.



I absolutely loved reading a story where the women all supported each other, and even had a character redeem themselves. This book just made me feel seen, heard, supported and love. I feel ready to take on the world…okay maybe not actually but I could!!

My only critique is the plot felt a little slow at parts and I wished it had picked up a little faster. But the story was still amazing and empowering. Hence the 4 stars.

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Fabulous debut! I love every word!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

My thoughts—I loved this book! The idea that a Lucy can’t tell a lie after wishing for the perfect day was so charming, refreshing and so honest! It gave me the movie Liar Liar vibes in the best way! I truly enjoyed her journey through her icky boss & the #metoo themes it brought up. Simply amazing for a debut! Highly recommend 🎉

Huge shoutout to @netgalley for my advanced readers copy!

Synopsis—It’s the eve of Hollywood publicist Lucy Green’s thirtieth birthday, a day she hopes will bring the promotion she deserves and a proposal from her boyfriend. But he stands her up for a date, not for the first time, leaving Lucy alone at the bar—or at least, alone with the handsome bartender on the other side of the counter—so she makes a rueful wish over her cocktail for a perfect birthday. But when Lucy’s wish is granted in the most unexpected way, things go terribly awry, as things often do when wishes come true….

When Lucy wakes up on her big day, she can’t seem to force herself to go through her rigorous fitness and beauty routines—things she usually tells herself she likes. She has no desire to eat only a spoonful of yogurt for breakfast and she simply can’t bear to put on the uncomfortable shapewear needed for the power outfit she had planned for work.

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Lucy Green is about to turn 30 and she’s not happy about it. By her thirties, Lucy hoped to be engaged to her long time boyfriend and promoted at work. But on her big day, a meeting with a potential big name client and a rooftop party are being thrown in her honor, so she might just get her wish in the nick of time.

On the night before the big 3-0 though, Lucy’s boyfriend stands her up…again. The bartender (handsome, of course) notices the sullen Lucy and offers to make her a drink to wash away her worries.

But Lucy’s innocuous birthday wish morphs into more than she ever bargained for. The next morning when she wakes up she finds herself not feeling like…herself. Despite it being her birthday, she has no desire to get gussied up, has no qualms about being short with her overbearing mother, and honestly isn’t looking forward to all she’s been supposedly wishing for, and for so long.

Unfortunately, this feeling carries over to her workday. Before long Lucy realizes she simply cannot lie anymore. Not to others, or, more importantly, to herself. This is not an epiphany like crisis, she literally cannot do it. Being in the business of sometimes sugar coating the truth, Lucy panics. With so much to lose, can Lucy come out of it unscathed, even if it means telling the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth?

In the vein of the movie Liar, Liar, Nothing But the Truth is a classic tale of being careful what you wish for. Light in its delivery, it still deals with A LOT of things, some of which are decidedly heavy handed, all in the course of one day. In fact, that would be my biggest gripe about this book. I admired what it set out to accomplish, but the rushed pacing of it all ironically made a book about being honest, feel less authentic.

A cute read to breeze through, if I’M being honest, I wanted a bit more out of this one.

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Nothing But the Truth is a rom-com with good female relationships, no miscommunication, femimist postive and is closed door.

Lucy Green is turning 30 and for her birthday she wished for the “Perfect Day”. Instead she wakes up with the capability to only tell the truth. How in the world can this lead to the perfect day when you job alone relys on you lying to clients and the media?

A lot of things happen in the next 24 hours, some items being beyond believable. But I still enjoyed the story and the light shed on some serious topics. I love that the women build each other up. This book was fun and quick and still enjoyable.

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If you are looking for a positive,feminist, rom-com with good friendship relations? This book is yours to read!

At the eve of Lucy Green’s 30th birthday, she was sitting in a bar alone, waiting for her boyfriend- and hopefully fiancè to come share drinks with her. The hot bartender noticed that she barely touched her dirty martini which she only ordered because her sophisticated boss likes it and thought it will be her drink of choice too. Hot bartender said, that the way she stared at her phone screen and watches the door like a hawk tells that she is unhappy and could use a life changing cocktail! And just like candles on a birthday cake, Lucy made a wish that the next day will be perfect before taking a sip of the life-changing cocktail!

Big day came and everything seems to be wrong! As a publicist, Lucy is used to smiling her way with clients, giving them what they need and telling them things they want to hear. But being 30 is making Lucy way too honest about everything, put entitled people in their rightful place, tell everybody the ugly truth and somehow she feels its about time for her to do even if it meant that she might be losing her job.

There is a lot of things happening in the 24hr duration of the entire timeline of this book and that was my issue with it. I love how feminist this was. I love how bad guys were held accountable, I love how the story has its happy ever after. The romance was very wholesome and I was okay with that. It was fast, refreshing and fun story overall!

Thank you to Penguin Random House-Dutton via Netgalley and PRHAudio for the complimentary copies for review.

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I really enjoyed this book--from the concept to the characters. Lucy Green, publicist, turns 30 and has a drink for there birthday that doesn't let her lie for the next 24 hours. It makes her challenge her misconceptions about the world. It was a fun, powerful book, and I would recommend it!

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This was a fun, easy read. I loved the feminist angle but at times I felt like it was a little heavy-handed, like we were being force fed. I thought Lucy’s character was amazing, very charismatic. The plot line of the story was very entertaining, and reminded me of the movie Liar Liar (which I loved). Overall a good book, just not quite a favorite. I am excited to see more from this author as she develops her writing!!

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What a breathtaking book and concept! A story that from the first page has you saying, “This is what happens in my mind! This is what I think all the time!” A tale that has you cheering for Lucy Green, a publicist, encouraging her to embrace her true self because why not? The worst part of hiding or running away from the truth is the way it alters one’s mind status.
Everything changes for Lucy Green on her 30th birthday when a drink gives her the power of not lying for the next 24 hours. All the small things that a female usually thinks in a day for her social appearance turns the tables on their heads and the truth is out. For instance, working out in the morning and then not having a breakfast you want because it’s not your cheat day; if it’s something that you truly want to do go ahead, but if it’s something that you’re doing because that’s the way world wants you to be - big no no.
To see Lucy in her element was definitively refreshing. Throughout the book I was constantly connected to Lucy’s thought and it never felt like the story was dragging on. Along with these smaller moments, the book focuses on the MeToo movement and encourages the readers to stand up and never succumb to any injustice. The way this sensitive topic is portrayed is beautiful and if anyone was unaware of it, they’re finally getting a chance to understand what it is. I’ve heard so many misconceptions spun from the moment this movement started getting pace and to have a story which finally sheds light on the reality of it deserves an applause.
A beautiful tale of a woman being true to herself and striving forward in her life, Nothing But The Truth was a story that every reader needs to read through!

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Cute story and props for putting a spotlight on feminism! It gave me '13 going on 30' vibes when Jennifer Garner started righting all the wrongs she had done as an adult. Knowing her worth, not settling for less, doing what is right, and all that jazz. Such a shame though that although it's "just a story" lies some truth. I feel that this could be a possible eye opener for those who don't see those injustices in their workplace (if there are any).

I was a bit disappointed that it wasn't more of a romance novel, or at least it could had possibly a little more development in that area. You did get a bit of romance here and there but it just didn't feel enough for the hopeless romantic in me. I'm clearly a sucker for a really good love story.

Some stuff did seem a bit far-fetched but overall, it was a pretty good read!

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Thanks to Netgalley for providing an advanced copy of Nothing But The Truth!
If you're looking for a funny and easy beach read, Nothing But The Truth should be on your list. The characters were fun and the plot dealt with some heavy subjects while
keeping the overall tone very light-hearted.

The book takes place over the course of one day and I wish it had been spread out over the course of at least a week. At times, it felt extremely rushed. While this wasn't my favorite book of the summer, l'd recommend adding it to your TBR.

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I was unable to finish this book. I just couldn't connect with the main character. I'm hoping to be able to pick this up again in the future. I understand that this is supposed to be a feminist novel; however, the "feminism" portrayed in this book felt very much like the "not like other girls" trope that was so rampant in YA in the late 2000's and early 2010's. Perhaps the character development and feminism rounded out as the book progressed and resolved. However, I couldn't get past it.

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The night before Hollywood publicist Lucy Green’s 30th birthday, she gets stood up by the boyfriend she expected to propose to her. She makes a bitter wish over a cocktail for a perfect birthday. The next morning, she wakes up to find that she can’t lie or bend the truth — about anything — even to herself.

I love how this book explores feminist themes and heavy topics with optimism and a touch of magic! Lucy's wild day grabbed me from the very beginning, and I saw a lot in Lucy's realizations that I recognized from my own life. I can't wait to read what Holly James writes next!

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I enjoyed this book. From her job as a publicist, to the new romance with the hot bartender, and the true life lessons and James imparted because Lucy could not lie. Throughly enjoyable.

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It’s Lucy’s 30th birthday, but she wakes up with an odd surprise. She cannot tell a lie. When she begins her morning routine, she can’t bring herself to go through her entire beauty routine, and when her boss makes het uncomfortable in the office, she doesn’t hold back as usual, but lets him know how she feels about him. Today was supposed to be the perfect day. She was going to land a huge new client, get a promotion, turn 30, and get engaged at her birthday party. Suddenly it seems like all of the above, besides turning 30, is on the line if she can’t find a way ton reverse whatever truth serum she seems to have taken.

A day without being able to tell a lie. Part of me feels like that would be a fantastic day. The other part however, recognizes that my poker face does not exist. Seriously, you can read exactly what I am thinking on my face, there really is no reason for me to say it! I flew through this book and just adored the entire story. I love a strong female lead, and damn if Lucy didn’t fit the bill. I loved the me too aspect of the story, and how truly accurately out was portrayed. I also really enjoyed Adam throughout the book. Overall this was a really fun story, that also had a big dose of reality and covered some serious topics as well.

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I absolutely adored this book! A cute , and quick read that will have you falling in love with these characters. I
had quite a laugh at times.
And the ending was soo perfect!! I even teared up a bit all while smiling the goofiest grin ever.
Thank you so much netgalley

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