I wanna be like Elle.
Elle was brave enough to make the biggest change of her life. I want to be like her - except for the near death/actual death experience - when I 'grow up.'
Elle is a writer for a popular men's magazine and is damn good at it but decides it's not really where her heart is anymore. She doesn't really know what she needs but she knows she needs a change. Thanks to one final run in with her jerk boss she cements her decision. She quits. In an email.
Only, said jerk boss realizes Elle's smarts and wit and good nature would be just what he needs to help get through to his out of control teenage niece.
I love that this story is light yet so deep at the same time. It's really about finding what makes you *you* and how to let your guard down enough to realize yourself as well as how to let others in to discover your you, too.
Love. It!

The Dirty Truth by Winter Renshaw
Rating: ★ ★ ★
Genre: 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐦𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐚𝐫𝐲 𝐫𝐨𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞
Format: 𝐞𝐛𝐨𝐨𝐤

𝘛𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘬 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘵𝘰 𝘕𝘦𝘨𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘺, 𝘞𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘙𝘦𝘯𝘴𝘩𝘢𝘸, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘔𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘭𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘢𝘯 𝘢𝘳𝘤 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘣𝘰𝘰𝘬 𝘪𝘯 𝘦𝘹𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘮𝘺 𝘩𝘰𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘳𝘦𝘷𝘪𝘦𝘸!

"𝘛𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘪𝘴 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘮𝘦. 𝘉𝘶𝘵 𝘪𝘯 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘧𝘢𝘪𝘳𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘴, 𝘐 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦𝘯'𝘵 𝘣𝘦𝘦𝘯 "𝘮𝘦" 𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘵𝘸𝘰 𝘮𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘩𝘴 𝘢𝘨𝘰, 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘮𝘺 𝘭𝘪𝘧𝘦 𝘤𝘢𝘮𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘢 𝘴𝘤𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘩𝘢𝘭𝘵 - 𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 - 𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘳 𝘰𝘧 𝘮𝘺 𝘦𝘹'𝘴 𝘢𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵."

The Dirty Truth follows Elle, a young journalist who recently encountered a brush with death. Feeling desperate to find meaning and purpose in her life, she decides to quit her job.

Initially, I was very intrigued by the synopsis. I am often searching for life purpose and trying to understand big life questions. The issue is that Elle quits her job because she really dislikes how her boss treats her, only to then find herself working for him again…only she’s not really working for him, she’s just helping him with this very personal family matter out of the kindness of her heart? ——— What? The concept was there but I don’t think the execution was well done.

Elle, West, and Scarlett are all enjoyable characters but they are mostly surface level. The issues that trouble these three are so deep and I wish we could have dived more into that and really flushed these characters out more. This book feels more like a beginning of a series and this is just the initial set up, not enough substance for a stand alone.

The romance is practically non existent for 80% of this book and then it’s all dumped into the last 20%, which really didn’t work for me. I just truly don’t understand where the development happened from Elle disliking West to them becoming romantic.

I would have loved this book if it had more of a singular focus. Is this book about Elle finding meaning in her life or is it about her falling in love with West? Because Elle didn’t do much soul searching or much of anything after she quit her job other than spend time helping West. At the end of the day this book just wasn’t for me.

Overall, The Dirty Truth is an easy contemporary read with underlying issues that are very important and I wish they were discussed more.

Thank you NetGalley for providing me with an ARC of this book!

This was def a fun read but it wasn't anything different than your average big-ego guy and girl who puts him is his place office type romance. It was easy to read and had me laughing at times, but overall it was just pretty average. That said, it wasn't bad and would be fine if you're looking for more of a filler.

Just amazing

This book makes you auto-analyze yourself. Makes you look the dirty truth of your every day. It was not only about Elle and West's relationship, but about Scarlett too. I voluntarily reviewed an ARC of this book received via NetGalley.

I received this book as an ARC for an honest and voluntary review. There are very very few Winter Renshaw books that I don't love. Maybe 2. This doesn't fall into that category at all. It has all the angst and slow burn that I've come to expect and love from Ms. Renshaw. Elle Napier is a column writer for a magazine owned by West Maxwell, and he's viewed as a tyrant by all of his employees. He has his reasons for the walls he's created. After a serious health issue Elle is starting to question everything about her life, employment included. When Mr. Maxwell tells her he didn't like her current article, and gives her basically 12 hrs to re write it, she decides to say "goodbye" and with a scathing column instead, talk about the ultimate burn. But that is not where their story ends, because secretly West has been intrigued by Elle for years, in fact that was the reason he hired her.

"In my younger days, I was convinced money could do anything you told it to do. But as the years ticked by, I learned the hard way that it only magnifies us. If we're good people at heart, it makes us better. But if we are selfish, lazy, and unmotivated, it only enriches those qualities tenfold."

West Maxwell is the quintessential corporate boss - perfectly coiffed, aloof, and powerful with a stare and a tone that make everyone nearby hold their breath in fear of making him mad. West is the man behind the revered Made Man magazine, a man's go-to-guide to becoming the best he can be in West's image.

Elle Napier has worked for Made Man as a writer for 5 years, writing the candid and well-known Dirty Truth column. Then one day, she died. Granted, it was only for 3 minutes, but after that she decided she just couldn't keep living her life as she had been. She wrote a cheekier than normal column and quit her job working for West Maxwell.

Despite working for West for years, Elle didn't know much about him. This changed when serendipity introduced her to West's 14 year old niece Scarlett, a lonely and misguided girl in desperate need of a positive female influence. From there blooms a great relationship between Elle and Scarlett and opens the door for more to develop between Elle and West, who underneath all of his shellacked layers hides a warm, caring man, one who values a lot more than just money.

The Dirty Truth begins with one of the best hooks I've seen in chapter 1 of a romance novel: "I didn't see God when I died." From that very first line, I was intrigued by Elle and found myself wanting to know more about her. Her character is one of my favorites from Renshaw, and she didn't let me down throughout the rest of the book; she was always sticking up for herself and commanding respect, making her not only a great role model for the fictional Scarlett but also for any woman reading this novel.

There are beautifully woven themes throughout this book. The one that stands out the most is that of how family and one's relationship to it shapes who they become. Based on the world that Renshaw has built in this book, I'd love to see one for Elle's roommate and long-term BFF Indie!

Good book! Easy read. Definitely recommend. There has been lots of books where the employee falls for tree CEO, but I liked how this one has a little twist .. Elle was her own person she wasn’t acting a part or pretending to something she wasn’t. She has a life/death experience and decided she need to live life to the fullest. She hated her boss and wasn’t happy so she quit her job. Don’t we all wish we could do that! Lol … the meets this emotional teen and really wanted to help her … even tho she was not a fan of the uncle l/guardian of the teen she still wanted ti help. I love how West had a soft side but it’s annoying when it takes so long to find it… Elle definitely had patience. The ending was my favorite I loved how it was more about Scarlett’s progression as she got older and her ambitions. As always Winters books don’t disappoint

Grown up, slow burn romance with realistic issues and sensible conclusions…..an absolute winner of a story.
Elle is not a fan of her boss West Maxwell….he’s rude, detached and has zero redeeming qualities …none that she can see anyway!…. annoyingly he is extremely attractive!!
Then she finally hits her last straw and finds herself newly unemployed…..but an unexpected encounter with Mr Maxwell takes her completely by surprise and his sudden, out of character proposition puts her new life on a different course altogether!
I love a sassy, unapologetic female lead with a gentle heart and that is what we get with Elle.
West Maxwell is a complicated man and little did he know what he really needed was the spitfire ex employee dishing him some home truths!
With a wayward niece and lots of emotional minefields Elle and West are certainly up against it….will honesty and trust be their saving or will secrets and insecurities be their downfall….
Loved this from Ms Renshaw, easy style, likeable characters and great dialogue makes for the perfect escape!

thank you to the publisher and the author for letting me read an ARC of this amazing romantic story through NetGalley.
this book was really sweet , emotional and had so much depth. I really liked that It was kind of like pride and prejudice.he was a proud character which didn't want to people know about him deeply .she was prejudiced about him, making wrong assumptions.i enjoyed their conversation so much the way he opens up to her was really beautiful .the way they both work together for they girl really melted my heart
i really liked the author writing style.this was my first from her and I really want to read her other books.
my rating 4/5
spice: 2 chillies

The Dirty Truth by Winter Renshaw is one of my top five favorites of the 200 books I read this year. There is so much emotion, depth, and character development, and I love how these enemies-to-lovers realized that people aren’t always what they seem and found love in the process.

My undergrad degrees are in journalism and PR so I always enjoy it when one of the characters does this for a living. Our heroine, Elle Napier, had her own popular column in a national men’s magazine, Made Man, that is owned by our hero, West Maxell. That is until she quit. He’s the typical growly, stand-offish, not-in-tune with his staff type of boss, who doesn’t let anyone in.

West is harboring a secret as he is consumed with guilt over losing his brother. He is now the guardian of his 14-year-old niece, Scarlett, who is trying to adjust to life in New York, and reaches out to Elle for help. She soon realizes he is hard on the outside and soft on the inside and worth getting to know. Scarlett was searching for unconditional love and security, as well as a friend, and acting out. Her life in Nebraska was all she knew, and she gave her uncle a run for his money until Elle shed some light on the reasons for her behavior. I feel there are many children and teens who don’t know how to express their feelings and the author portrayed her perfectly and very sympathetically.

Being a journalist, Elle can’t help but be curious and ask the hard questions, and I loved how smart she was and her deep reflection on so many topics, including life after death. She suffered a life-changing medical condition and has a new positive attitude, and I admired her so much for selflessly being a mentor to Scarlett, even though she had reservations about her sexy uncle. I loved how strong and opinioned she was, and how she knew how she wanted to be treated and didn’t accept less. I loved how she didn’t play games and was open-minded, realized when she overreacted, and sincerely accepted an apology when it was offered.

This book delves into sensitive topics, and the author did a wonderful job unraveling every little tidbit and tying it together beautifully. Life isn’t easy and as adults we aren’t always prepared to analyze our feelings or behavior and I liked how they could talk things through. There are so many layers to this story including childhood abandonment, grieving a loved one, dealing with guilt, sharing your truth and being vulnerable, admitting your character flaws and working towards improving them, and making the people you love a priority instead of just working for a living.

The Dirty Truth has all the feels and is not to be missed. I found myself very emotional at times and filled with angst, heartbreak, tears, and joy. I loved Elle and West as a couple and feel that their love story and sexy times progressed exactly as it should. I loved how she trusted her instincts and gave him a chance, and how he opened up to her and shared his greatest pain.

The Dirty Truth, by Winter Renshaw

I absolutely loved this book. I couldn’t put it down.

Elle Napier writes a column Named, The Dirty Truth for West Maxwell’s magazine Made Man. Well things come to a head when she writes the current one and West doesn’t like it and he tells her to rewrite it within 24 hours. Well, she rewrites it about him and turns it in with her resignation.

To put it mildly, it doesn’t go over very well with him. He doesn’t want her to quit because he picked her personally out of quite a lot of applicants.

Better not go any further or I’ll give everything away. Please read this book, very well written and very entertaining as all Winter Renshaw’s books are.

Elle died for three minutes and when she woke her life changed. She worked for a butt and decided she didn’t want to work there anymore so she quits in an epic way. Not long later she starts to NOT work for him with his niece. She does it because Scarlett need a good role model and clearly West isn’t doing it as well as she can do it. Elle and West build a friendship which slowly becomes more.
These characters were well written. I absolutely loved West as a care-giver to his niece. I felt it added an additional layer to him. A layer he really needed to make me fall in love with him.
Essentially this is an enemy to lovers story, but not heavy on the enemies side. More indifferent towards each other.
Great story!

What an awesome read. A love-hate, drama, intriguing, beautiful story that will keep you reading the entire time. Loved reading about West and Elle. I always look forward Winter’s books.

A Must Read!

I freaking loved this book! I had a hard time putting it down when real life called. It is the best book I have read in a while, possibly all year! With Elle’s spunky and forthright personality, West being complex and overbearing, and Scarlet just wanting someone to love her, what’s not to love? This is a book I would actually read again.

The Dirty Truth by Winter Renshaw is a five-star read that shows us what it is to be a true made man is. I will simply start with my dirty truth, I love Winter Renshaw and she has always written great stories, she is one of those authors I have read everything by, usually I read most but there is one, I never get round to not this author, and I can honestly say this is my all-time favourite, and that odd as at first Elle wasn’t winning me over, and maybe the dirty truth is that Elle had to fight to win me over and she did in spades. West, mmm he had me tilting all the way through, scary, sweet, trying way too hard for his niece, and as a former teen rebel I completely understood where Scarlett was coming from, not knowing your place and people is such a scary place. This one had me in unexpected tears as it was so powerful. I will most certainly be re-reading this one again and again. Do not miss this simply sublime author, or this what I am sure will be the story of the year.

This was a good book that I quite enjoyed!

This book is perfect for fans of a slow burn romance, and even though that isn't my go-to, I liked the pacing of this book, it felt right based on the subject matter and with what the characters were dealing with. This book touched upon many different subjects (always check TWs!) But I think they were done really well! I definitely choked up at the end there, but felt the sweetness throughout the rest, and the hardships that the characters faced with thier past. There were also many lessons in this book too, which I'll let you discover on your own, and that added a lot to the story and made me just stop and think everytime.

Thank you to NetGalley and Montlake for the earc in return for an honest review.

Winter never disappoints!!! I’m still swooning. West is definitely a wealthy arrogant jerk. Once you get to know what’s behind that hard shell you will surely fall in love with him. Elle is the gorgeous girl next door type. When Elle writes her article about him, we’ll let’s just say things get interesting. I do believe this has become one of my favorite Winter reads!!

Amazing!! I could not put it down. I enjoyed meeting Elle, West, and Scarlett. Being able to go on their journey’s with Elle’s newfound look at life, West discovering how to be open and less survey, and seeing how tough and resilient Scarlett is and feeling your heart break and mend are definite page turners. This is most definitely my favorite book by Winter. Thank you for bringing these characters into my home and heart.

Spunky woman standing up to a-hole boss… check. Telling said boss to shove his job…check. Falling for said boss… check. This book takes you through many feels. The beginning, as Elle’s recent near death experience is retold. Followed by her deciding she needs to gab life by the horns and then helping her ex-boss realize he needs to be real. I loved seeing the evolution of both Elle and West. They both found more about themselves during this book, allowing them to be stronger people. West’s niece was a great secondary character. I like how the author wrote her into this book. She too finds herself after a rough start to life. Definitely a book to re-read!

This book is so fun! I want to flip back and and read it once again. The chemistry and passion is so great and I’m very happy to have read this one!