I shouldn't be surprised by how much I enjoyed this book, I really shouldn't. Winter has done it again.

This couple have a romance that will captivate you, I'm sure like me you will be drawn in from the very page and you won't be putting this book down until you have read the final line.
West and Elle clash in all the best ways. And while Elle is the one who is trying to live in the moment and is just so simply sweet, it was West who made me want to reach through the pages just give him a big hug.

This was an emotional read and had me hook from the first page. Loved!

THE DIRTY TRUTH by Winter Renshaw

This is yet another very addictive read by Winter Renshaw. I always know I am going to find a world that keeps me flipping pages as I devour one of her books, and this is no exception. This story is an enemies to lovers trope.
Elle is newly back to work after a life changing medical crisis in which she dies for three minutes. West is the owner of the Made Man magazine that Elle writes a column for. After a dressing down about her latest article in a business meeting, Elle writes another story which is about West and then quits. That does not sit well with West who is undergoing a lot of stress too as he is raising his 14 year old niece. This very well written story is 5 stars.

The Dirty Tuth is another poignant account by Winter Renshaw, a simple, realistic and relatable story in its essence, a complex experience in its significance.
An intelligent, ambitious, wealthy and powerful man that seems to have it all, West Maxwell is the founder and owner of the Made Men Magazine, a difficult boss everyone fears and obliges, a successful man no one knows much about. Elle Napier is the writter of the famous dating column, The Dirty Truth, in the men's magazine, a job she decides to quit after a life altering event as well as a one time and only verbal lashing from West, in a crusade to live for joy, happiness and making a diference in peoples lives. To experience the truth only and not a filtered version of it. This is about a cut with a past that has been holding her chained to the duties and demands of work, to the lack of personal life, to the unrest, the unseize and the unreflect, to the utter sense of obligation no matter its nature. Not happy with his employee self dismissal and always very curious about and admirer of Elle's work and tenacity, West proposes a tutoring ocupation to Elle regarding his 14-year old niece Scarlett and here is where they journey truly begins.

Definitively an adult read, not exactly for the X-rated scenes, but for its depth, The Dirty Truth is a well concocted narrative that gathers all its meaning in Elle's unrelenting quest to discover who is the true West Maxwell and what lies behind his unyielding persona. The story addresses important elements of adulthood that were treated with finess and integrity such as rough beginnings, loss, grief, guilt, military life, abandonment, promises and sense of incapacity, wants for the best and self disappointment for West that fights in two divergent directions: on one side, to grow and maintain his media empire, on the other, to nurture his niece and be the family support she needs. For Elle, having faced the possibility of losing it all, she chooses to live the best experiences, to construct, settle and spread positivity and to discover herself and the man that intrigues her the most, putting her journalistic skill and perseverance to work.

I absolutely cherished their infatuation, ensnarements and entanglement process to its final step of falling irrevocably in love. Peeling the layers of their personality, West and Elle found out they completed each other perfectly and had more in common than they thought, being assertive, direct and objective, sincere by admitting flaws and vulnerability and always willing to work their fears and priorities together.
A very satisfying read!

This office romance story melted me. I love the premise: a young woman has an experience that makes her search for more authenticity in her life, and demands it in others. Elle Napier is a talented columnist writing for a male audience, giving a female’s perspective on relationship issues—what she calls The Dirty Truth. Her boss, West Maxwell, is raising his niece Scarlett. Scarlett has been plucked from her home, family, and friends to live with West. West is icy cold & Scarlett doesn’t respond to that very well. When Elle and Scarlett connect, there are these small tendrils, reaching towards each other, and West, too. I loved Elle wanting to understand West better, my heart hurt reading about his brother Will. So much guilt and regret to carry—there is so much emotion in this story, without much angst. It’s not all sadness—there’s lots of snarky banter here too, plus Elle’s over the top family gatherings. Lovely family story.

Wow – Wonderfully Written! West & Elle’s Emotional Slow-Burn Features A Troubled Teenage Girl Who Helps Bring An Unlikely Couple Together. It Includes Probing Questions About The Disconnect Between Online Personas & Real-Life People. It Also Contemplates The Importance Of Finding Meaning In Life After Being Faced With A Near-Death Experience.


West Maxwell, thirty-seven, is a man used to getting what he wants. Manners and patience are not part of his arsenal. Power and money are his language. He is a self-made man. Cold, serious, and emotionally unavailable, he is single-minded in his pursuit of success. His very presence instills fear in his employees thanks to his tyrant tendencies. After graduating from the University of Nebraska with a major in Business Management, he eventually made a career for himself as an influencer. He used his celebrity to start his own print magazine ten years ago. Made Men uses West’s impeccable image and example to inspire its readers to take charge of their own identity rather than sitting back and watching the world pass by. Its huge popularity rocketed, making it the best-selling men’s magazine today.

Despite all his fame, West is immensely private. He has managed to keep most personal details scrubbed from the internet. What remains is simply the image he has carefully curated over the years. He attends events without dates, so there is nothing to fuel rumors of his romantic life. He has dated supermodels and socialites, but he has only ever had a few relationships. He knows he isn’t capable of anything long-term, so for the most part he has no-strings relationships which eventually fizzle out. He has spent so much time alone that he prefers it that way.

West always knew his dreams were too big for the tiny town of Whitebridge, Nebraska in which he was born. He didn’t have a great upbringing, his parents failing him each in their own way. His brother, Will, had been his best friend, but with him out of the picture, the only thing remaining in Whitebridge with any meaning to him was his niece, Scarlett. That changed four months ago. After a three-year struggle, he finally won full custody of fourteen-year-old Scarlett. But Scarlett is not happy being uprooted from the only home she ever knew, and being the legal guardian of a rebellious teenage girl is far more weight on his shoulders than he could have imagined. With a merger in the works, he finds himself in over his head.

Elle Napier, thirty, hails from a traditional Louisiana family. She is the oldest of four girls but the only one not falling into the expected pattern of marrying her high school sweetheart and settling down. That would definitely not be happening after Elijah broke her heart twelve years ago. Her mother, Mona, is a worrier. She fusses over her daughters, so it was no surprise that she couldn’t stay away when Elle died. Elle had moved to New York with her best friend Indie and began work at Made Men five years ago. She had studied journalism and hoped to do something with meaning. Though the Made Man job lacked depth, it was a great opportunity in a very competitive field and a good way to get her foot in the door.

Elle writes Man Made’s monthly The Dirty Truth column. Each month she meticulously researches a new topic to write about for the male readership, giving them a female’s perspective on things. The column is immensely popular. With print media fading, Elle knows she is very fortunate to have a job and has been more practical in her career aspirations. But after dying for three minutes, she is rethinking her priorities. Her brain aneurysm also led to the end of an eighteen-month relationship with Matt. Needless to say, dying, losing her boyfriend, and missing almost two months of work have left her ungrounded.

Elle cannot stop thinking about what death means, and her previous complacency about her career no longer feels right. She needs meaning in her life, not lies. Working for West Maxwell no longer has the same appeal. The man doesn’t match the image of the fun-loving adventurer in the pages of his magazine. It is all fake, and her column is fake, too. She no longer wants to peddle fake advice. So when West Maxwell humiliates her in their first face-to-face encounter in her five years of working for him, she decides to give him her honest, unfiltered opinion of him.

West is infuriated by Elle’s audacity but also deeply affected by her keen perception. He is a private man, so being revealed by Elle’s words unsettles him to his core. With her new outlook on life, Elle feels no need to hold back. When circumstances draw the pair closer together, her long-standing intrigue with the man intensifies. She has always felt the magazine’s owner is like a puzzle with missing pieces, and the journalist in her dying to put the pieces together. She wants to see the real man, not the image put out for the public, and definitely not the tyrant that terrorizes his employees. The couple eventually grows closer as some of those missing pieces begin to come to light. They face a few obstacles along the way, but they eventually find a happy ending.

Wow! West and Elle’s story addresses the timely issue of identity in an online world. What is real and what is fake is so easily confused. Filters give distorted images of perfection that are difficult if not impossible to emulate in the real world, and carefully scrubbed and honed stories sell sensationalism to maximize reach and followers. Lives are made to look outrageously luxurious and the lifestyles are envious and unachievable for most. Grabbing attention becomes the focus, which in turn causes people to behave in more and more outlandish and sensational ways. Reality is warped as a result – or rather the public perception of reality is warped, more specifically. This in turn influences the actions of ordinary people trying to remain relevant in an unending chain reaction. But underneath the profiles and pictures, away from the online world, remain real people. Those real people are flawed. They have the same real-life issues as anyone else … unless they get lost in their own online creation. Truth and lies, fake and real, all begin to blur unless and until people recognize the difference.

This story also addresses the notion of life after death. Elle struggles with the meaning of life when she realizes that there might be nothing beyond this life. Her reaction to her near-death experience is not unique. It is a life-altering event for her, giving her bravado that she had not previously possessed. It gives her the courage to speak openly to a man that had previously terrified her, and it opens the door to what comes next between the two.

West and Elle’s emotional slow-burn features a troubled teenage girl who helps bring an unlikely couple together. It includes probing questions about the disconnect between online personas and real-life people. It also contemplates the importance of finding meaning in life after being faced with a near-death experience. It is about family and career, and about the reasons behind their choices. The story is wonderfully written. The plot is somewhat complex. The characters are carefully crafted and three-dimensional. West’s story unfolds slowly, but it is so worthwhile. The walls he has erected hide a man with great feeling and dedication. The story is written in first person. The POV alternates between West and Elle. I rate this book 4.5 stars.

I received an advance copy of this book and am voluntarily leaving a review.

"Don’t settle for a spark . . . light a fire instead."

West Maxwell. Ambitious. Attractive. Intelligent. Wealthy. The epitome of a true alpha in every way, used to getting whatever he wanted, whenever he wanted, without concern for the fear and hurt he inflicted along the way. West left his humble roots behind and worked to become wildly successful as the founder of Made Man magazine. But who was West Maxwell, the man other men aspired to be?

Elle Napier, writer of The Dirty Truth, a dating advice column in the men's magazine, decided to make changes in her life after facing a brush with death. She wanted to make a positive difference in people's lives.

"I’m tired of living this weird, filtered version of life where every decision, every move I make, is rooted in fear or every word out of my mouth is some kind of filtered version of the truth."

Embracing truth and fearlessness, she set out on a quest to infuse her life with things that only brought her joy and meaning. After leaving her job at the magazine following a verbal humiliation by West, she took on the role as mentor to West's 14-year-old niece, Scarlett. While bonding with Scarlett, Elle used the opportunity to learn more about West. Who was the man behind the image and what drove him to success?

"Behind the curtains of West Maxwell’s beautiful and privileged life is a dark and heavy portrait I wasn’t expecting."

This latest read from Winter Renshaw took a more serious look into a number of issues including death, abandonment, guilt and self-discovery, as well as touching on the complications of life in the military. Despite his seemingly impossible ways, my heart broke for West as Elle revealed layer upon layer of his motivations underlying his quest for greatness. Meanwhile, on her own journey towards discovering her best self, Elle emerged as such a strong and inspiring woman and was perfect as the protagonist in this story.

The undeniable attraction between West and Elle evolved slowly and was lighter in steam than I was expecting. But, more important than their relationship, this was a story of discovering one's best self and finding the right path to get there. For a deeper approach to contemporary romance, pick up this gem in June 2022.

** Special thanks to Montlake, author Winter Renshaw and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this ARC. All thoughts and opinions expressed are my own. Quotes subject to change at time of publication. Available June 14, 2022. **

An emotion driven, rollercoaster ride romance with an intense dislike (or do they!) to love story built up with a backdrop of two people not really knowing just how much they needed each other.

Elle needed to let go of dying. After a near death experience she makes a life changing decision and starts to try to embrace living.
Maxwell is not all he seems and is actually deeper than anyone imagines. Struggling to raise his niece because he can’t relate, he asks his ex employee to spend time with her in an effort to help her acclimatise

Secrets are shared, feelings are developed, then hurt and overall this romance is just an utterly lovely ride.

Recommended read

Elle's brush with dying has left her emotionally halted, unsure what she wants to do. That is until West Maxwell gives her the nudge she needs to move on. Her new outlook: take the time to see things new. What I liked most about Elle is her genuine happiness and willingness to help. Take on life and capture memories instead of regrets..check. Mentor a sullen teenager and show her that the grass is not greener on the other side...check. Fall in love with the man who has no give to him... uh oh. Can West prove to her that he is worth the chance?

After a brush with death and an absolutely life-altering revelation about her boyfriend, Elle is reeling. Nothing makes sense, and everything that once felt normal and expected suddenly isn't satisfying anymore. When West, her jerk boss at the magazine where she works, demands a last-minute rewrite of her column for no discernible reason, Elle has had enough. But just quitting isn't enough...she intends to tell that jerk boss exactly what she thinks of him and the illusions he's peddling!

I really enjoyed Elle--her character felt very true to what a young woman would think and do given the experiences she had. She's strong, intelligent, kind, and confident and I loved watching her come into her own. When circumstances throw her in the path of West's troubled niece, she's a good mentor and that story is told in a very realistic way. Their relationship takes time to develop, has steps forward and back, and messy emotions are allowed to be messy.

The weakest point, for me, was West. He really was a jerk and while I can sympathize with some of what he went through, he didn't really have an excuse for being as unpleasant as he was and, while he did grow, I wasn't convinced he did enough to make up for some of his past behavior. I was also very troubled by the way he thought of previous lovers. If a woman providing him pleasure lacks self-respect, what does it say about him for soliciting and receiving it? That didn't sit well with me.

On the whole, though, this is a romance with depth, intelligence, and fully-fleshed, imperfect characters and is well worth a read!

Dying for three minutes and being saved from a deadly aneurysm by the wife of the man she was dating is not how Elle Napier expected her morning to begin. Life seems different now and her job as a columnist, at Made Man magazine, may no longer be what she needs. When her boss and owner of the magazine, Maxwell West, refuses to print her column, she sends him a new column, about him…and quits! Max is stunned by her column and her decision to quit. Having taken custody of his teenage niece, he offers to hire Elle to mentor her. He shouldn’t want Elle, but he does and he is not used to putting someone’s needs before his own. She is very attracted to him, but he is not known for permanence in his relationships. After she has another health scare, he realizes that he needs her in his life. Has he left it too late? I really enjoyed this story and characters, her spunky attitude and his realization that he loved her and needed her in his life. I received an advance review copy at no cost and without obligation for an honest review. (paytonpuppy)

The author struck a good balance between romance and drama, light-hearted and more serious moments. I liked the characters and the plot progressed at a good pace. A couple of things were a little unrealistic, but I was willing to suspend disbelief and just enjoy the ride.

I received an ARC and am voluntarily leaving an honest review.

Reviews by the Wicked Reads Review Team

Mary – ☆☆☆☆
Elle is a journalist working for a mega-magazine but after a near-death experience, she decides it is time to move on. Besides, she is tired of her boss but not the job.

The ex-boss, West Maxwell, has other plans for Elle. He wants her to mentor his 14-year-old niece. He can't do anything with her, so maybe Elle can. As Elle and Scarlett get closer, so do Elle and West. Elle learns more about West and she sees that he is not at all what she thought.

This is a really good enemies-to-lovers story that will have you wondering who will survive, Elle or West? The spark is there between them, it just takes a little fuel to set it ablaze. This was a first for me from this author and I look forward to reading more.


Avid Reader – ☆☆☆☆
M/F Romance
Triggers: Cheating

Elle is a journalist who has a column everyone relates to. She knows that she could write more powerful pieces, but she also knows that she's good at what she does. When her boss berates her in a meeting and wants a new article in a crazy time frame, Elle reevaluates her life choices.

Elle is also recovering from a few traumatic events – (1) finding out her boyfriend isn't who she thought, and (2) a brain aneurysm. With these new events swimming around and then her boss' crazy behavior, Elle realizes that she wants something different – something more.

West is struggling with being a guardian of a moody 14-year-old girl. He's used to people doing what he asks, when he asks, and not asking questions. When he realizes that Elle was a good writer, person, and that he kind of screwed the pooch by being a jerk, West has to find a way to have Elle help both him and his niece.

These two find themselves on completely different paths than what they thought. As they wind their way through the angst of a 14-year-old girl and reevaluating the preconceived notions both had of each other, West and Elle will either find themselves walking the same path or diverging forever.

You'll laugh at the antics of a 14-year-old girl, swoon and simultaneously curse West, and cheer Elle on.


Mary Jo – ☆☆☆☆
Elle is confused, trying to navigate a world which is both familiar and strange to her. After having an aneurysm that almost resulted in death, she's trying, one step at a time, to find her footing. Not only is she becoming obsessed with her near-death experiences and what others may have seen on the other side, her new boss is on her last nerve.

As a journalist, she knows you have to roll with the punches, but clearly Max hasn't gotten the message that Elle is just back from sick leave and columns don't write themselves, especially overnight. Taking a giant leap of faith, Elle quits, determined to live her life on her own terms.

Max can't let her go. Seems like Elle struck up a conversation with his niece one afternoon and now all Scarlett can talk about is Elle. Hiring Elle to keep up with Scarlett solves to problems he has: (1) Scarlett has a friend and someone to look out for her, and (2) he can get to know Elle better.

Elle doesn't mind playing nanny/mentor to Scarlett, but Max is a different story. She's not sure if he's what she needs, yet Max thinks he’s the man for the job.

I enjoyed this book and can't wait to read more from this author.

Mesmeric, captivating romance

There's nothing like a near death experience to rearrange one's priorities, as Elle discovers when she tries to return to her day to day life after barely surviving an aneurysm. One week back at work, where she's a relationship columnist for a gentleman's magazine, is all it takes to force her to face the dirty truth about her life.

West, the rags-to-riches owner of the magazine, is frustrated by her cavalier resignation so he's determined to confront her to find the reason behind her sudden change. In the meantime, though, a chance encounter between Elle and Scarlett, West's teenage niece, gives him another problem to solve. Scarlett is not adjusting well to living in NYC and West hopes that Elle can mentor her to help her feel more settled in.

Both West and Elle have a lot of things to address in their personal lives, and this book is as much about how they approach their problems as it is about their romance. There's plenty of intense attraction and fierce connection between these two, but the real focus is on their emotional intimacy rather than the physical. Really, that's the best part of this story, as the author pulls no punches when it comes to honestly addressing her characters' pasts, influences, life choices, and all the regrets they've earned along the way.

Throughout the book, excerpts from Elle's "Dirty Truth" column are scattered like jewels, shining an insightful light on the various ways we interact with each other. These are magnificent little character studies, and by themselves are well worth reading the book.

There's a wonderful HEA and years-later epilogue that wraps everything up nicely. This is one of this author's best books that I've read, one that I highly recommend for anyone who likes a little emotional and intellectual depth to their romances. I voluntarily reviewed an ARC of this book.

Winter Renshaw is a longtime favorite author of mine. She is a wonderful storyteller and always manages to grab hold of my heart with her warm and beautifully written stories. Case in point, The Dirty Truth. The book blurb accurately describes the story, so for what it's worth, here is my two cents: The Dirty Truth is an engrossing, emotional, character driven story that hooked me on the first page. West, hides his heart under a rigid, cold exterior. Elle, having survived a life altering medical trauma is cutting the bullshit out of her life and looking for answers. Scarlett, a teenage girl torn away from everything she knows, just wants someone to care. They are complicated, three dimensional characters who have been through so much, each in their own way, and I loved watching them find each other. This is a great story. I loved it.

I received a free copy of this book and am voluntarily leaving a review.

When Elle Napier is forced by her boss, West Maxwell, to rewrite an article for her column ‘The Dirty Truth’, little does he know when she will do. Recovering from a brain aneurysm, she has decided to throw him a curve ball and resign. Yet West, doesn’t give up too easily and decides to enlist Elle, to work with his teenage niece, Scarlett, whom he can’t control. Soon Elle finds herself, seeing another side to West that she never thought possible, as she does all that she can to help him win over his wayward niece.
Elle is such a wise yet sassy young woman, who seems to have the ability to bring calm, to the storm. She is a positive influence on both West and Scarlett, but I thought that in giving of herself so effortlessly, she was in danger of losing herself. I enjoyed seeing West change throughout the story, realising the wonder of Elle. I really enjoyed this book and look forward to reading more by Winter Renshaw.
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book from NetGalley and Montlake. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I’m always hungry for a good enemies-to-lovers story and The Dirty Truth satisfied my craving.

Elle’s experiences were unique and created a heroine that had a different outlook on life which affected her current decisions. I loved her snarky responses to West as well as her kind and gentle manner with his niece. Her solid determination to have a relationship that fed her soul felt organic, considering her new outlook.

I was surprised at West’s response to Elle’s official stand against him (which I LOVED by the way!), as this was the first time the author shows us he is more than what you see on the surface. And I loved that most of all. The more he interacted with his niece, and that entangled with Elle, led to me falling in love with him, hardcore.

While this was lighthearted and fun, it also had some serious emotional moments that dealt with more than just Elle and West’s relationship. However, it never hit me over the head with it, which left this heavy subject story mildly angsty. This was what I consider a slow burn but I didn’t even realize it because I was so taken with the rest of the story.

West Maxwell is an enigma of the coldhearted boss, but his actions are contradictory. He's recently gained sole custody of his 14 year old niece, rescuing her from the depths of his hometown and the grasps of her careless mother. He runs an empire magazine geared towards men and how to be a better one with his star columnist being Elle. She not only stars in his magazine, but he's the one woman he can't seem to get out of his head. She is recovering from a near death experience and her first week back she's given an impossible assignment from West and while she does fulfill it she gives him the middle finger along with her resignation. Given his respect for her, he sees her as a potential mentor for his teenage niece whom he can't break through. Scarlett, much like Elle, doesn't care about his accolades or his prestige, she just wants to be loved. Her whole life she's been let down and abandoned, but she deserves more and between West and Elle she gets it. This story is not only a romance that you want to see flourish, we see Elle's second chance on life and making the most of it. We also see West let his walls down and become the man, not only his brother would be proud of, but Elle and Scarlett. I love the development of each of these characters individually and collectively and it was an unputdownable story that will engulf you from the first page.

This was and interesting storyline and I really enjoyed the characters. West gained custody of his fourteen year old niece Scarlett. Scarlett had a difficult childhood with her mother and West stepped in. Elle writes The Dirty Truth for West Maxwell's magazine. She had an aneurysm and it took them a few minutes to bring her back. The chemistry between West and Elle is scorching hot and I loved the way she stood up to him. Their banter was hilarious and I absolutely loved how Elle's family was with Scarlett.

After a near death experience, everything changes for Elle and she ends up quitting her job with style. Her boss West is not happy, and wants a chance to set her straight about a few things. When she agrees to help him out with his niece, they actually get to know each other, but will he let he in completely?
A great read

First time reading this author. This was a sweet, charming read. This is a good book for cuddling up with a coffee and an afternoon. A few tears were shed. I will check out other books by this author.