True by Erin McCarthy

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True 

By:  Erin McCarthy
Expected Pub:  May 7, 2013
Source:  NetGalley


GR's Summary:


When Rory Macintosh’s roommates find out that their studious and shy friend has never been with a guy, they decide that, as an act of kindness they’ll help her lose her virginity by hiring confident, tattooed bad boy Tyler Mann to do the job…unbeknownst to Rory.

Tyler knows he’s not good enough for Rory. She’s smart, doctor smart, while he’s barely scraping by at his EMT program, hoping to pull his younger brothers out of the hell their druggy mother has left them in. But he can’t resist taking up her roommates on an opportunity to get to know her better. There’s something about her honesty that keeps him coming back when he knows he shouldn’t…

Torn between common sense and desire, the two find themselves caught up in a passionate relationship. But when Tyler’s broken family threatens to destroy his future, and hers, Rory will need to decide whether to cut her ties to his risky world or follow her heart, no matter what the cost…

Lindy's Point of View:

I was first introduced to the book cover, and synopsis of True, by Danny, of Bewitched Bookworms, on her Waiting on Wednesday post!  I was immediately drawn to the attractive couple on the cover, how it looked like a black and white photo with a real life couple, and loved how the hot pink made the title pop!  Then, I read the synopsis, and got giddy with excitement.  I love reading New Adult Contemporary Romances, and True, sounded like a book that I would love!  When I saw the title posted on NetGalley, I jumped up in glee, and didn't hesitate in requesting this title!  I'm so glad that I chose to read this book!  It may sound cliche with the innocent  virgin, and womanizing bad boy falling in love with one another, but it was so much more than that.  "True," had many factors contributing to its success. The characters were well-developed, and unique, and the storyline was fast-paced, and had me hooked from beginning to end!

The characters in this story were dynamic!  I loved reading about Rory!  She was different from any main character that I have read in a New Adult Contemporary Romance, and she was such a breath of fresh air.  What made Rory stand out as a character was that she was an intelligent, strong, logical, female lead.  Her favorite subjects were math and science, she was going to school to be a doctor, (coroner), and she problem-solved using logic, not emotion.  Also, she was described as awkward, uncomfortable in social situations, shy, and unnoticed by the opposite sex, unlike her two best friends, Kiley and Jessica, who were tall, blond, tan, and got all of the attention.  Rory felt like an ugly duckling compared to her best friends.  Also, she wanted to lose her virginity, but had never really had the opportunity to do so.  I'm more used to reading about female leads that are gorgeous, popular, social, self-confident, and make there decisions based off of their emotions.  I was happy for Ms. McCarthy to think, "outside of the box," by creating such an intelligent, thoughtful, and different from the norm character for her female lead!

Tyler, the male lead was a bad boy with a big heart, and a conscience.  He had tattoos, a piercing in a very interesting place, gorgeous body, good looks, and he was emotionally distant, and didn't do relationships.  Yet, he was extremely close to his brothers, took responsibility for their upbringing, the household bills, shopping, and his own schooling.  The more I saw past Tyler's outward appearance, and facade, the more I understand why Rory fell in love with him, because I fell in love with him too!  He was honest, straight forward, loyal, dedicated to his brother's, selfless, and intelligent.  He had an aptitude, and passion for Literature, and ended up tutoring Rory for her class.  He had a way of making Rory see things from a different perspective, and helped her learn how to balance out her logical side, by bringing passion, and emotion into her life.

True was such an excellent read!  This story had my emotions all over the place!  I felt the strong pull of passion that Rory, and Tyler had for one another.  It was clear to me how deep their love was, and how they were willing to sacrifice their own happiness for the one that they loved.  That right there is real love!  This story was filled with so much chemistry, passion, and majorly hot scenes between Tyler, and Rory, that I found myself swooning scene after scene!  I loved the authentic feel to the story.  These characters went through so much heartache, and pain, that is true to real life.  I related, connected, and rooted for Rory and Tyler, and became their biggest fan!  They became each others best friend, support system, and one and only love.

True was a beautiful love story that encompassed pain, tragedy, death, and abuse, but also, passion, love, hope, family, friendship, loyalty, selflessness, and new beginnings!  I highly recommend this amazing story!  Your heart will ache from all that these two characters (along with Travis' siblings) go through, and each happy and sweet moment will be cherished, and stand out.  This story will make you think, long after the last page is read, about all of the kids that have to go through the abuse that Travis, and his brother's had to endure.   I give True, a family of 5 Bright, Hopeful, and Loving Stars!

   

My Favorite Quotes:

"How could I say no to making out?  I nodded.  If he had been feeding me a line, promising me that we'd be together or have a relationship or anything else that smacked of bullshit designed to get a free pass into my panties, I would have said no.  But he'd been pretty straightforward with me, and he wasn't offering anything more than exactly what he had said-making out and talking."  (EARC, 821-825)

"I mean that you are honestly one of the best guys I have ever met.  The question is not whether or not you're worthy of me, the question is if I am worthy of you."  (EARC, 1888)

Ro's Point of View:

True was a very emotional read.  It was a well developed story that had a full evolution of growth throughout the story.  It was another sad book filled with many of life's tragic issues.  Tyler comes from a dysfunctional family, with a drug induced, alcoholic mother, who blames her children for her miserable life.  She is a reprehensible woman, and she refers to her children in very vulger terms.  Unfortunately, she doesn't care about how the depths of her hatred, and her drug addiction have had a devastating effect on her four boys.  Tyler had an older brother, Riley, who didn't live in the house, two younger brothers who lived at home, Easton, (the quiet and timid younger brother, and Jayden, (his teen brother with Down Syndrome.)  There was no love, and no safe place in this home.  Whenever his brother's called him, he dropped everything, and went to them immediately.  He was selfless.  He endured his mother's wrath continually, so his brother's would not be hurt at her hands.  He took them out, fed them, cleaned up, and stayed with them, in order to protect them from their abusive mother.  On the opposite side of the spectrum, he was untouchable.  He was a man whore, a hardass, that didn't give a damn, but that couldn't have been farther from the truth.  No woman could get close enough to him to know the real Tyler.  He used women, and discarded them like yesterday's trash, until he fell for Rory.  Tyler was actually an intellect, though his appearance (tattoos, and standoffish intensity) left something to be desired, no one gave him credit for thinking he may have actually had a brain in his head.  He was very well read, and in fact was a literary enthusiest.  He knew every nuance, from every book, and became a tutor for Rory.  Rory was more of a quiet introverted loner, very intelligent, and had hopes of becoming a coroner.  Her mother died when Rory was young, and she had been the only semblence of norlmacy in Rory's life.  Her father and her were left behind, and neither could communicate in a healthy manner.  There were no real emotional attachments, verbal, or otherwise, except that they knew they loved each other.  Rory's father lived in the past, and couldn't face the present.  Neither knew how to touch the other, because they both never resolved the pain of their loss in the past.  They were both very logically minded, and never let go.

This book has the bad boy, Tyler Mann, and the good girl, Rory Macintosh.  Tyler saves Rory from a near assault, and so begins their journey.  Tyler has had a lot of friends with benefits, including Rory's best friend Jessica, and she marveled over his prowess in the bedroom, along with his piercing that leaves the women begging for more.  Rory was twenty, and still a virgin.  Her girlfriends set Tyler up to take her virginity, but what starts out as a job with monetary recompense, soon turns into an intriguing relationship that Tyler never expected, and it scares the hell out of him.  This was the first woman he ever connected with, or was intrigued by.  This brought a new dimension to his personality, that made him more vulnerable, and a more likeable character. 

I loved the relationship that developed between these two characters.  It was beautiful how they both  needed each other in their lives, yet, didn't realize what they were missing, or that they were worthy of each other.  At times, they were not able to understand or relate, because of each of their own inadequacies.  I loved that Ms. McCarthy wrote the book showing that Rory had strength of character, and a strong enough disposition to know what she wanted, and made Tyler make the tough decisions if he wanted to be part of her life. The relationship that Rory developed with Tyler's little brother's was special also.  She was so loving, and caring with both of them, and it warms the readers heart.  Tragedy struck, and there were many ups and downs throughout the book.  Love, and Romance were definitely a slow rising theme that built, and made the novel a story I devoured, and you will too!

I loved this book, and Ms. McCarthy made it believable.  This is a must read.  Tyler is sexy, smart, deliciously edible, and Rory is beautiful, kind, adorable, and loyal.  Yet, they are both broken until they find each other. Together these two will make you want more.  Get your kleenex's ready, this is a definite tear jerker ladies.  Let's hope Ms. McCarthy has a sequel in store for us.  True get's a big 5 heart crushing, soul searching, love thirsting Stars!

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Excerpt:

That was when I realized that was why I’d always been slightly nervous around Tyler.  He was what people always accused me of being- there but not present.  Easy going, but distant.  Smiling, but intense.  Maybe it was the alcohol, my ears still buzzing, my insides hot but my skin cold and clammy, but for the first time I didn’t feel uncomfortable around him. 

“So are you really a virgin?” he asked, sounding genuinely curious.  “Or were you just saying that?”

No longer comfortable.  It went away faster than you could say Awkward Moment. 

Why he thought I would want to talk about that made no sense to me at all.  I was drunk, but I wasn’t insane.  If I hadn’t even told my roommates until that night, why the hell would I sit in Tyler’s car and spill my guts?  I wasn’t the confessional type.  I never had been. 

So I just looked at him.

“I’m going to take that as a yes.”

I wanted to tell him to mind his own goddamn business. To stop pressing a girl he didn’t know for intimate details about her sexual experience. That it was rude. But I remembered that he had in fact saved the very virginity he was questioning, so I didn’t want to be a bitch. I just shrugged. Really, what difference did it make? I was already a collegiate abnormality. Likes to study! Hates to Talk! Won’t go tanning! See this freak show exhibit in her natural dorm habitat…

But I actually surprised myself by opening my mouth and saying, “Yes, I am.”

My admission silenced him for a second, but then he drummed his thumbs on the steering wheel as he put the car in PARK in front of my dorm, which was a seventies built tower of glass and steel, the lamp post flooding into his car, showing even more clearly how dirty and ancient it was, a slot for a cassette player crammed full of what looked like parking tickets. 

“Do you have a purity ring or whatever?”

Now that I was in, and the beer had loosened my lips, I said the first thing that came into my head.  “I prefer to call it my hymen.”

Tyler let out a laugh.  “No, I mean one of those rings you wear on your finger…”  He looked at me, understanding dawning.  “Oh, wait, you’re being sarcastic, aren’t you?”

I nodded.

Which made him laugh harder.  “Rory, you are an interesting chick.”

Interesting wasn’t exactly a riveting compliment, but he hadn’t called me a freak, which was how I felt sometimes.  Like I had been assembled in a different way altogether than everyone around me, and while I liked the end result, everyone else was confused as to how to interpret my very existence.  They watched me, suspicious, as if I were a Transformer and they were waiting for metal arms to spring out from my chest cavity.

I didn’t think that I’d ever seen him laugh before, or maybe I had just never noticed, my attention focused on Grant, who I had thought was more likely to fall in with my plan of exploring human mating and relationships.  But then again, Jessica and Kylie tended to dominate all conversation in a group setting, so maybe their own perfectly affected laughter had drowned out Tyler’s. 

But for some stupid reason, I liked to think that he was laughing just for me. 

Which was when I knew I was even more drunk than I realized and I needed to get away from him before I sat there blinking at him like a baby owl indefinitely.  Before I put some sort of hero worship onto him that he might deserve, but which didn’t mean a damn thing.  Before I substituted one pointless crush out for another. 

I shoved open the door, half falling out, clinging to the handle and the remnants of my dignity, like he could hear my stupid thoughts.  “Thanks,” I said over my shoulder, barely glancing back as I exited the car, clutching my bag. 

There was no response and when I struggled to slam the heavy door, which seemed to weigh a million pounds and required more coordination than my icy fingers had, I realized that he was just staring at me.  There was a cigarette in his mouth, and he was lifting the car lighter up to it, his hand guiding it to his destination without thought.  As he sucked on it to catch the paper and tobacco on fire, his eyes never left mine.

The smile was gone.  There was nothing but a cool scrutiny.

I shivered.

Then I walked as fast as I could to my dorm, digging in my bag for my swipe card.

Once inside, I paused at the front desk to check in and I glanced out the front doors.

His car was still there, and I could see the shadow of his outline, the tiny red glow of his cigarette.

About the Author:

USA Today and New York Times Bestselling author Erin McCarthy sold her first book in 2002 and has gone on to pen more than 38 novels and novellas in the paranormal, contemporary romance, and young adult genres.  A RITA award finalist and an American Library Association winner of the Reluctant Young Reader award, Erin is a member of Romance Writers of America, Horror Writers Association, and Ohioana.

Erin McCarthy's:  

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