This Much Is True

4 Stars

This is what road trips are made of. JR Dunne is fresh out of prison after being wrongfully convicted and he’s out for revenge in a big way, determined to get his life and son back. What he didn’t expect along the way is the feisty stowaway in the backseat of his new car. Hope is a down-on-her-luck girl who has just lost everything due to the pandemic that has taken over the country. The last thing in the world she wanted to do was sell her dad’s car, but she needs the money. After drinking a little too much and passing out in the backseat, she awakens to find herself flying down the road with the sexiest, albeit, grumpiest man she’s ever met. These two embark on a cross-country road trip, along with JR’s brother, Scout and it’s a story that I found myself laughing out loud with more times than I can count. I truly enjoyed everything about this one.

Angela – Alphas Do It Better Book Blog

This Much is True by Tia Louise was a single-dad, opposites attract story that captivated me from start to finish. I loved Hope. She was likable and strong, but not in a good place right now. J.R. is determined to clear his name and get his son back. Both are a bit lost and broken in their own way and yet somehow they find themselves on a road trip that may change everything. Though J.R. is determined to do what he needs to do to get what he wants, he cannot ignore the woman in his car. I loved their chemistry and banter right from the start. Add in the current pandemic all while on a road trip and you have a story that was fun and enjoyable.

Read and reviewed for Sultry Sirens Book Blog.
Happy reading!

JR and Hope met so unconventional and weren’t looking for love but the heart wants what the heart wants. But it wasn’t it so easy. They were both going three difficult things in their lives but they couldn’t help being attracted to each other. They were quite a few characters even though not the best added to this story that had some twists and unexpected surprises. Regardless of the drama these two couldn’t stay away from each other as much as they tried. Good story with very good and bad secondary characters.

From the first page I knew I wasn’t going to stop reading it and I was right. When JR is wrongfully accused of a crime he hadn’t committed and sent to jail you feel his pain. He is then released early and on a mission of revenge and to see his son.

While collecting the car he purchased he finds Hope, the free spirited and unemployed old owner of the car sleeping while driving to pick up his brother. The denial of attraction he feels for her is repeated that he has no time for romance and that’s the mantra he continuously repeats to himself but the more time they spend together the more the feeling form for each other and it oozes off the pages while your reading it. I love the banter between scout (JR’s brother) and hope. The beautiful friendship that builds over a short amount of time had me laughing a lot.

The more time JR and Hope spend together the harder it is to fight the feelings. It’s a push and pull until JR let’s go and my god those scenes are delicious. This book has all the feels, you will laugh, feel the pain like it’s happening to you, smile, cry (yes I’m a sook) and by the end you’ll be left with a huge smile.

Every time I read a book of Tia’s I say this is my favourite and again I stand by my statement, this is my favourite and I look forward to scouts story because that little teaser at the end made me want more.

I received this as an arc to give an honest opinion and I’d happily read this book over and over again.

I received a copy of this book from the publisher/author to review for Stephanie’s Book Reports.

Hope
I blame the alcohol. I lost my restaurant business, was forced to sell my dad’s cherished 1967 Chevy Impala, and I got a little drunk. Now I’m waking up with the hottest, angriest guy I’ve ever seen, speeding down the highway like a bat out of hell. Ice-blue eyes hit mine with stomach-clenching force. And he swerves onto the shoulder ready to kick me out. Needless to say, our romance doesn’t start our sweet.
J.R.
Two years ago, I hugged my little boy goodbye and told him I’d be right back. Next thing I knew, I was arrested and sent to prison for a crime I didn’t commit. Until they let me out early…Now I’m headed home to confront the man who put me away A lie put me behind bars, and I’m ready for the truth. I don’t have time for the sexy girl with pale blonde hair and bright blue eyes stowed away on the backset of my new car. My mission is to get my son back and clear my name. Love is not on the agenda. It never is, though, is it?

This is one of those books that you can not put down once you pick it up and start reading. This is the story of J.R. who ended up in jail for something that he didn’t do. Now he is out of jail and on a mission to see his son and get the answers he deserves from the man who helped to put him behind bars. What he never expects is to find a co-pilot on his road trip to the truth. He has not intention into dragging Hope into this mess. He is a man on a mission and this is a solo mission. Or is it? This is a second chance romance that will keep you reading till the very end. I loved this story so much.

A romance set in our new world.

“This much is true…You can count on me. I’ll never let you down. I’ll always stand by your side.”

This is the first romance that I have read that incorporated the chaos of 2020. It is set in a world of face masks, social distancing, and economic repercussions like ruined businesses. It does not dwell on these, but the characters are in a place where many of us have been throughout this crazy year and they recognize that the world has changed. It is a world where highways in California are nearly deserted and parents worry about the distancing in place at their children’s’ schools. This is written in first person from a dual POV. I enjoyed the pacing and the depth of the characters as well as their personal growth throughout the story. I loved that there are some subplots that run through the story that allow the characters to express their commitment to their families and their perseverance of the truth. I loved the writing, which at times was almost poetic. This was my first novel by this author though I have been meaning to read her work for some time. I will certainly be reading more of her work.

Hope Eternal Hill has had a rough year. She is lonely, broke, and she falls apart a bit. The she wakes up in the back of her dad’s car as it speeds down the highway in California. JR (John Roth Dunne) has had a rough couple of years. The current climate has allowed him to be released early from his prison sentence for a crime he is innocent of committing. He buys a car to drive cross country to see his son, and to get answers to the questions that have been at the top of his mind during the last few years. He picks up the car he purchased through contactless delivery, but he is more than surprised when a beautiful young woman pops up in his back seat while he is driving down the road. Their meet cute was original and current.

I loved that Hope has a little bit of a hippie vibe. She is mostly optimistic in the face of the many curves life has thrown her. JR is angry, confused, and a little bitter. Underneath that, he is actually a good man. He sees the goodness in Hope and he wants to embrace it so badly while at the same time believing that she deserves more than he can give her. He makes some mistakes along the way and sometimes acts like a total jerk, but Hope’s goodness keeps bringing him back. He quickly develops a very protective attitude her, and I love that. They have an instant attraction to each other and when they give in, there is some serious heat. They both grow throughout the story to a place where they are OK alone and better together. JR’s son Jesse is an adorable 5 year old with only love for his Daddy and reading JR as a soft-hearted dad is heart-melting. Their HEA is sweet and allows for their dreams to come true. This book is a standalone that completes JR and Hope’s story. There will be another book in the series which will tell the story of Scout, JR’s brother. We meet him in this book and get to know his back story a bit. I am 100% looking forward to reading as he finds his HEA as well.

Heat Level 4

I LOVED this story. The moment I started reading it I couldn’t put it down. I was hooked.

JR is out of prison, he was serving time for a crime he didn’t commit and he is determined to find out the truth on what happened. However, he needs to make it from California to South Carolina and back in a short amount of time. He got a car, he has his brother to help him, he also ended up with a completely stranger to join him on this journey.

I loved the entire road trip. Scout is hilarious and just a fun character. The brotherly love between him and JR is amazing and I couldn’t get enough of it. I adore Hope. She is a free spirit, she is full of happiness and she is a dreamer. JR is a grump, but you can’t help but love him. He has been dealt some rough hands in the past and he just wants to clear his name and get his adorable son back in his life.

Hope and JR have a connection the moment they meet and the more time they spend together the more their chemistry grows, especially being stuck in a car together for days on end. They are complete opposites, but Hope brings some light and happiness to JR’s life. I loved the two of them and I loved their relationship, even though it broke my heart at times I was rooting from them until the very end.

This Much is True is fun, adventurous, hilarious, emotional and captivating. A MUST READ if you love a grumpy single dad and opposites attract romance.

Overall Grade: 1/2

Welp! I ate up Tia Louise’s newest book, This Much Is True, in one big bite. J.R. and Hope’s story isn’t one to push you away. Instead, it pulls you into its drama through Louise’s deft characterization of J.R. and Hope and a certain level of romantic suspense. What this book does is play on Hope’s name by bringing hope into a world that feels very very dark.

This Much Is True is the first book firmly settled during the COVID-19 outbreak. Just as we are struggling with stay-at-home orders, social distancing, and mask-wearing, so are J.R., Hope, and the other characters of the story. It’s the first romance I’ve read that has dealt in this time, and it felt a bit eerie reading it, seeing current life reflected back at me through the specter of romance. Most compelling about this book is the ease of J.R. and Hope to recognize their soulmate in each other. This was also a bit of a stumbling point for me because this reads as an insta-love story EVEN with a hero who is grumpy. For this reader, I struggle with insta-love stories because I want to better understand why a hero and heroine could fall so deeply in love so quickly. From a romance reader’s standpoint, it alleviates some of that initial tension between the hero and heroine. Unfortunately, as is the case with insta-love stories, the drama comes later in the story, which keeps you reading to the very end.

As a couple, J.R. and Hope are everything you love in a Tia Louise romance. They are the yin to the other’s yang. He is dark, while she is light. She brightens up his cloudy day, and their chemistry is combustible quickly. What is most important about their story is how their journey aspires for better things even in the midst of difficulties. It’s intentional that Tia names her heroine, Hope, that they reunite on a bridge, and she is described as an angel. In her character, we know that life will only grow better for J.R. who has had life heap drama on him. This is also a challenge for us to find the light in our dark days. As I read This Much Is True, I knew that Tia Louise wrote this book to offer deliverance from our own troubles; that it feels like a soothing hand on the shoulder, one that cajoles us to keep moving through lives that feel weighed down by what it feels like to live during a pandemic.

Do I think the story is as strong as her last three? No. The reason for my 4 ½ start review is my love for J.R. and Hope’s coupling and the solving of the case against J.R. Yet, the resolution felt a bit rushed to me, even though the epilogue is quite sweet. I also had a few questions about story points: why is her father kept so long in the short-term living facility? Why doesn’t she visit him through a window and then she suddenly does after complaining about being separated from him? How does she afford her family’s beach house or living without a job? There is a plot point that occurs toward the end related to a trust fund. Where did that come from? The book doesn’t read as seamless as her former stories, and I wonder if the trials of the pandemic affected her usual ability toward a cohesive, well-drawn story.

With that, though, I would absolutely recommend this book. I’m a critical reader, and I want all of the points drawn carefully together. When they aren’t, it makes me ask questions which affects my overall grade. Tia Louise will always be a must-read author for me, and her newest book, This Much Is True is a continued testament to her ability to write characters who we can’t help but love. J.R. and Hope Eternal have a story that feels perfect for our world right now.

What a ride This Much is True was. Hope was down on her luck and sadly had to get rid of one of her most prized possessions. But when she decided to have her last moments with it she didn’t think she’d be in for a ride of her life. JR was a man on a mission. After a long five years he was ready to right some wrongs and to see his son. With a car secured and he was ready to go he wasn’t expecting to find the previous owner in the backseat. Oh these two had me cracking up and yelling at them to get it together already. I couldn’t put this book down. I was whole heartedly invested!! This story was funny, swoon worthy and at times mad me mad as hell but I loved every page of it.

I didn’t read the blurb of this story. All I saw was the HOT Cover and single dad, lol… And yah. So I was not prepared for what I read.

J.R just got out of jail for a crime he didn’t commit. And his first point of business, find the people who set him up. So he bought a car online and tracked his brother down to help him drive home and confront his father and see his son.

Half way in picking up his brother he discovers a stow away in his car and immediately wants to leave her on the side of the road. No bag, no phone no shoes. And this is where you see glimpses of the real man coming out cause he couldn’t leave her behind. And Hope ends up travelling with him and his brother home.

Hope just lost her restaurant, her dad is in a home helping him recover from a surgery and with the pandemic going on she can’t even visit him. So she has to sell her car, she didn’t plan on falling asleep in her car, and she didn’t plan on joining J.R and his brother on their trip. But the moment she met J.R she was attracted to him, and knew she couldn’t walk away yet.
But with J.R wanting to clear his name, see his son things don’t go as planned. And it seems J.R is hiding something else from them.

It was so good. Its like this book pulled you in from the start. Hinting at things that happened to J.R but never giving you the full story. And when he met Hope he seemed like a total jerk. But the more you read the story and with his brother joining them on their trip you get to hear about this past but never knowing where this story was going. I loved the characters. Scout was freaking hilarious as well as their grandmother. But Hope and J.R definitely had some off the charts chemistry going and you knew when they got together it would explosive. I definitely recommend this story 100%