The summer after senior year was supposed to be the best summer of my life.It was supposed to be full of adventure and self-discovery and making love under the stars.It was supposed to be about losing myself and finding my way.Only, it wasn’t supposed to start like this.I wasn’t supposed to go to that party.He wasn’t supposed to notice me.The hot jock with the … supposed to notice me.
The hot jock with the trust fund and chip on his shoulder.
My ex-boyfriend’s half-brother.
Noah Tedesco is so far out of my league he might as well be playing a different game.
Noah wasn’t supposed to look twice at a girl like me, but he did.
Now that I’m on his radar, my life will never be the same.
Truly is a dark, coming of age romance that explores themes like NON-CON DUB-CON, and happily ever after.
more
Truly and Noah connection was intense chemistry off the chart this book definitely had me in my feelings at some point I just wanted to shake these characters but the story plot kept drawing me in. This book definitely had some dark tones to it. It’s a different kind of a love story both characters feed off each other in ways others people might not get it. No spoilers here in my review.
All – this review is hard for me to write. As a piece of writing alone, this book is 5 stars. However, due to some personal life experiences, this book was incredibly uncomfortable for me to read. I’m struggling with how to give a proper review to the work alone. I’ll try my best.
My true rating on this book should show as a 3.5 star read.
This is labeled as a dark romance, and it is. It is very very dark. Please keep the author’s warning below in mind when selecting this book. She isn’t fooling around.
“Truly is a dark coming of age romance that explores themes of dub con and non con and happily ever after. Proceed with caution.”
Now, that’s all the warning and hard stuff. Let’s get to what made this book really roll.
Truly is a young woman who we meet just after she graduates from high school. She’s still in her cap and gown. She’s being dumped by her high school boyfriend. At the end of commencement. He’s a prince.
The story quickly gets more complex as we are introduced to Truly’s best friend Becca and the rest of the “popular” kids. Truly dated the typical skater/stoner guy through high school. His half brother is the popular jock that ran the in crowd. Truly goes from being dumped by one brother to being pursued by the other …. in less than three hours. She’s not comfortable with it either.
Becca then really throws a wrench in the works when she invites her boyfriend and his best friend along on the girls only road trip that she and Truly are taking over the summer. The road trip was supposed to be a girls only adventure and follow the same path that Truly’s mom took when she left their small southern town for UCLA.
The extra guy tagging along? It’s the “popular brother” Noah.
At this point in the book, we’ve had an incredibly horrifying incident between Noah and Truly. They are now going to be traveling cross country together for the better part of the summer. I was intrigued. How would Ms. Rhodes take her young, 18 yo characters, still fresh from high school and just learning to be in control of their lives and treat them on a month long journey. Specifically after giving them such a polarizing present.
The answer – she’d treat them well.
The road trip is a mix of themes and plots which will pull at your heart, make you question the “villain” make you wish that some characters could be other than they are and allows you to see a maturing of the quartet as they complete their journey.
Truly struggles with the lingering grief of losing her mother. She’s also searching for her own voice. Noah is an incredibly deep and complex character who pushes Truly in so many different ways. Not all of them are good or healthy though. While pieces of Noah’s character are matured beyond his years, there is still that core inside of him that is a frustrated hurt child lashing out.
Becca and Ethan, who round out the group are also imperative to the plot growth as Becca fades in and out between being Truly’s sounding board, to her support system, to being just a scared teen who is facing college alone. Out of the four, Ethan is the character that appears to be the most stuck in high school mode. While we see growth and acceptance in the other three, Ethan’s character appears to take the challenges and react at a purely gut level.
The conclusion to this story is heart healing. Ms. Rhodes gives us the original quartet, grown, matured, healing, and happy.
The story is riveting. Taking away the introduction that Noah was given into Truly’s world, I would have found this to be a absolutely enthralling piece of writing. I’m incredibly uncomfortable with how we’re introduced to Noah. (Again, that’s on me.)
It’s been a while since I’ve read a book so dark, I had a hard time forgiving the character. This was my first book from Carmel Rhodes, and I’m confident enough to say that she knows how to write them twistingly dark!
This book is not for the faint of heart. I got myself many times wondering how Noah would make up for everything he’s done to her, especially after the treehouse scene. Truly thought that her graduation day would have been wonderful. Instead her boyfriend Devlin broke up with her while the whole school was watching, and his half-brother is suddenly all over her. He bulldozes his way into her life without asking for permission and crashing her road trip with her best friend.
“I see you, Truly. If my brother was stupid enough to drop you, you better fucking believe I’m going to pick you up. I will own you, every inch that belonged to him will be mine.”
Noah is one of the most intense characters I’ve read. He has inner demons that feed his anger and makes him act in ways that are harsh and possibly unforgivable. Truly seems to be the only one that can somewhat control them, but she doesn’t come out untainted. Noah woke up a darker side of her, a new Truly that is not afraid of the monsters but embraces them.
“Noah was never the prince in my story. Ours was never a fairytale, but fairytales are boring. Maybe our once upon a time was dark and dirty and raw, but it was ours.”
Truly and Noah’s story is mess up, especially at the start. You’ll find yourself struggling with what’s happening and Noah’s possessiveness. However, if you let these two take you with them on their wild ride, you won’t forget!!!
Wow, my very first Carmel Rhodes book and I am so here for it! Truly and Noah were different, sexy and unapologetic characters. Their story was a tangled web of complications. But throughout the book I was rooting for them. Found myself wanting to shake Truly up a bit in some scenarios but all was well in the end. Highly recommend this book if you’re looking for some YA angst, some cool bffs, did I mention drama and of course sexy times. So good, I’ll definitely be binging this author’s other works.
Just wow I’m blown away what a story this was phenomenal. This is Truly’s journey she is smart and can hold her own and has been threw alot. She never seen Noah coming as he took control of everything and I loved it.
This is very intense and raw with lies and truths but they fit together like puzzle pieces. The writing is amazing and your captivated and feel it all and I loved their complicated love.
Let me tell you— it’s DARK, just in the introduction, it starts off sad when truly gets dumped by her long time boyfriend, heartbroken and trying to forget about being dumped before graduation, she goes to her best friend’s boyfriend party!
AND— GET YOUR HEART IN HOLD, because some terrible things happen and that embarks on a different journey to self discovery.
There was some parts, I was like OH NO! WTH, WAIT WHY IS THAT SO HOT? OMG! DID I JUST READ THIS?
I was ping-ponging between smacking my Kindle & trying to read to see what happens next.
I really thought Noah was not remeedable but idk, along the whole journey, I tried to see him through his circumstances and how he speak the good and the bad with his actions, is just. Idk.. you get me??
This story is not for faint of heart and you have to hold on because it is dark but you find light at the end
I absolutely loved this book. I I could I would give it 10 stars. Noah is so alpha but he became a better man for his Truly and Truly herself learned about her true self and reached for what she wanted.
Truly and Noah knew each other because she dated Noah’s brother in the past. She wasn’t supposed to be at a party and Noah shouldn’t have singled her out. These two clash instantly as both are complicated people with some issues. This was an emotional, powerful bully romance that I enjoyed and recommend.
This book is quite intense and there’s a scene that you will know when you get to it but please keep reading cause this book is dark, gritty and a great read but please and I do mean please read the warning prior for possible triggers. I loved Truly from the get go, Noah not so much until the end but how he’s portrayed in the story works perfectly and the pieces that each are missing are enhanced with them together.
Carmel Rhodes is a new to me author and I am so glad I decided to read Truly. Truly is young and ready to take on the world and she never saw Noah Tadesco coming. Noah is literally the big bad wolf. At times I loved him and at others, well I wanted to hit him. He was cruel, cold and at times seemed totally unredeemable. He was always in control.
I have to say, bully romances are some of my top favorite reads and this one blew me away. I do have to note this one will push all your buttons, so if that is not for you, this story may not be for you. For me, I devoured it. Truly is angst-filled and will have you ready to throw your hands up in the air many, many times, however, let me tell you, it will also captivate you.
Read and reviewed for Sultry Sirens Book Blog.
Happy reading!
Whew that was a wild ride and one I definitely enjoyed. It’s slightly dark especially at the beginning, Noah does something that is not at all okay and you will want to kick him in a certain place. He then proceeds to bulldoze his way into Truly’s life and into her heart and if you give this book a chance you’ll fall in love with him too and their raw imperfect all consuming love. It’s also a coming of age story and about family and friendships and a really awesome trip with deep meaning.
Once I started this book, I could NOT put it down. Words can’t describe how much I loved this story. Again, the character depth and the many facets of Truly and Noah’s relationship were, in a word, gripping. It was perfectly imperfect, and that works for me. Read it NOW!
Truly by Carmel Rhodes is a standalone contemporary romance. It has vibes of a bully romance but it isn’t truly about bullying at all. Told in single POV from Truly’s perspective, we begin with her high school graduation ceremony and the epic breakup her boyfriend of two years startles her with as everyone is leaving to take part in the days festivities. Broken-hearted, she ends up at a party with her best friend and runs into the one person she has no desire to see, her ex’s estranged brother. Noah Tedesco is all-star, rich, good looking and knows it and he has his sights set on Truly. Add in a girls road-trip that the boys crash and it is three weeks of awesome and cross country traveling.
Emotional, well-written, very well-paced, a little shocking, very hot, and filled with so much emotional growth. I loved it. Absolutely could NOT put it down. Enjoy!
This is a book that has some non-consent so if you have issues with that, you’ve been warned. Lucky for me, I don’t mind that one bit. Truly is a girl just graduating high school who lost her mom. Her mom went on a road trip that Truly has been planning on recreating with her bestie. Truly’s boyfriend breaks up with her on graduation day which starts off a downhill start to her graduation trip. Noah is her boyfriend’s little a-hole brother. You know the type, rich, arrogant, every one looks up to him and he can get any girl he wants. He forces Truly to do things she doesn’t want to. She doesn’t tell anyone so her tormentor ends up getting invited on her once in a lifetime summer trip.
I was uncomfortable reading parts of the story and I was mad at the main characters more than once. But I knew it had to work out in the end because Carmel promised us a HEA. If I was Truly, I don’t know if I could get passed being forced, but then again, there’s something about a hot bad boy alpha! I wish my man would take some pointers from Noah!
So let me start by saying this book is NOT for everyone but It was perfect for me.
Truly is a bully dark romance with a forbidden element that got me hook only after a few pages.
The beginning of the story was intense and I was a little skeptical about the hero or I might say antihero Noah. His actions at the beginning of the story had me hating him from the start but after a few chapters I just adored him and I was caught on his alpha-dark web. Truly, I liked her from the beginning. She was a sweet character that just wanted to feel like she was loved. Unfortunately for her those dreams are crushed when her boyfriend ( Noah’s half brother) breaks up with her for no apparent reason. She ends up in the the hands of her tormentor and her life was not the same after that. Things do a very interesting turn and sometimes I didn’t know how to feel about but I just couldn’t stop reading and I devoured this book in one sitting.
Noah and Truly’s relationship is Toxic but sweet, bad and good . They are just imperfectly perfect for each other.
So if you like angst and drama, intense moments, sexy and dark scenes then this book it’s definitely a must read.
Received ARC from Author for Honest Review.
I Give this Book 3.5/5 Star Rating, Listing as 3.
HEA(?): Yes
Heat(?): 3.5/5
Romance: 3.5-4/5
Relationship Type: MF
Suspense: 4/5
Drama: 3.5-4/5
Bully Scale: 2.5-3ish/5, it did fade pretty quickly (to me) in the bully department.
Dark(?): I would rate this in the Dark Lite category, (as a fan of dark reads) to me this wasn’t as dark as I was anticipating and it did also seemed to diminish (as a whole) a little too quickly. But other readers may differ on opinions. Dark Lite 2.5/5
Even though I want her with Noah, I really wanted Tru to sincerely try to put him in his place at specific points, but at ‘those’ specific points she did buckle pressure to easily.
So to me she is a bit of a minor pushover, I wish she had a little bit more bite or had serious grit to her cause I believe her character really needed it. Because to me everything does kinda get…a little too..smoothed over?
The book for me did slow quite a bit in the middle though.
This was a decent take in the dark bully romance genre, I hope this book helped push Carmel Rhodes to expand to do even more darker and more ‘bullier’ romances! 😀
Those who are new to Bully & Dark Romances, this is a pretty decent one to start with.
I am blown away by Truly by Carmel Rhodes! It was dark, intense, twisted, yet smoking hot and the chemistry between Truly and Noah is there from the very first encounter you witness on the page! I swear, my Kindle is still steaming! The character development is so well done, even when you want to hate, you cannot help but love just a little, so focused on the emotional rollercoaster ride of a journey that Carmel takes you on with Truly and Noah!
The road trip had me on the edge of my seat, heart in my throat as I got to experience everything right alongside Truly. The emotions are REAL with this read, let me tell you!
This is one earmarked for the reread pile. I can’t wait to shift through the various layers, and experience it all again, yes, I’m excellent at tormenting myself, but I swear, it is worth it!
And have I mentioned yet all of the feels? There must be some dust in the air, you know, cause of course I’m not tearing up at the amazing groveling. Right? Right. I promise, your emotions will run the entire gambit! And, you’ll fall just as hard as I have. Deep, deep.
Carmel Rhodes is a new Author to me. I just signed up with no idea what to expect for this book. But then after I read this, I was amazed. It was soo good. Both main characters are well developed. The steamy part was so hot and intense. It was well written and profound. And I just can’t put it down.
Truly Parker is a sweet, innocent girl. After Devin broke up with her after their graduation. Her friend invited her to go on a house party to cheer up. Little she know that the house belongs to the brother of her ex, Noah Tedesco.
Noah’s character wore many faces,he does some unacceptable act toward Truly. And maybe you end up hated him or despised him But there’s also a side of him that so charming, sweet and swoon worthy. And thats what the story make it so interesting.
Truly – – .
TRULY was my first Carmel Rhodes novel and I was hooked from start to finish. This was no fairytale. It was a dark, coming of age bully romance that was intense and raw and included some triggers, but I could not put it down. This was Truly’s story and her journey into life and love, with messy relationship, unwavering friendships, heartbreak and more..
Noah and Truly had me consumed with their story. They both had their demons which manifested itself in different ways.They were two flawed, complex characters who had a complicated, different relationship that will push all your buttons and cross boundaries.
This novel was filled with emotions. It will take you on a rollercoaster ride and as the story progresses, layers are peeled back and truths are revealed, your heart will ache for this couple.
With twists and turns along the way, excellent characters growth and development, hott steamy scenes with some dubious consent at the start, so much angst, and an epilogue that will bring it all together, this nail biting page turner was a fantastic read and I would highly recommend it to all lovers of dark romance.
“You can run Little One,” he calls after me. “But I will chase you….”
“I can make this easy for you.” His humorless laugh fills the quiet void. “But as you learned the other night, I’m not against making it hard either. In fact, I almost prefer it.”
5+ NO FAIRYTALE STARS!! I wish I could give more than 5 stars, this book deserves it. This is no fairytale….it is dark, raw and sexy, but told beautifully by this phenomenal author. Truly and Noah have a complicated and different type of relationship, but it is so deep and beautiful. There are so many feels and all your emotion buttons will be pushed, so sit back and listen….it is worth your time.