True by Erin McCarthy

True 
Erin McCarthy 
New Adult Romance 

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…

My Take: This is yet another one of those “tragic” romances in the emerging genre of New Adult, but it’s better than others I’ve read. With a storyline a cross between “Beautiful Disaster” and “Easy”, but with writing more like “Crash”, “True” is a good read for any fan of that genre. Fast paced and funny, there’s plenty of angst and drama to keep YA fans reading and romance to keep the older readers interested.

The main character, Rory, is what made the book. She was refreshing compared to the typical, damaged, willing-do-to-anything-to-get-the-guy, cookie-cutter female lead this genre produces. Rory was honest and doesn’t hide what she’s thinking or feeling from anyone. She tells it how it is, and as a result is a bit socially awkward. It was a very nice change of pace from the norm.

Despite the stereotypical setup this genre has, (good girl falls for bad boy, but bad boy isn’t good enough for good girl), it was set apart from the crowd. The writing was detailed and kept me interested. The characters more fleshed out. But, there was a lack of depth to the “threat” that faces Rory and Tyler’s relationship. I would have liked to have seen that played up and made into more of a strong secondary plot point. So much could have been done with that. Instead it just kind of fizzled and fell flat.

Rating: For this genre, I’d give it a solid 4.5/5. Compared to the other books I’ve read of all genres, I’d rate it more of a 3.75/5; still pretty strong. Content wise, this is a definite R for sex and some language.

--Me