So I started The Truth About Letting Go back in 2010 right after I finished The Truth About Faking (link).
It was back when Patrick Swayze got cancer and died so fast. Remember that? Well, for whatever reason, that incident started my writerly wheels turning...
I started thinking about major shocks like losing a spouse or a parent and how different people deal with trauma differently. Some people withdraw, some people soldier on like nothing happened, and then some people get really mad and start acting out. That’s where the story starts. Ashley’s the daughter left behind, and in her case, her dad was a writer for a national health magazine--a modified stay-at-home dad. So they were extra-close. Her mom withdraws into her own world of grief, her brother goes back to college, and Ashley’s left all alone, hurting and angry. And since her dad was a local celebrity, she gets to deal with her grief in front of a large audience. She doesn’t deal very well. She’s edgy, and she keeps having urges to break things. One reader-reviewer said she was like the female version of the bad-boy. I guess that’s a good description. Anyway, so The Truth About Letting Go (link) is a companion to Faking, but it’s not a sequel. The books can be read out of order. It just takes place in the same location and has some of the same characters.
Here’s the description:
by Leigh Talbert Moore
Ashley wants to smash everything in her once-perfect life.
Charlotte wants to walk in Ashley's seemingly charmed shoes.
Colt wants to turn Smalltown USA on its ear--with Ashley at his side.
Jordan wants to follow his heart... but Ashley is the one sacrifice he never expected to make.
Up until now, Ashley Lockett has always followed the rules. She's always done the right thing, played it safe, and then her ideal life is shattered when her dad dies suddenly.
Fueled by anger and grief, she vows to do everything opposite of how she lived before. She rejects safety, the rules, faith, and then she meets Jordan.
Jordan has big dreams, he's had a crush on Ashley for years, he's a great kisser... but he's also safe.
Enter Colt. He is not safe, and he's more than willing to help Ashley fulfill her vow.
My Review
5 of 5 The Truth About Letting Go
First I have to say that I LOVED this book. I have read a lot of books where there is religion involved and none have touched me the way TTALG has. When your a teen and you lose someone you care about it is devastating. Your life changes and sometimes not for the good. Can you imagine losing your parent or sibling? Your life feels out of control and not sure which way is up and which way is down. It is a struggle to hold on to your beliefs because the first person blamed after a loved one dies is God. Everyone who has lost someone close to them has felt this way and we tend to rebel and blame God all at the same time.
When Ashley loses her father her world is turned upside down and everything she thought she knew she is questioning. She is in a place of anger and hurt and she can't seem to shake it. Her best friend Jordan tries to help her but Ashley is not trying to hear anything about God. She is so hurt by her fathers death that she can't understand why God would do that to her. Why would God take her father from her.
As if her grief could not get any worse in comes Colt. He is like a breath of fresh air to Ashley. He is all kinds of trouble and he wants Ashley right by his side. In Ashley's grief she decides that Colt is safe and she will get in trouble with him. What the heck she decides but as time goes on and the more bad stuff they do Ashley starts to realize that the behavior is not good for her or others. She reaches out to the one person who has loved her and will always be there for her Jordan. He is the light for her darkness but Ashley is starting to see that she may have messed things up with Jordan.
Is it to late for Jordan and Ashley to be together? Will Jordan forgive her for what she has done? Will Colt give Ashley up? When the dust settles and the truths come out who will be left standing?
Here’s where you can get it:
Amazon * Barnes & Noble * iTunes * Kobo
Thanks, guys! Happy reading~
Leigh Talbert Moore is a wife and mom by day, a writer by day, a reader by day, a former freelance editor, a former journalist, a chocoholic, a caffeine addict, a southern expat, a lover of any great love story, a beach bum, and occasionally she sleeps.
Find her online at her blog, on Facebook, on Amazon, Goodreads, Twitter, and Tumblr. Read excerpts of her books on Wattpad and Figment!
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Enter to #WIN a signed print set of The Truth About Letting Go AND The Truth About Faking! (US only) *For international entrants, win a digital copy of both books! a Rafflecopter giveaway
Letting Go Excerpt, A Steamy First Kiss, & A Chance to #WIN
In The Truth About Letting Go, main character Ashley Lockett rejects religion and makes a vow in Chapter 2 never to step foot in church again.
She does her best to keep that vow, and she never changes her mind about her decision. She's been hurt too badly. Jordan's a Problem. Ashley can't help her feelings for him, and they're both really hot together. But he's Mr. Young Life, so she pushes him away. Several times. Then when she can't stop going back to him, she tries to argue him out of his beliefs. And their fights usually end up in lip-locks, too. This excerpt is the first kiss between Ashley and Jordan, and it's when they first discover their chemistry.
Enjoy~ He grabs me around the waist, easily lifting me off the floor and through the door into his room. He puts me down, but his arms are still around me. They’re warm, and I’m surrounded by the smell of fresh-cut grass, the creek. My eyes travel from his blue shirt to his face, and his expression changes. “Jordan, I—” He leans down and cuts me off with a kiss. Soft, warm lips press over mine gently. I only hesitate for half a second before reaching up and weaving my fingers into his hair. I open my mouth, and the flavor of mint grows stronger as our tongues slide together.
A burst of energy floods my chest, and suddenly, I’m kissing him again, faster, like I can’t get enough. He’s keeping my pace, and for the first time in months, the painful sadness is gone. In its place is this new feeling, this tense anticipation. I love it, this excitement canceling out that wretched sadness. Our mouths break apart and we both gasp. He presses his forehead to mine, but my eyes are still closed. I’m smiling. “I’m sorry,” he whispers, pulling me into his chest. “I didn’t mean to—” But I don’t want to hear that.
I reach for his face again, pulling it down to mine. I want more of the good feeling. He lifts me, and my hands stay on his cheeks as I kiss him again and again. A noise comes from his throat, and it’s like gasoline on a fire. All of me is hot and desperate. I barely notice as we fall back onto his bed, me on top, my fingers searching for the buttons on his new shirt. They’re easy to unfasten and soon, I’m sliding my hands over his smooth chest.
~~~
Jordan drops a bombshell a few paragraphs later that changes everything and sets up the basis of their ongoing "conflict." But yanno. You'll have to read the book for that part (*wink*).
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Enter to #WIN a signed print set of The Truth About Letting Go AND The Truth About Faking! (US only) *For international entrants, win a digital copy of both books! a Rafflecopter giveaway
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