Just What the Truth Is by Cardeno C. Series: Home Collection #5
Published by The Romance Authors, LLC Publication Date: February 15, 2016
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People-pleaser Ben Forman has been in the closet so long he has almost convinced himself he is straight, but his denial train gets derailed when hotshot lawyer Micah Trains walks into his life. Micah is brilliant, funny, driven…and he assumes Ben is gay and starts dating him. Finding himself truly happy for the first time, Ben doesn't have the willpower to resist Micah's affection.
When his relationship with Micah heats up, Ben realizes has a problem: his parents won't tolerate a gay son and self-confident Micah isn't the type to hide. If Ben wants to maintain his hold on his happiness, he'll have to decide what's important and own up to the truth of who he is. The trouble is figuring out just what that truth is.
Cocktails and Books received this book for free from Manic Readers in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect our opinion of the book or the content of our review.
I honestly wish Cardeno C. could see the happy dance I do whenever I start one of his? Her? Let’s go with THEIR…books. I love them, and I’m pretty sure I will always love them. Most have gone into my “Read Again” file on my Kindle. I fall in love with almost all of the main characters. Hell, I sometimes fall in love with some of the background characters. I love that the stories sort of build on each other. Characters cross over, and they begin to feel like friends.
So, in “Just What the Truth Is”, the same thing happened. I fell in love with Ben and Micah right away. They made me smile from. Poor Ben. He works hard and tries to please everyone…his friends, his family, and his parents in particular. He’s so far in the closet he may as well be in Narnia. Along comes Micah, and Ben can’t stop fantasizing about him. He keeps trying to talk himself out of being gay, but Micah makes him lose his composure.
Meahwhile, Micah takes to Ben as they talk and spend time together. First there’s dinner, then a baseball game, then swimming at his place, and more. In fact, Micah thinks he and Ben are actually dating, especially when they start sharing kisses and…ahem…other things. Ben is so confused. His brother is gay, and his parents are NOT happy, so he’s terrified to tell them about Micah for fear of them disowning him.
There is a bit of angst when Micah decides that he wants to be out and proud with his boyfriend, and Ben just can’t handle it. I can tell you that I cried over this one…in the waiting room at my husband’s ophthalmologist’s office. Some old ladies asked me if I was alright, and I had to reassure them I was just reading a sad story. They shook their heads and clucked at me. They just didn’t understand! My boys were in pain!
I’m going to stop there. I don’t want to spoil anything for you. What follows is an emotional roller coaster, and you’ll have to hold on tight. “Just What the Truth Is” is damn near perfect. Whether you’re into MM, MF, MMF, MFM, or any other genre, this is simply a true love story, and if love stories are your thing, this book is for you.
