The Truth of Things is an incredibly hot romance about Ava, a press photographer whose real passion is her side hustle of shooting weddings, and Levi, an idealistic cop who believes he can change the city he patrols for the better. After meeting under less than ideal circumstances, Levi persuades Ava to go for coffee with him and the pair quickly fall hard for each other - but will his vocation come between them?
After discovering some great romance authors last year, I'm looking for more, and picked this up on Kindle Unlimited when I saw a few people saying really positive things about it on Twitter. I'm glad I read it as it's a sizzling novel with a brilliant central pairing but wow, I felt gut wrenched by one particular event towards the end - I was NOT expecting that at all.
I love the chemistry between Ava and Levi but I appreciate they're both also really strong individual characters - Ava has tons going on in her life, with a messy relationship with her drug-addicted mother, but is great at her two jobs and also passionate about teaching photography to those less fortunate than her. Meanwhile, Levi helps at a Boys and Girls Club and clearly sees policing as a way to try and help out the inhabitants of the city, unlike some of his colleagues.
I really enjoyed that a LOT of the book was focused on a strong, healthy relationship between the pair - despite Ava's initial misgivings they get together fairly quickly and it's awesome to see them getting to know each other by finding out what they care deeply about and spending time with them doing that. I also really liked that Levi fitted in so well with Ava's friends, and the honesty between him, Emil - who has a crush on her - and her ex-boyfriend Marcelo, brother of her best friend.
This is definitely not a predictable read - as mentioned above, there's one scene in particular which left me desolated, and there are several which serve as a reminder that however great your epic romance is, the real world can still bite you on the ass.
I loved the main romantic pairing but there's also lots of other favourite characters for me - particularly Emil, naive and sweet, and Ava's best friend Yves and her boyfriend Oliver, a kinky couple in an open relationship.
There are some very strongly developed themes in the book, of opening up, choosing who to trust, helping the community around you, and finding your voice and speaking up. I think Tasha Harrison really nailed the way she articulated all of them, it's a deeply satisfying read, and the follow-up is high on my TBR pile.
In conclusion, this is a really great read and I'm excited to be able to start the sequel soon!
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