My review of Love’s Truth by C.A. Popovich is going to be a mixture of good and not so good. I was really intrigued by the premise of the story and the blurb describing what the book was about. The cover caught my eye as well. After all, there’s a dog on the cover, and not just a dog, but a smiling Golden Retriever. I’m a sucker for dogs in general and Goldens in particular.
In the story, Lynette McCarthy is a survivor of a repressive religious cult. Her parents entered the cult when Lynette was twelve, and she escaped when she was a young adult. The author obviously did her homework and gave this character the fears and behaviors we would expect from someone with this personal history. I was able to connect with Lynette and the other main character Barb Donnelly which made it easier for me to read the book. Ms. Popovich also did a good job describing the different settings in the novel.
The book has a very slow first half. There is little real action, mostly conversation between the two main characters on their (non)dates, and a lot of the dialogue is repetitive. The second half has more action and is therefore more interesting. While I was able to connect with the characters, as I mentioned above, they still lacked depth. Barb, especially was very much a surface character.
I would have to describe this novel as just fair. I’m giving this book a 3.5 star rating, mainly for the second half of the story.
I received an ARC from NetGalley and Bold Strokes Books for an honest review.
Rainbow Reflections 