THE (HALF) TRUTH – Leddy Harper
Montlake Romance
ISBN: 978-1503905184
February 2019
Contemporary Romance

Six months ago, Tatum was engaged to Michael, the man she thought was the love of her life, but it all came crashing down when he broke the engagement off on the night of her birthday party. They both work at the same restaurant, and Tatum could have left, but she had worked too hard in the sous line to walk away. Then, Michael gets involved with a new waitress. Tired of the pitying looks she's getting from friends, Tatum declares to them that she has a new boyfriend named Jay…except she doesn't tell the man that she's using him as her pretend guy. She's only just met him! One lie leads to another, and soon Tatum is in way too deep. Too bad that she's now attracted to him…

Jason (Jay) moved back to his hometown after years in Las Vegas, ready to start a new life after breaking off with his longtime girlfriend. His cousin, Kelsey, thinks he's a “player” and warns her best friend, Tatum, to stay away from him. Yet, Jason and Tatum start to hang around each other and they even end up having sex one night. She does act a little weird around him at times, and her friends treat him like dirt. Jason soon learns that they think he and Tatum are a couple and that he cheated on her. Will he learn the (whole) truth?

Tatum spins one tale after another in THE (HALF) TRUTH, all in order to make her coworkers think that she's moved on from her ex-fiancé. Jason is the “Jay” she has been telling them about and she is pretty convincing, even having a picture of them together on her phone. Tatum is attracted to Jason but it takes most of this tale before she realizes it. Meanwhile, Jason wants to see where things will lead between them and is flummoxed by her hot and cold attitude toward him. The lengths that she goes to in order to prop up Jason as her new boyfriend—while hiding it from him and Kelsey—makes for some cute and funny scenes. There's no hiding the fact that there is sexual chemistry between them and they even end up having a fling. But is Tatum still in love with Michael? She thought once Michael saw that she'd moved on he'd look at her differently, like in wanting to get back together. Does it work?

In THE (HALF) TRUTH there is a lot of misunderstandings between Tatum and Jason. Is he still the cad that Kelsey claims him to be? What about his ex—has he moved on? The relationship between Jason and Tatum goes back and forth from on to off in a flash, enough to make you want to bash their heads together. But, watching them kiss and makeup is part of the joy of reading a romance. How long will it be before the truth is out and will they find a way for a happily-ever-after?

An entertaining romance with a bit of humor, I highly recommend THE (HALF) TRUTH.

Patti Fischer