Review: Nothing But The Truth by Holly James

Nothing But the Truth by Holly James

Recommended: yes!!
for chick lit Liar Liar, for a story about honesty with yourself and others, for a 100% feel good journey with some laughs as well

Summary

It’s the eve of Hollywood publicist Lucy Green’s thirtieth birthday, a day she hopes will bring the promotion she deserves and a proposal from her boyfriend. But he stands her up for a date, not for the first time, leaving Lucy alone at the bar—or at least, alone with the handsome bartender on the other side of the counter—so she makes a rueful wish over her cocktail for a perfect birthday. But when Lucy’s wish is granted in the most unexpected way, things go terribly awry, as things often do when wishes come true….

When Lucy wakes up on her big day, she can’t seem to force herself to go through her rigorous fitness and beauty routines—things she usually tells herself she likes. She has no desire to eat only a spoonful of yogurt for breakfast and she simply can’t bear to put on the uncomfortable shapewear needed for the power outfit she had planned for work.

When Lucy arrives at the office, she realizes that not only can she no longer lie to herself, she can’t lie to anyone else, either. Not her clients, not her boyfriend, not her creep of a boss. Now that she can’t hide how she feels, Lucy must confront all the injustices—small and large—she’s faced on a daily basis at work, in her relationship, and in every other aspect of her life…and the truth is going to come out in a big way.

Thoughts

WHY DIDN’T ANYONE BILL THIS BOOK AS A CHICK-LIT VERSION OF LIAR LIAR??? I was already excited to read it but when I realized about 15% in that it was a “can’t tell a lie because of a birthday wish” story I was practically vibrating with delight! Add in the finding yourself and feminist angles and wow this book was fab, y’all. I don’t think there’s a single thing in this book that I disliked, and thinking that is so startling that I actually bumped the rating because if there’s nothing I would change then it’s ABSOLUTELY five stars, right?

Alright. Let’s take my excitement down a notch and lay out precisely why I chugged through this in under a day and loved every minute of it.

1. It’s the movie Liar Liar, but with an MC who isn’t an ass. Lucy can’t tell a lie, and her job as a publicist where she has to sometimes be very creative with the truth makes that a sticky situation. Add the fact that there’s a lot she’s been lying to herself about, too, and her day is about to get a bit out of hand. It was fucking fabulous.

2. It made me think about what I might be lying to myself about, too. Self-reflection is important, and this kind of story always makes me consider if there’s anything I’m hiding from. The answer so far has always been yes, and I finished this book determined to look at my own life and make some changes.

3. It made me fucking cheer! Not all stories have happy endings, but sometimes that doesn’t matter. I love this story from start to finish, and everything was wrapped up by the end. I felt good, and optimistic, and goddamn if we don’t need more of that in the world.

4. It made me absolutely cackle. And like, multiple times. This was one of those books where my boyfriend knows not to ask what’s making me guffaw because the answer will be “this book” and then he’ll get a 4 minute nonstop breathless explanation of all the context leading up to the scenario and ending with me having a cackle all over again. 🤣

Yo, the scene with her trying to lie about the color of the shirt had me doing a mental mashup of Jim Carrey with ink all over his manic face and hysterically repeating “The pen is BLUEEEEE!!!”

A small note that although this is pegged as a “romance” book, I’d argue that it’s only a small subplot, and the real focus is on Lucy learning what she really wants and deserves — and going for it! Romance included, but not defining. 🙂

So overall, yeah. Read this book. Liar Liar hijinks with justice and self-discovery mixed in.