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Truth Moon

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It may be Vegas, but the odds of being attacked by your boss and outlaw bikers on the same night—slim.

My boss, I should have seen coming. Thanks to the life I left behind. I know an abuser when I see one, and it was just a matter of time until he found out I've been lying.

As for The Knights of Steel MC, the only way to keep them quiet was to go with them, except the club president's obsession with me goes beyond their escort service and BDMS clients. I bet my life on it.

I can't trust anyone—especially not my handler. He's running from his past too, and his infatuation scares me for a different reason.

All I know is that if I want my freedom, I'll need to double down and guard my heart as closely as my body….

Trigger This is a dark romantic suspense. It contains adult themes and may include triggers for some (non-consensual touching, near-rape, light BDSM activities, confinement, discussions of past sexual abuse experienced by the heroine, and references to the hero's war experiences). It is not a gender neutral listen with much of the plot occurring in an outlaw motorcycle club setting, Intended for 18+

Audible Audio

Published April 3, 2023

1 person is currently reading
5 people want to read

About the author

Kay Freeman

14 books12 followers
Kay has an undergraduate degree from Moore College of Art and Design and an MFA from Vermont College.

Author Skye Warren's book, The Pawn, was the first romance book that she fell in love with.

She believes romance takes you on a journey. In the process, it transforms the heroine, the hero, and the reader.

Kay started writing romance after her author Calia Wilde chose her manuscript for RWA's RAMP program in 2021. She's written five books, Truth Moon, published by The Wild Rose Press, and four others, Hitman's Honey, an award-winning romance suspense novel (Mid-Atlantic Authors Society), and gothic romance novella, The Devil You Know. Kay writes for substack, What Do Romance Writers Think About? to give back to other writers.

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Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
Profile Image for Ashley Branch.
793 reviews3 followers
July 22, 2023
2.5 stars rounded up to 3

Rory is running from a life that tried to break her. She manages to find herself at an MC headquarters, expected to become an escort/submissive, performing in all sexual manners for the club members and their colleagues. It's here she meets WM (whore master), an ex ranger with war trauma, who has his hands full trying to break and rebuild her. But the president of the club, Cowboy, has other, darker, plans for Rory. As WM and Rory grow closer, things get more physical and trauma gets stirred up. WM starts to drown in sympathy and feelings, and after Cowboy crosses line after line, WM has to make a final decision, Rory or the club.

The overall plot of the story is great. A strong, sweet, yet naive FMC paired with a brooding, grumpy, yet compassionate MMC couldn't be more opposite but they work well together when they actually communicate. The side characters are decent, and I fell in love with Hammer the bartender.

My issues stem from their poor forms and lack of communication, as well as the misrepresentation of safe BDSM practices. WM is supposed to be a Dom who enjoys training these ladies for their roles as submissives, but even my limited BDSM knowledge lets me know his use of manipulation and inability to allow his submissives to communicate openly with him is an issue. He seems to focus more on the "control" aspect and less on the trust building through actions. I lost count of how many times he coerced, withheld information, misled, or manipulated these women into doing what he wanted, not what promised them an enjoyable experience. He failed to communicate extensively what was going to happen, and thought just because he gave Rory a safe word he had prepared her sufficiently, when that couldn't be further from the truth. He never got a list of hard and soft lines from her, and his absolute LACK of personal knowledge and background on Rory led to multiple traumatic experiences at his hands. And most times he pressured her into participating and also holding out when she didn't feel safe. It rubbed me entirely the wrong way. He continuously made promises to her that were beyond his control (Cowboy wouldn't touch/hurt/retaliate against her, etc).

Rory was beyond frustrating at least half the time. She could've saved herself so much stress and grief if she would've just stopped being a brat and communicated with WM. Hell, just explaining the fact that she was forced to the MC by ultimatum and that she didn't *willingly* show up would've shortened this book by a third. And that's just one example of these characters absolutely REFUSING to talk when the subject matter wasn't even that difficult to discuss. These poor communication skills made it impossible to relate to either main character.

I did appreciate the character development of WM, and how he learned to listen even when Rory refused to talk. He was entirely patient with her, when I would've just thrown my hands up and let everything play out.

The writing style was kind of choppy. A lot of "he said" "she said" conversation. Very much a tell instead of show situation.

The epilogue was my favorite part, and it completely took me by surprise. Absolutely brilliant plot progression! My only gripe is it seemed the author wasn't concrete in her decision to write a follow up book or not, so she was leaving the door open for either option. We got minimal closure, but not exactly a cliffhanger either. The fence sitting bothered me, but I totally get it because I'm on the fence about whether or not I'd recommend this book. That being said, I'd absolutely read a second book to find out how everything in the epilogue plays out. It legit was an amazing twist I didn't see coming and it explained SO MUCH of the plot I was missing the entire time.
Profile Image for Ashley Branch.
793 reviews3 followers
July 22, 2023
2.5 stars rounded up to 3

Rory is running from a life that tried to break her. She manages to find herself at an MC headquarters, expected to become an escort/submissive, performing in all sexual manners for the club members and their colleagues. It's here she meets WM (whore master), an ex ranger with war trauma, who has his hands full trying to break and rebuild her. But the president of the club, Cowboy, has other, darker, plans for Rory. As WM and Rory grow closer, things get more physical and trauma gets stirred up. WM starts to drown in sympathy and feelings, and after Cowboy crosses line after line, WM has to make a final decision, Rory or the club.

The overall plot of the story is great. A strong, sweet, yet naive FMC paired with a brooding, grumpy, yet compassionate MMC couldn't be more opposite but they work well together when they actually communicate. The side characters are decent, and I fell in love with Hammer the bartender.

My issues stem from their poor forms and lack of communication, as well as the misrepresentation of safe BDSM practices. WM is supposed to be a Dom who enjoys training these ladies for their roles as submissives, but even my limited BDSM knowledge lets me know his use of manipulation and inability to allow his submissives to communicate openly with him is an issue. He seems to focus more on the "control" aspect and less on the trust building through actions. I lost count of how many times he coerced, withheld information, misled, or manipulated these women into doing what he wanted, not what promised them an enjoyable experience. He failed to communicate extensively what was going to happen, and thought just because he gave Rory a safe word he had prepared her sufficiently, when that couldn't be further from the truth. He never got a list of hard and soft lines from her, and his absolute LACK of personal knowledge and background on Rory led to multiple traumatic experiences at his hands. And most times he pressured her into participating and also holding out when she didn't feel safe. It rubbed me entirely the wrong way. He continuously made promises to her that were beyond his control (Cowboy wouldn't touch/hurt/retaliate against her, etc).

Rory was beyond frustrating at least half the time. She could've saved herself so much stress and grief if she would've just stopped being a brat and communicated with WM. Hell, just explaining the fact that she was forced to the MC by ultimatum and that she didn't *willingly* show up would've shortened this book by a third. And that's just one example of these characters absolutely REFUSING to talk when the subject matter wasn't even that difficult to discuss. These poor communication skills made it impossible to relate to either main character.

I did appreciate the character development of WM, and how he learned to listen even when Rory refused to talk. He was entirely patient with her, when I would've just thrown my hands up and let everything play out.

The writing style was kind of choppy. A lot of "he said" "she said" conversation. Very much a tell instead of show situation.

The epilogue was my favorite part, and it completely took me by surprise. Absolutely brilliant plot progression! My only gripe is it seemed the author wasn't concrete in her decision to write a follow up book or not, so she was leaving the door open for either option. We got minimal closure, but not exactly a cliffhanger either. The fence sitting bothered me, but I totally get it because I'm on the fence about whether or not I'd recommend this book. That being said, I'd absolutely read a second book to find out how everything in the epilogue plays out. It legit was an amazing twist I didn't see coming and it explained SO MUCH of the plot I was missing the entire time.
Profile Image for bookedeveryweekend.
53 reviews
August 2, 2025
books like this one are exactly why i struggle to get into dark romance. i don’t subscribe to the belief that what you read equals what you support–my own reading history contains some less than savory literature–but it’s hard for fans of this genre to escape the allegations when something like truth moon gets such high ratings.

the narrator for this audiobook was a bad choice. he’s dry, and his inflection and tone are never quite in the right place. he reads the book like he’s only doing it because he has a parking ticket to pay off.

most of this book is written in the pov of our mmc, lovingly christened as whore master, which it has to be in order for this to be seen as a romance book. if it were written purely from rory’s pov, it would be a horror novel. our fmc is kidnapped, sexually harassed, sexually and physically assaulted, and degraded by every single man in this book. none of them are even remotely humane or likeable, and our mmc is only saved from being the worst because of the cartoonishly evil man he works for, who is also not as bad as the cartoonishly evil man HE works for. whore master’s entire job is to mentally break down women and then brainwash them into being prostitutes and strippers so they can make the club money. Somehow, our fmc is Different and Special and Not Like Other Girls; except she is, somehow, when she starts to do exactly what is expected of her, which hurts his feelings? idk i’m still trying to make sense of what serves as the third-act breakup in this one. and we’re not even touching on the poor handling of rory’s history of csa, which doesn’t matter to anyone, but also we need to go after the stepfather that abused her because we hate people who abuse children. Everyone’s morals are all over the place.

there’s a heavy emphasis on consent when wm and rory start getting intimate, even though rory says multiple times that when she asked the bikers for help, she didn’t actually agree to being turned out and doesn’t want to work with them. wm constantly swapping between “you’re going to work here whether you like it or not” and “can i have your permission to fuck you” gave me whiplash. i enjoy some bdsm in my smut, but freeman does not handle it well, nor does she show a truly healthy dom/sub relationship between our main couple.

the writing is just…bad. Half the dialogue is used to poorly deliver exposition, and the other half is just phrased in a way that no one would ever say in real life. the romance is nonexistent; it’s pure lust, based only on the fact that the fmc pushes back against the mmc when he tries his brainwashing techniques, thereby making her special to him and better than other women. there’s some convoluted espionage plot involving intelligence agents from the uk that doesn’t get introduced until the last five minutes that we’re not even going to touch because i genuinely do not care.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
1,104 reviews9 followers
April 7, 2023
Kay’s debut is awesome! The subject matter is difficult at best but she used the written word to convey the emotion and heart rending aftermath of child sexual abuse. Rory is resilient, damaged, and so determined to leave this earth better than it was for her. WM has his own demons and strives to do his job as an MC master training the new women how to submit. Shes a captive of an MC that makes their money selling sex.

There is so much going on behind the scenes: blackmail, betrayal, secrets, and lies. Complex plot, dark, twisted dialogue, and scenes that come with TW. Rory and WM develop a tentative relationship based on his Dom training to groom and her growing attraction to him . Trust , communication, and respect spur their relationship but it’s still a work in progress. I’m hoping there’s a next book to complete Rory’s story.

I received a free copy of this book and am voluntarily leaving a review.
4 reviews
April 9, 2023
This book kept me guessing. Though it checked just about every box for dark romance, the main character still managed to bring a lightness to it all. I am not a big fan of BDSM themes because I find them a bit cheesy. However, I enjoyed the diversity and depth of the characters. It has a well thought out plot and just when you think you know what will happen it surprises you. It leaves off on a bit of a cliff hanger but could be a happy ending as well. The narration was easy to listen to and keeps you engaged without being boring or over the top. Over all, it was worth listening to and considering reading the rest of the series.
Profile Image for Cally Davis.
1 review
April 12, 2023
Review of the Audiobook... Truth Moon is an intense book and Kay does a great job letting her readers or listeners know what triggers will be included. As far as the story goes, more please! WM and the rest of the MC had NO IDEA what they were getting into when Rory arrived. I loved her fighting spirit, and that she always picked herself back up. I warmed up to WM almost right away, although I did wish I could somehow hit him upside his head a few times! The story flows well and when you get to the end… Hello big surprise! Brock Donovon also did an excellent job with his narration and look forward to listening more from him and of course, more from Kay!
Profile Image for BookishBarbie (Annette).
297 reviews10 followers
April 17, 2023
This book started off a tad slow for me but the plot moves along while reading and gets more entertaining along the way. My emotions were all over the place. You are made to feel the emotions of these characters and the connection that slowly develops with WM and Rory. The sincerity WM shows Rory along with a few other members shows that not everyone is the bad guy.
I was not prepared for the ending, but it leaves it open for a book 2. There are so many ways you could continue into a next book.
Profile Image for Country Mama.
1,461 reviews66 followers
May 26, 2023
This was a great read! I loved the characters of Rory and WM, their relationship has many challenges. WM is the trainer at a MC club who teaches women to submit. Rory has been captured by the club to be a sex slave. But Rory is not a submittable young woman, she is a fighter! There is alot more to Rory's story too in this book. And be aware some of the story is very dark, but if you are like me and like this sort of thing you will like this book!

The steam is in there you have to keep reading to get to it;) 🔥 The author made a great debut for this book.
Profile Image for Imari McClure.
458 reviews
May 6, 2023
This book was a little different that what I was used to. Was very hard at some points to finish, but overall was good. The author keeps you on the edge of your seat not expecting what happens.
Rory is a girl trying to do better than her parents. She is such a determined person with a little guidance she can make it


The black mail in this book 😂😂

Imagine falling for your training Dom
Profile Image for Nichole  Ringler.
167 reviews
April 21, 2023
This book had a lot of dark matter but Kay was able to keep my interest by creating a mystery within the darkness. I loved Riley’s independent streak and how it match WM’s need to control. Spice level about a medium, spicier towards the end of the book.
Profile Image for carries_bookish_corner.
214 reviews2 followers
March 27, 2023
I can’t wait for the next book to see where this story goes. WM and Rory’s story was good and my heart broke for Rory. I need the next book asap.
Profile Image for Marie.
253 reviews13 followers
May 3, 2023
Loved it and I couldn't put it down, started off slow and built up to the action and romance. I didn't want to put it down and hated it when it ended.
Profile Image for macabrebookwitch.
49 reviews1 follower
April 10, 2023
4.5/5 ⭐️
4.5/5🌶️
This book really took my by surprise! I read one of Kay’s other books, The Devil You Know, and it was actually slightly spicier than Truth Moon, but I wouldn’t have it any other way. Truth Moon more than makes up for it in how complex and interesting each character is, the sort of interesting religious and spiritual dynamics of the characters, and just the creation of this world that has so much more going on inside and outside of it, whereas a lot of these types of books are “locked in the dungeon” literally the whole book and it feels superficial. Not Truth Moon. I also felt really connected to these characters, I work at a yoga studio as my day job and so I really related to Rory and her beliefs off the bat, and WM was so much more realistic (like he has a backstory! And trauma! Insane!) than most of his kind. This is definitely an excellent read for anyone who loves MC Romance but wants it to have a more serious approach and deeper relationships and connections as well as interesting plot. Also, the Audiobook narrator was amazing! Brock did such a great job and I loved the layers he added to the characters through their voices!

I received an ARC copy of the audiobook in exchange for my unbiased review. These opinions are my own.
Profile Image for Amanda (MrsEvilEwokReads).
160 reviews58 followers
February 29, 2024
I can’t wait for the next book to see where this story goes.
WM and Rory’s story was good.
This is a Dark Romance with BDSM themes.

The story line was great, and nothing happened how I thought it would.
I can't wait for the next book!

4/5 For the story as a whole
3/5 For the spice.
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews

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