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Truth Be Told
Love is a thin red line. When it's crossed, there's no going back.
Stella knows the three most important rules of exotic dancing:
1. Don't get involved with the men.
2. Don't get involved with the men.
3. Don't get involved with the men.
Even if they are sexy, rich, and devastatingly handsome.
Even if they save your life.
Truth Be Told is a full-length standalone romance with no cheating or cliffhangers.
Disclaimer: This book contains dark elements including scenes of non-sexual assault and trauma.
Stella knows the three most important rules of exotic dancing:
1. Don't get involved with the men.
2. Don't get involved with the men.
3. Don't get involved with the men.
Even if they are sexy, rich, and devastatingly handsome.
Even if they save your life.
Truth Be Told is a full-length standalone romance with no cheating or cliffhangers.
Disclaimer: This book contains dark elements including scenes of non-sexual assault and trauma.
- GenresDark
138 pages, Kindle Edition
First published March 2, 2018
About the author
Holly Ryan
69 books94 followersHolly Ryan is a writer of steamy love stories. Specializing in contemporary romance with a dark twist, she attended Western Illinois University and graduated from Chicago’s Roosevelt University with a degree in Psychology.
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Displaying 1 of 1 review
May 30, 2018
*** LOTS OF RANTING AND SPOILERS TO COME ***
I was really hoping this book was a nice one - I woke up this morning really looking forward to reading this novel since I hadn’t read a good book in some days, so you see, I was STARVING for something good. This not only left me even more starved, but I feel like it has also ruined my appetite for reading for the next week.
The start of the book was fine, nothing too interesting happens, even though the h gets accosted by three guys in a dark alley and gets saved by the H, but I’ve seen that in many other books so I was just skimming through that part.
What really, shall we say, irritated me, was the internal monologues and thoughts of both characters. Some of them were just plain stupid and idiotic. Here’s an example of Stella seeing Cohen saving her from the three guys:
“I get what he’s trying to do, but why he’s doing it is beyond me.”
Hum, what? It’s beyond you why he’s being a good human being and trying to save you from sexual assault and probably rape?
And then later on, they’re both in Cohen’s car and having a chat where he tells her the obvious: look, woman, stripping is NOT safe. And her answer?
“I know stripping’s not good for me,” she says defensively. “But it’s a necessity right now. I have to do it.”
I understand about the need for money, but saying that ‘defensively’?! Excuse me while I laugh out loud. Not. Just at the beginning of the book she was complaining about her job, wanting “to puke” when seeing men leer at her while she was dancing round the pole. I can’t fathom what she’s being defensive about.
And then we go to the h. His thoughts are also not very... interesting. For one, he’s one of those people who like to show off but in a nonchalant kind of way. As in, *shrug*, I have this an this, and I’m good at this and this, but *shrug*, it’s nothing special, ya know? 🙄 This is while he’s checking his bank balance on his phone:
“The spinning wheel signifying loading disappears, and my accounts pull up. My eyes run across the six digits in the checking account. My savings, on the other hand, fills the screen with at least nine digits.”
Ok? Congratulations? I don’t get if this is the writer trying to drag his POV on, or trying to show him off as rich or successful, or what. I just don’t understand how showing BOTH his checking and savings accounts is good for the plot-line. At least he didn’t tell us his exact numbers - last thing I want to read about is how he’s got $678,935 in his checking account and $815,672,614 in his savings 😑
And then the H goes to offer the h money. And here I though “Oh, brilliant, here’s another book where a poor girl becomes the maid of a rich boy for money.” But no, he doesn’t offer her a job! Money! Just money!
“I’ll replace the money you’re making now so you can quit. I’ll send it to you every two weeks, an exact replacement of your paycheck.”
And why does he do that, you ask?
“Look, I just think it’s wrong for someone to feel forced into anything. Especially when it’s something like what you’re doing. And I want to help you. Is that so wrong?”
First, I wouldn’t say she was forced into becoming a stripper. She knew full well what the job would entail and she still decided to do it. It might have been for the money, but thousands of struggling girls out there still don’t choose exotic dancing as their side job. Secondly, people are forced to do things everyday fo no apparent reason: children having to go to school (yes, I had to put this one LOL), people having to work for shit pay, people having to flee their homes lest they get killed, ... Where’s the free money for those people? And this goes to the third point: Cohen, can you please give that bi-weekly money to a homeless person that is FORCED to sleeping outside at night? Can you please give that free money to those orphans that have been FORCED away from their parents? Can you deposit those payments regularly to a charity that is actually helping people that were FORCED into a shitty life?
I know I sound bitter, but I don’t think Stella really qualifies for this generous help. Instead of stripping, she should have taken a safer side job. But maybe there weren’t any other jobs available? What do I know 🤷🏻♀️
And here’s another beautiful chain of thoughts from our h:
“He’s a night owl. Why, I wonder. One thing I learned during my studies in psychology is that very few people’s brains are that programmed for such a reversed sleep schedule unless they give it a good, forceful reason to be. Like me, with my job.”
And like any sane person, she should of course come to the conclusion that his job is also WHY he’s a night owl. But no, she makes it like there’s something ELSE that he’s keeping him up at night. Oh, whatever could it be? Another poor tortured soul as a H? Save me 😑
So she comes to her brilliant conclusion about his offer of free money:
“I figure if I’m going to turn down such a generous offer, the least I can do is show him the grace of doing it in person.”
Ok, she’s turning him down (thank god) but wait... doing it in person? To show him the grace? Girl, what? You’re just going to tell him “No thank you, but thank you” and that’s it! Just bloody text him! You can totally tell she’s trying desperately to meet him again in person 😑
So she goes to his mansion (yes, he’s got a huge-ass mansion, of course) and he invites her in. They sit down. She tells her she won’t accept his money:
“He sits up again and rubs his palms against his pants. “Well then–”
Oh, no. I know what he’s doing. He’s about to show me out.”
As he should! What more do you want, girl?
“You don’t seem like the kind of guy who would go to a strip club,” I say suddenly.”
Oh my god, I can’t, if I was present there I would cringe at her trying so desperately to stay as long as possible.
So they keep on talking, and he utters the nightmares of all nightmares: the word ‘friends’:
“So that’s all he thinks of me? It’s only been a few days, yes, but that right there is confirmation that I better stuff my feelings away.”
Yes, Stella, he’s only known you for a few days for less than a couple of hours. Chill your knickers down.
And they keep on talking (some boring nonsense I can’t remember) and surprise! It starts snowing!
“Cohen turns to see what I’m looking at. “I didn’t know it was supposed to snow tonight,” he says. He doesn’t seem too concerned.
Me, on the other hand? I’m a different story. I can’t stand driving in the snow. Like, I really, really hate it. It gives me anxiety.”
Wow, I can just guess that she ends up staying in his mansion for longer now because for her anxiety in driving through snow. I don’t know if she is pathetic with her excuses, or if the writer should have come up with a better way for the storyline to have gone.
Some more time passes, because she really can’t get herself away from him 😑:
“The snow has picked up, and there’s already a good three inches out there. If I’m going to have a chance at getting out of here, I’d better leave now.”
But does she leave now and then? Nope, of course she doesn’t. And a respectful and dignified person would have already gone. Seriously, I don’t understand what she’s doing here, I get it that she’s attracted to him but all these little desperate acts of her to try to stay longer with him are irking me to no end...
If I feel so irritated, I don’t know how Cohen feels 🙄
So she keeps on staying in the mansion:
“I make my way around the room, taking in the décor, which I can only assume to be Cohen’s, but knowing that with the amount of money he has, he more than likely hired someone to decorate it for him. I’d be better off not assuming like I did when I first arrived, thinking he might actually maintain his own mansion.”
And that, to me, is just plain rude. Basically, she told herself to stop assuming that he does ANYTHING at his mansion. Basically, she’s telling herself that like all other people with “the amount of money he has”, he’s got help for everything. I’m not completely getting if she’s being judgemental, bitter, or just plainly stating a fact.
Either way, if I was one of those people with a lot of money and heard her simply say that, I would kick her arse out my house.
And they again look out the window at the snow:
“He looks back out the windows, then back to me once more. “It is a lot of snow. You want to stay here?”
I don’t know what I want. How can I stay here? I have nothing but what I brought with me in my purse, which is only a few of the barest essentials. I don’t even have anything to wear to bed.”
I just love how big she’s lying to herself. Oh! Poor me! It’s snowing so I cannot drive away from this mansion! But, oh no! How could I ever, EVER stay here!
Seriously? Seriously! If my mom ever knew I did something like that, imposed myself on the hospitality of someone LIKE THAT, she would be embarrassed beyond words.
Already thinking on what she was gonna wear to bed... don’t fucking talk anymore...
But Cohen is ever the free-money-giving gentleman:
“Sensing my hesitation, he repeats, “Of course you can stay here.” He sets his mug down on a nearby side table. He silently offers to take mine, and I hand it over. “Come with me. I’ll get you set up.”
Wow, she was hesitating? Are you telling me she hadn’t planned on stretching her stay in Cohen’s mansion as long as possible from the beginning?
Well, you know what, right now I’m bored as well as irritated, so it’s safe to say I’m done here.
I was really hoping this book was a nice one - I woke up this morning really looking forward to reading this novel since I hadn’t read a good book in some days, so you see, I was STARVING for something good. This not only left me even more starved, but I feel like it has also ruined my appetite for reading for the next week.
The start of the book was fine, nothing too interesting happens, even though the h gets accosted by three guys in a dark alley and gets saved by the H, but I’ve seen that in many other books so I was just skimming through that part.
What really, shall we say, irritated me, was the internal monologues and thoughts of both characters. Some of them were just plain stupid and idiotic. Here’s an example of Stella seeing Cohen saving her from the three guys:
“I get what he’s trying to do, but why he’s doing it is beyond me.”
Hum, what? It’s beyond you why he’s being a good human being and trying to save you from sexual assault and probably rape?
And then later on, they’re both in Cohen’s car and having a chat where he tells her the obvious: look, woman, stripping is NOT safe. And her answer?
“I know stripping’s not good for me,” she says defensively. “But it’s a necessity right now. I have to do it.”
I understand about the need for money, but saying that ‘defensively’?! Excuse me while I laugh out loud. Not. Just at the beginning of the book she was complaining about her job, wanting “to puke” when seeing men leer at her while she was dancing round the pole. I can’t fathom what she’s being defensive about.
And then we go to the h. His thoughts are also not very... interesting. For one, he’s one of those people who like to show off but in a nonchalant kind of way. As in, *shrug*, I have this an this, and I’m good at this and this, but *shrug*, it’s nothing special, ya know? 🙄 This is while he’s checking his bank balance on his phone:
“The spinning wheel signifying loading disappears, and my accounts pull up. My eyes run across the six digits in the checking account. My savings, on the other hand, fills the screen with at least nine digits.”
Ok? Congratulations? I don’t get if this is the writer trying to drag his POV on, or trying to show him off as rich or successful, or what. I just don’t understand how showing BOTH his checking and savings accounts is good for the plot-line. At least he didn’t tell us his exact numbers - last thing I want to read about is how he’s got $678,935 in his checking account and $815,672,614 in his savings 😑
And then the H goes to offer the h money. And here I though “Oh, brilliant, here’s another book where a poor girl becomes the maid of a rich boy for money.” But no, he doesn’t offer her a job! Money! Just money!
“I’ll replace the money you’re making now so you can quit. I’ll send it to you every two weeks, an exact replacement of your paycheck.”
And why does he do that, you ask?
“Look, I just think it’s wrong for someone to feel forced into anything. Especially when it’s something like what you’re doing. And I want to help you. Is that so wrong?”
First, I wouldn’t say she was forced into becoming a stripper. She knew full well what the job would entail and she still decided to do it. It might have been for the money, but thousands of struggling girls out there still don’t choose exotic dancing as their side job. Secondly, people are forced to do things everyday fo no apparent reason: children having to go to school (yes, I had to put this one LOL), people having to work for shit pay, people having to flee their homes lest they get killed, ... Where’s the free money for those people? And this goes to the third point: Cohen, can you please give that bi-weekly money to a homeless person that is FORCED to sleeping outside at night? Can you please give that free money to those orphans that have been FORCED away from their parents? Can you deposit those payments regularly to a charity that is actually helping people that were FORCED into a shitty life?
I know I sound bitter, but I don’t think Stella really qualifies for this generous help. Instead of stripping, she should have taken a safer side job. But maybe there weren’t any other jobs available? What do I know 🤷🏻♀️
And here’s another beautiful chain of thoughts from our h:
“He’s a night owl. Why, I wonder. One thing I learned during my studies in psychology is that very few people’s brains are that programmed for such a reversed sleep schedule unless they give it a good, forceful reason to be. Like me, with my job.”
And like any sane person, she should of course come to the conclusion that his job is also WHY he’s a night owl. But no, she makes it like there’s something ELSE that he’s keeping him up at night. Oh, whatever could it be? Another poor tortured soul as a H? Save me 😑
So she comes to her brilliant conclusion about his offer of free money:
“I figure if I’m going to turn down such a generous offer, the least I can do is show him the grace of doing it in person.”
Ok, she’s turning him down (thank god) but wait... doing it in person? To show him the grace? Girl, what? You’re just going to tell him “No thank you, but thank you” and that’s it! Just bloody text him! You can totally tell she’s trying desperately to meet him again in person 😑
So she goes to his mansion (yes, he’s got a huge-ass mansion, of course) and he invites her in. They sit down. She tells her she won’t accept his money:
“He sits up again and rubs his palms against his pants. “Well then–”
Oh, no. I know what he’s doing. He’s about to show me out.”
As he should! What more do you want, girl?
“You don’t seem like the kind of guy who would go to a strip club,” I say suddenly.”
Oh my god, I can’t, if I was present there I would cringe at her trying so desperately to stay as long as possible.
So they keep on talking, and he utters the nightmares of all nightmares: the word ‘friends’:
“So that’s all he thinks of me? It’s only been a few days, yes, but that right there is confirmation that I better stuff my feelings away.”
Yes, Stella, he’s only known you for a few days for less than a couple of hours. Chill your knickers down.
And they keep on talking (some boring nonsense I can’t remember) and surprise! It starts snowing!
“Cohen turns to see what I’m looking at. “I didn’t know it was supposed to snow tonight,” he says. He doesn’t seem too concerned.
Me, on the other hand? I’m a different story. I can’t stand driving in the snow. Like, I really, really hate it. It gives me anxiety.”
Wow, I can just guess that she ends up staying in his mansion for longer now because for her anxiety in driving through snow. I don’t know if she is pathetic with her excuses, or if the writer should have come up with a better way for the storyline to have gone.
Some more time passes, because she really can’t get herself away from him 😑:
“The snow has picked up, and there’s already a good three inches out there. If I’m going to have a chance at getting out of here, I’d better leave now.”
But does she leave now and then? Nope, of course she doesn’t. And a respectful and dignified person would have already gone. Seriously, I don’t understand what she’s doing here, I get it that she’s attracted to him but all these little desperate acts of her to try to stay longer with him are irking me to no end...
If I feel so irritated, I don’t know how Cohen feels 🙄
So she keeps on staying in the mansion:
“I make my way around the room, taking in the décor, which I can only assume to be Cohen’s, but knowing that with the amount of money he has, he more than likely hired someone to decorate it for him. I’d be better off not assuming like I did when I first arrived, thinking he might actually maintain his own mansion.”
And that, to me, is just plain rude. Basically, she told herself to stop assuming that he does ANYTHING at his mansion. Basically, she’s telling herself that like all other people with “the amount of money he has”, he’s got help for everything. I’m not completely getting if she’s being judgemental, bitter, or just plainly stating a fact.
Either way, if I was one of those people with a lot of money and heard her simply say that, I would kick her arse out my house.
And they again look out the window at the snow:
“He looks back out the windows, then back to me once more. “It is a lot of snow. You want to stay here?”
I don’t know what I want. How can I stay here? I have nothing but what I brought with me in my purse, which is only a few of the barest essentials. I don’t even have anything to wear to bed.”
I just love how big she’s lying to herself. Oh! Poor me! It’s snowing so I cannot drive away from this mansion! But, oh no! How could I ever, EVER stay here!
Seriously? Seriously! If my mom ever knew I did something like that, imposed myself on the hospitality of someone LIKE THAT, she would be embarrassed beyond words.
Already thinking on what she was gonna wear to bed... don’t fucking talk anymore...
But Cohen is ever the free-money-giving gentleman:
“Sensing my hesitation, he repeats, “Of course you can stay here.” He sets his mug down on a nearby side table. He silently offers to take mine, and I hand it over. “Come with me. I’ll get you set up.”
Wow, she was hesitating? Are you telling me she hadn’t planned on stretching her stay in Cohen’s mansion as long as possible from the beginning?
Well, you know what, right now I’m bored as well as irritated, so it’s safe to say I’m done here.
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