Hard Truths

Helios #4

by Chloe Holiday

Fearful of heartbreak, Theresa is drawn to safe, unavailable men. After she flees to Greece to escape becoming her alcoholic mother, she lands her dream job working for the sexy CEO of Helios. So what if she has a little crush on her boss? He's safely married. Theresa's content to worship him from afar until a company shake-up, her boss' divorce, and the arrival of Jason, a cocky adventure racer, topple her carefully constructed walls.

Despite their disastrous near-hookup, Jason's smitten by Theresa, but he can't afford to lose his heart to it's clear she carries a torch for her boss. His new boss, who's sponsoring Jason's adventure racing team. And no way is Jason content to come in second.

An enemies-to-lovers story at the intersection of Romance and Women's Fiction, Hard Truths features real-world issues beyond simply an immersive, steamy story about a young woman struggling to overcome addiction, a love triangle between a billionaire CEO and a tech-savvy environmental champion as well as family drama and laugh-out-loud moments. Hard Truths is a stand-alone novel in the Helios Series, with a happily ever after (like the others), and will appeal to discerning readers who crave escape but want more depth than a cookie-cutter romance with a "meet cute" on page one and a couple of misunderstandings. It contains on-page sex scenes and profanity.

Genres: Contemporary

395 pages, Kindle Edition

Published March 15, 2021

About the author

I write the things I love to read: steamy, fun stories about ordinary people in extraordinary circumstances, smart women and men who aren’t jerks. I like to read about friendships, either close women or a good bromance. I want all the feels: the thrill of a smoldering gaze or the barest brush of fingertips, the shocked gasp at the underhanded villain, the angst of heartbreak, the joy of reunion, and of course, happily ever after!

I enjoy a sneak peek into intriguing groups, whether that be military personnel, medicine, or another culture like Greece. It’s fun to live vicariously and go sailing, diving, or rock climbing. A bit of danger always gets me going, so many of my Romances have a thriller subplot. I also write thrillers with a slow-burn romantic subplot.

I love humor and am partial to witty banter and embarrassing situations! Love is funny sometimes!

I hate to read the same old thing, with only the names and places changed, so my goal is to bring you a fresh, fun, NEW story every time, with NO CLIFFHANGERS!
More than anything, I want a rollicking, great story that I can’t put down, one where love prevails in the end, one that will whisk me away from my own tribulations.

Come join me at http://www.chloeholiday.com/ and https://www.amazon.com/Chloe-Holiday/... !

Reviews

[J.L. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Holy Adventure!

Oh boy Theresa and Jason meet and... enemies to lovers doesn’t even begin to explain this adventurous roller coaster of a story. I was cheering for both characters all the way through as they struggled and grew as humans... There was some serious nail biting adventure parts that were incredibly exciting which I’ve grown to expect from Chloe’s books. A great read!

[Ann Dudzinski · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love the entire Helios series but this one really resonated because the problems T and J are dealing with are "real-world" problems. Same wonderful settings, romance and suspense, but T's relatability put this one in my favs.

[Joanna E.Lopez · Rating 5 out of 5]

Greek Isle Adventure

Theresa is a recovering alcoholic. She doesn't want to backslide so she flees her troubled home life and her mother, to go to the Greek Isles. Theresa arrives in Greece without money or a suitcase. She immediately looks for a job at the airport she'd arrived in with no luck. Theresa meets the owner of the store “Helios” who immediately offers her a job. Theresa is thankful. She goes out one night and meets Jason at a bar. They don't get along and Theresa leaves only to find out later that Jason is working at “Helios” as well. Theresa dislikes Jason. Theresa’s life is then turned around when her boss tells her he is permanently closing his business. However, before Theresa can despair about her job loss, she is offered a job by a new boss whom she falls in love with. Meanwhile, Jason is in love with Theresa who ignores and hates him.

This is the third book I've read by this author. I guess I'm a fan. I love her writing. Her stories are all heartful, love stories. The adventures are “Heart in your mouth” exciting as you read. The characters are three-dimensional and relatable. You root for Theresa all the way. The sex scenes are tasteful and beautifully written and not unnecessary. You feel the couple as they slowly fall in love. I received an advance copy for free. I am leaving this review voluntarily.

[T.J. Beach · Rating 5 out of 5]

How do you know you’re addicted? When it starts to affect your life. But which addiction is stopping Theresa from falling for Jason — the booze that sabotages their first steamy encounter or the thing she has for her charismatic billionaire boss? You’ll be drawn to Theresa and you’ll cheer for Jason, in the races and his campaign to get close to the English woman he can’t resist.

[TrishAM · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is book five in the Hellios series but can be read as a standalone.

Theresa stood in the hall waiting for the awards ceremony to start, all the other contestants were standing with their families but Theresa stood alone, she had told her mother but Theresa knew that she would be sleeping off yet another drunken binge. To Theresa's horror, her drunken mother barged into the hall shouting and pushing until she was arrested yet again.....Theresa had to escape from her Wakefield, Yorkshire home, she could never escape being her mother's daughter while she lived here, she would go to Greece, birthplace of her father, a place that held many happy memories.

Theresa was delighted to be offered a position working for the handsome CEO of Hellios sportswear company, the sexy Konstantinos Karras.

Theresa was immediately attracted to her boss but he was a married man and treated Theresa with complete professionalism........until he wasn't, did Theresa stand a chance now that Konstantinos was a free man ?

Athletic action man Jason was also to work for Hellios, his attraction to Theresa was evident from the start and he would try to win her over but Konstantinos was always the fly in the ointment, Jason wouldn't play second fiddle but he could never forger Theresa.

Things came to a head when there was a tragic accident for team Hellios whilst on a gruelling multi discipline adventure race that Jason was leading.....a team member was missing, what could Theresa do ?

I love the way that Chloe Holiday describes in detail the horror, the hurt and the sheer determination of the team to push themselves beyond all endurance to win, also the humour between the rival teams , a very enjoyable read.

I received a free copy of this book and my review is voluntary

[Deanna Lilly · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book caused me to stay up way too late two nights in a row! I really could not put it down, what a great read. This is the second Helios book I have read and though you can read them separately I appreciated having some backstory knowledge.
Theresa has fled to Greece to start a new life, however she is not able to outrun everything. After a near-miss hook-up at a bar with Jason, Theresa discovers that Jason is now working at Helios with her. He is also in the process of outrunning demons and restarting his life. Theresa is in love with her boss and it takes her a bit to recognize her attraction to Jason. As they work through their attraction to each other you have to wonder if the stars will ever align and if they will be able to make the relationship work. This book tackled real life struggles with honesty and grace and is by far the best book I have read this year. I will likely go back and read the rest of Helios as well as keep an eye out for Chloe Holiday. I appreciate the HEA without and cliffhangers. Thank you.
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

[Cmadler · Rating 3 out of 5]

Hard Truths is another fun romance novel from Chloe Holiday. Although it was an enjoyable read and a page-turner (read it in just a couple days!) I have to say that I didn't like it as much as most of Ms. Holiday's other "Helios" books. I think I never quite got as invested in the characters here as with some of the others. Part of it was perhaps the self-destructive behaviors, the parental issues -- I know those struggles were partly the point of this one, but they were just too obvious and...well, uninteresting to me.

With all that said, it was still a fun read, just seemed to me personally to be not quite up to the high standard of the other books.

I received a complementary advance copy of this book from the author in exchange for my honest review.

[DaveS · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another extremely satisfying novel in Chloe Holiday's 'Helios' series. As the series goes on the books tackle thornier topics beyond the basic Romance tropes. There is no attempt to portray her characters anything other than the flawed individuals that they are. Any exorcism of their personal demons is going to have to be earned rather than bestowed upon them by someone else. It is a relief to read stories by an author who seems to believe the reader is capable of reading about adults who make choices, some good and some not-so-good, and deal with the consequences themselves.
It is always a pleasure to read Chloe's work. I plan to be eagerly waiting for whatever her next novel brings us, whether in Greece or elsewhere.

[Jean · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved the details throughout this book. The step by step adventure through the extreme races captivated me. This series is one of my favorite.





I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

[Coco.V]

🎁 FREE on Amazon today (3/20/2021)! 🎁

[Debra Johnson]

Amz Purch. Aug. 15, 2023

[cassie · Rating 3 out of 5]

was ok