Review: Starts off slow and ends with a bang
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 07 31, 2013
After finishing C.T. Oliver's Love of Truth, I believe I stared at my Kindle for a solid ten minutes wondering what the heck just happened. What I thought was a nice sweet romance novel quickly and unexpectedly morphed into a thriller with a teaser ending that promises more excitement in the follow-up sequel. Oliver devotes a good portion of the book developing the romance between protagonists, Amelia and Craig, delving into their backstories so that readers can better understand the two characters. All of the seemingly random tidbits of information piece together to create clues that ultimately lead up to a shocking cliffhanger.What I like about this book is its relative lack of drama - at least until the last few chapters. Yes, Amelia has certain insecurities, which make her hesitant about opening up to Craig, but for the most part, the mood is laidback and the romance is straightforward. The chemistry between Amelia and Craig is apparent from the start of the book and their transition into a couple is seamless, despite their admitted reluctance to become romantically entangled with another person after previous disastrous relationships. Their romance is a pleasant mix of sweet and (seriously) steamy and I enjoyed getting to know their characters thoroughly.I have to take a moment to nitpick about a few issues I had with the book. Unless I missed something, the two protagonists' names aren't revealed until chapters four and six, respectively. The alternating perspectives are confusing when the changes aren't noted at the start of the chapter and other minor characters are introduced even before I became familiar with the two narrators. Also, I'm typically indifferent to nicknames but I couldn't help wishing for more original terms of endearment for Amelia and Craig besides "babe" and "baby". It wouldn't have been noteworthy except these monikers are repeated often and in close proximity to each other.Love of Truth is an amazing debut for C.T. Oliver. The author devotes ample time to developing not just the two main characters but the minor characters as well, which I appreciated because it adds a layer of depth to the story. The cast of four supporting characters (five if you count Amelia's dog) and their playful banter create a tone of lighthearted fun. The unexpected ending provides a nice change of pace, shaking up the plot and setting up an exciting sequel. I read somewhere that this is the first book in a trilogy and I'm excited to see what Oliver does next with Amelia and Craig's story as well as possible spin-offs stories with the other characters.