When Tim accidentally overhears his uncle and the major discussing a kickback, he tells of the conversation during a town meeting. It’s a very tangled web she has woven and one that she can’t seem to get out, until she’s pushed out. Her boyfriend, “Jack”, is a journalist and the father of the developing little bundle of joy growing inside her. Rachel is a pregnant, former medical registrar, having worked on the paediatric ward of an NHS hospital.

Everything but the Truth - Wikipedia

One of the things I like most about the If Only line of books - and in particular Everything But the Truth - is how they deal with growing up. Although there just seem to be too many coincidences, hidden secrets and odd happenings for that to really be the case. I don't say this often about fictional characters, but I actually felt like I was learning from Holly while reading. All the characters are exceptionally well drawn, Rachel and Jack behave in ways that felt absolutely realistic, but so do the secondary characters who are varied and memorable in their own right.Narrated over two timelines, the present day and one year previously, Rachel and Jack are seven-months into their affair with an unplanned, but not unwanted, pregnancy already at the three-months stage. I share a name, a complicated version of grief and a proclivity towards paranoia with the narrator, so the book really affected me at times. If you’re looking for an easy-breezy type of romance, you could give Everything but the Truth a try.

Everything but the Truth - Penguin Books UK

I couldn’t put the bloody thing down, even my Colleen McCoullough read about Caesar has been pushed aside because of this story.Although she gets herself into a complex situation by not being entirely factual, there is a sense that she is an honest and generally good person. When she realizes that Malik would never judge her for not having his family’s level of wealth, she’s also learned how much he values honesty. Malik is a good complement for her, a boy who on the surface may be all charm, but who has learned the hard way how he wants to make a difference in the world.

Everything but the Truth - Penguin Books UK Everything but the Truth - Penguin Books UK

The characters themselves didn’t make anything more dramatic than it had to be though, and that was really refreshing after reading Undeniable by Liz Bankes. Consequently, her decision to hide the truth about her identity makes perfect sense, and readers will understand this too. From mentioning my favourite drink in Starbucks, a medical story that brought back some funny (painful! Holly herself doesn’t mind the sweet retirees she sees every day—a perk that comes from having the nice little apartment she shares with her mum nestled in the middle of the estate—and enjoys interacting with them. Yes, this book had me sobbing, but it also entertained me, made me think and painted a picture of a young couple that imprinted themselves onto my memory.Rachel loves Jack, that much is obvious, but things that have happened in her past (as well as his) which threaten to ruin what seems like a perfect (albeit whirlwind) relationship, and that coupled with what seems to be lies, begins to ruin her trust in Jack.