Must Read

The Brutal Truth

By Lee Winter

A free psychotherapy lesson

Wow! I didn't think a romance could swallow me like that, even less, one using the Ice Queen and May/December tropes. It was a page-turner.

The writing style is just so beautiful that wraps you in a cashmere blanket and urges you to keep reading - just one more page, I swear! The journey of Maddie is so true and universal that you cannot help but be moved by it, and loneliness of Elena will strike you to the core. That's what Winter did. She stripped human nature to its basic expression, and built a story so raw that you can't escape it.

Nothing is off limit for Lee Winter in this book, the hardship of expatriation, hostile workplace, sexism, institutionalize sexual aggression (mention of) - the reality of the business world is exposed in all its ugliness and beauty.

Two things could bother some readers.

Maddie's unbelievably long 'lucky' strike. In fact, a character mentions it multiple times, making it a running gag for the reader.

The French. It's the only flaw in Elena’s characterization in my opinion. She is supposed to be fluent in French - business fluent. She is not. While it is true that she is grammatically perfect, she is off. Her tone and vocabulary are often not adequate for the situation, and as a native French reader, those few scene threw me off rails. It takes an effort to dive back in the story. So just a quick note for native French speaker - skip Elena speaking French, you'll miss nothing crucial to the plot, and won't be derailed by an un-authentic speaking pattern.

I totally recommend this book.

ARC Review