Two girls scarred by tragedy and a letter that will change everything! I really enjoyed this story it is a refreshing romantic suspense. I will be definitely looking to read more by this author.

Mandy Magro is becoming quite a prolific Australian author and I have read quite a few of her books now, I think over half but there are still gaps in my reading.

Moment of Truth is set in North Queensland with much of the action taking place on Diamond Acres Horse Sanctuary, the place Alexis Brown and her sister Katie grew up. Mr Brown worked at Diamond Acres and the family lived in a cottage on the property until the night Mr and Mrs Brown died in a shooting that was ruled a murder-suicide. Alexis and Katie moved to Townsville with their grandparents and never went back, but that didn’t mean they stopped looking back. Years of therapy and Alexis still hasn’t managed to move on, she still hasn’t faltered in her belief that it was not her father who pulled the trigger and she has still lost all memory of the events of that night.

An anonymous note arrives out of the blue confirming the long held belief that there was someone else there that night and Alexis is determined to track down the sender of the note and find out what they know. But after all these years is she actually ready to return to Blue Ridge?

There is a lot to love about Moment of Truth, the suspense side of the story is well drawn out and there are some pretty interesting twists that I wasn’t expecting. I really enjoyed the suspense side of the story and I was hooked, always with the one more chapter to try and find out what was going on; trying to discover if Alexis ever recovered her memory.

I am struggling to find the right words because the romance was sweet, if a little predictable, but it was also very repetitive. I think I heard how they felt and the reactions to each other more than I was made to see and feel their reactions and it seemed a little repetitive to me. I am sure there will be plenty of readers who swoon all over it but it got a little over the top for me. I found myself skimming some scenes with a ‘yeah, we get it, you’re connected and the crush never went away and the chemistry between you is electric, I’ve heard it all already just get to the action’. The romance was predictable but I thought it was realistic and I thought it played out in a way that I found completely conceivable.

There are hurdles, as there are with any romance, and there are secrets but some secrets are deal-breakers, and that too was written believably. I think my big issue with the romance was the repetition in the lead up and the predictability but having said that it was still quite a sweet romance and it was one that I couldn’t help but cross my fingers for them. Alexis and Ethan have both done it pretty tough in their lives and they deserve their happy ever after, and it’s quite clear that now they’ve found one another again no-one else will ever be enough.

Diamond Acres is a horse sanctuary and this is what really showed the depth of Ethan, early on he rescues a group of brumbies from an abbattoir and the way he treats them, the care he shows, is amazing. Brumbies are a majestic animal and they are one that certainly evokes very varied reactions in people. Ethan is one of their champions and he treats them well, the respect he has for them is palpable. I love the idea of brumbies but have never been close to one so reading their stories is always interesting. I love to read of the connection people have with horses, and horses with people too.

Mandy Magro is a prolific Australian author whose work I have read more than 50% of and have enjoyed all of them. The story has definite promise and played out well, the suspense was intriguing and unfolded at a good pace with some great twists but the romance was a little predictable and repetitive. Definitely a book I would recommend and I think fans will be thrilled.

I very much enjoyed this novel. I was sure I knew who the bad guy was but it didn't detract from the story at all. I enjoyed the reunion between Alexis and Ethan and liked the way it played out. These two people had had many losses in their lives and the renewal of their friendship was a bright part of their journey. Plenty of secrets and intrigue and misunderstandings abound in this new novel by Mandy Magro.

#MomentOfTruth #NetGalley

Thank you to Netgally and Harlequin (Australia), TEEN / MIRA for a copy for an honest review

The story started with a hive of activity, in a read that was incredible. Alexis and Ethan’s characters were wholesome from the start and grabbed this reader’s attention with their confrontations and interactions within the story. There were some surprise twists that kept me turning the pages, in what was an all-round, enjoyable read that I could read again in years to come.
Review copy received from Harlequin Australia

Alexis Brown and her little sister Katie had no idea the night of the terrific thunderstorm would change their lives forever. When Lexi woke around 3am to the sound of her parents fighting; a sound she could hear above the storm, she didn’t know she would never see them again. The girls’ dash to the neighbours to get help, the subsequent arrival of their grandparents with tragic news - Lexi and Katie were beyond confused and couldn’t understand anything of what had happened.

Seventeen years later and Lexi and Katie had made lives for themselves in Townsville, North Queensland, far from their home town of Blue Ridge. When an anonymous letter arrived addressed to the sisters, they were shocked and horrified at what it contained. Lexi needed answers; would returning to Blue Ridge mean she would be able to find them? She had never come to terms with the deaths of her parents – she needed to prove one way or another that it wasn’t as the police had concluded…

Ethan King had been best friends with Lexi when they were children – not having had any contact with her since she’d left town seventeen years previously had hurt. But he’d moved on, inherited his grandfather’s horse farm, Diamond Acres, and married. But when Lexi arrived back in town, and stayed at the newly renovated cottage on the farm; the cottage which had been her home – he knew his closeness and friendship with Lexi would continue as if they’d never been apart.

Would Lexi find the truth to the events of seventeen years prior? Was it possible for her memory to return or was it the trauma that kept it hidden inside her head? There were long buried secrets which needed unearthing…

Action packed with heartache and terror from the very first page, Moment of Truth is an excellent romantic suspense novel by Aussie author Mandy Magro. I could feel the intense Queensland heat, see the beautiful countryside, and the majesty of the horses and brumbies which Ethan trained. A thoroughly enjoyable novel, Moment of Truth is one I have no hesitation in recommending.

With thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for my digital ARC to read and review.