This book was really good! You are in for a heck of a rollercoaster ride. Even though I figured out who it was before the end I still enjoyed reading this story. I really grew to like Izzy the MC, and how she works so hard to get herself right. I could have done without the insta-love but to each their own. I don’t want to say much because I don’t want to give anything away but...Geez can everyone just remember STRANGER DANGER?!

I was excited to read this book because the cover and brief description drew me in. The book started off slow and never did pick up. Unfortunately I didn’t enjoy this as much as I hoped I would.

I received an ARC of this novel from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

A young woman who suffers from injuries inflicted on her during a brutal attack unwittingly returns to close to her attacker.

The premise of this story sounded interesting, as I really enjoy this genre. It started off strong, but unfortunately, that didn't last. The pacing was slow, which made it hard for me to stay engaged. A few twists surprised me, but not enough for me to up the rating.

The premise of this story sounds intriguing and I was looking forward to read it. It started off strong, and engaging but unfortunately this book wasn't for me, leaving me feeling frustrated. The pacing was slow to my liking and it did not hold my interest in the end.

Pub. Date: Oct 13, 2020

***Thank you W.W. Norton & Company and NetGalley for this gifted review copy in exchange for an honest review.***

You can find this review and all of my others over at www.readbookrepeat.wordpress.com

Actual rating of 3.5

Isabel Dryland is an artist with a troubled past. She has lasting damage from an accident that happened when she was a teenager, the problem is, she's never been able to remember what happened or why. Some days are good, others not so much, change is hard for her but she tries her best. So when her husband suggests they move to the country side, she has reservations. When he has his heart set on a particular house, she agrees to go and view it, once she realises how much her husband loves it, she can't bear to say no. So they pack up their city lives, and move to the quiet countryside. At first it's okay, but then Isabel starts experiencing unnerving things. She feels like she's being watched. and begins to discover secrets about their new house that are incredibly unsettling. Like a dog with a bone, she can't let it rest until she finds out the truth of what happened there, but will she be able to handle what she uncovers? And is the treat she feels she is experiencing real, or a fear based on lost memories?

The premise of this story interested me greatly. A psychological thriller where the protagonist can't remember her accident? Sign. Me. Up. This one turned out being a little odd though, and I honestly can't say why. It had that psychological thriller feel, but it also felt like a crime novel in a sense, even though Isabel is not a detective or police officer or anything of the sort, she's a victim of an accident that she can't remember, which in turn I felt like made her an unreliable narrator.

When her and her husband move, she's not happy about it. After her accident, one of the problems that she has is dealing with change and trying to adapt to new places which is fair enough. However, through her love to her husband she agrees to move as he has his heart set on the house that they've viewed. Isabel had an unsettling feeling that she's been there before, and some of the rooms are making her uneasy. Along with the feeling of being watched, of strangers walking up the laneway looking in on her when she's outside. But the narration give the feel of "is it really happening? Or is it just her imagination?" hence the unreliable narrator feel. I knew which way I felt about it the whole time, and I ended up being right in my assumption without any shadow of a doubt, so I feel like steps could have been taken to make it a little harder to work out which way the story was going to go.

The story is written in alternating chapters between Isabel in the present day and the culprit in 2004. I will admit, I didn't quite know who our 2004 character was until almost the reveal, I had an inkling about them when we're first introduced, and there's one line in the narration of the culprit that really gave them away, I felt.

The mystery was interesting, though it didn't feel so much a mystery because we were reading dual timelines which sort of covered everything. I'm trying to be as vague as possible because I don't want to give anything away, so I apologise if it's confusing hahaha. I felt like the pace was a lagging a little in places and not as suspenseful as I would have liked it to be, though Cameron did a good job of emitting the isolation that Isabel felt.

Even though the narrative was descriptive, I felt like a lot of the time it was telling me rather than showing. I did however notice the difference between Isabel and the Culprit's voice and think that it may have been written this way in order to convey Isabel's though patterns and feelings that go hand in hand with the problems that she has had since her accident.

All in all, it wasn't a bad book, just didn't hit me the way I was hoping that it would. I don't want to go into too much detail because I feel like not knowing is part of being able to enjoy this story. I have noticed that since I finished it a couple of days ago, it has been popping up in my mind a bit which I take as a sign of a decent book. Though it was different to what I was expecting, it had a story that kept me intrigued and needing to know what happened next. The ending was satisfying as well which is always a plus.

Insanely atmospheric, but I found that some of the quotes that were dispersed between scenes were fitting, and others felt out of place.

It’s clear that the author wanted to portray her protagonist as a broken feminist - I very much appreciated moments like her questioning the police of her husband should allow her to vote.

Many thanks to NetGalley for providing me with an advanced reader copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

4.5 rounded up. Get in and buckle up. You are in for one helluva ride!!

Isabel (Izzy) Dryland-Weir has become an artist. A rather successful artist. She met her husband Tom in the art gallery during a showing. He recognized her. She was that girl. The girl that survived. The girl in the wrong place at the wrong time. The girl that had tried to act more mature, more cool, more experienced. The girl, at the age of 14, who was savagely brutalized, her skull bashed in and left for dead.

Izzy has put in the work. She still suffers from migraines and acute anxiety. Tom is not only her husband, but her caretaker. He believes he knows what's best for Izzy. That is how they end up living in the country at the homestead known as The Lodge, where Izzy can focus more on herself and begin painting again.

But, something doesnt feel right. She doesnt feel comfortable at The Lodge. She feels like she is being watched. She moved more for Tom than for herself. She gave this to him. Why cant he believe her when she voices her concerns? She strikes out on her own to find the answers.

I absolutely love the character of Izzy. Regardless of her disability, she perseveres. She does not stop no matter the circumstance. Julie Cameron writes her so well. There is some redundancy, and working with a character that has a TBI, there would be repetition. She makes it work beautifully. This was a ride I did not want to end.

Thanks to NetGalley, the publisher, and Julie Cameron for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

A suspenseful book about a young woman, Isabel, who suffered an act of violence she can’t remember when she was young. Now she is being stalked again, seemingly by the same I identified man, but no one (including her possibly up-to-no-good husband) believes her. Others believe she may be cracking up. Is she being stalked or is she mentally ill?.

One of my favorite parts about this book was the way every chapter started out with a quote. The one that apparently inspired the title of the book was a quote from Voltaire - “To the dead we owe only truth.”

I liked the main character Izzy. I found the book a bit slow until about halfway through when it took an interesting turn. The “is she being stalked or is she mentally ill?” theme has been done a lot these past few years, so between that and the slow pace I didn’t get much out of the first half. I did like better where things went in the second half and found the book to be well-written overall, and liked the resolution, albeit a bit predictable.

I’d give the book 3.75 stars. Well-written, and likely to appeal to suspense fans, but there are other books with this same plot that provide more thrills and a faster pace if you’re a true thriller adrenaline junkie.

Thanks to Scarlet Publishing, Julie Cameron and NetGalley for the advance copy!

Admittedly, it took me a bit to get into this one. I didn't feel immediately drawn into the story, and it took a little while for the suspense to build. However, once the groundwork was laid, I flew through the pages, trying to unravel the mystery. Only Truth contains a few of my favorite features of the genre: a personified house that seems to have a life of its own and a cast of characters that keeps readers guessing. Even though I put together some pieces, I couldn't figure out the entire ending, which kept me hooked until the very end.

This cover is impossible to ignore, and with an equally-interesting blurb to match, I was thrilled to be approved for this request.

Isabela's life was dramatically altered when she survived a brutal attack that left her permanently disfigured with no memory of attack. Now, married and having just bought a beautiful house in the country, Izzy realizes there's something about that house that is deeply unsettling. After renovations unearth a possible reason for her unease, she pursues the truth and suddenly finds herself questioning how stable the foundation of her life is.

Only Truth is un-put-downable. I finished this in a single sitting and would gladly do it again. Cameron found a wonderful balance between creepy house, unreliable narrator, and underlying sense of foreboding that resulted in a wonderfully-taut thriller. This gave me all the Gothika vibes. Alternating POVs worked really well here, and while I couldn't choose a favorite, I can sing their praises. Izzy is authentic and gripping and highly likable, even when you're not sure you can entirely buy into her quest for the truth. The mysterious killer's voice is terrifying in its honest dissociation from human emotions.

As for the plot, Cameron does a masterful job weaving doubt into every character. I find memory-lapse narratives tricky to navigate, as sometimes they can come off as cliche or stigmatize mental illness. This book, however, treats mental illness not as a root cause for evil or a path for blame, but rather a fact, a characteristic that doesn't define a character but adds to who that character is. I found this refreshing and engrossing, and I appreciated her handling of some of the more sensitive subjects.

Additionally, Cameron's writing style is beautiful, a readable combination of literary skill and brazen conversationalism. She's taken some of the more overplayed archetypes of the genre and handled them with grace and horror. There is violence, but it's not gratuitous, and while we do get a fair glimpse into a killer's psyche, the focus is primarily on "recovery" and we deal with trauma and change.

Overall, Only Truth is a fast-paced, gripping ride full of tension and twists. Big thanks to Scarlet and NetGalley for providing an eARC in exchange for honest review consideration.

I received in advance readers copy in exchange for a honest review

Really fun, few good twists, great summer reading

This is somewhat unusual as the author keeps the reader guessing. Who is the antagonist? Is there one? Is it the mind of the protagonist? What really happened in the past? So many questions to answer. Read this one.

Thank you to Netgalley and W. W. Norton & Company for the arc of Only Truth by Julie Cameron,


This follows Isabel who knows she should be grateful for her happy life but its actually the complete opposite from the one she led before when normality seemed too far out of reach then after a violent assault in which she cannot remember which ended up leaving her shattered and pretty scarred after that happened. Even though her memory was lost even the saddening feeling that she may be damaged goods and the effects of her injuries kept her questioning her own sanity.....

Her husband whom is named Tom, says and decides a move and a fresh start may be what she and him need and they even found the best house in the country.... this brings back memories for him as it reminds him of his childhood. Isabel feels that when she visits it is an overwhelming sense of dread...... She is Betrayed by her own instincts so she then decides to trust Tom’s instincts, to do the move and learn to love their new home as this is their future.

Turns out that their new home does actuall lurk dark secrets which are so powerful enough to bring back her own trauma from the past and what happened...

This was a 4 star read and i definitely recommend it was such a great book and read was flowing beautifully it was structured well as well as it kept me wanting more and to know more and it kept me going on reading right from start to finish quickly within 1 day as well

4 stars⭐⭐⭐⭐

Really good read. Would recommend to friends and family. I could sympathise with characters (important for any fiction novel!) and looked forward to picking it up and reading the next few chapters! Interesting plot line and a good ending. Will look out for more novels by the author. Thank you.

A woman moves to the country to flee a troubled past, but finds familiar fears lurking inside her new home!

This was such a wonderful book to read! Of course I'm obsessed with thrillers! So this was my kinda book.
I loved how the characters just come alive And you can really connect with them!
It was such a roller coaster and that's what I love when I read a good thriller.

Thank You NetGalley And Julie for this ARC of Only Truth!

I really enjoyed this book. By the end I had a few different ideas in how it would play out but didn't know for sure until I actually was finishing at the very end. I think my favorite part was the end when everything unraveled and then you could see how far Izzy came from the beginning to the end of the book. It was a great read, pretty intriguing. Thank you Netgalley for giving me the opportunity to read this book!