Reviewed by Cheryl

TITLE: To Be Honest

SERIES: #lovehim #3

AUTHOR: S.M. James

PUBLISHER: May Books

LENGTH: 412 pages

RELEASE DATE: November 15, 2018

BLURB:

Angus Reid is pretty sure he’s being catfished.

After spending the last half of junior year talking online to the guy of his dreams, Angus wants to meet. In person. So when Scotty brushes it off with excuses of not being ready, red flags go up.

Determined to either catch Scotty out, or take a shot at real love, Angus embarks on a summer road trip with his adorkable roommate, Tyler. But as summer stretches on, and mixed messages fly between them, Angus finds his heart torn.

His potential catfisher?

Or his straight best friend?

And while their road trip takes them across the country, Angus is headed for one destination.

Either a happily ever after … or a broken heart.

REVIEW:

To begin, let’s just remind you that this is a young/new adult book. There is no on-the-page sex. The closest it comes is almost-sex that was averted by a friend who may have been concerned or may have been jealous, or both. If you don’t get that teens are different to adults and are immature in so many ways, then go somewhere else because teens don’t behave like adults and the writer has captured that beautifully.

There is so much to unpick in this story, I don’t know where to begin. Angus and Tyler are perfect. Throughout the book they stumble and fumble and get into all kinds of bother, because Tyler is straight and Angus is falling in love with him, but Angus really wants Scotty, and Scotty wants Angus, except Scotty’s probably a catfish and Tyler might not be as straight as Angus thought, although Anah thinks he’s just being a tease and Link is…well, Link’s just an idiot?

I’m not going to rehash the story. At its basis it’s a fantastic road trip where the journey really is far more important than the destination. Angus and Tyler were clearly made for each other, but they dance around each other, and we feel Angus’ glorious torment in such sweet terms.

There are so many little surprises, none of them earth-shattering, but all of them add flavour and polish. So many of the little details that are all around us and enrich our experience of life, even when we don’t notice them. Most of them are highlighted for Angus by Tyler and that really should have clued Angus in that Tyler is interested in more than friendship, but Angus is too caught up in suffering to see them for what they are. It’s something that happens to everyone, I think—we find ourselves in a difficult situation and believe we see the path through, so we blunder along that path ignoring any other avenues or possibilities, until something yanks us off the road and opens our eyes. Angus is hurting so much because Tyler is out of bounds, that he just can’t see anything else.

It’s the same with Scotty. Even though he has plenty of reason to doubt him, Angus so badly wants Scotty to be real that he ignores all the signs, all his doubts and fears, all the advice from his friends, and travels thousands of miles to confront his dream. Of course, it’s never as simple as that, but in essence, that’s what the trip is all about. And that really is what the trip was about. During their travels, Angus did grow to understand Scotty more, to appreciate him, and yes to fall in love with him. When he comes face to face with the dream, he’s not able to handle the reality, but the truth he comes to in the end is that he had never been in love with Scotty, but with the real, flesh-and-blood boy behind the screen.

In case you can’t tell, I loved this book. I loved everything about it from the story, to the characterisation, the flow, the scope and detail—everything. The writing was flawless, the storytelling rich and exciting. The author has a way of making us interesting in the simplest things. There’s no danger or major excitements, no cheap thrills or shocking surprises. There are no great adventures, except the trip itself, of course, but they learn so much about each other and themselves by taking notice of the detail. As the characters wake up the description of their surroundings and their experiences become more vivid.

I often talk, in my reviews, about emotional depth, and I actively dislike books that have none. A truly skilled writer can help you see a character as a three-dimensional, almost living person. You get a glimpse at the true nuances of psyche and emotion that makes a person who they are. This book has plenty of depth and it has one particular characteristic that all good books share—I read it a second time and found a whole host of sweet little things that I missed the first time.

If you like a young adult books, with no sex, no particular angst, danger or sweeping adventure, but a soft, sweet love story, plenty of richness of detail and superb characterisation, then not only is this book for you, it’s a must-read.

RATING:

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