Reviewed by Anabela.m
TITLE: The Simple Truth
SERIES: Falls Village Collection #10
AUTHOR: J.T. Cheyanne
PUBLISHER: Self published
LENGTH: 150 pages
RELEASE DATE: February 23, 2012
BLURB:
Falls Village. A place to be free, to be out and proud, and to live the life he’d dreamed about for himself. Brandon Martinez had everything he wanted in the palm of his hand. The new car detail/specialty shop he co-owned was starting to make money. The ocean sprawled in all of its glory only a few miles from the new condo. And best of all, he had Nick, his fiancé and business partner at his side. Born into old money and blessed with the stunning looks of his Ojibwe ancestors, Nick Wilson embodied the definition of the perfect fiancé. Brandon could never quite believe Nick belonged to him, had proposed to him, the Latino son of an Air Force colonel. One thing stood between them and their happily ever after. An electric moment of panic and one epic omission that could bring it all down around their ears. For their first few months in Falls Village, Brandon shoved it to the back of his mind. The shop and Nick kept him busy. But, he had to tell Nick, and soon. Nick was talking an actual wedding date and building a home in the Port Dock area of Falls Village. He was trying to give Brandon the permanency and stability he craved.One phone call and the time Brandon thought he had, vanished. Would Falls Village continue to be Brandon’s safe haven, or would it become his new personal Hell?
REVIEW:
The Simple Truth was a pleasant surprise. It packs a lot of love, troubled hearts and plenty of steam thrown in. The main characters, though, I have to say I liked one more than the other.
The story is part in the Falls Village Collection which is mostly MF books, if I’m not mistaken. In fact, the book started with a prologue from the town’s POV that I found incredibly cute. Falls Village itself recounted its changes in the past years, the new couples that found a home in it, all leading to introducing two of its newest inhabitants, the heroes of J.T. Cheyanne’s contribution to the collection.
We meet Nick and Brandon two years into their relationship, engaged to be married and starting a life and a business together in Falls Village. At first look they might of seemed synced and in perfect harmony, but ten minutes into the story I realized they weren’t. It was the classic poor guy/rich guy scenario, when one doubted his worth compared to the other’s value. The huge monetary imbalance between the two influenced their day by day choices and sadly, only added to Brandon’s insecurities when he compared himself to Nick, his successful and gorgeous fiancé.
It took one phone call to shake the foundations of the new life Brandon and Nick had started to build in Falls Village. A lie Brandon had told that hurt Nick immensely. And it was at this point in the story that I started to like Brandon less and less. He knew he’d hurt Nick and he consciously continued to do so, he didn’t try to right his wrongs. Basically, he had his cake and wanted to eat it, too, selfishly breaking Nick’s heart in the process. The blurb doesn’t give much away, so I’m trying to stop from doing that myself. Suffice to say, I think Brandon should have done a bit more of groveling. Not so much for the lie, but for how he acted after the truth came out.
This book was definitely an interesting ride, especially considering the rather short page count. What I found captivating was that the author chose to recount Nick and Brandon’s backstory as the same time as the present’s trouble in their paradise. I loved that, because information about the wonderful times in the past when they first met were given simultaneously to today’s struggles, beautiful memories contrasting the saddening times they lived through. I never doubted Nick and Brandon would have fixed their problems. The strength of their feelings for each other were written beautifully and reached from the pages…as where their insecurities (mostly Brandon’s). I just wanted to smack Brandon a bit to help him clear his head. Although, life took care of that when Nick was involved in an accident and the scare kinda set Brandon’s priorities straight.
This was a story about a bond put to the test, a love surviving stronger than before. But also about family values and pride for one’s roots. Nick considered his Ojibwe heritage vital to who he was and I appreciated the Native American culture the author detailed in the story.
It was simple and complicated at the same time. Saying I Love You is simple, but nurturing love is complicated, especially when you give weight to insecurities. Sometimes you lose sight of the bigger picture and the important things while you focus on the minutiae. And maybe, like in Brandon’s case, you just need a wake up call to show you The Simple Truth of what’s vital to you or not, and always keep sight of it. Definitely a lesson to learn.
RATING: 
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