Title: The Truth
Author:  Emma Slate
Publisher/Year:  Tabula Rosa Publishing 5/25/21
Length:  250 Pages
Series: Charade #3

Overview

My family has given everything to salvage the Zoric name and reputation from my father’s tarnished legacy.

I only needed a moment to destroy it all.

Along with two hearts.

It was supposed to be a simple charade. I never thought Ford and I would fall in love.

But I can’t take back what I’ve done.

He can’t change the past.

And what we’ve done changes everything.

But only if I stop running.

Someone has to lose either way. But when the truth comes out, there might be no winner at all.

My Thoughts

As I jog my memory to think back to where we ended book two, i’m quickly reminded that we once again found ourselves on the downward spiral of Emzee and Ford’s relationship. They were happy until Claudia shared some information that Ford never wanted her to know – the truth behind what happened in high school at his own hands.

Claudia reveals that all the rumors that Emzee suffered from, those rumors to which she thought that Ford rescued her from, where actually started BECAUSE of him. So the onset of book three, we are taken to the past where we see what happened to prompt that. We learn that Ford overheard his parents fighting and learned that it was because of the illegal business that Em’s dad ran, and Ford felt that his parents were going to split up because of it, resulting in his life being ruined. So he took it out on her.

From this point on in the story, we watch how things go from bad to worse. We learned that Emzee was pregnant in book two, and she still hasn’t shared that information with anyone. She starts the divorce process to get out of the marriage which solves many of her problems – she no longer has to stay married to a man she continues not to trust, and she’s also able to uphold her part of the bargain with the Malones where they will pay off the Russian mob if they split.

The divorce prompts a move to New York and a start of a new life. Ford’s not going to take this laying down, so we watch for the next bulk of the story how he tries to win her back – how he moves to New York, into the same building and even buys the building. He woos her every day with romantic gestures and every time it seems like they’re making progress, Em sticks to her guns and begs for the divorce.

Just when Ford makes a big breakthrough, Claudia shows up again and well we know what happens every time that happens. The end of the couple. Which makes everyone happy except for Ford and sometimes Emzee.

There’s so much going on in this story though that we can’t forget about other sub plots. There’s the Bratva and what the Zoric’s will do about them if the Malones don’t keep up their end of the bargain. There’s the notion that Tori’s pregnant and due any day, Brooklyn is pregnant and not far behind, and still no one knows that Em is pregnant.

There’s Emzee’s new job that she loves but the same job that takes her away from her charity in Chicago so we have to wonder what will come of that. and there’s Claudia – there HAS to be an ulterior motive there for her to continue to pursue Ford and interject herself at every turn, yet it’s not obvious throughout the series…yet.

So….add to all that turmoil a few Very steamy scenes partially due to intense chemistry but also due to pregnancy hormones and what we get is an insanely indulgent third and final installment to Emzee’s story. Not sure that the closure is what we expect or need, but it serves it’s purpose. So…Enjoy!