Chasing Truth by Julie Cross Series: Eleanor Ames #1
Also in this series: Hiding Lies
Published by Entangled Teen on 9/27/16
Genres: Young Adult, Mysteries, Romance
Pages: 400
Source: Blog Tour
My content rating: Mature YA (Sexual content that is described somewhat, though it's not explicit)
My rating:
At Holden Prep, the rich and powerful rule the school—and they’ll do just about anything to keep their dirty little secrets hidden.
When former con artist Eleanor Ames’s homecoming date commits suicide, she’s positive there’s something more going on. The more questions she asks, though, the more she crosses paths with Miles Beckett. He’s sexy, mysterious, arrogant…and he’s asking all the same questions.
Eleanor might not trust him—she doesn’t even like him—but they can’t keep their hands off of each other. Fighting the infuriating attraction is almost as hard as ignoring the fact that Miles isn’t telling her the truth…and that there’s a good chance he thinks she’s the killer.
Chasing Truth is a YA mystery filled with super spies, intrigue, romance and a touch of teen angst. The combination makes for a fabulous read! The book follows Ellie, a teenage girl who has left her con artist family and is now living with her sister, Harper and Harper’s secret service boyfriend. Ellie’s left her grifter life behind, but when her best friend Simon commits suicide, she can’t let things go. She needs to figure out what happened that night, why he was pushed so far—or if it was truly a suicide at all. Turns out, Ellie’s con artist skills are perfect to help her get close to people who might have more information than they’ve let on. Of course, the closer she gets to the truth, the more dangerous the search becomes.
What Fed My Addiction:
- Ellie’s backstory. One of my favorite aspects of the book was learning about Ellie’s past. We know pretty much from the start that Ellie used to be a con artist, but we don’t know much beyond that. How did she end up living with her sister and a secret service agent? What made her leave the rest of her family? The details of Ellie’s early life unfold throughout the book, and they’re fascinating.
- Miles and Ellie. I’m a sucker for a good romance, so it’s no surprise that I was more invested in Miles and Ellie as a couple than I was in the mystery Ellie was trying to solve—that’s just me. Ellie has quite a few secrets, so she can’t let anyone close to her. I don’t want to spoil anything, so I feel like I can’t go into any detail about how Ellie and Miles’s relationship gets complicated—but let’s just say that they end up finding their lives woven together in some major ways, but there are obstacles that threaten to tear them apart in others. The romance between Ellie and Miles is slow-developing (but not too slow!) and believable, and I was really hoping for a happy ending for these two (even against some pretty insurmountable odds). One more note: I appreciated the way sex was approached in this book—as something that you build up to in a relationship rather than just jumping into it at the first opportunity. (Not gonna lie, things still moved faster than would be my preference in real life, but the pace was a lot better than a lot of YA books I’ve read.)
- That ending! Throughout the book, I was kept guessing as to who the murderer was—or if there even was a murder. The ending of this book was pretty spectacular and kept me furiously turning the pages. I was very satisfied with the conclusion and how it all came together. Some aspects I expected, but there were also plenty of surprises.
What Left Me Hungry for More:
- Felt a little long. This book took me a little longer to get through than I expected it to. Even though I was really enjoying the story overall, I wasn’t feeling compelled to pick the book up at first (to be fair, I was really busy and mystery isn’t an automatic favorite genre—it was the romance that kept me coming back for more, and there was plenty of that too). Once I got about halfway through and the mystery really started to pick up, I got more engaged with that part of the story. It didn’t hurt that the romance had kicked up a notch too. By the end, the pace was galloping and I was glued to the book until its conclusion!
Even though I’m not always a fan of crime story type mysteries, this one had enough other elements to keep me hooked. I’m eager to see where Cross takes the series in future books! I give this one 4/5 stars.
***Disclosure: I received this book from the publisher via Chapter by Chapter Blog Tours in exchange for an honest review. No other compensation was given and all opinions are my own.***
Julie Cross’s Top Ten Addictions
(in no particular order)
- Coffee. Can’t go a day without it so it’s gotta hit the list.
- Oatmeal. Rarely go a day without eating it.
- Dollar Tree. I won’t say how often I visit this store, definitely not saying how much I spend there. But trust me, the numbers are startling.
- Command Hooks. I can’t stand items all over the floor and stuffing things in a drawer or cabinet mean I have to constantly hunt items down for the other four members of my house. I have Command hooks everywhere in my house. I’m not skilled or patient enough to install real hooks so I love the ease and freedom of stick on, no damage hooks that I can move around.
- My laminator. It’s new and I can’t stop touching it.
- My laptop. I’m a writer, nuff said.
- Socks. Winter or summer. Doesn’t matter. If I’m hanging out at home, I’m wearing socks. I can’t figure out why but I just have to have them on.
- Ponytail holders. My hair is ALWAYS up. Can’t stand when it’s down or if I don’t have a device to put it up.
- Underwear. I don’t know how people go without it.
- My family. Well, most of the time. Lol. Considering that their happiness and well-being occupies the largest percentage of my thoughts and time each day, I’d say they have proven themselves an addiction of mine.
About the Author:
Julie Cross is a NYT and USA Today bestselling author of New Adult and Young Adult fiction, including the Tempest series, a young adult science fiction trilogy which includes Tempest, Vortex, Timestorm (St. Martin’s Press).
She’s also the author of the Letters to Nowhere series, Whatever Life Throws at You, Third Degree, Halfway Perfect, and many more to come!
Julie lives in Central Illinois with her husband and three children. She’s a former gymnast, longtime gymnastics fan, coach, and former Gymnastics Program Director with the YMCA.
She’s a lover of books, devouring several novels a week, especially in the young adult and new adult genres.
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14 responses to “Chasing Truth by Julie Cross – Review, Giveaway & Cross’s Top Ten Addictions”
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I’m glad to hear you liked the way the romance went and that they didn’t just jump into sex. It tends to go a bit quicker in books than in real life, but at least it felt more realistic. Sounds like a good one.
Love the author’s addictions. I agree with socks – I’m almost always wearing them. And ponytail holders! My hair just makes me too hot when it’s down, plus it’s thick and frizzy. haha
I kind of loved her description of how she loves her laminator too – somehow the image of her not being able to stop touching it makes me laugh. 🙂
This author sounds funny…loved her list! I loved Veronica Mars but cannot remember that far back to remember any specific episodes. I just know I was disappointed when it was canceled. I love Kristen Bell.
Same with me. I loved that show, but I have a hard time remembering specific episodes.
It sounds interesting. I can’t live with out my daily dose of caffeine either, mine is just in the form of Diet Mt. Dew or Diet Dr. Pepper.
We all have to siphon that caffeine in one way or the other! 🙂
I love to hear that it had a strong ending especially if you felt the book was a tad long.
Yes, it’s always nice when a book ends on a high note. This one definitely did!
I’m a sucker for a good mystery, too but I have to be caught up into it right off the bat. It sounds good over all, slow parts notwithstanding.
I rarely get caught up in the actual mystery aspects of mysteries (I know, that sounds very strange), so I’m always happy when there are other elements to keep me riveted.
Mystery isn’t a genre I usually run to (although I use to years ago) but I keep coming back to this book because it sounds like a lot of fun and your review makes me want to discover the romance that runs through the pages. I think I need give this book a try!
For some reason, adult romances tend to bore me, but I enjoy YA mysteries. Not sure what that says about me. Hmmm …. 🙂
Haha, well we all have genres that pull us in a lot more than others. I always end up reading YA or NA romances, I can’t think of many adult romances that I’ve picked up. Not sure what that says about me either. 😉
To be honest? I’ve never seen Veronica Mars. But I think I really should!