🩷🩷1/2
Both Things Are True
Kathleen Barber
Publication Date: September 1st, 2025
Lake Union Publishing
303 Pages
Amazon | Goodreads | Bookshop.org
Genre: General Fiction | Women’s Fiction
This story is about Vanessa. She’s a big-hit yogi on the internet and lives in New York. Her fiancé, Jack, runs a crypto scam and flees the U.S. So what does Vanessa do? She ends up moving in with her sister, Faith, in Chicago and tries to start anew. That’s where she gets a second chance with Sam.
This is a story of grief; just because someone is still alive doesn’t mean you can’t grieve them. The end of a marriage or relationship is like a death of sorts. I like how the author shows how complex love can be; just because he was a bad guy doesn’t mean Vanessa isn’t hurt. She is completely conflicted but is still trying to move forward. The book shows the complexities of that. I liked how emotional the writing was without being too sentimental or saccharine. I liked the messiness of Vanessa’s troubles, and I cheered on her wins. But I didn’t like the lack of communication. These are grown-ups, and they should have learned to speak by now.
As much as I liked what I mentioned above, the book doesn’t deliver on its potential. While I loved the premise and the sweet writing, the pacing dragged like molasses in January—in Canada! Some of the characters lacked depth to make the story and their journeys really resonate with me. But the author’s ability to write about emotional messiness (which I love) has me giving it an extra half star. I just wish it had impacted me the way it promised.
So which is it?
I enjoyed this book.
This book isn’t great.
Both things are true.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.
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