I’m nursing one heck of a book hangover courtesy of Vi Keeland and The Naked Truth right now. Keeland has landed on my top favorites list – twice – in 2017, and while it may only be July, I’m already sweating the end of this year just thinking about attempting to pick my favorites amongst the fantastic books she’s released in 2018. Unputdownable, all-consuming love stories that I could barely tear myself away from, every single one of Vi’s books left me still thinking about the characters and...

I’m nursing one heck of a book hangover courtesy of Vi Keeland and The Naked Truth right now. Keeland has landed on my top favorites list – twice – in 2017, and while it may only be July, I’m already sweating the end of this year just thinking about attempting to pick my favorites amongst the fantastic books she’s released in 2018. Unputdownable, all-consuming love stories that I could barely tear myself away from, every single one of Vi’s books left me still thinking about the characters and their stories days later. Every. Single. One.

Hooked from page one, The Naked Truth drew me in with a perfectly paced plot punctuated with witty, snappy banter that was its own form of foreplay. This couple had an unconventional history—there was no “meet-cute” here. Told in present day, Keeland very effectively builds their backstory for the reader through flashbacks where I felt their longing for and attraction to each other. Gray charges back into Layla’s life, and she never stood a chance against this man’s sheer determination. At first glance he’s cocky and arrogantly sure of himself, but once the author began pulling back his layers, readers saw hints of vulnerability in him that balanced out that confidence and made Gray an irresistible hero. Layla was a perfect match for this man—whip smart, sassy and not afraid to go toe-to-toe with him.

The push and pull of this relationship was delicious, and this couple’s chemistry in every single one of their interactions lit up the page. In true Keeland fashion, though, she didn’t make this second-chance romance a slam-dunk for them, though. They had to work for their happily ever after—trust had to be rebuilt, and as if that weren’t enough, Vi had lessons for them to learn and battles for them to best along the way. The addition of interesting side characters rounded out a what was already a fantastic story into something truly special.

A steamy love story with hefty doses of emotion and well-timed punches of humor, Keeland delivered an addictive, passionate romance in The Naked Truth that I simply did not want to put down. Five smooches from me!

I just have to get this off my chest: I HATE the cover of this book. It’s awkward and pointless; I kept hoping there would be some big moment in the novel where it made sense, to no avail. Thankfully, the actual book far surpassed the cover art. The Naked Truth was fun and flirty, peppered with enough heavy subject matter to keep me invested in Layla and Gray’s story.

Layla and Gray were both fabulously strong characters. I found Gray’s raw honesty and commitment to never lie to Layla refr...

I just have to get this off my chest: I HATE the cover of this book. It’s awkward and pointless; I kept hoping there would be some big moment in the novel where it made sense, to no avail. Thankfully, the actual book far surpassed the cover art. The Naked Truth was fun and flirty, peppered with enough heavy subject matter to keep me invested in Layla and Gray’s story.

Layla and Gray were both fabulously strong characters. I found Gray’s raw honesty and commitment to never lie to Layla refreshing in a world where so many romance novels are predicated on lies of omission or miscommunication. They both had more than their share of reasons to be distrustful of everyone else, so the stark candor they practiced with each other was the only way they were able to navigate their way to a relationship.

The Naked Truth is one of the most unique second-chance romances I have ever read. Given the circumstances under which they first met and formed a relationship, they had an entire set of issues to overcome most couples don’t. Even after they overcame their strange beginning life continued to lob all kinds of curve balls at them. I loved that neither of them laid down and just took the beating they were given, and they both fought for what they needed on a personal level with grace and understanding.

The secondary characters in The Naked Truth were life. They added so much value to the story and gave us such a fascinating insight into the lives and hangups of both Layla and Gray, while still maintaining their places as standalone characters. Even the character I wanted to hate was so well-written I felt more compassion for them than I wanted to.

I wish the loose ends were more fully wrapped up. There were two subplots that felt like they were just forgotten about by the story ended and I would have loved to have seen some closure for them, especially since one of them was the impetus for most of the plot.

The Naked Truth is a complete standalone novel. The story is complete in a single novel. The book is written in dual first-person perspective, narrated by Layla and Grayson.

The Naked Truth by Vi Keeland is another phenomenal standalone contemporary romance with a vein of second chances and past mistakes and secrets revealed. Well-written and well-paced, the story of Gray and Layla is powerful, emotional, and hard-earned, for the both of them.

Layla has spent the past year working past her last relationship. The man she refuses to admit she loved had lied to her. The relationship was crazy from the get go, what with him being in prison when they met and all bu...

The Naked Truth by Vi Keeland is another phenomenal standalone contemporary romance with a vein of second chances and past mistakes and secrets revealed. Well-written and well-paced, the story of Gray and Layla is powerful, emotional, and hard-earned, for the both of them.

Layla has spent the past year working past her last relationship. The man she refuses to admit she loved had lied to her. The relationship was crazy from the get go, what with him being in prison when they met and all but when the new client she has to present for turns out to be a freshly released Grey and he does nothing to hide the fact that he is back to woo her and win her trust back, she is flummoxed and flabbergasted and damning her body to hell because while her head says no way and ehr heart says back off you'll get hurt, her body will not deny the attraction and chemistry they share...

Grey made a huge error in judgement when he didn't come clean about his past with Layla. He had his reasons, one being that he didn't want to scare ehr off, he couldn't chase her down while incarcerated, but he also viewed his past as done and over with and wasn't willing to rehash it. Now that he is free to return to his life he has made winning her back his number one priority, one he is fairly successful at until his past comes knocking at the door, with baggage and a huge surprise. Now he not only has to fix what he broke with Layla but convince her all his new issues are something they can handle together.

Powerful, emotional, heartwarming AND angst-ridden -Nothing short of the perfection i have come to expect from this author, one of my absolute favorites. Enjoy!