Review of Truth in Wildflowers by Kimberly Rose

Synopsis: Truth, love finds you.
Truth, love leads you.
Truth, love heals you.
Truth, love breaks you.

For college student Kensie, finding love hasn’t been easy. With a father she’s estranged from she finds it difficult to trust men, and with a past she’s ashamed of she is unable to trust herself. Kensie feels irrevocably stagnant with an unending desire to move. That is, until she meets August, and her life is set into motion.

After a tragic accident, August gave up on living. A captive to his guilt, he is unable to move on from his past. Then he finds a reason in Kensie. She awakes every dormant fiber of his being, but will she want him once she discovers he is everything she fears most?

Can Kensie let herself love August, or will the truth destroy her?

 

4.5 Stars!

 

Review: I am a pretty big fan of the NA genre, so this story was easily something I was interested in reading. Kensie is such a beautiful character because she is flawed. She is not that typical young adult or even new adult character that is so hard to believe in because they are kind of perfect but see themselves as not perfect. For instance, the character that has a hard life, but always keeps it together, is a virgin, is the best friend anyone could ask for, loves animals, volunteers, gives away her last dime, even though she is poor, makes perfect grades, etc. We have all read about that character, right? Well, praise the lord, Kensie is not like that. Don't get me wrong - she's not the opposite of all of those things, but she has definitely made bad choices, she has a difficult time letting anyone in, she is not a virgin, although she is celibate when she meets August, and the rest - well, she just seems to freely admit where she has made mistakes or not. I really loved that. She also freely admits that she does not know what she wants to do out of life - she feels that she is just floating along on the breeze.

 

Then, enter August. Wow, August just seemed like a really great guy. Again, he was flawed, and he seemed to have embraced that he did not have the best past, either, but he also wasn't trying to come across as the "bad boy". He has a past, but he is slowly trying to build towards a strong future, and he kind of knows how he wants to get there. These two meet, randomly, when Kensie and af riend are in a tattoo shop. Kensie notices August as he is getting his tattoo, and she is instantly attracted to him, which surprises her, as she has not been open to an attraction to a guy in several years. He, likewise, is attracted to her, and they later run into one another again and find out they have a mutual connection - August's sister.

 

Kensie and August's relationship builds in a very realistic manner, which I appreciated. She has a lot of mistrust in men because of her relationship with her father, as well as a past boyfriend. Not to mention, after a bad breakup with the ex-boyfriend, she threw herself into a lot of meaningless sexual situations, and she was further hurt because of this. August has a long road to travel to help Kensie through some of this hurt. She has to learn that some men can be trusted, even when you have never really seen that. So, in that manner, I appreciated that Kensie did not just immediately fall in love with August. She was definitely interested, but she observed how he was with his friends, at his job, and with his sister.

 

August also has a past, though, and his past includes a major heartache. When I finally figured out what had happened, I cried, because my heart just went out to him. August was not completely honest with Kensie, however, which he should have been, so they do have to go through some rough waters, as they slowly get more and more honest with one another. I loved how the author weaved in the them of the game "Truth or Dare" into this, however, as the truths and the dares would show how much August and Kensie were getting to know one another or starting to trust one another. It was a very sweet addition to the story.

 

I really hope to see more of Wes and Capri in the next book, but I would also love to read more about August and Kensie - especially how Kensie continues to move along in her relationship, or lack of, with her father. That was heartbreaking to read. I have a young daughter, and one of my favorite things is to watch my husband interact with her, and to read about Kensie's father's...just...disregard of her, was so slowly heartbreaking. It was so well written that I really felt her heart breaking with that. It's not just an extra detail in the story that makes Kensie flawed - it really is part of her story that you get to live with her. It makes the process of her trusting August seem more realistic and wonderful to see. I think we will see more great things from this author!

 

Jessica