Book Review: Moment of Truth (Love, Life and the List #3) by Kasie West

Rating: ☆☆☆☆
Audience: YA Contemporary Romance
Length: 320 pages
Author: Kasie West
Publisher: HarperTeen
Release Date: March 3rd, 2020
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

At sixteen, Hadley Moore knows exactly who she is—a swimmer who will earn a scholarship to college. Totally worth all the hard work, even if her aching shoulders don’t agree. So when a guy dressed as Hollywood’s latest action hero, Heath Hall, crashes her swim meet, she isn’t amused. Instead, she’s determined to make sure he doesn’t bother her again. Only she’s not sure exactly who he is.

The swim meet isn’t the first event the imposter has interrupted, but a little digging turns up a surprising number of people who could be Heath Hall, including Hadley’s ex-boyfriend and her best friend’s crush. She soon finds herself getting caught up in the mysterious world of the fake Heath Hall.

As Hadley gets closer to uncovering the masked boy’s identity she also discovers some uncomfortable truths about herself—like she might resent the long shadow her late brother has cast over her family, that she isn’t as happy as she pretends to be with her life choices… and that she is falling for the last guy she ever thought she would like. 

ADDED TO THE LIST OF FAVS.

P.S. I Like You is without a doubt, my favorite book of Kasie Wests’. I’ve already accepted I don’t think any of her other ones are going to come close. Moment of Truth is the closest I’ve read so far.

I connected a lot better with this MC, Hadley. I sometimes find Wests’s main characters to be way to naive and *high school* for me. Hadley, while definitely not perfect, was much easier to appreciate and enjoy as her character grew over the book. Her selfish, very competitive nature gave way to letting some walls down and understanding why she was struggling. Not to mention, Hadley’s best friend Amelia. I am always excited when I see a strong female friendship in a book. One that doesn’t need unnecessary drama. It was about being a good friend in tough times and lightening the mood when needed. Amelia brought that ten-fold.

There was yet again, another great bookish boy. Jackson Hall was utterly adorable. I looooved his personality, his go with the flow nature, and the deep heartache he felt for not knowing what he wants to do with his life (and I felt that because, dang, if we’re not the same person). The chemistry between Hadley and Jackson was cute. The best kind of high school rom-com. Not immediate attraction, but a gradual progression of just being there as a friend gave way to a dynamite ending.

This hit one some hard subjects, and I’m glad a resolution was made for Hadley’s parents. I can’t speak to that kind of pain, but letting grief take over is hard to recognize, and sometimes harder to overcome. As usual, Kasie West delivers an adorable story while hitting on some tougher subject matter.

Overall audience notes:

• Young adult contemporary romance
• Language: none
• Romance: kisses
• Trigger warnings: loss of a loved one

Instagram || Goodreads