Last week I had the chance to read a friend’s recently released romance novel, TELL ME HOW THIS ENDS. I’m always a little leery reading a book written by someone I know. What if I don’t like it? How do I spin the white lies to not insult her? Thankfully, I needn’t have worried, because Victoria De La O’s debut novel is outstanding.
TELL ME HOW THIS ENDS is a New Adult romance, but for me it read adult. The few NA I’ve read I haven’t been able to relate to all that much. Too much angst. Too much drama. But De La O’s writing transcends age brackets. The emotions it taps into are universal, regardless of what stage of life you’re in. The story follows the lives of two brothers, and the one woman they both want. Unlike most love triangles, TELL ME HOW THIS ENDS doesn’t take the easy way out. It doesn’t make one of the male protagonists a cheating a-hole, a fact that he manages to keep hidden from the heroine until the final pages of the book. (Why are the women always so blind in those books?) Here, both brothers are worthy. And De La O makes it believable why the heroine would like both men. But because it’s a triangle, you know there isn’t going to be a happy ending for someone. So I must admit to a sliver of dread creeping in as I got closer to the end of the book. I liked both male heroes so much, I didn’t want either of them to walk away alone.
The writing is exceptional, and parts of the story twisted me up. Every author wants to elicit emotion from their readers – and De La O did that in spades. One point in particular had me curled up on my sofa with a box of tissues. And I cry ugly, people. Thankfully, there were no witnesses to that particular snot-fest.
If you’re in the mood for a tightly-crafted, beautifully written love story, you can’t do better than TELL ME HOW THIS ENDS.
Ms. De La O’s website is: http://www.victoriadelao.com/
The buy links are:
Back cover blurb:
Brothers Jude and Ryan McAllister are inseparable. When Jude stepped in to raise Ryan after the death of their mother, it became the two of them against the world. But the scars it left were bone-deep. Then Lizzie Price comes along.
Lizzie hopes Ryan’s kindness can help heal her wounds from a toxic relationship. But when she meets Jude, their powerful attraction makes him difficult to resist. The problem is, Lizzie doesn’t realize Jude and Ryan are brothers, and they don’t know they’re falling for the same girl.
By the time the truth comes out, everyone is in too deep. Ryan is in love, Jude is in denial, and Lizzie wants both brothers. All of them agree that no one deserves to get hurt. But love and desire have a way of testing even the strongest bonds.