What's Not True

A Novel

Fiction - Womens
336 Pages
Reviewed on 05/12/2021
Buy on Amazon

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Author Biography

Valerie Taylor was born and raised in Stamford, Connecticut. She earned a B.S. Marketing degree and an MBA from Sacred Heart University, as well as a graduate certificate in health care administration from Simmons University (formerly Simmons College). She had a thirty-year career in the financial services industry as a marketer and writer.

Valerie is a published book reviewer with BookTrib.com; and a member of Westport Writers’ Workshop, Independent Book Publishers Association, and Women’s Fiction Writers Association. She enjoys practicing tai chi and being an expert sports spectator.

Her debut, What’s Not Said (She Writes Press) was published in September 2020. Its sequel, What’s Not True (She Writes Press), will be published August 24, 2021.

    Book Review

Reviewed by Divine Zape for Readers' Favorite

What's Not True: A Novel by Valerie Taylor is an enthralling, character-driven story that will appeal irresistibly to fans of women’s fiction. Kassie O’Callaghan is an intelligent fifty-four-year-old career woman who decides to divorce Mike Ricci, her emotionally abusive husband she has been married to for thirty long years. She has plans of moving in with Chris Gaines, a young, attractive man she met in Venice. But when she learns that her husband has a chronic disease, she puts aside her plans for divorce. However, events ensue that make her question Mike’s loyalty. When another woman gets involved, one who not only wants a ring but everything, including what belongs to Kassie, then Kassie knows that the decision she makes might either set her free or ruin her.

Emotionally moving with characters that are realistic and genuinely flawed. What's Not True: A Novel features interesting dialogues and the author uses streams of consciousness to allow readers a strong feel of the inner world of the protagonist. Kassie is a character that readers will root for as she follows a twisty path in search of love. This is a tale of love, family drama, abuse, and betrayal, but it is so cleverly written that readers will stay a bit longer in the world of the characters after turning the last page. Valerie Taylor’s prose is crystalline and she has an economy of words that can’t go unnoticed; she does not waste words, rather using them to create a tense, nerve-shredder that offers full entertainment to readers. What's Not True is compelling, real, and utterly enjoyable.

Romuald Dzemo

In What’s Not True: A Novel by Valerie Taylor, a fifty-four-year-old woman faces divorce and betrayal. Although her husband for thirty years has been emotionally abusive, it has taken Kassie O’Callaghan, an intelligent marketing executive, enough time to come to the decision to divorce. Everything is set and she is ready to move on with her younger lover when she learns that her soon-to-be ex-husband has a chronic illness. As her plans for divorce are stalled, other revelations eventually surface and while a reconnection with her former lover in Paris comes along with a fresh prospect for her life, Kassie is called back home to Boston because her husband has a heart attack. What awaits her is an unscrupulous fiancée and the threat of losing everything.

There is so much in store for the reader in this novel. Valerie Taylor creates a strong protagonist in Kassie O’Callaghan, a character that is not just intelligent but meticulous. It is surprising that while she has built a good career, she suffers from emotional abuse. Her adventures are exciting to read, but what gives her depth is the emotional and psychological turmoil written into her inner world. What's Not True: A Novel features exquisite prose and the author crafts dialogues that feel real and sharp at times. The drama is strong and it is one of the ingredients that elevate the entertaining quality of this novel. The characters are realistically complicated and the plot emotionally complex, and readers will find themselves enthralled by the sheer psychological depth of the story.

Pikasho Deka

What's Not True is the direct sequel to Valerie Taylor's highly acclaimed romance novel What's Not Said. Kassie O'Callaghan rises the corporate ladder of her company, drowning herself in her work, when an old flame, Chris, shows up unexpectedly in Paris aiming to sweep her off her feet. As passions re-ignite between the two former lovers, news of a heart attack suffered by Chris's biological father, Mike, who is incidentally Kassie's estranged husband, reaches Kassie's ears and forces them to travel back to Boston. Meanwhile, in Boston, Chris's biological mother and Mike's current girlfriend Karen conspires to inherit Mike's vast assets. Kassie must now choose between her love for Chris and a dream job in Paris while simultaneously fighting to get what's rightfully hers.

A tale of love, lust, and betrayal, What's Not True is an absorbing read from start to finish. Author Valerie Taylor's sequel tells the story of a modern independent woman trying to balance her love life and career while shedding the baggage of her past. The pacing is smooth, and the plot moves in unpredictable ways that make you turn the pages with eager anticipation of what is to come. I enjoyed the wit and humor sprinkled throughout the narrative and felt particularly entertained during the scenes involving Kassie, Karen, and Cecilia. The characters have distinct personalities and are well-developed. Despite being a sequel, What's Not True also functions seamlessly as a standalone. I thoroughly enjoyed it, and I will heartily recommend it to readers who enjoy woman-centric novels.