The Truth Hurts

By: Dawn Chapman

Narrated by: Holly Adams

Length: 39 mins

Publisher's summary

Kept away from her grandmother for most of her life, young Natalie stumbles upon a secret hidden in the old woman's drawings: communications from another world. She quickly finds herself learning not only of an alien race, but the many dark truths that pulled her family apart.

©2016 Dawn Chapman (P)2016 Dawn Chapman

Amazing short story.

This story starts with a little girl named Natalie being dropped of with her grandmother, since her mother has to go to work and has no one else to watch her. The story starts off with the tension between mother and grandmother firmly established. The reason for the tension is discovered when Natalie discovers her grandmother paintings, which it turns out are of an Alien that visited her when she was younger. Natalie is very excited about this , and cajoles her grandmother into telleing her about it. This starts Natalie's fascination with her Grandmother and the aliens. Natalie's mother doesn't believe in them, believing her mother mad, and keeps them separated. Natalie sees her grandmother again on her 16th birthday, and gets more of the story. Her mother walks in on them talking about it, and she separates them for good at that point, but only after Natalie has already learned some dark truths about her mother. This is a character driven story, and Natalie and her grandmother are beautifully written, with a lot of dramatic heft to them. The tensions and secrets in the family keep you guessing who's side is valid.I can't wait to get to the next story.
Narration was handled by the excellent Holly Adams, who did a great job bringing the characters to life.

I was given a copy of this audiobook by the author free of charge in exchange for an honest review through Audiobook Boom

Awesome Audiobook!

This review is a bit different from my usual reviews as this particular book was an audiobook, my first audio book to be exact. I must say, this was an excellent audiobook to break the ice with!
It's a short story that was the perfect length for today's drive to the college and hike from the parking lot. It's full of feeling, heart, and imagery the fills your imagination. The voice artist was superb with her unique voices for the various characters that truly made them come alive.
Now off to procure more of this author's audiobooks to fill my drives with.

Wish there was more

Would you recommend this book to a friend? Why or why not?

I knew it was a short story, but it felt like there was a lot missing- plot lines that could have been explored in more depth. I enjoyed the writing and characters,but wish the story was more fleshed out.

Have you listened to any of Holly Adams’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

I enjoyed the narration very much, the narrator did a great job of "growing up" with the main character- I would be interested in listening to more books narrated by her

Any additional comments?

"This audiobook was provided by the author, narrator, or publisher at no cost in exchange for an unbiased review courtesy of AudiobookBoom dot com."

Interesting enough.

Would you consider the audio edition of The Truth Hurts to be better than the print version?

I prefer audio edition especially when the narrator does a great job reading the story.

Which character – as performed by Holly Adams – was your favorite?

Natalie's grandma, she had so much information to give. I guess she was the mysterious one in the story with all the secrets to spill.

Any additional comments?

For a short story the build up was slow and pretty much what the reader wanted was crammed in at the last minute..literally. The story was not bad, just felt like it was rushed at the end.

This audiobook was given by the author, narrator, or publisher at no cost in exchange for an unbiased review via Audiobook Boom.

An underdeveloped story with great potential.

A story that hints the impact of first contact on three generation of women. In a story this brief it's a bit hard to have a huge back story. This feels like a treatment for a larger book (which i would gladly purchase).

Each section of backstory should have been what I enjoyed the most. Instead I found myself really in love with the relationships between the mother, daughter and granddaughter.

The narration however was as enjoyable as any audio-book I've ever listened to. Solid performance.

Disclaimer: I did receive a free copy for my honest review.

Psychological sci fi?

This audiobook was provided by the author, narrator, or publisher at no cost in exchange for an unbiased review courtesy of AudiobookBoom dot com.

Heather really dislikes her mother Jane, but she has no choice but to leave her young daughter Natalie with grandma for a short time. Like any other 6 year old, Heather explores the house and snoops into a room that's usually locked. Inside, she finds portraits grandma drew of a strange handsome man. The story follows Natalie as she grows up and learns more about Grandma's secret visit by an alien.

Despite the plot revolving around the alien, the story is really about family. Grandma and Heather have grown distant over the years, and poor Natalie is suffering for it. Heather finally decides to make amends, but it's too late. I think the story could have fit more in the psychological genre focusing on mental illness and eccentricities than sci fi. I would have preferred if the very last line or two was excluded, but to each their own. For a short story, I liked it. 4/5 and an extra 0.5 because i dig pigtails

The narrator gave distinct voices for each of the characters, but I felt she could have done a little better for the angry/hysterical Heather when she caught the two together. I'll give her 4/5

Fantastic addition to the series

Wow. What happened to Jane, the little girl in the hospital bed who first meets Kendro? What is her life like, after she makes first contact? I loved seeing the struggle of trying to get the ones you love to believe you; it was excellent, played over many decades. The ending, however, has me ever more excited than before.

Short but satisfying

A short story which ties into the SECRET KING series. I very much enjoyed it as I'm a huge fan of THE SECRET KING: LETHAO. Other people may object to the length but if you want more of the wonderful space opera world then I suggest you check it out. Best to buy in cash versus credits.