Chasing Truth by Julie Cross

At Holden Prep, the rich and powerful rule the school—and they’ll do just about anything to keep their dirty little secrets hidden.

When former con artist Eleanor Ames’s homecoming date commits suicide, she’s positive there’s something more going on. The more questions she asks, though, the more she crosses paths with Miles Beckett. He’s sexy, mysterious, arrogant…and he’s asking all the same questions.

Eleanor might not trust him—she doesn’t even like him—but they can’t keep their hands off of each other. Fighting the infuriating attraction is almost as hard as ignoring the fact that Miles isn’t telling her the truth…and that there’s a good chance he thinks she’s the killer.

Book 1
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Reviews by the Wicked Reads Review Team

Avid Reader – ☆☆☆☆☆
4.5 stars
M/F Mystery
Triggers: Click HERE to see Avid Reader’s review on Goodreads for trigger warnings.

This was a great YA story. It was complex, developed twists and turns, and great characters.

Ellie, Harper, Aiden, and Miles are all well developed and have complex relationships. They all feed off each other, support each other, and love each other.

It was a hard thing for me to get around, the fact that Miles has this image of how the world should work. However, from where I don't really understand how he's come to be that way, especially given his parents' careers. So, while I enjoyed the dialogue between him and Ellie, he was the character I had the hardest time believing.

Ellie and Harper have had a difficult childhood. I do wish that we had known more about Harper, but hopefully, she'll get her own story. The relationship that they have, the connection they share is something only siblings can truly share. I love how they support each other, even when Harper knows that Ellie is hiding something.

Ellie is struggling to find her place. I felt her hurt when she recalls her friend Simon. The guilt over surviving. She knows in her heart that Simon would not have left her. When she begins her quest, she knows that she'll have to draw upon her skills – but she's apprehensive about this, because she has worked hard to hide those abilities.

The internal struggle that both main characters go through is interesting. One is trying to find the right side of the ethical dilemma while the other is trying to decide where the line is – good versus bad.

The story takes a lot of twists and turns – the secondary characters help Ellie and Miles seem a little more "normal," but I think that they were somewhat distracting because you knew how they belonged together – their relationships, you were able to see how they wove together to create this community of people – their click.

Overall, this was a great mystery. Despite guessing the who did it – before the big reveal – I still found that the story was great. I can't wait to see what this series has in store.


Erica – ☆☆☆☆☆
Chasing Truth is the debut in the Eleanor Ames series. Truth be told, I have no idea how to review this book without it being a massive spoiler, so I think it best if I avoid the plot altogether, and just state the writing style and the way it made me feel...

Fast-paced, with a good withholding of information, which was delivered in healthy doses along the way to keep the reader fully engaged and eager for more. Chasing Truth is the mystery surrounding Ellie's friend, Simon.

Ellie's a teenage girl, but she's so much more than that. As the daughter born into a crime family of grifters, con-artists, her view of the world is tainted. She has no roots, no identity, not even a birth certificate or social security number. Ellie is a ghost living a lie until she's able to obtain documentation. There is an edge to Ellie that removes the usual vapid, TSTL (too stupid to live) mentality 'some' YA heroine's personalities are written. Ellie has depth, a great backstory, insecurities, and confidence in her skills. She tends to use her wit and intelligence more so than her feminine wiles. Ellie's #1 in life is survival, not clothing, and trends, and being popular, and boys. Ellie may be morally bankrupt by society's standards, but she does have loyalty and ethics she lives by.

In walks Miles into Eleanor's life, which is the start to a push-pull, love-hate, slow-burn romance as the two justice-seekers chase clues about what happened to Simon. Miles is Ellie's complete and total opposite, Mr. Black & White with no shades of gray. You're either right or wrong, with no room for redemption.

Eleanor learns to drop her emotional shields while Miles evolves through humility while shedding his self-righteousness.

Chasing Truth is a who-done-it style read that had me clicking the pages all through the night. When I got to the very last page, my Kindle battery died. No joke, talk about perfect timing. I read the book from page one until the end in one sitting, when I should have been sleeping. It's now 7 in the morning, and I'm starting the day with a book-hangover.

As an adult reading a Young Adult novel, I believe this book will appeal to all ages (13+) and genders, as long as they like a thrilling mystery with a thread of romance riding the surface – something for everyone.

I look forward to reading more by Julie Cross, and more from this series.

Julie Cross is a NY Times and USA Today bestselling author of New Adult and Young Adult fiction, including the Tempest series, a young adult science fiction trilogy which includes Tempest, Vortex, Timestorm (St. Martin’s Press).

She’s also the author of Letters to Nowhere series, Whatever Life Throws at You, Third Degree, Halfway Perfect, and many more to come!

Julie lives in Central Illinois with her husband and three children. She’s a former gymnast, longtime gymnastics fan, coach, and former Gymnastics Program Director with the YMCA.

She’s a lover of books, devouring several novels a week, especially in the young adult and new adult genres.

Outside of her reading and writing credibility’s, Julie Cross is a committed–but not talented–long distance runner, creator of imaginary beach vacations, Midwest bipolar weather survivor, expired CPR certification card holder, as well as a ponytail and gym shoe addict.

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Reviewers on the Wicked Reads Review Team were provided a free copy of Chasing Truth (Eleanor Ames #1) by Julie Cross to read and review.