4.5 of 5

Copy provided for an honest review.

Warning! This book covers sensitive topics/issues, specifically rape. I found this book very serious, believable and informative. I also believe that this book handles the details very respectfully and gives great perspective for both sides of the issue and both parties involved.

Goodreads Book Blurb:
“Adelaide Scott is a 25-year-old relationship advice columnist for Stunning! Magazine. Her new boyfriend, Jordan Johnson, is a renowned photographer for Sports Unlimited. On the surface, he is everything a woman should want: Good-looking, hilarious, and charismatic. Their relationship seems perfect, and Addie slowly allows herself to consider a future with him…until his ex-girlfriend confronts them at a bar, and accuses Jordan of raping her, turning their world upside down.

It doesn’t help that her best friend and editor, Kiersten Sharp, sees rape as a black-and-white issue, with no shades of doubt. Addie is about to discover that the truth – in all its forms – is complicated, and not at all what she expects.”

Wow. A Stunning Accusation has been one of the few books this year that I have read that really forced me to think and reflect on the many different issues throughout the whole story. It is engaging and captivating. This story took me for a ride. One moment I was agreeing with the heroine and the next not. I was pointing fingers and trying to do my own detective work. I was formulating my own thoughts and inputs as she, Addie, was as well. I think the great writing really made me submerge myself into the plot and these difficult issues. Although I have never personally experienced these things directly, I could easily understand and I could sympathize. I am so glad I read this book.

The characters are well rounded and believable. Adelaide “Addie” is a strong and determined woman who is forced to deal with her boyfriend, Jordan, being accused of raping one of his ex-girlfriends. She decides to take on her own investigation to find out if Jordan is guilty. She learns and grows so much from the things she hears and the people she encounters. She does a great job of staying neutral, although her feelings do play a role, while searching for the facts. She is a columnist for a women’s magazine, the type that publishes articles like “how to flirt” “how to keep a man’s attention” and “how to please your man…in bed”, so as a writer she  knows the importance of the facts. I really liked Addie’s character. She was the perfect person to dive into these issues. Sarahbeth does a great job of making her relatable. Jordan, a photographer for a sports magazine, is the man in question. To please Addie, whom he seems smitten with, he gives her a list of all his exes so she can confront them individually. Jordan was “all over the board” for me. I liked him, I didn’t, I liked him, and I didn’t. I did like Jordan’s role in this story. His character is complex and his words/actions are essential to the plot. Like Addie, Sarahbeth created a “relatable” character in Jordan. (To a certain extent).

Overall, this book took me for a ride. I enjoyed the investigation and trying to put together all the information with Addie. I really enjoyed reading her thoughts and comparing them to my own. The only minor thing was a few moments that lost my attention for a second. Not a lot though! Also, the relationship between Addie and her best friend and coworker Kiersten was rocky. I really wanted Kiersten to fill the “best friend” role…and I wanted more reactions from her. I wanted her to invest more into the well-being of Addie.

Check this book out. It’s a read that will stick with you long after you are done. Sarahbeth does a wonderful job of building complex characters and a captivating plot/investigation!