If I Speak True by Jessica L. Brooks Review

Title: If I Speak True
Series: Flora (Book 1)
Author: Jessica L. Brooks
Published: January 27, 2014
Pages: 455 pages
Format: eBook
Source: Gift
Purchase: Amazon

Summary (Goodreads):
Dahlia Kennedy’s sixteenth birthday marks a decade of mysterious dahlias arriving and strange, lonely dreams of being in a forest. The only difference this birthday, however, is that for the first time, someone is there with her. And he’s practically from a whole other era.

The more often Dahlia visits Rowan in his land of Ambrosia, the stronger their connection grows. But… is Ambrosia real? Is he real? What is going on between the two of them, exactly, and why does he insist that she keep it to herself?

As secrets usually go, however, it’s only a matter of time before everything comes out. And when Dahlia finds out the truth of who Rowan is, who she is, and how he really feels — it’s beyond anything she could have ever imagined.

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I had never read a book written by Jessica L. Brooks before even though I have “known” her for a while now through social media. And, I have to admit, I was terrified of reading If I Speak True. Terrified because I was afraid I wouldn’t like it as much as I wanted to, and I was afraid of hurting her feelings. But honestly, I should have never worried about that. If I Speak True was an amazing read and so intriguing and full of butterflying feels. Most importantly, I had FUN reading this book, and that’s what I was hoping for when I decided to pick it up.

If I Speak True is about a girl who has been dreaming of a world called Ambrosia, which had been a total mystery until she turned 16. Now, every time she dreams about it, she meets a tall, dark and (possibly) handsome stranger who holds an unexplainable connection with her. But, as Dahlia tries to get answers about every single thing that seems off about this surreal world, Rowan refuses to give in. It’s not safe for her, and apparently for him too. And yet, not only Ambrosia is a mystery, but the real world is beginning to get stranger as well.

This book is seriously cool. I loved how much it kept me in the dark and it had me guessing the whole time. When things were revealed they would either make me all excited or get me extremely suspicious. Even half-way through the book I had really no idea what was about to happen, but when it did, holy chocolate chip cookies, it was great.

The characters were interesting people. I enjoyed Dahlia’s character a lot, but I loved Rowan’s the most. I think it had to do with THAT thing that Jessica would probably kill me if I reveal. Big spoiler, you see. What I can say is that I loved how every character (at least from Ambrosia) are named after flowers and trees. On a personal note, my family also likes to name members after flowers, and my last name means oaks in Spanish, so maybe I’m from Ambrosia as well. Wouldn’t that be cool?

The one thing I wasn’t much into was when Dahlia was in the real world in the first half of the book. I got a bit bored then, but it may or may not had to do with my eagerness to get to Ambrosia and Rowan. Later on, I didn’t mind it as much.

Overall, If I Speak True is an awesome beginning to what I believe is an awesome series. I’m grateful that this book does not end in a cliffy and left me feeling happy and satisfied, but I’m still glad that I have the next books in the series (thanks so much, Jessica!) so I can keep reading and find out what comes next.