Sample the Forbidden Fruit in “Naked Truth”

Rating: 5 out of 5.

I love a good audiobook. I’ve learned in the past few years that I can read more books this way. But this was not an audiobook, this was a full-cast, audio drama. It was an entire experience, and I loved it even more!

About the Book

Listen Now on Audible

Amazon US: https://amzn.to/46ngWWY
Amazon UK: https://amzn.to/3YG6CGQ
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/52838051-naked-truth
Author Website: https://carriehayeswrites.com/

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Sisters. Lovers. Con Artists.

Gender equality warriors.

BASED ON A TRUE STORY. New York City, 1868.

Spiritualist TENNESSEE CLAFLIN is smart, sexy and sometimes clairvoyant.

But it’s her sister, VICTORIA WOODHULL who makes history when she becomes the first woman to run for President of the United States.

First comes the seduction of the richest man in America. Next, they’ll take New York City and the suffragist movement by storm. They’ll rock the Establishment. They’ll rock the suffragist elite.

Boldly ambitious, they stop at nothing, using enough chutzpah to make a lady blush. That is until their backstabbing family takes them to court. Within moments, their carefully spun lives begin to unravel, out in public and in the press.

Told from shifting points of view and using actual news reportage from the era, Naked Truth or Equality is a riveting inside look into the struggle for women’s rights after the Civil War.

My Thoughts

I’ll be honest, historical fiction and/or nonfiction books aren’t my best genre. But I do a little better listening sometimes than I do reading it. Add a full cast, some music, and interesting source material like with this story and I am all about it. It didn’t hurt that this wasn’t dry history. This was some seriously intersting history. Two pretty major, but also minor, historical women in the women’s suffrage movement. The first woman to run for president. I don’t remember learning about her in history class. I also only learned about Shirley Chisolm, the first black woman to run for president when I watched Mrs. America. So our school systems have some explaining to do. But that’s a whole other topic.

I’m so excited to see books like this about important, lesser-known historical figures that should be highlighted. As a homeschool mom, I want to know what I don’t know. I know I’ll be searching out other perspectives and curriculums – one of the main reasons we chose homeschooling – but it’s always alarming to me when I find huge gaps in my knowledge. I also love when books and resources make learning enjoyable.

Of course, this book is definitely made for adult education. You wouldn’t want your kids listening to this. It is full of spicy scenes, as these sisters had a very interesting and unorthodox life for the time period in which they lived. It was so interesting to see that there was this whole backlash against the conservative ideals that most of us are aware of from the time period. I really appreciate this insight into an entirely different lifestyle and experience.

Weaving the journal entries, newspaper articles, and various other writings in with the prose was a fantastic way to keep us engaged and introduce the different topics. I really enjoyed the style, the performances, and the content of the book. I loved the characters – I guess, real people since this is based on real events. The sisters were awesome. Especially amazing for the time period in which they lived and all the ridiculous things they had to endure.

I look forward to reading more by the author, and seeing what interesting historical nuggets she uncovers for us next. I am so grateful to the author and Love Books Tours for including me on this tour.

Who’s It For

If you enjoy history, especially lesser-known historical facts and figures, you will enjoy this book. It is also full of drama, sex, lies, cons, and so much more. It is spicy, well-written, and so well-performed. It reminds me of an old-style radio program that I could get lost in for hours.

Content Warnings: This book discusses several topics that may be triggering to sensitive readers, including, but not limited to, adult situations, adult language, infidelity, STDs, alcohol abuse, infant death, allusion to abortion, religious ideology, sexism, relationship abuse, child abuse, child endangerment, sexual assault, domestic abuse, slavery, suffrage, violence, and more.

Question of the Day

Have you ever interacted with a “spiritualist” or “psychic?” What was your experience?

Be sure to check all the awesome #LBTCrew hosts on this awesome tour!

About the Author

Over the years, Carrie has tried a lot of things. She’s sold vacuum cleaners, annuities and sofas. She’s lived at the beach and lived in Europe. She’s taught school and worked in film. For a while, she was an aspiring librarian, but she fell in love and threw her life away instead. Back in the States, she started over, then met an architect who said, “Why don’t you become a kitchen designer?” So, she did. Eventually, she designed interiors, too. And all that time, she was reading. What mattered was having something to read. Slowly, she realized her craving for books sprang from her need to know how things would turn out. Because in real life, you don’t know how things will turn out. But if you write it, you do. Naked Truth or Equality the Forbidden Fruit is her first book.





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