I discovered this series less than a year ago so I was able to devour the first four books, the novellas, and the spinoff pretty quickly. I'm almost caught up now, as I just finished GRAVE SECRET, which I was desperate to read after the end of KEEPING SECRET. I needed to know what kind of relationships Secret would maintain with the main men in her lives and what the next Horrible Thing would be. Well, in GRAVE SECRET, I got my answers to both but I was only partially satisfied.
The relationship side of GRAVE SECRET is very satisfying. Secret gives Lucas a very satisfying cold shoulder because he's a giant jerk who has been using her to solidify his power base. I liked him at first but he's become less appealing as we've learned more about his true motivations. Soul bond or no, Lucas Rain is an [expletive here] and I'm pleased that Secret wants nothing personal from him anymore. It's a situation that still leaves her with Holden and Desmond to deal with, but Secret's personal life gets back-benched when she learns that Kellen has gone missing. I've always really liked Kellen as a character so I was quite invested in knowing what had happened to her. The answer was something of a surprise but I generally liked this part of the novel.
I was less fussy about Secret's interactions with Aubrey. I won't say who Aubrey is but I will say that Secret is a total tool in her dealings with this character. I found it incredibly frustrating to watch her interactions with Aubrey because she had some really smart moments followed by a stack of incredibly stupid ones, which had severe consequences. I generally love Secret's brash, balls-out approach to life but I found her maddening in parts of GRAVE SECRET, which hadn't happened before. I still love the series but I found the second half of the book less satisfying because Secret was acting TSTL in some ways. Her mistakes lead to some interesting moments and Secret redeems herself in the end but it was rough going for a while there.
There is also one truly upsetting moment in GRAVE SECRET. You'll know what I'm talking about when you read it and you will be devastated. It involves a character I adore. In fact, I think GRAVE SECRET has a lot of emotional punch, especially when it comes to Kellen. She's always been a bit superficial but we really get to see her heart this time around and it's a nice story.
As always, Dean will leave you eager for the next instalment in Secret's crazy life, which should be extremely satisfying since an old enemy rears his head. I've got my e-reader queued up to SECRET UNLEASHED as you read this!
Read an excerpt (click on the Excerpt tab)
Have you encountered The Native Star and The Hidden Goddess, by MK Hobson? It's steampunk rather than historical paranormal mystery, but for some reason this review reminded me of it. I think you'd like the romance in it better.
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