Book Review; Secret by Brigid Kemmerer

Nick Merrick is stretched to the breaking point.

Keep his grades sky-high or he’ll never escape his hometown.
Keep his brother’s business going or the Merricks will be out on the street.
Keep the secret of where he’s going in the evenings from his own twin—-or he’ll lose his family.

Keep his mind off the hot, self-assured dancer who’s supposed to be his “girlfriend’s” partner.

Of course there’s also the homicidal freak Quinn has taken to hanging around, and the Elemental Guide counting the hours until he can try again to kill the Merrick brothers.

There’s a storm coming. From all sides. And then some.

Nick Merrick, can you keep it together?

When You’re

This is likely to be one of the hardest reviews that I have ever written. Not because I disliked the book or even that I’m worried I won’t do the book justice. It will be hard because my thoughts on this book are just along the lines of “AHHHHHHHHHHH! AMAZING!”, which, while great, aren’t exactly going to help me write a formulated review. But I’m certainly going to try and hopefully make you see why I loved this book so much and why I believe that you are truly missing out if you do not read this series or this book. The very first thing you should know is that this book makes you feel all the emotions under the sun in the best way.

Keeping Everything

Nick has been keeping a secret from himself and his brothers his whole life. He was ready to keep that secret hidden for as long as he could but then he meets someone and suddenly he just knows it all has to come out into the open. As they start to get closer, Nick knows it is only a matter of time before he has to tell his brothers. Alongside this is the knowledge the guides are still after them, and that the family is running low on resources, and somehow he has to keep up the facade that he is capable of dealing with it all. There were so many things going on in this book and that is one of the main reasons that I loved it so much. Like the previous novels in this series, Brigid has placed a romantic subplot around a much larger action-filled plot that has you gasping for more. In this book, everything becomes overlapped in such a complex and fulfilling way. It is easy to see that Brigid is an extremely talented writer.

Bottled Inside

Once more, Brigid has shown her hand and made you fall for the main protagonist all over again. While Nick was always one of my favourite characters, this story just made me fall even deeper for him. He is a character who struggles to think fo himself above others and often keeps his emotions bottled up inside of him. Seeing him come out of his shell in this book warmed my heart so much and I just wanted to keep reading more of his story. I felt so proud of him and it became clear to me that I have started to see these characters like friends. Then there is Adam. After meeting him in Breathless, I was sure I could like him and this book certainly confirmed that. While he does have his flaws, Adam is caring and protective, sensitive and sweet, and I absolutely adored him. Furthermore, Brigid made me rekindle my love of Hunter, Chris, and Michael. I was a bit touch and go with Gabriel but I think, essentially, I still feel so many emotions for him. Brigid simply has a unique style that allows her characters to just walk off the page in an incredibly way.

An Explosion

If there is one thing that this book does, it is toying with your emotions. One minute I was grinning, then crying, then laughing, then clutching the book tensely. It was a book that took you on a rollarcoaster of emotions and made the book so utterly fantastic. There was one point that made me put the book down because I was too scared about what would happen next, too worried that my emotions were going to be pulled thin. It was the most amazing reaction to the book because it showed me how invested I actually was in the story which is always something I strive for when I read. By the time I got to the ending of this book, I thought I had gone through all the emotions possible but then in the last paragraph I was filled with shock, surprise and suspense. Brigid has left this book on the biggest cliffhanger and I really cannot wait to start the final book in this series!

Is Inevitable

A very important part about writing a series is making sure that each book is as compelling and stunning as the last and Brigid Kemmerer has certainly managed that with her series and Secret is no exception. It can also lead to books declining in enjoyment and writing style but fortunately this is not the case with Secret. In fact, it feels more like the books simply get better as they continue on. Naturally then, I can say that from the bottom of my heart, Secret is an amazing book full of brilliant scenes, heart-stopping moments, and will essentially force you to become attached to these characters as though they are your lifeline. Of course, I’m sure these books may not be for everyone but I can say whole-heartedly that they are the perfect books for more and that as of now, Secret is my favourite. I am incredibly anxious about the final book in this series but I have a feeling Brigid will pull it off with ease.