Review Detail

Nick Merrick is under a lot of pressure. His grades at school, the family business, perfecting the ‘I’ve got it all together’ persona so he doesn’t give brother Michael anything more to worry about. Add in interest from his girlfriend Quinn’s dance partner, and Nick is about to break.

I’ve been waiting for this book ever since I read Breathless so when I was approved for an ARC, no other books existed. It was definitely one of those ‘the world outside does not exist until this book is finished’ moments. And I wasn’t disappointed. As the series has gone on, not only have the stakes been raised but the tone has gotten darker. It’s come a long way since Storm. Secret is my favorite yet, but it feels like I say that with every new book in the series.

Nick has always seemed so responsible and together in the other books so seeing things through his POV and the crushing pressure he’s under was really relatable. Again, it seems like every time a new book in this series comes out, I get a new favorite character. I knew from Breathless that I would like Nick but also getting Quinn’s POV was great. I wasn’t too sure about her after Storm but she grew on me during Breathless and now she’s probably my favorite of the girls. And I absolutely loved Adam.

The plot was heavily focused on the title, the secrets Nick and Quinn were both keeping, and it wasn’t until near the end that this book started adding to the overall series plot, but once it did, that was a lot of action. It left me nervous for the last book, which is almost an entire year away! There’s a lot of tension and fear in these two main characters because of their secrets and their emotions and reactions were so realistic given their situations.

I’m undecided if I like the cover change. It’s hard to tell just from a picture so once January gets here and I have a physical copy in my hands, I’ll decide then.