cheydo's review
5.0
Amazing
I was looking for a retelling of Cinderella and this did not disappoint!! Loved it. Will be reading more by this author.
I was looking for a retelling of Cinderella and this did not disappoint!! Loved it. Will be reading more by this author.
bunnerz's review
4.0
Ratings - completed series:
#1 House of Secrets (this book): ★★★★☆
#2 Deck of Shadows: ★★★☆☆
#3 Throne of Embers: ★★★☆☆
#1 House of Secrets (this book): ★★★★☆
#2 Deck of Shadows: ★★★☆☆
#3 Throne of Embers: ★★★☆☆
heabooknerd's review
5.0
Well, I devoured HOUSE OF SECRETS in one sitting and I absolutely loved it! This Cinderella retelling was fast paced, ridiculously sexy, and lots of fun. The world building was interesting, though not overly detailed, but it's enough to set the stage of a modern magical world hidden from the humans. Those with magic are divided into syndicates -- vampires, lycans, and warlocks -- and a person's legacy (their power) is a physical thing that is passed from one generation to the next. Ella is the daughter of a warlock but she has no powers yet and after her father dies in a fire that leaves Ella's face badly burned, she's left in the not so tender care of her evil stepmother. Looking to escape her bad situation Ella secretly attends the syndicate's masquerade ball and suddenly finds herself entangled with three dangerous and sexy men -- Merlin the warlock, Romulus the lycan, and Brom the vampire.
Is this 0 to 60 insta-lust and love? Yes it is, but I enjoyed every second of it. Ella might be vulnerable and unsure of her place in the world but she's not weak and she knows she deserves better. She's learned how to navigate the confines of her "prison" and she never gives up even when things seem hopeless. She also knows exactly what she wants from Merlin, Brom, and Romulus and Ella never hesitates in her feelings. The guys are equally devoted to Ella and I loved how protective they became of her. Ella didn't stand a chance against Brom's sophisticated charm, Romulus's protective instincts, and Merlin's grumbly attitude.
The guys themselves are already friends, an alliance that makes the other syndicate members nervous, but they've never fallen for the same woman before. They have a few hesitations at first but they quickly realize that Ella is genuine and a perfect match for all three of them. Additionally, Brom and Merlin have a casual friends with benefits thing going, though it's not really shown in this book. HOUSE OF SECRETS does end on a cliffhanger after some big revelations so I'll be jumping right into the next book to see what happens now that Ella's powers are unleashed.
Content Warning: on page abusive parent; references to the death of a parent in a fire
Is this 0 to 60 insta-lust and love? Yes it is, but I enjoyed every second of it. Ella might be vulnerable and unsure of her place in the world but she's not weak and she knows she deserves better. She's learned how to navigate the confines of her "prison" and she never gives up even when things seem hopeless. She also knows exactly what she wants from Merlin, Brom, and Romulus and Ella never hesitates in her feelings. The guys are equally devoted to Ella and I loved how protective they became of her. Ella didn't stand a chance against Brom's sophisticated charm, Romulus's protective instincts, and Merlin's grumbly attitude.
The guys themselves are already friends, an alliance that makes the other syndicate members nervous, but they've never fallen for the same woman before. They have a few hesitations at first but they quickly realize that Ella is genuine and a perfect match for all three of them. Additionally, Brom and Merlin have a casual friends with benefits thing going, though it's not really shown in this book. HOUSE OF SECRETS does end on a cliffhanger after some big revelations so I'll be jumping right into the next book to see what happens now that Ella's powers are unleashed.
Content Warning: on page abusive parent; references to the death of a parent in a fire
Content Warnings
Graphic: Physical abuse
Minor: Death of parent
ivets's review
5.0
***SPOILERS***
Eleanora was raised by her stepmother after her father died when she was 9 years old. Eleanora was terribly scarred in the fire that killed her father and she is forced to wear a veil over her face at all times. Her stepmother and two step sisters keep Eleanora hidden inside her father's wealthy estate, treated like just one of the servants. When the three syndicate groups (Lycans, Warlocks, and Vampires) hold a three-day masquerade ball, Eleanor decides to make a bid for her freedom. Attending the ball in secret, Eleanora meets the heir of each syndicate. They are all drawn to her and fall in love over the two days. When her stepmother finds out Eleanora attended the ball, she enacts a plan to marry her off so that she and her daughters can inherit the estate. Eleanora manages to reach out to her men and the plan to marry her off fails. However, Eleanora's stepmother is angry and releases Eleanora's suppressed memories of her being responsible for his death. It was when her father was passing his legacy on to her at 9 years old that she lost control of her magic. The book ends with Eleanora on a ship in cage on her way to a prison thanks to her stepmother. Through her memories she realizes she has all the power her father passed on to her and the ship goes up in flames and she escapes. When her men realize where she is, the Vampire smells that she's a phoenix.
I was hesitant to read this book because some reviews said it was a retelling of Cinderella. Other than the fact that her stepmother and step sisters treated her bad and she went to an event in disguise, I didn't really think it was all that similar to Cinderella. I have read a lot of Reverse Harems and I've routinely lost interest after the harem becomes intimate. It's like all the mystery and anticipation is gone. I feel like you really need to have a good story line to keep the reader's interest after that. This book succeeded. They were all intimate and I am still interested in reading book 2.
Eleanora was raised by her stepmother after her father died when she was 9 years old. Eleanora was terribly scarred in the fire that killed her father and she is forced to wear a veil over her face at all times. Her stepmother and two step sisters keep Eleanora hidden inside her father's wealthy estate, treated like just one of the servants. When the three syndicate groups (Lycans, Warlocks, and Vampires) hold a three-day masquerade ball, Eleanor decides to make a bid for her freedom. Attending the ball in secret, Eleanora meets the heir of each syndicate. They are all drawn to her and fall in love over the two days. When her stepmother finds out Eleanora attended the ball, she enacts a plan to marry her off so that she and her daughters can inherit the estate. Eleanora manages to reach out to her men and the plan to marry her off fails. However, Eleanora's stepmother is angry and releases Eleanora's suppressed memories of her being responsible for his death. It was when her father was passing his legacy on to her at 9 years old that she lost control of her magic. The book ends with Eleanora on a ship in cage on her way to a prison thanks to her stepmother. Through her memories she realizes she has all the power her father passed on to her and the ship goes up in flames and she escapes. When her men realize where she is, the Vampire smells that she's a phoenix.
I was hesitant to read this book because some reviews said it was a retelling of Cinderella. Other than the fact that her stepmother and step sisters treated her bad and she went to an event in disguise, I didn't really think it was all that similar to Cinderella. I have read a lot of Reverse Harems and I've routinely lost interest after the harem becomes intimate. It's like all the mystery and anticipation is gone. I feel like you really need to have a good story line to keep the reader's interest after that. This book succeeded. They were all intimate and I am still interested in reading book 2.
bookishrenee's review
5.0
House of Secrets by Marie Robinson is a beautiful, captivating, passionate and emotional beginning to the new series - Beautiful Secrets.
Eleanora is such a strong character, and with everything she’s been through she was able to fight through her own demons to try save herself. In addition to this, she’s lucky enough to encounter the most eligible and powerful men in Brom, Merlin and Romulus.
There’s an amazing twist to this Cinderella inspired story and one of the greatest endings. This book honestly left me with a bit of book hangover, and I’m in desperate need of more Eleanora, Brom, Merlin and Romulus.
I highly recommend House of Secrets, and can’t wait to read more of this brilliant sexy paranormal reverse harem series.
Eleanora is such a strong character, and with everything she’s been through she was able to fight through her own demons to try save herself. In addition to this, she’s lucky enough to encounter the most eligible and powerful men in Brom, Merlin and Romulus.
There’s an amazing twist to this Cinderella inspired story and one of the greatest endings. This book honestly left me with a bit of book hangover, and I’m in desperate need of more Eleanora, Brom, Merlin and Romulus.
I highly recommend House of Secrets, and can’t wait to read more of this brilliant sexy paranormal reverse harem series.
sionna's review
4.0
I thought this one started off great and super interesting. I wish there was more world-building though as I had no idea what time period we were in.
I ended up DNFing the last book because of... how easy some things were or how it happened. I was also hoping for more oomph from the relationship, but it also felt super quick.
I ended up DNFing the last book because of... how easy some things were or how it happened. I was also hoping for more oomph from the relationship, but it also felt super quick.
slimcakeyreads's review
3.0
Okay, this book should not have been as enjoyable as it was but, oddly enough, I didn’t hate it....and, yet, I have to say despite its surprising pull in the first half the second half felt incredibly rushed and all over the place to the point of near confusion.
That being said, I was still entertained and not by the sexy parts. It was the parts in between the action that showed real promise. No offense to romance writers, but anybody can write a sex scene...it takes skill to write emotion packed into nothing but dialogue and body language. And this book definitely had some real zingers of emotion dispersed throughout....you weren’t sure WHY you felt the emotion, and in the beginning before their personalities began to form you didn’t even know which guy was giving you the feels because it was all so hurried, but you felt it all just the same.
Even as I was embarrassed at being sucked in by a book that desperately needed editing (at one point it is mentioned that the vampire is titillated by the thrill of endorphins and OxyContin in her blood.....was she taking drugs? I must have missed that....) I was also captivated by the different characters and the potential that they posed.
I would also like to add that the constant mention of consent and jabs at “toxic masculinity” are very off putting and take a person right out of the story. Maybe I read too much dark romance and dub-con but I don’t need a hand written letter of consent and a box of condoms involved in my romance books. It’s weird.
All of this leads me to conclude that this was not a total waste of 2.5 hours and I can appreciate that. It entertained me and I have been DNFing a lot of books lately so at least I finished it without rolling my eyes to the point of near permanent injury.
Will I read the next one? Hmm....not really sure. The end of this one got really rushed and kind of hokey and cheesy which turned me off to the whole thing. Not to mention if it’s a trilogy I don’t know why the big “L” word had to be mentioned so soon. Insta-lust I can tolerate to a point, but insta-love is just nauseating.
Maybe I’ll save the next installment for a night when I need an empty distraction
That being said, I was still entertained and not by the sexy parts. It was the parts in between the action that showed real promise. No offense to romance writers, but anybody can write a sex scene...it takes skill to write emotion packed into nothing but dialogue and body language. And this book definitely had some real zingers of emotion dispersed throughout....you weren’t sure WHY you felt the emotion, and in the beginning before their personalities began to form you didn’t even know which guy was giving you the feels because it was all so hurried, but you felt it all just the same.
Even as I was embarrassed at being sucked in by a book that desperately needed editing (at one point it is mentioned that the vampire is titillated by the thrill of endorphins and OxyContin in her blood.....was she taking drugs? I must have missed that....) I was also captivated by the different characters and the potential that they posed.
I would also like to add that the constant mention of consent and jabs at “toxic masculinity” are very off putting and take a person right out of the story. Maybe I read too much dark romance and dub-con but I don’t need a hand written letter of consent and a box of condoms involved in my romance books. It’s weird.
All of this leads me to conclude that this was not a total waste of 2.5 hours and I can appreciate that. It entertained me and I have been DNFing a lot of books lately so at least I finished it without rolling my eyes to the point of near permanent injury.
Will I read the next one? Hmm....not really sure. The end of this one got really rushed and kind of hokey and cheesy which turned me off to the whole thing. Not to mention if it’s a trilogy I don’t know why the big “L” word had to be mentioned so soon. Insta-lust I can tolerate to a point, but insta-love is just nauseating.
Maybe I’ll save the next installment for a night when I need an empty distraction
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