beckymmoe's review
4.0
Sigh...Kacey and Michael--so, so good together! Even if it does take them forever to finally get there :)
I was thrilled to find out that Kacey Hamilton, Lacey's (from [book:His First Choice|29342992]) identical twin, was finally getting her own story--and not just because we'd get to see Lacey, Jem, and Levi again ;) Kacey has been making a lot of changes in her life--putting others first (after a lifetime of even their own parents always saying her name before her sister's), slowing down on her alcohol use, and teaching classes at the Lemonade Stand women's shelter. It's been great for her--she's closer than ever to her sister, has new purpose in life, and has a fantastic secret mentor and just as secret male best friend in Michael Valentine. The only problem? She's living two separate lives, one where she's a successful daytime soap star and another when she's a "regular person" in Santa Raquel.
And sooner or later, you just know that's going to run into a major snag.
In the meantime, though, we get to watch Kacey and Michael be absolutely adorable together. Even though by midway through the book I was all but shouting, but you love each other, you dolts! Just give in already! I completely understood why they weren't. Kacey was so firmly entrenched in her two-different-worlds lifestyle, and Michael had his own issues that made being a part of her other life basically his worst nightmare. But still. They were so clearly meant to be together, it was painful to read. Yet delicious at the same time. Clearly, Kacey isn't the only one who's split in two, here...
Interwoven with their relationship storyline are not one but two mysteries, and some added drama with Michael's family--so many reasons to keep those pages turning! Everything was skillfully handled in the end, with the whodunits resolved believably and a warm fuzzy and hopeful feeling where their families are concerned. It would have been nice to have seen Kacey and Michael spending more time as a couple, but they were honestly so darn cute even before that it's hard to mind too much. Plus, that gives us more to look forward to in later series books...
Her Secret Life is the tenth(!) book in the Where Secrets are Safe series, but it would truly work fine as a standalone. Some other series characters do make an appearance here, most notably her twin Lacey, but if you haven't had a chance to read their stories yet you'll still do just fine. Though there's definitely enough teasers to make you add Lacey and Jem's story to your TBR pretty darn quickly...you have been warned.
Rating: 4 stars / A-
I voluntarily reviewed an Advance Reader Copy of this book.
I was thrilled to find out that Kacey Hamilton, Lacey's (from [book:His First Choice|29342992]) identical twin, was finally getting her own story--and not just because we'd get to see Lacey, Jem, and Levi again ;) Kacey has been making a lot of changes in her life--putting others first (after a lifetime of even their own parents always saying her name before her sister's), slowing down on her alcohol use, and teaching classes at the Lemonade Stand women's shelter. It's been great for her--she's closer than ever to her sister, has new purpose in life, and has a fantastic secret mentor and just as secret male best friend in Michael Valentine. The only problem? She's living two separate lives, one where she's a successful daytime soap star and another when she's a "regular person" in Santa Raquel.
And sooner or later, you just know that's going to run into a major snag.
In the meantime, though, we get to watch Kacey and Michael be absolutely adorable together. Even though by midway through the book I was all but shouting, but you love each other, you dolts! Just give in already! I completely understood why they weren't. Kacey was so firmly entrenched in her two-different-worlds lifestyle, and Michael had his own issues that made being a part of her other life basically his worst nightmare. But still. They were so clearly meant to be together, it was painful to read. Yet delicious at the same time. Clearly, Kacey isn't the only one who's split in two, here...
Interwoven with their relationship storyline are not one but two mysteries, and some added drama with Michael's family--so many reasons to keep those pages turning! Everything was skillfully handled in the end, with the whodunits resolved believably and a warm fuzzy and hopeful feeling where their families are concerned. It would have been nice to have seen Kacey and Michael spending more time as a couple, but they were honestly so darn cute even before that it's hard to mind too much. Plus, that gives us more to look forward to in later series books...
Her Secret Life is the tenth(!) book in the Where Secrets are Safe series, but it would truly work fine as a standalone. Some other series characters do make an appearance here, most notably her twin Lacey, but if you haven't had a chance to read their stories yet you'll still do just fine. Though there's definitely enough teasers to make you add Lacey and Jem's story to your TBR pretty darn quickly...you have been warned.
Rating: 4 stars / A-
I voluntarily reviewed an Advance Reader Copy of this book.
janesaysb2850's review
2.0
This book was almost hard to follow at times because of all of the worldbuilding/backstory bits the author kept adding in. It felt ironic that the heroine was a soap star, because that’s what the book felt like. I didn’t care that so-and-so had only recently come to terms with XYZ, because I wanted the main couple to get it on already! And it took them forever, and it was completely unsatisfying.
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