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scoutmomskf's review
4.0
Good friends to lovers story. Kacey is a Hollywood actress who, when not working, volunteers at The Lemonade Stand, a shelter for abused women. There she met Michael, an internet security expert who also volunteers at the shelter. They have become very good friends. When Kacey discovers that someone is posting unflattering pictures and innuendos of her on the internet, she asks Michael to investigate.
I liked Kacey. She recently realized that her life was going in a direction she didn't like and resolved to change it. She has cut back on the partying and drinking and spent more time in Santa Raquel with her sister Lacey and is slowly repairing their relationship. She likes her Hollywood life and work as an actress, and also cherishes her time away, where she can recharge with the peace and quiet of the beach. It is interesting to see how she has compartmentalized her life, with the two parts being completely separate.
I liked Michael, too. He's badly scarred from an accident ten years earlier which has affected the way he lives his life. He has his work, his family, and his friends, but tends to avoid crowds and strangers. He doesn't like feeling like an object of pity. His relationship with his family can be strained at times, but there's no doubt that the love is there. I especially liked his closeness to his brother Willie and his willingness to alter his own life to help Willie straighten out his.
I enjoyed the relationship between Michael and Kacey. The connection between them is obvious from the start. I loved how Kacey was so comfortable with Michael and able to tell him about the photo problem. It's also pretty clear from the beginning that Michael feels more than friendship toward Kacey, but his problem with his scars makes him certain that anything more is impossible. He doesn't seem to realize that the scars make no difference to her. I loved how Kacey saw past them to the man he was. Through most of the book, both Kacey and Michael are so determined not to let anything harm their friendship that they fight the feelings that are growing between them. But when something terrible happens to Kacey, it is Michael she reaches out to, and their two worlds start to overlap in unexpected ways. I loved Michael's tenderness and willingness to step outside his comfort zone to help her. I enjoyed their talk after the Hollywood event when they finally acknowledged some of what they were feeling. Their conversation about boundaries and rules was pretty amusing but typical of them both. When they took that next step, it was more than either had imagined possible.
But both are in for a shock when Kacey identifies one of her attackers. I never saw that one coming, and I wasn't sure how they would deal with it. I thought Kacey's strength and compassion were amazing. I ached for Michael and the effect it had on the dream he'd only just started to believe in. I loved Kacey's big moment at the end, and how she took one thing that he had said to her and ran with it. I also enjoyed the help she received from her accomplice. I hope to see more of them in later books to see how their future plays out.
The other mystery, that of who was stalking Kacey and posting the pictures was also solved. This culprit was not much of a surprise. I would like to have seen more in the way of consequences, but in the big picture it ended up being pretty unimportant.
I liked Kacey. She recently realized that her life was going in a direction she didn't like and resolved to change it. She has cut back on the partying and drinking and spent more time in Santa Raquel with her sister Lacey and is slowly repairing their relationship. She likes her Hollywood life and work as an actress, and also cherishes her time away, where she can recharge with the peace and quiet of the beach. It is interesting to see how she has compartmentalized her life, with the two parts being completely separate.
I liked Michael, too. He's badly scarred from an accident ten years earlier which has affected the way he lives his life. He has his work, his family, and his friends, but tends to avoid crowds and strangers. He doesn't like feeling like an object of pity. His relationship with his family can be strained at times, but there's no doubt that the love is there. I especially liked his closeness to his brother Willie and his willingness to alter his own life to help Willie straighten out his.
I enjoyed the relationship between Michael and Kacey. The connection between them is obvious from the start. I loved how Kacey was so comfortable with Michael and able to tell him about the photo problem. It's also pretty clear from the beginning that Michael feels more than friendship toward Kacey, but his problem with his scars makes him certain that anything more is impossible. He doesn't seem to realize that the scars make no difference to her. I loved how Kacey saw past them to the man he was. Through most of the book, both Kacey and Michael are so determined not to let anything harm their friendship that they fight the feelings that are growing between them. But when something terrible happens to Kacey, it is Michael she reaches out to, and their two worlds start to overlap in unexpected ways. I loved Michael's tenderness and willingness to step outside his comfort zone to help her. I enjoyed their talk after the Hollywood event when they finally acknowledged some of what they were feeling. Their conversation about boundaries and rules was pretty amusing but typical of them both. When they took that next step, it was more than either had imagined possible.
But both are in for a shock when Kacey identifies one of her attackers. I never saw that one coming, and I wasn't sure how they would deal with it. I thought Kacey's strength and compassion were amazing. I ached for Michael and the effect it had on the dream he'd only just started to believe in. I loved Kacey's big moment at the end, and how she took one thing that he had said to her and ran with it. I also enjoyed the help she received from her accomplice. I hope to see more of them in later books to see how their future plays out.
The other mystery, that of who was stalking Kacey and posting the pictures was also solved. This culprit was not much of a surprise. I would like to have seen more in the way of consequences, but in the big picture it ended up being pretty unimportant.
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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