Item: The Secret of Ella and Micha
Rating: 5
Author: Jen

BOOK REVIEW – The Secret of Ella and Micha (The Secret #1) by Jessica Sorensen

The Secret of Ella and Micha (The Secret #1)
by Jessica Sorensen
Purchase on: Amazon, iBooks
Add to: Goodreads

Synopsis:
A rule-breaker with a fiery attitude, Ella always wore her heart on her sleeve. Then she left everything behind to go to college, where she transformed into someone who follows the rules, keeps everything together, and hides all her problems. Now it's summer break and she has nowhere else to go but home. But once there, Ella fears that everything she's worked so hard to bury might resurface-especially with Micha living right next door.

Smart, sexy, and confident, Micha can get under Ella's skin like no one else. He knows everything about her, including her darkest secrets. If he tries to tempt the old Ella to return, he will be impossible to resist. But what Ella doesn't realize is that when she left, she took a piece of Micha's heart with her. Now he's determined to win back the girl he lost, no matter what it takes.

Review:

***Unfortunately, I will not be finishing this series. The further I get in this series, the further I dislike the characters. The characters are continuing to make the same mistakes again and again, and therefore are going through the same struggles all over again. It’s very disappointing because I truly enjoy the way she writes. ***

He is my best friend, my soul mate. In a perfect world, full of roses and sunshine we’d be together, but this world is full of broken homes, drunken fathers, and mothers who give up easily.

Sometimes you just need a good book that is full of anguish, sorrow, frustration and the hope of a happily ever after. Ella is still reeling from the horrors of her past. She is desperately trying to shove those memories deep down inside where they will never see the light of day. She honestly believes this can be accomplished by pretending to be someone she is not. Once she returns home her resolve starts to shatter once Micha, her best friend, re-enters her life. I really liked Ella. She has a smart mouth, is fierce, and she grew as a person from the beginning to the end of the book. She learned from some of her mistakes and tried her hardest to emerge as a better person. To me, this is huge. I love that Ella is a fighter and other than a smart-mouth slip up here and there she tries to grow with the help of Micha.

I want to allow myself to breathe again, but I fear the loss of control-I fear I’ll have to feel everything, including my guilt.

The heartache of her world is so vast. Her Dad has become a shell of a man, drinking himself into oblivion. He was always a drunk but she honestly believes it is because of her actions that he is spiraling further down this dark path. Then there is the train wreck that was her mother. Ella carries her mother’s past action on the weight of her shoulders. She can’t ever forgive herself for not being able to rectify that situation. Then you have her brother. They have a non-existent relationship and she believes he blames her for everything that happened one year ago. And then there is Micha. Oh, thank goodness for sweet, loving, loyal Micha.

Micha saw too much of me and it scared me too much to let him in all the way.

As much as I would love to melt into him, it just can’t happen. I can’t open up like that and lose control. I need control.

Micha desperately tries to shatter Ella’s walls. And each attempt made me fall more and more in love with him. He may be struggling with his own demons but he is the knight in shining armor that Ella so desperately needs. His patience, perseverance, dedication to Ella was admirable.

It was an earth shattering kiss, one that stole breaths, stopped hearts, and scared the shit out of me because it surfaced feelings I’d never felt before, ones that rendered me helpless.

This book isn’t a light hearted or fluffy read. Not everyone is going to love it or let alone like it. But I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It’s different than what I normally read and I am definitely looking forward to reading the rest of this series!