Series: The Secret

Synopsis:

On the surface, Lila Summers is flawless: good looks, expensive clothes, and a big, beautiful smile. But a dark past and even darker secrets are threatening to bubble over her perfect façade. She'll do anything to keep the emptiness inside hidden-which leads her into situations that always end badly. Whenever she hits bottom, there's only one person who's there to pull her out: Ethan Gregory.

Ethan set the rules a long time ago: he and Lila are just friends. He doesn't do relationships. Although his tattooed, bad boy exterior is a far cry from Lila's pretty princess image, Ethan can't deny they have a deeper connection than he's used to. If he's not careful, he could be in serious danger of becoming attached-and he's learned the hard way that attachment only leads to heartbreak.

When Lila falls farther than she ever has before, can Ethan continue to help as a friend? Or is he also getting close to falling . . . for her?

Review:

Jessica Sorensen creates a beautiful world full of heartache, hardships and tragic pasts. Lila and Ethan are no exception to this and their story was heart wrenching.

I can smile on the outside, show the world how happy I am, since that’s what’s important, even if I’m dying on the inside.

Lila is a self-destructive mess. She was raised with parents that were unloving and had the amazing gift of making one feel more worthless than a tiny spec of dust. She has a secret from her past that helped mold her into the train wreck that she is today and her parent’s reaction only helped to exacerbate the situation. Then we have Ethan. His home life and secrets from his past hinders him from being able to be happy and move forward with his life. I wanted to root for them and I wanted to see their happily ever after. I wanted to fall back in love with this series. I really wanted that! Unfortunately, the same thing happened in this book that also happened in the previous book. The beginning was amazing and then I felt like I was reading the same thing over and over and over again.

Sadly I’ve realized that Jessica Sorensen isn’t for me right now. The further I get in a series from her, the further I dislike the characters. The ending of this book has convinced me that I will not continue this series. Her 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 and the characters she creates.

Our Reviews: (The secret of Ella and Micha – Jen) ★ (The Forever of Ella and Micha – Jen) ★ (The Temptation of Lila and Ethan – Jen)

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Synopsis:

Ella is back at school, trying to focus on her future and forget the darkness of her past. Still, her ongoing family drama is making it harder and harder to get through the days. All she really wants is Micha, but no way will she let her problems get in the way of his dreams.

Micha is busy touring the country with his band, seemingly getting everything he's ever wanted. But deep down he knows something is missing. Being away from Ella is harder than he expected. And while he longs to have her with him, he won't ask her to leave college just to be at his side.

When Ella and Micha are together, anything seems possible . . . but lately those shared moments aren't so easy to find. When a new tragedy shakes their already fragile world, one of them will make a dramatic choice that could break them apart forever . . .

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. ***

People never mean to do things that are hurtful, yet sometimes it just happens, through an intense moment, through brief rationalization, or by simply speaking words that only belong inside one’s head. Or simply by giving up for a second. People hurt each other all the time.

I am so confused, I feel like I read two different books. I LOVED the beginning and then somewhere towards 3/4s of the way into the book everything changed. I didn’t feel the emotions from Ella and Micha anymore. I felt as though I was BEING told the end of their story instead of FEELING the end of their story. The first part of the book I laughed when they laughed, I cried when Ella cried and I was anxious when Ella and Micha were struggling. I felt everything that Ella and Micha felt. Then somewhere along the way their words and actions lost their emotional power. I still enjoyed The Forever of Ella and Micha, I just didn’t love it nearly as much as The Secret of Ella and Micha.

It feels like we’re slipping away from each other, and he was the one thing that brought me back out of my dark place. If he leaves me, I’m not sure I can hold onto the light.

Ella is seeing a psychologist, which is a huge step towards fixing herself. She is trying to move on from her traumatizing past, being ok outside of her comfort zone, and working on slowly forgiving herself. She still struggled emotionally throughout the book and she also continued to push Micha away. Ella made mistakes but at the same point she grew into a better person. Though her growth was one the many reasons I loved Ella, it was the reoccurrence of her spit fire attitude that had me falling in love with her all over again. She can be hilarious when she wants to be! The scene where Micha chooses the song “Closer” by Nine Inch Nails had me laughing so hard. I laughed so hard I couldn’t breathe. Not only because of what took place in that scene but because OH MY GOSH it reminded me of a time in my high school years. When a book reminds you of your past it can be a good thing or a bad thing 🙂 Maybe it wasn’t as funny to everyone else, but I still loved that part of the book.

Micha – With each tear shed, she steals more of my heart, until she owns it completely. I realize that even through the hard times I’m sure we’ll face, I’ll never be able to walk away from her.

And then of course there is Micha. He is still sexy, patient, and thoroughly dedicated to Ella. He is still her knight in shining armor and he is still dealing with his demons. Together they were still (see a theme here?) a beautiful mess. And I was still rooting for their happy ending!

He consumes my thoughts, my body, my dreams – he’s what drives me to be better.

Something happened 3/4s of the way into the book. Nothing dire, nothing that made me hate the characters, nothing that deviated from the flow of the book, but still something happened. Maybe it was me? I don’t know. The passion in their words and the intensity of their actions didn’t exist anymore. There were struggles, hardships and happy moments, just like the beginning of the book, but I felt as though I was just going through the motion of reading and not feeling anything. This was so disheartening. I SO wanted to love the rest of the book, but sadly I didn’t. Instead of being a great book, it was just a good book.

“It isn’t as important to feel great about all the things we do,” I say softly. “But how we feel toward the end when we look back at everything we’ve done.”

I’m hoping to fall back in love with this series so I will continue onward. Hopefully Lila and Ethan will give me the emotional closure I want from a series!

Our Reviews: (The secret of Ella and Micha – Jen) ★ (The Forever of Ella and Micha – Jen) ★ (The Temptation of Lila and Ethan – Jen)

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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!

Our Reviews: (The secret of Ella and Micha – Jen) ★ (The Forever of Ella and Micha – Jen) ★ (The Temptation of Lila and Ethan – Jen)

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