Secret Keeping – Talk Nerdy Book Blog

Magnetic and Delicious: The Lie by Karla Sorensen

By Sarah

In 4-stars, ARC, Book Review

September 15, 2021

6 Min read

M

Series: Standalone

Release Date: September 15, 2021

Synopsis

Rule number 1 for the team owner’s daughter? Don’t date the players.

Especially not hotheaded tight ends with tattoos and impulse control problems.

That’s why Dominic Walker is completely off my radar. Sort of.

Babysitting the team troublemaker when he’s forced to volunteer for the foundation where I work means I can’t exactly avoid him.

I wish I had though. Because once I get to know Dominic, it’s almost impossible to ignore the feelings he brings out in me.

Pretty soon, I’m breaking all my rules. I just have to hope he doesn’t break my heart in the process.

Ending

HFN

Representation

No strong representations of the following:
• BIPOC characters
• LGBTQIA+ characters
• characters with a disability
And doesn’t address fatphobia

Possible Triggers: Yes

• Death of Hero’s younger sister from c@ncer
• Grief
• Anger management problems

Safety Rating: Safe

• No cheating
• No OW/OM drama
• Does have the Hero and Heroine pushing away
• Does have a ~1-month separation between the Hero and Heroine (both celibate)
• See Ending for HEA status.
• See Possible Triggers for Abuse and OTT sad parts.

Format: eARC

Rating: 4.5/5 stars

Note: I received The Lie from Karla Sorensen’s team in exchange for an honest review.

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Delightful and Loving: Finding Ronan’s Heart by Melanie Moreland

By Sarah

In 4-stars, ARC, Book Review

June 23, 2021

11 Min read

D

Series: ABC Corp*

Release Date: June 24, 2021

Synopsis

“The boys.”
“The Callaghan Triplets.”
“Three of a kind.”

All his life, Ronan Callaghan has been part of a group. Always looking out for his brothers. Never seen as an individual or judged on his own merits.
When his brothers veer onto their own path, he finds himself alone. Restless.

Then he meets her.
Beth.
A waitress who sees him just for himself. None of the trappings of his wealth or family.
A woman who only wants to know him—Ronan.

She captures his heart, but how will she feel when she discovers the truth he’s holding back?
Can he show her the man he really is?
That he would be rather be hers than anything else?

Ending

HEA with epilogue and a bonus Epilogue from Evan’s (Beth’s younger brother) POV 😭 so sweet

Representation

• Side character with Congenital Amputation of one of her arms (she was born without a complete right arm)

Possible Triggers: Yes

• Sexual harassment
• Discussion/mentions of ableism (btw – the MCs and their family members are not ableist)
• Infidelity
• Hero was victim to a con operation between his ex-girlfriend and his at the time best friend
• Bullying
• Death of parents

Safety Rating: Safe

• No cheating
• No OW/OM drama
• Does have the Heroine pushing the Hero away
• Does have a brief separation between the Hero and Heroine
• See Ending for HEA status.
• See Possible Triggers for Abuse and OTT sad parts.

Format: eARC

Rating: 4.75/5 stars

*Each book in the series is Standalone

Note: I received Finding Ronan’s Heart through Melanie Moreland’s team in exchange for an honest review.

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Engrossing and Bittersweet: Miracle Creek by Angie Kim

By Sarah

In 4-stars, Book Review

November 5, 2020

10 Min read

E

Series: Standalone

Release Date: April 16, 2019

Synopsis

How far will you go to protect your family? Will you keep their secrets? Ignore their lies?

In a small town in Virginia, a group of people know each other because they’re part of a special treatment center, a hyperbaric chamber that may cure a range of conditions from infertility to autism. But then the chamber explodes, two people die, and it’s clear the explosion wasn’t an accident.

A showdown unfolds as the story moves across characters who are all maybe keeping secrets, hiding betrayals. Was it the careless mother of a patient? Was it the owners, hoping to cash in on a big insurance payment and send their daughter to college? Could it have been a protester, trying to prove the treatment isn’t safe?

Ending

Sad but HFN (as happy as it could’ve ended)

Representation

• Korean main characters
• Korean side characters
• POC side characters
• Autistic side-characters
• Side-character with cerebral palsy

Possible Triggers: Yes

• Violent and descriptive death of an 8-year-old boy and adult women (they were burned alive)
• Sexual assault
• Child abuse
• Suicide
• Discusses fears of what happens to special-needs children when their parents can no longer take care of them

Mature Themes

• Underage drinking and smoking
• See Ending for HEA status.
• See Possible Triggers for Abuse and OTT sad parts.

Format: Paperback

Rating: 4.25/5 stars

Trigger Warning: This review discusses topics that can be triggering for some. Please read the ‘Possible Triggers’ tab above for details.

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Dramatic and Passionate: The Favor by Suzanne Wright

By Sarah

In 4-stars, Book Review

October 14, 2020

11 Min read

D

Series: Standalone

Release Date: October 13, 2020

Synopsis

Vienna Stratton knew she only had herself to blame. You didn’t let yourself become indebted to a man like Dane Davenport, no matter how badly you needed his help. As his personal assistant, she was very aware that the globally successful CEO was ruthless and unforgiving.

Of course, if she’d known he’d request that she be his wife for twelve months, she’d have hesitated in accepting his help. Because what she’d learned from Dane was that the devil wasn’t ugly and terrorising. He was seductive and captivating. He hummed with whispers of temptation – the temptation to sin and surrender, to let him brand and possess you. He awakened every need and fantasy you had.

He could even make you love him.

Ending

HEA with Epilogue

Representation

• BIPOC supporting character
• Supporting character with dissociative identity disorder

Possible Triggers: Yes

• Parental abandonment
• Parental physical abuse of their child
• Inference of child sexual abuse
• Physical abuse and bullying by Foster Sister towards Heroine
• Blackmail
• Suicide of parent
• Death of parent due to cancer

Safety Rating: Safe with Exceptions

• No cheating
• Does have LOADS of OW and OM
— One of the OW is currently the Hero’s sister-in-law, so you can imagine how that goes.
• Does have both the Hero and Heroine pushing away
• No separation
• See Ending for HEA status.
• See Possible Triggers for Abuse and OTT sad parts.

Format: Kindle

Rating: 4.5/5 stars

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Riveting Yet Demoralizing: If I Had Your Face by Frances Cha

By Sarah

In 3-stars, Book Review

October 9, 2020

9 Min read

R

Series: Standalone

Release Date: April 21, 2020

Synopsis:

A riveting debut novel set in contemporary Seoul, Korea, about four young women making their way in a world defined by impossibly high standards of beauty, secret room salons catering to wealthy men, strict social hierarchies, and K-pop fan mania.

“Even as a girl, I knew the only chance I had was to change my face… even before a fortune-teller told me so.”

Kyuri is a heartbreakingly beautiful woman with a hard-won job at a “room salon,” an exclusive bar where she entertains businessmen while they drink. Though she prides herself on her cold, clear-eyed approach to life, an impulsive mistake with a client may come to threaten her livelihood.

Her roommate, Miho, is a talented artist who grew up in an orphanage but won a scholarship to study art in New York. Returning to Korea after college, she finds herself in a precarious relationship with the super-wealthy heir to one of Korea’s biggest companies.

Down the hall in their apartment building lives Ara, a hairstylist for whom two preoccupations sustain her: an obsession with a boy-band pop star and a best friend who is saving up for the extreme plastic surgery that is commonplace.

And Wonna, one floor below, is a newlywed trying to get pregnant with a child that she and her husband have no idea how they can afford to raise and educate in the cutthroat economy.

Together, their stories tell a gripping tale that’s seemingly unfamiliar, yet unmistakably universal in the way that their tentative friendships may have to be their saving grace.

Ending:

Surprisingly hopeful

Representation

• South Korean main and supporting characters

Possible Triggers: Yes

• Parental abandonment
• Physical assault (on-page and off-page, one instance resulting in one main character, Ara becoming mute)
• Emotional abuse
• Discussion of abortion
• Discussion of miscarriage
• Cheating
• Discussion of suicide and suicidal ideation
• Discussion of murder and suicide of sex workers

Title

Miho’s relationship with her boyfriend: Not Safe
• Does have cheating
• No OM
• Does have OW
— He cheats on her with a sex worker (a friend of Miho’s roommate) and is engaged to a woman from a family of similar economic wealth to him
• Does have Miho pushing Hanbin away
• No separation

Wonna’s relationship with her husband: Safe with Exception
• No cheating
• No OW/OM drama
• Does have Wonna pushing her husband away
• Does have a separation between Wonna and her husband (a permanent one, I think)
• See Ending for HEA status.
• See Possible Triggers for Abuse and OTT sad parts.

Format: Hardcover

Rating: 3.5/5 stars

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Earnest Yet Superficial: Winter of the Wolf by Martha Hunt Handler

By Sarah

In 2-stars, ARC, Book Review

September 26, 2020

9 Min read

E

Series: Standalone

Release Date: July 7, 2020

Synopsis:

A tragic mystery blending sleuthing and spirituality

An exploration in grief, suicide, spiritualism, and Inuit culture, Winter of the Wolf follows Bean, an empathic and spiritually evolved fifteen-year-old, who is determined to unravel the mystery of her brother Sam’s death. Though all evidence points to a suicide, her heart and intuition compel her to dig deeper. With help from her friend Julie, they retrace Sam’s steps, delve into his Inuit beliefs, and reconnect with their spiritual beliefs to uncover clues beyond material understanding.

Both tragic and heartwarming, this twisting novel draws you into Bean’s world as she struggles with grief, navigates high school dramas, and learns to open her heart in order to see the true nature of the people around her. Winter of the Wolf is about seeking the truth—no matter how painful—in order to see the full picture.

In this novel, environmentalist and award-winning author, Martha Handler, brings together two important pieces of her life—the death of her best friend’s son and her work as president of the Wolf Conservation Center—to tell an empathetic and powerful story with undeniable messages.

Ending:

HFN

Representation

No strong representations of the following:
• BIPOC characters
• LGBTQIA+ characters
• characters with a disability
And doesn’t address fatphobia

Possible Triggers: Yes

• Suicide
• Accidental death by auto asphyxiation

Mature Themes

• Underage drinking
• Underage drug use (marijuana)
• Discussion of auto asphyxiation
• Discussion of teenage sex and masturbation
• See Ending for HEA status.
• See Possible Triggers for Abuse and OTT sad parts.

Format: eARC

Rating: 2.5/5 stars

Trigger Warning: This review discusses topics that can be triggering for some. Please read the ‘Possible Triggers’ tab above for details.

Note: I received Winter of the Wolf through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. My thanks to FSB Association for the opportunity.

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Striking Yet Harrowing: Searching For Sylvie Lee by Jean Kwok

By Sarah

In 4-stars, Book Review

September 23, 2020

9 Min read

S

Series: Standalone

Release Date: June 4, 2019

Synopsis:

A poignant and suspenseful drama that untangles the complicated ties binding three women—two sisters and their mother—in one Chinese immigrant family and explores what happens when the eldest daughter disappears, and a series of family secrets emerge, from the New York Times bestselling author of Girl in Translation

It begins with a mystery. Sylvie, the beautiful, brilliant, successful older daughter of the Lee family, flies to the Netherlands for one final visit with her dying grandmother—and then vanishes.

Amy, the sheltered baby of the Lee family, is too young to remember a time when her parents were newly immigrated and too poor to keep Sylvie. Seven years older, Sylvie was raised by a distant relative in a faraway, foreign place, and didn’t rejoin her family in America until age nine. Timid and shy, Amy has always looked up to her sister, the fierce and fearless protector who showered her with unconditional love.

But what happened to Sylvie? Amy and her parents are distraught and desperate for answers. Sylvie has always looked out for them. Now, it’s Amy’s turn to help. Terrified yet determined, Amy retraces her sister’s movements, flying to the last place Sylvie was seen. But instead of simple answers, she discovers something much more valuable: the truth. Sylvie, the golden girl, kept painful secrets . . . secrets that will reveal more about Amy’s complicated family—and herself—than she ever could have imagined.

A deeply moving story of family, secrets, identity, and longing, Searching for Sylvie Lee is both a gripping page-turner and a sensitive portrait of an immigrant family. It is a profound exploration of the many ways culture and language can divide us and the impossibility of ever truly knowing someone—especially those we love.

Ending:

Tragedy; HFN

Representation

• Chinese main and supporting characters

Possible Triggers: Yes

• Racism
• Statutory r@pe
• Discussion of suicide
• Emotional and physical abuse
• Infidelity

Mature Themes

• Childhood abandonment
• Missing person (the resulting grief that goes with that)
• See Ending for HEA status.
• See Possible Triggers for Abuse and OTT sad parts.

Format: Hardcover

Rating: 4.75/5 stars

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Calming and Genuine: The Secret Women by Sheila Williams

By Sarah

In 5-stars, Book Review

September 19, 2020

8 Min read

C

Series: Standalone

Release Date: June 9, 2020

Synopsis:

Elise Armstrong, Carmen Bradshaw, and DeeDee Davis meet in a yoga class. Though vastly different, these women discover they all have one thing in common: their mothers have recently passed away. Becoming fast friends, the trio make a pact to help each other sort through the belongings their mothers’ left behind. But when they find old letters and diaries, Elise, Carmen, and DeeDee are astonished to learn that each of their mothers hid secrets—secrets that will transform their own lives.

Meeting each month over margaritas, the trio share laughter, advice, and support. As they help each other overcome challenges and celebrate successes, Elise, Carmen, and DeeDee gain not only a better understanding of the women their mothers were, but of themselves. They also come to realize they have what their mothers needed most but did not have during difficult times—other women they could trust.

Filled with poignant life lessons, The Secret Women pays tribute to the power of friendship and family and the bonds that tie us together. Beautiful, full of spirit and heart, it is a thoughtful and ultimately uplifting story of unconditional love.

Ending:

HFN

Representation

• Black biracial main character
• Black main and supporting characters

Possible Triggers: Yes

• Mental Illness — Bipolar disorder
• Attempted suicide and murder of children
• Death of parent

Mature Themes

• Death of parent
• Allusions to teenagers drinking
• (Amicable) divorce
• Children (who are late 40s to early 60s) lashing out at parents who start dating after their spouse dies
• See Ending for HEA status.
• See Possible Triggers for Abuse and OTT sad parts.

Format: Paperback

Rating: 5/5 stars

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Dragonsteel (Shadowsword’s Harem, #1) by Rachel Baelfire

By Sarah

In 3-stars, Book Review

March 29, 2018

4 Min read

D

Series: Shadowsword’s Harem

Release Date: January 2nd, 2018

Synopsis:

My name is Helena, and I’ve been on the run my entire life.

Every day my father and I protect each other from the dragon shifters who’ll stop at nothing to see us dead.
Until he’s captured.

Pursued for powers they’re convinced I shouldn’t have, the only ones who can help are my childhood friend who’s half-werewolf, and a mysterious dragon shifter with a secret agenda.

When a new evil rises, the danger is greater than ever, and one thing is certain. My father and I are both running out of time.

****Dragonsteel is the first book in the Shadowsword’s Harem series. It’s a full-length, Reverse Harem, Urban Fantasy Romance. The harem will be introduced slowly as the series unfolds. Contains some violence and sexual situations.

Ending

 
Cliffhanger

Representation

No strong representations of the following:
• BIPOC characters
• LGBTQIA+ characters
• characters with a disability
And doesn’t address fatphobia

Possible Triggers

• Heroine’s mother was murdered when she was a child
• Heroine’s father disappeared 7 years ago (Flashbacks)
• Violence including murder

Safety Rating: Safe

• No cheating
• No descriptive sex scene with OW/OM
• Does have the Hero and Heroine pushing away
• Does not have a separation between the Heroes and Heroine
• See Ending for HEA status.
• See Possible Triggers for Abuse and OTT sad parts.

Rating: 3.5/5 stars

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