Synopsis:
In the second and final installment, Jaxon and Courtney are forced into a world of more secrets. Some have been harbored from within, some are unknown, and some are just forming.
When the truth finally does come out, will their fragile love for one another be strong enough to hold, or will the weight of deceit break the string that tethers their hearts together?
My review:
Secrets Unveiled is the second book and in essence the second half of Courtney and Jaxon’s story continued on from the first book in the series, Toxic Secrets. I will say that if you haven’t read Toxic Secrets first, please do so before reading this book because you will be totally lost and not fully understand the story. That being said, reading the two stories back to back was enjoyable and I didn’t feel any wrath of a cliffhanger.
I am going to try to do my best and not give anything away in this review for those of you who haven’t read the first book….gah! It’s going to be hard!
Jaxon is in a pretty rough emotional state when this book picks up and to say his story is a rough one would be a gross understatement. He’s a broken man and is in need of some serious fixing. He winds up going down a very dark road and needs some light at the end of the tunnel. And that light is Courtney…
Courtney has a whole lot of growing up to do in this book and I was afraid she wouldn’t be able to handle all that life was throwing at her. I don’t really want to say what exactly she has going on in her life while this story is taking place, because it’s a pretty big spoiler, but know that she ends up growing into an amazing woman. There were some serious emotional moments happening in Secrets Unveiled and more than a few made my cry, but you all know I love that!
Overall this was an emotional roller coaster that dealt with a lot of serious and dark issues but it was the perfect story for Jaxon and Courtney and needed to be told to get them to their happy ending. I will say that the epilogue was absolutely perfect and made me give a big, happy, contended sigh. Of course, my lips are sealed!
Thank you, Jill, for giving us one hell of an emotionally charged read! It was one hell of a ride!
Four Loves
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Excerpt:
Tears pierced the back of my eyes like tiny needles and I quickly turned away. The gravity that had been holding me prisoner finally released its grasp, and I quickly made my way to the exit. The door latched behind me with a loud clicking sound, but I didn’t care. I had to get out of there.
With full-force, I ran down the beach, and didn’t stop until my legs could no longer move. There was no more energy left in me, and it caused me to fall onto the cool, gritty sand. There was no point in stopping the tears; I let them flow freely, I needed to get it all out. I needed to get him out, remove him from my system like he had apparently done me. To know how quickly he had moved on was gut-wrenching.
Curled up into a ball, I laid there in the sand and sobbed until my cries turned into hiccups. He had told me I helped him to remember what it felt like to fall in love again, but how did you feel that way then screw some other girl so soon after?
A little over a month. That was all it took for him to go back to his man-whore days. Was it really fair of me to judge him? Who was I to be mad? I was after all the one who pushed him away.
“I don’t know what you’re doing here, but you need to turn your ass back around and go back to where you came from. Nobody wants you around here. You’ve caused enough trouble.”
About the author:
Jill Patten was born a Yankee, but raised a southerner. She lives in the small town of Mayberry, North Carolina which was made famous by a popular TV show back in the sixties. (Maybe there will one day be a statue of her at the end of Main Street. Ha! A girl can dream, right?)
Jill has always loved to read, even during reading labs in middle school for reading comprehension. Judy Blume was her first author she hero-worshipped, maturing to revere the works of Stephen King. With all the fantastic authors today, she simply cannot choose a favorite. Her taste is very eclectic and she loves almost all genres. When she’s not captivated by her fictional characters, she spends time with her sweet husband and two beautiful children.
Music is her muse. Jill also loves elephants, sarcasm, and anything made with sugar, especially sweet tea. She enjoys all things rude and crude and laughs at stuff she probably shouldn’t. She has been accused of being bossy a time or two, but doesn’t really see it herself.
All in all, Jill is just a small town girl in this great big world trying to enable your book addiction.
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