A review by mandersjojo
Brutal Secret by Laurelin Paige

5.0

Lina is so me. The rambling when in awkward situations, her internal dialogue and embarrassing moments were totally felt by me throughout the story. But it wasn’t cringe or secondhand embarrassment either. Just life and hilarious. I kept having to go back 30 seconds to listen to certain lines more than once because they made me laugh so much.

 

Reid and Lina meet in a nightclub and he takes her back to a hotel. After some steamy foreplay, she blurts out that she’s a virgin and he puts a cold stop to doing anything more. When she won’t leave (just to stick it to him and not because she’s crazy), he leaves.

 

When Lina is at her mom’s wedding, she runs into Reid. She knew his first name but not his last. Turn out her mom is marrying Reid’s uncle. Yup, they’re now step-cousins. Adult step-cousins.

 

The tension was high and tight in this book. The push and pull between the two was strong. I was hooked from the first minute and stayed that way until the end. The narrators were perfect for these characters. I have listened to a lot of books and can’t think of a better male narrator for Reid.