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A review by daniela_endless_tbr
The Secrets That Kill by Kristen Luciani
challenging
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
5.0
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/6.
🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️/5.
This was hovering on a 4 star but the last 20% did it for me.
This started literally with a bang of sorts but this was also a slowburn. I liked that while we start with spice, we took our time building the feels.
Ivy pulled this off for me. The way she stood up for herself and want she wanted was so good. I kinda wish someone 👀 would be bodily harmed, you know just a bit cuz F them for what they did.
The last part made me gasp out loud and made my boyfriend look weird at me for a bit. I was not expecting that someone to be that someone. I'm also not sure if i like him or hate him but I guess i'll find out with the next book.
Ivy had a very one sided crush on Mercer since he became friends with her brother and now it seems like fate intervened 🤐 and put Mercer in her path again except now all she feels is hate and disgust. Until she doesn't. Love and Hate are sides of the same coin as both she and Mercer learned later on.
Ivy has a lot of guilt inside her because of her past and Mercer knows that so he plays on it ir order to get her to do his bidding but not only that, he also gives her sister the best treatment she could have and holds that above Ivy's head.
Ivy might seem like a doormat in some aspects or a people's pleaser but she isn't that. She is a smart, strong woman who knows what she wants and needs and she F'ing demands it by the end of this and I loved that. I loved that she confronted Mercer , armed I might add 😌, and she decided right then and there she would be the one to end this whole thing and F Mercer.
Mercer was interesting but then he was also an a-hole. The saving grace i think is that when he behaved like that especially when Ivy was in subspace, he acknowledged to himself that he was being an idiot and that he shouldn't do or say what he did at certain points which made me like him in a way because he knew what he was doing but he also needed to keep his control and that was his way of doing it. If he didn't acknowledge that in his head, i don't think I would've liked him very much.
Mercer had it rough growing up and a mother who didn't care at all for him even after everything they went through. I confess this tugged at my heart strings a bit but he was emotionally so unapproachable that I didn't know what to think of him anymore because his words and actions didn't always mean the same which honestly made me wanna read more and find out if he was redeemable and if he deserved Ivy because that was my question for the majority of this book.
Their D/s dynamic was an interesting one. I liked how Kristen wrote it and it didn't feel like too much for me. I loved seeing Ivy discover her darkest desires and I liked that she did research and that it was present in her mind that while this whole dynamic seems wrong to other people, to her it was a need and a release and that with the right person it could be amazing.
Mercer had his head up his bum so he didn't always provide aftercare which made me side eye my kindle a bit but like I mentioned above, he at least acknowledged that he should do it and that he was a sh*! Dom for not doing it. It doesn't excuse him but I could get past it because Ivy didn't exactly need him to cuddle her and such which worked for them because Mercer mouth and his emotions aren't always on the same page and he F***s up sometimes but she sees through him so she provides him aftercare in an interesting way too because Dom's needed to and Mercer was no exception.
Again I really liked how they played together and that when they were in it, they felt and understood each other on another level.
Now those last 20% were amazing and I was on the edge of my sit. A heroine kicking a$$ is always a highlight for me and Ivy didn't disappoint. She went into danger very well prepared and she did what she needed to. I was cheering for her the whole time while also being afraid for her. I loved that the story took this turn. The plot twist was also good.
On the other side of this, I loved that Mercer deferred to Ivy when she caught him in the middle of a conversation. He even armed her again because she wasn't playing which was kinda funny, sweet and smart of him but also showed that he was all in with Ivy even though he hadn't acknowledged that yet.
Mercer gesture at the end might seem small compared to everything he did to Ivy but to me it was the right thing because it matched his character but also gave Ivy what she needed in order to come back. Some might also think Ivy was to "weak" and forgave him right away but I think Ivy was firm and that she got what she needed of him and if she didn't, she would've walked away which demonstrated that she wasn't about to dance to his tune just because.
Orin's book is next and while I'm interested, I'm also reticent to read it because he did some damage and I ain't about to forget that soon but I could be persuaded when I get to it cuz he was in Black Ops so I understand the why and I honestly wanna know how he went from being a spoiled kid, to being Black Ops and then finally to be a Knight. I'm sure it's gonna be a good story from the sneak peak we had but i will need some convincing. I also hope we see more of Mercer and Ivy in his book because I need some closure.
* I read an arc of this book. *
🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️/5.
This was hovering on a 4 star but the last 20% did it for me.
This started literally with a bang of sorts but this was also a slowburn. I liked that while we start with spice, we took our time building the feels.
Ivy pulled this off for me. The way she stood up for herself and want she wanted was so good. I kinda wish someone 👀 would be bodily harmed, you know just a bit cuz F them for what they did.
The last part made me gasp out loud and made my boyfriend look weird at me for a bit. I was not expecting that someone to be that someone. I'm also not sure if i like him or hate him but I guess i'll find out with the next book.
Ivy had a very one sided crush on Mercer since he became friends with her brother and now it seems like fate intervened 🤐 and put Mercer in her path again except now all she feels is hate and disgust. Until she doesn't. Love and Hate are sides of the same coin as both she and Mercer learned later on.
Ivy has a lot of guilt inside her because of her past and Mercer knows that so he plays on it ir order to get her to do his bidding but not only that, he also gives her sister the best treatment she could have and holds that above Ivy's head.
Ivy might seem like a doormat in some aspects or a people's pleaser but she isn't that. She is a smart, strong woman who knows what she wants and needs and she F'ing demands it by the end of this and I loved that. I loved that she confronted Mercer , armed I might add 😌, and she decided right then and there she would be the one to end this whole thing and F Mercer.
Mercer was interesting but then he was also an a-hole. The saving grace i think is that when he behaved like that especially when Ivy was in subspace, he acknowledged to himself that he was being an idiot and that he shouldn't do or say what he did at certain points which made me like him in a way because he knew what he was doing but he also needed to keep his control and that was his way of doing it. If he didn't acknowledge that in his head, i don't think I would've liked him very much.
Mercer had it rough growing up and a mother who didn't care at all for him even after everything they went through. I confess this tugged at my heart strings a bit but he was emotionally so unapproachable that I didn't know what to think of him anymore because his words and actions didn't always mean the same which honestly made me wanna read more and find out if he was redeemable and if he deserved Ivy because that was my question for the majority of this book.
Their D/s dynamic was an interesting one. I liked how Kristen wrote it and it didn't feel like too much for me. I loved seeing Ivy discover her darkest desires and I liked that she did research and that it was present in her mind that while this whole dynamic seems wrong to other people, to her it was a need and a release and that with the right person it could be amazing.
Mercer had his head up his bum so he didn't always provide aftercare which made me side eye my kindle a bit but like I mentioned above, he at least acknowledged that he should do it and that he was a sh*! Dom for not doing it. It doesn't excuse him but I could get past it because Ivy didn't exactly need him to cuddle her and such which worked for them because Mercer mouth and his emotions aren't always on the same page and he F***s up sometimes but she sees through him so she provides him aftercare in an interesting way too because Dom's needed to and Mercer was no exception.
Again I really liked how they played together and that when they were in it, they felt and understood each other on another level.
Now those last 20% were amazing and I was on the edge of my sit. A heroine kicking a$$ is always a highlight for me and Ivy didn't disappoint. She went into danger very well prepared and she did what she needed to. I was cheering for her the whole time while also being afraid for her. I loved that the story took this turn. The plot twist was also good.
On the other side of this, I loved that Mercer deferred to Ivy when she caught him in the middle of a conversation. He even armed her again because she wasn't playing which was kinda funny, sweet and smart of him but also showed that he was all in with Ivy even though he hadn't acknowledged that yet.
Mercer gesture at the end might seem small compared to everything he did to Ivy but to me it was the right thing because it matched his character but also gave Ivy what she needed in order to come back. Some might also think Ivy was to "weak" and forgave him right away but I think Ivy was firm and that she got what she needed of him and if she didn't, she would've walked away which demonstrated that she wasn't about to dance to his tune just because.
Orin's book is next and while I'm interested, I'm also reticent to read it because he did some damage and I ain't about to forget that soon but I could be persuaded when I get to it cuz he was in Black Ops so I understand the why and I honestly wanna know how he went from being a spoiled kid, to being Black Ops and then finally to be a Knight. I'm sure it's gonna be a good story from the sneak peak we had but i will need some convincing. I also hope we see more of Mercer and Ivy in his book because I need some closure.
* I read an arc of this book. *
Content Warnings
Minor: Rape
Rape not on page.