I had such high hopes for SECRET by L. Marie Adeline. I do enjoy a story of women empowerment, a lone woman rising from the ground and transforming herself into something strong and beautiful. And in a sense, Cassie did just that. It’s just, I didn’t warm up to her. She was such a sad sack from the get-go. We get a very good background story of how she got to where she currently is, and it does explain quite a bit.

Up until that point I was okay and almost expected the story to stay on a sad lonely keel. Until she finds the journal, which eventually causes her to take this amazing journey of exploring her sexuality and finding her true self. Here I’m thinking things are going to pick up and I was going to lose myself in the story. Sadly, I didn’t. Oh, she had encounters of the sexual variety. But…something was lacking for me. It felt while it did explore her sexuality, the emotional side just wasn’t there for me. And the ending, not so great. If anything, I feel so robbed by the frustration I was left with.

This is supposed to be a series, and maybe that frustrating ending will be rectified in the next book. I, however, won’t be sticking around for it. I’m sure others will enjoy Cassie’s story. It just didn’t work for me.


Stars: 2.5
I received this book from Netgalley. I was not compensated for the book other than the entertainment it provided. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

This book has been marketed to those who really loved the Fifty Shades phenomenon, and really that's' what it's become. The difference in this book is that Cassie is not with one partner, there aren't even shades of kink in this book and the only real similarity between this book and Fifty Shades of Grey is that it has sex scenes in it. If you are coming to this book to get your tie-me-up-and-spank-me fix, you'll be disappointed. If you are looking for a book that has the sexual scenes you enjoy but with a feminism meets personal liberation theme, you'll love this.
From the very beginning I loved this book because Cassie is like so many women. She was married, her husband passed away and she finds herself in a rut, just like a divorced woman would be. When she is approached by someone who subtly highlights her lack of anything feminine, she begins on a journey that literally changes her life. What starts off with her writing down nine fantasies that over the course of a year are acted out in order for her to face certain things about herself, she transforms. Let me tell you something, this is something I would have eagerly signed up for as a 20 year old and honestly, if someone knocked on my door to give me this opportunity, I would do it. I really think there are things about yourself that you can really only learn through intimate acts that I would never have understood with my first boyfriend/fiance. Which not to say anything negative about him, but when you are only with one person you have nothing else to compare it to. Then when I was with Matt it was like a complete awakening. FINALLY, I understood why people loved sex and what the hell an orgasm was. Finally I felt like I had a partner who would show me things about trust, generosity, and love that I never would have seen if I had stayed with my first boyfriend.
Some of the scenes Cassie goes through in order to get her charms (she gets a charm for her bracelet with each completed task) are kind of amazing, a little terrifying, and honestly I don't know if I could have done. Get fingered by a guy in a bar? Um, no thanks. Would it be exhilarating and sexy as hell? Yes. Terrifying? You bet your ass. One part of the book was really great because when she's asked what her fantasies are, Cassie says she doesn't have any, which would be my response. But when you get down to it, that's not really true because I found that a lot of the things Cassie experienced are things that I found would be a huge turn on for me. Which in the end, is why I read a lot of romance novels with similar plot lines, because hello- sexy as hell.
So what if I want to be banged against a wall by a muscled up secret agent? Don't act like that isn't hot as hell.
So overall I really liked this story a lot and had a hard time putting it down. While Cassie is discovering herself you feel like you are on the journey with her. One thing about the book that I don't know if I love or not is the ending. Like, I get why it ends like it does. I get it. I understand why she makes the choice she does, but I'm also torn on whether I wanted the happy ending instead. Because I see Cassie happily married to one guy who loves the hell out of her and gives her hot sex on the regular, so is that not how the author sees her? And why? It'd actually be interesting to see if there is a sequel because there easily could be with the seemingly unfinished ending with Will (her boss who loves her, maybe, and who she loves, maybe), and then what happens with Cassie's choice at the end. What happens to her beyond? Also I'd like to know why the women behind the club haven't chosen life partners? Is this a salute to feminism's "I don't need a man" or something more?

What a different take on a book. I truly enjoyed reading this book and looked forward to each book in the series.

This book focuses on Cassie Robichaud's life. She is widowed from an abusive husband and working at a diner. Her love life is non-existent and she has the hots for her boss, Will.

Cassie is recruited by S.E.C.R.E.T., a society that strengthens character and confidence through a series of secret fantasies.

4.5 stars

SECRET has a lot of things to offer, least of all a ten word plan by which any woman (or man, actually) can attempt to get back in touch with themselves. I really enjoyed the way in which Adeline laid out the different steps and the different challenges for her main character, Cassie, even if some of the situations were perhaps brilliantly absurd. The sex in SECRET is relatively tame, which I actually think is a good thing because it prevents SECRET from becoming too sensationalist or "shocking". Unlike other erotica novels, SECRET seems to be more about self-improvement and confidence, rather than just bombarding the reader with pages upon pages of sex. I think this is quite a good and fun novel for many women to read who want to enjoy erotica while also walking away with some thinking points. I'm definitely intrigued to see where the sequel takes us,

I was a little disappointed in this one. I didn't care for the main character having several purely sexual encounters in the book. I didn't find her very likable and had a difficult time connoting with her. I had a hard time figuring out how sex with these men was leading her toward self discovery.