Many thanks to Netgalley for this book. I received this book in exchange for my honest review. My thoughts are entirely my own.

3.5/5 stars

In this book we are following Addison and Connor. Addison and Connor are former lovers who broke up after Addison used information that she toke from Connor’s phone to her her career as a publicist. Connor also worked in public relations until Addison’s stunt cost him his job and he had to leave LA. Then the night that Addison’s newest client Redwood who is in pharmaceuticals is found murdered she ends up being the prime suspect. Addison is asked by her boss to take a leave of absence but she doesn’t and ends up getting a big name client who is starting her own fashion line. Throughout the month leading to Fashion Week Addison and Connor learn that their former clients knew each other and another one of Addison’s former clients ends up dead and an actress that Addison worked with may be next. Addison and Connor work together to solve the mystery and get justice for Addison’s clients. Peter, Addison’s boss, is revealed to be the killer who wanted to keep the company’s name clean and Addison live-streamed the entire thing. Addison and Connor were also able to connect the dots through Phineas voice memos that he was making prior to his death including one that she never heard where he named his killer. A month after Peter is arrested Addison is with a new client but is shot by a man that she was mean to at the beginning of the book and she believes that she is dying. Addison was a pretty unlikeable character until close to the end when she changed her ways.

Many thanks to the publisher for my copy - all opinions are my own.

Your Dark Secrets is a great little popcorn thriller that makes for great summer reading. This plot was full of twists and turns with a cast of characters that you are never quite sure you can totally trust.

I really enjoyed the jet setting locations throughout the book, and I do love a good murder mystery which this serves up nicely. The only slight downfall for me was that I never really did care about any of the characters which made me a little less invested in the outcome of the plot than I wanted to be. But didn't stop me from devouring this one on the way home from a trip in one plane ride.

Overall really easy and fun reading for summer TBR's!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the advanced copy. Your Dark Secrets is the first book that I have started by Elle Marr. Unfortunately I did not finish the story. I could not relate to neither Addison or Connor. The storyline jumped from different perspectives and I found myself lost. I also found that I had no interest in either of the storylines.

With no trust between them, these two characters join forces to investigate the death of a prominent celebrity. Both use their past to leverage the cooperation of the other, taking the investigation into many places they'll regret going. A fun read that leaned more on the romance side than the thriller side.

It is not easy to turn the reader against the main character in the first five pages, yet this book accomplishes it with ease. I get the "I'm the boss" attitude, but it should be based on merit, right?
Every example of the publicist magic and wit we see is weird and not believable. (Spinning the political nudes scandal by stating the politician is a budding photographer? Firing the whole filming crew and taking their phones because your star threw up?) It only gets worse from there.
Addison is an extremely unlikable character and her inner monologues are cringy as hell. Connor is a bit better, but he can't save the story alone.
The book is very long, and it does not pack enough (action? common sense? good dialogue?) to keep the reader engaged.
The ending is dramatic enough to make up for some of it, but overall, I was not a fan.

Thank you, NetGalley, Hyperion Avenue, and Elle Marr, for providing an advanced reader's copy in exchange for my honest review.

Addison is a PR ex and when one of her clients winds up dead she is in complete shocks. She makes it her mission to figure out what happen to her client. You follow her journey with Connor to determine what happened to her client. Will Addison solve the mystery or will she did the hole deep for her to escape and end up hurting herself in the long run.

Thank you NetGalley for the Arc!

I enjoyed this story. Before reading it, I was not aware of what a PR person does, and after reading it, I have a better understanding of the concept. Right from the beginning, Addison is a strong, driven character. She is very confident and knows what she wants. She will stop at nothing to make sure her clients are successful. Her life is filled with excitement not only is she always coming up with ideas to ensure her clients have a good image in front of the public. Then she comes across a dead body, and her life is turned upside down. From then on she must prove not only that she had nothing to do with that situation but that she's great at her job as well. Her ex returning was an interesting turn and then all the situations they are thrown into. I liked that Addison's job was the main focus of the story and that her love life slowly became an important part of her life without it becoming the main focus.

So many things were revealed towards the end that I was not expecting. Overall, an enjoyable thriller with a strong confident FMC.

3 out of 5 Stars!

Addison Stern was a powerful LA PR exec who would do anything to protect her clients. She works for Ovid Blackwell Group, where the rich and famous go to keep their secrets hidden. Connor Windell is a private investigator trying to make a new name for himself, after his reputation is ruined by his ex-girlfriend. Better known as Addison. While working separate jobs, they come together when their clients overlap. While working, they uncover lies from the world’s most elite and powerful people. Will they be able to uncover the truth? And stay alive?

I can confidently say I have never read a book like “Your Dark Secrets” by Elle Marr! This was a very fast-paced, refreshing thriller about the most influential people. The plot really reminded me of a spy movie, uncovering secrets left and right. If you really enjoy books about crime, I would highly recommend this book to you. Even if you just like mysteries and thrillers, I think this book will still appeal to you as the mysteries unfold! Also, there is a tad of romance if you are into that too. Seriously, what didn’t this book have?

This was a very fast-paced book, with multiple POVs propelling the book forward. Not only are you hearing about Addison and Connor, but reading a transcript of a podcast of one of the characters. I really enjoyed this, as it lightened up the book and added a comedic effect. I really liked the main characters, Addison and Connor! They were sharp, funny, and interesting to read. I really enjoyed learning about their line of work and their backstories.

Even though I love tangled webs, this book was a lot for me. I was really glad I was paying attention at the beginning of the book with the introductions of multiple characters. I do think it was a tad great, with multiple storylines taking place. I think with fewer characters with complex stories, it would have been a top book contender.

Lastly, the ending answered all of my questions and left me with questions at the same time. I think we need one more chapter to wrap everything up. Maybe Elle Marr was leaving it open-ended for a series? Which I would totally read. But, I think the second to last chapter muddled the waters for me.

Pick up “Your Dark Secrets” by Elle Marr on July 30th, 2024!

Thank you to Hyperion Avenue, Elle Marr, and Netgalley for a digital ARC of this novel in exchange for my honest review.

Your Dark Secrets by Elle Marr was a fantastic book! I was on the edge of my seat the entire time.
The well-drawn characters and super twisty plots that pull you in from the first page.
Elle Marr is an automatic read author for me - I've enjoyed every book of hers I've read, but this might be one of my favorites.

Thank You NetGalley and Hyperion Avenue for your generosity and gifting me a copy of this amazing eARC!

Wow! I loved this! I couldn’t put it down and read during every free second I could spare. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read this ARC in exchange for my review!

This book didn’t really deliver everything I needed in a book. It wasn’t a bad read per say, but it wasn’t a great read either, it was just alright. I found it too long and drawn out and I much prefer my thrillers to be more succinct and to the point. The long chapters were also a turn off, again I prefer my chapters to be on the shorter side. I really wanted to like this one more, especially since I have enjoyed other books by this author, but this one just didn’t hit me the same way.

One of my favorite books of 2023 was Jordan Harper’s Everybody Knows, which follows a PR executive and a disgraced PI as they unravel a gritty neon-noir mystery at the heart of Los Angeles. Ever since I’ve been looking for that magic pairing of “PR and PI” in the hopes I can find more books where these two seedy, seamy undersides of Los Angeles come together in some kind of mysterious tangle.

I was hoping Your Dark Secrets would give me the high I was searching for, but I spent the whole book chasing it and then was absolutely upset with myself at the end for sticking with it.

The first half of this book is interesting, if a slower build than I like to see in a jet-set suspense thriller with so much on the line for the main characters and taking place over what seems like a pretty short time frame. The pacing is off, there’s a bit too much filler, but it wasn’t unsalvageable. Sadly, in the back half of the book it just fell apart for me: the pacing was all over the place, the characters were inconsistent, there was too much filler, there was a very obvious evil villain monologue, and everything was either tied up too neatly or left dangling like a snagged sweater.

Ultimately, it was a very flawed book, in my opinion.

I was provided a copy of this title by Netgalley and the author. All thoughts, opinions, views, and ideas expressed herein are mine and mine alone. Reviews rated three stars or below will not appear on my social media. Thank you.

File Under: Suspense Romance/Suspense Thriller

I just finished Your Dark Secret by Elle Marr and it was just okay. The bones of a good story were there, but the execution was lacking. There were way too many moving parts and the reveal of the conspiracy totally fell flat after the way it was built up. I keep waiting for some big time players to get involved and that never happened.

I read this one in two days! There was a lot going on,
but I followed it all pretty well. I was just as much invested it the relationship as I was with the who has killed all these people. Addison and Conner set off together trying to solve mysteries after a rough past between the two of them. Can they figure out who is killing Addisons clients or is it one of them?
Thank you NetGalley for the arc.

Novel Concept: 5/5
Execution of Novel Concept: 5/5

Title: 3/5
Characterization: 5/5
Dialogue: 4/5
Plot: 4/5
Atmosphere: 5/5
Theme: 5/5
Prose: 5/5

Does this pass the Bechdel Test: Yes

Title
I think the place where this title is mentioned feels natural and fitting. And for the purpose of a mystery thriller this title is practical and it engages with the theme of secrets. My issue is that the person if specifically connects to does not appear enough to warrant the title space and I do fear that this book's title feels somewhat generic. It doesn't seem indivisible from the story the way that other titles do.

Characterization
Addison and Conner are two idiots sharing the same braincell and I love that. Each of them feel like fully realized and developed characters with quirks and flaws. They are like perpetually flipping magnets, both pulling each other close and repelling away from each other. They are a difficult due, and that's what makes them so interesting.

The minor characters are fleshed out and fascinating. Authors have to be economical about minor characters because of how little time they get and I do feel that each minor character glows in a unique way, taking full advantage at what little page space they have. I am a personal fan of Emelia. She had two scenes and cooked each time. What a legend.

Our antagonist felt correct. Sometimes I worry about being dragged by a red herring only to have the real answer shoved in the end with complex enough mental gymnastics that Simone Biles would be impressed--but the shoving in here was minimal and the true antagonist of the story haunts the narrative in an effective enough way that I was willing to buy into it and didn't even realize there was a red herring until it was quite literally pointed out.

Dialogue
The dialogue is witty and fun. It seems like the author was having a fun time embodying cold hearted Addison and I really enjoyed her perspective. Conner's interior monologue is also ripe with humor and quirk, and was equally a pleasure to read.

My hitches are, probably to no surprise, the Villain Monologue and Phineas' last chapter. The Villain Monologue just felt anticlimactic. It's difficult to keep tension past sixty seconds and honestly? No idea why Mx. Big Bad Evil Guy would be so honest. Was is truly ego? In a book that's all about public relations and lawsuits, I would think it's understood that in court it is never about what's true, it's all about what you can prove. The story that you can spin and get people to believe. There were 3+ witnesses to that villain monologue. What????

Finally, the Phineas' final chapter. There's a section in that chapter that ties up all the lose ends and I found it fairly clunky. I like where it's placed in the narrative and I like the way that it ends. I like the context in which it's being recorded--it's just the overexplaining of the final questions this book has seemed unnecessary ESPECIALLY when the author chose to end it the way that it ended. I think that Phineas' final chapter belongs there, I don't think his explanations of the final plot threads does.

Plot
The plot is engaging and I seldom got lost or turned around. The conspiracy was working well, the glamor and travel. The ruthlessness of a PR firm. Everything was coming together.

But why Addison does what she does at Fashion week? I don't understand her actions and I feel like the book never explains it and I am left confused. Why did she do that? I'm just confused at what game of 5D Chess Addison thinks she's playing.

The other plot point that cases the plot to stumble and cough is the connection point between Conner's benefactor and Mx. Big Bad Evil Guy. Yes the information is technically planted and Addison recalls it but there's more to seeding information than digging a hole and sticking the seed in there, metaphorically speaking. All in all, Mx. Big Bad Evil Guy felt completely underutilized and a lot of their relevant information comes right in at the end, sort of shoved in. It's not enough that I feel the need to dock a star, admittedly this is nitpicky, but for someone who so effectively haunts the narrative and get's the TITLE, I would want him to haunt the narrative a little harder. Have the information that's relevant about him exist in more places than just the very end of the story. This book needs to be so haunted by this guy that The Ghost Busters, The Scooby Gang, and The Winchesters show up.

Atmosphere
The nuances of being in PR came to life in this story and it felt well researched enough or the writing is well established in the rules it sets for itself that I believed the world that the author was feeding me. This story unveils the glamorously dark world of Public Relations and scandal that exists just below the surface of what the media is saying.

And for a mystery and thriller, I did generally feel stressed. Stressed that The Dumb Genius Duo struggled to get along and stressed about the collapsing world they're forced to sift through. A good stress. What is a thriller if you're not stressed just a little?

Theme
This book is about the deconstruction of truth. How easily it can be swayed. How a lot of the world is pointing people in the right direction so they can hide the stuff no one needs to see. It's also about ego--the way people drive themselves forwards and sometimes off a cliff in the name of being right or being successful. The genuine difficulty of admitting wrongdoing. And most important, the way that progress is not linear. It is a frustrating gallop of back and forth, and this novel executes that fairly well.

Prose
The prose is easy to follow and I seldom got lost in terms of comprehension. I wish I recorded my reaction to Phineas' first POV. I was just so thrown for a loop but man, I AM HERE FOR IT. What an interesting way to provide dramatic irony and context to the things that Addison and Conner are doing. Phineas meets a dude and in a few chapters that name shows up again in Addison or Conner's POV and your mind is like !!!!!!!!!!!!!! we know that guy!!!! from Phineas!!

The shifting perspective is good because neither Conner nor Addison are truly honest with the reader. Again, ego is a theme of the story and part of that is believing justification and full transparency is beneath you. So no, Conner and Addison feel no obligation to be honest with each other nor to you the reader so when we are switching POV's we cannot fully trust that the stuff we don't witness is the full truth. It's almost like each POV is a camera recording and if we don't see Addison doing something recorded--we can only take Addison's word on it--and she already lies to everyone and us so it's on us to really decide if we believe her or not. I live for unrealizable narrators and the fact that these two dumb idiots struggle trusting each other and being fully transparent with the reader adds to the (good) stress of reading this book. You want them to work together, but hell, you can't even trust them yourself.

Conclusion
This book was very fun to read and I had a great time and honestly, that's what I find the most valuable in a book. While there were plot details that my careful eye caught that fully didn't make sense to me, it wasn't enough that it soured my reading experience. I'd tell people to read this book--it was fun.

I was not the biggest fan of this book. When I read the synopsis, I thought it sounded amazing and so fully of mystery. Once actually getting into the book, it seemed too choppy and rough. I thought that there were some good twists and turns throughout the book, and I kept reading hoping it would get better. Unfortunately, I do have to rate this one 2 stars, just because of how rough of a start I had with this book. I do hope to read more from this author in the future to see what she can come up with.

Thank you for allowing me to read an early copy.

I struggled to get into this, it started slow but towards the end it started to pick up. The ending/big twist was jaw dropping though and made the whole book worth it. I also enjoyed the whole rivals to lovers aspect to the book. The relationship between Addison and Connor was fun and interesting!!

I tried to read this, I did. I just could not get into it. The beginning was terribly abrasive and as much as I wanted to give it a chance because I love romantic thrillers, I couldn’t do it. The first chapter was ridiculous and not realistic at all, I cringed the whole time I read it. DNF@ 10%. I’m not even rating it on Goodreads because I don’t think it’s fair to drag the average down when I couldn’t get through at least 1/3 of it.

Honestly, I did not care for this book. The way this synopsis sounded makes this book sound amazing. For me it felt slow and fell flat.

I did not finish. I got half way through. It was not for me. I am not leaving a good reads review because I want people to base their choice for reading this off what they think, or the reviews that have finished this book.

Sometimes you read a book with some unlikeable characters but you still like the book. I really wasn't a fan of either main character but the book was good. I thought they would get better as the story progressed, but they didn't.


Thank you to Net Galley and Hyperion Avenue for the early review copy. All opinions above are my own.