Everyone deserves a happy ending; not everyone gets one.

Firstly, I always want to say “thanks” to NetGalley for allowing me to receive this ARC.

Your Dark Secrets was right up my little reader heart’s alley. Part Thriller Part Mystery (and even a sprinkle of romance!) this book had me guessing every turn the story took. Elle Marr’s writing was just what I needed while I fight off a gnarly slump from a previous read.

I will say that I was left a little disheartened at the ending of Addison and Connor’s journey that left me unsure of how I felt about this book overall, which is great for someone who isn’t actively rating books in 2024. However, for NetGalley purposes I think I’ll sit with a 3.75 and see if that ends up changing!

Your Dark Secrets by Elle Marr is a riveting romantic thriller that follows PR executive Addison Stern and ex-private investigator Connor Windell as they reluctantly join forces to uncover a dangerous conspiracy involving the world's elite. Marr's seamless blend of romance, suspense, and globe-trotting adventure keeps readers engaged as they follow Addison and Connor from the glitz of Los Angeles to the beaches of Monaco. While the novel excels in its exploration of complex interpersonal dynamics and atmospheric settings, occasional pacing issues and suspension of disbelief may challenge some readers. Nevertheless, Marr's skillful characterizations and engaging prose make Your Dark Secrets a compelling read, perfect for fans of romantic thrillers looking for an immersive and thrilling experience.

I have a lot of mixed feelings about this book. There were things I really enjoyed and parts that I didn’t. It took me a while to get into the story, but once I was invested I sped through the book. Much more of a mystery instead of a thriller than I expected. It is a slow build through most of the story until the climax when all is revealed in fairly dramatic fashion.

Thank you NetGalley and Hyperion Avenue for an ARC in exchange for my honest opinion!

I have a lot of mixed feelings about this book. There were things I really enjoyed and parts that I didn’t. It took me a while to get into the story, but once I was invested I sped through the book. Much more of a mystery instead of a thriller than I expected. It is a slow build through most of the story until the climax when all is revealed in fairly dramatic fashion. I found the characters interesting and enjoyed the second-chance romance subplot.

Non specific spoilers ahead
I don’t normally enjoy shock value endings. I feel like they take away from the story and I probably would have thrown the book across the room if I had a physical copy. I did see another reviewer say that it was more about how the things Addison did in the past caught up to her even if she was changing her ways which helped me put the ending in perspective, but in the moment it was very “why did I just read all that for this”. It is a little ambiguous though so I’m going with the happier of the outcomes.

Overall a good read if you enjoy romantic suspense or mystery with a side of thriller.

Thank you NetGalley and Hyperion Avenue for an ARC of Your Dark Secrets by Elle Marr.

I would like to start by saying that the end of this book would have made me throw this book across the room if I had a physical copy in my hands. It was maddening and unexpected and just GAH! It felt like being left on a huge cliffhanger and knowing that you have to wait years to read the next book. I’m that level of frustrated by it. But in a good way, if you know what I mean.

I really enjoyed this book for the most part. I started to feel a little impatient towards the last third of the book because it felt like things sort of stopped moving forward, but then the last 10% of the book felt really rushed. Despite that I would still recommend this book to anyone who loves a good murder mystery with lovers who turned into rivals then become lovers again. This book was a solid three stars from beginning to end.

This was a great book. I loved every paragraph, every sentence and every word of this masterpiece! I read it in 12 hours, which is a lot for me to do! It had everything and more laid out in the novel! I sure hope There is more to come from this author! I am totally hooked!

I didn't really enjoy this book. It was hard for me to stay focused. There were a couple of side stories going on that I felt made it hard to follow. I thought the chapters were long. I feel like the beginning had me thinking that I would enjoy the book, but as the story went on, it fell flat. I would say this was more of a mystery than a thriller.

I found this book difficult to get into and stay interested. The chapters seemed very long and the character interactions and relationships were not as well developed as I would have liked. I hope this is reworked as I like other Elle Marr books!

This book was a mix between an amateur sleuth novel and a mystery. I was engaged at the beginning but lost a little momentum as the story went on. Addison Stern is a hot shot PR rep who has been fighting to stay competitive after an incident with one of her clients throws her off course. Her ex, Connor, a PI, ends up in the picture after he gets hired to hunt down one of Addison's clients to see if he's cheating on Connor's client's daughter. A bit convoluted. It's told from multiple POVs and while it has some twist and turns, it was a bit slow in place. Thank you # netgalley for an ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

This was more of a mystery read to me that had multiple POV's and long chapters that never seemed to end . For me the story lacked the thriller edge that I am more attracted to, as it was more on the light side , but that could just be me so don't let my point of view steer you away from this read

Thank you for providing me with the ARC of "Your Dark Secrets" by Elle Marr. This is a great choice for those who enjoy suspenseful narratives.

The gripping plot and the captivating global adventure kept me engaged throughout the book. I must admit that at times, I didn’t find myself understanding their dynamics and wish I could have better. But I liked how fast paced and descriptive the writing was. It was great to see both point of views from the main characters though. I would still recommend this book to others

Thank to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for my honest review. I read a lot of silly, escapist books but usually find pleasure in witty banter between characters, an enjoyable (or unlikeable but compelling) protagonist. Unfortunately, I did not find this book to be an enjoyable read as it was lacking all of the above.

This murder mystery was not bad at all. Addison Stern was a head strong public relations professional. Connor Windell was a washed up PI and Addison's on again off again lover. There are three people who were murdered in this book: Phineas Redwood, Devon Lim and Annalise, Phineas's girlfriend. Addison represented Phineas and Devon. Since the police found Addison next to all of the dead bodies, she was accused of murdering them and Connor was implicated. They set out to learn who had committed these heinous crimes.

The author takes the reader on a roller coaster ride in an attempt to solve the murders, and there were plenty of possibilities. I thought the author did an excellent job of developing the characters, and I had no trouble at all following the storyline. The ending was most unexpected. It was a twist. All in all, it was a good read. I gave it five stars.

I am a sucker for an unapologetic boss lady narrator, and Addison Stearn certainly fits the bill in Your Dark Secrets. Elle Marr did such a phenomenal job of creating a strong narrator who takes things into her own hands. I love the PR twist, including Stearn's complicated clients. There were just enough twists and turns to keep me on my toes from the first page to the last. The perfect fast-paced thriller for 2024!

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. Let’s start off with characters.

The Characters:
I found her characters to be a bit lackluster and hard to love. I simply did not care what happened to them. I started this book at the end of December, but took a 3 week break due to some vacation time. When it was time to get back to reading, I realized that I was in no rush to figure out what was going to happen to them.

I think the biggest issue is that when it came to the characters and their backstory, we were only told a little bit and were shown even less. For the main female character, she was very gung-ho about proving herself and getting to the top, but we never really got a lot of the why. I don’t usually mind having an unlikable character, but if that’s the route you’re going to take, I really need a proper villain origin story. What we did get as far as her backstory, just seemed very underwhelming.

That’s the same for the male character as well. His personality wasn’t necessarily that of a villain, so an origin story really isn’t necessary, but I would have liked to be shown more of his back story with his accompanying emotional narrative. Without that, I simply cannot connect with him either.

When it comes to the characters’ emotions, we were mostly told of the anger but not much else. I think it’s says something about how we connect with people. Anger is more of a secondary emotion and is usually born out of a deeper, more raw emotion like betrayal or hurt. I think for the main female character we never truly got the underlying emotion. we just got her anger and her desire to prove herself. we never actually got the rawness underneath and I think that is why it was so difficult to connect with not just her, but both of the characters.

The Plot:
The next issue I had was some of the plotting. I’m not a big fan of plot lines that end up being misdirects from the author. It’s one thing if the misdirect is intentional on the part of one of the characters, but when the author throws in misdirects that are left dangling, it really takes away from the story. I wish it would have been better tied into the overall plot in some sort of way. It just seemed to exist to fill up pages, rather than to actually lend some kind of credence to the story.

The Logic:
My last issue was the logic. As the story was concluding, their just seemed to be so much happening at the end and it felt a bit convoluted. It felt like there wasn’t enough of a motivation for the story to have gone the way that it did. I just needed more motivation to explain the actions of each character. I simply didn’t buy it.

Finally, what was that ending? I don’t think it was necessary. It almost felt like Marr was trying to not let the “bad guy” win. In my opinion, the character growth was enough to end the story.

As far as what I did like, Marr’s writing is very smooth, I had no trouble with reading through her writing style. This was not a difficult or distracting read in the least.

Overall, there was enough of a story here to where I didn’t DNF it. I just didn’t really enjoy it or find it intriguing. For that reason I give it three stars.

Glitz and glamour and a wild ride that takes the reader all over the world! These are deeply flawed characters, but you will end up rooting for them by the end. Looking forward to seeing what Marr writes next!

Dark, Twisted, Clever and razor sharp! This was a twisted tale and I was here for it all! What a ride!

I had a really hard time getting into this one and caring about the characters. I really tried but it just wasn't working for me. Unfortunately I had to DNF.

A great mystery that kept me going all day from start to finish. Definitely a page turner and the perfect book to curl up on the couch on a cold winter day. Thanks for letting me read.

Your Dark Secrets
Elle Marr
3.7/5⭐️
I stumbled upon an Elle Marr title that had somehow made its way on to my kindle. Read it in 1 day-an absolutely intense thriller. When I saw this title as an e-arc-I was hoping for more of the same. Sadly this was not the case. While Your Dark Secrets was good in its own right, it was not the thriller that I was hoping for. In fact, the first sixty percent of the novel was downright boring with hard to follow dialogue between the two main characters, Addison and Connor. However, even with the slow and painful start, this book did get better at the end when everything started to tie together. I ended up enjoying the last part of the book and definitely raised my rating on the title with the ending.
This title will be released on July 30, 2024.
A big thank you to Hyperion Avenue for my advance copy of this digital book. I received a complimentary copy in exchange for an honest review.