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.

Glitz, glamour, rumors and lies-they all lie within the mind of Addison. Addison is a publicist for some of the most unmanageable names in LA. Up until this point Addison has been the queen of image revival, but when one of her clients turns up dead with a mysterious clue, she doesn’t know what to do.
I didn’t really know what to do with this book either, so I get you Addison! I think this book had so much potential, but would be so much better with fewer side plots, I feel like I often got lost in the story, I would have to go back chapters to remember what character did what with who when! Overall, though, this book was fast paced and enjoyable when it made sense! Thank you to NetGalley and Hyperion Avenue Publishing for letting me have access to an ARC!

Thank you netgalley for a review copy.

Addison is a high ranking PR rep who can put even the worst person in a good light. So when she finds a body of one of clients, she has to do some big spins to make herself look good.

Conner is a former PI who’s luck is about to change but will it be for the better?

Unfortunately this book wasn’t for me. I just did not like Addison. I did like the ending though.

I really liked the premise. Love a PR / PI and Hollywood mystery. Thought was going to be more FIXER type plot. I thought the writing was good but felt like too much and at times got confusing. I liked the main character Allison> She def had her flaws but that is what made interesting. I am a fan of short chapters. This had very long chapters.

I enjoyed the different POV format of this novel and the suspense/action of this storyline. I felt the chapters where a bit long at times and that there were parts of the book that could be cut that weren't relevant to the story.

I'd like to start my review by thanking NetGalley and Hyperion Avenue for an advanced copy of this book! Once I began reading this book it barely took my a day to read because I couldn't put it down. I immediately fell in love with Addison and Connor, the main characters of this story, and was really hoping neither of them was involved in the murders in the story. I won't give anything away for those who have yet to read this book but I definitely didn't see the end coming although maybe I should have. This was a great read for those who love a good mystery with a little bit of romance thrown in there. I've never read a book by this author before but I'll be looking for past and future books to read or if they're anything like this book devour! Great story, great writing, and awesome plot!

I enjoyed the story of a successful pr person spinning positive stories for her clients. The story kept me guessing and questioning characters if they were to be trusted.

2.5 rounded down

*sigh* This book is advertised as an "up-all-night read" and "suspenseful thriller", but I found it soo boring. Literally felt like nothing happened until 80% in. Even then, it still wasn't even thrilling to me. I was expecting there to be conspiracy with the world's most elite and powerful people, but they didn't get the memo I guess. Lol.

I STRUGGLED to remain in the story. By the end, I just wanted it to be done so bad. It was ridiculously drawn out and there was so much going on that it was hard to follow. Half the time, whatever they were doing didn't really add to any plot line what so ever. And what was that ending? Did you just throw that in there to give a wow factor because everything else was a bust?

It just all fell very, very flat for me and I didn't enjoy it.

Elle Marr is going to take you on a trip - a ride actually, so hold on!

Her new characters are a strong and feisty PR exec names Addison as well as her ex boyfriend, PI Conner. The two have no lost love for one another and it seems for good reason. When Addison's biggest client is murdered before an awards show, she has to scramble to gain favor in her company. Meanwhile, Connor was hitting bottom in Las Vegas but is hired by an old friend for a secret job.

The two are forced to work together and the sparks fly both in a very good and a very bad way. Marr does an excellent job withe scene - I can easily picture Conner in the bright lights and noises of Las Vegas and Addison jetting to Hong Kong. Both characters are likeable and imperfect - just my kind of heroes!

If you are ready to take a trip and cash in on an excellent thriller, Your Dark Secrets is for you!
#hyperion #yourdarksecrets #ellemarr

While I think this book had a lot of potential in theory, it was nothing like what I expected, and for that I blame the synopsis rather than the author. It was described like the idea of a spy or investigative thriller with the possibility of romantic tension between our main characters. However, less than 20 pages into the book a character was murdered for the main character to find their body, and the narrators very quickly established themselves as seeming incredibly unreliable. For me personally, I also found them unlikable, and this made the book difficult to read. Had the synopsis been more accurate to the book I probably wouldn’t have been drawn to it, but it has so much potential to succeed with the proper audience if it is marketed properly.

Great book, kept me guessing. This author was new to me, will definitely read more! Loved this book!!!!!!!

I liked having the POV of both characters. I really wanted to like the book! And I don’t mind a book with unlikable characters. These felt like they were so close to redemption, but didn’t make it. The female lead needs more development. We see glimpses of self-awareness that are gratifying, but far too often we see her perfection. Too many convenient coincidences, especially when they go to South of France and Monaco. Needs more backstory. I never really figured out what happened when they broke up.