Trigger Warning for : abuse, toxic relationship, threats and general violence, trauma and panic attacks
"... when you find the one, when it's real love, the timeline doesn't matter so much"
"Perfect? No, no, no. Perfect is not real; it's not a relationship. A relationship is ugly. It can beautiful, but it's full of fireworks."
I got into reading this book expecting to read a fluffy but spicy romance ... I wasn't disappointed on that front but it turned out to be so much more.
This book dealt with a lot of drama when it comes to relationships especially when it comes to break ups after a long time. Suddenly your perspective changes and you feel light-headed ...
You start wandering what is waiting for you now and the vision is everything but clear in front fo your eyes.
I feel like the author perfectly pictured that as well as how it looks like to be lost after feeling comfortable for so long.
The synopsis of this book introduced the presence of a love triangle ... again so much more than that. In more than one point and more than one way there is a woman trying to figure out what she wants and how she can move on and make something good out of her life.
I loved going through this journey with her... even through the highs and lows of it!
I could see myself making her own choices and it was illuminating knowing that I wouldn't have been the only one to make some mistakes.
I fell for someone I'm not going to name but he definitely made my day better with his gentleness, wit, tease and passion and fragilities.
I'm really glad I had the chance to read this story.
P.S. The spice was really good too in case you're wondering!
"I think we eventually find the right person, but we have to be willing to make the difficult choices"
"I am whole. I am present. I am grounded"

Hidden Agenda, Kathryn Halberg, The Eller Series #2
Genre: Romance, Contemporary, Adult, Love triangle
Rating: 3.5 stars

Hidden Agenda is the second novel in The Eller Series by author, Kathryn Halberg. The first book, Animal Attraction is not required reading prior and this one can be read as standalone. I hadn’t read the first book and didn’t have any trouble following.
The story follows Carlie Eller who is recovering from heartbreak when she attends a conference and finds herself attracted to two very different but equally sexy and charming men. One of the men isn’t who he appears to be and has a hidden agenda. Can Carlie figure out who with her heart, reputation and maybe even her life on the line.

This book is an entertaining and easy to read contemporary romance. The main character is headstrong, independent and you feel for her situation and want to see her get her happily ever after. It was a bit of a different take on the usual love triangle scenario and touched on some darker and deeper themes of violence, abuse and grief following a breakup.

I found that the pace of the book was a little slow at the beginning but it picked up around the mid-point. The romance scenes are quite steamy but I didn’t find them too graphic. This is definitely an adult story though.

Thank you to the author, publisher and Netgalley for an advanced copy of the book.