Author: Kendall Ryan

Genre: Contemporary Romance

ISBN: B073HH2NJF

Goodreads Rating: 3.84

Gavin Kingsley burst into my life in a sharp and unexpected twist of fate. You know his type—arrogant, dangerously handsome and impossible to ignore. Something dark within him calls to the shadows inside me. I long for the kind of heart-wrenching passion I’ve only read about, and his tragic past reads like one of my favorite literary classics. Raw. Visceral. Captivating. Together, we’re a perfect mess. The deeper I fall into his world, the more I crave him like a drug—he pushes every boundary I have, and challenges everything I thought I wanted. I want to unlock his heart. I want his dirty secrets. But in the end, will he be the blade that cuts me ... or the bond that makes my life complete? Written in the same vein as Kendall Ryan’s New York Times bestselling and much loved international phenomenon, Filthy Beautiful Lies, Dirty Little Secret begins an erotic new series.

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When I came across an Amazon sale the other day and saw the cover of ‘Dirty Little Secret’ I just couldn’t resist and got myself a copy. This sounded like a fun and romantic book which seemed perfect to read around Valentine’s day. And when I read about the main character being a young librarian I was even more excited to start reading.

‘Dirty Little Secret’ is the first book in the Forbidden Desires series. In this book we meet librarian Emma Bell. Emma has lived her life playing it safe, always doing what was right. But her last relationship ended badly, and after months of pining for a handsome guy she sees every day in the coffee shop she decides to take a chance. Gavin is a rich, hardworking guy who to the outside world looks like a hard and sometimes even unkind guy. But he is also very handsome and there is something about him that makes Emma want him.

Well, this book was not what I expected. I expected a romantic and sexy read, and although this book made me want to keep on reading, it wasn’t romantic or in the least bit sexy to me. Why did I want to keep on reading? Because this book definitely intrigued me and made me wonder what would happen next. But unfortunately this book just wasn’t for me.

For starters I just didn’t like both main characters Emma and Gavin. Emma seemed this nice and kind of shy woman in the beginning. But her actions just didn’t fit the way she acted. Well, to my opinion at least. I just couldn’t understand the things she did, and how easily she seemed to be swept away by Gavin although he was horrible to her. I mean, if a guy calls you ‘pet’, I don’t care how handsome or rich he is, that’s just wrong.

Although Gavin grew on me the further I got into this book, his character just wasn’t one I really liked. He was just really unkind most of the time. And when we read his point of view, his thoughts just didn’t seem to match his actions.

But even though I didn’t really like the characters, there was something about this book that made me want to keep on reading. I just wanted to know what would happen next. For one I really hoped my first thoughts about Gavin weren’t true, and secondly I kept hoping I would feel more of a connection between Gavin and Emma.

Unfortunately in the end I just didn’t like this book. The ‘sexy’ scenes didn’t feel all that sexy to me and there was just too much that didn’t work for me. Especially since there also was this love-triangle thing I definitely did not understand.

A New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and USA Today bestselling author of more than two dozen titles, Kendall Ryan has sold over 2 million books and her books have been translated into several languages in countries around the world. Her books have also appeared on the New York Times and USA Today bestseller lists more than three dozen times. Ryan has been featured in such publications as USA Today, Newsweek, and InTouch Magazine. She lives in Texas with her husband and two sons. For more information about Kendall please visit her website. Or visit her on Facebook and Twitter.

Maureen Bakker

Maureen is a mom, wife, nurse, and Ravenclaw living in the Netherlands. She spends her days juggling mom-life, reading, blogging, planning date nights with her husband and working as a nurse. Maureen also is a big Anglophile, loves cooking, Gilmore Girls, Bridgerton and Harry Potter.. Always!  Facebook | Instagram