This has been a consistently good YA paranormal series, and Secret is no exception. It's Nick Merrick's turn and he does have a secret he's been keeping from his brothers, especially his twin. He's under a lot of pressure between school, work, and just being the 'good' Merrick. His break comes in the form of the hot guy who's the dance partner of his girl friend, but maybe Adam is just adding to his problems.
I liked that the author broke away from the formula romance of the other books. She certainly knows how to keep a reader on her toes. Anyway, I'm enjoying the series and can't wait to see how it ends. ( )

Look. At. That. Cover.

I mean, whoever designed the covers for this series deserves a high five!


However, is that supposed to be the breathtakingly adorable Nick? Because I must say I am not impressed..


Over & Out, T xx ( )

**spoiler alert** I didn't realise I was anticipating the next Elementals book until I heard it had been released and I rushed down to Dymocks to get myself a copy. These books have a weird hold on me, maybe because I feel they have so much potential and could at any moment get better and live up to my high standards - and I don't want to miss that!

Secret is Nick's story, one I have been looking forward to, and includes the novella Breathless which is such important and crucial reading to understanding the events of Secret that I don't understand why it wasn't worked into the main novel. In this book we see a different side to Nick, having only seen him as his brothers and Hunter see him. Some of his behaviour seemed out of character for him - I would never have expected Nick to be so aggressive and violent, particularly towards people he cared about. He also was very rash and for someone who has never judged anyone else, I found his expectation that his brothers would judge him harshly for his choices not particularly fair towards them and again out of character for him. Also, it really lets me down when I see students letting things like relationships affect their studies - I would have thought he knew better. At the same time, the emotional turmoil he was going through really changed him and it was heartbreaking to watch Nick at war with himself as he struggled to accept who he was. Of course this is going to impact on all aspects of your life. And yet we never see him working to make up his bad marks. This disappoints me so much! Maybe instead of hanging out with Adam you actually do your physics homework, Nick! His judgment of situations since he recognised himself as gay and started seeing Adam was really oversensitive of him - Gabriel thought it was 'creepy' that Adam was hitting on him because he thought Nick had a girlfriend and wasn't interested and so that behaviour was inappropriate. But Nick jumped up and down and freaked out. CALM DOWN NICK. You're supposed to be good at reading situations, now you're just getting crazy. I wish he had put some more trust into his brothers. They're his only family, and you can see how much they all care for each other.

As for Quinn - her home life is not ideal and she should not have to live with that. However her little routine of 'poor me nobody loves me but if they try to help I should tell them to get lost and/or offer them sex and then act offended when they just want to help me and why doesn't Becca care about me anymore' - holy crap that got old really quick! If you don't tell anyone other than creepy kind of stalker guy Tyler Morgan what's going on, nobody is going to know and then nobody will ask you or help you. Sometimes if you have to put away your pride and get help, and if you don't want to do that don't complain! She frustrated me so much. And I don't understand why she got so mad at Becca for not telling her what she was - Becca's whole world has turned upside down and Quinn didn't even care, only that she didn't know. And I still don't get why Nick told her. The whole town is going to know at this rate!

I don't particularly like Tyler, but I think his revelation as a full Elemental is interesting. This is the part of the story I enjoy the most and what keeps me reading, the Elemental part. I'm intrigued as to what it will all come down to in the last book. I'm predicting a full out war and some amazing action scenes, hopefully not too much romance because I'm sick of the girls in these books. That being said, I think this has been the best of the lot.

3.5 stars. ( )

Oh, what an emotional change from Hunter's story in Spirit! I love all the books in Brigid Kemmerer's Elemental Series, but Spirit was so emotionally raw and heavy that Secret felt like a breath of fresh air as one of my favorite Merrick brothers - Nick - took front and center.

Kemmerer continues to impress with her incredible pacing and character development. Nick has always come across as strong and steady so it wasn't until his novella Breathless that I realized the insecurities he was hiding. In Secret, Nick is struggling with his sexuality and it is handled so beautifully that this has already become my favorite book in the series. I loved the romantic tension between Nick and his "girlfriend" Quinn's dance partner, Adam, and how much I learned about both characters. I was really surprised by Adam's past; I didn't see that coming. In Secret, Nick wasn't just trying to get a handle on his sexuality, but on who he was as a person...and only Adam seemed to notice how Nick was drowning in other people's expectations of him.

I also loved Quinn's parallel story, learning more about her messy home life and seeing how it had led to her self-destructive tendencies. It was great to have her finally meet a guy willing to call her on her $#*! and who treated her well, although I was surprised by who it was. I've never been a Quinn-hater, since I sensed from the very first book Storm that there was a lot more going on with her than we were seeing and, in Secret, all was revealed. Nick's and Quinn's stories balanced each other very well, which kept the pacing brisk but not rushed.

For those who like a little action mixed with their romance, Kemmerer throws in another Guide out to get the Merrick brothers which leads to a kick-a$$ showdown (oh boy, Nick has some serious power!). She also reveals what really happened to Michael's first girlfriend Emily (from his novella Elemental), which helps explain the treatment Nick receives at the hands of Quinn's new guy. The romances, relationships, and action are so enthralling that I literally could not put Secret down the first time I read it, staying up until 4:30 in the morning to finish; thank goodness I didn't have work the next day. I then re-read it a few times (I seriously enjoyed this story!), before going back and re-reading Storm and Spark, as well as skimming Hunter's story Spirit (especially the scenes with Michael).

The only negative I have with this book isn't the writing - it's the cover. I really wish the publisher had kept the artwork in sync with the previous books. I understand there might have been some concern with having the same model on the cover after using him on the cover of Gabriel's story, but I'm a big fan of continuity so the complete about-face (and model change) just doesn't work for me. I ended up switching all my covers for the main novels of this series to the Australian versions for my own piece of mind. ;)

After everything that has happened so far in this series, I can't imagine what Brigid Kemmerer will dream up next as she brings everything to a close in Michael's book Sacrifice. All I know is that I'll be buying it as soon as it hits shelves - and making sure I have plenty of time to devour it in one sitting. ( )

Continuing on with this series, I got the next book cause I was excited to read it.

Plot: The story picks up where it left off and once again the reader is off for an adventure. This time were in Nick shoe’s and his life is getting a bit complicated at the moment. The reader also see’s more into the brothers and what they are doing in their life. The plot moves pretty fast pace. There are lots of things happening. The lying, sneaking around and constants fights, it keeps the reader sited in the story.

Love: Nick is having a hard time with his sexual identity. As the reader, I can see how hard it is for him. He has held this secret for such a long time and even let one of his good friends carry the burden makes it harder for him. I like that the reader gets a good insight on his struggles to find himself. He goes back and forth so many times that when he finally comes out, it’s like a relief.

Ending: Of course even though ending is good, I know that this story is far from over. Other things are popping up and I can’t wait to read a big final battle. It’s seems like now that the series is well into the story, I can see the build nicely to a grand ending. (At least that is what I’m expecting.)

Overall, this is a good book! I really enjoyed it and watching the brothers interact. If you have not read this series, you should check it out. ( )