Review: Light on the romance, heavy on the personal growth
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 02 21, 2013
I’ve read six books in the past week, three of which are being released today and I now have to review. And because my procrastination likes to have real world consequences, two of those books I really wish I had more time to think about.Dark Secrets is the first such book.I read Dark Secrets first, partially because I liked the premise of the book, partially because I was in the mood for fantasy, but mostly because I lurve Shona Husk. If you have a chance to read her Shadowlands series, do so, because that series is off the bleedin' chain.So going into this book I had high hopes for a quick little romance read set in a fantasy world with magic and patron gods and miscellaneous other good things.Allow me to spare you some confusion. This book isn’t really a romance. I mean yes, the main characters actions are prompted by his love for what was basically his high school sweetheart, but that’s basically it. You get a few interactions, and his sucker punch realization that this is the woman he has always and will always love. Very little in the way of developing hearts and budding flowers.Does this take away from the story?Not even a little bit.Instead you get this fascinating look at what one man who’s sold his morals to the highest bidder and what he does post sucker punch. You get to look at the workings of this flawed government system. Of its dirty officials, skewed morals, and rather err… flexible laws.Was it the romance I wanted? No. Was it a fantastic fantasy (yes I giggled when I typed that) that I thoroughly enjoyed? Heck yes.3.5 Stars. Mild romantic elements with heavy mind altering magic use. Fun for the whole family. If your family is okay reading about pleasure houses.…Actually… Forget I mentioned families.As a side note, I picked this up without reading book one in the series. There were parts where I was like “the effe…” in reference to the world and it’s magic, but not so bad that I wasn’t able to piece things together.