REVIEW - Keeping Secrets by Lisa Eugene

Title - Keeping Secrets

Author - Lisa Eugene

Synopsis:

Is that how a little girl sits?
No, Daddy.
How should a little girl sit?
Shoulders back and tummy in.
And how should a little girl look?
Always neat and pretty
That’s my girl.

Twenty-four-year-old Alexa Kennedy is beautiful, sharp as a whip, and at the top of her medical school class. She’s also been waging a war in her head for as long as she can remember. Depression. Hatred. Self-loathing. These feelings feed the pain inside her, fueling her quest for a perfection that she can never achieve. 

In one life-changing moment, Dex Blakewell crashes into her world. Dex is funny, gorgeous, and irresistible. He chases away the darkness and fills her with light and laughter. An unusual friendship blossoms, making no demands or expectations. 

Friendship turns into an unexpected love and a delicious passion. Alexa realizes that the only thing tethering her to sanity is their connection. But even Dex’s strength can’t keep her demons at bay forever. 

When life overwhelms her, the outside world starts to mirror her inner turmoil. And when Dex discovers she’s been keeping horrible secrets, will she finally shatter or find a way through the darkness? Will the promise of love be enough to save her from self-destruction?

***WARNING: This book is for mature audiences and deals with topics and situations that some readers may find deeply emotional. That being said, I hope that many may find inspiration from these words. ***

What I thought

Well that was different. How Lisa Eugene manages to combine romance and happiness with deeply thought provoking tales about mental issues is beyond me, but she does it. And she does it well.

Student doctor Alexa 'Stats', is in a mad rush one night when she literally crashes into businessman Dex. There is a kerfuffle and over the following days there is animosity between them but soon they develop a friendship full of banter that's easier than both of them are used to and during the course of that friendship, feelings develop, strong feelings that neither of them were planning on. 

'  "I am serious. I don't mean a person who sits around on the couch all day. I mean an actual potato, on a couch. I'd like to be a potato." She laughed again and i continued. "Can you imagine how good a soft couch must feel to a potato, with all it's nots and grooves." She laughed and the sound landed in my heart. '

These two are crazy sexy with each other, like all caution and all barriers don't exist in the moment, unfortunately, as soon as the moments over, real life creeps in.

Both Alexa and Dex are hiding secrets, some a whole lot worse than others and as their beautiful relationship blooms, the lies unravel and the secrets are revealed, and just when you thing its bads and sad enough. It escalates.

Side bar I ADORED Dex's friend and PA Henry. What a fantastically written character, so full of life, and a great use of comic relief at a time when any relief is a welcome respite.

"Babysit? You? Puhleeze! Never crossed my mind. I just need a place to crash. I'll have to do it at your apartment."

This book went places I didn't expect it to, but I'm so glad I read it, it was a revelation and given the current focus on mental health, this book is also very fitting.

Star Ratings:

Plot = 4.5/5

Characters = 4.5/5

Heat = 4/5

Writing Style = 4/5

Overall Rating = 4/5

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**A copy was kindly provided in exchange for an honest review **