The Secret of Ella and Micha (The Secret #1)
by Jessica Sorensen
Summary: Ella and Micha have been best friends since they were kids. But one tragic night shatters their friendship and their lives forever.Ella used to be a rule-breaker with fiery attitude who wore her heart on her sleeve. But she left everything behind when she went to college and transformed into someone that follows the rules, keeps everything together, and hides all her problems. But now it's summer break and she has nowhere else to go but home.
Ella fears everything she worked so hard to bury might resurface, especially with Micha living right next door. If Micha tries to tempt the old her back, she knows that it will be hard to resist.
Micha is sexy, smart, confident, and can get under Ella’s skin like no one else can. He knows everything about her, including her darkest secrets. And he’s determined to bring his best friend, and the girl he loves back, no matter what it takes.
(New Adult Contemporary)
*Mature Content** Recommended for ages 17+ due to sexual situations and language.
Source: I purchased a copy of this book for Kindle.
Review:
I enjoyed The Secret of Ella and Micha. I’ve been in a NA/YA contemporary romance kind of mood and I’ve had this book on my shelf since I read The Coincidence of Callie and Kayden. I liked The Secret of Ella and Micha, but I didn’t love it as much as The Coincidence of Callie and Kayden, so I’m both happy and disappointed at the same time. It was great and I couldn’t put it down, but it wasn’t as good (in my opinion) as The Coincidence of Callie and Kayden.
Ella and Micha were fantastic characters and they both came with a lot less baggage than I was expecting. Micha was really sweet and down to earth. Ella was complicated, but she was girl next door meets fun and challenging tough girl, so I liked her a lot. However, Ella’s complete transformation into another person in her year at college was the main conflict of her story and I still don’t really understand it. I get why she felt she needed to change, but it all just seemed a little extreme. And while she fought of Micha, I’m still not really sure I understand why she left him in the first place and why getting into close encounters with him seemed to solve their problems.
The entire history between Ella and Micha was interesting and I was glued to the pages hoping to learn more about her, why she left, and what happened in her life before college. I wanted her and Micha together so badly because they worked so well together and then when I figured out why she left in the first place, I was left feeling like none of it made any sense. But I don’t want to criticize the story for this, either, because I think it did add a level of believability to the story since people do things that make no sense all the time.
The love story was sweet, passionate, and satisfying. The plot was interesting and I was engrossed in the story the entire time. Even though I don’t want to compare two stories, I can’t help but love Callie and Kayden a million times more and it seems to affect the way I feel about The Secret of Ella and Micha. I know 3 stars seems a little unfair since I know it’s because I am comparing the two stories, but I can’t help but go with my gut.
Even though I’m disappointed to some degree, it was still a really great contemporary romance with characters I did love. I will definitely read more about Ella and Micha and I suspect they’ll make a wonderful team in later installments. Perhaps I just didn’t enjoy the journey to the relationship as much even though I loved them and definitely love them together. I still recommend it and, as always, Jessica Sorensen has a ton of talent for tugging my heartstrings.
There is always a sale/deal/awesome price for at least one of Jessica Sorensen's books, so I definitely recommend adding a few (or all of them) to your shelf.
