Secrets, Volume 12

Good Girl Gone Bad ~ Dominique Sinclair
For the past year Reagan Malone’s been a staff writer for ‘Glimmer’ magazine. She is thrilled when the senior editor gives her an assignment. Finally, getting all those cups of coffee and doing edits for others have paid off. When reality sets in, Reagan begins to panic… what does she know about “relationships for the independent woman”? So, in the name of research, Reagan heads to the bookstore, seeking inspiration and a topic to write about. A “good girl,” Reagan realises that she wants to become a sexy, sensual woman, a fantasy, a “bad” girl. Luke Nelson takes a look at the titles she’s browsing through and offers to show her what’s in the books, and he does not mean looking at the illustrations. What follows is a journey of self-discovery for Reagan, both personally and professionally. Reagan’s using Luke as her “research dummy” and their burgeoning relationship as fodder and inspiration for her articles. What happens when she’s found out?

Aphrodite’s Passion ~ Jess Michaels
Major Gavin Fletcher is called upon to repay a debt. The late Colonel Kelsey died saving Gavin’s life in India, and now his children want to collect. Their stepmother Selena, the same age as the Colonel’s eldest daughter, is missing and they want Gavin to find her and bring her back to London so that they can have her committed. With a miniature, a photograph and her partially burned journal as his only clues, Gavin tracks her to Cyprus, where he finds Selena has become part of a cult that worships the Greek goddess Aphrodite. Her miniature and her journal have evoked his interest and lust, but pale into insignificance when compared to the reality that is Selena.

White Heat ~ Leigh Wyndfield
Three years ago Malachi Delmundo’s men had killed the other members of Raine’s elite fighting squad, because he believed the team had accepted a contract to kill him. Since then, Raine has stolen approximately half of Malachi’s fortune and forced him to spend yet more money chasing her through galaxies. Two years ago she arrived on the remote and nearly deserted icy planet of Sector 9, where she’s remained in hiding, certain that Malachi won’t be able to find her. Raine’s been so isolated that she talks to herself, thinks aloud, simply to hear a human voice. Walker was betrayed; rather than bringing danger to his people and causing their deaths as well as his own, he remained silent. As a result Walker’s been imprisoned in “Hell Frozen Over,” Sector 9’s notorious prison, for a crime he didn’t commit. A fire in the prison affords him the opportunity to escape. Badly burned, dangerously cold and suffering greatly, he stumbles upon Raine’s icehouse. At first Raine thinks Malachi’s found her, but then realises Walker’s a prisoner. Unable to watch him suffer, Raine sets about warming him up and tending to his injuries. Their first kiss is powerful; it makes Raine realise just how much she’s missed human contact and makes Walker realise that Raine is his mate.

Summer Lightning ~ Saskia Walker
London businesswoman Sally Richards is treating herself to a fortnight’s summer holiday, staying in a cottage in a small, idyllic cove. She’s spending her break relaxing, communing with nature and sculpting. One day whilst lazing on the beach enjoying the sun, she spies a male figure walking into the water. He doesn’t know she’s there, so he soon strips off and goes for a swim. The man is incredibly handsome and totally unselfconscious. Sally’s riveted; he truly is a fantasy come to life and as a result her hormones are sent into overdrive. The day at the beach fired Sally’s imagination and her current clay sculpture is a hero of her ‘sea god’ in all his glory. She’s horrified and embarrassed when Julian Keswick knocks on the door and introduces himself. Julian’s camping in the cove, so when a summer storm hits, believing she’s in trouble, he heads to the cottage to check on her. When Sally sees he’s bleeding she invites him in, out of the storm, and tends to his injury. How is Julian going to react when he finds Sally’s sculpture, the one that’s unquestionably of him?

Secrets volumes are ultra sensual and represent erotic romance fiction at its best. Secrets 12 features two favourite Secrets’ authors, Dominique Sinclair and Jess Michaels, and two debut authors Leigh Wyndfield and Saskia Walker. There is something for everyone in this anthology that takes the reader on an erotic escapist journey through one historical, one science fiction and two contemporary romances. Dominique Sinclair entices the reader with Good Girl Gone Bad, a sizzling, entertaining and wickedly sensual tale. Reagan and Luke are both likeable characters and readers will feel Reagan’s exhilaration at being offered her dream job and then despair as she doubts her abilities. Through her relationship with Luke, Reagan is forced to listen to herself and to go after what she really wants, instead of being who she thinks she should be. Luke is definitely a bad boy and he’s not afraid to show it. Good Girl Gone Bad is a reminder that being “bad” is so much fun and you’ll never think of the bookstore in quite the same way again! Drawing inspiration from the practices of ancient cults, Jess Michaels entertains and enthralls with Aphrodite’s Passion, a fascinating tale set in London and Cyprus in 1885. It’s a journey into the sensual and erotic, yet illegal and forbidden, world of a sex cult. Yet, Aphrodite’s Passion is a love story. It begins with one man’s lust for a woman and builds into much more. White Heat is stunning. The reader is quickly drawn into Leigh Wyndfield’s absorbing tale and bears witness to two strong, but lost, souls finding each other. What a sizzling pair they make. The story is wonderfully conceived and delivered, far exceeding my expectations. White Heat is white hot! Saskia Walker’s debut Secrets story is Summer Lightning. Set in England, it is a highly entertaining and delightfully steamy tale of a lusty holiday romance. The characters of Julian and Sally prove that opposites can attract and electrically so! A hot summer romance is a fitting conclusion to the Secrets 12 anthology, which is being released at the height of summer in the Northern Hemisphere. I will be looking for more titles by each of these talented ladies. Your bookshelf is not complete without Secrets 12! Accordingly, Secrets 12 earns 5 Angels and is a Recommended Read!

Reviewed by: Jane