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Behind his beautiful eyes
Lay a thousand secrets and lies.
But my own secrets are all laid bare
The twisted reality of a disgraceful affair.
I once deciphered the mysteries hidden in art
Then mistakes and desire tore me apart.
Now I'm shipwrecked at the end of the earth
Desperate again to prove my worth.
The lighthouse keeper is a stranger to me
Yet one night with him sets me free.
We find ourselves united by the stars above
Both of us needing the salvation of love.
Until our secrets and shame continue to build
And what was flourishing will soon be killed.
Lay a thousand secrets and lies.
But my own secrets are all laid bare
The twisted reality of a disgraceful affair.
I once deciphered the mysteries hidden in art
Then mistakes and desire tore me apart.
Now I'm shipwrecked at the end of the earth
Desperate again to prove my worth.
The lighthouse keeper is a stranger to me
Yet one night with him sets me free.
We find ourselves united by the stars above
Both of us needing the salvation of love.
Until our secrets and shame continue to build
And what was flourishing will soon be killed.
REVIEW
Rating: 5/5
Eve lands herself in the small town of Castille when she lost everything, including her dignity and self-worth. She used to have a great, dreamy job as one of the youngest professors in UCLA teaching students what she loved best. When the scandal erupted, no one cared if she’s one of the best in her field - instead, everything that she worked hard for, went down the bin for what she did. No one believed her.
She thought she will start fresh in the small town that her beloved uncle loved so much. But the past has a way of haunting you. It follows her everywhere.
Then she meets an unexpected man, Flynn. The town recluse who gave her the second chance that she needed most. And yet Flynn has his own bunch of secrets as well.
He’s kind of like a crossword puzzle in and of himself, a grid of clues leading to the complete theme. A building on the coast, ten letters. Espionage objective, seven letters. Seductively attractive, four letters. Lacking transparency, six letters.
It’s easy to like him though, he came in as mysterious, but he’d do everything to protect Eve, even from himself. No one can ever deny the chemistry between them two, it has been simmering since they met. It would only take so much before they (or Flynn) finally gave in.
“That bastard can’t destroy you, Eve. No one can. And that girl in the forest? She still believes in fairy tales.”
What happens when Flynn discovers her secrets? Or when she discover Flynn’s? Will they have their happy ever after? Or will their fairytale turn into a nightmare?
“But if I could stop time for the next hundred years so everything would stay exactly the way it is now….I would.”
I fell in love the twists, the mystery that surrounds both characters, not to mention the slow-burn romance. Two characters with big secrets coming together.
There’s a world of difference between keeping secrets to hurt people and keeping secrets to protect them.
Eve is such a strong character. I don’t think others would survive what she had been through. It was awful, but she had enough courage to face the music, and continue to live her life. Moving on wasn’t easy. But she did it. I love how she finally pick up her pieces, and finally be able to love herself despite everything.
“I don’t see emptiness in the mirror anymore,” Flynn says. “Because I know you’re right there, waiting for me on the other side.”
The fairy tale references coming from this book makes this an interesting read as well.
The world needs more proof that we can escape complicated mazes, reach the other side of an impenetrable forest, defeat monsters and ogres. We need to know that puzzles can be solved, hidden things can be found, and that riddles have answers.This is my favorite kind of fairytale. Compelling. Spell-binding. Emotional. Happy ending. This book came highly recommended and I’d do just the same - recommend it because this book is a real must-read. This. Is. The. Real. Thing. Nina Lane gives us a different kind of fairytale. Writing in a very different way compared to her previous novels, you would not dare put The Secret Thief down until you finished reading it, and I’ll guarantee you a total book hang-over.
And we need to know that a happy ending is more than a kiss, an embrace, a promise. It’s loving the person who will struggle through the darkness with you, who believes in your strength, who sees the light you thought had been extinguished. It’s conquering fears, making sacrifices, finding both peace and wild storms in your togetherness.
Excerpt
The minute Flynn opens the workroom door, my whole body zings with excitement and anticipation. Even with his dark frown, the remoteness surrounding him like an aura, the clipped tone of his voice, I react to him as if he were stroking my hair and whispering sweet nothings in my ear.
Jeremy hadn’t come close to eliciting anything even close to this…which is exactly the reason I’ll go out with him again, if he asks me. Jeremy is solid, grounded, honest. Everything about Flynn is a mystery and a fantasy. I’d gotten caught up in a fantasy with David—whose “mystery” had been a lie—and I’d paid the price.
Never again.
“How was your weekend?” I set my satchel and lunch bag on the desk.
“Fine. Yours?”
“Great.” I give him a once-over, looking for evidence of an encounter with a chick, but while he looks edible in his worn jeans and T-shirt, like a warm, rumpled bed I could nestle right into, his demeanor is as impassive as ever.
Does he ever smile? Every now and then I’ve caught a glimpse of amusement, a twitch of his mouth, but I’ve yet to see him fully smile.
“Any special instructions for today?” I turn on the laptop computer and open my notebook.
“Stay away from Jeremy King.”
Shock bolts down my spine. I jerk my head up to stare at him. He’s watching me with a narrowed gaze, his mouth set in a stern line.
“Um…what?” I can’t get another word out.
“Stay away from him,” Flynn repeats. “He’s not good for you.”
Irritation breaks past my shock. “How would you know who is or isn’t good for me? You’ve barely said twenty words to me the whole week I’ve been working here.”
“I don’t need to say anything to know the facts.” His tone hardens. “I don’t want you around him.”
“Well, you have no right to tell me that,” I retort. “How did you know I went on a date with him anyway?”
His jaw tightens. “You think people around here don’t take notice when their favorite son is out having dinner with the new girl in town?”
Christ. I experience a sudden longing for the cold anonymity of a big city.
“I know people are talking about me,” I snap. “But I refuse to let gossip dictate what I can and can’t do. And for your information, Jeremy knows about what happened to me, and it didn’t seem to bother him.”
“That’s not the point. You can’t work for me and see him.”
My shoulders tense. I focus on the computer, hitting the key to bring up the database software.
“My date with Jeremy has nothing to do with my work here,” I reply stiffly. “I didn’t, and won’t, tell him anything about the job or the fact that you’re my employer. You don’t need to worry about breach of contract.”
“This isn’t about the damned contract.” His voice is suddenly sharp.
He steps closer to me, his soapy, warm scent filling my nose. I hold my ground, not wanting him to see me weaken even though I’m melting inside at his nearness. Impassive though he is on the exterior, I can almost feel the energy coursing through him, his heavy strong heartbeat, the rush of his blood.
“I don’t want you around King,” he repeats.
“Does your animosity have something to do with him wanting to sell the lighthouse?”
“I’m not answering questions.” His gray eyes turn the color of metal. “I’m telling you to stay away from him.”
My pulse races. “You don’t have that right.”
“I’m your boss.”
“That doesn’t mean you can make that demand.” The words snap out of my mouth without thought. “And if you think you can threaten to fire me over this, then step back, mister, because I’ve been through the worst wrongful termination I can imagine. And even though my employer fucking won that battle, I still have plenty of fight left in me. I’ll put on my gloves and go another round with you, if I have to.”
Wow. Go, Eve.
I’m breathing fast, and my knees are quaking with sudden fear that he’ll make me prove my bold statement. I dig my fingernails into my palms. The air between us sparks with electricity. I force myself to hold my ground, to look directly at him and—
Admiration flashes in his eyes, like a silver comet streaking across the sky. His stern expression doesn’t change, but that brief glimpse of warmth eases the tension knotting my shoulders.
“I’m not going to fire you.” His voice is measured and controlled. “But I will not have you seeing King.”
“You don’t like him, so that means I have to stay away from him?” I ask. “Sorry, no. He’s one of the few people in this town who has been nice to me, and I enjoyed our date. I refuse to discount the possibility of Jeremy being my first real friend here.”
Flynn’s jaw clenches. “He wants to be more than your friend.”
“I know.” I put my hands on my hips and look him in the eye. “He even kissed me.”
Anger crashes over his features, and a vein throbs in his forehead. If I didn’t know better, I’d think he was jealous.
But I do know better. He’s mad because I’m refusing to do something he wants me to do. Despite, or maybe because of, his isolated lifestyle, Flynn is clearly a man accustomed to getting what he wants.
“He kissed you.” The word grind out of his mouth like broken glass.
“Yes. And I kissed him back. Like our date, it was nice. Nice hasn’t been the norm in my life lately.”
“I could kiss you,” Flynn retorts, his hands fisting. “But it wouldn’t nice.”
“Oh yeah?” My heart kicks into gear, blood rushing through my veins. “What would it be, then?”
He pulls in a breath, his gaze settling on my mouth. “Hot.”
“Prove it.” Borne of my endless nighttime fantasies, the dare flies out of me without thought of the potential repercussions.
Before I can take another breath, he grabs my shoulders and pulls me against him. I freeze, stunned by the reality of a moment I’d imagined more times than I can count—the sensation of his body against mine. And God, he feels exactly the way I’d imagined, a solid wall of heat and muscle pulsing with life. Rock-hard arms that could wrap around me so tightly nothing would get past them.
He stares down at me, his steel-like gaze sparking with intent like iron striking stone. I can’t move, can’t breathe, can’t think.
Then his mouth crashes down on mine, an onslaught, a possession, a claiming. Hunger bursts through me, a desire so sharp and intense it destroys all my defenses in one fell swoop. I moan, everything inside me weakening and aching for more. He slides a hand to my lower back, fitting our bodies together. I yield everywhere, my curves softening against him, any thought of resistance dissolving in a haze of disbelief and craving.
I part my lips tentatively, let him inside. My head spins with the taste of him—something decadent and forbidden. Our tongues touch, breath mingling. Arousal floods me, swift and hard, as if all the fantasies in which I’ve indulged have primed me for this moment. I bring my hands up to his face, his stubble coarse against my palms, slide them down to the sides of his neck where his pulse throbs heavily. He’s like the sea—mysterious, unpredictable, powerful. I could get lost in him, drown, let him sweep me away to a distant land where no one knows who I am and what I’ve done.
He lifts his head, breaking our kiss and stepping away from me at the same time. Heavy breaths saw from his chest, and his eyes are darkened to black. I bring a shaking hand to my mouth, suddenly unsure if the kiss just happened or if I’m like Alice in Wonderland, spinning downward, lost in my intricate imagination.
AUthor
New York Times & USA Today bestselling author Nina Lane writes hot, sexy romances about professors, bad boys, candy makers, and protective alpha males who find themselves consumed with love for one woman alone. Originally from California, Nina holds a PhD in Art History and an MA in Library and Information Studies, which means she loves both research and organization. She also enjoys traveling and thinks St. Petersburg, Russia is a city everyone should visit at least once. Although Nina would go back to college for another degree because she's that much of a bookworm and a perpetual student, she now lives the happy life of a full-time writer.
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