Keep his brother's business going or the Merricks will be out on the street.
Keep the secret of where he's going in the evenings from his own twin--or he'll lose his family.
Keep his mind off the hot, self-assured dancer who's supposed to be his "girlfriend's" partner.
Of course there's also the homicidal freak Quinn has taken to hanging around, and the Elemental Guide counting the hours until he can try again to kill the Merrick brothers.
There's a storm coming. From all sides. And then some.
Nick Merrick, can you keep it together?
Overall Rating: 5/5 (duh...they are just that good. If I could grant them a 10/5 then I would)
Plot: Man, throughout the whole story you can just feel how much pressure Nick is feeling from all sides and all parts of his life. There is so much going on with this book, from family issues, to financial ones, and even issues on acceptance (your own acceptance as well as the acceptance of friends and family). Of course there is also the threat of the Guides, which didn't seem to be all that prevalent during the first half of the book or so, but then...man, it led to one of the most intense encounters between the Merricks and the Guides yet. There was one point in the book where I honestly thought my heart stopped working and I truly thought I was going to cry.
The pace of this book, much like the others, kept me hooked and if I had to put it down all I did was fantasize about what would happen next. The Merrick boys stick with you and I can't help but ponder their situation and think up as many scenarios as possible for what could happen next...I'm not usually anywhere close to right, but it keeps my day from becoming too dull.
There were a number of surprises in this book and in the end I'm glad that things worked out (this time). The title, Secret, was really applicable in how many secrets were being kept by all of the characters. Now I am extremely scared for Michael's book, which is Sacrifice. Really?! That title does not give me good feelings about the book. There had better be a happy ending for the Merricks. And I know I've mentioned it before, but come on, Michael is my favorite brother. Be nice to him.
Characters: Nick is my second favorite Merrick (I'd probably put Chris and Gabriel in a tie for third, honestly). Hearing the revelation in his novella, Breathless, that he was gay was a bit of a surprise but it clicked a lot of other things into place and completely made sense. I hoped and prayed that his relationship would work out just as much as I have for all the other boys. Besides, he picked a great guy because Adam is awesome.
This book also focused on Quinn a lot as well, and for the first time I wasn't really anti-Quinn. She brought me around with how she handled the truth about Nick in Breathless, and offering to cover for him. It was the first time I saw her as something more than an annoying side character. But I understand her a lot better now and I am cheering for her to get a happy ending too...possibly even with Tyler, who really surprised me in this book.
Michael continues to be awesome. The way he handles all of the situations is absolutely amazing, and I knew Nick should have just been honest and told his big brother about his sexuality earlier, because, as I've said, Michael is just the most understanding and solid guy. Chris also handled that revelation really well, in a kind of, okay, whatever, as long as you're happy way, which was nice.
Hunter's discovery of Nick's big secret was both awkward and amusing at the same time. Since Spirit, Hunter has been living with the Merricks and has been sleeping on an air mattress in...of course, Nick's room. But, once again proving he's actually a decent guy, Hunter handled everything rather well and was on board to keep Nick's secret until he was ready to out himself.
A lot of the tension in this book comes from our lovely twins. Obviously Nick is terrified to tell Gabriel the truth, because he knows how his brother behaves, and keeping such a huge secret from his other half is tearing him apart more than anything. They have been a dynamic duo and best friends their whole lives. The love between all the brothers is obvious in each book, but even more so with this one. I highly recommend that if you haven't picked up this series yet, you drop what you're reading right now and go get the Elemental series. You won't regret it.
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