S.E.C.R.E.T - L. Marie Adeline - Kobo

“Cassie, we are our sexual lives”.

I really enjoyed Secret. It had more depth than I thought it would, and the storyline was so much fun. I can’t remember where it was suggested to me, but I wish every pick would be so great ;) As an added benefit, since I read it on Kobo, I stumbled across notes on the pages made by other readers, which made my experience all the better because of this interaction. I noticed from the first few pages in that the words were genuine and thought-provoking (not to the extreme, but just enough to make my reading experience worthwhile and meaningful as well as entertaining).

Cassie, a waitress in New Orleans, lives a boring and self-protected life. She finds a journal at the cafe where she works, left behind by a confident and mysterious older woman who she’s been admiring and is curious about. Although she doesn’t want to intrude on the woman’s privacy, she takes a peek, and discovers pages of sexual fantasies played out on paper. Events unfold and Cassie learns about an organization which exists to help fantasies become reality in order to foster personal growth.

A page-turner for me, and for anyone who has felt their desires (sexual and otherwise) to be unexpressed in any way, I'll say Secret will be comforting and encouraging. But I’m learning by other reviews that this does not include everyone :@) -- So, maybe this novel will be most appreciated by those who can relate.  I haven't as of yet found one male reviewer. To be expected, I guess.

One other note: I’m finding the people who didn’t like this novel didn’t, in part, because of the ending. This is one of the reasons why I liked it. The very point of this novel, exactly, for me is that women are often so caught up in the emotional idea of a happy ending that we don’t express and live our true desires and selves (whatever they may be) in the present moment. Of course the extreme to this end is probably not that healthy for one's self-esteem or growth, either, and so balance is the key.

It looks like Secret 2 is coming out in Oct of this year.