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Secrets Trilogy #3
Scrubbed Mind
They took her away. Now he’s taking her back.
Trey
“Who are you?” That’s the last question I expect to hear when I finally see Arella again, and it slices me deeper than any knife.
The zovernment has erased all her memories of me, and now they want me to just walk away? Not a chance. I can’t let the love of my life go that easily.
I’m gonna get her back. I’m gonna make her remember me.
Arella
He’s just a stranger at my door, claiming to know me. I’ve never met him before, yet I feel a pull to him.
Why does he keep appearing in my dreams, and how does he know so much about me? He even has a photo of us, but I’m sure it’s fake, because his story can’t be true.
But then, why doesn’t my life make sense? And when it does, why does the answer always lead back to Trey?
I should just forget about him. I have to. Right?
Scrubbed Mind is the angsty final book in the Secrets Trilogy, packed with heart-wrenching moments, steamy spice, and a desperate struggle for a happily ever after. This dual POV contemporary fantasy romance is for readers 18+ who are ready to piece their hearts back together after the turmoil of Captured Immune .
Trey
“Who are you?” That’s the last question I expect to hear when I finally see Arella again, and it slices me deeper than any knife.
The zovernment has erased all her memories of me, and now they want me to just walk away? Not a chance. I can’t let the love of my life go that easily.
I’m gonna get her back. I’m gonna make her remember me.
Arella
He’s just a stranger at my door, claiming to know me. I’ve never met him before, yet I feel a pull to him.
Why does he keep appearing in my dreams, and how does he know so much about me? He even has a photo of us, but I’m sure it’s fake, because his story can’t be true.
But then, why doesn’t my life make sense? And when it does, why does the answer always lead back to Trey?
I should just forget about him. I have to. Right?
Scrubbed Mind is the angsty final book in the Secrets Trilogy, packed with heart-wrenching moments, steamy spice, and a desperate struggle for a happily ever after. This dual POV contemporary fantasy romance is for readers 18+ who are ready to piece their hearts back together after the turmoil of Captured Immune .
- GenresRomance
380 pages, Kindle Edition
Published June 12, 2025
2 people are currently reading
86 people want to read
About the author
Melissa Lam
5 books61 followersMelissa Lam loves reading and writing romance books that take the reader on an emotional roller coaster full of mystery, suspense, and heartache.
As an extroverted introvert who doesn’t like to leave the house (because it requires wearing pants), Melissa enjoys playing strategic board games and taking long showers. When she does find the will to put pants on, she can be found traveling, enjoying bubble tea, or experiencing the world through food.
TL;DR I like to eat and write about heartbreaking stuff.
To receive an exclusive excerpt, and be the first to know about exclusive content, giveaways, new releases, sales, and more, join Meilssa's VIP list at authormelissalam.com/newsletter
Connect with Melissa:
www.authormelissalam.com
Instagram.com/authormelissalam
Facebook.com/authormelissalam
As an extroverted introvert who doesn’t like to leave the house (because it requires wearing pants), Melissa enjoys playing strategic board games and taking long showers. When she does find the will to put pants on, she can be found traveling, enjoying bubble tea, or experiencing the world through food.
TL;DR I like to eat and write about heartbreaking stuff.
To receive an exclusive excerpt, and be the first to know about exclusive content, giveaways, new releases, sales, and more, join Meilssa's VIP list at authormelissalam.com/newsletter
Connect with Melissa:
www.authormelissalam.com
Instagram.com/authormelissalam
Facebook.com/authormelissalam
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 57 reviews
June 16, 2025
Scrubbed Mind (Secrets Trilogy, #3) by Melissa Lam
They took her away. Now he’s taking her back.
Trey
“Who are you?” That’s the last question I expect to hear when I finally see Arella again, and it slices me deeper than any knife.
The zovernment has erased all her memories of me, and now they want me to just walk away? Not a chance. I can’t let the love of my life go that easily.
I’m gonna get her back. I’m gonna make her remember me.
Rating: ***
Feels: Wreckage, Devastation, Crushed, Hope
Style: Romance, Contemporary Romance, Paranormal Romance
First published June 12, 2025 : 389 pages Kindle
This book was very emotional and an amazing way to wrap up this series. It was a definite departure from the action in the other books and we got to focus on the relationship and emotions between Trey and Arella. Like the author warns at the start of the book, pack some tissues for the journey because you will need it. It was heartbreaking and heartwarming all at the same time. We got so many answers and it was so satisfying to have so many of the wonderings from the first few books wrapped up so well in this book. I did struggle with a few themes in the book one of those being cheating. Please read the triggers at the start for your emotional safety and prepare for a very satisfying end to a wonderful trilogy.
Thank you to the author for gifting me this book. I am voluntarily leaving a review.
Favorite quote: "I would wait forever for you, even when I don't know if you're coming. The possibility that you might is enough for me."
This book has:
Morally Grey MMC
Forced Proximity
Forbidden Love
Touch her and die
Found Family
Cheating Trope
They took her away. Now he’s taking her back.
Trey
“Who are you?” That’s the last question I expect to hear when I finally see Arella again, and it slices me deeper than any knife.
The zovernment has erased all her memories of me, and now they want me to just walk away? Not a chance. I can’t let the love of my life go that easily.
I’m gonna get her back. I’m gonna make her remember me.
Rating: ***
Feels: Wreckage, Devastation, Crushed, Hope
Style: Romance, Contemporary Romance, Paranormal Romance
First published June 12, 2025 : 389 pages Kindle
This book was very emotional and an amazing way to wrap up this series. It was a definite departure from the action in the other books and we got to focus on the relationship and emotions between Trey and Arella. Like the author warns at the start of the book, pack some tissues for the journey because you will need it. It was heartbreaking and heartwarming all at the same time. We got so many answers and it was so satisfying to have so many of the wonderings from the first few books wrapped up so well in this book. I did struggle with a few themes in the book one of those being cheating. Please read the triggers at the start for your emotional safety and prepare for a very satisfying end to a wonderful trilogy.
Thank you to the author for gifting me this book. I am voluntarily leaving a review.
Favorite quote: "I would wait forever for you, even when I don't know if you're coming. The possibility that you might is enough for me."
This book has:
Morally Grey MMC
Forced Proximity
Forbidden Love
Touch her and die
Found Family
Cheating Trope
May 23, 2025
Scrubbed Mind, the 3rd book in the Secrets Trilogy!
Ok I just have to say I KNEW it, I KNEW that Arella's grandparents were probably Zordi!!! I cannot believe we had to wait until the end of book 3 to meet them! When Arella talked about moving around every year in book 1, and what Trey had found out about her family, I just had a feeling! Also, the sacrifices they made, and the other friends that agreed to protect Arella are just amazing people.
Melissa Lam does it again, with a wonderful, heart wrenching, semi-torturous, slow burn story about Trey and Arella, with again, just amazing world building. In Scrubbed Mind, as the title suggests, Arella's mind is "Scrubbed" after the events of book 2, so she no longer has any memory of Trey. The zovernment has also put some fake memories in place, so now Arella has a boyfriend, Caleb. When Trey shows up at her apartment and she doesn't know who he is, and sees she has a boyfriend, I felt the overwhelming grief he experiences. To have survived everything in book 2, and to now have lost Arella, possibly for good, is just too much for Trey. I mean, it would be too much for most people. The zovernment scrubbed everyone that ever knew about Trey and Arella, and erased any evidence of them having been together, which hurts even more that Trey has almost nothing to prove to her that they were together.
Trey, understandably, kind of spirals downhill after some attempts to get Arella to remember him, (which she does for a small amount of time, then she doesn't again, which is probably worse than if she never had). He buys an apartment in New York, and basically just stays drugged for months on end, where he can hallucinate Arella. Knowing that Trey and Arella are soul mates, and that connection they had, I don't blame Trey for his response to losing Arella. How many of us regular humans would do similar things in a situation of such tragic loss? I feel like Trey's loss is ALMOST worse than having lost a loved one to death, because with death there is some sort of closure, because the person is no longer here. But with Arella, still being alive, just not remembering Trey at all, seems a lot harder of a pill to swallow. There is no closure in that. But I stick with ALMOST worse, because at least he can still see her.
Then, Trey and Arella start meeting at their secret spot, and start to get closer. What Arella hasn't told Trey is that she has been having dreams about him for years, which are actually memories of their time together. Also, I have to point out, YEARS, it takes YEARS for happy things to happen!!! So frustrating!!!
This book is just a roller coaster of super super lows, to like oh yes! back to super low, and kind of goes back and forth that way until BOOM, it happens, and Trey and Arella are back together. The author seems to enjoy dropping bombshells at the very, very end of her stories, and while one of them I had suspected, what I didn't suspect was all the zovernment information that was revealed about immunes and soul mates, and Trey's parents, etc. And of course, the very ending bombshell when a character comes out as possibly the most powerful zordi ever.....you have to read to find out!!
The end of Scrubbed Mind reveals to us there will be a 4th book about another character, and I can guess and hope who that will be! I cannot wait for that book to release!!
Some fav quotes:
""I've spent the last three weeks trying to stay away from her while I figure out a new plan to get her back. The entire time, I've been dying inside. She's all I think about.""
""She's all I want. How am I suppose to go on like this?""
""Do you ever think of me?" He scoff-laughs. "Does the sun rise?""
"Now that I know what true happiness feels like, having anything less is like trying to use spotty dial-up that drops every two seconds after using high-speed Wi-Fi my whole life. It's just unacceptable. Can it work? Sure, but it'll take a lot of effort, waiting, and frustration to get what I want. The whole time, I'll be wishing I had high-speed Internet instead."
""You asked how often I think about you." I (Arella) read the postcard again. Whenever the sun or moon is out."
"I don't even remember Caleb's vows from our wedding, but I'll probably remember everything Trey just said for the rest of my life."
"I swear, Javina is one of my favorite people in the world, and she doesn't even know it."
""The hardest thing I have ever had to do is..." let you go."
"My voice comes out husky. "If you touch me, I'm-" "Own me, Trey.""
""I don't think you understand that before you came back, I was drowning. Sometimes, if I was lucky and if I swam hard enough, I was able to come up for a single breath of air-only to get pulled right back down. I was constantly fighting to live and to feel any sense of belonging or purpose. The one night, you came out of those f***ing trees like a goddamn lifesaver. I didn't have to fight for my next breath anymore. I was exactly where I needed to be, doing exactly what I needed to be doing.""
"I don't care what this wrinkly old fart thinks of my career choice. I have well beyond the means I need to take care of the woman beside me."
"That's when it hits me: I know what my purpose is now. This is why I survived the explosion that killed my parents. This is also why I survived all the other shit I went through, especially those three years spent without Arella...."
Thank you so much to Melissa Lam for a copy of this book!!!
Ok I just have to say I KNEW it, I KNEW that Arella's grandparents were probably Zordi!!! I cannot believe we had to wait until the end of book 3 to meet them! When Arella talked about moving around every year in book 1, and what Trey had found out about her family, I just had a feeling! Also, the sacrifices they made, and the other friends that agreed to protect Arella are just amazing people.
Melissa Lam does it again, with a wonderful, heart wrenching, semi-torturous, slow burn story about Trey and Arella, with again, just amazing world building. In Scrubbed Mind, as the title suggests, Arella's mind is "Scrubbed" after the events of book 2, so she no longer has any memory of Trey. The zovernment has also put some fake memories in place, so now Arella has a boyfriend, Caleb. When Trey shows up at her apartment and she doesn't know who he is, and sees she has a boyfriend, I felt the overwhelming grief he experiences. To have survived everything in book 2, and to now have lost Arella, possibly for good, is just too much for Trey. I mean, it would be too much for most people. The zovernment scrubbed everyone that ever knew about Trey and Arella, and erased any evidence of them having been together, which hurts even more that Trey has almost nothing to prove to her that they were together.
Trey, understandably, kind of spirals downhill after some attempts to get Arella to remember him, (which she does for a small amount of time, then she doesn't again, which is probably worse than if she never had). He buys an apartment in New York, and basically just stays drugged for months on end, where he can hallucinate Arella. Knowing that Trey and Arella are soul mates, and that connection they had, I don't blame Trey for his response to losing Arella. How many of us regular humans would do similar things in a situation of such tragic loss? I feel like Trey's loss is ALMOST worse than having lost a loved one to death, because with death there is some sort of closure, because the person is no longer here. But with Arella, still being alive, just not remembering Trey at all, seems a lot harder of a pill to swallow. There is no closure in that. But I stick with ALMOST worse, because at least he can still see her.
Then, Trey and Arella start meeting at their secret spot, and start to get closer. What Arella hasn't told Trey is that she has been having dreams about him for years, which are actually memories of their time together. Also, I have to point out, YEARS, it takes YEARS for happy things to happen!!! So frustrating!!!
This book is just a roller coaster of super super lows, to like oh yes! back to super low, and kind of goes back and forth that way until BOOM, it happens, and Trey and Arella are back together. The author seems to enjoy dropping bombshells at the very, very end of her stories, and while one of them I had suspected, what I didn't suspect was all the zovernment information that was revealed about immunes and soul mates, and Trey's parents, etc. And of course, the very ending bombshell when a character comes out as possibly the most powerful zordi ever.....you have to read to find out!!
The end of Scrubbed Mind reveals to us there will be a 4th book about another character, and I can guess and hope who that will be! I cannot wait for that book to release!!
Some fav quotes:
""I've spent the last three weeks trying to stay away from her while I figure out a new plan to get her back. The entire time, I've been dying inside. She's all I think about.""
""She's all I want. How am I suppose to go on like this?""
""Do you ever think of me?" He scoff-laughs. "Does the sun rise?""
"Now that I know what true happiness feels like, having anything less is like trying to use spotty dial-up that drops every two seconds after using high-speed Wi-Fi my whole life. It's just unacceptable. Can it work? Sure, but it'll take a lot of effort, waiting, and frustration to get what I want. The whole time, I'll be wishing I had high-speed Internet instead."
""You asked how often I think about you." I (Arella) read the postcard again. Whenever the sun or moon is out."
"I don't even remember Caleb's vows from our wedding, but I'll probably remember everything Trey just said for the rest of my life."
"I swear, Javina is one of my favorite people in the world, and she doesn't even know it."
""The hardest thing I have ever had to do is..." let you go."
"My voice comes out husky. "If you touch me, I'm-" "Own me, Trey.""
""I don't think you understand that before you came back, I was drowning. Sometimes, if I was lucky and if I swam hard enough, I was able to come up for a single breath of air-only to get pulled right back down. I was constantly fighting to live and to feel any sense of belonging or purpose. The one night, you came out of those f***ing trees like a goddamn lifesaver. I didn't have to fight for my next breath anymore. I was exactly where I needed to be, doing exactly what I needed to be doing.""
"I don't care what this wrinkly old fart thinks of my career choice. I have well beyond the means I need to take care of the woman beside me."
"That's when it hits me: I know what my purpose is now. This is why I survived the explosion that killed my parents. This is also why I survived all the other shit I went through, especially those three years spent without Arella...."
Thank you so much to Melissa Lam for a copy of this book!!!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 15, 2025
I am rating this book with my life as well...
To those who haven't picked up the first book yet, you are missing out.
To those who have picked it up, may your soul rest in peace because I know what you are going through.
Also, cheers to the unlimited tissue supplies. 🥂
Should I write more? Yes, I should. Can I? No.
Still, I'll try....
My heart is broken into shards which can't be put back together again. I cried until my cheeks burned and my throat got soar. I can not imagine an alternative ending for this. I wasn't ready for what I read and neither are you. But if you have come so far, you love the heartbreak. Don't you? (Yes, you do...)
Well, you will want more of whatever you just had and this is going to gain a permanent place in your heart.
If you like heart-wrenching books, just go for it.
To Trey, you are the most generous soul I know and I am so proud of you.
To Ari, I am so happy you chose him.
To Melissa, you owe me therapy. Just kidding (I am not, lol). Thank you so much for making me a part of this journey. 🫶🏻 I love your work and I am your biggest fan ✨️ (many are going to claim to be the same but just ignore them). Love you and excited to be a part of your future works.
To those who haven't picked up the first book yet, you are missing out.
To those who have picked it up, may your soul rest in peace because I know what you are going through.
Also, cheers to the unlimited tissue supplies. 🥂
Should I write more? Yes, I should. Can I? No.
Still, I'll try....
My heart is broken into shards which can't be put back together again. I cried until my cheeks burned and my throat got soar. I can not imagine an alternative ending for this. I wasn't ready for what I read and neither are you. But if you have come so far, you love the heartbreak. Don't you? (Yes, you do...)
Well, you will want more of whatever you just had and this is going to gain a permanent place in your heart.
If you like heart-wrenching books, just go for it.
To Trey, you are the most generous soul I know and I am so proud of you.
To Ari, I am so happy you chose him.
To Melissa, you owe me therapy. Just kidding (I am not, lol). Thank you so much for making me a part of this journey. 🫶🏻 I love your work and I am your biggest fan ✨️ (many are going to claim to be the same but just ignore them). Love you and excited to be a part of your future works.
May 13, 2025
Thank you so much to @authormelissalam for gifting me this book, well this whole series. I am beyond grateful and honoured to have been able to read all three books in this series! ❤️
Where to start..... This is book 3 in the Secrets Trilogy and well Melissa warned us about the emotions, she wasn't wrong,lol!
For me this book was pure romance and love, which is what I was hoping for as the final book. Even though it's romance, there is a lot of heartbreak. It takes a lot for me to really cry while reading a book, I will tear up but to actually cry I have to be feeling something, well I cried I felt like my heart was shattering at the same time.
This entire series is by far my favourite series I have read, it's the most amazing mixture of romance, mystery/thriller, suspense and fantasy. When you read it, you feel like you're there, your heart beats faster, you cry, you laugh out loud, you say "What the f*@#?!?!" More than once, it's everything you want in a book and a series.
I have said it before, Melissa is one of my favourite authors, and she is also now on my automatic buy list!!
If you haven't grabbed this series yet, do it! You won't regret it at all!!!
Where to start..... This is book 3 in the Secrets Trilogy and well Melissa warned us about the emotions, she wasn't wrong,lol!
For me this book was pure romance and love, which is what I was hoping for as the final book. Even though it's romance, there is a lot of heartbreak. It takes a lot for me to really cry while reading a book, I will tear up but to actually cry I have to be feeling something, well I cried I felt like my heart was shattering at the same time.
This entire series is by far my favourite series I have read, it's the most amazing mixture of romance, mystery/thriller, suspense and fantasy. When you read it, you feel like you're there, your heart beats faster, you cry, you laugh out loud, you say "What the f*@#?!?!" More than once, it's everything you want in a book and a series.
I have said it before, Melissa is one of my favourite authors, and she is also now on my automatic buy list!!
If you haven't grabbed this series yet, do it! You won't regret it at all!!!
May 18, 2025
I absolutely loved this book! From the first page to the last, it was impossible to put down. Trey and Arella continue to fight against all odds (and laws) to get to their happily ever after.
It’s the kind of book that breaks you open and then gently, and very slowly, stitches you back up. At the end you are left feeling full, hopeful, and renewed.
Melissa Lam’s writing style is fast paced but never rushed. She manages to balance emotion with momentum, keeping the story moving while allowing each heartbreaking moment to land with impact. The ending tied everything together in a way that felt earned and meaningful.
Main Tropes:
🌳forbidden love
🌙he’s a mess without her
🫦pining (lots of it)
👯♀️supportive best friends
🤫secret meetings
❤️against all odds
🌶️🌶️
It’s the kind of book that breaks you open and then gently, and very slowly, stitches you back up. At the end you are left feeling full, hopeful, and renewed.
Melissa Lam’s writing style is fast paced but never rushed. She manages to balance emotion with momentum, keeping the story moving while allowing each heartbreaking moment to land with impact. The ending tied everything together in a way that felt earned and meaningful.
Main Tropes:
🌳forbidden love
🌙he’s a mess without her
🫦pining (lots of it)
👯♀️supportive best friends
🤫secret meetings
❤️against all odds
🌶️🌶️
August 18, 2025
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5
🌶️🌶️.5/5
This book tried to destroy me—but I survived. Barely. The physical toll was real: my chest ached, I cried, I almost puked. The angst was relentless, dragging on for years within the story, and it felt like years of my own life slipping away with it.
We get a mind-erasing, amnesia-adjacent twist paired with the dreaded cheating trope. Normally that’s something I struggle with, but somehow, I found myself rooting for it. (Melissa… girl, why? But also… I get it.) The emotional torture felt endless, but finally—finally—happiness peeked through. And even then, I didn’t trust it until the very last line because, with this series, nothing feels safe.
✨ What to Expect
🎢 Rollercoaster of Emotion
💔 Endless Angst & Pining
🧠 Amnesia-ish (she doesn’t remember him)
🤫 Secret Meetings
💞 Second Chance Romance
😭 Heartbreak
👯 Supportive Besties
🌶️🌶️.5/5
This book tried to destroy me—but I survived. Barely. The physical toll was real: my chest ached, I cried, I almost puked. The angst was relentless, dragging on for years within the story, and it felt like years of my own life slipping away with it.
We get a mind-erasing, amnesia-adjacent twist paired with the dreaded cheating trope. Normally that’s something I struggle with, but somehow, I found myself rooting for it. (Melissa… girl, why? But also… I get it.) The emotional torture felt endless, but finally—finally—happiness peeked through. And even then, I didn’t trust it until the very last line because, with this series, nothing feels safe.
✨ What to Expect
🎢 Rollercoaster of Emotion
💔 Endless Angst & Pining
🧠 Amnesia-ish (she doesn’t remember him)
🤫 Secret Meetings
💞 Second Chance Romance
😭 Heartbreak
👯 Supportive Besties
December 23, 2025
I hate to be the first 2 star rating 🙈 I really enjoyed the world Lam crafted in the first two books but this book was just not my cup of tea. I think it was a mashup of everything I dislike in one book. I generally dislike the amnesia trope and this one gave me the extra ick with the replacing Trey with Caleb. The book had cheating and all around was depressing with drug use with suicide alluded to multiple times. Ari really took advantage of Trey’s feelings and bugged me in general. The end was so much better but it couldn’t redeem the rest of the book in my eyes.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 11, 2025
I was given a copy of this book from the author. All opinions are my own.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2
🌶🌶
🧠Amnesia/Memory Wipe
💫Urban Fantasy
🤐Secret Society
☠️Touch Her and D1e
💞Soulmates
🥺Pining/Angst for Days
Again we pick up right where book 2 left off, which is always exciting, especially after the events of Trey and Ari being captured. One bit of the end of book 2 I wish lingered more in this one but i wont spoil it.
Here we have Trey floating through a world where the woman he loves doesn't remember him. Essentially a large mind scrub initiative is enacted to remove the events of the previous books from everyone BUT Trey (so that he doesn't make the same mistakes again).
Much of this is about Trey's heartbreaking attempts to joggle the memory of Ari and accepting that the woman he knew is gone. He wars with himself with the fact that it's too painful to be the only one to have the memories of their love...so perhaps it would be better to let her live this new life. Ugh, cue the self sacrifice, angst, and torment that this sweet man goes through. 😢
I felt my own heart break along with Trey's. This man has fought so hard only to have so much ripped away in both his past and present. Ari still has a nagging feeling there's something more about this handsome stranger and those moments just make your chest tighten with Trey's. Through dreams she gets glimpses of him, of what feels so real of a life she may have had.
This is the emotional peak journey that the other books built up to and it does an excellent job of raising those stakes. It's less about the supernatural elements and more about how each of these two people have lost one another in different ways. But also how they inextricably keep finding one another...because...soulmates.
Trey's heart is so golden it glows for me. He wants to do what's right, however painful and he tries to heal from it. Ari can't shake the echoes of familiarity when she runs into him. Over the course of time, it's bittersweet to watch but you can't look away. You root for them so badly. I would've liked to have seen snips of him trying to hide his abilities again with her (as a way too keep those elements subtely alive).
It definitely has the most different vibe from the first two books. There was sonmuch about the conspiracy part of the society in the first two, it felt odd at first tonhave none of that here. There's very little supernatural power usage in this but it's the heart of the trilogy and it's definitely one I'd reccomend to escape to. I look at it as it's meant to be it's own tonal departure from the previous books and this is a kind of second chance, amnesia romance.
Overall these books will give you the thrills, the laughs, the supernatural, the angst, the tension, and the relief of beautiful closure. Trey just took it to the next level in this book for me, the devotion and sweetness, his fierce sense of protection and his love, are everything.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2
🌶🌶
🧠Amnesia/Memory Wipe
💫Urban Fantasy
🤐Secret Society
☠️Touch Her and D1e
💞Soulmates
🥺Pining/Angst for Days
Again we pick up right where book 2 left off, which is always exciting, especially after the events of Trey and Ari being captured. One bit of the end of book 2 I wish lingered more in this one but i wont spoil it.
Here we have Trey floating through a world where the woman he loves doesn't remember him. Essentially a large mind scrub initiative is enacted to remove the events of the previous books from everyone BUT Trey (so that he doesn't make the same mistakes again).
Much of this is about Trey's heartbreaking attempts to joggle the memory of Ari and accepting that the woman he knew is gone. He wars with himself with the fact that it's too painful to be the only one to have the memories of their love...so perhaps it would be better to let her live this new life. Ugh, cue the self sacrifice, angst, and torment that this sweet man goes through. 😢
I felt my own heart break along with Trey's. This man has fought so hard only to have so much ripped away in both his past and present. Ari still has a nagging feeling there's something more about this handsome stranger and those moments just make your chest tighten with Trey's. Through dreams she gets glimpses of him, of what feels so real of a life she may have had.
This is the emotional peak journey that the other books built up to and it does an excellent job of raising those stakes. It's less about the supernatural elements and more about how each of these two people have lost one another in different ways. But also how they inextricably keep finding one another...because...soulmates.
Trey's heart is so golden it glows for me. He wants to do what's right, however painful and he tries to heal from it. Ari can't shake the echoes of familiarity when she runs into him. Over the course of time, it's bittersweet to watch but you can't look away. You root for them so badly. I would've liked to have seen snips of him trying to hide his abilities again with her (as a way too keep those elements subtely alive).
It definitely has the most different vibe from the first two books. There was sonmuch about the conspiracy part of the society in the first two, it felt odd at first tonhave none of that here. There's very little supernatural power usage in this but it's the heart of the trilogy and it's definitely one I'd reccomend to escape to. I look at it as it's meant to be it's own tonal departure from the previous books and this is a kind of second chance, amnesia romance.
Overall these books will give you the thrills, the laughs, the supernatural, the angst, the tension, and the relief of beautiful closure. Trey just took it to the next level in this book for me, the devotion and sweetness, his fierce sense of protection and his love, are everything.
August 4, 2025
💔 Book Review – Scrubbed Mind (Secrets Trilogy #3) by Melissa Lam
Spoilers ahead. Proceed only if your heart can handle being shattered and sewn back together with trembling hands.
Let’s get this out of the way:
I am not the same person I was before reading Scrubbed Mind.
And sweetheart, neither will you be.
This book didn’t just break me—it obliterated me.
Melissa Lam looked at my heart and said,
“Let’s twist the knife and see if you beg.”
And I did.
I begged.
From page one, the pain is palpable. You feel it instantly—the ache, the absence, the sheer soul-ripping silence between two people who were never meant to be apart. Trey and Arella’s separation isn’t just sad. It’s existential. It claws into you. It makes you question if happy endings are even real. It’s the kind of heartbreak that doesn’t echo—it screams.
I lived every second of it:
The panic attacks.
The breathless anxiety.
The need to fade away and forget everything, numb the pain and hallucinate.
The feeling of being strangled to unconsciousness.
The sweat-slicked exhaustion of watching soulmates drift through years of separation.
Yes, years.
Lam is ruthless in her pacing. The clock ticks and the hopelessness blooms.
Every page felt like time mocking me.
Every chapter, a countdown to either redemption or obliteration.
I genuinely believed—for far too long—that we weren’t going to get our HEA. That Trey would remain broken, shattered beyond recognition, a ghost of what he once was.
That Arella would fade into a memory neither of them could fully grasp again.
That we’d end on the outside looking in, mourning what could’ve been.
But then Lam, in her devilish brilliance, gave us exactly what we needed—and only after tearing our souls inside out.
Even the interactive book box played its role in my suffering. That first item? I wasn’t ready. It hit so hard, so personally, I almost couldn’t keep reading. But I did. Because I had to know.
Trey… sweet, broken, unrelenting Trey.
You made promises. You kept them.
You held on—even when everything in the universe tried to make you forget.
This book is a war—not just between characters, but within you. It challenges everything you hoped, feared, and believed about love, memory, and pain.
And the ending?
Bittersweet. Earned. Precious.
Did I want it to stop? NO. Do I want more? Yes!
It doesn’t erase the scars—it honors them. And I’ll be damned if I didn’t close that final page a emotionally exhausted and satisfied mess.
📚 Recommendation?
You don’t read this trilogy.
You survive it.
You feel it in your chest, your gut, your bones.
And when it’s done, you stare at the wall, wondering how silence can be so loud.
Thank the stars I had all three books at once.
If I’d been forced to wait between cliffhangers?
You’d be reading this from my grave.
Now we wait for Book 4.
Patiently? No.
Willingly? Barely.
But ready? Always.
Spoilers ahead. Proceed only if your heart can handle being shattered and sewn back together with trembling hands.
Let’s get this out of the way:
I am not the same person I was before reading Scrubbed Mind.
And sweetheart, neither will you be.
This book didn’t just break me—it obliterated me.
Melissa Lam looked at my heart and said,
“Let’s twist the knife and see if you beg.”
And I did.
I begged.
From page one, the pain is palpable. You feel it instantly—the ache, the absence, the sheer soul-ripping silence between two people who were never meant to be apart. Trey and Arella’s separation isn’t just sad. It’s existential. It claws into you. It makes you question if happy endings are even real. It’s the kind of heartbreak that doesn’t echo—it screams.
I lived every second of it:
The panic attacks.
The breathless anxiety.
The need to fade away and forget everything, numb the pain and hallucinate.
The feeling of being strangled to unconsciousness.
The sweat-slicked exhaustion of watching soulmates drift through years of separation.
Yes, years.
Lam is ruthless in her pacing. The clock ticks and the hopelessness blooms.
Every page felt like time mocking me.
Every chapter, a countdown to either redemption or obliteration.
I genuinely believed—for far too long—that we weren’t going to get our HEA. That Trey would remain broken, shattered beyond recognition, a ghost of what he once was.
That Arella would fade into a memory neither of them could fully grasp again.
That we’d end on the outside looking in, mourning what could’ve been.
But then Lam, in her devilish brilliance, gave us exactly what we needed—and only after tearing our souls inside out.
Even the interactive book box played its role in my suffering. That first item? I wasn’t ready. It hit so hard, so personally, I almost couldn’t keep reading. But I did. Because I had to know.
Trey… sweet, broken, unrelenting Trey.
You made promises. You kept them.
You held on—even when everything in the universe tried to make you forget.
This book is a war—not just between characters, but within you. It challenges everything you hoped, feared, and believed about love, memory, and pain.
And the ending?
Bittersweet. Earned. Precious.
Did I want it to stop? NO. Do I want more? Yes!
It doesn’t erase the scars—it honors them. And I’ll be damned if I didn’t close that final page a emotionally exhausted and satisfied mess.
📚 Recommendation?
You don’t read this trilogy.
You survive it.
You feel it in your chest, your gut, your bones.
And when it’s done, you stare at the wall, wondering how silence can be so loud.
Thank the stars I had all three books at once.
If I’d been forced to wait between cliffhangers?
You’d be reading this from my grave.
Now we wait for Book 4.
Patiently? No.
Willingly? Barely.
But ready? Always.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 10, 2025
Thank you to the author for gifting me this book. All opinions are my own.
A Favorite Quote: “But mostly, I’m fucking terrified of not submitting to the numbing remedies because it means suffering through the raw misery of every day I have to live without you.”
Self-written Blurb: Trey thought he knew pain, grief, and turmoil. He had never been more wrong. After going through hell and back to save his girl, the love of his life, his soul mate… Trey learns that her mind has been scrubbed. Trey must navigate his new world through the pits of despair, the cacophony of his anguished thoughts, and the blades of sorrow that are wrapped around his every fiber of being. As every ounce of hope is stripped away, the vice of desolation tightens its unyielding grip on his heart. Can a soulmate bond stand the testament of time and tribulations or will it fade and wither away?
What I enjoyed: Talk about vices! The Secrets Trilogy has become one of mine. This book had me in a death grip from page one. The emotions were high and raw. The pining was heartbreaking. The tears were VERY real. Melissa does an excellent job at keeping the interpersonal relationships realistic. Her writing style is easy to follow and immersive. The plot gave me whiplash on multiple occasions. And that ending! How can an author end on a happy note and a cliff hanger at the same time? To say I was astonished and enthralled doesn’t even do this book justice.
Any struggles?: Only that it is the end of Trey and Arella’s story.
Will I recommend and to who: I would recommend this series to anyone who enjoys romance and a touch of fantasy. Also to anyone who enjoys having their heart ripped out by authors.
A Favorite Quote: “But mostly, I’m fucking terrified of not submitting to the numbing remedies because it means suffering through the raw misery of every day I have to live without you.”
Self-written Blurb: Trey thought he knew pain, grief, and turmoil. He had never been more wrong. After going through hell and back to save his girl, the love of his life, his soul mate… Trey learns that her mind has been scrubbed. Trey must navigate his new world through the pits of despair, the cacophony of his anguished thoughts, and the blades of sorrow that are wrapped around his every fiber of being. As every ounce of hope is stripped away, the vice of desolation tightens its unyielding grip on his heart. Can a soulmate bond stand the testament of time and tribulations or will it fade and wither away?
What I enjoyed: Talk about vices! The Secrets Trilogy has become one of mine. This book had me in a death grip from page one. The emotions were high and raw. The pining was heartbreaking. The tears were VERY real. Melissa does an excellent job at keeping the interpersonal relationships realistic. Her writing style is easy to follow and immersive. The plot gave me whiplash on multiple occasions. And that ending! How can an author end on a happy note and a cliff hanger at the same time? To say I was astonished and enthralled doesn’t even do this book justice.
Any struggles?: Only that it is the end of Trey and Arella’s story.
Will I recommend and to who: I would recommend this series to anyone who enjoys romance and a touch of fantasy. Also to anyone who enjoys having their heart ripped out by authors.
July 13, 2025
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
I received a copy of this book from the author and am voluntarily leaving this review. All opinions are my own.
They took her away. Now he’s taking her back.
I loved this book. So much, this whole series had me in a chokehold. I had been reading so slowly lately, and I read over half of this book in a day. This world is always so cool and interesting, and I actually loved everything I continued to learn about it. I always think that there are no more things for me to learn about within this world, and there always somehow is. This world feels so fleshed out, and it feels like Melissa thought of everything when creating it. I absolutely adore all of the characters. They all feel so real, and this book makes me feel so many emotions at the same time. I love all of the twists within this book, and several of the events did make me want to scream and chuck my Kindle.
As I have said before, I love Trey’s inner monologue; he is so entertaining to read. Although this book is much more emotional, Trey is less funny, sadly. However, Arella is still such an amazing FMC. She is still so bright and empathetic, and I adore seeing how she sees things. I love the way she handles everything and just how much she sees the world. I adored being within this world, and I cannot wait for book 4 within this universe. It's so immersive, and the whole series makes you feel so many emotions.
❤️🔥Forbidden Love
❤️🔥He’s a mess without her
❤️🔥Bad Boy x Good Girl
❤️🔥Pining
❤️🔥Hidden Powers
❤️🔥Forced Proximity
❤️🔥Dual POV
❤️🔥Secret meetings
❤️🔥“I’ve wanted you for a long time.”
I received a copy of this book from the author and am voluntarily leaving this review. All opinions are my own.
They took her away. Now he’s taking her back.
I loved this book. So much, this whole series had me in a chokehold. I had been reading so slowly lately, and I read over half of this book in a day. This world is always so cool and interesting, and I actually loved everything I continued to learn about it. I always think that there are no more things for me to learn about within this world, and there always somehow is. This world feels so fleshed out, and it feels like Melissa thought of everything when creating it. I absolutely adore all of the characters. They all feel so real, and this book makes me feel so many emotions at the same time. I love all of the twists within this book, and several of the events did make me want to scream and chuck my Kindle.
As I have said before, I love Trey’s inner monologue; he is so entertaining to read. Although this book is much more emotional, Trey is less funny, sadly. However, Arella is still such an amazing FMC. She is still so bright and empathetic, and I adore seeing how she sees things. I love the way she handles everything and just how much she sees the world. I adored being within this world, and I cannot wait for book 4 within this universe. It's so immersive, and the whole series makes you feel so many emotions.
❤️🔥Forbidden Love
❤️🔥He’s a mess without her
❤️🔥Bad Boy x Good Girl
❤️🔥Pining
❤️🔥Hidden Powers
❤️🔥Forced Proximity
❤️🔥Dual POV
❤️🔥Secret meetings
❤️🔥“I’ve wanted you for a long time.”
May 12, 2025
I received a copy of this book from the author. All opinions are my own.
Whew... This book. I know I've said I love Captured Immune and I looked at it as my favorite. WRONG! I obviously had not read Scrubbed Mind!
The angst, the raw emotions, the LOVE, the TEARS! The final piece to the Secrets Trilogy did not disappoint. Did I binge read the book? Absolutely. Am I sorry that the author poured 10 years of hardwork into this beautiful masterpiece for me to eat it up in under 6 hours? Absolutely not.
This was the ending I needed that I didn't know I needed. The trilogy ends with a pretty little bow on top but all the tears that got me there are immeasurable. It feels like my heart has been ripped out and stomped on but put back in place. My heart is back but it is not the same. Each character has a purpose and I love every single one and would fight for them. I love that each character is so realistic and relatable. There were so many times I stopped myself and said that's totally something I would say or oh I know this feeling and this is a perfect description. I've said it before but I truly believe that Melissa writes for the mind, body, and soul. The physical, mental, and emotional reactions are truly something out of this world and nothing I've experienced with any other book or author.
"I would wait forever for you, even when I don't know if you're coming. The possibility that you might is enough for me."
"Whenever the sun or moon is out"
Whew... This book. I know I've said I love Captured Immune and I looked at it as my favorite. WRONG! I obviously had not read Scrubbed Mind!
The angst, the raw emotions, the LOVE, the TEARS! The final piece to the Secrets Trilogy did not disappoint. Did I binge read the book? Absolutely. Am I sorry that the author poured 10 years of hardwork into this beautiful masterpiece for me to eat it up in under 6 hours? Absolutely not.
This was the ending I needed that I didn't know I needed. The trilogy ends with a pretty little bow on top but all the tears that got me there are immeasurable. It feels like my heart has been ripped out and stomped on but put back in place. My heart is back but it is not the same. Each character has a purpose and I love every single one and would fight for them. I love that each character is so realistic and relatable. There were so many times I stopped myself and said that's totally something I would say or oh I know this feeling and this is a perfect description. I've said it before but I truly believe that Melissa writes for the mind, body, and soul. The physical, mental, and emotional reactions are truly something out of this world and nothing I've experienced with any other book or author.
"I would wait forever for you, even when I don't know if you're coming. The possibility that you might is enough for me."
"Whenever the sun or moon is out"
June 10, 2025
I have been enjoying the ride that the Secrets Trilogy has taken me on. It’s been a fun and angsty romance read. When I say Scrubbed Mind is on another level, I mean it. I have cried reading books MANY times. I’m a sap and an emotional mess. It’s why I almost exclusively read HEA’s. The conclusion to this story is nothing short of heartbreaking perfection.
I was fully prepared to go on an emotional journey with Trey and Arella. I knew their story was going to take a sharp turn and we were in for a rough road to their conclusion. I however, was not prepared for the emotional depth and insight into the human condition that Melissa provides in this book. It struck a chord with me on many occasions and I am so impressed with how deep this book took me in less than 400 pages. I am a Trey Grant stan for life now and always. He is me and I am him. He’s is still a little clueless and has to google everything, but we love a man who is just a simp for his woman. A man who’ll do anything to ensure she is happy even if that means they aren’t together.
I don’t want to spoil any of the elements to this story but I can with no reservations highly recommend this series and can’t wait to hear what all of you think about the ending and the evolution of these characters. Ok, that’s all, I’m going to go cry again, and think about how beautifully layered this story is.
I was fully prepared to go on an emotional journey with Trey and Arella. I knew their story was going to take a sharp turn and we were in for a rough road to their conclusion. I however, was not prepared for the emotional depth and insight into the human condition that Melissa provides in this book. It struck a chord with me on many occasions and I am so impressed with how deep this book took me in less than 400 pages. I am a Trey Grant stan for life now and always. He is me and I am him. He’s is still a little clueless and has to google everything, but we love a man who is just a simp for his woman. A man who’ll do anything to ensure she is happy even if that means they aren’t together.
I don’t want to spoil any of the elements to this story but I can with no reservations highly recommend this series and can’t wait to hear what all of you think about the ending and the evolution of these characters. Ok, that’s all, I’m going to go cry again, and think about how beautifully layered this story is.
May 24, 2025
Thank you to Melissa Lam for gifting me a copy of Scrubbed Mind! I am voluntarily leaving a review and all opinions are my own.
The third and final book in the Secrets Trilogy did not disappoint in the slightest! Within the first 5% of the novel I was already questioning what I had gotten myself into—as if I didn’t already know after reading book one and two, lol. Just like the other two Zordi World novels, Scrubbed Mind is exquisitely written. The plot, characters, emotions, all of it really, was clearly thought out with so much attention and love put into writing it. Perhaps even the irony at 69% was thought out (if it was, extra props to Melissa because I found it comical).
Scrubbed Mind completely shredded my heart to bits and pieces, yet by the end of the novel my heart felt more full than ever. I do not think I will ever recover from this series, in the best way possible. I cannot believe that the Secrets Trilogy has come to an end, but the way Melissa chose to end it is perfect.
I am so beyond thankful to have been one of the many that got to read this series before publication. So again, thank you so much to Melissa Lam. I look forward to reading future novels, Melissa truly is an amazing author! I highly recommend the Secrets Trilogy!
The third and final book in the Secrets Trilogy did not disappoint in the slightest! Within the first 5% of the novel I was already questioning what I had gotten myself into—as if I didn’t already know after reading book one and two, lol. Just like the other two Zordi World novels, Scrubbed Mind is exquisitely written. The plot, characters, emotions, all of it really, was clearly thought out with so much attention and love put into writing it. Perhaps even the irony at 69% was thought out (if it was, extra props to Melissa because I found it comical).
Scrubbed Mind completely shredded my heart to bits and pieces, yet by the end of the novel my heart felt more full than ever. I do not think I will ever recover from this series, in the best way possible. I cannot believe that the Secrets Trilogy has come to an end, but the way Melissa chose to end it is perfect.
I am so beyond thankful to have been one of the many that got to read this series before publication. So again, thank you so much to Melissa Lam. I look forward to reading future novels, Melissa truly is an amazing author! I highly recommend the Secrets Trilogy!
June 9, 2025
✦ 𝐑𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 - 5✨
✦ 𝐑𝐞𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐞 𝐃𝐚𝐭𝐞 - 12 June 2025
✦ 𝐓𝐫𝐨𝐩𝐞𝐬 -
• amnesia / memory wipe
• second chance romance
• possessive MMC
• sci-fi dystopian backdrop
• soulmates who find their way back
• high emotional stakes
• rescue mission
✦ 𝐌𝐲 𝐓𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐬 -
Thank you to the Author Melissa Lam for gifting me this book. I am voluntarily leaving a review & it was such a treat to dive into this world.
Scrubbed Mind completely scrubbed my brain and filled it with feels. I literally couldn’t put this book down every chapter hit harder than the last. Arella and Trey’s story is the kind that cracks open your chest and sits in your heart. Trey is the definition of ride or die. The way he fought for her, even when she didn’t remember a thing… UGH. My emotional stability is in ruins.
And Melissa Lam's writing is cinematic. The world feels terrifyingly real, but it’s the emotions that steal the show. You feel the ache, the tension, the desperation. I caught myself rooting for memories to return like my life depended on it. Also let's not ignore the subtle rebellion themes, power play, and that ending... chef’s kiss. If you’re into emotionally loaded love stories with a twist of sci-fi, don’t even think. Just read.
✦ 𝐑𝐞𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐞 𝐃𝐚𝐭𝐞 - 12 June 2025
✦ 𝐓𝐫𝐨𝐩𝐞𝐬 -
• amnesia / memory wipe
• second chance romance
• possessive MMC
• sci-fi dystopian backdrop
• soulmates who find their way back
• high emotional stakes
• rescue mission
✦ 𝐌𝐲 𝐓𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐬 -
Thank you to the Author Melissa Lam for gifting me this book. I am voluntarily leaving a review & it was such a treat to dive into this world.
Scrubbed Mind completely scrubbed my brain and filled it with feels. I literally couldn’t put this book down every chapter hit harder than the last. Arella and Trey’s story is the kind that cracks open your chest and sits in your heart. Trey is the definition of ride or die. The way he fought for her, even when she didn’t remember a thing… UGH. My emotional stability is in ruins.
And Melissa Lam's writing is cinematic. The world feels terrifyingly real, but it’s the emotions that steal the show. You feel the ache, the tension, the desperation. I caught myself rooting for memories to return like my life depended on it. Also let's not ignore the subtle rebellion themes, power play, and that ending... chef’s kiss. If you’re into emotionally loaded love stories with a twist of sci-fi, don’t even think. Just read.
June 16, 2025
4.5 Stars
Scrubbed Mind is the third book in the Secrets Trilogy written by Melissa Lam. What an exciting journey it has been! Finally, some answers will be revealed!
This one is an emotional rollercoaster! My heart broke for Trey, over and over. After trying to save Arella, he learns that her mind has been scrubbed, as well as those around her. The love of his life no longer knows him or their love, but someone new has been introduced into her life. All her memories of Trey, including how they met, are now intertwined with her new boyfriend.
Ari, with no memory of Trey, is strangely drawn to him when they meet. Too many things in her life don’t seem to make sense anymore. Things don’t add up. I really can’t go into more without giving away too much. It breaks my heart to watch Trey spiral as he tries so hard to cope with the loss.
I got some answers that I KNEW had to be true. Melissa does give us a happy ending, thank goodness! I was on edge the entire book. I thoroughly enjoyed this series, and I am so happy I went on this journey with Trey and Ari.
Thanks to Melissa Lam for gifting me an eARC of Scrubbed Mind. I am leaving this review voluntarily. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
Scrubbed Mind is the third book in the Secrets Trilogy written by Melissa Lam. What an exciting journey it has been! Finally, some answers will be revealed!
This one is an emotional rollercoaster! My heart broke for Trey, over and over. After trying to save Arella, he learns that her mind has been scrubbed, as well as those around her. The love of his life no longer knows him or their love, but someone new has been introduced into her life. All her memories of Trey, including how they met, are now intertwined with her new boyfriend.
Ari, with no memory of Trey, is strangely drawn to him when they meet. Too many things in her life don’t seem to make sense anymore. Things don’t add up. I really can’t go into more without giving away too much. It breaks my heart to watch Trey spiral as he tries so hard to cope with the loss.
I got some answers that I KNEW had to be true. Melissa does give us a happy ending, thank goodness! I was on edge the entire book. I thoroughly enjoyed this series, and I am so happy I went on this journey with Trey and Ari.
Thanks to Melissa Lam for gifting me an eARC of Scrubbed Mind. I am leaving this review voluntarily. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
May 31, 2025
Thank you Melissa Lam for not only giving me an ARC but also breaking my heart into a thousand pieces, then putting my back together again. This review is voluntary and all opinions are my own.
The emotional damage Melissa has inflicted on me just by writing this masterpiece of a book is insane. I said that Captured Immune was my favorite, no, this is my favorite.
The cliffhanger at the end of book two killed me, but in true Melissa fashion, she killed me even harder with this book. I freaking GRIEVED over a fictional relationship. When I discussed this with another ARC reader, she asked me “how many tissues did you go through?” I replied “three boxes and all the sleeves of my hoodies”. Like OMG, the amount of times I teared up and/or frowned was crazy.
But this book three of the trilogy and everything was buttoned up very nicely! I’m stoked on the outcome of everything, and you really can tell Melissa put her whole heart and soul into writing this trilogy.
I highly recommend this entire trilogy if you want to go through a roller coaster of emotions. Seriously, get on this ride! This indie author deserves all the praise for how amazing this whole series came out!
The emotional damage Melissa has inflicted on me just by writing this masterpiece of a book is insane. I said that Captured Immune was my favorite, no, this is my favorite.
The cliffhanger at the end of book two killed me, but in true Melissa fashion, she killed me even harder with this book. I freaking GRIEVED over a fictional relationship. When I discussed this with another ARC reader, she asked me “how many tissues did you go through?” I replied “three boxes and all the sleeves of my hoodies”. Like OMG, the amount of times I teared up and/or frowned was crazy.
But this book three of the trilogy and everything was buttoned up very nicely! I’m stoked on the outcome of everything, and you really can tell Melissa put her whole heart and soul into writing this trilogy.
I highly recommend this entire trilogy if you want to go through a roller coaster of emotions. Seriously, get on this ride! This indie author deserves all the praise for how amazing this whole series came out!
June 4, 2025
Sometimes it’s necessary to be able to separate the art from the artist and that’s something you may need to do here. Unless you are ok fully supporting a heathen who not only puts milk in her bowl BEFORE the cereal but also writes about it in her book that is!!!
All jokes aside, this book was phenomenal! It was a great third book in this trilogy series. Everything was wrapped up nicely, no plot holes etc but don’t let that fool you into thinking it’s a slow or somewhat boring book because that couldn’t be further from the truth!
Melissa has this knack of swerving left every time you think she’s going to go right, bobbing when you think she’s going to weave or simply jumping off a cliff when you think everything is going smoothly lol.
She will keep you guessing every step of the way and you will never get enough of it.
I’m sad that this trilogy is over but I absolutely cannot wait to see what Melissa writes next. She has very quickly become one of my very small list of must read authors.
All jokes aside, this book was phenomenal! It was a great third book in this trilogy series. Everything was wrapped up nicely, no plot holes etc but don’t let that fool you into thinking it’s a slow or somewhat boring book because that couldn’t be further from the truth!
Melissa has this knack of swerving left every time you think she’s going to go right, bobbing when you think she’s going to weave or simply jumping off a cliff when you think everything is going smoothly lol.
She will keep you guessing every step of the way and you will never get enough of it.
I’m sad that this trilogy is over but I absolutely cannot wait to see what Melissa writes next. She has very quickly become one of my very small list of must read authors.
June 19, 2025
Melissa must be stopped! I don’t think a book has ever destroyed me as much as this. Question 🤨 If one cry leads to another and then another, does that count as multiple cries or just one continuous cry 🤔 either way I was wrecked 🥀
My heart was torn in two watching Trey deal with the aftermath from the Keepers actions. Seeing him cope by making dangerous and unhealthy choices was devastating 💔
Thankfully, as much turmoil as there was, there were also beautiful yet bittersweet moments that kept me from completely crashing out 🤭. My kindle is definitely grateful because it almost got thrown down and stepped on a couple of times
Ari’s confusion, and some of her actions, were understandable, but that didn’t stop me from wanting to smack her. Also, as far as nicknames go Muffin no 🚫 Angel yes ✅ btw forget a slow burn this was a slow freaking blaze
Finally we got answers to all of our questions from books 1 and 2 😅. Lots of wrong theories haha
If you’re looking for an angsty heart wrenching book that will give you all the feels then check out the Secrets trilogy
My heart was torn in two watching Trey deal with the aftermath from the Keepers actions. Seeing him cope by making dangerous and unhealthy choices was devastating 💔
Thankfully, as much turmoil as there was, there were also beautiful yet bittersweet moments that kept me from completely crashing out 🤭. My kindle is definitely grateful because it almost got thrown down and stepped on a couple of times
Ari’s confusion, and some of her actions, were understandable, but that didn’t stop me from wanting to smack her. Also, as far as nicknames go Muffin no 🚫 Angel yes ✅ btw forget a slow burn this was a slow freaking blaze
Finally we got answers to all of our questions from books 1 and 2 😅. Lots of wrong theories haha
If you’re looking for an angsty heart wrenching book that will give you all the feels then check out the Secrets trilogy
June 12, 2025
Thank you Melissa for gifting this ebook and allowing me to be a part of your journey!
This was the book I needed after Captured Immune. We got some closure for all of the emotional damage we received. I sat there clutching my hair and face quite a bit.
Reading about our MCs having to basically start all over was definitely gut wrenching. And Arella not being able to know why she felt the way she was feeling, basically on the brink of insanity because this man is in her dreams but she can’t place why…. Her feeling his familiarity while he was a complete stranger… 😩
The emotional damage for this one was how I felt about The Women by Kristin Hannah. The dang woman just couldn’t catch a break and something just kept blocking her happiness. It’s similar here where they just couldn’t be happy for too long without yet another revelation throwing a wrench in their lives!
And the ending!! Is this even an ending?! There’s gotta be more lol I feel like we need an extended prologue to give me more 😭
This was the book I needed after Captured Immune. We got some closure for all of the emotional damage we received. I sat there clutching my hair and face quite a bit.
Reading about our MCs having to basically start all over was definitely gut wrenching. And Arella not being able to know why she felt the way she was feeling, basically on the brink of insanity because this man is in her dreams but she can’t place why…. Her feeling his familiarity while he was a complete stranger… 😩
The emotional damage for this one was how I felt about The Women by Kristin Hannah. The dang woman just couldn’t catch a break and something just kept blocking her happiness. It’s similar here where they just couldn’t be happy for too long without yet another revelation throwing a wrench in their lives!
And the ending!! Is this even an ending?! There’s gotta be more lol I feel like we need an extended prologue to give me more 😭
June 9, 2025
Scrubbed Mind, the final book in the Zordi Trilogy, brings the chaos to a close with a solid ending that offers just enough closure to feel complete. The trilogy has been a roller coaster of emotional twists, fast-paced action, and high-stakes magic, and this book ties it all together.
It delivers what many readers crave: resolution. After everything Ariella and Trey have been through, seeing their journey reach a final point feels earned.
Melissa Lam's writing style continues to shine through; smooth, emotionally charged, and impossible to ignore. Her fans will appreciate how the threads are pulled tight and closed with intention.
If you’ve followed this story from Ordinary Secrets through Captured Immune, you’ll want to see how it all ends. The Zordi Trilogy is complete, and that in itself is a powerful thing.
It delivers what many readers crave: resolution. After everything Ariella and Trey have been through, seeing their journey reach a final point feels earned.
Melissa Lam's writing style continues to shine through; smooth, emotionally charged, and impossible to ignore. Her fans will appreciate how the threads are pulled tight and closed with intention.
If you’ve followed this story from Ordinary Secrets through Captured Immune, you’ll want to see how it all ends. The Zordi Trilogy is complete, and that in itself is a powerful thing.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 11, 2025
I don't even know where to start.
This is book 3 in the Secrets Trilogy (Zordi World) and all three books were amazingly done.
This book will have you cry, get put back together, be crushed, cry, be hopeful, and tell yourself you know you're about to cry, then get surprised when you cry, to be put back together.
This book was an emotional rollercoaster. Actually, the whole series was an emotional rollercoaster and I loved every second of it.
The growth of both characters is amazing. Their past trauma, secrets, and chemistry will just have you at the edge of your seat the entire time.
You're going to love this trilogy.
The story itself is completely different than anything I've read before, and I read so much😂
Here are some things you're going to need:
Tissues
Alcohol
Tissues
Water
Support Group
Therapist
Tissues
This is book 3 in the Secrets Trilogy (Zordi World) and all three books were amazingly done.
This book will have you cry, get put back together, be crushed, cry, be hopeful, and tell yourself you know you're about to cry, then get surprised when you cry, to be put back together.
This book was an emotional rollercoaster. Actually, the whole series was an emotional rollercoaster and I loved every second of it.
The growth of both characters is amazing. Their past trauma, secrets, and chemistry will just have you at the edge of your seat the entire time.
You're going to love this trilogy.
The story itself is completely different than anything I've read before, and I read so much😂
Here are some things you're going to need:
Tissues
Alcohol
Tissues
Water
Support Group
Therapist
Tissues
June 12, 2025
This is the 3rd book in the Secrets Trilogy and holy hell was it a doozy! Each book topped the one before it.
The world building so fascinating and continues to be even better than what is was. The plot was phenomenal and gut wrenching at times. You will be blown away witnessing Trey will go to the end of the earth for Arella! My emotions took a wild ride of highs and some extreme lows. My heart went out to Trey and tissues are a must for this book! There is the angst, the raw emotions, the heartache, I was flipping these pages as fast as I could. Completely devouring this book.
Melissa’s writing is beautiful, one that will clench your soul and take you on the journey she has set forth. Her writing will make you feel, hurt, laugh, cry and love. Clearly I am a fan and will continue to look for more books written by her. If you haven’t started this series…DO IT!!
The world building so fascinating and continues to be even better than what is was. The plot was phenomenal and gut wrenching at times. You will be blown away witnessing Trey will go to the end of the earth for Arella! My emotions took a wild ride of highs and some extreme lows. My heart went out to Trey and tissues are a must for this book! There is the angst, the raw emotions, the heartache, I was flipping these pages as fast as I could. Completely devouring this book.
Melissa’s writing is beautiful, one that will clench your soul and take you on the journey she has set forth. Her writing will make you feel, hurt, laugh, cry and love. Clearly I am a fan and will continue to look for more books written by her. If you haven’t started this series…DO IT!!
June 13, 2025
What to say about this book…
If I were trying to summaries my feelings, I’d probably say I felt…
Heart broken, surprised, frustrated (at the characters), but ultimately so in love. Trey and Ari have to put their love to the ultimate test and see if they can make it. I never rooted for a couple so hard before. Again, Melissa throws in some twists and turns that make me say “what the?!”. But those only make me read the book faster to see how things will end.
This was such a quick read for me. I loved everything about this book. From the beautifully written words by Melissa, to the story itself… everything was fantastic. Even though I loved all three books, this one is my favorite. This will be a book, and honestly whole trilogy I think about for a long, long time. My new “Roman Empire” if you will.
If I were trying to summaries my feelings, I’d probably say I felt…
Heart broken, surprised, frustrated (at the characters), but ultimately so in love. Trey and Ari have to put their love to the ultimate test and see if they can make it. I never rooted for a couple so hard before. Again, Melissa throws in some twists and turns that make me say “what the?!”. But those only make me read the book faster to see how things will end.
This was such a quick read for me. I loved everything about this book. From the beautifully written words by Melissa, to the story itself… everything was fantastic. Even though I loved all three books, this one is my favorite. This will be a book, and honestly whole trilogy I think about for a long, long time. My new “Roman Empire” if you will.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 20, 2025
Is it bad that I fed on Trey's depression like a vampire on a juicy human? Because I did, and I'm not sorry about it. After reading the first book, I had an idea of what might happen with the second and now this third installment of this series. Melissa did not disappoint. And the wholesome way with which she wrote out the development of Trey and Arella's relationship was so calming despite the tragedy surrounding it. The progression was slow, natural, and fulfilling. The last few chapters punched you with back-to-back-to-back-to-back events, but they helped tie up a lot of loose ends. Am I sad I didn't get more time with Javina? Yes. Do I love the grandparents? Yes. Does the name Katie hold a special place in my heart as well? Yes. So this book wrapped up the trilogy in a way that leaves me feeling like everything really does happen for a reason.
June 18, 2025
I was given the gracious opportunity to read this early as the author sent me a copy and I swear I eat these books up so fast! I normally take 4-5 days to read because life... I ate this up in a day and a half!
*SCREECHES*
RATING: GIVE ME MORE! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
SPICE: 🌶.5
Ma'am! I need more! MORE! MORE! MORE!
I felt this need to tell Trey to get his life together in book 2, and boy, this one was Arella's turn to hear that. Trey had his bumpy road too, but Arella had everything right in front of her so many times and ignored it! The urge to face palm her and say she shouldve had a V8 was strong! 😂
But the moment they came together and the whiplash you gave me throwing in unexpected things into the storyline! You were meant to write! Thank you!
Oh, and BTW, I cried multiple times!
*SCREECHES*
RATING: GIVE ME MORE! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
SPICE: 🌶.5
Ma'am! I need more! MORE! MORE! MORE!
I felt this need to tell Trey to get his life together in book 2, and boy, this one was Arella's turn to hear that. Trey had his bumpy road too, but Arella had everything right in front of her so many times and ignored it! The urge to face palm her and say she shouldve had a V8 was strong! 😂
But the moment they came together and the whiplash you gave me throwing in unexpected things into the storyline! You were meant to write! Thank you!
Oh, and BTW, I cried multiple times!
May 22, 2025
Although I think I'm going to need some time to recover from this one, I want to thank Melissa for gifting me a copy of Scrubbed Minds. The emotional roller coster I went on throughout this book was too much 🤣
I fell in love while reading Ordinary Secrets and after reading Captured Immune I thought it was going to be my favorite of the series but Scrubbed Mind 100% proved me wrong.
Although I wanted to smack Trey for the majority of this book, it quickly became my favorite of the series.
Melissa definitely kept me on the edge of my seat with this one and I couldn't put it down.
I definitely recommend this whole series!
I fell in love while reading Ordinary Secrets and after reading Captured Immune I thought it was going to be my favorite of the series but Scrubbed Mind 100% proved me wrong.
Although I wanted to smack Trey for the majority of this book, it quickly became my favorite of the series.
Melissa definitely kept me on the edge of my seat with this one and I couldn't put it down.
I definitely recommend this whole series!
June 8, 2025
The journey through this book took me through a range of emotions, frustration, sadness, heartache, and joy. What a fantastic trilogy this turned out to be, starting with "Ordinary Secrets" where we met Trey & Arella, continuing with "Capture Immune" which was a non-stop rollercoaster, and concluding with "Scrubbed Mind," filled with emotional turmoil and character growth.
I don't want to say too much because I feel this series is one of those where the less you know, the more impactful it will be. All I'll say is this series is a must-read if you like experiencing a full range of emotions while reading.
I will say to check the trigger warnings however.
I don't want to say too much because I feel this series is one of those where the less you know, the more impactful it will be. All I'll say is this series is a must-read if you like experiencing a full range of emotions while reading.
I will say to check the trigger warnings however.
June 10, 2025
💚WOW!!! I don’t think a book has wrecked me as much as this one has. It’s taken me a few days to write this review because I couldn’t find the words.
💚Scrubbed Mind is the last book of The Secrets Trilogy. I’ve loved this whole series but this has been my favorite. Everything was perfection. The emotional rollercoaster, the heartbreak, and especially the playlist to this book.
💚 As I was reading, I felt like I connected a lot with Trey. The way his heart ached, the way he longed for someone he couldn’t have, and the frustration he felt because life dealt him some crappy cards. Scrubbed Mind is one of those books I wish I could read for the first time again.
💚If you haven’t started this series, I HIGHLY recommend you do!
- Ordinary Secrets and Captured Immune are out now and free on Kindle Unlimited.
- Scrubbed Mind releases June 12th! 😉
September 14, 2025
This was a beautiful conclusion to the Secrets Trilogy.
This book was filled with so much heartache and pain. I cried for Trey and Ari but especially for Trey. He didn't deserve to go through all this. (WHY DID YOU DO THIS MELISSA!!)
I understood Ari's decisions but I still wanted to slap her a few times.
With this last book, I felt so many emotions. I went through all the stages of grief with the characters.
Liz and Javina are the best friends that everyone deserves. Their love and support was everything that both MCs needed.
Trey and Ari's character's growth was phenomenal. I'm so proud of them. 🥹
This book was filled with so much heartache and pain. I cried for Trey and Ari but especially for Trey. He didn't deserve to go through all this. (WHY DID YOU DO THIS MELISSA!!)
I understood Ari's decisions but I still wanted to slap her a few times.
With this last book, I felt so many emotions. I went through all the stages of grief with the characters.
Liz and Javina are the best friends that everyone deserves. Their love and support was everything that both MCs needed.
Trey and Ari's character's growth was phenomenal. I'm so proud of them. 🥹
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