Secrets

Deceitful Destiny #2

by S.E. Rose

A plot twisting romantic suspense story that will leave you guessing to the very end from USA Today bestselling author S.E. Rose. On a quest to find her biological family, one woman discovers secrets more sinister than anything she could have imagined. When Lily travels to Colombia to research her past, she doesn’t anticipate losing her carefully guarded heart to sexy media mogul, Lance. As the two embark on a journey to unveil the mystery of Lily’s origins, they unravel a dark past that bleeds into the present. What Lily thought was over is just beginning. Can Lance earn Lily’s trust or will secrets pull them apart?

Genres: Romance, Contemporary, Dark, Suspense

330 pages, Kindle Edition

Published June 12, 2018

About the author

USA Today & International Bestselling romance author, S.E. Rose lives near Washington D.C. with her family. When she's not wrangling her cats or keeping up with her kids, she's plotting her next story.

She loves all things wine, coffee, and cats. In her non-existent free time, she enjoys traveling, going to concerts, binging on her favorite shows, and reading, especially if it's a good mystery or comedy.

Reviews

[Bex (Beckie Bookworm)]

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️STARS
ARC BOOK REVIEW
Release Date-12/6/18

This second fabulous addition in the Portentous Destiny Series "Secrets" was an action-packed adventure from start to finish.
This time bringing Lauras daughter Lily to centre stage to be the star in her own well-deserved story.
So if you've read book one you will already be well acquainted with Lily and her twin brother Nick.
The circumstances surrounding there upbringing and the challenges Lily faces daily due to her background and later adoption.
Here we get to focus On Lily as she heads off after college with her older cousin Zoe; for some much-needed rest and relaxation and then later onto volunteer on her lonesome at an orphanage in South America.
Here, Lily plans to kill two birds with one stone as she seeks answers to the questions shes had all her life in regards to her birth family.
When the cousins initially encounter twin brothers; Lily finds herself outmanoeuvred into close proximity with twin Lance; as Zoe and his brother Cody run hot and heavy together.
And as these two initially connect, it quickly becomes apparent that they have so much in common and a deep bond between the pair begins to develop.
Initially, at the beginning here, I did feel that Lily came across as a trifle immature, spitting out her dummy at the slightest provocation; I felt that this was maybe due to her young age after all twenty-three is practically a baby in terms of life experience; thankfully she did seem to adapt as events progressed; still getting annoyed over trivialities but not reacting was a much healthier way to handle her inner turmoil and I did feel this was mostly down to Lances older calming influence.
He was almost like her mood ring; stabilising her irrational emotions.
I warmed to Lance almost straight away; he was such a genuine man, completely without any artifice.
I found this to be such a valuable character trait within him; it's not often in fiction you get to behold such transparency in an individual as Lance.
One of his greatest character strengths was his compulsion to protect and nurture Lily; really beautiful to perceive in all its entirety.
When this pair reconnects at a later date while Lily is volunteering; not only does there relationship understandably deepen; it also opens up new pathways to Lilys Past and as the pair venture further down the rabbit hole events eventually start to spiral out of control arriving and culminating in a shocking finale.
So this was so fast paced with so much going on; also surprisingly although this is told from Lilys POV we do still get an enormous sense of Lance and where he's at; more so than you would expect considering we never really get to play inside his actual head.
I also greatly appreciated how the first book was interwoven here; the author managing very nicely to meld the two storylines; connecting the actual dots between the two, and it was done ever so nicely indeed; very impressed.
Getting to reassemble and catch up with the original gang from "Island" was also a major plus point for this book; I really enjoyed the roles Laura and Jack played here minor though they actually were.
This had everything going for it suspense, intrigue, romance and some seriously juicy chemistry between our two mains.
It was ever so emotive and at times actually hurt my heart with its pure emotion and overall sentiment.
A great read that I'm ever so happy to recommend to you.
I believe the next volume here will be Zoe and Cody's actual love journey cant wait.
Thank You to the Author for providing me with an ARC copy of "Secrets (Portentous Destiny Series, #2)" of which I have reviewed voluntary.
All opinions expressed are entirely my own.

Reviewed By Beckie Bookworm
https://www.facebook.com/beckiebookworm/
www.beckiebookworm.com

[Coco.V]

🎁 FREE on Amazon today (1/8/2019)! 🎁

Blurb:
On a quest to find her biological family, one woman discovers secrets more sinister than anything she could have imagined.

Adopted at three years old and raised in the United States, Lily Stevenson is taking the summer to research her past. She settles into a small Colombian village focused on uncovering her biological roots. What she doesn’t anticipate is losing her carefully guarded heart to sexy media mogul, Lance Cunningham. As the two embark on a journey to unveil the mystery of Lily’s origins, they unravel a dark past that bleeds into the present. What Lily thought was over is just beginning.

Can Lance break through a trust barrier she put up years before, or will the secrets being revealed pull them apart?

[Fran Zoch, LSoR]

This is the second book in this series and it follows Lily along with her cousin to South America and while she is there Lily is going to look into her biological family.

While there she meets Lance and the chemistry is undeniable

Lance has to work for their relationship because Lily has some trust issues and now finding out about her biological family's past.
You really need to read this to get all the emotions that ar represent in this book!!

[Alphas Do It Better Book Blog]

5 Stars

I must say that when I read the blurb I knew I was going to be harder on this book than any other book because I am from Colombia. I want to personally thank the author of this book for the extensive research she did, and for painting my beautiful country in such a light, and for tackling an issue that exists today which is human trafficking. Lance and Lily had the kind of redemption story that I wish all those children had. The most important part of this book was not the romance, although it was a nice compliment, is the fact that all stereotypes were broken and the author showed true compassion and grit in describing some of the harder scenes. The romance was as beautiful as the depiction of a misunderstood country that all it wants to do is smile back. Thanks again.

Laura - Alphas Do It Better Book Blog

Laura - Alphas Do It Better Book Blog

[Jennifer Pierson]

Secrets was a fantastic read with a ton of action from start to finish! I don't want to give too much away, because I truly believe deep down that it's better to not know all the details before going in, but I will say this, this story is dealing with Laura's (from Book 1) daughter Lily this time around. She's off to volunteer at an orphanage, and research her birth family in South America. And this is where she meets Lance. And that's all that I'm willing to give up, because the twists are crazy. So crazy, that it made my f-bombs dropping crazier than usual, and that's the beauty of S.E. Rose's super talented writing style. Not only does she draw me in, she pulls me straight into the story itself. Lily was a great heroine, even when she had her immature moments, while I found Lance to be an amazing hero. This story had it all, suspense for days, extra intrigue (yes it is different from suspense in my eyes), hot chemistry in spades, romance, and some serious angst. I LOVED this next chapter in the Portentous Destiny Series, and can't wait for another one! HIGHLY HIGHLY HIGHLY RECOMMEND!

[Elizabeth]

This isn’t really my style when it comes to the romance world and I tend to stay away from dark themes, but I received a free copy of this book and thought why the hell not.
Well... I had a hard time putting this one down, and as you can see by my 4 star rating I wasn’t disappointed. This story builds really well and the book is action packed, especially once you hit a little past the 50% mark and all the secrets really start to unravel and reveal themselves. There is also a lot of emotion between the characters, that even I got a little choked up (this rarely happens with me). The epilogue was everything it needed to be and than some. I really identified with Lily, and Lance was just too perfect for her. I had some issues with some details in the last quarter of the book, but to tell would spoil the book, so I’ll just zip it.
I did not read the first book, but I will, and while I don’t think I lost anything from that, I think there will be a lot of “a-ha” moments when I read the first book.

[Becky Wise]

When you first meet Lily in the first book Island you can tell there is more then meets the eye with her. She is stronger then you'd think after everything that went down in book 1. This is Lily's book and I absolutely love this one. Lily is searching for her family history. And boy do things get interesting when secrets start to unravel. Like the first book trouble seems to follow Lily and she fights to save the orphans from further human trafficking. When Lily meets Lance on vacation you can just feel that chemistry start to build. Lance is amazing. He and Lily have this bound that is hard to describe. It is like watching 2 parts become one. I love the chance bump in that sends Lily and Lance's relationship into overdrive. S.E. Rose delivers one heck of a read. This is a series that needs to be read. With all the twist and the turns and surprises around the corner you can be guaranteed that this page turner will suck you in like nothing else. This book is so good I really can't find the right words to describe it and keep everything from spilling out. A MUST READ.

[Wendy Livingstone]

This is the second book in this awesome series, and is Lily and Lance’s story. Lily intends to spend the summer finding out about her biological parents and her past. When she meets Lance the attraction is steamy between them, and as secrets become unravelled, danger is not very far behind. This is a well written story, which has twists and surprises which kept me intrigued and enthralled throughout. I look forward to reading more in this addictive series!

[Dawn]

Island is my first read from this author and I was not disappointed. What a great story. At some points i was so intrigued. There was passion, shock, anger and love. This story has u guess all the way through

[Heather Henderson]

Currently reading the next one of the series!! These books are great! However if you are triggered easily I would be cautious!! I have enjoyed the books and can’t wait to find out what happens next!! They are hard to put down once you start

[Pat Labrie]

This is the second book in the series and it is absolutely phenomenal. It has suspense and twist that you won't expect. It will keep you reading from beginning to end. Now on to book 3

[Jimette Ross]

This one kept me on the edge of my seat! Lace filled erotic fairy tale love, with danger hidden around every corner while the truth about family is searched! A must read!

[Debra Johnson]

Purch Amz Oct 16, 2020