Sharing Secrets

by Natalie Hothorne

Why do people insist on keeping secrets when sharing is so much more fun?

I have not figured out what my boyfriend, Josh, is hiding from me, but it could not be as bad as my own secrets.

My parents lead what you would call an unconventional lifestyle. Three years ago I spent time at their home in Key West. It is how I met a local named Brock. He is sexy as hell and bisexual.

When things didn't work out between us, I moved back to Indianapolis and met Josh. He may not be as good looking as Brock, but he is much more open with his emotions.

Together they would be the perfect man.

When we are forced to make a trip to visit my parents, I hope to avoid Brock and keep Josh from learning about my past.

But it is a small town and secrets won't be the only thing shared.

Genres: Audiobook

90 pages, Kindle Edition

Published January 27, 2023

Reviews

[kymagirl · Rating 4 out of 5]

Story: Natalie, caught between her past flame Brock and her present love Josh, navigates a rollercoaster of emotions as secrets resurface during a Christmas trip while visiting her parents in Key West. She's torn between her love for Josh and her continued attraction for Brock, as well as being conflicted about her feelings for her parents. But Josh has a secret of his own which has been standing in the way of his relationship with Natalie. And Brock has never been honest with Natalie about the depth of his feelings for her, and now that he's met Josh, Brock doesn't want to hurt Natalie by acting on his own attraction to Josh. A real journey through tangled relationships and hidden pasts told through multiple perspectives, makes for a complex group of characters. The hot and steamy MF moments to adventurous MMF situations, add a layer of intimacy and spiciness. As Natalie, Josh, Brock, and Natalie’s parents confront their pasts, desires, and worries the importance of communication shines through. Writing wise there were a few tiny moments where the dialogues felt a little stilted and formal - using contractions in some places would have helped with this - but nothing too egregious.

Audio: The narrator, Ava Alexandra, did a good job with this story, given that she was the sole narrator. The audiobook uses a single female narrator to voice all characters - I prefer audio versions that use both a male and female narrator to voice male and female voices respectively, especially in multiple partner romances. There just wasn't enough differentiation in the narrator's voice for me to distinguish who was speaking when, so I opened the ebook to follow along at the same time.

[Brad Audiobibliophile · Rating 3 out of 5]

This review is for the audiobook edition narrated by Ava Alexandra.

Sharing Secrets is a well written MFM short story. Far from being a quick "wham-bam-thank-you-ma'am" tale like many short stories in the erotica genre this one is more well-rounded, in as much as a short story can be, with some background to the encounters and interesting characters with self doubts. There is of course some steamy MMF sex action but also lots of feelings and emotions.

Sadly feelings and emotion are lacking in the narration which is read without much of either. The intimate sex scenes are read with the same tone as someone tying their shoelaces or cleaning the bath. There's no distinction between character voices either. I've listened to worse and the narrator has a pleasant voice just no enthusiasm or excitement which lets the book down. Equally disappointing is the audio editing as there are at least 5 ocassions where lines or phrases are repeated and during the epilogue there are several long drawn out pauses between sentences.

All in all I'd give 4* for the story but only 2* at most for the narration & production.

I received a free copy of this audiobook and am voluntarily writing an honest and unbiased review.

[Merilu Keenum · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really like the way Natalie set up her book. It’s organized in a compelling manner that allows the reader to better understand each character’s POV. Savanna is complex and has many misconceptions about her parents and her relationships. Brock is such a great character and sounds very sexy, compassionate, and patient. Josh has great personality, sexy, and patient as well. All three had to learn to be more open about their feelings and desires.

Communication is the key to learning how they can get almost everything they all want and need. Secrets kept Savanna from healthy loving relationships with her parents and lovers. Natalie illustrated the process of solving this problem with great dialogue. She used a great location for this book. The sex was steamy, spicy, and full of emotion. Great story!!.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Sue · Rating 3 out of 5]

What a wicked web happens with sexual attraction but not being completely honest about who you are, and what you want. Natalie, Brock, and Josh end up navigating their way through their attractions and desires. I liked the resort Natalie’s parents ran, that was an interesting add to the story. The story had some luke-warm sex scenes, not steamy. It had a decent story line. The narration was a single female reader. She did a fair job of it, but would have been better with male voices for the guys. The recording has a couple of audio skips, like a record stuck in a groove. Short lived, but distracting. I received a free copy of this audiobook and am voluntarily leaving my review.

[BusyM3 · Rating 4 out of 5]

A quick and steamy read. This is a new author for me and I am looking forward to read more. The story is easy to read, the characters are likeable and fit well together. Overall a enjoyable read.

I am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Kirsten Pardini · Rating 4 out of 5]

cute MMF

This is a really cute second chance romance. Personally I get easily annoyed by relationship drama. But the story is really well written, and had so super adorable/sexy moments.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Charlotte Subbert · Rating 3 out of 5]

Mango bay

This is a good story, it shows how Savanna, Brock and Josh got together and eventually took over the resort from her parents. There is flashbacks at the beginning of how Savanna and Brock met each other; and then Savanna and Josh met each other.