BOOK REVIEW - THE SECRET OF ELLA AND MICHA by JESSICA SORENSEN - THE SECRET # 1 - NEW ADULT CONTEMPORARY ROMANCE

By: Jessica Sorensen
Published By : Sphere, Little Brown
Released: Available Now
Details: Paperback from library, 309 Pages

RATING: 4.25 MICHA STARS!

Blurb: Goodreads

Ella and Micha have been best friends since they were kids. But one tragic night shatters their friendship and their lives forever.

Ella used to be a rule-breaker with fiery attitude who wore her heart on her sleeve. But she left everything behind when she went to college and transformed into someone that follows the rules, keeps everything together, and hides all her problems. But now it's summer break and she has nowhere else to go but home.

Ella fears everything she worked so hard to bury might resurface, especially with Micha living right next door. If Micha tries to tempt the old her back, she knows that it will be hard to resist.

Micha is sexy, smart, confident, and can get under Ella’s skin like no one else can. He knows everything about her, including her darkest secrets. And he’s determined to bring his best friend, and the girl he loves back, no matter what it takes.

(New Adult Contemporary)
*Mature Content** Recommended for ages 17+ due to sexual situations and language.

BOOK REVIEW by Michelle:

This is my first Jessica Sorensen read and I really enjoyed reading about Ella and Micha and the sub characters, Lila and Ethan and Grady.

This new adult read is a much tamer read than I was expecting. Micha is a character who I connected with immediately. He is that mixture of bad boy and good boy that I liken to Noah from Pushing The Limits. I am not saying it is a similar story or character. No. What I am saying is the thought just crossed my mind while reading this book.

I loved how Micha was there for Ella and he knew how to coax his Ella back out into the open. He knew what she liked, but he didn’t try to change her back. He just rekindled her love for some things they had shared.

Micha is a gorgeously smexi character who knows what he wants. He has some things he must deal with and a love of music that had me wanting to hear him live.

Lila grew on me. I am looking forward to her book with Ethan. Ethan is a yummy character. He sounds like a stand up guy. He won brownie points with me when he handled Ella’s mother in a rather dangerous situation.

I loved the characters felt real to me.

Grantford is a character that floated in and out. He has kind of got me intrigued to know more about him. It felt like there was more to tell. Sure he wasn't the greatest guy in this book, but something made me feel like I wanted to know more.

For me personally, I was expecting a more powerful response emotionally to this book. I knew people loved this read a lot. But, I wanted a more emotional response to it.

Ella’s mother and Ella’s own fears really tugged at my heart. Ella hasn’t really had any parental support like a lot of children get. She ran away from her fears and tried to start a life that she could control.

I can see why Jessica is a New York Times Bestseller. Her characters are believable, they have flaws and they know how to go after who they love.

I was surprised with Micha’s character at the end of the book and his decision, considering he had spent eight months looking for Ella and he hadn’t been coping well without her.

I loved the little seeds dropped in this book regarding Micha. There is something he yet has to enlighten the reader on, things were hinted at, I thought.

A story about convincing a girl that she can still have her cake = Micha and be a little reckless and carefree too. You don't have to change who you are to build a life from the rubble. You just got to build it one brick at a time surrounded by the ones who love and accept you for who you really are. 

Michelle