Sunny Shelly’s Review: Storms and Secrets by Claire Kingsley

Storms and Secrets by Claire Kingsley is Available Now

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He’s always loved her. Now he’ll fight to save her.

Zachary Haven is living a lie.

He’s stuck in a rut, pretending to hate the woman he’s always loved. He didn’t mean for things to turn out that way. But sometimes life gets out of control, especially when you’re young and stupid.

Not that he ever had a chance with her. She’s gorgeous and smart, talented and kind. And Zachary? He can’t seem to keep himself out of trouble.

Marigold Martin just met the man of her dreams.

Blowing into her life like a storm, he sweeps her off her feet. She can’t help but wonder if he’s the one. He’s a dream in a bespoke suit—and he says he wants her heart.

But nothing is as it seems.

A brush with death wakes Zachary up to the reality of his life. And his feelings for Marigold. He’s determined to make her his—convince her they were always meant to be.

But secrets run deep, and Zachary fears the man who’s after Marigold could be more than a romantic rival.

He could be the devil himself.

And Zachary might be too late to save her.

Author’s Note: A troublemaker turned small-town hero risks everything for the love of his life. A soft-hearted heroine who finds her strength. An accidental body piercing, brotherly shenanigans, the Squirrel Protection Squad, and lots of big feels. This small-town romantic suspense will leave you breathless, with the romantic happily ever after you’ve been waiting for.

This is a MF romance. There is no cheating or sharing partners. Storms and Secrets is NOT a love triangle.

Content warning: this book contains references to sex trafficking

Sunny Shelly’s Review: 5 Stars

I loved everything about Storms and Secrets, Book 2 in the Haven Brothers series by Claire Kingsley! Marigold and Zachary’s story was the perfect dual secret crush, small town, brother’s best friend romance with a captivating suspense storyline mixed in!

Marigold has always had a crush on her friend Annika’s older brother. Little does she know that Zachary has had feelings for her, too. That’s because he avoids her like the plague. (I loved the payoff to that plot point; it was well done, revealed at just the right moment, and nicely propelled the story forward to the climax. But I digress…) A near-death experience prompts Zachary to finally confess his feelings for Marigold, but she’s just started dating the man of her dreams. Nevertheless, Zachary is determined to prove that he should be the guy Marigold should be with — especially since her new beau, Preston, is setting off all kinds of red flags in Zachary’s mind. But will he be able to convince Marigold that her boyfriend is a bad dude and to give him a chance?

Claire Kingsley checked off all the right boxes with this swoony romance. I thought that the suspense aspect of the plot was a bit edgier and riskier than some of her other books, and I loved that about Storms & Secrets. This story is told in dual first-person POV between Marigold and Zachary, with a third character telling their parts of the storyline from the third person. It meshes together wonderfully. Narrators Teddy Hamilton (one of my FAVORITES) and Samantha Brentmoor did a bang-up job in performing Zachary and Marigold’s parts, and Desiree Ketchum brilliantly added another layer to the story as the third character.

Great job, Claire! I can’t wait to see which brother she bestows upon us next! I received an advanced copy and voluntarily left a review.