I received this book for free from Purchased in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

The Secret of Ella and Micha
by Jessica Sorensen

Book Info

Released: October 4th 2012
Series: The Secret #1
Published by Forever
Pages: 313
Format: ARC

This story pulls you in right from the start and doesn’t let you go until the end or in my case even after you have finished and have tried to move on. ~ Under the Covers

So I actually read this book twice in the matter of about a week. I just couldn’t let Ella and Micha go from my mind, they just kept lingering there not letting me move on. I tried starting over books, but Ella and Micha wouldn’t let me. Ever since I’ve read this book, I’ve been stalking Amazon to see if the second book has been posted yet. The publication date is past due so I figure any day now it should go up, but so far, my stalking has not produced book 2. Doesn’t Jessica Sorensen  know I need it like a caffeine addict needs coffee? I’m not even sure why this book got such a firm hold on me but it’s holding on for dear life.

This book falls in the “New Adult category. Which is a genre I’m not that big of a fan of, it seems like a lot of these books just have one dimensional angsty, spoiled, acting out and just making bad decisions for no reason characters. With this book Jessica Sorensen, writes characters that are pretty realistic, complex and even better they are not annoying! All of the characters have some emotional baggage and are products of their upbringing but they are trying to get past that. Ella is our more emotionally scarred character in this book. Her father is an alcoholic and her mother emotionally unstable.

The only stable thing she had growing up is Micha her next door neighbor and best friend and even now that friendship is starting to blur and change, which adds to her confusion. Because she basically had no supervision her life was spiraling out of control, then she witnesses something no kid should ever have to see, ever.  One night her life spins so far out of control she knows she has to change her life. (See a character that is trying to grow).

So she runs off leaving everyone and everything behind and changes everything about herself down to her very clothes, she goes from out of control to a very controlled existence. That is until she returns home eight months later.  She returns home and everything is the same yet at the same time different. There is one person that she cannot put off and that is Micha. Her rock of old is changing all the rules and suddenly her controlled existence is starting to crumble. I really liked Ella once she started finding herself again. You feel for her and the traumatic events of her life. I really liked how she is trying to get her life together. She could have easily have just let herself keep on spiraling down a path you don’t want to see anyone go down. She may have taken the control a bit far but you can in no way dislike her for it.

By the end of the book she seems to find a sort of happy medium where she can still be parts of the old but hold on to the good new pieces as well. Besides her inner turmoil with dealing with previous events she has Micha to deal with. Micha changing all of the rules on her creates a whole other turmoil that she has a hard time dealing with, but really its inevitable. There is only so long anyone can resist Micha.

I loved Micha! He really came to life in this book, when he was throwing one of his charming grins I could easily picture the look on his face. There is no resisting Micha; you don’t even have a chance. He is a man that knows what he wants and is willing to go after it. His dedication to Ella is inspiring. Eight months earlier she left with no word and he never gave up looking for her. When Ella left it was like a piece of him was missing, he just wants his best friend back and is willing to comb the entire country looking for her.  Eight months later when he sees Ella and it’s like she is a zombie he is determined to show her that his old friend wasn’t all that bad and there are parts worth saving. So we know that Micha is a loyal friend and a pretty alright guy, who has looked out to Ella pretty much their entire lives; but he is also a talented musican “with dreams of going on the road” and he works on cars.

The cars he works on are old muscle cars, which in themselves are sexy as hell, so a hot sexy guy that works on them that is also a musician makes for one irresistible combination. Micha is pretty easy going in general, but he is not without his own issues. When the one thing that has haunted him tries to return he doesn’t quite know how to deal with it. He can’t turn to Ella, she has all of her own shit going on, but he tries to deal with it on his own and is not very successful in that endeavor. His pain about breaks your heart; because you know how strong he is so you don’t want to see him like that.  As it turns out Ella can handle his problems as well as her own better than we would have thought.

This story pulls you in right from the start and doesn’t let you go until the end or in my case even after you have finished and have tried to move on. The story is touching and the characters even more so. They each have their own issues that they try to deal with as best as they can and just try to make it through life even as it keeps dumping on them. These characters are not giving up and get along pretty admirably. In addition to Ella and Micha we have Ethan and Lila.

Ethan is Micha’s best male friend and it is hinted that he has a troubled past of his own, but he is a pretty rock solid dude. He is a good friend to Micha and remains supportive in any way that Micha needs him. I really liked Ethan as well. He is totally someone I would hang with and probably have a crush on is I was 10 years younger. LOL! Lila is Ella’s roommate and unlike our other characters she comes from a wealthy family, but she has issues of her own. Her family does not seem the most supportive and she basically refuses to go home, and would rather hang with Ella “on the other side of the tracks”. At first you see her as a bit spoiled but she has hidden depths and is more life knowledgeable than anyone gives her credit for in the beginning. Lila and Ethan end up forming an unexpected friendship.

*ARC provided by Netgalley

Forever Romance is giving away a copy of THE SECRET OF ELLA AND MICHA to one lucky US/Canada maiden

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About Jessica Sorensen

The New York Times and USA Today bestselling author, Jessica Sorensen, lives in the snowy mountains of Wyoming. When she's not writing, she spends her time reading and hanging out with her family.

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Annie

Blogger/Reviewer at Under the Covers Book Blog

I’m an obsessive makeup junkie and a compulsive reader. I like to call Under the Covers Book Blog my stomping ground, but when I’m not talking about books with my girls, I write New Adult Dystopian and Contemporary Romance under the pen name Ana Jolene (http://www.anajolene.com). I also work as a virtual assistant for authors. You also can find me as a reviewer and columnist for FreshFiction.com.

When it comes to books I’m pretty adventurous. I read everything from Paranormal Romance to Urban Fantasy, New Adult, BDSM, LGBT fiction, Cozy Mysteries and even YA. If it’s got the littlest trace of romance in it, then I’ll probably read it. That being said, my all-time favorite authors are J.R. Ward and Karen Marie Moning.

When I’m not submerged in a good book, you can find me musing about makeup and planners or dreaming about Kpop boys and beaches. Until then, check out my reviews and let’s talk books!

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