Secrets 5 by H.M. Ward

Secrets 5 (Secrets series) by H.M. Ward ☆☆☆☆

 87 pages. Yep. These 5 parts could definitely have been 1-2 full novels. Still not why it lost a star though. But I am glad it's over.

There were a lot of issues I had with this. At one place I even made a note wondering if he suddenly had three hands because of how something was worded.

Mostly I was screaming (and writing notes) with irritation at the characters. "Who do you think it is?" and "There was no way for you to know. I didn't know. No one knew." I was screaming "I know! I knew!" the whole time. But the wrap up from all the stalker stuff was very very intense, going to places I didn't expect.

I did, however, also expect and call the way things ended. I knew exactly who Emma would end up with. And I knew what was going to happen with Cole in the end and what he was going to change (that's all I'll say about it). I didn't like how Anna left things with graduate school though and thought that what Cole changed was a little contrived, but I still thought the story wrapped well and am now just glad it's all over. I'll miss reading about Cole, but I have other books to go through now.

Secrets 4 by H.M. Ward

Secrets 4 (Secrets series) by H.M. Ward ☆☆☆☆

I am not liking the guy on the cover at all. Not only does he not fit my mental image of Cole, he just doesn't present the role of a wealthy businessman. He looks like a guy with a garage band and no real goals. But that's just me. We're also back to another short installment of 75 pages. If I was having to wait between installments for the next to be published, or was paying versus borrowing, I would be beyond upset. But, eh...

This segment was full of emotion, drama, and sexual tension. All a plus.

It's painful to be with Anna's emotions when Cole completely turns on her. She spent so much time with him and he still can't trust that she's not against him, not feeling the same weight of the things that are happening. Their both victims and he just makes it that much worse for her. Add that to the fact her stalker (who I'm still certain of) is getting bolder and really getting to her and I'm waiting for her to just snap. Though I'm still calling stupidity on the whole stalking thing, because with what happened before that, she was just asking for the next step in creepy-dom. She really should be more aware of the people around her.

I'm still loving Jesse and still feeling sorry for him at the same time. And though the date may not have ended well for him, I'm happy with the overall result of everything. As to be expected. The interactions with Cole at the bar great. And him shirtless is always a plus as well. But my favorite scene revolves around Emma in the beginning, when she's trying to knit and instead begins stabbing the yarn, saying "Die, beanie hat, die! I hate you!" That was a great scene. Add that to her "You two whack-jobs are perfect for each other" rant and I'm sold on her. Love her completely. Especially when she can complain about Cole in front of Cole.

While it's hot, steamy, snarky, and fun equally in this segment, it did lose a star. And that star was lost in language. The problem I have with erotica seems to always be the language used. A lot of it irks me and takes me out of the story because I'm mentally trying to correct it. There was also an unreasonable amount of childish begging and overuse of "please" in this that made me want to strangle Anna. But it still won me over.

Secrets 3 by H.M. Ward

Secrets 3 (Secrets series) by H.M. Ward ☆☆☆☆☆

Oh, 60 pages. This should have just been added to the other parts. For a series that only has 5 parts as is barely over 350 pages so far, this really could have been published as one big book, or at least two, rather than five. This is exactly the reason that people gave up on buying the Arrangement series. The sections were too short to be charging readers so much so many different times. Again, I'm glad I'm borrowing these, otherwise, I don't think I could justify the investment, no matter how much I love it.

That being said, I'm still very much in love with this series. This one in particular, although short, had me screaming at the characters like I do so love to do.

1. Sottero is a bitch. She wants control over everything, including suing Cole for everything he's worth. So I scream at her character like she can hear me tell her off. Though on the contrast, Jesse is an amazing character and I'm growing to love him even more. Anna is going to break his heart though.

2. Anna is so clueless. I know...know...who is stalking her and who ratted her out to the Dean. It seems so obvious. And I'm not sure if she really doesn't know, is really that clueless about it all, or if she subconsciously just doesn't want to believe it so she won't accept that she knows.

3. There is only one paragraph that I highlighted in this segment. I highlighted because I love the way it is written out for the scene itself, and also because just imagining the way Cole say it is great. For anyone that reads this segment of the series, it's where Anna admits to Cole that the vanilla-kinky analogy she told him previously was actually the other way around and he nearly loses control with the idea. Great moment in Cole history.

Secrets 2 by H.M. Ward

Secrets 2 (Secrets series) by H.M. Ward ☆☆☆☆☆

I really wish Ward would give these books actual titles. It would make reviewing them so much easier. Regardless, I do enjoy that this part surpassed the previous part's 97 pages with a total of 200 pages. Still short, but still loving it.

A broken A/C created a perfect situation in this segment of the series. Everything became acutely charged and the tension was incredible. It was going great places in my imagination. And then the repair guy arrives. I was equally upset and glad. While I would have loved to see the scene continue, it's also much better when the tension is dragged out.

Cole alternates fluidly between the boss and mentor to something much more electric that both know shouldn't be there. As much as they try to just work and to focus on the job and internship, that electricity is always hanging in the air between them. When she chooses to model for a sense of the model's role in her own photography, things just take control.

Cole really tries to be a good guy. It's clear he's damaged and there is something else entirely going on, but he does try. I sometimes wondered how she could be so confused by his actions, especially when she knows the consequences. Her character itself is all over the place though so it works. And with Cole's final words in this, I know I have to go directly into the next segment.

Secrets by H.M. Ward

Secrets (Secrets series) by H.M. Ward ☆☆☆☆☆

97 short pages. That's it. But I loved it.

I read a lot of YA lit, as evidenced by this blog alone, so being single, I tend to be more attracted to younger guys. This story though, reminded me that older guys are well worth the look too. Anna is in her 20s and Cole is near 40. One thing I hate about this story though is that she keeps telling him he's so old and thinking there couldn't be anything there. I'm less than a year away from 30 and that just becomes so aggravating as I'm reading this.

One really cool thing about reading this is that I learn a lot about photography. It's always been something I've loved, but I never got into it past an amateur level, so I know absolutely nothing about cameras, shutter speeds, and textures. I take pictures with my smart phone and have fun in an editing program to tweak colors and shading, that's it. But it was nice seeing that other angle to it all.

I really loved Cole in this. He's the cocky jerk that I fall for in every story. And it's full of sexual tension, both imagined and real between them. There is no doubt that I wanted him to be real so I could meet him. He has an amazing take on photography and the description of the things he can do with it made me want to watch and not just imagine from a description.

As much as I love May-December relationships, I was putting off reading this one. Something about the description just wasn't drawing me in immediately. But I gave it a shot and blew through it, loving every minute. Going to pick up the next part now.