Dirty Little Secret & Secrets of the Heart by Willow Sanders Review

~*SYNOPSIS*~

Who is the girl with the red-soled shoe? A Cinderella she certainly isn't! A self-proclaimed nerd, twenty four year old Hillary Sloan isn’t the helpless damsel in anyone’s fairy tale. An Ivy League graduate who is hoping to get noticed as she works her way up the corporate ladder, she’s desperate to keep her alcohol fueled night of bad decisions under wraps. But, what about the DJ? Bert “DJ XTC” Morder was on the air at his overnight radio job when an old friend called him and asked to use the bathroom. He had a thing for high-heeled shoes, especially those fancy ones with the red soles Hillary was wearing. A little flirting, a kiss or ten and suddenly the pair found themselves smack dab in the middle of a scandal of epic proportions. How long can their dirty little secret stay under wraps? Hillary and Bert would have loved to keep their tawdry little romp strictly between friends, but there’s the unfortunate incident of the studio’s live stream they have to contend with. Now, all of Chicago is wondering exactly who the girl in the red-soled shoes had been. What other secrets are they hiding, and what will happen when Hillary’s dirty little secret gets exposed?

  ~*REVIEW BY ELYSSA*~ 

  Do you know what I love, Fallers? A good story about the media. I LOVE the media (mostly because I've spent a large chunk of time as part of it as a journalist). So when I saw this story about falling in love at a radio station... I had to give it a read. I'm giving Dirty Little Secret four stars!

Where do I even start? Probably with the fact that Bert is officially my new book husband. Seriously. The guy is hot, nerdy, has curly brown hair, and is a huge music geek. *Fans self* And here's the thing--Bert really likes Hillary, our kick-butt heroine. Despite a kind of disastrous first date (it was ALL the fault of the horrible venue. And double dates are always weird), the two get into an extremely compromising position...and discover that man, oh, man, do they have some insane chemistry. It's off the charts, people. This book was one of those awesome instances where the couple really, really just felt like they belonged together in a real relationship. Plus, you know, the sex is fantastic. Aside from that, Bert and Hillary are adorable, and Hillary's friends are super cool--the whole book has a very real-world vibe to it, which was great.

The only issue I had with the book was that for a while, it didn't seem to be going anywhere. We get the opportunity to sort of soak in Bert and Hillary's relationship, but there's no major conflict or driving action, which made some of the middle feel  bit aimless. Other than that, this book was great. It was funny, sweet and full of heart. Plus, any author that says the Willis Tower will always be the Sears Tower is awesome in my book.

 

~*SYNOPSIS*~

 Secrets, Secrets are no fun.
Genevieve “Ivy” Hursch thought she was living the dream! As the newly appointed promotions director for a hot new Chicago station, she was certain she had the radio world wrapped around her well-manicured finger. Coupled with an exciting relationship with her perfect new boyfriend, Ivy was certain life couldn’t get any better. That is until a piece of old news threatens to take down her career.
Heartbreak, scandal, secrets, and lies send Ivy into a free fall of lost dreams and fractured relationships. How will unexpected advice allow Ivy to cope with a life that is less than perfect? Follow Ivy on a journey to discover the secrets of her heart.
Secrets of the Heart is a continuation from Dirty Little Secret. Many of characters and situations from Dirty Little Secret, reappear in Secrets of the Heart, but it can be read as a stand alone novel.

  ~*REVIEW BY ELYSSA*~

I am very rarely surprised, Fallers. I've done a lot of reading in my time, and aside from that, I'm that annoying person you watch crime shows with that guesses (or at least tries to guess) the culprit in the first five minutes. So when I say I'm genuinely surprised is kind of a big deal. Secrets of the Heart did that for me, which is why I'm giving it four and a half stars!

We're first introduced to Ivy, Hillary's best friend in Dirty Little Secret, as well as her love interest, Pete, who works at the same radio station as both of them. And when they get together, it's SO cute. Pete is the epitome of charming, attentive, and all-around awesome. But do you know who else is awesome, Cain, the local bartender and hottie extraordinaire and absolute sweetheart. Fallers, if at this point, you're thinking, "I really don't like love triangles I don't want to read this book," stick with me. It's not what you think. I can't give too much away, because that would be spoiling it, but this is NOT, I repeat, not a love triangle. What it is is a story about second chances at love even when you think you'd never love again and a story about two people learning how to support each other emotionally . And hot sex. I mean, that's a given.

Like Dirty Little Secret, I felt there was a middle section of the book that floundered a little--not much happened and the plot just kind of stood still. But still, other than that, I loved Secrets of the Heart--and I can't wait for Willow's last installment in the series!

  ~*ABOUT THE AUTHOR*~

Most of these are always written in third person, as if the author isn't the one actually writing them. So, I'm going to be a rule-breaker and write it in first person instead. I'm a native Chicagoan, vegetarian, and lover of big words. I randomly burst out into song, and have been known to carry on entire conversations (with those worthy of the challenge) in song lyrics. The same can also be said for movie quotes. I'm quirky, sarcastic, I've been told at times I can be a bit esoteric, but overall I'd rather be dancing in the rain than waiting for the storm to pass.

And I LOVE connecting with people- so go on, hit the "friend" button. :)

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Dirty Little Secret
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  Secrets of the Heart
 Amazon | B & N | iTunes | Kobo| Smashwords