The Best Kept Secret (Smokejumper 3) by Tawna Fenske-a review

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ABOUT THE BOOK: Release Date February 22, 2022.

Nurse Nyla Franklin knows three things to be true. Taking care of others brings more joy than a basket full of kittens. A triple-fudge sundae can cure just about anything. And no good ever comes from keeping a secret… So when her best friend spills his biggest one ever, Nyla knows she’s not just holding a secret. She’s holding a ticking time bomb.

Mr. Always Does the Right Thing Leo Sayre knows three things to be true. Piloting smokejumpers over burning forests is the best job in the world. His best friend Nyla is the smartest, funniest, and okay, sexiest woman ever. And pain meds are apparently his truth serum. Now his post-surgery confession has everything flipped upside down and turned inside out… including his relationship with Nyla.

Secrets have a way of piling up, and it’s just a matter of time before someone lights a match. Because while the truth can set you free, it can also burn completely out of control

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REVIEW:THE BEST KEPT SECRET is the third instalment in Tawna Fenske’s contemporary, adult SMOKEJUMPER romance series. This is nurse Nyla Franklin, and pilot/firefighter Leo Sayre’s story line. THE BEST KEPT SECRET can be read as a stand alone without difficulty. Any important information from the previous storylines is revealed where necessary.

NOTE: Not wanting to give away too many spoilers, I am going to have to be as vague as possible in my review.

Told from dual third person perspectives (Nyla and Leo) follows the building romance and relationship between nurse Nyla Franklin and pilot/firefighter Leo Sayre. Leo and Nyla have danced around their attraction to one another for as long as they can remember but when the side affects of pain medication find Leo revealing a shocking secret that leads to the potential for more heart breaking news. Nyla is caught in the middle of a potential family fall-out, a fall-out that leads to more secrets of her own…but Nyla has a bigger issue…she is unable to keep a secret, and her inability to withhold the truth is about to backfire when her sister Mandi, and her best friend Leo ply our heroine with lots of booze. What ensues is the building romance and relationship between Nyla and Leo, and the potential fall-out when secrets are revealed, possibly breaking the hearts of everyone they love.

Nyla Franklin struggles with secrets. She cannot tell a lie, and withholding the truth is like a volcano waiting to explode but not only does she battle between head and heart with someone else’s secrets but with secrets of her own.Falling for Leo was never in the cards-a betrayal of sorts to someone else-but her love for Leo is matched equally by Leo’s love for our story line heroine.Leo Sayre is a single father; a divorcee who has big plans for his future including a solo cross country motorcycle trip, but once again, more secrets are revealed , making Leo question everything about his life going forward.

The relationship between Nyla and Leo is a best friends to lovers; a secret affair kept from family and friends but a relationship predicated on friendship and love. As Nyla and Leo’s relationship turns into something more, our couple must navigate a possible betrayal, and their own future going forward. The $ex scenes are intimate and passionate without the use of over the top sexually graphic language and text.

We are introduced Nyla’s sister Mandi who plays a major role in our couple’s life; their parents Ted and Laurel; Leo’s mother and her husband Bob, and Leo’s son Seth. I hope the author has plans for Mandi’s story.

THE BEST KEPT SECRET is a story of family, friendships, relationships and love; a story of secrets and betrayal, revelations and acceptance; of understanding and love. The character driven premise is captivating and entertaining; the romance is seductive; the characters are energetic, charismatic and real. The ‘smokejumper’ aspect of the story is minimal, only mentioned or alluded to on a couple of occasions.

Copy supplied by Netgalley

Reviewed by Sandy