Sierra Dean – Keeping Secret

The fourth novel in the Secret McQueen series, published July 10, 2012.
Genre: urban fantasy



Something old, something blue, something deadly…what else is new?
It’s a nice day for a white wedding. At least that’s what Secret McQueen is hoping for, with her poofy-princess-dress marriage to a werewolf king looming closer and closer by the day. But as ever, nothing can be that easy for a vampire/werewolf hybrid for whom someone still harbors a death wish.
Summoned to the south by her werewolf uncle, who makes no bones about the fact her mate bond with Lucas doesn’t pass muster, Secret learns her furry heritage looks more like a tangled vine than a family tree. Getting her royal uncle’s blessing hinges on finding one of the missing twigs. Even with vampire sentry Holden Chancery at her side, she manages to land up to her neck in a swamp of trouble.
As an assassin’s scope zeroes in, family dramas boil up and a fast-collapsing love square threatens to bury her alive, making it to the church on time could be the least of Secret’s problems.

Warning: Contains a grumpy bride who shouldn’t be wearing wedding white, a motley crew of bridesmaids, a dangerous scenic drive in the woods and a smoking-hot trio of suitors who might be too scorching to touch.


After reading Blodeuedd’s reviews of this series earlier this week, I was reminded I had this eagerly anticipated book waiting for me. A gift from the author on Twitter.
I want to write nothing more as a review, and just say: Wow. Amazing. Go buy it!

Do not read those books out of order, please. You will enjoy them so much more if you read them in order, including the short stories.


Short recap: Secret McQueen is half living vampire, half werewolf, something very rare. She is a vampire Tribunal, and the fiancée of the local werewolf King, Lucas. She is Soulmate of Lucas, but also of Desmond, his best friend and second in command. She loves Desmond more, but for the good of the pack, she will marry Lucas, as Lucas has tricked her into accepting his very public proposal. I hate Lucas, as he never tells Secret the truth, never explains anything to her, just acts like she is his property without any free will at all, who should be pleased at being his Soulmate and bride.
I like Desmond, but Secret needs someone stronger in my opinion, and Desmond is just not alpha enough. Then there is Holden, a vampire warden, and her former liaison with the vampire council. Until Secret killed a member of the Tribunal, and became a member in her stead. Now she is his superior. And a fourth possible love interest, the one I prefer myself, is Sig, the oldest member of the vampire Tribunal, and a very intriguing person.

Secret is busy with vampire politics, trying to get her ward instated as a warden. She is also very busy with her upcoming wedding, with a very perky wedding planner Lucas has picked for her. But Lucas suddenly needs her to come with him to Savannah, to her uncle and his pack. Ancient werewolf custom demands that he asks Secret’s uncle for her hand. It is totally not important that Secret is afraid of her life at the hands of her uncle, and her mother, it is necessary, and so she must come. As someone is trying to have her killed, leaving New York for a while might be for the best.

In the deep South, Secret learns more about her heritage and her family than she could have dreamed, but she is also in danger. But not from her uncle or his pack. (And now I so want to tell a big important spoiler!) Job done, blessing is given, and they head back to New York, for the wedding … Secret’s bridesmaids are waiting for her, her best friend Mercedes, her sister-in-law to be Kellen, and her new …


I loved this book. Go buy it. Do you need more?
I hate Lucas, I like Desmond, I like Holden more, I like Sig better. I was surprised, and surprised again, and left in awe at the ending of the book. Never once could I predict what would happen, never could I guess the next bend in the plot. I love this book. For someone who reads a lot, there is nothing better than being surprised by a book or an author time and again, in a good way.
There is no cliffhanger, no unresolved mystery, but believe me, when you finish this book, when you read that last line, you will want the next one, immediately. Unfortunately, that will not happen till the spring.

I did miss Secret’s friend, the seer Calliope in this book, but Sierra Dean promised she will be in the next book. I really like her.

I highly anticipate the next book in the series, and I cannot wait to find out what will happen with Secret next, which road she will take.

10 stars

© 2012 Reviews by Aurian