Shh... It's Our Secret...

I really liked this book. It's a love story, but it's also a story about growth and overcoming one's own fears.
Violet has quite an awful life. Her boss/boyfriend is a piece of garbage, she sees this, but is not ready to do something about it, at least, not yet.
She runs his café, mostly out of loyalty to her regulars, who are a true family for her.
Suddenly, her life starts changing, and she starts growing up.

I must admit I did not care for all of the characters. Her two best friends and her sister think very poorly of her. Cole is only looking out for himself.
Kai learns how to treat her and respect her, so, even though I don't like all he does, all in all, he's ok.
Trina and Danny were my favorites, without a doubt.

Thanks NetGalley and the publisher for my ARC.

*****4.5 stars*****
A cute family based book about finding your voice through music with a little bit of a romantic side plot.

Content and trigger warnings: References to death, sadness, slight alcohol abuse, sexual innuendo, references to sexual activity.

What's the plot: Violet works at a failing bar and has a secret that could change everything and help her makeshift family after losing her parents at a young age. But she won't Kai is a music producer looking for some space away from his house after guests show up whenever and take over his privacy. Kai stumbles upon the bar Violet works at and finds out her secret, thus changing her life forever.

What I liked: I liked the familial aspect that was a major part of the book and how Violet was entirely loyal to her family, real or makeshift. I liked most of the side characters and how they each had a very different personality. I loved how coffee was just a huge part of the book, even though it didn't represent anything but it was always just there. Music was such a major part of how the plot developed and I liked how it was always there and always related to what happened next. I loved Violet's character development and how she goes from being very timid to her own woman. It was nice to see her stick to her values and not give them up, no matter the pressure.

What I didn't like: The first 50-60 pages were a bit slow, but after that the plot picked up and it was hard to put down. Also some of the decisions the characters made, I didn't agree with though I understood why they were there. SPOILERS: Violet forgiving Mollie so easily was definitely something I didn't like because of how much her character had grown over the course of the book. It was understandable it just felt too simple. Also I understood Kai had a lot to do with him being a music producer and having to travel a lot, but it kind of felt at times that he did not care enough for Violet to say no to his bosses and make time for her. NO MORE SPOILERS. Overall there weren't many complaints.

TL;DR- A good read with good characters and a great plot, just a little slow at first with a few questionable decisions.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for this book in exchange for an honest review!!

I loved the concept of this book - but it just didn't work for me. The main reason was that I just didn't see the chemistry between the main characters and I really felt like Violet was a total doormat. When we met her - Violet is working in a coffee shop/cafe/bar run by her really nasty boyfriend. The place is being run into the ground and it is clear that Violet's boyfriend is an abusive tool. Violet spends all of her time taking care of others - her sister, the patrons of the cafe, her boyfriend. She is a talented singer and song writer but won't sing in front of anyone but her niece and nephew.

Kai is a hotshot music producer whose crazy worklife is catching up to him. He bought a home in the country to try and avoid the craziness of London and his life - but the talent he works with just followed him along. He walks in to the cafe and hears Violet singing to herself - and wants to sign her - but also wants the peace the crappy cafe offers him.

That starts a spiral of planning and change for both of them.

Here's the thing - Violet and Kai spend very little time together on the pages of the book. Kai also wants Violet - but knows it won't work because he doesn't think his lifestyle will work for her. It seems to be a recipe for disaster all things considered. But - by the middle of the book - nothing had really happened to move things forward for them romantically, for Violet careerwise, or really anything that kept my interest. I coluld see where the book was going - but I just didn't love it. I feel like anything career wise for Violet would probably not turn out well for her emotionally or would turn her into a different person and I didn't feel like Kai was ever going to want to change his lifestyle to make real room for her. I felt like the celebrity status that was coming - was not a good thing for Violet and clearly wasn't a good thing for Kai.

Overall - I just didn't enjoy it enough to finish and so DNF 50% mark - when I was still waiting for something to happen.

Very nice!! I'm pleasantly surprised how much I liked this book! I just wasn't sure about but at first, its a little different than what I'm used to reading but I really enjoyed reading this book! It was funny, very unique, had some steam to it and the storyline was very interesting!! I highly recommend this book! Its well well worth reading! Thank you Netgalley and the publishers for sharing this book with me!