This is the first book that I have read by this author and it won't be the last. This book deals with the problem of hate a hate crime and bullying against a gay teenager. It is full of mystery and suspense and deals with a problem that is very hard for teenagers to dea with. I would highly recommend this book.

This book was sent to me by Netgalley for review on Kindle. I could, not get into this dark disheartening story but maybe other readers can. The characters are far from likable and don’t get along...the theme is not clear...but the mom and son seem to be at odds about everything...she has a boyfriend and the son is still mourning his father.

Secrets Mothers Keep is a riveting book that follows the brutal beating of Daniel Reyes .

Cora thinks her son Ezra has something to do with it and she tries to find out what he is hiding.

All Mother's keep secrets to protect their children at one time or another; its an unwritten law.

The pages turn by quickly as you hold your breath with Cora , hope with Cora and cry with her.

This is my first Anya Mora book but it wont be my last by any means.

I thoroughly enjoyed Secrets Mothers Keep and it is a book well worth reading.

Thanks to NetGalley and BookBuzz.net for a great read.

4* Excellent intro to this author: a tale about a mother's love, but also about doing the right thing.

This was a good intro to this author, and I would definitely read more from her. The tale is done from both Cora's perspective and her son Ezra's, the latter via emails to his deceased father that he composes (but perhaps doesn't send - that wasn't made clear, nor was whether the dad's email address had been disabled or not). I appreciated both POV, though Ezra's was heartbreaking at times - a mix of grieving child from when his dad died, resentful young adult that his mother's moving on, missing the church that was at the heart of their family and that his mother has seemingly abandoned, and also, a decent young man once a brief period of grief-influenced insanity was out of the way.

The author was a little heavy handed with some of her explanations when Cora suspected Ezra, but her opening wrongfooted me and there were sufficient side characters and shady characters in the tale to have me never quite sure who would end up being involved in Daniel's death. I'm not sure why so much was made of the girl character whose name I forget - yes, I got that she was rebelling against her upbringing and her Christianity but she didn't really seem to be central to the tale or to Ezra. But, she turned out to be a solid friend to him and I hoped she got herself the help she needed.

I didn't quite get why Cora broke up with her new boyfriend here, as the guy was decent, cared for her and Ezra and had experienced heartbreak himself, and so put no pressure on her - they seemed solid and then suddenly she seemed to be giving him the cold shoulder and they were over as anything more than adults with a bereavement in common. This didn't get explained enough, especially when we learned that Ezra didn't really hate the guy like he professed to.

This was a decent read overall and the glimpse of another book by this author was enough for me to go nosing.

ARC courtesy of NetGalley and BookBuzz.net for my reading pleasure.

3 stars

Guilt, fear, & denial overwhelm a mother who suspects her teenage son of being involved in a hate crime. I enjoyed the MC’s in this character driven novel, though some of Cora’s decisions & mindsets didn’t make clear sense to me.

[What I liked:]

•Cora & Riggs are very supportive of each other. I enjoyed their interactions. Cora is also a very good mum despite her failings, & I could really tell how much she loves Ezra. These two relationships really help define her character, & give us a window into her emotions & inner world.

•The subject matter is definitely gut wrenching, & I think it was handled appropriately as a serious topic yet wasn’t melodramatic about it just for the sake of being edgy. I’m not a parent, but suspecting dark secrets about your only child is just a brutal place to be & I was feeling that all throughout this book.


[What I didn’t like as much:]

•I didn’t get why Cora made the decision she did about being with Riggs. It didn’t seem one sided, so it was unclear to me what happened between them at the end.

CW: hate crime (a queer character is beaten to death off page), murder

[I received an ARC ebook copy from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review. Thank you for the book!]

This is my first book by this author and will not be my last. The emotional conflict and suspense made this a hard to put down read!