I've been reading Tawna Fenske for years since discovering her on Kindle Unlimited. Her more recent books, in my opinion, cater more heavily to that KU audience than her older books. She is churning out novels more quickly and they are less tightly written. That said, they are fun and quick reads, as is THE BEST KEPT SECRET, which is a friends-to-lovers romance about a nurse and a firefighter.

Tawna Fenske is the queen of romcom! I loved every page and moment. I could not get enough. I hope there is more to come in this series!

I voluntarily reviewed this book.

"The Best Kept Secret" is a heartwarming love story that explores the complexities of relationships, the power of secrets, and the transformative nature of true love. Written with a delicate touch, this novel invites readers on an emotional journey filled with passion, suspense, and heartfelt moments that will tug at the heartstrings.

At the core of "The Best Kept Secret" are the well-drawn characters whose lives intertwine in unexpected ways. The author expertly develops their personalities, flaws, and desires, making them relatable and engaging. Through their interactions, readers witness the intricate dance of emotions, the power of connection, and the lengths people will go to protect those they love.

The novel's pacing is carefully crafted, allowing the story to unfold naturally and keeping readers invested throughout. The plot is driven by a central secret that gradually unravels, creating tension and anticipation as the characters navigate the delicate balance between truth and deception. This element adds an element of intrigue and suspense, keeping the reader hooked until the very end.

The romance in "The Best Kept Secret" is tender and heartfelt, capturing the exhilaration and vulnerability of falling in love. The author masterfully portrays the chemistry and magnetic attraction between the characters, while also delving into the challenges they face in maintaining their relationship. The emotional depth of the love story is portrayed with sensitivity, evoking a range of emotions from joy to heartache.

The prose in the novel is elegant and evocative, allowing readers to immerse themselves in the characters' thoughts and emotions. The author's vivid descriptions bring the settings to life, painting a picturesque backdrop that enhances the romance and atmosphere of the story. However, in a few instances, the narrative could benefit from tighter editing to maintain a consistent flow.

Leo and Nyla's story was so much more than *just* a rom-com. Did I laugh out loud while reading it? Yes--so many times. I couldn't help but feel that Ms Fenske took at least a little inspiration from I Love Lucy reruns, because many of the situations that (mostly) Nyla found herself in were just bordering on the slapstick side of humor. Funny? Absolutely! 100% believable? Maybe not...but still had me LOLing :)

But there was a deeper side to the story and to the characters too. First, there's the titular secret--and whoa, is it a doozy. It definitely helped to balance out the sometimes-silliness. Then there's the secondary secrets that pop up along the way--some big ones, some smaller ones; goodness, so. Many. Secrets. The secret that Leo and Nyla start a relationship (not a spoiler, since hello, they're the hero and heroine of a romance novel) is complicated by the fact that they're not just friends, he's also her sister's ex-husband. I'll admit I had some initial reservations about this but honestly feel it was handled well. It's obvious that Leo and Nyla are a much better fit than Leo and Mandi, and I liked that (eventually, once *most* of the secrets are out of the way) everyone handled it like grownps. Even Leo and Mandi's young teen, Seth ;)

The epilogue was sweetly satisfying and provided a nice resolution to a relationship hiccup that had occured earlier (it's not as intense as a true black moment, but it did make you wonder a bit). It's been a while since I've read a Tawna Fenske book, but this one made sure that I won't go so long again!

Rating: 4 stars / A-

I voluntarily reviewed an Advance Reader Copy of this book.

Did I sign up for a tour just because the cover looked incredibly adorable? Yes. Did I request to read books one and two in the series because getting to The Best Kept Secret? Yes. Did I devour these three books in two days? Yes, yes I did. Can you blame me? Swoon me more please. But in all seriousness, I was really excited for this read. The synopsis sounded super fun, though the best friends to lover trope mixed with single-dad is not one of my favorites but I still jumped at a chance to indulge in a delicious romance.

The characters were a bit of push and pull for me personally, the family drama mixed with the different complicated situations that was not just the main characters but the others involved. It was interesting. Nonetheless Leo and Nyla had great chemistry. They made a really great couple especially considering their build up. There was just a definite bond but also a sexual attraction that didn't make the romance feel forced. Nyla was actually really easy to like, I know, insane that I say this so willingly but I honestly felt I could relate to her personality. She was awkward, fun and witty, charming, she was just someone I could see a believable person. Leo was sweet and kind, definitely a feel good hero type which is always a swoon worthy interest.

I don't want to go into too much detail about the family drama or some of the more awkward, complicated dynamics of the plot because it would honestly be a semi-spoiler, but it was interesting as it was also weird. It was probably one of these most wham-bam twist, not so much uncommon in the romance world but it honestly wasn't what I was expected just given the synopsis. But it was good. I cringed a bit, laughed, swooned and went back to the 'ah.... no' factor. And yet I was glued. GLUED I tell you to the book I could not stop reading it.

Overall, I enjoyed The Best Kept Secret, not only this, but the entire series, it was such an easy flowing sweet romance that I did not know I needed. Between the laughs, sniffles and cringe-cute moments I can honestly say that I will have to keep some Fenske in my life more often!

***Received an free copy through TLCBookTour in exchange for an honest review**

Honestly - I didn't love it. The characters are fun and there are parts of the story where I was laughing out loud but there is so much DRAMA that it, at times, overshadows everything else that is going on. I'm also not a huge fan of one sibling hooking up with a sibling's ex (husband in this case) and that is just the tip of the iceberg...
This book is the third one of this Smokejumper series and though I have not read any of the others in the series, I will go back and read the first one just to see if his particular story is 'unique' it how it was told or if they are all worse than a daytime soap opera.

I’m really enjoying this series by Tawna Fenske! I can’t wait for more books to come out. They are just good, fun reads and I enjoyed every minute of this book!

This one was a lovely read. I really enjoyed reading this one. I just love this kind of books.
4 stars read for me

𝐓𝐚𝐰𝐧𝐚 𝐅𝐞𝐧𝐬𝐤𝐞 is a FANTASTIC author! She creates characters that come to life within the pages and her story lines are page turning! This particular read has family drama (🙄-who doesn’t love that!?), sassy characters (the best thing a story can have to keep it rolling!) and laugh-out-loud-I-promise-I’m-not-crazy moments(this should be remembered if reading around others, FYI) and of course an unforgettable storyline (this one is going on my reread shelf!). All those things make this a 4.5 star read for me and I can’t wait to read another amazing 𝐅𝐞𝐧𝐬𝐤𝐞 novel!

After I finished the book I found out there were 3 others in the series that had been previously written. I have not read them but didn’t feel like I missed anything. This book is an interesting twist on romance that touches many subject, but the hardest to wrap my mind around is the ex brother/sister in law getting together. Although the story line was difficult for me to get behind, I like the author’s writing style and it was a quick read for me.

I have loved Tawna Fenske's work for a lot of years, that being said this one did not work for me.

Trigger warnings: death of a parent (previous), infidelity (previous but discussed at length in the book), life threatening illness (previous)

It’s taken me a few days since reading this book to sit down and write this review. The synopsis for this book didn’t really describe the book I read and to be honest it wasn’t what I expect when I read a book by Tawna Fenske. The drama and angst were high in this book and there were several times when I set it aside to decide if I wanted to continue. I did and while I was happy with the outcome of this book, it was a chore to read. What the synopsis doesn’t tell you, so I will, is the heroine, Nyla, and the hero, Leo, are billed as best friends but honestly there was nothing in this book to confirm that and Leo also is divorced from Nyla’s sister and even that wasn’t a huge deal to me, I’ve read books over the years with this same theme. This book overall just wasn’t cohesive. I felt like it was three or four books rolled into one, it tried to tackle so many different tropes/issues and the romance got lost in the shuffle.

I really liked Leo, I felt like he was a solid guy; one that went out of his way to help others. A good son, father, and friend, and I felt like he was a good husband but he and his ex-wife, Mandi grew apart. He has remained a part of her family often attending family events because of his son, Seth.

Nyla was one of those characters that I couldn’t decide if I loved her or was ambivalent about her. On one hand, it was evident that she cared deeply for people especially those in her family, but on the other despite being a well respected nurse she seemed immature. The whole can’t keep a secret thing while understandable of her reasoning, I felt was ridiculous for a grown woman who obviously had self control or wouldn’t be working in a hospital as a nurse. It just didn’t work in my opinion and in fact at times I felt this storyline was almost ridiculous.

Leo and Nyla together, that wouldn’t bother me except there, seemed to be no build up and honestly, I didn’t feel it between them. I was told it was there, but the fact that they spent so much time dissecting Nyla’s failed relationship and Leo’s divorce from Nyla’s sister, talk about a mood breaker. I had no doubt they liked and admired one another and were friendly, but I never saw the “best friends” they were labeled as being and didn’t feel the sizzle or zing between them.

I adored Seth and felt he had such a good handle on his life (despite forgetting things frequently but isn’t that a pre-teen?). He seemed mature for his age but I think that stemmed from growing up with parents who had busy careers that sometimes took them away from home, spending time with his grandparents, and being an inquisitive sort of kid. At times I felt like he was the most mature character in this book, so let that sink in.

The families…I love family based romances but have to say that Nyla and Mandi’s parents in particular their mom was overbearing and it got old quick. I couldn’t figure out Leo’s mom’s hate towards his ex’s family until towards the end when it made a bit more sense, but still again the constant disparaging of them wasn’t necessary.

All of these things coupled with a few I didn’t even get into made for a very busy story leaving the supposed romance between Nyla and Leo left out twisting in the wind.

While this book had some funny moments, some that I’m sure were supposed to be funny came off as ridiculous and not in a good way. The serious themes got lost in the shuffle and to be honest the big payoff scene was a let-down. As I am not one to ride the drama llama or the angst antelope, this book did not work for me at all. That being said, I’m sure there are many who will enjoy it. For me, The Best Kept Secret was a miss.

I didn’t realized right away that this is a 3rd book of a series. Anyway, I still get to read it. This is a fun read for romance, with a splash of drama/family drama. Well, one thing I liked is the forbidden romance trope (winks). But it’s the kind of forbidden romance that is realistic, and not over exaggerated which is plus points for me.

This one is fast paced, and get yourself ready with some steamy scenes, we all like it!

Having never read a book by this author before I fell for her writing right away which rarely happens.

Dramaaa bring it on!

Ex in laws, a secret and an attraction that begins suddenly but won't go away.

Enter the meddling family and judgement, can they survive?
Read to find out.

Can't wait to read what Tawna writes next because she can write tension like no other

I received a free copy of this book via netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

The book was full of humor, laugh out loud moments. I highly recommend this book.

I received a free copy of this book via NetGalley and the publisher. This is my honest and personal review.

I enjoyed this book. Like other Tawna Fenske's books, I found it easy to read and entertaining. Nyla was not one of my favorite characters but it was a solid story.

This book turned out to be very different than what I was expecting, so it was hard to enjoy it. I was expecting a best friends to lovers type story, and this was not that at all.

This was not what I was expecting. The blurb says that Leo and Nyla are best friends but that is never shown or felt in the book. What they are is ex in laws! Leo was married to Nyla's sister. This made the romance come to a crash and burn for me.

Turning away from suspense, thrillers, and mysteries, I read Tawna Fenske’s THE BEST KEPT SECRET. This book is full of family secrets, a little bit of drama, and a lot of comedy. The characters are well-developed, quirky, and quite realistic. I had a fun time reading this book in almost one sitting.

Nyla Franklin is a nurse who’s used to telling it straight to people, but that’s mostly because she’s the world’s worst liar. She really comes to life when she’s taking care of others, especially those she holds near to her heart. Her ex-brother-in-law Leo is still a big part of her life and they’ve become really good friends over the years, as well as her nephew Seth. She has always had a great relationship with her big sister Mandi. They’ve had each other’s backs and told each other everything, at least Nyla thought they did. When Leo lets slip something monumental while he’s on painkillers after oral surgery and Nyla’s left holding a very large secret that effects their entire family, the race is on to reign in Nyla’s inability to keep a secret.

While Nyla is sworn to secrecy, she has the worst time keeping secrets about anything, really. Her family knows somethings up when she acts weird, and the more time Leo and Nyla spend together, the attraction grows. So then there’s another secret added on top of the original, and as their relationship grows away from everyone’s eyes, the pressure increases until everything is out in the open.

I give The Best Kept Secret a four out of five. This was truly a standalone novel, which I really appreciated. The characters just jumped to life very early on in the novel. Nyla and Leo are both selfless caregivers at heart, and they are perfect for each other. Nyla and Mandi’s parents are well-formed characters, as well as Seth. The funny situations that Nyla walks into really lift this novel up and made me smile, especially when the consequences of the secrets got to be too much to handle. I’d call this book a friends-to-lovers/forbidden romance with a generous dollop of family drama, and Tawna Fenske has a new fan. The writing was top notch, vivid and entertaining.

Thanks to Netgalley for a copy of this book for an honest review.

When I started this book I was a bit worried...Nyla's relationship with Leo is WAY more complicated than the blurb makes out! But, her ability (or not) to lie is hilarious! Wasn't a huge fan of Nyla's sister but she does improve.

This author has a gift for taking lesser used (and sometimes uncomfortable) themes and turning them into an entertaining, feel-good read. The Best Kept Secret is no different and while the main female character hooking up with her sister's ex-husband is definitely not a trope I'd normally seek out, it was done well here, without too much drama and with plenty of laughs along the way. Nyla is notorious for not being able to keep a secret to save herself, often putting and others in awkward situations as she actively plays out her policy of it being better to be open and honest, firmly believing secrets only lead to hurt in the long run. When her sister's ex, Leo, who's also the book's male lead, unintentionally blurts out a bombshell that has the potential to rock her family's world as they know it, Nyla struggles to keep it under wraps and keep all parties oblivious. As the pressure on her builds to the extent that a geyser would be impressed of, Nyla is unsure if she'll be able to pretend everything is okay and stop those she loves from being hurt. And because life is never that simple, the attraction level between her and Leo heats up, going from close, but platonic, friends to can't get you off my mind and want to tear your clothes off intensity.

I wasn't sure how I'd go with Nyla and Leo's blossoming chemistry, but the author handled their developing relationship tastefully and realistically (quick note - Leo has been divorced from her sister for years). While you can kind of guess there's going to be a reveal/altercation of some shape or form, it wasn't dragged out (thank goodness!) which made for much more entertaining reading, especially since this trope has the possibility to making the relationships in the book turn a bit icky, over the top and end in an dissatisfying way. I didn't find this was a case here and once I got my head around the first third or so of the book, I really enjoyed the ride and all of the characters, including Nyla's sister (and Leo's ex), Mandi. Children as main characters in books also tend to fall into the 'love them' or 'set it all on fire' category for me, but I loved their son, Seth. Considering he was a key element to the story, his character supported the plot, rather that pushed it off the rails.

I found there was a little bit of repetition in the first part of the book, particularly surrounding the fact that Nyla couldn't keep a secret due to an event in her past. While I figured it came up often because it's a key component of the entire book, I felt it came up pretty frequently and almost made Nyla annoyingly fixated on her issues with secrets. After the first few chapters of the book, however, having established the fact that she's atrocious and almost obsessively idealistic about not keeping secrets, I really enjoyed Nyla's character. She was compassionate and came across as a bit lonely due to a bitter split between her and her tool of an ex who ended it after nine or so years. I especially enjoyed reading about the relationship between her and Mandi and thought this was done well, particularly due to the unique circumstances between her and Leo. I loved that the author didn't take any cheap shots and turn the sister into a shrew or mess up the mostly amicable relationship all the main characters had with each other, keeping the bond between the sisters tight and relatable. It would be remiss not to mention Leo, either. I loved his character. He was just the right balance of sweet and steamy with a great 'nice guy next door' vibe going on in the best of ways. His character and how he reacted to certain situations was realistic and just made him all that much more likeable.

While the book is called The Best Kept Secret, there are a few doozies thrown Nyla's way throughout the book. I won't go into detail because I don't want to spoil anything, but they kept the book moving at a decent pace and made for a great read. Tawna Fenske always does a terrific job showing human frailty in unusual circumstances that don't always show all characters in the best light - this is actually one of the reasons I love her work as it takes me out of my comfort zone and makes me reflect on what I'm reading (sometimes, there's no easy solution and not everyone can stay squeaky clean, making for a much more realistic read). This book is no different and I'm happy to say I still loved all of the characters at the end of the story and I finished the book with a happy heart.

Overall, I ended up going from being a bit unsure about the main themes to really enjoying this book. It had several laugh out loud moments and, as always with this author, had a hard-earned happy ending that made my heart smile. It was well written, funny, had some awkward moments thrown in as well a bit of steam here and there. Oh, and as an aside - there's a really amusing part in the book that involves holding anatomy instead of one's breath (think of something that sounds similar) during a medical procedure. I've actually done this myself when I got my first fake tan so if you're thinking it's over the top and would never happen, I'm happy to report that you're reading a review written by someone stupid enough to do this themselves lol. Happy days.