This was a quick read that jumped right into the plot. The love connection seemed rushed and vacillated between yes we want to and no we shouldn’t.

A big thank you to NetGalley and Entangled Publishing LLC/Amara for the ARC. I am voluntarily reviewing this book. I liked this book. It was engaging, and humorous. It is a romance, but shows that life is not neat but in fact can be very messy. I enjoyed Nyla-her not being able to keep a secret, and her relationship with Leo. He was funny on meds! 4 stars

I have read several of Tawna’s books and loved them. They were hilarious and witty and such easy and quick reads. That is why it pains me to say I did not love this story. Tawna’s writing is superb but Nyla got on my nerves like there was no tomorrow. The keeping secrets just went on and on and damn how many secrets can one family have. Leo was an okay hero. Not great. While I love quirky characters, which Tawna is great at writing, this story was a little too much for me. Now, you might very well love it so give it a try.

I received a complimentary copy of The Best Kept Secret in Exchange for an honest review. Overall, I enjoyed the plot and the characters. The family dynamic definitely made for an interesting read with the chemistry brewing between Nyla and her ex brother-in-law Leo. I was hoping for a deeper dive into this plot, but the focus shifted to Nyla's nephew, Seth and his paternity. I started to lose interest once the focus changed from Nyla and Leo to Seth. Overall, decent read, but not my favorite.

A flaming five-star read. This is number three in the Where there is smoke series, but they could be read as stand-alone, if you had to as they do focus on the main couple, you do have recurring characters, but it's easy to keep up. I really enjoyed this one, but I know not everyone will be due to the relationship between Nyla and Mandi, but honestly it's life, it happens. Leo was so cute when he was coming out off his pain meds especially, but he is also cute all the way through. Nyla was sweet as sugar pie, her secret-keeping abilities just made me smile so much, she also warmed my heart with her ability to keep everyone strong. There is so much that I could say in this one, but I don’t want to spoil anything, as one wrong word and the secret is out!!

3.5 stars

This is a romance between Nyla and her sister's ex husband after he reveals a secret whilst high on pain meds. After the secret is out they become closer and their feelings for each other grows.

The couple are sweet and adorable and the characters are likeable. I enjoy the writers style and how she builds her characters.

My main issue was that there was alot of family drama which pushed the main romance a little in to the background.

I like the author and would like to read more from her.

MY REVIEW:

I feel like the description is a bit misleading with Nyla and Leo's relationship. The blurb states that they are best friends but Leo is Nyla's ex-brother-in-law. Which makes this a bit awkward. Especially since Nyla is really close with her sister.

But other than that this book was very captivating, once I started reading it I couldn’t put it down. And I just kept wanting more. But after reading some the relationship didn’t really work for me. I didn’t love that Nyla was with her sisters ex husband, just seem like there was too much conflict.

I liked Nyla at first but then not so much afterwards. At first it was endearing how she couldn’t keep a secret but after a while that got really old. Like you’re a grown woman and a nurse at that. Nurses have to protect patients privacy, that means no spilling of the beans.

And her constant bashing of herself for keeping secrets. Like over and over again. I get it at first but not every time we came back to this character she needed to be bashing herself. Or acting weird when people talk to her.

And the same thing with Leo at first I was into the character but less so as the book went on. He need to always do the right thing while admirable, kind of got old when he put everyone over himself and his first marriage. Putting everyone ahead of your self doesn’t really make for good relationships.

Although this book was captivating and I wanted to keep reading it, after a while I was ready to get it finished. This just wasn’t it for me.

WOULD I RECOMMEND:

If you can get into the relationship between the characters and the family then go for it.

It just wasn’t my cup of tea. I couldn’t get into the characters and that didn’t really help me enjoy.

I had to try really hard to finish the book.

Nyla and Leo were a cute couple. For such a dramatic story with all the subplots, it was a very easy read.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I requested to read and review this book for free from Entangled Publishing. This book is great. It takes what someone might think a traditional family would be and puts a spin on it. This book has romance, mystery, drama. Can secrets be a good thing or a bad thing? Is protecting someone from a secret ok? You will meet two family that are intertwined more then what they realize. Readers will meet Nyla, Leo, Mandi, Seth and their families. This is for a mature reader but can be read anywhere!

Secrets can be a good thing. Or they can damage relationships and tear situations apart. The Franklin family has many secrets that come to light during this book. Only, some are, in fact, not so secret. The two funniest scenes are when Leo is loopy from pain meds and when Nyla is drunk and spills the beans. Add in some awkward family situations and hot intimate scenes, and this book is a winner.

The Best Kept Secret by author Tawna Fenske is a story with many twists and interesting characters. Nyla, Mandi and Leo were all stand-out characters and it was difficult to pick a favourite. The Best Kept Secret is a good story with many entertaining moments that never disapointed; a story that held more than a few twists and awkwared moments from beginning to the story's conclusion. The story pulls at the heartstrings and uncovers more than a few skeletons impacting each of the characters, providing many avenues of amusement and emotive effects.
Review copy received from Entangled Publishing via Netgalley

This book was a lot. It had a lot going on. Lots of tropes, lots of drama, lots of secrets. It was a lot.

I liked Nyla and Seth individually and together, and if there weren’t so many weird family dynamics in this story, I probably would have really loved it (I adored the others in this series). The family dynamics felt over the top and that definitely took me out of the romance.

Content warnings: parental death, infidelity, unplanned pregnancy

Thanks to Entangled Publishing and NetGalley for the early copy. All opinions are my own.

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Tawna Fenske has done it again! One of my favorite things about this particular author is that she creates characters who have made mistakes, aren’t perfect, but are still so darn likable. The family drama feels real, without getting too depressing or dragged out for too long. Recommend for anyone looking for a nice slice of life romance with a great hero and just enough drama to feel like it really could happen because life is never perfect.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
(Thanks for letting me read it!)

love this author and her fun characters. fun little surprises along the way. easy, fun read. great story.

Nyla touched her fingers to her lips like she was still trying to wrap her head around it all. "You kissed me."
"Yes."
She stared at him. "I kissed you back." Her voice was somewhere in the ballpark between bewilderment and scandal, with maybe a little what the **** mixed in.

Nyla just kissed her sister's ex husband, Leo. How in the world has this happenened? Her and Leo have always been close, but things have definitely shifted. Leo shares a deep secret with Nyla, and Nyla is not good at keeping secrets.

Little did she know that the biggest secret to keep would be her new feelings for Leo!

I adore Tawna Fenske's writing!

The Best Kept Secret is another delightful book by Tawana Fenske. I love that her books are part of a series but can also be enjoyed on their own. Great characters quirky pets, snappy dialogue and I love how she gives you deep dives into different professions with her character development. Definitely looking forward to the next installment! Ireceived an ARC from the publisher and this is an honest review.

The Best Kept Secret was a cute and easy read. However, I couldn't help but think the whole time how way too unrealistic it was - all of the family messiness but only half the drama. If this were to happen in the real world it would have NEVER gone that smoothly. BUT, that is why it is fiction. Overall, I loved the two main characters and their chemistry was great and that saved the book for me! Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC!

This is a friends-to-lovers book with a super complicated family dynamic. Leo and Nyla have been friends for a long time. Their friendship even survived Leo's divorce from Nyla's sister. They've maintained a close friends and family dynamic for a very long time. Until everything changes when Leo has dental surgery and shares a big family secret with Nyla while he is high on painkillers.

Nyla is a terrible secret keeper - she literally cannot and (truthfully) doesn't want to keep secrets. She's a nurse and extremely dedicated to her family. So when she hear's Leo's secret - everyone knows its a ticking timebomb. The secret also seems to unlock something between Leo and Nyla that brings them closer together.

Leo is a really good guy and excellent father. He's been through a lot - and has never really had a moment just for himself. He's spent most of his life giving everything to everyone. Now he is in a place where he is ready to take some time for himself and open up to Nyla - despite that complexity.

Overall - I really enjoyed so much about this book. From Nyla's wide open mouth - to the relationships between the families involved. It all felt very relatable and real. There was just one thing that held me back...

<spoiler>I could have 100% done without the "surprise" pregnancy at the end. (a) You could see it coming a mile away and (b) I'm not sure that was the push they needed or the catalyst to bring Nyla and Leo together for real. I absolutely hated the way Nyla dealt with the whole thing. Obviously it was all a shock to her and she was trying to handle her own desires with what she wanted for Leo, but seriously now. At one point she thinks something like "I'm going to love and raise this baby on my own - even if Leo wants nothing to do with the baby." Um Nyla - that's clearly not even an option here - he has a kid with your sister for goodness sake. You see each other all the time and live in the same small town. How is that even an option? It was like the book made an attempt to veer into soap opera territory. It made me really mad - because up until that point the book was great. In this situation, Nyla wouldn't let Leo even talk about things. Her sister was right - she was trying to push him away. She was also 100% projecting her own insecurities on to him. She never really owns up to that either - which is always a problem for me. Leo basically comes back and tells her everything she needs to hear - and its never mentioned again. But pregnancy hormones and wackiness aside - she probably needed to apologize more than she did.</spoiler>

Overall though - I did enjoy the book and all its small town family goodness.

I received this as an ARC from NetGalley, but these opinions are all my own.

This was around a 3.5 for me. Overall, the writing was good and I like the way the author tells a story (I've read some of her previous stories and enjoyed them as well) - but, the one hang up I have with this story is the forbidden love interest plot line. The love interest is literally the main character's ex-brother-in-law. There's a whole lot of messy family drama involved, and while it was more or less executed okay, it's just not my favourite tropes.

However, will say, besides the messy family connections, the two main characters were great! I did like them for each other and their chemistry (despite the little bit of insta-love and pregnancy added on top).

I usually love Tawna Fenske's books. She's got a lovely, light touch, and her characters get into some hilarious scrapes, even as they deal with serious issues. That sense of exuberant joy was missing from The Best Kept Secret, the newest in her Smokejumper series.

Nyla is still close with her sister's ex-husband, Leo. After all, they've known each other since high school, and Nyla adores her tween nephew. When Leo reveals a big secret (under the influence of painkillers following a dental procedure), he and Nyla have to deal with the fallout and try not to tell anyone else in the family. Unfortunately, Nyla is terrible at keeping secrets, and knows it's only a matter of time before it comes out at the worst possible time. Meanwhile, she and Leo are experiencing a mutually inconvenient attraction.

This just didn't work for me. I did not buy the insta-love here, or their family's reaction to several big revelations. Do yourself a favor and go read her Juniper Ridge series instead.

Thanks to Netgalley, the publisher, and the author for the ARC to review. All opinions are my own.