Secrets of You

Sunshine and Happiness, Book 4

By: Skylar M. Cates

Narrated by: Michael Stellman

It’s never easy to find redemption.

Carrying scars and regrets, River Darcourt avoids too much intimate contact. Among his friends, he is known as a quiet loner. Forget about love. It’s not something he will consider...until sweet, young, and tempting Morgan Hayes becomes his housemate. River closed his heart long ago, but the attraction is impossible to deny.

Morgan Hayes needs a change. He is moving out of his critical father's home and in with his friends, including his secret/not-so-secret crush, River. Having feelings for River is a terrible idea. But what is a guy to do when the annoyingly sexy mechanic is just across the hall?

While Morgan has overcome ugliness and is ready for love, he’s just not sure River ever will be. They have both experienced pain in their lives. So Morgan dares River to take a chance, and love will either break their fractured hearts in more pieces or, just possibly, make them whole again.

©2017 Skylar M. Cates (P)2016 Skylar M. Cates

Meant to be

River is a guy I had to feel heartbroken over. River is trying to get over his loss of Brandon and not really successful at it. Morgan is trying to adjust to having been attacked. Both have an attraction to each other but both have issues that keep standing in their way of doing anything about it. When things start to push them together and they face decisions that change both their lives. There is so much emotion throughout this story. There are things that are revealed that gave me quite a few oh moments. The narration by Michael Stellman brought all the emotion to the story.

"There had been a time when he’d loved to flirt."

This is the first book I've listened to or read, by Skylar M. Cates. This is book 4 in a series called Sunshine and Happiness. I kind of wish I'd listened to the first three books first, I might have gotten a bit more insight into these characters.

This book was written in 3rd person POV which has never been a favorite of mine. I guess I don't like being told something as much as I like being shown something. Because of this I didn't experience the angsty moments the way I normally would.

These guys have some serious baggage and are both a little damaged. They will have to work through their individual issues before they can come together and move forward.

Father's disapproval, death of past love, hurt/comfort, loner/people pleaser, roommates to lovers, brings the heat

I enjoyed this.

I haven’t read any of the other books in this series but I never felt lost. I perhaps would have liked it even more if I had but it was still very enjoyable. This is my first audiobook by this narrator and I liked his voice. Now I’d like to listen to the other books in this series.

A story of Redemption

What was one of the most memorable moments of Secrets of You?

When River and Morgan finally come together, in more ways than one, pun totally intended.

What about Michael Stellman’s performance did you like?

I liked that he has a youthful tone and exuberance that matches the characters perfectly.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

Yes, but it's a spoiler. I'll just say River finally lets down all his walls and completely lets Morgan in.

Any additional comments?

This is definitely a story of redemption, for both men. River's past is dark but he's fueled his self imposed misery for so long that the embers seem more like raging flames. Morgan has trust issues due to be abandoned by his mother, leaving him with his emotionally bereft, homophobic father. Add to that Brendan's death and all the issues that swirl around their close knit group of friends and these two seem doomed before they even get started.

One thing that I really like about this series on Audio that I normally do not care for is that a different narrator is used for each installment. It really works for this series because each couple is wildly different than the others and having a completely different voice and tone for each story adds to the overall feel of the books.

Moving and spicy grumpy-sunshine romance!

Nursing guilt and shame from past actions, River Darcourt either pushes people away or runs. While most of his friends are away celebrating a wedding for the week, River is left alone with their newest housemate, the bubbly Morgan Hayes. Morgan is nursing his own fears, having been sexually assaulted a few months ago—something he’s never shared with his highly critical father. When both men team up to evaluate which charity to donate an insurance payout to, sparks fly. Both men have feelings for each other but Morgan has to really push River to act on them. Once they do, the walls of secrecy start to tumble.

There’s something about Skylar M Cates’ writing style that I just adore. It’s the combination of the depth of feeling, the well-crafted characters, and the extra spice in the romance. She’s not afraid to let us sit with strong emotions, and while this series finale isn’t as harrowing as some of the earlier books, it felt just right for these characters. Although the books in this series all focus on a different couple in the friendship group, I’ve also loved how interwoven all the characters are throughout the series. US voice-actor extraordinaire Michael Stellman is ALWAYS excellent and he does a wonderful job in this audio.