Review: A Secret to Die For by Sierra Dean (Secret McQueen #8)

A Secret to Die For (Secret McQueen #8)
Sierra Dean
Published Dec.16, 2014 (Samhain)
Purchase at: Amazon
Review source: purchased

Reviewed by: Krista

Rating (out of 5): 3 stars

Note: While this review will be spoiler free, it does reference events from previous books in the series.

I have been with Secret since Something Secret This Way Comes back in 2011. What I found was an interesting character and an author who had a lot of potential. It wasn’t a perfect book, but it had me picking up the sequel when it came out. Secret McQueen seemed like such a big name for a character to live up to, but through the series Secret has more than lived up to the mysterious badassness her name implies. (I also enjoyed the fun Sierra Dean took with the name, as most of the other characters would question the name’s authenticity.)

We begin A Secret to Die For in a quiet interlude between Desmond and Secret who are daydreaming about possible fairy tale ending. A page or so later New York City is burning. Yes, you read that right. From the get go Dean dumps us in an epic storm of crisis with little to no warning. But then the action and incredibly quick pacing is what I have come to know the series for and this book definitely has it in spades. Secret has returned to her home to find the city burning and the streets infested with the walking dead.

Aside from the fast-paced action points, another strength of this book was the intense intimate moments between Secret and the men she loves. Even the one she has ultimately rejected. The smallest interaction between herself and her men are emotionally loaded and sexually charged.

Throughout A Secret to Die For Secret is constantly questioning her decisions and reassuring herself about those she does make. One moment she celebrates her dual natures and then the next she states how one must be sacrificed for the other. Ugh. The struggle Secret faces sticking to her choices was at first engaging, but soon became exasperating.

Sadly, A Secret to Die For was one of the more frustrating conclusions I have read in a long time. It was as if the author had a plan on where she was going, no matter how much the character fought (the aforementioned waffling), even if she had to be dragged there in chains. I can’t even get into the amount of collateral damage was caused just to serve the ending.

By the end of the book this was not the Secret we have come to know and love, but if you don’t have any prior attachment to the characters the book does serve up great action, quick pacing, and intense intimate moments.

Sexual Content: Sex