My sister sat astride the large cat creature, laughing. My sister?
I strode away from the second-story window using my energy as a stage. My power buoyed me, swirling purple and red with shimmers of silver, like sparklers at a celebration.
The woman on the far side of the Warlock Society’s tall brick wall did look like me. Thinner with stronger facial features, but we had the same … stronger facial features, but we had the same phosphorescent green eyes and dark, wavy hair. She definitely gave off more badass vibes. With half her head shaved and riding a giant feline, she had instant tough-girl status. Her aura swirled with rainbows like an oil slick on a puddle.
The cat creature was the size of a bus, with orange and black striped fur. Its long tail swayed behind it, twitching with anticipation like a house cat watching birds through a window.
Zombies filled the city street, swaying around them. When my sister laughed, the undead turned and watched as if waiting for a command.
A flash of sparkling fuchsia caught my eye. A child-sized woman with wings shot from behind the mammoth cat and fluttered above my sister. Bright pink hair braided in tight cornrows accentuated red, almond-shaped eyes. She smiled at me, exposing long, purple fangs. Okay…
“I am Ophelia,” my supposed sister announced. “The seventh daughter of the seventh son, the shifter who cannot shift. The warlock who is a woman, the anomaly, the other part of you. Your destiny.” The person Suki said I needed to end the zombies…
The undead parted, and a man appeared—naked except for intricate black tattoos from his chin down to the tips of his toes. His shaved head and sharp facial features were the only parts of him not inked.
“You want to introduce your friends?” I asked. Ophelia laughed again, and the cat grinned, exposing two more canines as thick as my arm. Awesome. “Okay…a shifter who can’t shift. That’s just not a shifter, right? I can’t shift either, but I don’t go around using it as a moniker.”
Her lips didn’t move, but her eyes lit with amusement as she answered in my head. “I’m the shifter who cannot shift into animals.” Telepathic much? Green and yellow power pooled beneath Ophelia, lifting her into the air.
She wore black leather pants and a matching halter top. I resisted the urge to look down at my own outfit—a handmade linen shirt tucked into brown leather pants, scuffed, bitten through, and dirty.
The way Ophelia’s chi supported her, the way the undead obeyed, the fact she had a giant cat, a fanged pixie, and a tattooed naked dude on her side all added up to a formidable opponent.
Ophelia walked toward me across her chi, stopping at the edge of the warlocks’ dome of protection. The pink woman, her wings a blur of motion, zipped above us, darting around like a bug.
“I cannot shift into animals. But I can shift into the winds,” Ophelia said inside my head. Trees in the yard below us bent as a wave of cold air blasted. “I can shift into the sea, into the rains.” Thunder sounded and clouds manifested above us, curling into a storm, shot through with lightning.
“Wow,” I said, because that was impressive stuff.
She paced at the edge of the spell’s protection, her power moving under her. “I am your destiny,” she said, stopping and putting a hand on one hip, “because I am your death.”
So…this isn’t going to be a sweet sisterly reunion—more of a fight-to-the-death kind of thing.
**Beware: This series is for adults who enjoy steamy paranormal romance with strong urban fantasy vibes and who don’t mind a few f-bombs.**
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This book has a lot going on! Darling’s quest to stop the zombies continues, but she faces many obstacles and fights, and discovers more and more about her past, her creation and the lives of those around her. Nothing is easy, and trying to stop the zombies takes everything she’s got.
The characters in this book (and series) are complex but so intriguing. Every time you think you have a handle on what is happening, something changes and you’re taken on another journey. This was a great read, and I am curious to see where the next book takes Darling.
Wow! This book has so much in it. Darling sure is getting stronger. She blows me away with how much she is taking on. She keeps learning how to deal with them and more bad stuff happens.
Lets talk sister. Ophelia. She is something else. I didn’t really expect her to add another element to the story. She is one I Love and Hate. She has so much information we needed and was done so wrong growing up that I can’t help but have a small piece of understanding and sorrow for her. Small but there.
Dream Man! Holy Hot dreams he is what they are made of. Can we keep him?? I think he is great. If you can’t tell. I still don’t like Emmanuel. He has a God complex. I think he bullies his to get his way. I think him and his “ex” are better together.
I am glad Darling has all her friends with her. I still am at awe how they all are coming together. I really am trying not to put any spoilers in. There is so much going on.
The end was a big what is going on. I didn’t know it was going to go there and the Oh no level I had was all the way to the top. I don’t know how the next book is going to go or if the Zombie’s will be the main focus anymore but I guess we will be in for a trip in the next book.
This is the 3rd book in the series and WOW has Darling got herself into a predicament with her loves. She is torn with Emmanuel who feeds, nourishes and whom is engaged to and then there is the man in her dreams. And then when she finally gets to meet ‘him’ it’s a different connection. It leaves her torn between the two and finally not forgetting the quest she now finds herself on in different dimensions to end the zombies. I loved it and the fast pace of the storyline with lots of tendrils weaving in and out making the plot more intense.
The race to end the zombie spell continues as Darling continues to grow stronger. This book is fast paced and action packed, with one revelation after another. Just when I thought it was going one way, boom!, something unpredictable happened. I enjoyed all the characters, old and new, but especially Darling’s mystery dream man. Where can I get my own dragon?
I voluntarily reviewed an Advanced Reader copy of this book.
This series just keeps getting better and better. Darling is still trying to figure out the zombies,and figure out her family at the same time. I seriously couldn’t put this book down. Thank You for such an amazing book.
Series keeps on getting better. I’m really amazed by authors imagination. Seems like pace of the action has taken on the next gear in this book so really I’m wondering what to expect in the next one. Overall a great addition to the series which can recomend to all fans of the genre – if you like urban fantasy (vampires, warlocks, succubus and more) – this is definitelly a book for you.
My head is spinning – so many elements of fantasy in this series – from Zombies to Vampires to Dragons, oh my! In addition to the many different otherworld creatures and people with abilities, there is a mystery running through the story line that gets deeper and more involved, keeping you turning pages and trying to figure out where and how and who will have the answers. Mixed all in is the main character, Darling, who is realizing her own strengths and powers, while others are trying to use her.
Stolen Secret and the previous two books are fun reads filled with adventure, characters, and ideas that stretch your mind.
Guys, this series is blowing my mind! It just keeps getting better and better. I don’t know how Emily Reed comes up with this stuff but I want so much more!
Following Darling on her journey has taken us on one hell of a ride. We meet her sister as Darling searches to find an answer to ending the zombie apocalypse which has left her in a bit of a predicament. We finally find out who the mystery man from her dreams is and all I can say is holy shiitake mushrooms! Emmanuel who?! Just kidding because when you’re Darling Price, everyone wants you. Besides, I still love that son of a god and my Vamp with a heart Dimitri!
I’m so ready to see what the extent of Darling’s power is. I cannot wait to see the outcome of the next book!
Urban fantasy with a little bit of sexual heat! A fast paced and intriguing story line with well fleshed out characters, this whole series will keep you flipping the pages as fast as you can. I literally laughed out loud when Darling first met the Dragon in the flesh! I am highly anticipating the next installment.
Another great book in the Secret series. Emily Reed has taken the action pace from books one and two and made it more heart-stopping and she has taken the romance and made it hotter. Darling Price gets stronger by the page but with each new level of strength comes an even higher level of danger in her quest to rid her world of zombies. Despite the danger, the passion and the unrelenting threat to her world, Darling maintains her sarcastic inner dialogue and it is priceless. If you ever have to face a battle, Darling is the person that you want along for the ride.
As a part of the ARC group, I had the opportunity to read this book early. WOW is the only way I describe it. I had read the books leading up to this one and was caught off guard by the turn of events. The characters Darling,Emmanuel, and Slater are interesting, unpredictable, and the book is downright steamy. Definitely a page turner!