Julia: I don’t know what to expect alone at this isolated manor. I’m a nanny for a ten-year-old little girl. Her father is gone. I’m not sure he even exists. Things don’t seem right. There are strange calls, and I hang up. Then, one dark, stormy night, he enters my life. I watch his peculiar behavior. I witness the strange relationship between him and his daughter. I watch him, watch me. One … him, watch me.
One minute he’s harsh and the next, he’s vulnerable. He tells me he needs me. He tells me his wife is dead. I want to believe him because I have fallen in love with him. He doesn’t know I crave him. He doesn’t know I want to touch him. He doesn’t know I’m a virgin. And…he doesn’t know; I have found his secret hidden in the floor of my closet.
Jonas: She doesn’t know the murder I covered up. She doesn’t know the woman I destroyed. She doesn’t know the evil schemed I conjured to lure her to my manor. She doesn’t know I altered her fate. She doesn’t know my true intentions. She doesn’t know I watched her long before we met one dark, stormy night. She doesn’t know the man I used to be. But I do.
She doesn’t know the truth.
Follow the epic journey of Julia Ellis and Jonas Fairbanks in this breathtaking, you’ll never see it coming, three-book trilogy, The Secret Series.
Warning: This book contains graphic sexual scenes and is recommended for mature readers only.
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This trilogy was certainly a page-turner, and let me warn you, it will evoke ALL KINDS of emotions in the reader. Trust me, there were times I wanted to reach into my kindle and strangle a character or two, but that is exactly what makes this book memorable. You will love the twists and turns.
There are twists and turns aplenty in this brilliant and intriguing suspense trilogy. It’s an angst filled journey of love, lies, despair, and deceit. And just when you think you know what’s what… you don’t!
The chemistry between Jonas and Julia is off the charts hot, but they’ll need more than that as they battle against the odds for their own happily ever after.
Aaron Shedlock is a great narrator and while I do love Tracey Mark’s voice I don’t like the way she narrates.
I highly recommend it!!!
His Secret (The Secret Series #1), my first read from author Gina A. Jones and the first in the Secret Series. Well-written and intriguing fiction. I was been given an Authors Direct copy of this book & am voluntarily reading & reviewing it. The narration adds to the book’s enjoyment. On to Her Secret (The Secret Series #2).
Her Secret (The Secret Series #2), my second read from author Gina A. Jones and the second in the Secret Series. Well-written and intriguing fiction, 300 pages but reads longer with all the detail written into it. I was been given an Authors Direct copy of this book & am voluntarily reading & reviewing it. The narration adds to the book’s enjoyment. On to Secret Enemy (The Secret Series #3).
Secret Enemy: Book 3 of The Secret Series, my third read from author Gina A. Jones and the conclusion of the Secret Series. Well-written and intriguing fiction, explicit in nature. 440 pages but reads longer with all the detail written into it. I was been given an Authors Direct copy of this book & am voluntarily reading & reviewing it. The narration adds to the book’s enjoyment. I look forward to reading more from this author. (RIP Marley January 20, 2014 – July 24, 2018).
I’m reviewing the audio version of these books. I got them separately but felt I needed to add my review. I feel you really need to have the whole story. I was just not too happy with book one and two but after three I’m a believer. I am recommending this series to my friends.
His Secret
I had read Love, Michael and fell in love with that story. I thought this story would be as enticing as that. So far I’m not getting it from this first part of the trilogy. There seems to be a lot of build up Jonas’s past. I was also a little surprised that the author took Julia who was a virgin and she sure moved into actions of a more experienced person a little too quickly. Since this is only a third of the story I can’t say that I’m hating or loving the characters. Jonas keeps acting strangely. Julia keeps getting more questions than answers and I feel she is not really comfortable about Jonas yet she gets deeply involved with him. I will say the author know how to throw in twists and make characters so indefinable that I have to read on to actually see where this is going. I’m reviewing the audio edition so I have to comment on the narrator. I feel Tracy Marks seemed a little stiff in her narration. Sometimes it was really missing the emotion of the story. I don’t know what didn’t seem to be compatible but I felt something was missing.
Her Secret
I’m reviewing the audio version of this book. I listened to the first book in this series and was getting a little frustrated. This book makes the story much better. There are more elements and twists thrown in and so much I didn’t see coming. Jonas again seems more strange than likable. Julia just can’t seem to make up her mind about him. Common sense doesn’t seem to be a deciding factor with her. Then there are the added characters who bring so much to the story. I am now anxious to see how the story plays out. I loved Love, Michael and was concerned for this story but hopefully when all comes together it will be as good as that was. Again there just seems to me the narrator is more unemotional than the story but it might be me. I received a free copy from Story Origin who introduced me to this author and the review is entirely my opinion.
Secret Enemy
I’m reviewing the audio version. I was upset with the first two books in this series. Just didn’t have the attraction that Love, Michael had for me and I was wondering if I would stick with this author. Then I heard this part of the story. This really brought it together. I don’t know if it’s the narrator Aaron Shedlock or if it was just there seemed so much more because a lot was explained here. The situations and answers look so different when you get it from Jonas’s pov. And I’m not sure I ever got to the point I felt Jonas was “redeemed”. I think its hard to live life without your true nature coming out. When Jonas was being beyond a jerk there didn’t seem to be much of the other Jonas. When he was with Julia he seemed like the saint. Two extremes. This did cement me into thinking this is an author to follow. By the time I finished the book I’m ready to recommend it to my friends. I also found a new narrator I really enjoyed. I received a free copy from Story Origin but the opinions are all my own.
Book: 5 stars
Audio book: 4 stars
A story embroiled in so much mystery and danger. A definite page turner to love.
It took a while to listen to the narrator and adopt her as the character she was reading.
If it’s a female speaking in the book then I like to hear a female’s voice. Taking said female’s voice when a male is speaking takes some doing. I was finally able to adopt the female narrator to be both sexes but not something I care for too much.
The story itself is a definite one to read or if you like audio books then listen to. I immensely loved The Secret Series. It was hard to stop reading and listening to. Gina A. Jones is a remarkable author in writing this series. It is a book to add to your library and thoroughly enjoy.
I did purchase the series books as well to read alongside the audio book.
Received an audio book for my honest review.
The Secret Series an Audiobook by Gina A. Jones was an incredible trilogy!!! It’s the story of Julia and Jonas. This is a deeply mysterious, romantic story that grips you immediately and doesn’t let go!!! The narration, by Tracy Marks, is absolutely perfect!!!! Not an error in sight….and the interpretation is spot on!!!! The incredible narration is certainly a large part of why this series was so captivating!!!! Same with the final book narrated by Aaron Shedlock!!!! What a PHENOMENAL TRILOGY!!!!!!!
The three stories are:
His Secret: Julia is hired to be the nanny for Jonas, a billionaire whose business dealings are legend. His daughter, Sidney is quiet, shy, and suffers in school because of things that she is accused of by the townsfolk. Julia and Jonas begin to have feelings for one another….but, they are clouded by nefarious dealings that are kept secret. Things and people keep appearing to Julia about his past…and he refuses to inform her of his past. Things come to a head and there is a tremendous cliffhanger!!!!! I HATE cliffhangers….Luckily, I have the complete series!!!! So, I continue on with….
Her Secret: Julia is now in Paris and is starting over….she tries to forget Jonas and everything he did to her. But, she has a BIG secret…and now he’s back. There are new questions….new situations….how will it all end up??? HUGE cliffhanger!!
Secret Enemy: Wow!!! Things are now all from Jonas’ point of view….and boy oh boy….is this a wild ride!!! This narration is done by Aaron Shedlock and he does a fabulous job as well!!!! This story (I won’t ruin the ending) is completed with this final book in the trilogy. Thank goodness, this was the entire trilogy as the cliffhangers would have driven me crazy while waiting for the next book!!!!
I voluntarily received an Advance Copy of this Audiobook for an honest review.
I am so in love with Jones as an author…this is the second book I’ve listened to that has had me completely captivated from the very beginning. I am so glad to have gotten the complete series as each read seemed to have a cliffhanger that had me begging for more until the very end. A dark, twisted and complicated story line with perfect flow and great narration. I literally am in awe of Gina A Jones!
This book was given to me for free at my request and I provided this voluntary review.
*review is based on the audio version of this read!
Where do I start? One of the hardest stories I listened to in a while … complicated, twisted, sad… kept me guessing the whole time. At times I wanted it to be over, then didn’t want to know what was coming next. My heart was ripped to shreds and just when I found a sliver of hope for mending, it got twisted again. So realistic in many ways that at time it was like a movie reel in my mind. The first two books I judged Jonas, but understood him too… at least I thought I did until book 3 when it was his time to tell the story. The angst and despair, the fight for a simple, happy life…. but he did it… THEY did it, with Julia. His friend Luke is a great secondary character, same with Natalie. Rebecca and Genevieve were the ones that I am sure many detest for their twisted minds.
I am glad I took the trilogy because book 1 and 2 end in cliffhangers and it would have driven me mad to wait for the next story. It is dark, but with a great ending and justice is rendered to those who deserve it. – A great story I recommend with 5 stars
Tracy Marks is one of my fave voice, definitely on my ‘eargasm’ list and she does the many voices with such passion and variation, I love listening to her. Aaron Shedlock did Jonas justice and all the characters he portrayed in book 3, his voice is smexy and delicious. – 5 stars
Oh my goodness! I have never listened to an audio book before and let me tell you, this was a fantastic experience and book. I literally had to stop my life just to listen to this book. It was that good. It had me so into it. I am so thankful that I had the entire series because there are major oh m gee cliffhangers!! Traci marks narrated book 1 and 2 and she did a wonderful job of the characters especially julia. Aaron shedlock narrated book 3 which was Jonas’ pov. He was wonderful in narrating this book. He sounded like Jonas as I imagined. He made jonas so sexy! There was so much detail in the books and so much mystery. I had to take notes! There are many levels of each character and it made me want to love them, hate them, be sad for them. At times, I had to stop listening and walk away because it got so intense I loved julia’s pov in books 1 and 2. She grew in confidence in each book especially book 3. Julia was so loving to sydney (jonas’ daughter). Jonas’ character in book 3 wanted me to hate him. He just wasn’t nice in the past. But as I listened, he was just trying to do the right thing after encountering julia. I just loved the suspense because once I thought I had it figured out, i didn’t. Book 3 had me crying at the end because i really wanted julia and jonas’ happy ending. What a fantastic experience this was. These books were wonderful and I am so glad I had the opportunity to listen to them. All 3 books were very sexy and full of mystery even up until the very end. I would recommend that you not listen in the car, you might veer off the road especially in book 3 jonas’ pov. wonderful series and i am now wanting to read or listen to other books by Gina a jones. I received an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
This may be the most twisted path to an hea that I have ever wandered. I honestly didn’t know if they were going to make it until the very end. The storyline is very dark and imaginative for a contemporary romance. The author gets full marks for brilliance. The only down side was the misuse of words throughout the book. It was only slight, and so might have been a misreading of one word for another similar word. It did occur with many different words throughout the series, but was not frequent enough to detract from the rating. The characters were wonderful, and it was a unique and highly enjoyable series. I received a free review copy of the audio version of this series in exchange for an honest review.
It was just too much to finish. I’m not much of a suspense reader
great book full of twists and turns and cant put down moments!!! there are so many WTFH moments that I found myself listening to this book no matter what I was doing
I was hooked from the start to the finish.
I’m glade I got the Trilogy in one go because
the first two parts finished up on cliffhangers.
There’s plenty of action drama suspense twists and turns
that really kept my attention.
The Narrator has done a good job of bringing the characters
to life no matter if he was doing the male or the female part.
I voluntarily reviewed a audio copy of this book.
Audio. Authors Direct.
DNF. 2.5 stars. I’ve rounded up because I feel like some of this is “it’s not you, it’s me” ~ and because while I had a LOT of issues with this book, there were also parts I really liked. I think folks who enjoy the long, drawn out, angsty trilogies/series lighter on the mystery/suspense development might be better suited for this one. All 3 books for a single credit is definitely a great deal.
This is my first book by Gina A. Jones as well as my first experience with narrators Tracy Marks & Aaron Shedlock. This audiobook consists of 3 parts: His Secret, Her Secret, and Secret Enemy. The first two are from Julia’s POV and narrated by Tracy Marks, while the last is from Jonas’ POV and narrated by Aaron Shedlock.
His Secret is very slow and filled with an incredible amount of minutiae that never seems to find any relevance. While there is some mystery and suspense that I found really intriguing, it wasn’t enough to fully hold my interest or completely surprise me. There are a lot of sub-topics thrown at us that don’t remain consistent in this book (or the series as a whole): religion is sort of sprinkled in but feels like an afterthought beyond the belabored beginning and there’s a mystical element (crows, blind woman, little girl) that I would have LOVED if it were explored more. Julia as a character is confusing as an ingenue who too often displays unexplained worldliness. Unfortunately Julia jumps to a *lot* of unfounded conclusions that only serve to move the plot forward and left me feeling unsatisfied as a listener. It did end in a cliffhanger, but if this weren’t the complete series, I doubt I would have continued on.
In some respects, things picked up in the second book and I felt that *some* of the various plot points were achieving cohesiveness. Unfortunately, at this point ~ things also became much more predictable and Jonas was wholly unlikable as a character. Julia’s reversals of interest in him (and immediate returns of affection and forgiveness) were unsupportable as “romance” and just felt like tedious angst. Again, cliffhanger.
Secret Enemy starts with Jonas telling the listener that he knows we’ve been right to judge him harshly, but all is not as it seems. Then it’s HOURS of listening to the exact. same. scenes. from book 1. This book is the longest at nearly 15 hours. After braving through 5 hours, I just can’t anymore. I just don’t care. Yes, Jonas offers more of his POV ~ but it isn’t helping at all. Jonas doesn’t seem like any more of a redeemable character and all the things that bothered me about Julia are being repeated.
I didn’t connect with Tracy Marks as a narrator. Now whether that’s her or the character (I’m leaning heavier toward Julia), I’m not entirely sure. There were no technical issues with her performance, pronunciations, character voices, etc. For me her pacing was really slow (again, that may be “Julia” shining through), but that’s often a personal preference. I’d be willing to try her again as another character, but I wasn’t wow-ed by anything here.
Aaron Shedlock’s sexy voice was probably the only reason I made it through as much of Enemy as I did. He had some pronunciations that were unusual to me but it’s possible it’s regional differences.
I’d definitely be willing to listen to him again.
I received a free copy of this audiobook and am voluntarily leaving a review.