Review: Repressed (Deadly Secrets #1)

Repressed (Deadly Secrets #1)

by Elisabeth Naughton 

Blurb:

Hidden Falls is exactly as Samantha Parker left it—small, insular, and prone to gossip. Eighteen years have passed since she witnessed her brother’s murder, but she’s still the talk of the town. Until a handsome child psychologist with haunting memories of his own arrives.

Dr. Ethan McClane isn’t exactly a newcomer. If it weren’t for his latest case, he’d never set foot back in Hidden Falls. Thankfully, no one seems to recognize him as the troubled teen from years past. Not even Sam, the delightfully sharp and sexy high school chemistry teacher he can’t stop thinking about.

When Sam and Ethan work together to help one of her students, sparks ignite. But Sam’s hazy memories of a long-ago night concern Ethan, and unlocking the repressed images reveals a dark connection between them. As the horrors of the past finally come to light, their relationship isn’t the only thing in danger. A killer will strike again to keep an ugly secret hidden, and this time no one will be safe.

Themes: Contemporary Suspense

Rating: 4 stars

Heat Rating: 

Review:

Elisabeth Naughton is one of my favorite paranormal authors, but when she decided to branch out into romantic suspense I didn’t hesitate to jump at the chance to read her new venture.  The first story in her new series, Repressed, takes us back to the childhood traumas of two individuals whose past was irrevocably intertwined one fateful night thought neither ever knew it. While this story was extremely emotional and led the reader through the pitfalls of childhood trauma relived, the romance that develops between Sam and Ethan was both sweet and sensual.  I enjoyed seeing Sam solve the mystery of her past and embrace her inner core of strength as she fights for what she really wanted, even as Ethan had to come to terms with his fears in order to keep the woman he loves safe and in his life, despite his past.  Sam isn’t exactly running from her past, but she has spent many years suppressing the truth she witnessed, but when strange things start happening around her it becomes harder and harder to deny that she might have truly witnessed something all those years ago—and might be in the middle of something dangerous once again.  I liked Sam a lot, even at times when she was trying deny her own instincts, mainly when she was fighting so hard for those she loved; in the end she finds her strength and is able to forgive the past once she understands the full depravity of what went on around her and the truth of that long ago night.  Ethan was a favorite from the very beginning, facing his childhood fears and fighting for the little guy, while also chasing after a woman that intrigues him, but as we get to know him more and more we see that sometimes youthful indiscretions go deeper than we ever realized. I loved Ethan’s character because he was just so human in a way that a lot characters aren’t.  He is of course very sexy and beyond a match for Sam’s sensuality once it peeks through the clouds she hides it behind.  They are so obviously a perfect match for one another.  I enjoyed this first-in-a-series very much and cannot wait to see what comes next.  Another masterful series is coming obviously.

*ebook provided by publisher (via netgalley) for the purpose of an honest and unbiased review.  No compensation was provided.