Dirty Little Secret

By: Kendall Ryan

Narrated by: Zachary Webber, Megan Tusing

Length: 5 hrs and 59 mins

Publisher's summary

Gavin Kingsley burst into my life in a sharp and unexpected twist of fate. You know his type - arrogant, dangerously handsome and impossible to ignore.

Something dark within him calls to the shadows inside me. I long for the kind of heart-wrenching passion I've only read about, and his tragic past reads like one of my favorite literary classics. Raw. Visceral. Captivating. Together, we're a perfect mess.

The deeper I fall into his world, the more I crave him like a drug - he pushes every boundary I have and challenges everything I thought I wanted. I want to unlock his heart. I want his dirty secrets.

But in the end, will he be the blade that cuts me...or the bond that makes my life complete?

©2017 Kendall Ryan (P)2017 Kendall Ryan

Love forbidden romances!!

I adore books about quite librarians with a naughtier side to them. Emma just hasn’t found her naughty side quite yet as she just left a physically abusive relationship. So here she is, this quite, beautiful woman who wants to help find herself again. She totally obsesses over this guy at a coffee shop and as chance finally works out for her, she gets his business card and now, the stalking kicks off! OK, ok… not exactly stalking but close anyway. I was really torn here… do we go for Gavin? Gavin the CEO of a very exclusive escort service. Or Cooper, Cooper the sexy and sweet man? Tough call for a woman with no options one minute and then she’s oozing sex the next minute!

I really liked Emma! She’s quite, she’s no risk taker, and she barely mustered the courage to leave an abusive relationship. So now she finds herself seduced by Gavin and Cooper! AND with another job as their exclusive escort… can you imagine?

So here is where I faltered a bit. I really expected some super naughty business going down now! But it kind of petered out. I think it’s the name mostly, Dirty Little Secret, you think you’re just getting that. It fell a bit short for me. I love Kendall Ryan’s writing. Her characterization building. Even the chemistry was there. Not exactly what I come to expect from a Kendall Ryan book.

So I've read this book and enjoyed it but audio is always so different and fun to listen too! This audio pulled me in from the first word spoken. The narrators, Zachary Webber and Megan Tusing did an amazing job on the characters. Megan seriously brought Emma to life for me! As my first Webber book, I'm kicking myself for not knowing his narrations were so enjoyable!! He is able to do different male characters justice. I was worried it would be too similar and I'd get lost but that wasn't the case! I loved it! Way to go Megan and Zachary! Superb job!

I DEVOURED this story!

4.5 STARS
I LOVED this book! I loved the uncertainty and the angst and the passion. I DEVOURED IT. A new top favorite from Kendall Ryan.
The innocent little librarian, Emma Bell, finds herself torn between Gavin and Cooper. Gavin is the mysterious stranger she has been lusting after. Once he is a stranger no more, she soon realizes that although she is irresistibly drawn to him, he is a clear danger to her heart. He also has a rather mysterious past. Some of the things he says and does are a little cold and downright shocking. Like his brother says, he's behaving like a kid who doesn't want to share his toy. Cooper, his brother, is also intrigued by Emma. Cooper is equally sexy, but has charm and manners on his side. A tug of war between the two brothers ensues, with one brother clearly pushing the other's buttons. Adding to the intensity and uncertainly of which brother she will choose is the fact that we get all three characters POV's. Just when you think you know which brother she is going to chose, something else happens which makes you doubt. While there are three players in this game, I wouldn't really say it's a love triangle. She isn't sleeping with or even kissing both brothers so if you are looking for a "safe" book, this still qualifies.

Wildly intriguing, a touch erotic and overflowing with suspense and angst. When it’s all said and done, Dirty Little Secret is going to leave you begging for more.

Loved the narrators!

Ooh what a dirty little book! It was a fresh and addicting story. The story is written from three character POV’s. Emma’s ugly past has left her needing to be desired and wanted. Cooper is the charming, witty, instantly lovable brother. Gavin is more growly and closed off but you can see the torment beneath his eyes. There’s something haunting him.

Gavin and Cooper run a large escort service along with their older brother called Forbidden Desires. Every morning Emma has been eyeing the mysterious Gavin for months and finally she makes a move. Showing up at his company she winds up agreeing to be an escort exclusively for both Gavin and Connor. She’s lusted after Gavin for so long but opening up is hard for him when he’s been guarded for so long. Connor is the complete opposite. So patient and attentive. The drama that ensues between these three is addicting and will have you fully immersed in this book. With this being part of a Duet their story and drama continues in the next book Dirty Little Promise.

The audiobook version really impressed me. I loved the narrators. They did a great job capturing the emotions and feelings of the characters. There’s only one minor thing I would have preferred to be different. The chapters switch between three point of views, two males and one female yet there’s only one male narrator doing both male point of views. I would’ve preferred there to be separate male narrators for each male point of view. Regardless of that, I thoroughly enjoyed the narrators and listening to this story. Having great narrators can make or break a book and besides the great storyline, the narrators had me sold just by their performances.

loved it

loved it, couldn't stop listening to it
I have to read the follow up asap!!!!

Story okay, female narrator is awful

Okay story, but not worth buying another book to see how it ends. The next book also has the same female narrator, so I’m out anyway. I don’t like her at all.

Fantastic!

Wow, this is such exciting story. I can’t wait for the next one in the series! The narrators did a great job.

little secret

great sexy even romantic book at where gavin is so hot! the war between the two brothers over emma will make you laugh, cry and feel sorry for the one she lets down! loved every second of this book ! i even got the next volume because i couldnt put the first one down! Hopefully there will be more books like this one! I was given a copy of this audiobook for free at my request and voluntarily left this review!

If you loved Fifty Shades...

3.75 stars (Review for both 1 & 2)
Dirty Little Secret and Dirty Little Promise by Kendall Ryan are a duet; each doesn’t stand alone. The first ends in a cliffy, but the main story is resolved in the second book, even though a third, featuring a different couple is coming. These were my first Kendall Ryan books, and I was excited because I have heard many good things! While I had a few issues with the duet, I did enjoy it, and plan on reading the third in the series.

After listening for a little while, I found myself going to check when this was published. It reminded me so much of the rash of books published after Fifty Shades, that I thought perhaps I was reading Ms. Ryan's first series. We have the sweet, innocent bookworm/librarian, and the dashing, dominant, rich, broody Gavin Kingsley. He even said “I exercise control in all things”! He pilots his own helicopter, and a major plotline has some HUGE similarities to Fifty (but it’s a spoiler so I can’t say!) PLUS, the narrator is the same as Grey and Darker.

Emma Bell, librarian, (the sweet innocents are always Emma aren’t they?) has been lusting after a guy that comes into the same coffee shop as her.
“And every morning, promptly at ten to eight, Mr. Tall, Dark, and Sinful strolled inside and ordered a double shot of espresso to go.”

She never had the nerve to talk to him, but one day, when he drops his card by the register, she retrieves it and googles his company, Forbidden Desires, an upscale escort service.

We get Gavin’s POV too, and he wanted her. He left his card there hoping she’d retrieve it, but later realized it was a mistake. Too Late.
“She was a classic next-door-type. A walking wet-dream. Something I had no right to desire, but I wanted all the same.”

So she visits his business, and is offered a job. Gavin is denying his attraction, so he and his brother Cooper hire her to be their escort to share. (Not sex, just someone to go to events with). She couldn’t say no! Tons of money and two of the hottest guys she’s ever seen? Yes please. But of course, she was really hoping Gavin would just step up and claim her.
“The two of them together were completely overwhelming. So much masculine energy, the room practically overflowed with testosterone, making me dizzy.”

Gavin and his brother Cooper were two polar opposites. While Gavin was silent, broody and broken, Cooper was sweet, funny, friendly and loving. And he falls for the sweet librarian, while all Gavin does is push her away.
"She was all wrong for me. Innocent where I was hardened, and sweet where I was rough. She’d want a tender lover, someone who was gentle and took his time warming her up, not some asshole who’d shove al nine inches in just to watch her gasp and struggle for breath…”

As a reader, you know this is Emmy and Gavin’s story, and Cooper pretty much knew it too, but it didn’t stop him from falling for her.

Dirty Little Secret ended on a big cliffy, but luckily, Dirty Little Promise is out already so you can grab it. We have some outside suspense that I really enjoyed in the second book. But with names like these, I expected the sex to be dirty, but the dirty talk seemed to be more of the thing. With all his talk, I expected some hot little BDSM scenes and was disappointed.
“I think you want to feel desired and experience passion, but you’re afraid to ask for it. You want a man to take control, to make you feel wanted, and you want to feel pleasure like you’ve never imagined.”


Likes:

•A compelling story that kept me interested.
•A sexy read with a dominant, brooding hero.
•Book two had a bit of suspense and more drama thrown in.

Dislikes:

•Too many similarities to Fifty Shades.
•Cooper’s reaction was ridiculous and over the top.
•We get it. Gavin is nine inches. I wonder how often he measures?

The Narration:
I absolutely loved the narrators, and they enhanced the book immensely.

The Down & Dirty:
While I really enjoyed listening to the two books, I found myself doing some eye-rolling at the amount of common tropes this book used, and the abundance of homages to Fifty Shades. From him saying “I exercise control in all things” to him being a helicopter pilot, to other things (too much of a spoiler to say) I had to look to be sure this wasn’t published four years ago. I also felt that having “Dirty Little” in the titles implied it would be a way hotter read than it was. Still, I did enjoy listening, it kept me involved and engaged, and do want to hear the 3rd in the series.

"When had she become my everything?”

Rating: 3.75 stars, 4 Heat, 5 narration

Could have been great

I’ve waited til one hour from the end for Emma to grow a backbone. The angst could be just as good if she stood up for herself with Gavin. And it wouldn’t have ticked me off. I love Gavin, his damaged ass-holery can be redeemed.

But Emma is too much of a mouse and led poor, sweet Cooper on too much for me to keep listening.

Too bad. The writing is good, but I’m going to find a book with a heroine who isn’t a mouse.

Very cliche

Good story line but there are so many moments, words/lines and scenarios used on a regular basis in romantic novels and movies. It was an okay read but would not recommend to anyone looking for something far from the ordinary.