Secrets of You

Sunshine and Happiness, Book 4

By: Skylar M. Cates

Narrated by: Michael Stellman

It’s never easy to find redemption.

Carrying scars and regrets, River Darcourt avoids too much intimate contact. Among his friends, he is known as a quiet loner. Forget about love. It’s not something he will consider...until sweet, young, and tempting Morgan Hayes becomes his housemate. River closed his heart long ago, but the attraction is impossible to deny.

Morgan Hayes needs a change. He is moving out of his critical father's home and in with his friends, including his secret/not-so-secret crush, River. Having feelings for River is a terrible idea. But what is a guy to do when the annoyingly sexy mechanic is just across the hall?

While Morgan has overcome ugliness and is ready for love, he’s just not sure River ever will be. They have both experienced pain in their lives. So Morgan dares River to take a chance, and love will either break their fractured hearts in more pieces or, just possibly, make them whole again.

©2017 Skylar M. Cates (P)2016 Skylar M. Cates

"There had been a time when he’d loved to flirt."

This is the first book I've listened to or read, by Skylar M. Cates. This is book 4 in a series called Sunshine and Happiness. I kind of wish I'd listened to the first three books first, I might have gotten a bit more insight into these characters.

This book was written in 3rd person POV which has never been a favorite of mine. I guess I don't like being told something as much as I like being shown something. Because of this I didn't experience the angsty moments the way I normally would.

These guys have some serious baggage and are both a little damaged. They will have to work through their individual issues before they can come together and move forward.

Father's disapproval, death of past love, hurt/comfort, loner/people pleaser, roommates to lovers, brings the heat

Meant to be

River is a guy I had to feel heartbroken over. River is trying to get over his loss of Brandon and not really successful at it. Morgan is trying to adjust to having been attacked. Both have an attraction to each other but both have issues that keep standing in their way of doing anything about it. When things start to push them together and they face decisions that change both their lives. There is so much emotion throughout this story. There are things that are revealed that gave me quite a few oh moments. The narration by Michael Stellman brought all the emotion to the story.

I enjoyed this.

I haven’t read any of the other books in this series but I never felt lost. I perhaps would have liked it even more if I had but it was still very enjoyable. This is my first audiobook by this narrator and I liked his voice. Now I’d like to listen to the other books in this series.

A story of Redemption

What was one of the most memorable moments of Secrets of You?

When River and Morgan finally come together, in more ways than one, pun totally intended.

What about Michael Stellman’s performance did you like?

I liked that he has a youthful tone and exuberance that matches the characters perfectly.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

Yes, but it's a spoiler. I'll just say River finally lets down all his walls and completely lets Morgan in.

Any additional comments?

This is definitely a story of redemption, for both men. River's past is dark but he's fueled his self imposed misery for so long that the embers seem more like raging flames. Morgan has trust issues due to be abandoned by his mother, leaving him with his emotionally bereft, homophobic father. Add to that Brendan's death and all the issues that swirl around their close knit group of friends and these two seem doomed before they even get started.

One thing that I really like about this series on Audio that I normally do not care for is that a different narrator is used for each installment. It really works for this series because each couple is wildly different than the others and having a completely different voice and tone for each story adds to the overall feel of the books.

The smexy times were hot and the feels sweet

What a great name for a character! (ha ha) Morgan is such a sweetheart! Despite all that’s happened to him, he remains open and refreshingly honest and optimistic.

River was a bit more of a sad-sack. His life has definitely been hard and he doesn’t really deal well with any sort of adversity. Morgan definitely has his work cut out for him with River.

Of course I wanted River and Morgan to work out – River needed someone like Morgan so badly! – but, I was a bit bemused by the change of heart in River. He’s so determined to be alone then – suddenly – he’s willing to give things a try. I guess everyone has a tipping point – and faced with Morgan’s constant optimism even the most dour of people have to reconsider – right?

I was glad that River’s secrets got revealed, but I wish we’d gotten a bit more closure for River and a bit more of a solid take on where the future was headed for him and Morgan.

The smexy times were definitely hot and the feels were very sweet. It was great seeing all the other characters and while I think having read all the books in the series will help you to understand River a bit better, I think this would be fine as a stand-alone as well.

There looks like there might be more in store for this series – I’m hoping Logan’s up next – and that will make all the fans of the author and the series really happy!

While I definitely enjoyed this, it wasn’t my favorite in the series, but that’s a tough comparison – the series is just so good!

4 of 5 stars

Audio

Michael Stellman narrates this story -all the narrators for the series are different. I think it’s best when one narrator does the entire series – especially if there are characters that overlap between books. Stellman does not do anything to change the different character’s voices, so in that case it doesn’t matter. He’s easy to listen to and he’s really good at handling the emotions, timing and overall tone – but I do wish there were more character differentiation.

4 of 5 stars

Moving and spicy grumpy-sunshine romance!

Nursing guilt and shame from past actions, River Darcourt either pushes people away or runs. While most of his friends are away celebrating a wedding for the week, River is left alone with their newest housemate, the bubbly Morgan Hayes. Morgan is nursing his own fears, having been sexually assaulted a few months ago—something he’s never shared with his highly critical father. When both men team up to evaluate which charity to donate an insurance payout to, sparks fly. Both men have feelings for each other but Morgan has to really push River to act on them. Once they do, the walls of secrecy start to tumble.

There’s something about Skylar M Cates’ writing style that I just adore. It’s the combination of the depth of feeling, the well-crafted characters, and the extra spice in the romance. She’s not afraid to let us sit with strong emotions, and while this series finale isn’t as harrowing as some of the earlier books, it felt just right for these characters. Although the books in this series all focus on a different couple in the friendship group, I’ve also loved how interwoven all the characters are throughout the series. US voice-actor extraordinaire Michael Stellman is ALWAYS excellent and he does a wonderful job in this audio.

New Beginnings and a Whole Lot of Feelings!

I am so completely obsessed with the lives of all these Guys in this series, but my heart River! River the quiet, mysterious & moody guy who just needed some hope and sunshine in his life! Morgan is just that for River, even though he has some emotional issues of his own to overcome. What I loved about these two is that they are both hurting but handle it in exactly opposite ways so when they come together, they balance one another out. This is a very sweet, sometimes sad, sometimes happy slow burn romance. Morgan's awkwardness of trying to attract River is Adorbs! It is told from both of their POV so you get insight to how they are feeling, growing and changing with one another. I definitely thought Michael Stellman did a great job of portraying both of them the array of emotions. There is an instant chemistry between these two, which River resists, but only for so long, and then sweet and steamy times begin!!