The Best Kept Secret

THE BEST KEPT SECRET is the third instalment in Tawna Fenske’s contemporary, adult SMOKEJUMPER romance series. This is nurse Nyla Franklin, and pilot/firefighter Leo Sayre’s story line. THE BEST KEPT SECRET can be read as a stand alone without difficulty. Any important information from the previous storylines is revealed where necessary. NOTE: Not wanting to give away too many spoilers, I am going to have to be as vague as possible in my review. Told from dual third person perspectives (Nyla and Leo) follows the building romance and relationship between nurse Nyla Franklin and pilot/firefighter Leo Sayre. Leo and Nyla have danced around their attraction to one another for as long as they can remember but when the side affects of pain medication find Leo revealing a shocking secret that leads to the potential for more heart breaking news. Nyla is caught in the middle of a potential family fall-out, a fall-out that leads to more secrets of her own…but Nyla has a bigger issue…she is unable to keep a secret, and her inability to withhold the truth is about to backfire when her sister Mandi, and her best friend Leo ply our heroine with lots of booze. What ensues is the building romance and relationship between Nyla and Leo, and the potential fall-out when secrets are revealed, possibly breaking the hearts of everyone they love. Nyla Franklin struggles with secrets. She cannot tell a lie, and withholding the truth is like a volcano waiting to explode but not only does she battle between head and heart with someone else’s secrets but with secrets of her own.Falling for Leo was never in the cards-a betrayal of sorts to someone else-but her love for Leo is matched equally by Leo’s love for our story line heroine.Leo Sayre is a single father; a divorcee who has big plans for his future including a solo cross country motorcycle trip, but once again, more secrets are revealed , making Leo question everything about his life going forward. The relationship between Nyla and Leo is a best friends to lovers; a secret affair kept from family and friends but a relationship predicated on friendship and love. As Nyla and Leo’s relationship turns into something more, our couple must navigate a possible betrayal, and their own future going forward. The $ex scenes are intimate and passionate without the use of over the top sexually graphic language and text. We are introduced Nyla’s sister Mandi who plays a major role in our couple’s life; their parents Ted and Laurel; Leo’s mother and her husband Bob, and Leo’s son Seth. I hope the author has plans for Mandi’s story. THE BEST KEPT SECRET is a story of family, friendships, relationships and love; a story of secrets and betrayal, revelations and acceptance; of understanding and love. The character driven premise is captivating and entertaining; the romance is seductive; the characters are energetic, charismatic and real. The ‘smokejumper’ aspect of the story is minimal, only mentioned or alluded to on a couple of occasions.

All the beans are spilled! At its heart, this book is a delightful friends-to-lovers romance. Of course it's complicated by the fact that Leo and Nyla are only friends because of his earlier marriage to her sister, Mandi. The fun starts when Nyla, a nurse, checks on Leo after a minor surgery, and in his painkiller fog he blurts out a family secret that Nyla, who is known for not being able to keep any secret, knows will devastate her family if it is ever revealed. There'd be enough tension and angst if there was only the one secret, but as their friendship grows closer Leo and Nyla unearth more buried secrets while creating a few new ones of their own. I love all the humor sprinkled throughout, and Leo and Nyla have enough chemistry to light the entire West Coast on fire. Even more, though, I appreciated the emotional depth that the author gave to the very serious storyline. These are characters that you'll fall in love with, and I respected the author for not making any of the secondary cast into lesser characters just for the drama. The delicacy in handling the three-way relationships between Nyla, Leo, and Mandi was brilliantly balanced while still feeling as real as a gut-punch. All the expected emotions are expressed and addressed without being over the top. I also gained a new respect for mimosas, and have to commend the author for Nyla's hilariously realistic drunken inner monologue. The only thing I wish had been different is that we don't really get to interact with any of the other smokejumpers that Leo works with. Aside from one brief scene, the story takes place entirely within Nyla and Leo's families, making this standalone romance feel almost like it's not even connected to the series. This book was thoroughly captivating, one that I read slowly and reread passages as I went along, eager to savor the experience and not willing to rush to the finish. I have already marked the books in this series for a binge reread once they're all out. I voluntarily reviewed an ARC of this book.

The Best Kept Secret by Tawna Fenske, book three in the Where There’s Smoke series is a friends-to-lovers tale that is enjoyable and amusing with laugh-out-loud scenes and some major family drama. Nyla couldn’t keep a secret to save her life, a fact that everyone knew and knew not to tell her any secrets. Leo and Nyla have been friends for a long time; even surviving Leo's divorce from Nyla's sister, Mandi. When Nyla goes over to Leo’s house to help him after a dental procedure, Leo let out a big secret. While high on painkillers, Leo shares a huge family secret with Nyla; a secret that has the potential to change everything. Nyla is a nurse and extremely dedicated to her family, so when she hears Leo's secret, everyone knows it’s a ticking bomb. The secret also seems to open a door to the feelings between Leo and Nyla, bringing them closer together. Leo is a really good guy and excellent father to Seth. He's been through a lot, and never really has a moment just for himself. He's spent most of his life giving everything to everyone. Now he is finally in a place where he is ready to take some time for himself and open up to Nyla; despite how complicated it makes everything. Now how keep this secret a secret without ruining anything, or will that not be possible. Ms. Fenske wrote an enjoyable, emotional, and heartwarming story that should not be missed. She provided a tale rich with strong chemistry, family dynamics, clever banter, lots of laughs, and endearing characters giving Nyla and Leo a chance at love, happiness, and a future together. I highly recommend The Best Kept Secret to other readers. I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book.