Review: The Secret of Ella and Micha

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Title: The Secret of Ella and Micha
Author: Jessica Sorensen
Series: The Secret #1
Genre: New Adult, Contemporary, Romance
Publisher: Jessica Sorensen
Release Date: 10/2/2012
Format: ebook(Kindle format)

Synopsis:
Ella and Micha have been best friends since they were kids. But one tragic night shatters their friendship and their lives forever.

Ella used to be a rule-breaker with fiery attitude who wore her heart on her sleeve. But she left everything behind when she went to college and transformed into someone that follows the rules, keeps everything together, and hides all her problems. But now it's summer break and she has nowhere else to go but home.

Ella fears everything she worked so hard to bury might resurface, especially with Micha living right next door. If Micha tries to tempt the old her back, she knows that it will be hard to resist.
Micha is sexy, smart, confident, and can get under Ella’s skin like no one else can. He knows everything about her, including her darkest secrets. And he’s determined to bring his best friend, and the girl he loves back, no matter what it takes.




This book is about friendship developing into a more passionate relationship as lovers, if it was worth the risk or not. Ella Daniels and Micha Scott were friends since they were little, they are next door neighbors and they were inseparable, except for the fence between their houses. But after one tragic night shattered what they thought was holding them both, their love for each other. Ella wanted change and she decided to pack her bags and go to college in Las Vegas. There she managed to changed her personality into someone who is a total opposite of the Ella in Star Grove. There she met Lila, her roommate. Micha on the other hand stayed in Star Grove doing everything just to find Ella, and much to his surprise, on the morning she traced Ella’s number was the day the she went home to their place for summer. It was a summer full of memories, push and pull and struggles. Struggle for Ella to go back to who she really was, and struggle for Micha if it was time to let go.

“You’ve always had a good grasp on what’s right and wrong.

You just have a hard time admitting that sometimes you choose the wrong.”

Every character in this book is so messed up I was thinking of putting it down for a while. A bipolar mom that committed suicide, an alcoholic father and an older brother with anger management issues dumping all the blame to the youngest sibling, and of course the neighborhood that could pass as a drug dealing convention. The setting was just bothering me and I didn’t want to see more about it when I started reading this. I thought this book will be just full of hot and cheesy romantic scenes but I was wrong. The book was a bag of conflicts, and from those existing conflicts arise new problems and I wasn’t looking forward on reading about that. But after everything I disliked about this book I just can’t put it down. I was very curious if, like other books with messed up characters, all the conflicts will be resolved and how will the characters overcome it.

“Everywhere has bad stuff, you can’t hide from it.”

Just because this book has been affecting me with negativity, it didn’t stop me from understanding why Ella had to run away and change her personality. It was her way of coping up or erasing every bad memories she had growing up, even if it meant throwing her bestfriend and love of her life away. She didn’t just blamed herself, it was slapped on her face by her irresponsible family. She didn’t just experienced a traumatic childhood, she wasn’t given a chance to experience one.

One thing that I liked most in this book wasn't the main characters but actually their bestfriends, Lila and Ethan. Lila was like Ella's drug and therapist in one. She doesn't have any idea who Ella was before they met and yet she understands and didn't bail on her. Instead she opened up to Ella about her own problems so that Ella will be more comfortable that she's not the only one who has problems. On the other hand, Ethan is Micha's bestfriend who never bailed on him even if he was tired of hearing the same thing from Micha. He lets Micha let loose but at the same time he knows when to stop his bestfriend when he sees that he's on the verge of making a mistake. I was looking forward to Lila and Ethan's hooking up and I know it will come(even if they always deny it). :)

This book has been sitting on my Kindle shelf for a while and I am glad that I started this series now. The relationship that Ella and Micha portrayed in this book was amazing. Yes they were in love with each other but I liked that they inspire each other and they fought for each other. I like that their imperfections make them both perfect. They’re not like other couples in other books were sex was the only way for them to show their passion for each other. The summer where Ella went home was like the start of building their relationship as lovers. Micha never pressured her into a relationship or sex because he knows Ella best. They were bestfriends and lovers at the same time. Honestly, I was envious of their relationship because that was what I was looking for. (hihi) Overall, I didn’t like this book but I didn’t hate it too. I’m having mixed feelings and maybe reading the other books in the series would erase that.

3.5 out of 5