Seven Dirty Secrets

I have so many questions for Natalie D. Richards and Natasha Preston about how they write their books because woooooow. Natalie D. Richards has done it again. This time the reader follows Cleo on her 18th birthday. It starts with a present she finds. The thing is she has been home alone for awhile so nobody could have placed the present unless they broke in. Further investigation shows that there is no evidence of a break in. Turns out the present is the beginning of a scavenger hunt. Sounds fun right? Nope because this hunt drugs up a past Cleo would rather forget, specifically what happened on her birthday the prior year with her ex boyfriend Declan. As I continued reading my heart broke for Cleo because it was clear she had survived quite an ordeal. Even though she has essentially moved on with another relationship this hunt is determined to destroy whatever strength she gained from before. Enter her brother Connor and her best friend Hope who try to help her solve this mystery. The clues tell her if she doesn't win this hunt something bad will happen. The character relationships are what made this book as good as it was. Unfortunately, the trip from the previous year tested some friendships and broke them beyond repair. All Cleo wants is to forget what happened and move away for school to do more with her life than just remember. This hunt tries to destroy that dream. As Cleo and her friends work their way through the clues it becomes apparent to her that nothing is as it seems about her friends and the trip the year before. No matter how hard she tries to play down what happened to her and Declan, everyone knew and everyone sees the toll it took on her. The human mind and heart can only take so much negativity before it is forced to protect itself. The ending was unexpected in some ways and predictable in others. They all made mistakes, but they made them with what they thought were the best intentions-to save Cleo. The entire time I was rooting for each character to own up to their secrets, but I also wanted them to find happiness. Hope and Connor just made my day. Valerie and Aiden deserved to heal from their wounds. Cleo deserves peace. This book was a thriller with a punch no doubt, but I believe there was more to this one than just the past coming back to haunt them. I would recommend this one to all readers because I believe it has something for everyone.