Title: Secret Keeper

Author: Jane Alvey Harris

Publishing House: Createspace

Genre(s): Young Adult, Fantasy, Contemporary

Pages: 320

My rating: 5 out of 5 stars

Thank you to Film 14 and Jane Alvey Harris for providing a copy of Secret Keeper! 

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Secret Keeper Synopsis

What if the worst thing isn’t that they don’t believe you?

What if the worst thing is that they just don’t care?

Seventeen year-old Emily has accepted the truth of her past trauma and made peace with her battered egos. She’s won the first battle…barely…but the war in her psyche still rages. The same day Mom is released from rehab and Emily finishes detox, Dad announces he’s ready to be a family again, throwing Emily into panic. Determined to protect her younger brothers and sister from Dad, she gathers the strength to do the hardest thing she’s ever done: speak her Secret.

But it isn’t enough. Nobody will intervene. Emily is more alone and helpless than ever. Her therapist suggests that the key to resolving her crises lies within the mysterious First Realm, where Emily has access to her Fae abilities and where she can find her Champion…the one person with enough power to end the destructive cycle of abuse and help Emily transform from victim to survivor.

Desperate for guidance, Emily returns to the First Realm only to discover the Seven Kingdoms in total chaos. She has just a few days to find her Champion before Dad comes for her. Can she complete her task and return to the Second Realm in time to save her family, or will her dreaded premonition turn out to be true: that she is her own worst enemy?

Check out the amazing book trailer below!

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My Review of Secret Keeper

It’s always a great moment when you find a sequel to a book that is even better than the first. Secret Keeper is one of those books. Riven had me feeling all sorts of emotions, and Secret Keeper did the same thing, but this book seemed to make me feel those emotions twice as much. Secret Keeper did not disappoint!

The audience follows Emily as she continues to battle within her psyche, which is where the magic and fantasy aspect come into play. There is more of a darker presence in Secret Keeper than there was in Riven, but it portrays different concepts, mainly how one may react when some secrets come out and consent. The fantasy in this story is both engrossing and unique, and the author has such a way of getting you hooked to the story and the fantasy world. The epic battle scenes, the AMAZING maidens that know how to kick some hardcore butt, and the gripping social issues are all part of this beautiful story.

Jane Alvey Harris knows how to keep an audience captivated. She adds layer upon layer upon layer to this already intense plot, leaving the reader wanting more. Even though questions from the first book are finally answered, new questions arise and keep the reader enticed. Emily’s journey portrays a light for those who are struggling, for others to see how some teens may cope with harbored secrets and acceptance. She is such a complex character that it’s easy to get sucked into her story. This story addresses those unbearable social issues in a such a unique way; I usually don’t like to read books that deal with different types of social issues, but this book approaches those issues in such a light way that is powerful yet emotional.

I cannot wait to see what is in store for Emily in the next book. That ending was something I was not expecting, and I will be waiting impatiently for the next book. I already know it’s going to be fantastic!

If you haven’t checked out Jane Alvey Harris’s work, I highly recommend that you do. Her My Myth Trilogy is a gripping contemporary with a wonderful fantasy aspect that will not only keep you guessing, but also make you feel as if you are on Emily’s journey.

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Secret Keeper is now available to buy on Amazon  and at Barnes and Noble  To find out more about the My Myth Trilogy, visit Jane’s website here.

To view more videos by Film 14, click here. And to find out more about how fantasy can be used as an escape, check out A Close(r) Read: Fantasy as Escape.