Review ~ Keeping Secrets in Seattle ~ Brooke Moss

Keeping Secrets in Seattle by Brooke Moss
Secrets #1
Release Date: February 18, 2013
Genre: Adult, Contemporary Romance
Source: I received an eARC from Entangled Publishing, via Netgalley, in exchange for an honest review.
Rating: 4 Bookworms
Challenges: #BloggerShame, #COYER Summer 16, #ShelfLove
Goodreads

Synopsis
Seattle hairstylist Violet Murphy always knew the day would come when her best friend Gabe Parker would want to settle down. She'd secretly wished it would be with her, but now that he's chosen someone else--the prim, perfect Alicia--he wants Vi to be his best man.

Healing her broken heart isn't easy, but when Violet meets Landon Harlow, a man who isn't fazed by her funky style and less-than-delicate attitude, she takes a step in the right direction. Until Gabe's fiance's gorgeous facade begins to crack, and Violet's disturbing past comes back to haunt her, that is. Vi now finds herself armed with a series of lies that would break Gabe's heart--and his engagement--if he knew their truth, and a secret from their childhood that could change everything.

With the wedding looming, her relationships unraveling, and the bachelor party of the century to plan, Violet must choose between a fresh start with Landon, or confronting her painful past and risking it all for a chance at a future with Gabe.

You know those books you one-click OR request for review but for whatever reason let sit? For years? And then kick yourself once you finally get around to reading them because they're so good??? Yeah, Keeping Secrets in Seattle is one of those books!

I was immediately hooked - drawn into Violet's and Gabe's story. Moss did an excellent job of creating central characters with depth and keeping all the secrets secret until the reveals. Violet is such a quirky character and I liked that. I also liked that Moss used Vi's quirks - her wild hair, her tattoos, and her vintage clothing as camouflage - one way to keep her secrets. Vi was fun though, as well as hard-working and determined. I kinda felt Gave was similar to Vi in that he wore his suits and worked a high-power job - had even found himself a fiance to round out the picture. But it wasn't him. He wasn't being true to himself.

I also liked how Moss doled out information via snippets from Violet's journal entries. It felt genuine and also enable me to feel that much more connected with her.

The secondary characters were also fun to get to know - well, with an exception or two. *wink* Vi's roommates, Kim and Betsy, were a hoot and were always there to support her. And Landon - I really liked him and felt for him when things didn't work out the way he'd planned. I suppose these characters could have had more depth and that would have added more complexity to the story but the story, overall, was so good.

The ending was well done. I liked how Moss showed that Vi's perspective on things was a little skewed. I felt both she and Gabe did some growing - Vi more so. And it was necessary so that the way things shook out felt realistic and solid. The ending also wrapped things up well. This is the first in a series but no more books have been released. I'd venture to guess that if there are more in the future, the characters will be different than those in this installment. No matter - Moss has other stories for me and I plan to indulge.