"Did everyone think he had it all together? He felt like his life was a hot mess of lies and secrets and betrayals."
An engrossing and engaging read full of introspection and emotion!
Nick seems like the perfect and nice guy who seems to have his life in order and always knows what to do. His PoV shows that he's far from perfect as he deals with insecurities and feelings of confusion, denial and fear. Nick is a genuinely good person who cares about other people and lives life based on their expectations. It's interesting to read about his journey as he figures out what he wants and starts living life on his terms. Nick's story is emotional, realistic and powerful and it seems like Kemmerer wrote his story with a lot of attention and care.
Quinn is a difficult character to like, but I don't think she's meant to be likable. She has body insecurities, a terrible home environment and is abused by people who are supposed to be on her side. Because of this, her bold, reckless and dramatic personality becomes her armour. I empathise with Quinn and her situation and she's a fearless, brave and outspoken character, but I rarely understood her actions and decisions and at times, she's reckless to the point of danger and is also hypocritical.
The relationships in Secret - familial, platonic and romantic - are just as flawed and realistic as the characters themselves.
Michael is becoming more amazing with each book in the series and I can't wait to read Sacrifice. Gabriel is (surprisingly) one of my favourite characters, so while I expected his reaction, I'm disappointed. He still has the best banter and wittiest comebacks though. Chris is a great younger sibling and his response warms my heart.
Adam and Nick are cute and have so much chemistry. I love the progression of their relationship. It isn't perfect, but they handle it with so much care by constantly communicating and talking out their feelings.
I'm a little iffy about Tyler. While I could understand his reasons for his terribleness, it doesn't excuse his behaviour, though he does come through in the end. It seems like he's slowly heading on the redemption path and it's interesting to read about.
I also have mixed feelings towards Tyler and Quinn. Tyler isn't portrayed as a great character for the first third of Secret and even insults Quinn and burns her arm, but Tyler sees Quinn for who she really is and vice-versa. They don't let each other get away with their insecurities and nonsense.
The contemporary aspect takes precedence over the paranormal aspect, but I love character-driven novels and Nick's story is well-written. The paranormal aspects are lightly woven into the plot, but is especially strong in the last quarter, which is also action-packed. Air is such a subtle and powerful element and Nick does some pretty cool things with it.
Secret is slightly different from other books in the Elemental series. It's character-driven and introspective, but that doesn't make it any less compelling.
"You are the only person alive who would use superpowers to be more dorky."