No More Secrets: A Small Town Love Story (Blue Moon, Book 1)

Are you ready to fall in love with Blue Moon? You better buckle up...it’s going to be an amazing ride. For me, the ride started with Mr. Fixer Upper, but I am so glad it didn’t end there. Blue Moon is a fantastic place! Carter and Summer from No More Secrets are perfectly imperfect! You will love them first, but by the end, you will love the whole town. If not, you have no business reading. (Okay, maybe that is a bit harsh, but really I don’t know how you wouldn’t love them!) Carter and Summer meet when Summer visits Carter’s farm to write a piece on organic farming for her fashion magazine. She loves the feel good stories about “improving the world we live in” that get thrown in every issue and is working her way to the top. Carter is a vet who returned from Afghanistan damaged, but not broken. He enjoys his life of solitude (or at least as close as you can get to it in Blue Moon) and just wants to take care of his family farm. He has no interest in fashion or fame, but he quickly develops an interest in Summer. Throughout the story, the two obviously connect, but they both have pasts that are holding them back. While Carter has overcome most of his trauma after the war with the help of his family and the residents of Blue Moon Bend, Summer has a very limited support system, and the community factor in Blue Moon is a welcome surprise, but will it be enough for her to move on and embrace happiness? Could Carter be all she really needs? Carter is a hero in every way. He is good and loyal. He is strong and faithful. He is as sexy as they come. He is such a hard worker. When he returned home with PTSD, he dedicated his time and energy to running the family farm. He is passionate about his work and his family. While he has overcome most of his trauma, he still tends to keep people at a distance. However, he is a man who believes in signs, and with Summer they are too much to ignore. He is patient when Summer needs time to catch up and he is ready to give her a push when she lets herself get in the way. His fierce protectiveness and overall goodness and strength won me over from the very beginning. His is a big gruff, but he is the epitome of hot farmer. He gets Summer in a way no one else can. Summer is a feisty city girl who takes pride in standing on her own two feet. She is so fiercely independent while trying to make it to a senior editor position, and yet farm life seems to agree with this city girl. She isn’t afraid of hard work, and she seems to enjoy getting dirty on the farm. Even when Carter gives her terrible jobs, she refuses to give up. She even falls in love with the animals and becomes a vegetarian. However, there is a bit of mystery surrounding Summer and her past that isn’t revealed until late in the book. While I was fairly certain I knew where it was going, I was dying to find out if I was right. While Summer was in love with Carter, the Pierces, farm life and Blue Moon in general, something was holding her back. However, that didn’t stop her from being there for Carter, from being his protector and his rock in his time of need. I loved that she was strong and passionate. I loved that she embraced Blue Moon and everything it stood for. I also loved that she was willing to put others above herself, even if she did need to learn to let others in. All the Pierces play such a key role in this story, and you will fall in love with each and every one of them. The way they band together and are there for one another makes them incredible. When the going gets tough, they show up. Phoebe is a strong, independent woman who will clearly do anything for her boys, but she is still such a dynamic character with problems of her own. These brothers, Carter, Beckett and Jackson are all so different from one another, but their love for one another and family in general was so evident. They give so much more than lip service. When things needed done or one of them was going through a tough time, their actions spoke louder than any words could. I was also so fascinated by Jackson and Joey in this story! They drew me in, and I couldn’t wait to find out their backstory. The town of Blue Moon Bend is almost a character of its own. The people are so unique in this hippie town, and they each add so much to the story. I was just as drawn to the sense of community as Summer. The residents of Blue Moon Bend were there to support one another through thick and thin. Whether it was supporting an injured veteran who has returned to town, helping an injured farmer, or supporting one another at the farmers market, they were there for each other. They wanted the best for everyone. Blue Moon Bend made this such a happy book to escape with. Overall, this book was fantastic. The characters were so multifaceted and real. The town was amazing and made me want it to be real. The writing was funny and smart while the romance was hot. My only complaint? This book completely ruined my book schedule and TBR list. Once I finished, I HAD to read the next...and the next...you get my drift. Be ready to stick around a while once you start, because I certainly didn’t have the willpower to leave. An extra bonus? This book is currently free for Kindle Unlimited subscribers. This book does contain sex, but it is not vulgar in the least.

This book made me laugh and cry. The author does a great job of creating her characters . You will feel like you are right there in Blue Moon.

First let me say, when there is a series I don’t usually do a review until I’ve read at least the first two books, this book was just too good/fun - I wanted to share my 5 star rating. I don’t hand out 5 stars often! Not that I’m someone to impress, but if I’m going to take the time to read a story I have expectations that the author will have taken the time to give me a story that will have me wanting to read what is on the next page - not make it predictable (at least no too much, it is romance after all) and give the all the characters some real personality! I got all that and more with this great story. Grab it read it, you will truly enjoy it. We all have secrets and some are easier to share than others, but the one where we end up loving someone and saying that love out loud is the scariest to share. Our leading lady Summer a city girl with all sorts of career plans. She is no different than the rest of us, but her secret is big and so is her unexpected love for the farmer she meets. Carter a scarred warrior who still works on his battles just in a different field, he has found a good place in his organic farm, he has a loving family – who are not without a few issues (we all have them) and crazy got’a lov’m community making life easier to get through and heal. Right from the start when Summer meets farmer Carter you see interest, surprising both of them and the story just gets better with the turn of each page. It’s been a while since I really laughed out loud about what was happening in the book, the genuine conversation of all the people was fun to read maybe I should say, it made for a believable story! And good grief the banter of the brothers was perfect. Having experienced it from the bothers, to the sons’ in my life I could hear the come-backs coming and was not disappointed with their by-play. I cried for both of our leads, having lived Summer’s secret that causes this fear in real life the author deals with it sooo well. All I can say is that “XXXX” takes away a certain freedom from you in ways you cannot realize if you have not had to deal with the issues. I’ve talked and worked with soldiers over the years and although Carter’s issues seemed clear up somewhat easier than in real life, I believe from working with these men and woman their healing, like the XXXX healing, I have learned that every individuals healing process is different. I laughed hard at times. I cried. I said on no he didn’t say that, dude duck. And well the love scenes were nicely placed and just as real without being overt or filled with porn-y (I know it’s not a word) details (that’s not what this book was about). Grab an ice-tea or preferably a micro-brew beer and read on!!!! You will not be disappointed! Now on to the next brother….

I enjoyed reading this book. The characters are engaging and amazing the connection is undeniable throughout the pages. The storyline flowed easily throughout the pages. A must read!

Ambitious, career-focused, city girl with a secret, goes to the country on a job assignment. She meets and falls in love with the ruggedly handsome, organic farmer who has a few emotionally troubling scars of his own. Immersed in the personalities of the small, quirkily little town and the affection of his close-knit family, she is torn as the questions of what she really wants in life begin to trouble her. Will they survive their respective secrets? Will she give into her heart or will she return to the big city to realize her big dream? If you’ve ever watched a Hallmark movie, then you already know the answer as this is the go-to plot of many a movie on the channel. Normally the big-city-girl meets sexy-small-town-guy trope would have me tuning up to write a sarcastically negative review. But, with No More Secrets, I’ve finally read a modern romance where the characters act like adults in very believable ways. Both are struggling with issues that are realistic and for the most part manage them with a minimum melodrama. The plot premise may be cliched, but the execution of it is not. That said, there were a couple of times that the story strayed dangerously close to eye-roll territory but fortunately, managed to avoid it. Combine all that with a well-paced story, lots of LOL humor, really good character development, and I have a story that worked for me, despite the cliches. I have read few contemporary romances that I liked, but I really “scored” with this one. Blue Moon is a town I’d like to visit, the Pierce family and the town residents are people I’d like to know.

I have to say for all to hear - I LOVE LUCY SCORE!!!! The first book of hers that I read was The Worst Best Man, which I loved! It was so different from any other romance I'd read. This book lead me to Rock Bottom Girl. Rock Bottom Girl has to be the best book I've read in a long time!!! The story just captured me and never let go, and the characters were totally believable! Then I moved on to the Bootleg Springs series and Lucy became my "girl crush"! I will literally read anything she writes!! So, I decided to start the Blue Moon series and read No More Secrets. Lord, I'm so happy that I did!!! Carter and Summer are such an amazing couple, as well as interesting individuals. And the town of Blue Moon Bend is a character all on it's own! The town itself, how it came to be a town, and the interesting people that call it home are all an important character in this story. Summer is sent to Blue Moon Bend to write a story on Pierce Acres, an organic farm run by the Pierce family, more specifically, Carter Pierce. He's the oldest of 3 sons that inherited the farm from their parents. Carter and Summer have a connection from the first meeting, and it just grows over her week long stay on the farm. They are both complex characters who've been through their own trials in life. They just deal with them in different ways. This story had me hooked from the beginning and I was rooting for them to be together from the get go! There were a few times I wanted to shake Summer so she'd see what was truly important in life, but she figured it out all on her own. Carter was just about perfect, especially in his love for Summer. I highly recommend this book to everyone!!! Now, on to Beckett's story!!!

Despite my review for Pretend You're Mine (4 star, but I had a couple complaints), Lucy Score is absolutely one of my favorite new authors, and I cannot wait to read the other books in this series. It revolves around 3 brothers, Carter, an ex-soldier who runs an organic farm, Jackson "Hollywood", the script writer who returns home after having spent years in California, and Beckett, the local politician and attorney, all of whom are incredibly likable (and super sexy). I completely loved the camaraderie between the brothers, and their widowed mother. Even the town they lived in, Blue Moon Bend, was just super cute. Enter Summer, who is an associate editor for a magazine, who travels 3 hours from Manhattan to Blue Moon Bend to do an article on Carter Pierce's organic farm, and this amazing story begins. What I liked so much about Summer was that she was not the overly confident, in-your-face, will-stop-at-nothing-to-have-the-guy kind of character that Harper was in Pretend You're Mine. I find it sexier when the guy plays that more dominant role, and while Carter does, the subtlety in which he does it makes him even sexier, i.e, the juice-tasting scene, which had me laughing out loud, and my heart pounding. Yeah, that was cute and sexy. So is the way they get together, and everything that happens afterward. He is just so good to her, you can't help but fall in love with him. Carter really is the ultimate H. Even when her secret tears them apart (and that threw me for a loop, I was not expecting that sort of secret...) he shines... For anyone who has not read this book and who enjoys a great romance, this is a definite must read. I just don't know how anyone could be disappointed in how this story plays out. Lucy Score does an amazing job here. She is an excellent, excellent writer, knows how to weave a scene and get the most out of it, the dialogue is superb and the plot is amazing. The brothers in the story just make it all even better.

The characters in the book were very enjoyable and well developed. My problem was with the basic storyline which a good editor should have tweaked to make the story more believable. No spoilers but it was hard to believe a single very professional woman would agree to stay with a single man at his home to research a story. Then to land in a relationship within days? Was more fantasy than romantic comedy and could have been done differently fairly easily where it wasn’t just a swallow the fake and go with it. The author spins a good tale. Just felt this one was too quick and had an undeveloped plot.