Secrets and Lies 2, by H.M. Ward

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

You need to read Secrets and Lies 1 before reading Secrets and Lies 2. You don't have to read the other Ferro books to understand the contents of Secrets and Lies but I highly recommend it as we are starting to see some crossovers (for Ferronutters, this volume doesn't give us any hints as to when the story occurs in relation to the Ferro timeline).

Funny, upbeat, sexy, young, hot, surprising, shocking, smart and... OH! THE ENDING!

Set in a college setting, specifically in an art school, this series is young and bright and filled with all the things we've come to love from H.M. Ward's books: lots of sass, comedy relief, urban lingo to make you go hmmmmm, crazy animal interludes, a strong leading lady, a sexy male counterpart and steamy sexy scenes... oh, and let's not forget the cliffhanger. C'mon! It's not the last book in the series. Of course she won't end the book on a conclusive note. I loved the parts in art school. H.M. Ward is an artist at heart and it shows. Her way of describing art (how to see it, how to create it) is beautiful.

And the mystery Ferro is.......... (drumroll) ...........Ha! I'm not saying if we get the answer to that question or not yet! You'll have to read to find out.

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About the Ferro family:

Secrets and Lies is a Ferro Family story about a mystery member of the Ferro family. As of volume 2, we still don't know who the Ferro is. Other Ferro Family titles are The Arrangement (Sean Ferro), Damaged (Peter Ferro Granz), Stripped (Jonathan Ferro), The Proposition (Bryan Ferro) and The Wedding Contract (Nick Ferro). Each Ferro family story is made to be read on it's own but if you like H.M. Ward's books, you may want to read all of them (see note on suggested reading order below). The Ferro Family books are contemporary "new adult" romance stories involving characters mostly in their 20's.

About H.M. Ward's serials:

Serials are shorter books (1/4 to 1/3 of a full-length novel). They start off abruptly from where the previous book ended and end with a cliffhanger. Being shorter books, serials don't recap events that occur in previous volumes, so it's best to start off with book 1. I read at an average speed and each volume takes me about 1 to 2 hours to read.

Suggested reading orders:
Each series is stand alone & can be read in any order. However, if you are planning on reading all of the Ferro Family books, I recommend reading them in the order they were published (see below) to avoid any spoilers from one series to the next. For the ultimate Ferro fan, I have also included stories that are related to the Ferro family saga (Scandalous: the main male character is mentioned in Stripped; The Secret Life of Trystan Scott: Trystan and Mari make appearances in various Ferro books and Trystan becomes an important character in The Arrangement plot at some point, Second Chances: there's a small Ferro cameo in one chapter).

Books in order of publication date: 

Scandalous 1 & 2 (not Ferro / mentioned in Stripped)
The Secret Life of Trystan Scott 1 - 5 (not Ferro / characters appear in Ferro books)

The Arrangement 1-4 (Sean Ferro)

Damaged 1 (Peter Ferro Granz)

The Arrangement 5-7 (Sean Ferro)

Damaged 2 (Peter Ferro Granz)

The Arrangement 8-9 (Sean Ferro)

Stripped (Jonathan Ferro)

The Arrangement 10-11 (Sean Ferro)

The Proposition 1 (Bryan Ferro)

The Arrangement 12 (Sean Ferro)

The Proposition 2 (Bryan Ferro)

The Arrangement 13-14 (Sean Ferro)

The Proposition 3-4 (Bryan Ferro)
The Wedding Contract (Nick Ferro)
The Proposition 5 (Bryan Ferro)
Secrets and Lies 1 (mystery Ferro)
Second Chances (not Ferro / Ferro cameo)
The Arrangement 15 - 16 (Sean Ferro)
Secrets and Lies 2 (mystery Ferro)

Alternate (simplified) reading order:

If you are afraid of confusing characters and plots by constantly switching from one series to the next, you may want to read the series in this more simplified reading order which respects the chronological order of events and avoids spoilers:

Scandalous 1 & 2 (not Ferro / mentioned in Stripped)
The Secret Life of Trystan Scott 1 - 5 (not Ferro / characters appear in Ferro books)
The Arrangement 1 - 6 (Sean Ferro)
Damaged 1 & 2 (Peter Ferro Granz)
The Arrangement 7 - 11 (Sean Ferro)
Stripped (Jonathan Ferro)
The Proposition 1 - 4 (Bryan Ferro)
The Arrangement 12 - 14 (Sean Ferro)
The Proposition 5 (Bryan Ferro)
The Arrangement 15 -16 (Sean Ferro)
The Wedding Contract (Nick Ferro)
Secrets and Lies 1 - 2 (mystery Ferro)
Second Chances (not Ferro / Ferro cameo)