Book Review: My Secret to Tell by Natalie D. Richards

My Secret to Tell by Natalie D. Richards

Genre: Young Adult (Contemporary Romance/Mystery/Suspense)
Date Published: October 6, 2015
Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire

There was blood on his hands. Where was the guilt in his eyes?

Emmie's had a crush on her best friend's brother forever. Deacon is the town bad boy who's always in trouble, but she sees his soft side when he volunteers with her at the local animal shelter. She doesn't think he's dangerous…until he shows up in her bedroom with blood on his hands.

Deacon's father has been violently assaulted and Deacon is suspect number one. Emmie's smart enough to know how this looks, but she also knows Deacon's biggest secret—he's paralyzed by the sight of blood. She's sure he didn't do this. Or did he? Because even Deacon's own sister thinks he's guilty…

My Secret to Tell by Natalie D. Richards is a mystery romance that kept me guessing. I had my suspicions about a person or two, but I still wasn't 100% sure who was bad until it was revealed. There were twists and changes that kept me guessing all along the way making it a hard book to put down and a fast read. The chemistry between Emmie and Deacon made the time fly that much faster. Although, I kind of wanted to know what made him finally "see" her. She's had this huge crush on him for a long time, and he was the town player. I thought he was attracted to her before the whole issue with his dad happened, but then later, they made it sound like it was a new development after he ran to her house covered in blood. Soo.. I wasn't sure. Either way, I wanted to know what changed his mind about her.With all that being said,  I enjoyed these characters quite a bit. They were raw, especially Deacon with his anger issues. You could feel the anger, hurt, betrayal, and confusion from him. I was impressed with this author's writing, and I'd definitely like to read more from her.

 The ARC of My Secret to Tell by Natalie D. Richards was kindly provided to me by the publisher through NetGalley for review. The opinions are my own.

 “Emmie?”
 My name lands somewhere between a hiccup and a sob, and my feet stall out on the sidewalk in front of my house. I adjust my grip on the phone, hoping I misheard her tone. This doesn’t sound like Chelsea. This voice is breathless.
 Frightened.
 “I’m here,” I say. “What’s up? You don’t sound right.”
  “I’m not.” She takes a shuddery breath.
 My shirt’s sticking to my back and cicadas are click-buzzing the end of another blistering day, but I go cold. Something’s wrong.
 Wrong, wrong, wrong.
 “It’s my dad, Emmie,” she says. I can tell she’s crying.
 I grab my chest. It’s too tight. Burning. “What happened?”
 Her words all tumble out on top of one another, interrupted by shaky breaths. I try to pick out pieces that make sense. “He’s hurt—bleeding—we’re behind the ambulance and I can’t—he’s not—someone attacked him.”
 I start climbing the porch steps, because she’ll need me. I’m her best friend, so I should be there. I need to change clothes and go. “You’re on the way to the hospital, right? They’ll help him there.”
 Another sharp breath. “I don’t know if they can. He’s so bad. So bad.”
 My heart clenches. “Where are you?”
 “We’re almost there. Joel’s with me.”
 “Okay, good. I’m coming,” I say, crossing my porch and hauling my front door open. “Let me just call Mom. I’ll borrow the car.”
 Chelsea’s still crying when I storm down the hallway toward my bedroom.
 “Emmie, I can’t find Deacon…”
 “Your brother never answers his phone,” I say, pushing open my door. “I’ll run by the docks first and—”
 “No. No, he was there. He was at the house.”
 Chelsea makes a strangled sound, and I notice the liquid-thick heat in my bedroom. The kind of heat that tells me the air conditioner is broken. Or my window is open.
 My gaze drags to my fluttering white curtains, to the dark smudge on the windowsill.
 Chelsea’s voice goes low and raspy. “He ran, Emmie. God, he was there with Dad. He was in the house, but he ran.”
 I swivel with an invisible fist lodged in my throat. My bathroom door is open, a red-black smudge beneath the knob.
 My mouth goes dry, my pulse thumping slower than it should. Then I see the blood on the floor by my sink, and my heart tumbles end over end.
 “We’re here. I’ll call soon,” Chelsea says and hangs up.
 I see him, his back to my tub and his dark head bowed on one bent knee. Oh God.
 He’s covered in blood. It’s on his legs, his hands. Dripping onto my white tile floor. He looks up, and my heart goes strangely steady.
 I take a breath that tastes like purpose. “Deacon?”

This October Natalie D. Richards releases her latest YA thriller, MY SECRET TO TELL. To celebrate, Natalie is here for a quick Q&A and has brought an excerpt to share!

When you're fighting insomnia, what are some books you pull out to help you through those sleepless nights?
I struggle with insomnia a great deal, and I don’t turn to any of my favorite books very often because…I’ll have zero chance of sleeping!  If I am resigned to a sleepless night, I suppose I might browse through one of my more classic favorites, like Leaves of Grass, or To Kill a Mockingbird, or maybe Rebecca.

Natalie D. Richards won her first writing competition in the second grade with her short story about Barbara Frances Bizzlefishes (who wouldn't dare do the dishes.) Now she writes about awesome girls, broody boys, and all things dark and creepy. When she's not writing or shopping her manuscripts, you can probably find her wading through the towers of dog-eared paperbacks that have taken over her bedroom. Natalie lives in Ohio (Go Bucks!) with her techno-wiz husband, three amazing kids, and a seventy pound dust-mop who swears he's the family dog.

To learn more about Natalie D. Richards and her books, visit her website.You can also find her on Goodreads, Facebook, Pinterest, and Twitter.

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