Secret Ones Review

Secret Ones: Dream of Asarlai Book One
By Nicole Murphy

Price: $22.99
On Sale: 1/07/2010
Formats: A Format Paperback

ISBN: 9780732291617; ISBN10: 0732291615; Imprint: ; On Sale: 1/07/2010; Format: Paperback; Trimsize: 112 x 182 x 24 mm; Pages: 416; $22.99;

Publisher website; http://www.harpercollins.com.au/books/Secret-Ones-Dream-of-Asarlai-Book-One-Nicole-Murphy?isbn=9780732291617&HCHP=TB_Secret+Ones:+Dream+of+Asarlai+Book+One


Secret Ones is a wonderful debut that promises an excellent series to come.

Book Description

She′s from an ancient clan. He has no family. Can they save the world ... together?
Maggie Shaunessy is used to keeping secrets. She′s a fantastic teacher, but she′s also gadda, part of a hidden, powerful race - and she has a habit of annoying the wrong people.

Until Lucas Valeroso meets Maggie, he had no idea what awaited him: super-human powers, a smart and beautiful woman interested in more than unlocking his new abilities and, above all, a sense of belonging.

But dark ambition and dangerous bigotry are emerging in the gadda ranks. Lucas′s new family might cast him out before he′s even truly found his place. And Maggie must work with new allies to find and retrieve a missing artefact before the entire world is changed for all time.

′fresh and interesting approach to an urban fantasy series′ Bookseller+Publisher

Review

It’s a little hard to pick a genre to place Secret Ones into. Although there is a strong romantic element, and it is in a paranormal setting, there is also a theme of mystery throughout that moves it into the urban fantasy genre.

Nicole has built the world around a new race that co-exists with humans, and the world building is done quite well, with slow introduction to the rather complicated hierarchy. The mix of the Australian setting with the Irish appealed to me as an Aussie, with enough description that even those who’ve never seen the Australian ‘outback’ or an Irish winter could believe they’d visited the country.

Overall, this is a light, romantic urban fantasy. The characters are all well developed and the flow of the story even. This is very light and romantic, even with the mysterious dark deeds going on in the background there is still a sense of hope and goodness. This first book is a great start to the series and I am eagerly awaiting the next instalment.