Secrets Don't Make Survivors

Lyla Payne

Mar 2016 · Trisha Leigh Ziegenhorn

About this ebook

Before That Night, Sadie Mays was a college graduate with an acceptance into a great PhD program, a fun summer nanny job abroad, and enough confidence to believe the world would always lay at her feet. 

After That Night, Kayleigh Vicks is nobody. She survives the only way she knows how—staying alone, keeping her mouth shut, and turning her back on every single hope Sadie had for the future.

It’s working, at least as far as keeping her safe, but when handsome, charming Logan keeps popping up out of nowhere, Kayleigh struggles to push him away. Maybe it’s because she likes him, maybe it’s because he’s persistent, or maybe it’s simply because she can’t remember the last time she connected with another human being.

She would never guess he’s haunting her life because he’s working for the people she’s been hiding from for years—and that it’s his job to bring her in.

Their friendship, built on sinking sand, persists despite the odds and when it’s time to do what he came to do, Logan doesn’t know if he can. Torn between loyalty to his family and his feelings for the girl he just met, he’s desperate to find a way out that will save them both.

But the secrets of That Night are starting to bubble to the surface, and neither Logan nor Kayleigh have enough of the pieces to see the whole puzzle. By the time all of them fall into place, it might be too late to save anyone. 

Ratings and reviews

But Secrets Keep You Riveted As I raced through the last few pages of Lyla’s newest Secrets book, I couldn’t help but think about what a thrilling series this is. I knew not to make assumptions about the storyline because Lyla always surpasses my expectations far beyond anything I can imagine. From the moment Lyla mentioned Kayleigh in Secrets Don’t Make Friends, I was hoping she would write another book and tell us her story, and it was every bit as exciting and emotional as I thought it would be and then some. Living in constant fear that someone would discover her secret, Kayleigh’s life is lonely and empty. She spends her life trying to be invisible, and seems to be mostly successful at doing so -- until Logan. As she wars between her instincts to protect herself versus the longing for human interaction, she slowly slips in her resolve to keep him at arm’s length. She has no idea Logan is struggling between his fierce family loyalty and the fact that he never intended to really connect with her beyond what the job required. But he did, and I was on the edge of my seat waiting to see what happened. You know it’s a great book when you can’t stop talking to the characters hoping they heed your warnings. And despite the odds stacked against her, I desperately wanted Kayleigh to finally find her way back from the lonely island of shame and fear where she lived. In the end, Lyla worked her magic and not only delivered an ending worthy of five stars but left me convinced once again that she can write whatever genre she chooses with complete success!

But Secrets make for an intriguing story. This book is different from others out there, which is why I enjoyed it so much. It intrigued me from the beginning and kept my attention throughout with suspense, mystery, conflict and a little romance. The characters are well developed and the story pulls you in. I became attached to both of the characters and was emotionally invested in them. While I was wanting to trust Logan was a good guy and would do the right thing in the end, I was also warning Kayleigh about him. (Yes, I know they can't hear me but that's how involved I became in the book lol). You don't want to miss out on this. Start reading it today.

About the author

 Lyla Payne has been publishing New Adult romance novels for a little over a year, starting with Broken at Love and continuing with the rest of the Whitman University series. She loves telling stories, discovering the little reasons people fall in love, and uncovering hidden truths in the world around us – past and present. In her spare time she cuddles her two dogs, pretends to enjoy exercising so that she can eat as much Chipotle as she wants, and harbors a deep and abiding hope that Zac Efron likes older women. She loves reading, of course, along with movies, traveling, and Irish whiskey. Lyla’s hard at work, ALWAYS, and hopes to bring you more Whitman University antics and at least one more Lowcountry ghost tale before the end of the year.

Lyla is represented by Kathleen Rushall at Andrea Brown Literary. If you want to know more, please visit her at http://lylapayne.com.  

If you’re a fan of Young Adult fiction—science fiction or otherwise—please check out her work that’s published under the name Trisha Leigh. http://trishaleigh.com