Something Secret This Way Comes [Kindle Edition]

Secret McQueen is one woman who is unlike any other. Her life didn't start out under the best of circumstances and hasn't gotten much better since. She was born half werewolf and half vampire. In her world, that is unheard of, making her one of a kind. Unfortunately, Secret's werewolf mother wanted nothing to do with her from the beginning which meant her human grandmother raised her instead. It wasn't all bad growing up, but she certainly had to adapt to both sides of her heritage that gave both strengths and weaknesses. She can't handle the sunlight and needs blood to survive, but also has some werewolf urges. Now, as an adult, it makes for one very interesting woman. One that isn't happy about her outcast status. She doesn't quite belong anywhere.
So at sixteen Secret set off on her own, bitter about her identity and wanting a bit of revenge. If it hadn't been for the vampire attack that nearly killed her mother while pregnant with her, she wouldn't have many of the problems she does. This made her become a bounty hunter for the vampire league after they realized she had no qualms about killing them. At least that way they had some control over who she took out. She has been working the job ever since under the guidance of another vampire hunter who has been a close mentor.

Now at 22 years old, things are about to take a drastic change in her life. A vampire nemesis of hers is determined to finally finish her off and he has grand plans once she is out of the way. Secret must stop him before it is too late. That isn't all that is thrown at her, though. She also discovers that she is mystically bonded with not one, but two werewolves, one of them being the king of the East Coast Pack. They don't know about her vampire half and that is the way she wants to keep it. Yet it isn't going to be easy hiding her werewolf half from the vamps while hiding the vampire half from the weres. Secret has a lot on her plate if she wants to stay alive, not to mention manage some kind of romantic life.

I must say this book turned out much better than I expected. Secret is a woman with a lot of conflict in her life, but she handles it fairly well, despite the occasional stumbles along the way. This isn't a woman who just came into her powers, but rather one who was born to them. She has been mastering them ever since, even if she has been suppressing the werewolf half for most of her life. She is brave, tough, and smart. Yet unlike many other heroines in Urban Fantasy, she isn't full of snark. Something I appreciated since that seems to have become almost too standard for the genre. She knows her weaknesses and does get scared when things get too dangerous, but she also gives as good as she gets. Secret is a solid, well-developed character that seemed more realistic than may others do.

There are some who may find her love life somewhat objectionable. It was one of the things I worried about as I prefer heroines to be monogamous. She has two werewolves that are bonded to her (both being close friends) and I'm not sure how this is going to play out. The triangle problem didn't fully develop in this first book, but I'm guessing that she might be able to pull it off. The only trouble being that there are hints another man of a different species may come into the picture as well. That causes some worry as to how far this is going. Those who have read the Anita Blake series or Riley Jenson understand the significance. So far, though, she hasn't actually "fallen" for anyone so the outcome remains to be seen. There were a couple of hot sex scenes, but they weren't ménage. The prospect of a character getting into multiple relationships normally bothers me, but doesn't feel awkward in this series. Somehow, the author is pulling it off and I'm willing to keep reading to see what happens next.

For those of you who enjoy Urban Fantasy/Paranormal books with tough heroines, you might want to check this one out. It has a unique world that isn't just a copy of the many others out there. I believe it could become one of the next big series for followers of the genre to get into. It is full of action, suspense and drama, grabbing your attention from the beginning and not letting go. I enjoyed it so much I plan to grab the next novel right away.

Something Secret This Way Comes follows the story of 22 year old Secret McQueen who is a half werewolf half vampire bounty hunter. Abandoned by her werewolf mother as a baby Secret is now employed by the Vampire Council of New York to kill rogue vampires. Only a handful of people know that she is half were half vamp and it is something that she doesn't want either race knowing what she truly is. Secret has spent most of her life around vampires and very little time around werewolves but that changes when she meets the King of the pack and his second. Whilst learning about her werewolf side Secret also has to deal with an old enemy who is back to finish what he started 6 years ago and that is to kill Secret.

I really enjoyed this book I would like to give it 4 stars. After recently reading some dark gritty books this was just what I needed, a classic UF story. It was a light fun read that was well paced with a sexy love triangle with characters that I liked. There are good fight scenes and Secret is a kick ass. Ms Dean has set the scene for future books and this is a series that I will follow. I am interested to learn more about the vampire Sig. The ending is excellent a real cliffhanger the only problem I have is that I have to wait until 20 September 2011 for the next instalment A Bloody Good Secret to find out what happens next.

I absolutely love the Secret McQueen books.

Book 1 in the series. Secret is a vampire assassin, who works for the New York Vampire Council. She takes out vampires who are threatening to expose the existence of vampires through their careless "diet". Matters are complicated by the fact that she becomes soul bonded to 2 werewolves, not to mention Holden, her vampire guardian and friend, who keeps poking his nose into her private life.

An old vampire enemy (old enemy + old vampire), plus a plot to overthrow the local werewolf pack, by her mother no less, has Secret in deep water, and she has to pull on both her vampire and werewolf halves to survive.

I like the series as it's funny and witty, and unlike so many other vampire/werewolf books/heroines, she's not miserable, tortured or a martyr. She gets on with things, has a quick mouth (which sometimes lands her in trouble), but she's practical and knows when to fight and when to run.