Series: Carter Island

Review: Aftermath of Secrets by Cate Beauman

Posted on June 26, 2020 by Nadene @ Totally Addicted to Reading in Reviews / 7 Comments

Aftermath of Secrets by Cate Beauman is the second book in the Carter Island Series. This installment features a different couple, however, it is best to read the series in order, as there are events occurring, which link to the previous book, Secrets in the Glass. Aftermath of Secrets explored the after effects the explosive events of book one had on the main characters.

The hero Bradley Sanderson life turned upside down due to the actions of his family. Actions, which led to one of the biggest scandals to hit Carter Island. It forced him to leave Boston and return to the Island to take over the running of the family clinic. Not an easy decision, especially with the press hounding him every chance they got. The best thing in all of this was his friendship with Molly Carter. He and Molly has been friends since forever, but over the years his feelings for her grew and went beyond friendship. They both felt the same way, but Molly feared their friendship would end if they were to move from friends to lovers.

I had a marvellous time getting to know both characters. There were a few times though, when I wanted to knock some sense into them both. I found the romance to be well developed and loved how they transitioned from best friends to a couple. Their journey to this point was plagued with self-doubt and demons from the past, but with a little help from friends and family they navigated the rough terrains.

It was fun revisiting Carter Island and catching up with the characters from the previous book. I enjoyed learning how far they came since the devastating revelations from book one and watching them embark on a new chapter in their lives. The introduction of new characters made for some interesting moments. There was one in particular I felt could not be trusted, even though I wanted to give him the benefit of the doubt.

The story proved to be entertaining. Personally, I felt this was better than the first book. However, I was disappointed with how the matter surrounding Brad’s family played out. I had expected there to be some intense and dramatic moments, but this did not occur. In addition, based on my experience with the author’s work I had expected a story that was both romantic and suspenseful. This was not the case this time around. The author introduced an element to the story, involving Brad’s brother that had the potential to be suspenseful, but she did not build on it. I am wondering if both would be further explored in the next book? Well, I will just have to wait and see.

Conclusion/Recommendation
Beauman created a beautiful friends to lovers romance in a small town setting that is sure to capture the hearts of fans of the genre.

 

 

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EXCERPT:

“What do you think it’s been, five or six years since you’ve been home for more than a week in a row?”

Brad nodded slowly. “Yeah, something like that.”

“It’s like the good old days.”

He shrugged, pushing off the wall, moving her way. “Sort of.”

Molly winced, foolishly forgetting that life for Brad was currently unrecognizable. “I guess that was pretty dumb of me to say.”

“No, I just meant Nate isn’t here hanging out in his boxers, and I haven’t done this yet.”

She frowned. “What?”

“Dunked you,” he said as he pressed his hand on top of her head and sent her under.

She sank beneath the watery depths, slapping at his hand and arm as he kept her submerged for a good three or four seconds. She came up sputtering and glaring. “You idiot.” She coughed again. “Are you trying to drown me?”

He dismissed her with a chuckle and flippant raise of his brow. “So dramatic. We had about three minutes before we needed to start worrying about brain damage.”

Her eyes narrowed again. “Oh, you’re dead,” she said, gritting her teeth, charging after him.

He laughed, swimming away.

But they were well-matched, both of them excellent swimmers. All the Sanderson and Carter kids had had numerous lessons in their younger days due to their proximity to the Atlantic.

She hooked her arm around his neck, maneuvered her way onto his back, and sent them both underwater, her legs locking around his waist to keep her leverage. But his sheer size and strength were her disadvantage.

Then they both surfaced for air, Brad laughing before she brought him under again. Within seconds, he had their positions reversed, and he held her against him, one arm wrapped around the front of her waist, the other around her shoulders as they came up for another draw of air.

His breath puffed against her neck in hot torrents as their legs brushed with their kicks to stay afloat, while he let her waist go and used his arm to tread water. “Molls, this is quite a predicament.

He wasn’t kidding. She was pinned beneath his strong arm, and her back was pressed against his solid chest, with no choice but to grip his muscular forearm caging her in place. “Fine. You win.” She just needed him to let her go.

“That’s it? Since when do you give up so easy?”

Since he’d kissed her brainless and taken her to bed. “Since I realized it’s time to get home and get changed for your party at Nate and Callie’s.” She tried to move away from him.

He switched arms, now holding her around the waist, and began keeping their heads above water with his opposite arm. “No problem. Just say, Brad, you’re the best Scrabble player I know. I bow to you, you genius.”

She huffed out a laugh, raising her arm to the surface to help keep their chins from bobbing under. “I won. Three years in a row now.”

“Just luck.” He held her tighter, whispering next to her ear, his voice full of teasing. “You’re the best, Brad. That’s all I need to hear.”

“Broody Brad,” she murmured, knowing he hated it when she called him that—a slight from their childhood.

“What was that?” he asked, drilling his fingers into her side, tickling her.

She scream-laughed. “Damn it, Brad.” She fought him enough to turn and immediately realized her huge mistake as he held her chest to chest, and they stared into each other’s eyes.

He grinned. “This is certainly a situation.”

A droplet trailed down his face to land on his firm bottom lip, and his eyelashes were webbed together, making him even more irresistible than he already was. Her heart pounded, her pulse thundering in her throat, and she glared at him, needing to be free of him, well aware he was enjoying this far too much.

There was an undeniable attraction between them. All she had to do was press her mouth to his, and they would have a repeat of August. But they weren’t going there again. She wasn’t risking their friendship a second time

 

 

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About Cate Beauman

International bestselling author Cate Beauman is known for her full-length, action-packed romantic suspense series, The Bodyguards of L.A. County. Her novels have been nominated for the National Excellence in Romance Fiction Award, National Indie Excellence Award, Golden Quill Award, Writers Touch Award, and have been named Readers Favorite Five Star books. In 2015, JUSTICE FOR ABBY was selected as the Readers’ Favorite International Book Award Gold Medalist, while SAVING SOPHIE took the Silver Medal. SAVING SOPHIE was also selected as the 2015 Readers Crown Award winner for Romantic Suspense and FALLING FOR SARAH received the silver medal for the 2014 Readers’ Favorite Awards.

Cate makes her home in North Carolina with her husband, two boys, and their St. Bernards, Bear and Jack. Currently Cate is working on her twelfth full length romantic suspense novel.

 

 

Nadene @ Totally Addicted to Reading

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