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The Merrick brothers share a dangerous secret: they're full elementals, each able to control and manipulate one of the four elements. They're considered dangerous to the elemental community and have been trying to hide their power for years. But Nick Merrick has a secret of his own, one that he's terrified to reveal to his brothers -- especially his twin -- in case they reject him. Nick is gay, and only just coming to accept himself.

Publication Information

• Full Title: Secret
• Series: Elementals (#4)
• Author: Brigid Kemmerer
• Publisher: Kensingon/K Teen
• Publication Date: January 2014
• ISBN: 9780758294371 (paperback), 9781743318614 (Australia paperback), 9780758294388 (ebook), B00ENMXSEG (Kindle ASIN)

Keeping Secrets

Nick Merrick feels like he has a lot of secrets, and he's not even sure what he wants for himself. He's always been the good brother out of the four Merrick siblings. The responsible one, always getting good grades and helping run the family business. He's the one the girls at school would most like to date. But Nick has a desk drawer full of unopened responses to college applications -- he can't open them because he is afraid both that he might be rejected, and that he might be accepted and would then have to decide whether to leave his brothers. And Nick, despite a long dating history, isn't interested in the girls at school.

In the novella that came between Secret and the previous book (titled Breathless - read my review), Nick met his then-girlfriend's dance partner Adam.

His intense attraction to Adam made him realize he can't keep pretending about who he is any more, at least to himself. Quinn is happy (or at least willing) to keep on as his pretend girlfriend so he doesn't have to tell his brothers, but the secret is eating him alive. And then there's the fact that a new Guide is in town, renewing the effort to "deal with" the Merrick brothers: to determine if they're dangerous, and kill them if they are.

No Lies

I've been looking forward to this book since it was first announced. I became an immediate fan of Brigid Kemmerer when I first read one of her shorts (it was actually Breathless, rather than the first one, Elemental), and I devoured each of the previous books in the series. They're all very well written, and each and every title has swept me away in a whirlwind of reading. The characters are well-rounded and each one has plenty of flaws -- sometimes really big flaws -- making them feel very much alive.

One of the things I've really appreciated in this series -- and it's a big part of Secret -- is how Kemmerer can take characters that have been in the role of villains and show readers that those characters are not really evil after all, only human. This time, it's Tyler Morgan who we get to see the other side of. He's still not the most likeable character, but he turns out to have a caring side, and I actually started to like him.

True to Oneself

Of course, the big issue in Secret is the painful personal secrets people keep from each other. Though the whole book (and really the whole series) has many different secrets, there are two main ones in focus here. First, Quinn has been hiding just how bad her home life really is. Her friends think she has awful, screaming fights with her mother, when in fact those fights frequently devolve into violence -- from Quinn's brother, as well.

And Nick secretly explores his feelings about himself, since he has had to admit to himself that he's attracted to other boys. His inner turmoil and his interactions with his maybe-boyfriend who is out and comfortable with himself are beautifully handled. When Nick starts opening up to his brothers and closest friends, there were some super emotionally charged scenes that had me wiping away tears so I could see enough to keep reading. It's a rare book that makes me cry these days, but Brigid Kemmerer manages it almost every time.

Sharing Secrets

I really, really hope some readers won't be put off by the revelation that Nick is gay (that's not a spoiler -- it was revealed in the last novella). I was very sad to read one blogger say she wasn't going to read Secret -- despite having loved the series -- because of the male-male romance. But this isn't a story about two boys kissing (though yes, it does have two boys kissing in it). It's a story about inner conflict and fear and secrets and family. It's a shame that homophobia will keep some readers away. 

Sure, we read to be entertained and one shouldn't have to read things one doesn't like. But don't we also read to experience things we have no knowledge of ourselves? To put ourselves in another person's mind for a while to see what the world looks like from another perspective? If you always read only things you agree with and never push your comfort boundaries, how will you ever grow? That's why I read, anyway.