NetGalley Review: Secrets Don't Make Friends by Lyla Payne

27797022Title: Secrets Don't Make Friends
Author: Lyla Payne
Published: Feb. 13, 2015
Publisher: Self
Pages: 310
Review: ebook provided by NetGalley
Buy Links: Amazon, Amazon.uk 


Jeyne Dalton has graduated from college, medical school, and has slogged through half of a surgical internship year with flying colors, which she figures HAS to mean she’s put her past – and her family – behind her for good. If only she hadn’t answered that random ad for a roommate, her life would be pretty damn perfect.
Dinah Robbins knows that, no matter what she does, the horror that is her life will never be behind her…unless her controlling, threatening, abusive boyfriend finally kills her. She’s floating, waiting, and advertised for a roommate as a last ditch, listless effort to save herself a few beatings here and there.
Jeyne and Dinah may have been roommates for months, but they’re not anything like friends. In fact, they hardly know each other at all – until the night Jeyne comes home late to find Dinah in a heap of trouble. The two girls then find themselves sharing a secret that brings them together in a way they never expected. And upends their lives in a way they may never be able to set right.
TRIGGER WARNING: The beginning of this book deals with a physically and emotionally abusive relationship in a honest and realistic, violent manner.


I received this book via Netgalley to give an honest review.
So not only did the title call out to me but what the book was about did as well.
When I first started reading Dinah's story my heart broke for her, to be treated like she was by her boyfriend was heartbreaking. We go back and forth between Dinah and her roommate Jeyne which I really did like. Jeyne is going for her medical degree and so one night after having a confrontation with Dinah about a party going on in the apartment she leaves, but when she comes back that is when things turn interesting. The secret they both end up sharing is one they have to keep quiet about but we all know secrets can't stay secrets for long. 
What Dinah doesn't know about her roommate is that Jeyne has dealt with people like her boyfriend before and I loved how we got a bit of a backstory of Jeyne. That was something I wasn't expecting especially since she seemed a bit more mysterious as a character. 
Really enjoyed the story line and how we see both characters deal with different things to growing in a way. We see Dinah and how she handles being abused, to being questioned, and possibly finding happiness. Jeyne we see handle a difficult situation, to finding love and friendship. 
The only issue I had with this story was the age of the characters. Jeyne I can see being a college kid as she is going to be doctor. Dinah on the other hand is a teacher and partying late at night just don't make no sense to me. It was just something that felt off with that so I dropped the rating down.




Lyla Payne

I've 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. I adore telling stories, discovering the little reasons people fall in love, and uncovering hidden truths in the world around us – past and present.
In my spare time I cuddle my two dogs, pretend to enjoy exercising so that I can eat as much Chipotle as I want, and harbor a deep and abiding hope that Zac Efron likes older women. I loves reading, of course, along with movies, traveling, and Irish whiskey.

I'm hard at work, ALWAYS, and hope to bring you more Whitman University antics and at least one more Lowcountry ghost tale before the end of the year.
If you want to know more, please visit me at http://lylapayne.com
If you’re a fan of Young Adult fiction—science fiction or otherwise—please check out my work that’s published under the name Trisha Leigh. http://trishaleigh.com

I'm represented by Kathleen Rushall at Marsal Lyon Literary Agency.

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