I'm not generally a fan of a story with a big secret, but this one worked for me. I haven't read the first story in this series but I really want to go back and read it now, because Grace is a fantastic character and good friend. I really liked Merry from the start and I liked her more and more as the story went on. I liked Shane, too, and while I didn't like his deception, I felt like there was a good enough grovel and sacrifice at the end to make it worth it.