A bit too much instalove but likeable characters for an enjoyable read.

Many thanks to NetGalley, the publisher and the author for my ARC. All opinions are my own.

This was my first book by Karina Halle. I now want to go back and read all of her books. I love her writing style. I was hooked immediately. My problem was that I was not invested enough in the two main characters. Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher and author for this ARC.

I can tell you by experience that Karina Halle really does no wrong with her writing...I mean, it's amazing. The one thing I hate though is insta love and this had it so while the book was amazing the whole "I love you right away" turned me off!! Still, the way the book started with action and intrigue was the way to go and I think most would agree this was a really great book.

For me, Karina Halle does no wrong and this book definitely did not disappoint. From the first page it pulled me in with some action and intrigue. While our main characters do share a bit of insta-love, it’s written in a way that doesn’t feel forced or cheesy. The story picks up the pace pretty quickly and you start to see the tangled web of secrets and lies. Good until the very end and I can’t wait to read more in this series!

Family Drama - Check
Romance - Check
Fast Paced - Check
Suspense - Check

I loved Discretion by Karina Halle. It was a great first book in her new standalone series! I am can’t wait for the next installment to be released.

Sadie Reynolds is a young college girl who is backpacking in Europe, just broke up with her boyfriend in the middle of the trip because she discovered that he was unfaithful. Sadie comes from a peculiar home, where she has had to take responsibility for herself and her mother. As much as she wants to spread her wings and fly, she feels she has to return both for her mother and for the school.

Olivier Dumont is a European playboy, who is usually seen with beautiful women on his arm every week. He never commits. Olivier is the heir to a European emporium of fashion, but has dedicated himself to hotels.

Sadie and Oliver meet in an unexpected circumstance and although their lives can't be more opposite they connect deeply. Will they be able to overcome the differences? We'll see.

My impressions
I think this is Karina Halle's first book that I read in complete and I loved it. She is a great storyteller and has an impressive ability to transport you quickly to European cities as if you were on a TV show.
Sadie and Oliver's romance is exciting, fresh and full of sensuality. I loved their scenes and dialogues.
I also liked the villains, they contribute a lot to the story, because while I was reading my mind I kept producing theories like crazy.
There's a twist plot I didn't see coming and I can't believe Karina left us with an unsolved mystery. So I can't wait to follow the series.

My rate for Discretion is 4.5 European stars because this book is sensational.

I really enjoyed this book! I'm not sure what to call it, a romantic suspense? Dark romance? The action and suspense of the plot definitely propelled me to keep reading while the steamy romance and obvious love between Oliver and Sadie.

While I have never read Karina Halle's horror novels, I am an avid reader of her romance novels. Lately, her romance novels have underwhelmed me. Her writing is above average, but her plot lines have started to become redundant. A financially struggling girl meets a boy who saves her; which may be something people want to read but not all the time. It was missing the depth that I have found in her earlier romances.
Also, the secret that would ruin the main character was flimsy to me. The adversity the protagonists faced could have been a bit more believable. I was also surprised that everything wrapped up too nicely.

Don't get me wrong it was a good book, but I am hoping for more from the next book in the series.

When I started this book,I was hooked from page one. I loved the premise "Wealth,family business,secrets..."
I love Karina Halle's writing. I love how well she describes the places,the settings....It makes you feel you're right there living the same as the characters.
Olivier is swoony and hot as sin. Sadie is the girl with absolutely no luck who bumps into this rich man's life after something happens to her.
But as I was going further into the story I felt something was missing...
I really enjoyed the book. I liked it but I can't say I loved it. I was hoping that Olivier's secret was something more intriguing or tragic...I don't know...maybe juicer? From the bits that were shared it looked it was going to be bigger tah it was.
Above all,it was a great book,the chemistry between them was good too.
I can't wait to see where this series is going..

For what it's worth, this was a really good story. Talking this at face value, it's sweet and romantic with light elements of suspenseful stalker, family drama, near death experiences and yeah. The romance was nice, the sentiment was spot on and yeah, check it out.

DNF @ 23%

Yeaaaah...I’m just not feeling this one.

I truly wanted to love this, as I usually do with Karina’s books, but it really wasn’t holding my attention and I really couldn’t get behind the heroine. Like, at all.

I also really couldn’t get behind the insta-love given the circumstances in which our main characters met and everything around this would-be-traumatizing event in the beginning of the story. This couple just doesn’t hold up like others Karina has written and while I was waiting for this mysterious deal that’s been made, I now just don’t care for it.

Trust me, this hurts to write!

I loved this beginning of the book series. Olivier is definitely book boyfriend worthy. If your are new to Karina Halle, her older books are better....in my opinion.....esp the duo Love in English. That being said, this a a great start to this series. There is romance and suspense but due to the nature of the story not all secrets will be revealed.
Currently reading the 2nd book and loving it!

Dark romance isn't a sub-genre I'm normally drawn to, but there's something so compelling about the stories Karina Halle creates that draws me in every time, and Discretion, the first installment in her new Dumonts series, turned out to be no exception. Its lush setting and complex characters drew me in from the start, and I found myself utterly captivated by the entire thing.

Backpacking across Europe seems like a dream come true for Sadie, a college student looking for a change from the blandness of her everyday life, but when she and her boyfriend break up two weeks into the trip, the vacation turns into something pretty grim. Sadie spends her nights in a series of run-down hostels and her days walking the back streets of some of Europe's most glamorous locations. Needless to say, she's down on her luck and not convinced things will get any better before she returns to the U.S.

One afternoon while she's walking through a seedy part of a small town in southern France, Sadie is the victim of an attempted mugging. Fortunately, a darkly seductive stranger comes to her rescue, and after fighting of her attacker, he scoops her up and takes her to a local hospital. Sadie is reluctant to seek medical treatment due to the expense, but her rescuer urges her to accept his financial assistance. At first, she's not sure it's wise to give in, but her injuries are pretty severe and so she eventually allows him to pay for her treatment.

The next time she comes to, Sadie finds herself in a luxurious hotel suite, unlike any room she's ever slept in. There's initially no sign of the man who rescued her, but it's not long before he unlocks her door and explains how she came to be at the hotel. Of course, there's more to him than he tells her right away, and it's clear to both Sadie and the reader that he's keeping some major parts of his life a secret from her.

Olivier Dumont is the heir to one of France's biggest fashion houses, and is one of the world's most sought-after bachelors, but he also has a dark side. Ten years earlier, he was involved in a scandal that forever changed the trajectory of his life, putting him in the debt of some very dangerous individuals. These individuals happen to be members of his family, and the debt he owes is about to come due, causing Olivier to wonder if the price he's being asked to pay is really something he can afford.

It's obvious from the start that Sadie and Olivier are attracted to one another, but neither is sure their feelings can stand up to the pressures of their everyday lives. Olivier talks Sadie into staying at the hotel for a while longer so they can spend more time together, an offer she finds irresistible. True, she knows practically nothing about Olivier and his family, but something about his good looks and consummate charm draws her in.

The romance between Olivier and Sadie is quite relatable, especially if you enjoy stories about rich people and their problems. Sadie sometimes struggles to feel worthy of Olivier; after all, she's a struggling college student and he's one of the richest men in France. Fortunately, Olivier is able to make her see that money and social position aren't the most important things in his life, and she eventually begins to trust his love for her. Of course, the novel’s villains try hard to undermine their relationship, adding an extra layer of tension to the story.

The romantic arc is wrapped up by the end of the book, but Ms. Halle does leave readers hanging in terms of the more suspenseful parts of the plot. Olivier's enemies haven't finished with him yet, and I'm eager to see how things turn out. The second installment appears to feature one of my favorite secondary characters, so I can't wait for it to be released.

There's so much to love about Discretion, despite its darkness and angst. Hopefully, prospective readers are able to look beyond its slightly fluffy jacket blurb to the deeply moving story the author is telling. It's a novel that's so much more than the sum of its parts, one that's sure to appeal to both new readers of Ms. Halle's work and those who have been enjoying it for years.

Buy it at: Amazon
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Reviews by the Wicked Reads Review Team

Avid Reader – ☆☆☆
2.5 stars
M/F Romance

Olivier comes from a loving family. However, he also comes from a family that is so wealthy, that greed within his extended family is prevalent. With a mistake he made when he was very young, Olivier has been living under a cloud since then. Despite his success as a hotelier, he knows that his family's true business – clothing and fashion – is something that he will never truly want. Olivier isn't sure of anything he wants. He whines a lot of the story.

Sadie is a roaming student who has found herself wandering alone, rather than with her boyfriend. Even though she isn't the most experienced traveler, she wants to continue on with her adventure, despite her cheating boyfriend. I really enjoyed her outlook on things. But when Sadie finds herself in danger, when those little hairs stick up and she realizes that it might have been a mistake to travel alone.

When danger brings Sadie into Olivier's circle, neither of them realize how much they will grow to mean to each other. They also don't realize that Olivier's family is even more dangerous than her original situation.

This book was not a great romance. Sadie started out a strong female character and after she hurt her ankle, her personality change threw me. She became less the woman who began the book and more a star-struck young adult character who can't figure out how to think for herself.

Olivier was supposed to be this worldly man who owns his own business, but he really came off as someone who was so sheltered, that he didn't really understand the world. It felt that this book was more about people finding themselves and in that, maybe figuring out where they fit into the world. I think this would have been more successful as a mystery rather than a romance. The family mystery gave the story a more dangerous feel to it and made the story much more interesting. I do hope that in the next installments, we find out answers to some of the questions that were left hanging in book one, but this is in no way a cliffhanger.

Possible Triggers: Cheating, Blackmail, Attempted Murder, Attempted Rape, mention of mental health issues

I thoroughly enjoyed this read by Karina Halle. The storyline was unique and intriguing, the characters were wonderful and the ending had me with heart eyes.

I really liked Olivier and Sadie together. I loved their chemistry and banter. Everything between them was raw and natural and unapologetically honest. They were able to be their true selves around one another. Something Olivier hadn’t has the pleasure of experiencing his entire life.

This read had a ton of drama and suspense. The family feuds were ruthless. I couldn’t stand a single person in Olivier’s extender family beyond his father and siblings. They were all so self absorbed and merciless.

Sadie’s story was not only heartbreaking but deeply emotional and traumatic. Her past made her who she was and built her into the strong and independent woman she’d grown to be. Her love and compassion for her mother who was mentally ill, proved what a good person she was to her core. I felt a connection with her character and wanted to see her find true happiness.

I can’t wait to read the other books in this series! I became quite enamored with Olivier’s siblings and their thriving family business.

I love reading a Karina Halle book. She writes great romance and some hot love scenes. This book had me flipping the pages way past my bedtime!

An interesting and steamy suspense/romance novel. This is the first Karina Halle novel I have read, but I will definitely be reading more by her in the future.

Can we pause and give a collective sigh for this gorgeous freaking cover. I have no idea who this guy is, but he is stunning! Not even gonna lie, I totally clicked on this one for him. Don’t get me wrong, I absolutely love Karina Halle! But YUM!

Here’s what I loved:
The opening scene is so flipping compelling.

This audiobook is so so good. Olivier‘s French accent is sexy AF. Like, I’d listen to this narrator over and over again hawt!

I love angst and romantic suspense. This one had my heart in my throat trying to figure out how the storyline would play out due to the situation Olivier finds himself in. I have no idea why, but I was so stressed out by it. Lolol

The couple are sexy and the steam level is completely appropriate, but I felt their chemistry was lacking a bit. Inst is my jam, but there was just something that didn’t quite click.

However, this works overall. I’m looking forward to more!

Discretion by Karina Halle is the first in a new series, The Dumonts. The icons of a worldwide brand, The Dumonts are clothed in secrecy. Sadie is on a backpacking trip across Europe, when she runs into some trouble. Olivier, our hero, happens to be at the right place at the right time and this classic meet-cute spurns a decadent love story about electric chemistry, family mysteries and a tragedy that changes everything. This story is what fantasies are made of. There’s an overall story arc that I cannot wait to discover through the rest of the books but each book is a standalone.

absolutely loved this one! love this author, though this is only my 4th or so book by her. this was such a fun, sweet, easy, enjoyable read. totally recommend!