Clear your weekend! The Queen of addictive and seductive spice has delivered once again. Sensual and intriguing, you will not be able to put this down or focus on anything else until you turn the last page. Highly recommend!

For me, Day's style is almost experimental .. switching characters delivering the story in separate chapters, similar voices too, is easy enough to follow but requires you be on your toes. I kept searching for who was whose brother, lover, adversary . There seems to be only one alliance .. the 'butler' and the utterly handsome, effective Krane.. who seduces all women and bests all men. His dead wife's re-emergence (once you figure out what's happening) is startling and, in the frenzied way it's reported, 'credible' .. mainly because we are quickly distracted thinking directly on it. It's a book of gossip, and I suppose we are used to assessing people's perspectives on each other all the time: that's what reading this novel depends on. Wow. Quite amazing .. also depends on readers' fascination with the rich and powerful and their treatment of family and friends as they ascend or descend the ladder ... television dramas in last years like 'Succession' or even 'the crown' .. not quite my style but hats off to her ..

I really enjoyed this book, although I can see why some people dislike the MC's as they're very hard to like and relate to. But I'm definitely going to pick up book two as I really enjoyed the storyline. Would recommend.

So Close has a great premise and overall the story is what makes this book good. As the characters are not very likeable and are hard to connect with so you end up not really caring what happens to them as the story progresses.

Emotive, seductive and definitely addictive. This book should come with a warning that you will need to clear your day and devour page after page. Sylvia Day has written another absolute gem with this beauty.

This is completely addictive and had me hooked from the very beginning. There’s a lot of scheming in this book. It’s filled with power hungry, unlikeable characters. I did however, get rather excited about the mention of Mr Gideon Cross.

This is a book that has been everything I had hoped. I’ve read all of the crossfire books by this author and instantly got excited about this one. I can safely say that Sylvia Day has not disappointed.

I honestly didn’t expect how this was going to play out. I feel like I’ve been led along the garden path and had the ground shaken below me. This has been a book that has completely shocked me and I need more. Why is October so far away?

Day is a brilliant author and this is a superb read that I will absolutely be recommending.

🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

Set in New York this is a story of a very dysfunctional business family. Seductive and twisted. Highly recommended! Readers, find some quiet alone time to settle in with this one because you won't stop reading until you've turned the final page. Highly recommended

So Close is the first book in Sylvia Day’s new Blacklist Series and like all of her books I did not want to put this down!

Whilst this book introduces new characters to us including the very intense Kane Black, we also have the immense bonus of Gideon Cross returning who I very much loved from the Crossfire series!

What I love so much about Sylvia Day’s writing is that the stories have darker themes and are guaranteed to be intense and addictive. This book was no exception and actually had a lot of suspense which kept me intrigued to everything going on and not just the sexual tension that dripped off of every page 🥵

There was something not quite right going on in this book, so I cannot wait for “Too Far” later this year to hopefully work it all out.

My Top 5 things from this book:

•Intense Characters
•Sensual Read
•New Series
•Complex Story
•Cliffhanger Ending

I thought I would like this book based on the description but I just couldn't get into it. I felt no connection with any of the characters and so I didn't finish it.

This was a hot and steamy story but also with lots of twists and turns. It was fascinating trying to work out the whole story. Some great characters who almost jumped off the page and a storyline that had me gripped from beginning to end. Fantastic read!!

The download date was unfortunately missed, I would be happy to re-review if it became available again. I have awarded stars for the book cover and description as they both appeal to me. I would be more than happy to re-read and review if a download becomes available. If you would like me to re-review please feel free to contact me at thesecretbookreview@gmail.com or via social media The_secret_bookreview (Instagram) or Secret_bookblog (Twitter). Thank you.

Honestly I didn't love this book which is a shame as I've really enjoyed previous books from this author.
The multiple POV's got confusing at times and some parts of the story came across dull and boring.
The ending and the twist I wasn't expecting saved this one for me.

This was the first book I’ve read by Sylvia Day and it definitely didn’t disappoint.

I loved that this was told from multiple POV, it gives you more of an insight to the characters. Although, in this case they were all slightly unreliable which makes it all the more intriguing.

I really liked Kane and Lily they came across as a powerful couple. Within the Black family there were so many secrets and the book does leave you with lots of questions. I can’t wait for the second book to find out more.

If you love a dark suspense thriller with romance I recommend this one.

Used to love Sylvia Day books. Was this as good as previous books. No. But it was readable. And I read it very quickly.

I tried to finish this book, really tried but couldn’t at all. I can’t tell if I am being picky or if it is really the book. I put two stars because I consider that it is partially my fault for DNF this book and therefore not liking it. I also think that my opinion about a book is mine and that readers shouldn’t decide if it worth to read it or not, just based on other readers’ opinions. There were things that stopped me in my read, I will share that with you, but it will be your choice to read it or not.
First of all, from the first page I thought that was not going to go well as I already struggled with the writing. There were complicated words, and I gave up searching for meanings at some point. The writing is not fluid in my opinion and I had to reread some sentences. And the there is too much description about simple stuff, that could be removed in my opinion and focusing on something else. The writing gave me Ickes and made me cringe a lot. For example there is 4 POV in this book, which I already find too much and can be messy. But when all of them narrate their bits, one POV is using “you” and not talking at the 3rd person. It is like this person is talking to us, when you understand that it is actually talking to the MMC. That, plus some cringy writing in the Mum’s MMC that feels inappropriate. I also zoned out and was quite distracted during the reading as I had issue to follow and concentrate on it.
Anyway was happy to be in the 100 first, but now kind of regret it and wished someone could have taking this instead of me, someone else might have liked it..
thank you NetGalley for this arc in exchange of my honest review.

General Thoughts 🤔

I was so excited to be on this readalong as I was anticipating this to be a juicy read and it did not disappoint. Don’t get me wrong, I spent a good amount of time asking myself what on earth was going on. Is this Lily? Is it not? If it isn’t, then who on earth is it and how can she trick everyone? I didn’t end up getting answers to all of my questions, but I was definitely left wanting more from this wild family.

Characters 👫👭👬

I can honestly say that out of all of the characters in this book, I only liked one. In a positive way though. I enjoyed disliking the others; flaws and all. Starting with Kane. I found him to be cold and guarded when I really wanted to know what was going on his head. Lily was a complete enigma to me. I didn’t know who she was and I still don’t. Out of all of them though, I had the most empathy for her. Amy was a damaged brat but a damaged brat that I kind of wanted to do well in the end. Aliyah was a controlling, narcissistic she-devil and I couldn’t think of anything worse than having her for a mother. Finally Witte. The only character I liked. He was sweet and polite and caring. However I am certain that there is much more to Witte that we didn’t get to learn about in this book.

Writing Style ✍️

This isn’t the first Sylvia Day book that I’ve read. I was certain that I’d read the Crossfire series (that everyone in the world has surely heard of), however according to Goodreads, I’ve only read the second book. That can’t be right. However it was ten years ago so I can’t remember what I did and didn’t read. By the by. I had an idea what I was getting into with this author. I expected dark, sexy and smouldering and it’s what I got. It’s actually impressive how Sylvia Day is able to make a sex scene span an entire chapter, and not a short one.

The plot line for this book was engaging and definitely had me firing through chapters trying to get answers. Of course I enjoyed the multiple POVs as I always do, however I did want to read from Kane’s perspective. I liked the way that this book set up what is to come from the following books in the Blacklist series and I’m hoping that I get to get inside of Kane’s mind then.

Conclusion & Scoring 🎖

As I understand it, readers have been waiting for what feels like a lifetime for this author to return with new books and from what I’ve seen so far, people are loving this first instalment in the Blacklist series. I really enjoyed So Close and it was a welcomed bit of escapism for me. I’d usually be frustrated finishing a book with nearly as many questions as when I had started, but I’m not angry about it with this one. The next book in this series is due out in October so there really isn’t that long to wait to meet Kane and his whacko family again. Dark, sexy and thrilling; this book was entertaining and I’m excited to read more.

A domestic suspense with characters that are very complex. One minute you believe them and the next there is doubt. A dominant mail with three main female characters linked by lies and secrets. Intense, traumatic and twisty.

The ending kind of saved it for me, I wasn't expecting the twist! Though it would have been nice to have the twist hinted at throughout the book, it would have brought it all together a bit more.
The change in POV from the characters got a bit confusing as times, especially all of the character's are in the 3rd person point of view, and Lily's chapters were slightly off in the 2nd person point of view when referring to Kane. It got a bit confusing at times but it was still manageable.
I felt the "main" (I say main because there is A LOT going on) plot really only unfolded in the last quarter of the book, and a lot of things could have been left out while still having an enticing story line.
Overall, it was okay, I think I was just expecting a bit more.

This is my first novel of Sylvia Day that I have read. I did enjoy it however if you don’t like reading novels with quite a lot of love making, then this isn’t for you. I didn’t know what to expect however it kept me gripped from the beginning.

It was extremely well written with marvellous characters. Kane and Lily are the main characters. Kane is a husband, who has been dealt a terrible blow. His wife has tragically died. Totally besotted with her he cannot move on. His residence is a shrine to her. Fate stepped in as he was walking down the street, when he surprisingly sees a woman who looks exactly like his Lilly
This is also a family saga of intrigue and secrets. A family who are devastated that she has ‘returned from the dead.’ Lily’s looks and sexuality oozes from the pages. Kane’s mother Aliyah is jealous of the hold Lily has on him and starts investigating into who Lily really is. Is Lily a threat a to her and her family?

Amy is Kane’s sister-in-law and is also distressed by Lily’s return. Determined in trying to hang on to everything she has worked for is a little happy when Lily wants to befriend her.

The book is written with wonderful strong characters. Sylvia Day ensures the reader that they need to get to the end, to find out what secrets do lie within the family.

Praise to Sylvia Day and am really looking forward to the next one in this series. Thank you NetGalley Sylvia Day for the privilege of being able to read such a fabulous book and review it.

This was my first read by Sylvia Day and I quite enjoyed it. It was a little too descriptive, but on the whole, it was a decent read.

Very good read not sure how I expected it to end but wasn't how it did . I hope there's a follow up to this book to see what happens to all the family .