Mel's Shelves: Blog Tour: Secrets Kept by J.L. Mbewe

Tuesday, December 24, 2013

Blog Tour: Secrets Kept by J.L. Mbewe

The Secrets Kept Tour!

This tour will explore the World of Nälu:

Where a story with adventure, action, love, betrayal, and a quest takes place.

We will get to visit sites, learn more about the cuisine, and be introduced to some elves, dwarves, and shape-shifters, at the least.

Secrets Kept

by JL Mbewe

YA Fantasy

October 30th 2013 by AltWit Press

With a curse, she will build an army.
With the dagger, she will undo the last sacrifice.
But first the sorceress must find the secret keeper.

Torn from her homeland and thrust into a betrothal against her wishes, Ayianna learns her family has a deadly secret that now has her on the run. She joins forces with Kael, an embittered half-elf, and Saeed, an elderly High Guardian, to seek answers to her father’s death, the destruction of Dagmar, and the plains people’s bizarre behavior.

Ayianna discovers there is more at stake here than just her mother’s disappearance and her familial duty to her betrothed. The sorceress has cursed the plains people, and it is a race against time to release them before the sorceress resurrects an ancient evil.

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This book is full of secrets! Ayianna finds out she's betrothed to Desmond, the handsome nephew of a lord and a merchant. As she and her father are traveling to meet Desmond's uncle, Lord Ramiro, her father asks her to keep her heritage a secret (she's half-elf, half-human). She also learns that her father is guarding a secret. They're attacked by men who want her killed and her father taken alive, but he jumps in front of the sword meant for her and his dying words are for her to go to her brother and tell him the sun has set and the morning star is forever locked in stone. When she finds her brother, she is met with another surprise and more secrets.

She meets Kael, her brother's best friend, and they end up taking a trip with Vain, a prince, and Desmond, her betrothed. They don't all get along which makes for some humorous discussions among them. There is lots of adventure and life-threatening situations. They do look out for each other, though, and yes, they are all keeping secrets from each other. Ayianna makes a big decision at the end and I'm looking forward to reading more!

I like Ayianna overall, though at times she's frustrating. She seems to fluctuate between being wimpy and strong but I think some of her wimpiness comes from losing her family so suddenly and not knowing who to trust. Desmond doesn't seem right for her. He seems like a nice enough guy to her and she feels that she needs to trust that her parents saw something in him that she has yet to discover. His secret is a doozy, so it will be interesting to see what happens when that one is exposed.

Kael is awesome! He lets her in on some of his secrets towards the end and she is confused by what she feels for him. He's closed his heart to love but will Ayianna help him open it back up again? Vain, the prince, is actually the one we know the least about. Hopefully we will learn more about him in future books.

I read The Tales of Nalu before I read Secrets Kept and I thought it helped with background, especially with Semine, the powerful sorceress they're up against. It also helped me get a feel for the world I was about to discover. I would recommend reading those as well. If you enjoy fantasy, this is the beginning of a great series and I'm personally looking forward to reading the next book!

My Rating=5 Stars

Kael, some say he is a half-elf, but he never knew his mother. His father was one of the Lords of the elven council and never spoke about her. Kael was determined to follow the path of his father until tragedy struck. Not once, but twice, losing his wife, his son, and his sister. He vows to never love again and ponders accepting the High Guardian’s recommendation to join the Circle.

FREE right now on Amazon and Barnes & Noble!

Desert Rose

(A Tale of Nälu #1)

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NOW AVAILABLE: Tales of Nälu (all three short stories in paperback) on Amazon!

Living life balanced between reality and dreams.

Writing as J. L. Mbewe, Jennette is an author, artist, mother, wife, but not always in that order. Born and raised in Minnesota, she now braves the heat of Texas, but pines for the Northern Lights and the lakes of home every autumn. She loves trying to capture the abstract and make it concrete. She has two short stories published in The Clockwork Dragon anthology, and is busily creating worlds inhabited by all sorts of fantasy creatures and characters, all questing about and discovering true love amid lots of peril. Her debut novel Secrets Kept and her short stories set in the world of Nälu: Desert Rose, Dragon Thief, and Indestructible are now available. She is currently living her second childhood with a wonderful husband and two precious children who don’t seem to mind her eclectic collections of rocks, shells, and books, among other things.

For more information about her journey as a writer mama and all things creative please visit her at:

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