The Secret by Max Monroe

The Secret Reviews

• 
  ✰ Bianca ✰ BJ's Book Blog ✰

  
  
  
  
  Rachel + Ty
  
  We already met Ty and his brothers in the previous books and we also know that they all went to see a fortune teller 14 years ago and that two of those fortunes have come true already. Ty is obviously kinda scared now about what the lady told him. He's not ready to get married - that was never his plan - he's happy with his bachelor life.
  And Rachel. She's back in New York to finish her english lit masters degree.
  But first a bit of partying with her girls - where she might or might not have left a very sexy and lasting impression on Ty.
  And two weeks later both find out that she's his new TA at NYU. LOL!
  
  LET THE FUN TIMES BEGIN!🤣
  
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  Another adorable and funny and very 🔥 hot 🔥 Max Monroe rom-com!
  
  This time we have a bit of a trope going on - the professor - TA - age gap thingy! Ty is 39 and Rachel is only 26. Not my favorite kind of romance. (I just don't like age gap romances where it's more than a few years, because men die much sooner anyway and then he's so much older already and we want our darlings to be together forever! Ugh!) But those two are so perfect for each other - but she's his TA and then there's this tiny little problem with Rachel's dad...
  But we'll get to our happy end - it might just take a bit of arguing and playing sexy games to get there. 😎
  
  This book has so many funny moments and sweet and cute moments and soo many sexxay moments! Dare I say that it was a tiny bit too much? I'm a huge fan of sexytimes in books, but this was A LOT.
  Plus the story wasn't as funny as I'd hoped it would be.
  The funniest parts are always the family text exchanges and dinners - lol!
  
  Great 3rd Winslow book! Can't wait for Remy's story next! GIMMMEE!
  
  Still asking myself: How are none of Max Monroe's books streaming their behinds off on Netflix yet?? The world is a weird and sad place!!
  
  THE SECRET was another super funny and adorable and über sexxy Max Monroe Rom-Com! Run to your nearest amazon for your own Ty - he'll be sold out in no time!
  
  
  
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• 
  Sonya ♕Chatterbooks book blog♕

  
  
  
  What happens when you take a challenge to make the hottest guy never forget you for the rest of your life? You rise to that expectation and deliver good on that challenge.
  
  Moving back to New York City is proven to never be boring for twenty six year old grad student Rachel. Deciding to let loose for one night before being buried in her studies and the new TA for a highly respectable Professor, Rachel is all for having a little fun on a night out. But when the one man who she had no plans of ever seeing for the rest of her life is suddenly looking her dead in the eye in a hilarious greeting, she has no choice but to play another game. But the question is, who’s going to come out on top? all is fair in love and underwear right?
  
  
  
  
  Seeing that this is my first time reading anything from this author in a really long time, this one took a bit of getting used to and I was expecting a laugh out loud from start to finish quirky sexy romance. I also felt like the main characters didn't spend enough time with each other one on one and I never felt their all consuming connection that would later turn into love. While I did enjoy certain things in this book and I loved the family dynamic, I was just expecting more for this one.
  
  If you’ve read the other books in the series, then I think you’re going to enjoy seeing the Winslow brothers again and what they’re up to. As for me, I kind of feel like I need to go back and at least read the first book to see if I would like it more and have those laugh out loud moments that I was craving. Overall this was an ok read but I’m curious to see what these authors have up their sleeves for the next book in the series.
  
  
  
  

  
  
  
  
  
  
  

  
  
• 
  Nadia

  I feel like my most recent reviews have all just been trashing books but I have to continue the cycle with this one. This book was so far-fetched, I wonder if the author actually went to university? Because honestly what is going on.
  
  I haven’t seen any other reviews talking about this but I just can’t get over it - Ty was such an inappropriate professor, it was actually insane. He found every opportunity to make his teaching material sexual and pervy. He brings in dirty underwear to describe the differences between men and women. And at one point he gets Rachel to stand up at the front of the class (in a thin tank top with her nipples showing) and have horny freshman students describe her body. Why?? Why was this necessary? You’re teaching Anna Karenina, not 50 Shades of Grey. And afterwards, Rachel is left feeling cold and exploited. How sexy.
  
  Ty turned me off so much, he acted like a horny teenager the entire book, not caring one bit that he was risking his career by sleeping with his TA. I just could not believe this man was a college professor.
  

  
  ”Ty, I could open up the New York City phone book, point to a random spot on a random page, and probably still land on someone who had no more than two degrees of separation from a woman you’ve slept with. You alone have elevated the national average of sexual partners from six to seven.”
  

  
  So this man is a walking STD. Wonderful. Look, I’m clearly no stranger to MMCs with lots of sexual partners. But the way Ty was described as constantly sleeping with anything with a pulse was honestly gross. His entire personality is being a fuckboy… at age 39.
  
  Rachel wasn’t any better, she was extremely immature so maybe these two were actually a good match for each other. Her dad was controlling and whenever he tried telling her what to do, she would rebel and do the exact opposite. Umm… how about you just tell him to fuck off? Instead of acting like a rebellious teenager? You’re 26 for Gods sake.
  
  Anyway… it’s disappointing because I actually like this author’s writing style. But the plot and characters in this book were atrocious.
• 
  Max Monroe

  THE SECRET is LIVE NOW + FREE in KINDLE UNLIMITED!!!!
  ONE-CLICK HERE (FREE in KU!):
  
  mybook.to/TheSecret_Ebook
  
  
  
  This book is all of the sexy and laugh-out-loud things you need right now.
  
  👙Sexy, fun games
  😂Laugh out loud fun
  🔥Hot, hot..."tension"
  📚Reading books is finally given its sexy due by a hot English Lit Professor
  ❤️Smoldering chemistry
  
  ⬇️⬇️⬇️
  
  WARNING: This book is outright hilarious, as you might expect, but also, a little dangerous.
  
  See, multiple studies* have shown that after reading this book, you’re going to want to be…ahem…naughty.
  
  You’ll be sneaking, you’ll be plotting, you’ll be bow-chicka-wow-wow-ing all over the place.
  
  So, just consider this a warning. A big warning. THE SECRET is going to make you laugh your booty off, but its HOT LEVEL is so OFF THE CHARTS, there’s a chance this book could get you banned from the library, your kids’ school pick up line, or even the grocery store.
  
  PROCEED WITH CAUTION
  
  *No formal studies were conducted, but we’re for real. Watch out.
  
  
  
• 
  Laurie Anne

  Yeah, you're all going to want this book on pre-order now!!
  If it's MaxMonroe, it's going to have all these qualities in a romcom I need:
  Sexy hero...check
  Hilarious family dynamics... check
  Heroine you can't help but love.. check!
  
  I will forever love the Winslow family for bringing me hours of entertainment! Just their texts alone have me laughing so hard I can't eat or drink anything while reading these books!
  
  Thank you again Max Monroe for bringing another hilarious book boyfriend to life!!
  
  Bring on Remy because I've been waiting on this man and I can't wait!! I have a feeling he's going to be my favorite of the brothers!! Shhhhh.. don't tell the other guys that though!
  
  “𝘐 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘬 𝘐 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘰𝘯𝘭𝘺 𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘪𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘳𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘙𝘦𝘮𝘺, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘮𝘺 𝘥𝘦𝘢𝘳, 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘭𝘦𝘧𝘵 𝘣𝘦𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘐 𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘪𝘴𝘩𝘦𝘥 𝘨𝘪𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘶𝘯𝘦,” 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘶𝘦𝘴. “𝘏𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦. 𝘈𝘯 𝘶𝘯𝘦𝘹𝘱𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘴𝘦𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘥 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘰 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘭𝘪𝘧𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘦 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨.”
• 
  Michelle

  I have not read the other books in the Winslow Brothers series, but this book makes me want to start reading them right now! This is one family that I’d love to belong to!
  
  This one is all about Ty the English Professor who doesn’t believe in love. One anonymous encounter at a club with a panty-dropping beauty leaves him intrigued. When Rachel turns out to be his TA and the daughter of his mentor, things get a little hot. No wait, things get very HOT.
  
  What starts off as a juvenile game of hide-the-panties, turns into something neither of them could have predicted. I went into this expecting an over the top romcom, and while it is funny, the emotions are just as strong.
  
  I loved Ty as a teacher working to reach kids at their level and inspire a love of the classics. And I loved Rachel as a brilliant writer struggling to figure out who she really is.
  
  Great story for these two and I’m looking forward to doing some backtracking with this series!
  
  I received an advance reader copy of this book and these are my honest opinions.
• 
  Penny

  Most likely it's me, not the book.
• 
  Catbytheseareads

  Ty and Rachel's story is by far the funniest of the Winslow Brothers series!!
  I am binge reading this entire series, I love it so much I can barely sleep or accomplish anything else because it's so enticing. Max Monroe is quickly becoming one of my fav Authors they're such an amazing duo who draw you in right from the start. Their books are so full of fun and passion with the most amazing characters and just when you think you like 1 book better then the next you're wrong again and again!!
  I laugh so loud at night I'm sure my family thinks I've lost my mind while reading LOL.
  Nothing better than laughter and dreamy good romance stories!
• 
  Michele McMullen

  Get ready for another wonderful book from the writing duo Max Monroe. I always know when I pick up their work that I will be fully entertained, fall in love with great characters, laugh and have the heat turned up on the pages!
  This is the story of Ty Winslow and Rachel Rose. Let me set the stage for this daring first meeting. Rachel is at a nightclub and on a dare, she must choose the best-looking man in the room and make an impression. Ty Winslow is an English Professor, unattached and likes it that way, and certainly knows his way around the ladies. He shall we say always has a flavor of the week, or day. He hasn't found that woman to capture his heart or mind to make it last more than that. The dance floor is the place for this first encounter and as Ty is dancing a beautiful siren slides up to him. She is daring, mysterious and oh so seductive. Has he ever been this turned on? When she gets just close enough for him to get a whiff of her intoxicating scent, she does the unexpected. Rachel has never been this forward, but she will never see that man again. She places a gift in his hand as she stares him down.
  Ty is knocked off kilter as he finds the little siren has given him her sexy lace panties and has turned and made her exit!
  Now as fate would have it of course these two meet again, where would the story be if they did not??
  Ty now finds himself face to face with his new PA and yes she is pretending that their first meeting never happened! This is going to be so much fun! I absolutley fell in love with this couple. They have explosive chemistry, are so funny, they can be so sweet and yes they have sexy witty banter!
  ~~Michele McMullen ~~
• 
  Aviva’s Library

  I was not expecting this book to be as funny and spicy as it was… but damn, did it deliver. No joke, every other sentence had me smiling or laughing. These authors should be comedics.
  
  It took me a couple of chapters to get into the story because the beginning was heavy on references from the previous books in the series (which I haven’t read… yet 😜) but once I got into the actual story of this book… it was a really fun time.
  
  I really appreciated the fact that there was still a really good character and relationship development even though it was heavy on the spice… which I feel isn’t always well balanced in spicier books… but in this story I felt like it was done well.
  
  If you’ve seen any of my reviews before then you know I’m kind of a picky reader… and while there was nothing particular that I could point out in this story that bothered me… there was something about it that just didn’t give me the 5 star feeling… but I still thoroughly enjoyed the read and I think it’s a good book to pick up when you want something easy, funny and pretty steamy.
  
  This was the first book I’ve ever read by these authors but I’m definitely excited to check out more of their work in the future
  
  
• 
  Erin Lewis

  5 star review of The Secret (Winslow Brothers #3) by Max Monroe
  
  Another fabulous story from Max Monroe. I know when I pick up a book to read by these authors that it will be an entertaining, funny read that will tick all the boxes for me and The Secret delivers on all fronts.
  
  This is Ty Winslow and Rachel Rose’s story and what a fantastic story it was. Rose is the to be Ty’s teaching assistant but she is mortified when she realizes he is the man she gave her underwear to on a dare.
  
  What an interesting meet cute that one is. Ty is a playboy professor, not one to commit or settle down. However Rachel Rose may just be the woman to change him.
  
  Having read the previous books in the series, I was excited to see what Max Monroe had planned for Ty. I fell hard and fast for Ty and Rachel and the chemistry that sizzles between them is scorching. Catching up with other members of the Winslow family also added an extra layer to the story, I love the relationship that they share.
  
  The Secret was non stop entertainment, witty and plenty of mischief with great characters that you will quickly fall in love with. If you are looking for a wonderfully entertaining Rom Com then look no further. Max Monroe in my opinion are the Queens of the genre.
• 
  TJ *Book Twins Reviews*

  The Secret by Max Monroe was such a treat! This laugh out loud sexy romantic comedy has it all, heart and humor! Ty and Rachel are such great characters.
  
  If you like any of the following, read The Secret now!
  * funny initial meeting
  * great banter
  * humorous romcom
  * great chemistry
  * amazing family dynamic
  
  An amazing read - recommend for pretty much anyone who loves sexy romance.
  
  4.5 Stars
• 
  tiana

  3,75✨ book 3
  “there’s a kinship between you and eve that’s unmistakable. the forbidden fruit will prove irresistible for you, and I’m afraid you’ll take more than a bite. the secret of this indiscretion will bring turmoil and pain. the journey will be rife with unrest, but the end will bring you great joy and relief.”
  
  
  rachel just arrived at ny to continue her grad studies and nothing better than a party to celebrate the fact that now her and her sister are finally together.
  everything is smooth till she pick a challenge card at the party’s club: “make the hottest person in the room remembers you for the rest of their lives.”
  
  that’s when she gives ty her panties and just leave 👍🏽
  
  ty is so used to having everything he wants, including a lot of woman that he thinks he must be going crazy given that all he does is think about rachel.
  so imagine his surprise when the woman he can’t stop thinking about, the one that felt like cinderella and disappeared in the middle of the night are his new TA (teacher’s assistant).
  
  
  max & monroe knows how to get me hocked on a book… i already know that, but here are the reasons i gave this rating:
  
  - i didn’t connect with the characters, and maybe the reason that happened was because i didn’t feel the love between them at all. of course it was hot as fuck but that was it. when did they fall in love?? i didn’t see it.
  
  - i thought this book was less developed than the others. like i wanted to get deep with the characters, know what made them the people they are… but besides rachel’s little problem with her father, it felt like the book was way more sex than anything.
  
  - i missed more family scenes and that’s one of the main reasons i gave this rating and maybe why i didn’t like this book so much (it was ok, definitely not perfect to me like book 2 but ok).
  when i started this series, what really got me hocked was how close the brothers were but here we had like 2 or 3 scenes and that’s it.
  i really like to see the girl getting involved and becoming part of the family… i didn’t see this happening with rachel.
  
  and other thing!!! we saw on book 1 and 2 how ty treated the OW specially on family dinners so WHY THE FUCK wouldn’t you developed rachel being the different one? like fuck she is literally his the one.
  
  sorry i’m a little bit sad that i didn’t like this one so much because this series was being perfect 😭
  
  i don’t know when i will read “the redo” since the epilogue didn’t give me the vibe i wanted 🤔 will see
• 
  crystal

  i completely adored ty and Rachel!
  
  this book was so fun and hot ! the Winslow brothers have me wrapped around their fingers! i love the family dynamics so much and the romance is always top tier!
• 
  Cookie

  Rachel has moved back to New York City from Los Angeles to start a master’s degree program at NYU, where her father teaches. While on a night on the town celebrating her return, she leaves her panties in the hands of a man she never expects to see again. Rachel is shocked when she finds out when she arrives to the NYU campus that Ty Winslow, the mysterious man from that night, is a professor and she has been assigned to be his TA. They can’t ignore their fiery chemistry but they know any relationship outside of their professional relationship is strictly forbidden. Can they resist working closely together while their feelings and lust are brewing?
  
  I loved this hot-for-professor book! I knew from the first few pages that I was going to enjoy this one. I love the forbidden romance trope and combine that with a hot professor situation - I AM HERE FOR IT!
  
  When Rachel left those panties in Ty’s hands, I was shocked and intrigued. Rachel was a fun character, with a fierce personality and she was down for any challenge. Ty was a man of my dreams - a man who loved reading and had a blissful appreciation for the written word. He seemed like a professor that I would want to have, relatable and inspiring. Outside of his professional persona, he was playful and funny. I loved that everything was a game to him and Rachel was down to beat him at his games. When they finally gave into their desires, I couldn’t get enough of their steamy scenes. They were salacious and jaw-droppingly good! Ty’s erotic talk is on point in this book and I was pleasantly surprised by that.
  
  The Winslows are a book family that I want more of! They are funny, crazy, and I loved that they were up in each other’s business. I can’t wait to see what the next book has in store for them especially with Remy. The epilogue hints at what his love story will be and I am excited for him!
  
  Pick this book up for a super sexy, steamy, and fun forbidden romance story!
  
  Steam level: 🔥🔥🔥🔥
  ⚠️: cancer, death of a parent
  
  I received a complimentary eARC from the publisher & author.
• 
  Rachel

  2.5 stars (writing my newsletter and lowkey forgot everything about this book, so I’m dropping to 2.5 from 3).
  
  Allow me to present, a book I read!
  
  So this was mostly a miss for me with some really fun and funny scenes. Mainly, my biggest grievance here is this book wasn’t nearly nerdy enough!!! It’s a professor/TA romance and a majority of the book takes place in a freshman literature class so I was ready to feel the dorkiness come alive with Rachel and Ty. But, they aren’t dorky. Like, at all. They’re both cool and fun I guess, but where’s the nerdy academia that I was craving?? If this doesn’t matter to you, I’d say maybe read this book it’s fun. If this does matter to you, I’d say read “The Love Hypothesis” by Ali Hazelwood or “My Oxford Year” by Julia Whelan if you want a romance steeped in academia.
  
  I think “My Oxford Year” is a great comparison to this book when we compare the love interests. Both Jamie from Oxford and Ty from The Secret are both professors and ~players~. However, there is such a delightful, intellectual charm with Jamie, and Whelan does a phenomenal job weaving all his personality traits together into one complex person. Ty’s personality traits on the other hand read disjointed.
  
  Some positives though. This book is funny! I laughed out loud a lot. I especially loved Lydia and Lou’s conversations and one liners. Another positive - Rachel and Ty have great chemistry and are super well suited for each other. They’re both playful, competitive, and adventurous. These are all positive traits, but sometimes Ty would come across as childish and immature to me. There were points reading this book where I was like oh poor Rachel she’s dating a child. But she didn’t seem to mind lol.
  
  Also, another thing about Ty. I think he did a pretty not so good job at understanding Rachel’s boundaries, desires and needs some times, but then other times he was SPOT on with these things. Just didn’t make any sense to me that his intuitiveness with her was so hot and cold.
  
  The last 20% of this book was some lazy writing in my opinion. I don’t think there were enough stakes, I don’t think the payoff was exciting, and too many circumstances just went too perfectly well for me to think this would actually happen.
  
  Also Rachel’s dad - complete misogynist! That hardly gets called out on how he treats his daughter. And Rachel who so desperately wants to be treated as an adult by her family makes some very childish decisions.
  
  I had such high hopes because of how much I’ve enjoyed other romances set in universities but alas this wasn’t for me! But, I think if you want to read something fun, funny, light and hot, give this a try! Why not it’s your life do what you want.
• 
  Jacklyn Sanabria

  When I tell you I cannot get enough of the Winslow brothers I am not lying to you. When I swore I had a favorite another one comes swooping in and steals my heart again. Max and Monroe you guys are true rom com queens with the ability to write spice like no other. Ty Winslow and Rachel Rose, NYC play boy professor meets defiant teaching assistant, but these two meet in an intriguing way before knowing their paths would cross again in a forbidden way. The fact that this book included a woman struggling to find her purpose while getting her masters that shit was so reliable a I am going through the same process and am a people pleaser like her. Then you have Mr. Ty Winslow who is every girls dream to live out a forbidden professor romance with (I wish my professors looked like the man on this cover). This book was full of spicy scenes, the office, the supply closet, the classroom desk, a hotel just to name a few and get your attention. While the chemistry and the flirty games have been there from the start with Ty and Racheal, seeing each of them slowly fall more for each other with subtle acts made me all giddy. I loved this book because it had all the aspects your looking for in a fictional romance book but it was written in a realistic way that makes you realize people are probably experiences the same struggles these two do both individually and in their developing relationship with one another. I will never stop hyping Max and Monroe up because these two are truly incredible! I’m going to live in my little fantasy bubble of Ty and Racheal for now because I don’t want it to be over before it has to be!
• 
  Lyrik

  #1 I'm so glad Rachel, the FMC, was 26 and in grad school instead of younger and an undergrad.
  
  #2 A tenured English professor doesn't really fit Ty's personality. At no point in either of the previous 2 books does Ty say or do anything "smart" or "bookish".
  
  #3 I know this is a romance so it's part fantasy, however, I expect more realism from contemporary romance. There is NO WAY they would have gotten away with sex all over the University and in his office!
  
  #4 I was totally expecting OWD from the English Department secretary. That storyline was totally dropped. I was hoping for a scene where Rachel "claimed" Ty to set her straight.
  
  #5 The pacing was off for me. It took weeks to build up to the sexy times, but one week to fall in love? Yeah, no.
  
  Liked Ty, liked Rachel, but their story didn't unfold how I would have preferred nor did I get any sweetness or feels while reading.
• 
  Jodi - JodiReadsnListens

  Hot for teacher?! Yes, I am! Especially if his name is Ty Winslow! The Secret by Max Monroe was a wild, hot, steamy good time that will leave you with all the delicious good feels. These ladies are knocking it out of the park with their Winslow brothers series with each brother's story getting better and better (and hotter)! Once again, fortune teller, Cleo was true to her word because Ty Winslow met his match and found his true lady love with Rachel Rose when he least expected it! Ty and Rachel have an intriguing meet cute! Think Cinderella, but instead of a glass slipper, sheer pink panties are involved. (whew!) Not knowing they'll cross paths again, Rachel ends up being a T.A. for Ty, who is a tenured professor at NYU, and the games and all the sexual tension soon begin! Rachel and Ty know they should keep their relationship professional, but the temptation and the fiery hot attraction is too strong, so all bets are off! I loved Rachel's determination to stand her ground and make her own dreams a reality. Plus, Ty's journey to fall out of his playboy ways and learn to love Rachel will make you swoon!
  
  Overall, I LOVED this book! If you love a romcom with a hot hunky English professor, a fierce flirty graduate student, a meddling father who thinks he knows best, Winslow family dinners, games with a sheer pink pair of panties, freshman English lectures, secret forbidden steamy times, working shifts at your sister's bakery, standing up for love, and a HEA that is worth spilling all your secrets for, then you will adore Ty and Rachel's story! I am super excited for Remy's romance next! This one is definitely a new favorite from Max Monroe!
• 
  drew :)

  first read of 2024🤭
• 
  JoyBella

  Flynn’s book is still my favorite, and he’s still my favorite Winslow brother.
• 
  Gretchen

  The Secret was so freaking fantastic! I felt like I was vibrating with excitement the entire time I was reading. I absolutely loved Ty and Rachel, the game they were playing, and the thrilling and passionate push and pull between them as they fell in love. It was sexy and fun but also filled with a great deal of emotion that had me tearing up by the end. My favorite in the series (so far)!
  
  I’m not sure who I loved more, Ty or Rachel. I loved how Rachel owned who she was and didn't back down from what she wanted. She was a strong, smart, and independent woman. Ty was incredibly confident and charismatic and had a heart of gold. I loved (LOVED!) when they first meet, that spark and fire between them, and then again when they reconnected. I loved that challenge between them, the banter and wit, and I swear some of their choices were making me laugh my head off, it was all so entertaining. The games they played were pretty priceless! They oozed sexual tension and I couldn’t get enough. I was all about the build, the longing, the anticipation, so when it finally happened, it was intense, beyond hot, and cold shower worthy.
  
  There's a lot happening in Rachel's life and some tensions she's dealing and it all elicited a lot of emotion out of me. I liked all the different connections and how those affected Ty as well. There were so many great details mixed in giving the story an extra layer of awesome. I loved watching Ty’s feelings emerge and how he changed once he met Rachel. I loved the forbidden aspect since Rachel is Ty’s TA. There is an age difference but it didn't play a big part in the story. I absolutely adored the Winslow family, I wish I could hang out with them. The siblings always have me smiling and I really loved the special relationship that Ty had with his mom. The epilogue was sweet and sexy with a little hint about Remy and I’m super excited about his book.
  
  This is one of those stories I couldn’t read fast enough and at the same time, never wanted it to end. I was smiling, laughing, and rooting for Ty and Rachel. I love a story that makes me feel and with this, I could feel all their want and need, the longing, and pain and heartache. The Secret was everything I wanted and so much more. I definitely recommend it!
  
  Complimentary copy received.
• 
  Amy [Book Addict Reviews]

  Ty and Rachel meet at a club, complete strangers and never expect to see each other again. Though, Rachel left a rather lasting impression on Ty.
  
  Ty is an English professor at NYU. Rachel is a grad student and Ty’s new TA and the daughter of the department head. Needless to say she is completely off limits. The tension and the games between Ty and Rachel can only last for so long before everything comes to the surface.
  
  I absolutely love Ty and Rachel. There is a ton of chemistry between the two of them. I loved the little challenges between them. They were fun and entertaining. Plus, the steam in this book is fantastic. The way Ty talks about literature is beautiful and the fact that both him and Rachel are able to share their love of the classics was amazing.
  
  With each book in this series I fall more and more for the Winslow family. I absolutely love the relationship they have with each other. Plus, how Ty is with Mama Winslow is super sweet and hilarious. I can’t wait for Remy!
  
  If you’re looking for a forbidden ish, professor/TA, rom com this is one to check out.
  
• 
  Intel Chicky Reads Romance (Kara Merideth)

  Story: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
  Trope: ONS/taboo
  Angst: 😱😱😱
  Smexy: 🔥🔥🔥🔥
  
  This was my first book by Max Monroe and I really enjoyed it! Laugh out loud funny with just the right amount of angst and characters that will pull on your heartstrings. The Secret is well written, fast paced, with tons of super hot smexy times. Super excited to have found a new author and to read Remy's book!
• 
  Annabelle

  5 ⭐️
• 
  Romance Recs

  
  My immediate thought is… thank God that’s over! I did NOT enjoy this book at all! I found it too long, there were several scenes that didn’t add to the story and were quite frankly boring and not funny.
  
  It’s not that I don’t like romcoms but I didn’t find this book funny. This is my first Max Monroe book. I’m not sure if it will be my last.
  
  I personally want to read a book by every author, so I try one author at least one time. I’m glad I finally read Max Monroe, but I was very let down by this book.
  
  The Secret is about Rachel, a 26 year old grad student with an overbearing father who just moved to NYC to go to NYU grad school. Her sister and her wife were secondary characters. I liked the amount of time the secondary characters had in the book because it was minimal. I personally don’t like a lot of secondary character scenes, so this was a plus.
  
  Rachel meets Ty Winslow at a club one night. She then sees him at NYU as her new boss/hot professor at NYU. That’s right, Ty Winslow is a hot, 39 year old professor who likes casual relationships. He meets a hottie at the club but nothing happens other than a kiss. Said hottie just so happens to be the daughter of his mentor and boss, a professor and director at NYU. Rachel ends up being Ty’s TA.
  
  They hook up, they banter they flirt but I felt nothing! This story fell so flat to me! It was so boring I literally fell asleep reading it a few times lol
  
  I’m not even going to sugar coat this… this book was TORTURE to get through and I had the biggest sign of relief when it was over. I feel free and liberated from this boring book! What a waste of time! It was a story about nothing with so many dumb extra scenes like Rachel going to a Zumba class with her sisters and her hanging out at her sister’s bakery.
  
  Not only were the scenes pointless, they were so dull! The writing was also terrible!! Oh my God the writing!! It almost drove me to the brink of insanity but thank God it’s over now.
  
  
  
  
• 
  Lauren Reads Romance

  3.25 stars
  
  Ty Winslow is the mythical beast known as Hot English Lit Professor. Not only would he easily make it onto @hotdudesreading on Instagram, he also magically has time to work out in the early mornings and party all night with ladies. On one such evening, Ty meets an alluring woman who flirts with him on the dance floor and then slips him with her underwear before disappearing into the night.
  
  Rachel Rose is back from the West Coast after avoiding her overbearing father for years. She’s enrolled at NYU to finally get her MA and conveniently ends up as Ty’s teaching assistant. Well, well, well. What are the chances? Actually, the chances are 100% because this is Romancelandia and this is how we roll, bitches.
  
  Anyhoo. The Secret was okay, not bad but also not great. If you’ve read The Bet—book 1 of the series—featuring Jude, Ty’s youngest brother, then you already know what you’re getting. Jude and Ty are completely interchangeable IMO. It is Rachel who makes this book different. She’s feisty, she’s a shit stirrer and she loves a good challenge.
  
  Mentally Ty is immature AF, and I could not imagine him as a legit professor at all. Their age difference—he is 39, she is 26–coupled with the prof/TA, boss/employee dynamic felt kinda off and gross to me. He says stupid shit without consequences and acts like a overgrown frat boy. She is 13 years younger than him yet way more advanced but makes dumb 20something year old decisions. They were not an attractive, believable couple to me at all. I kept waiting for him to snap out of it and grow the fuck up but nothing happened.
  
  One thing I did really like was the epilogue. It gave a glimpse into Remy’s book which is next and I’m excited for that to be published!
• 
  Shelby

  Rachel and Ty's relationship is one of my favorites.
  from their banter to their steamy scenes.
  
  we get a big of an age-gap,
  along with a workplace/teacher x student relationship.
  
  Rachel is tasked with a challenge while out at a club...
  "make the hottest guy in the room remember you for the rest of his life."
  which Rachel has no problem making him remember her... by placing her panties in his hand while on the dance floor.... AND THEN LEAVING.
  
  now it's two weeks later and Rachel's father has a Teaching Assistant job for her with a professor... she has previously met, for the semester.
  
  Her father is demanding and always treats her as a child, even though she is an adult women that's 26 years old.
  
  On her first day at the school, Ty recognizes her the second his eyes find her. Making it now a challenge to make Rachel admit she is pantie girl from the club.
  
  of course, things between them don't stay professional long and they start to fool around, which eventually leads to something more serious.... something none of them expected.
  
  Ty has always been the ultimate bachelor, bringing home a different women to each family function, not wanting to be tied down... until her.
  
  This book was an easy 5/5 for me. I loved it so much. it was so well written and captivating. the steamy scenes were so HOT, the funny moments were HILARIOUS, the character growth/relationship growth was amazing to read.
  
  I also loved seeing the other characters from the previous books make multiple appearances.
  
  
  Thank you so much for the ARC in exchange for an honest review. this book got me out of a slump and i'll never be able to recommend it enough.
• 
  Addicted 2 📖

  3 stars is generous IMO
  
  Let the haters hate me…
  
  I don’t know why I feel the need to defend myself against yet another author I’ve enjoyed, because the hilarity of the first series I read was awesome, as were the characters. Thatch, you will always be my book boyfriend 😍. But the guilt is there, I’m not the diehard fangirl totally in love with the authors to give this book false love and 5 ⭐️s🤷🏻‍♀️.
  
  But this series has been a bit lackluster. I love the Winslow family dynamics, and the characters individually, but this book was boring to me. Thank you Evelyn Wood Speed Reading 🤣😂. If you don’t know who that is, you’re either too young or just don’t know - google it.😉.
  
  SOOO much internal dialogue 💤 with both Ty and Rachel. Then the ‘dance class’ but was just odd and felt out of place in the story - no connection with anything. Funny, but, huh? I felt there were missed opportunities with other side characters to make it more interesting or at least keep me wanting to read on and finish to discover SOMETHING, lol. I read on to just be done. Alas, it was not to be had😢. I truly hope Remy’s story will be better.
  I still love you both Max Monroe, but I just can’t be won over on this one.