All My Secrets

by Sophie McKenzie

A brand new title from bestselling, award-winning author, Sophie McKenzie. The shocking reality behind a GBP10 million inheritance turns Evie Brown's world on its head. Unable to find out the truth from her parents, Evie ends up on the mysterious island of Lightsea, where her desire for answers leads her towards a series of revelations that threaten everything she holds dear ...including her life.

Genres: Young Adult, Mystery, Contemporary, Thriller, Fiction, Teen, Adventure

304 pages, Kindle Edition

First published June 1, 2015

About the author

Hey there! Welcome to my Goodreads page where you can keep up with all my stories - both the ones that are already published and the works in progress!!

I write mostly teen thrillers - plus some teen romance, books for younger children and four adult psychological thrillers.

I'm really excited right now because of...

Boy, Missing, my £1 book for World Book Day and Truth or Dare, my new teen thriller. (UK)


For more info on these and my other books, check out my website: www.sophiemckenziebooks.com

Reviews

[Jeann (Happy Indulgence) · Rating 1 out of 5]

This review appears on Happy Indulgence. Check it out for more reviews!

You know when you’re reading a book, it’s really intriguing you and it has a compelling mystery and then WHAM a random romance comes out of nowhere? That’s what happened with All My Secrets. At first, I didn’t think there would be a big focus on the romance, as Evie is pretty adamant on finding out how her real mother died and the mystery behind strange occurrences on this island that she’s on. But then she starts kissing guys left right and center, starts tossing up between who she likes better and then it starts becoming all about them.

The romance is as messy as it sounds, as she goes between the sombre, sporty Kit and the carefree, easy to talk to Josh. She kisses one and then goes behind their back and kisses the other. I honestly didn’t care about the romance at all. I just wanted to know the secrets behind the island, but even that was lackluster and tied up with a convenient twist at the end.

After finishing All My Secrets, I’m not too sure what the aim of the book was. Perhaps it’s “Don’t Go Trusting Creepy Uncles” or “Your parents shouldn’t have kept secrets from you” or “If you don’t know who you like better, just kiss them both.” Who knows *shrugs*

I received a review copy from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

[Malia · Rating 3 out of 5]

*2.5 stars

I am a big fan of McKenzie's other books, but sadly this one was not a favorite. the story felt forced, details unrealistic and the character's actions slightly haphazard. It bothered me that Evie was so uncharitable towards her parents after the big revelation in the beginning of the book, or the fact that they just sent her off to some therapy retreat off the coast of Scotland, rather than getting her a local counselor. That just made no logical sense to me. When you sense your family is breaking apart, you don't send a vital member of it away, do you, particularly as she wasn't a really troublesome child? I also think the book might have been better had she been made a few years older. I didn't know this would be a YA book, but even so, it felt as though the whole story would have been better with adult characters and some other slight tweaks. McKenzie's writing is still quite engaging, but if you are looking to start with her book, I'd recommend "Close My Eyes" or "You Can trust Me" instead.

Find more reviews and bookish fun at http://www.princessandpen.com

[Fiona MacDonald · Rating 4 out of 5]

An easy, exciting read. I sped through this in one evening, and with a migraine! Pretty compelling story. Evie has just found out some disturbing and upsetting news, and is rebelling strongly against her parents. They think the best thing is for her to get some help and rest at Lightsea, a children's behavioural unit in Scotland. Once there, Evie discovers some truly terrifying things about her past, and wonders if she can really trust anyone.

[Nara · Rating 1 out of 5]

To be honest, this book and I didn't really get along. Mostly, I think this is because this book's protagonist and I didn't really get along. She's got to be one of the most ridiculously immature teenagers I've seen in any book. So, this lawyer turns up on her doorstep and tells her she's inherited a crapload of money from her birth mother- and instead of just taking the money and living comfortably with the parents she's known since birth, she gets pissed off at her parents (which I suppose is understandable), and then runs off to find her uncle i.e. her mother's brother (wtf). Alright, sure, because she found out her parents were lying to her, she just goes and stays with this random man. Totally safe.

That being said, why the hell didn't the parents tell her earlier that she's adopted? Honestly, she's old enough to know. Although given her complete overreaction, maybe they were justified.

Also, I don't know about anyone else, but I thought the romance was so unnecessary. By which I mean it literally should be removed completely. The book is quite short, and given that it's already got a mystery/thriller aspect driving it, the romance just distracted from the story (not that the story itself was that interesting or well developed or logical at all to be totally honest). There wasn't any time to develop it properly in so few pages, and the author just throws in this shitty love triangle that does not work on either side.

Yeah, sorry. I really can't recommend this book.

Ratings
Overall: 2/10
Plot: 1/5
Romance: 0/5
Writing: 1.5/5
Characters: 1/5
Cover: 2/5

[Kelly (Diva Booknerd)]

I can't do it. The creepy uncle with his overuse of the word 'daaaarling' towards what is essentially a teenage girl, regardless of her being an estranged family member.

Why don't you stay here tonight? Said uncle creepy. Why yes man I've only known an hour, I'd be delighted. Just no.

The brat claiming she hates her parents and now prefers said creepy uncle. Shipping her off to what seems to be a school slash day spa? Sadly marking as DNF it for me. I tried.

[Chanel Lindsay · Rating 5 out of 5]

This one was a little different then I originally expected. I didn't expect it to be so much of a mystery thriller. Another book written by Sophie Mckenzie that I really enjoyed!

"The shocking truth behind a massive inheritance turns Evie Brown's world on its head. Devastated by her family's lies and desperate to discover more about a secret which overshadows her past, Evie ends up at Light sea - an island institute for troubled teens - where she meets Kit...rumour has it that Lightsea is haunted and trusting the wrong person could cost her life"

This book is yet another reason why Sophie Mckenzie is one of my favourite authors! Another read that is gripping and compelling! I found it impossible to stop reading as it draw me in right from the very beginning. The suspense and mystery in this book left me hooked and unable to put it down. Such a brilliant read!

[17dannanj157 · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a really good book. I enjoyed this book as it really hooks you in into the first couple of chapters and it has a genuine plot which made me want to keep reading. In this book, there is a girl that senses a presence following her so If you like thriller books with a bit of a mystery I would definitely recommend and read this. My favourite part would be the middle/end of the book as you really don’t know what to expect and many people in this book change and you don’t see it coming. Also the fact that you can never guess the ending as it is so surprising. Overall, really good and would definitely recommend!!

[Alice · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rating it a 4 because of the chokehold this book had on me when I was 10

[Lily Greenslade · Rating 3 out of 5]

I loved the style of writing, but overall, not one of my favourite books. The storyline was weak, Kit was a terrible character and overall found the plot line and the events just.... weird and unrealistic. At least it had Pepper and Josh in it.

[16AppadooO · Rating 4 out of 5]

As usual I have not been disappointed with Sophie Mckenzie. I’ve loved all of the books I have read of hers so far so when I saw this one I knew I had to read it. It was a good book with an incredibly gripping storyline that I really enjoyed and would definitely recommend.

[17strattonh084]

this is a very good book and it tells a good story that sucks you in. that also has moving moments in it and i recommend it to teens fro the age of 13 to 18 because there are some slight inappropriate but over all it is a grate book too read

[16papendorfa · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was another great book by Sophie Mckenzie! Her style is definitely my favourite out of all the books i have ever read with amazing plot twists especially the one involving her uncle towards the end. Although, many of Sophie's books are part of series or sequels this book is solo and i think she did a great job of rolling the plot into one book. I would reccomend this book to those who are slightly older; 10+ as there are some mature references.

[Jess · Rating 3 out of 5]

More like a 3.5 stars.

It's 00:54 right now and I'm still reeling from how I'm annoyed... But satisfied... I don't feel like elaborating right now.

Just know that Evie is one of the most annoying characters I've come across in Sophie Mckenzie's books. Even Dylan from The Medusa Project books didnt make me want to tear my hair out as much as Evie did in this. She was just so whiny and immature and selfish and obsessive. Also, the 'choice' she has to make honestly didn't make for good reading for me - it just made me ANGRY. And I already hate love triangles with a burning passion. The blurb certainly doesn't warn you of this.

The plot reminded me too much of the Girl, Missing series and i couldn't not think of that comparison.

I don't know if I've just matured a bit since I last read her books, or this particular book was less believable, but it didn't feel realistic to me.

I am being very critical here. There were definitely qualities of her writing that I've always loved that were present - wonderful character building. Amazing dramatic climaxes that draw everything to a close and have me on the edge of my seat. Greatly planned out mystery story with crime interwoven. Slow reveals. Plot twists. Well detailed descriptions of locations which make for easy imagery... I felt nostalgic when reading All My Secrets for all these aspects.

While it was nice to read one of her books again, I can't help but compare it to her previous books which I enjoyed reading a lot more (the Medusa, Blood and Missing books)and can happily reread them at the age of 17, years on from when I first read them and still love them as much. However, I feel that All My Secrets is a bit more immature with regards to the protagonist, their voice and the storyline. I would probably recommend it to younger readers. It was all a bit underwhelming for me - I was excited at the prospect of a Mckenzie book about ghosts, and the storyline just didn't live up to my expectations.

[Lee · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not a huge fan of this one. The story to be honest was ok, it kept you going but all in all wasn't that believable.

Someone in the comments left a review calling the character "empty" and I agree. The whole thing takes place over the space of 3 maybe 4 days. You could see holes in the whole thing straight away but I put it down to it was a YA book and Im, well.... a full sized, if you like, adult.

Although the story had merit, it would have been just as good, if not better better without the love triangle, and the hot head boyfrind who comes across as stupid. I honestly thought to myself noone I knew or know at 15 would throw themselves in the space of 2 hours at some guy and I hope to god my daughter wouldn't either. See what I mean when I say believable?

Im more disappointed in the fact I was sucked in by the garb on the back, then got to the end and thought 'Meh'

I gave 3 stars because I thought it had merit and could have went places. It would have got 4 if it had been drawn out on a longer timeframe and there was no love triangle. I really want to give it 2 stars just for that but that would be mean.

Try it for yourself, but dont say you werent warned.

[Hannah Coombs · Rating 2 out of 5]

This unfortunately was nowhere near as good as the other Sophie McKenzie books such as Girl, Missing.
Although I enjoyed the read, the plot was all very far fetched and it was very predictable- of course they wanted her inheritance, surely that would be obvious to her?!
The main character was quite a brat to her parents and I disliked her at the beginning, but by the end she had warmed on me a bit- I liked how your opinions of the characters changed through the book.
This was a good summer read and I read it all in 2 days, I think maybe it's aimed at slightly younger readers than myself (I'm 17), but it was fine for a light summer read.

[Kirsty · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was about a girl called Evie who finds out that her mother is not actually her birth mother. She completely loses and goes to see her uncle. Her parents and her uncle decide to send her to this island which helps 'troubled' teens. On the island, she thinks she sees her mother's ghost and she believes that her mum was murdered on the island.

I found this book really fast paced and I really enjoyed it. I found the ending a little disappointing as it was very anti-climatic.

I found it very predictable that uncle Gavin was involved. When he found out about Evie he didn't act very surprised and he took to having a niece really well, a little too well.

[millie · Rating 1 out of 5]

it was ok but nothing great

[Rida · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is amazing, and it’s so mysterious, even the plot twists have plot twists.

[auteaandtales · Rating 2 out of 5]

Well...this started off good. This book promises a thriller of some sort, and the main setting is in an institute that was shut down years ago in which she feels like her "real" mother had died in. I'm just going to say now that it was really obvious where this book was heading after the first few chapters, and it was clear there were many moments that were meant to shock us but completely failed to do so.

Not to mention all of the themes this book COULD have covered, and covered well, but it...didn't:

- Step-parent adoption
- Mental illness, and ableism
- The unfair beauty standards of the dance world
- Female friendships

And...much, much more. This book could have truly been amazing if given the right narration and editing, but it wasn't. It was just plain bad.

There were also a few other things that I really didn't like about the book. Evie mentions that Kit has hazel eyes every single time she saw him. The romance took centre stage when there were a lot more interesting events happening around the relationship. Evie is incredibly immature. There were many moments where Evie said something and we were just expected to believe it without actually ever given any proof to support it, and she would say two contradicting statements within the same page. Not to mention that any further developments regarding her relationships platonically and with her parents were never explored, but all of a sudden she was close friends with the girls and all of a sudden she forgave her parents?! There was no thought processing or inner conflict, just a switch flicked in her head.

Not to say that I entirely hated this, because it was fast-paced and I enjoyed the writing style and the first few chapters on the book weren't great, but they were enjoyable. Otherwise, I wouldn't reccommend this to anyone and this is now the third Sophie McKenzie book I've tried and didn't like so I think it's time I gave up on this particular author, she clearly isn't the one for me.

[CherryCarrot · Rating 1 out of 5]

I think I'm over Sophie McKenzie's books. I enjoyed Girl, Missing when I first picked it up (less on reread) and didn't mind The Medusa Project. But all her books have a very samey vibe now - I get that she's a YA thriller writer but the books do feel very "by the numbers".

I didn't get very far through All My Secrets, tuning out shortly after Evie's arrival at Lightsea. The part of the book I did read was WAY too fast paced - Evie discovers that Irina is her birth mother, there's zero reflection and then she's immediately off to Edinburgh to meet Gavin? Come on. Even for a thriller a slightly shorter pace with SOME reflection would be good (incidentally - the blurb doesn't make it clear this IS a thriller so I was a little surprised when it turned into one). I really disliked Evie's bratty reaction to this revelation - immediately hating her parents and disregarding everything they've done for her. Of course she's angry, but this was too much. And don't get me started on how trusting of Gavin she was. I don't think a savvy teenager would just stay in a strange man's flat like that! I gather from flicking through that (SPOILER) he is the villain of the piece, and I'm not surprised ("Darling" - EEEW.).

From what I've read the troubled teen camp Lightsea seems completley implausible too - surely the solution to Evie's problems is a good old fashioned talk with her parents, help from friends and normality, not being sent away?

Actually, the more I type the more I realise the whole book is implausible. I think I may be well and truly over Sophie McKenzie now.

Rated one star as DNF. Sorry! Love the front cover, though.

[Ramaswamy Raman · Rating 3 out of 5]

A decent thriller which has all things required for a suspense plot but somehow feels a bit amateurish in it's treatment.
Evie one day comes yo know that she had a birth mother who has left her a fortune, she is angry with her parents for hiding this fact from her. Evie decides to search desperately about her birth mother who has died due to a road accident. She meets her uncle and then starts hating her parents more for hiding her mother's details from her.
On advice from her uncle she decides to go to island where a training center exists which helps troubled teenagers.
Once on the island Evie feels her dead mother is around and was her years ago.she suspects the head of the institute knew her mother and is hiding something from her. There are total 6 teenagers there along with Evie. What happens there and will Evie know the truth about her dead mother forms the main plot.
Overall nice twist and suspense but as an adult reader found the writing more in tune with teenage readers.

[Gemma · Rating 2 out of 5]

The plot for this one sounded intriguing but in the end it fell flat for me. Evie has just found out her mum isn't her real mum when a lawyer contacts her about £1o million in a trust fund and she makes it a mission to find out everything she possibly can about her birth mother. Her parents then decide to send her to a month's camp on an island with no access to internet or phone calls but everything is not as it seems. As soon as she gets there, Evie knows something isn't right and the book is full of mystery as she tries to discover the truth.
The love triangle was unnecessary and took time away from what was already an unrealistic story and I didn't really like any of the characters either.
Overall, quite a boring book with a lazy romance sub plot that wasn't needed and the twist was quite predictable too.

[Elizabeth Emily Browne · Rating 3 out of 5]

I've read some many books about death this month.. slight coincidence as it's also October.. spooky.

Anyway. This was a really intriguing book and tbf a little bit of a thriller towards the end. I loved Josh and Evie.. they have to have been my favourite characters and I loved how Samuel was full of facts. I bought the whole idea of Evie's mothers death was just so heartbreaking. I can't imagine having to go through that and then being sent to a teenage programme which is a little like therapy and then running away from someone who is trying to kill you. This book was full of twists and turns.

This book was slow starting but once they got to the island I couldn't stop reading and everything just flew by.

[NotAnotherEmptySkull · Rating 3 out of 5]

☆2.8 Stars☆

NOTES & THOUGHTS
• Emotional.
• Well written.
• A Y.A. Thriller.
• Full of plot twists.
• Mystery & intrigue.
• Interesting & exciting.
• Some emotional moments.
• The storyline hooked me in.
• Great character development.
• The book started better than it finished.

I LOVED
• The idea of the storyline.
• The character development.
• Some of the characters - mainly Pepper & Josh.

I DIDN'T LOVE
• That the book was a little too simple in places.
• That there were a few not-so-great characters - such as Kit.
• The themes and the storyline were a little too black-or-white - it was more like "it's this" not "it could be this" in terms of plotline ideas/reveals.

[Meg · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was okay. Evie was quite annoying and her reaction to finding out about Irina was over the top and unbelievable. Apart from Evie, I quite liked all the main characters, although some more development would have been appreciated, but the book was relatively short so I understand there wasn't time within the story.

The story itself had a decent concept, but it felt a bit rushed. Also I found most of Evie's actions questionable, like her visiting Gavin alone, which no teen girl is stupid enough to do, which put me off reading it for a while.

However, I did end up enjoying it, despite my problems with it at first. I felt it improved slightly, and after a long break from reading in general, it was easy to follow and helped me get back into reading

[Savannah B · Rating 5 out of 5]

THIS IS THE BEST BOOK I HAVE EVER READ! I am pretty harsh with ratings but I fully mean the 5 stars, I would definitely recommend this book to you if you haven't read it yet. Wish she made a second book to it!

The book has the biggest cliff hangers ever! I also like that she gets straight to the point in the first chapter whereas other books just drag. Unfortunately, some things that were going to happen I guessed but some there was a massive shocking twist! I was glued to this book and didn't want to put it down.

[Sophie West · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have only recently just discovered Sophie Mckenzie's and she is becoming one of my favourite authors. When I first saw the book I didn't expect it to be mystery based but I really enjoyed the read. The mystery led me to read this book at such a fast pace as I was unable to put it down as I needed to know what happened next. Such an amazing read and can't wait to read more of Sophie Mckenzie's other books. 100% recommend!

[Lily · Rating 4 out of 5]

I absolutely loved this book. I couldn’t put it down, and each chapter finished in the perfect cliff hanger way. It was fast paced and intriguing the whole way through. I’m only disappointed in the ending. I’m only a few chapters, everything was resolved. I would’ve loved to see more of the aftermath.

[Adri266 · Rating 4 out of 5]

Trosku ina YA kniha. Mlada Evie jedneho dna otvori dvere pravnikovi, ktory jej tvrdi, ze zdedila obrovsky majetok po svojej skutocnej matke. Evie sa zruti cely svet. Tu by som povedala, ze by som zasranu najradsej nakopala do zadnej casti tela.
Nechapem, ako mohla v sekunde zabudnut na to, ze jej aj ked neprava mama sa o nu starala od detstva a ze jej otec je skutocny. Okamzite ich zacala nazyvat prvym menom, hoci nechapem, preco tak nazyvala aj svojho otca! :rolling_eyes: Ano, rozumiem, ze jej spravanie bolo pricinou dalsich udalosti v knihe, ale mala som chut nou zatriast.
No ale pokracujeme. Evie je nazlostena, ze jej klamali, na nete si zisti info o jej mame. Bola balerina, uspesna, nadherna a mala brata. Tak utecie z domu k tomu bratovi, svojmu strykovi. Otec ju vsak najde, privedie ju domov a potom neskor stryko s otcom ju presvedcia, ze kedze nedokaze spracovat tu novu informaciu, pojde na ostrov, kde maju nieco ako boot camp, tabor, pre problemovu mladez.
Tam samozrejme stretne dvoch mladych fesnych chalanov a ona si nevie vybrat, ale pojde jej aj o zivot, zjavuje sa jej duch jej bio mamy a zisti, kto to ma na svedomi.
Celkom fajn napisana kniha okrem toho zaciatku, kedy mi Evie fakt liezla na nervy. Urcite budem citat dalsiu knihu od autorky

[Caroline Lay · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very quick easy read. Definitely for teenagers.
Very immature and annoying at times. Sometimes I just wanted to scream As I felt it was stating the obvious (alot).
I would however recommend to teenagers! So don't be put off!