The Secret of Ella and Micha by Jessica Sorensen (UK cover)

Title: The Secret of Ella and Micha
Author: Jessica Sorensen
Genre: Contemporary, New Adult
Publisher: Sphere (11th April 2013)
Blurb:

‘The girl he thinks he loves needs to disappear. I don’t want tonight to be irreversible, so I pull away, breathing him in one last time.’

Ella and Micha have been best friends since childhood, until one tragic night shatters their relationship and Ella decides to leave everything behind to start a new life at college, including Micha.

But now it’s summer break and she has nowhere else to go but home. Ella fears everything she worked so hard to bury might resurface, especially with Micha living right next door. Micha is sexy, smart, confident, and can get under Ella’s skin like no one else. And he’s determined to win back the girl he lost, no matter what it takes.

Rating: ***** (5 stars)
Review:

The Secret of Ella and Micha by Jessica Sorensen is a New Adult novel. It tells the story of Ella and Micha, two best friends who grew up next door to each other until one day when a tragic event occurs that sends Ella fleeing from her life. Ella cannot cope with the events of that night and the blame she feels, not even with Micha’s help, so she leaves everything and everyone behind.

The Secret of Ella and Micha opens with the final day Ella and Micha spend together before Ella leaves, showing how close to the edge Ella is and how close they both are before she leaves. There is then a time-skip of eight months and we join Ella and her friend/roommate Lila as they pack up for the summer to return home. This Ella seems very different from the girl we meet at the beginning of the book and it is clear that she is reluctant to return home. We also learn at this point that Micha has spent the last eight months trying to track her down.

I really enjoyed The Secret of Ella and Micha and the way Sorensen slowly revealed more and more about both Ella and Micha, and how complicated and complex the relationship is between them. I think it worked really well that Sorensen has split the narrative between both their voices. The story would have lost something if we couldn’t see into both their heads – it wouldn’t have allowed us to know how important they are to one another.

The Secret of Ella and Micha takes place over quite a short time period – just a couple of months I think – but a LOT happens. Secrets are revealed, and Ella starts to learn to stop running and to be herself. Sorensen did a good job with writing the relationship between Ella and Micha, I found it very believable. I also think Sorensen did a good job with the secondary characters, and their sometimes complicated relationships with the main characters.

Sorensen did a good job with tying up most of the loose ends at the end of the book, though the ending did feel a little open for me. However,  there seems to be a sequel in the works which will be published later this year and I am really looking forward to getting my hands on that. If you like contemporary romance books and are looking to try a book in the new adult genre than I completely recommend that you start with this book. The Secret of Ella and Micha is a really sweet and compelling story, although it does deal with some tough issues but don’t let that put you off.