Riley's Secret by Christina Smith

A Moon's Glow #1

Book Summary via Goodreads:

     "Megan Banks feels like an imposter in her own life; she doesn't belong with her friends or with her parents, who ignore her. After a fire she’s indirectly involved with, she finds herself with two hundred hours of community service. It’s the charity she volunteers at that finally makes her feel like she belongs. These people, with whom she has nothing in common, mean more to her than her rich, selfish friends. 

     But for some reason her supervisor, Nate Green, doesn't want her there. He thinks she’s a self-centered rich girl who deserves to be in jail. After she’s threatened by the kids who started the fire, Nate and Megan form a strange friendship, built only for her protection. But the more she feels for him, the more he pushes her away. 

     As they become closer, Megan knows Nate is attracted to her as well, but she also believes that he is hiding something. But she could never guess what he really is. Before she realizes what is happening, she becomes involved in a world she didn't know existed. 

     In this strange new reality, can she finally find a place where she belongs?"

This book was a little odd for me. It was almost like two separate stories smashed together. The first half revolves around Megan dealing with her old "friends" threatening her in a lame effort to get her not to tell who started the fire, even though she already hadn't said anything so it was pointless for them to do or say anything they did.

The second half is dealing a supernatural element, that had nothing to do with the first half. The two halves of the story weren't done terribly, but neither were they exactly a smooth transition.  I liked the characters of Nate and Megan, along with the friends Megan makes after the fire situation. The rest of the characters were just kind of there. 

The second half didn't really fit in with how the story started, and almost felt like an after thought. The big bad of the second half wasn't as intimidating as I assume he was supposed to be considering how easily he was thwarted. I kept expecting him to actually do something to harm Megan other than trying to kidnap her, but nothing life threatening happened to her.

I did still enjoy reading this book, and I'd like to finish the series because I liked the characters more than the story. Maybe the sequel will have more suspense.

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