Author: Jasmin Miller

First Published: 23 July 2020

“Sometimes we have to chose the wrong partner first to be able to tell who the right one is. To find our soul’s true mate.”   

I will start by saying that I was given an ARC copy in exchange for an honest review. These opinions are my own. Thank you so much to Jasmin for sending a copy my way!

Sometimes, it takes being dumped by the wrong person so you can find the right one.

Sometimes, the job you hate, but pays the bills, kicks you to the curb.

And sometimes, being divorced and jobless at twenty-four leads to questionable choices on New Year’s Eve that have the potential to turn into something wonderful . . . once you weather life’s bumps to get there. Of course.

Like finding out your drop-dead-gorgeous one-night stand turned baby daddy is Ryan Monroe, swimming gold medalist who came out of retirement for one more Olympic Games.

And that your dad is his new coach.

Or that Ryan will never overlap his personal life with his work life again.

That’s when the secrets . . . the omissions begin. Because sometimes, that’s how you protect fledgling relationships and those you love. Isn’t it?

Secret Plunge is the first book in Jasmin Miller’s new sports romance series. The series follows Olympic swimmers Ryan Monroe, Jace Atwood, Noah Winter and Hunter Kinney. I loved that we are following swimmers since most of the sports romances follow footballers or hockey players. This was a sweet romance, which I flew through.

Harper is having the worst year, she just got devoiced, lost her job and had to move back in with her mother. She doesn’t expect much for her News Year’s Plans after her friend drags her out until she meets Ryan. The pair hit it off right away after spending the night together. Despite the unforgettable night, Harper leaves in the morning with no way for Ryan to contact her. Only to find out weeks later that she’s pregnant. To add to her string of bad luck, her dad is her baby-daddy’s swimming coach. 

Ryan is a complete softie. He was pretty upset that he was unable to get in contact with Harper after New Year’s. He never treated Harper like shit when she pops back into his life as told him she was pregnant and keeping the baby. He was so supportive. He didn’t think twice about making time for her in his crazy Olympic training schedule. He made sure to read all the baby books and keep up with her appointments. My heart melted every week he took a selfie with the fruit that was the size of their baby.

Harper is a bit of an anxious mess, which I can 100% relate too. She is determined to take care of herself and has a hard time letting people help her. My heart broke with just how lonely she was. I was thrilled when she had Ryan to support her. I wasn’t the biggest fan of all her choices — for me, clear communication is key and a lot of the drama felt unnecessary —but I can understand why she did it.

This is an age-gap romance. Ryan is 35 and Harper is 24. I love watching their romance bloom as they got to know each other. They definitely seemed to do things out of order. The balance between the steamy scenes and the sweet, humorous scenes is perfect.

The only downside is that it does feel a touch rush at times. I felt like there wasn’t a whole lot of time to resolve their conflict. The story ended abruptly. Overall I wish it were longer. Hopefully, we can see more of Ryan and Harper throughout the following books.

Secret Plunge has set up the series perfectly. I was so hooked on these characters that I picked up the second book right away. Highly recommend if you are looking for a sweet romance to consume in an afternoon.