4 - Take that step... Stars!

Sarah Morgan takes a step away from her normal one couple romance that her readers in general have become used to. Although over recent years those books have usually formed part of an ongoing series, each book has generally dealt with two specific people.

"Have you ever made a decision you regretted..?"

How to Keep a Secret focuses on three generations of women from the same family; the Stewart's - grandmothers, mothers, daughters and sisters, each and every one of them has their story told in this book from grieving teen Mack to Secret-Keeping matriarch and her grandmother Nancy Stewart. Her daughters Lauren and Jenna are also dealing with their own sets of issues as well, and although I found the whole thing a little slow going in the first half, once everyone got over their initial grievances with each other and started communicating in general things took a more positive spin.

"I wasn’t there for my girls… so how can I ask them to be there for me..?"

It’s difficult to say too much about this family’s story without giving something away, because Jenna is dealing with her own issues with her husband, while Lauren and Mack are dealing with the loss of hers, and the House of Cards that has literally fallen down around them in the aftermath of his untimely and unexpected death.

"We can’t turn back the clock… We can’t undo what was done."

Nancy; who up to this point hasn’t really been much of a mother to either of them for one reason or another, is the one I felt myself rooting for in the beginning because the author does a bang on job of giving you the POV’s of four pretty self-absorbed women, that isn’t a statement made in judgement, because the more you read, the more you can understand why they behave and react as they do, but I will say this definitely isn’t the authors usual light and airy, romantic style of story.

"Not all relationships are easy…"

But it is worth sticking with, and there are a few dashes of romance thrown into the mix just to keep things interesting.

Sixteen years… and he was still the sexiest man she had laid eyes on…

I still found the whole thing pretty engrossing, I will be honest and say I really struggled to like any of the women at the beginning, and it was in the latter stages that I actually warmed to them to any real degree. Sarah does an extremely good job of giving four women their own individual voice, and internal monologue, there were no blurred lines in understanding whose head you were in and I found the few little twists and turns that were added along the way kept everything fresh.

"Not every imperfection needs fixing… Sometimes you have to accept the flaw and live with it."

I think the one thing How to Keep a Secret highlights is the importance of family and close friendships, and how when we are at our lowest, these are the people who are still standing with us, who we look to, to help shore up our defenses in times of need, to be the wall that keeps away the darkness you are struggling to fight against, or the strong supporting beam you need to help hold you up against the desperation and sadness of a dream that you are unable to fulfill through no fault of your own.

"We’re all about honesty now… remember."

Definitely go into this book with an open mind, the author met my expectations in regards to the quality of writing, I kept my pre-conceived expectations as to what I would be reading firmly locked down though because I knew this story wouldn’t be like anything I have read from her previously, and that was 100% the case in my opinion. There are a lot of different issues being dealt with because of the breadth of the characters the author uses to deliver the story. It’s engaging, involving and runs you through a whole spectrum of emotions in its telling.

"I’m glad you came…"

Although the author says this is a one book story, I would have liked an epilogue that offered a snapshot of the family a couple of years down the line, because of everything that happened, I don’t feel I had full closure on any of the characters stories, that-said it was still a really great read.

The weaving of this story is intricate and beautifully crafted. Learning of each individual’s life and character seemed easy and yet they were so complex. Sarah Morgan bewitches and enthralls with this different, for her, novel. As always, her descriptive writing is delightful. I could almost feel the freshness of a sea breeze as I read! The storyline is so compelling that I was sorry to reach the end.

My review of How to Keep a Secret by Sarah Morgan

As you know, I am an avid reader and I was lucky enough to be given an ARC of How to Keep A Secret,

This book is outstanding, don't get me wrong, I adore all of Sarah Morgans books, and love reading the continuing books....but this book was something else.

The characters, the story, the way we get to hear from each the family's POV, and the way keeping secrets has shaped their lives. I was hooked from the first line, and I felt for them all, especially Mack and how she deals with finding out about her parentage. Finding out your parent isn't who you believed they are happened to me when I was younger and the way Sarah wrote about how Mack was coping, well it was like reading my old diaries. All her books always seem to resonate with me, which is testament to her skill ofwriting complex and believable characters. I hope she will write more standalone books...as she hit the jackpot with this one. Congratulations ❤️❤️❤️