take her to church to show her how she is to be feels pressures to settle with Charlie after falling pregnant with her daughter by him.</div><div><br /></div><div>However, Nora and Sophie have a complicated history which gets explored as Nora comes back to her hometown from the ar!t after her father's death and rekindled her friendship with Sophie.</div><div><br /></div><div>But can they just be friends forever?</div><div><br /></div><div>There's a lot of political and religious talk and at the beginning tons of characters 're introduced which did course me a lot however the core relationship between Nora and Sophie was fabulous to explore and see.</div>

Many thanks to the publishers for allowing me to review this book for them!

TW: homophobia, substance abuse

Thank you Mills & Boon and NetGalley for providing me with a copy in exchange for an honest review.

I can't tell you how many times I sorted, checked out, and checked in Mills & Boon books when I worked at a library and wished that there was queer books in the collection. I think it is so important to have queer mainstream romance books and I hope lots of people have access to books like this.

I really wanted to like this, but I think the only reason I wanted to read this was because it was sapphic and the rest of the story is not the type of story that I usually read. It's about two women from a small town who fall in love and struggle with their feelings and with dealing with their sexuality when surrounded by so much homophobia. There was a lot of homophobia from almost everyone around them, something I think is important to write about, but it was a lot. For most of the book, it almost felt like they were portraying that the characters had no hope and that they would never be able to safely come out.

I also didn't like how cheating was such a core aspect of the story and all the central relationships. The relationships were all so unhealthy and the two main characters seemed to disregard others feelings. I understand that Sophie was struggling a lot with her sexuality and not feeling like she could come out at all, but even Nora who had supposedly moved away and moved on with someone else behaved the same. 

Overall, it was an okay book and I think it is incredibly powerful and will be so important for people who can see themselves in the characters and find hope. It deals with a lot of darkness, but Nora and Sophie's relationship itself is definitely a beacon of light amidst it.

This book was very well written and depicts the love story of two females, it is a heartwarming read despite a slow start.

I received a free copy of this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review – thanks so much to Netgalley for sending this to me!

After almost two weeks of trying to force my way through this book, I have to admit defeat. I’m over halfway through and every page has been like pulling teeth.

I think the main problem for me is with the characters, who I found unlikeable and difficult to connect with – except for Alima, who I’d happily read an entire book about. The main characters, Sophie and Nora, come across as flat and bland, while their relationship – a doomed love affair that has allegedly haunted them both since their teens – lacks any chemistry. I was unable to find any indication of what was supposed to have fuelled this relationship for so long. They spent most of their time arguing, and while it’s repeatedly emphasized that they love each other and have this amazing connection, I didn’t see any of that passion reflected on the page.

Combined with the grim nature of the story, and the overemphasis on homophobia and the difficulties of coming out (why are straight authors and audiences so obsessed with queer pain?) that completely overshadows the romance, I didn’t find this enjoyable in the slightest. I could at least give it points for innovation – after all, there’s such a shortage of stories about cis white lesbians trapped in miserable heterosexual marriages, suffering under the suffocating weight of a heteronormative society… unless you count Umbrella Academy, Imagine Me and You, Tell It To The Bees, Portrait of A Lady on Fire, Ammonite, and 90% of the other lesbian movies that have been released in the past decade.

Honestly, I do genuinely appreciate that sapphic romances are slowly creeping into the mainstream – Mills and Boone? Hello! – and this was by no means the worst book I’ve ever read. I just found it exhausting. The lack of chemistry between the leads coupled with a cast of boring characters, glacial plot and promises of more misery to come (other reviews have highlighted elements of biphobia and usage of the d-slur) just completely killed my motivation to continue. I appreciate that the author tried, but this book just wasn’t for me.

DNF’d at 55%.

I enjoyed this novel and felt empathy towards these characters despite their flaws. I would recommend to friends.

A good read .This book is a story of friendship, family and love has lots of interesting characters and the story of Nora and Sophie's friendship goes back years,When they meet up again after being apart for years secrets come to light that will shock the community but can they share a future or will they continue living a lie and be unhappy.

This was a wonderful read. A love story with a difference. A story of how many lives were affected by one secret which has never been revealed for 20 years. Nora comes back to the small American town she left 18 years previously, having been run out of town by her father. She returns for his funeral. Gradually, as old relationships and friendships are rekindled, we find out what the falling out was about and why Nora and her best friend, Sophie, haven't spoken since then. Sad, but a real coming of age. #netgalley #thesecretofyouandme

This book was supposed to be that book that pulled me out of my reading funk and it had every premise in it that I should've loved, but unfortunately for me it fell flat. For starters, everyone is in this book was a cheater in one way or another. Then the actual part when Nora and Sophie restart their relationship did not feel like it was one that I could get behind due to their backwards and forwards between arguing and being friendly with each other - didn't feel healthy to me; it also didn't feel they managed to forgive each other. And then there were other issues towards the end that I had a massive issue with which did not work for me.

This may not be for me, but it may be for you! The writing style was good, Melissa has a good writing voice, but unfortunately this didn't work for me.

I adore LGBTQ stories, but I’m ashamed to admit that all of my reads have been predominantly m/m. The Secret of You and Me is my first f/f read, but do you know what?! The Secret of You and Me was one of the best second chance romance stories I’ve ever had the pleasure of reading!

Nora and Sophie’s story had me on a rollercoaster of emotions. My poor heartstrings were being pulled left, right and centre. In fact, scratch that rollercoaster analogy – it was like being on the waltzers. And I hate the flipping waltzers but call me a masochist (shut it!), I loved every heart stopping word of their journey *sighs*.

Has ever a love story been so hard fought?! But if anything is worth fighting for it’s love. Sorry, my sap level is currently set to high *palms face* Fair warning, I may start gushing soon. (Hormones have a lot to answer for, don’t they?!)

Secrets and lies abound in TSoYaM. I may say I don’t, but you all know I love a bit of angst and, boy, did I get it! I wanted to do some head knocking (quelle surprise). I may have also threatened certain pieces of a character’s anatomy *shrugs*. I apologise for nothing. It was very much deserved...

Yet doesn’t the truth always find a way to be revealed? At the end of the day, don’t we at least have to be true to ourselves? I’m all about the questions today, aren’t I? Oops! *snorts*

I cried (a few times!). In fact, the end of Chapter Twenty One had me sobbing my heart out. I’m such an ugly crier *rolls eyes*.

As you can imagine, TSoYaM tackles some sensitive issues and the tricky subject of prejudice. *sighs* I hate that is still a very real issue in our world today. I keep my fingers crossed for one day, one day, when who we love no longer matters.

Yes, *nods* I agree. This is definitely one of my most cryptic reviews to date. I just want you to go in blind and let Nora and Sophie tell you their story their way. Are they without flaws, heck no, but doesn’t that make them all the more relatable? Oops, I did it again *giggles*.

I was amazed at how quick I read this book. I just got lost and didn’t want it to end.

My first Melissa Lenhardt read, and I hope, by no means by last.

A story about second chances and being true to yourself.

I really enjoyed how the story and characters developed, and couldn’t put this book down - a great read!

Nora hasn't been home in a long time as her best friend and ex boyfriend betrayed her. A tragedy forces her home and she has to be involved with Charlie and Sophie again.

This is such a beautifully written love story. Poor Sophie having to living a lie and trying to hide her feelings for best friend Nora, growing up where being gay is frowned upon .
Nora and Sophie are both characters I loved from the beginning. The story has much more to give than a typical romance book, Love between a mother and daughter shines through also.

I loved the author’s writing and the book had me hooked from the first few chapters.
I was so completely hooked with this story and absolutely loved the two main characters.
Definitely worth a read but be warned it took over my weekend.

This story is about Nora & Sophie. It follows their original relationship & many years later when it is rekindled.
It covers looking back at the choices you made or were forced on you by others or circumstances. It looks at how those choices shape you.
I did find this story slow going st first but it did get going and was a pleasant read.

I was really surprised to learn that this was a Mills and Boon title. It wasn’t what I would’ve expected at all. It’s a lovely love story of friends that has lasted through many years. It’s no great literary masterpiece but it’sa really nice read that gives you faith in love conquering all.

I was really surprised by this book. Didn't know if I'd enjoy it but was really pleasantly surprised. Loved the characters, loved the story line and loved the characters. Really enjoyed it and made a real change from my usual type of book.

Wow, what a fantastic book this was to read. A fantastic story that you a gripped from the start as the story slowly unravelled itself. Great characters telling a wonderful story and one I'd highly recommend people to read.

A completely different genre to my usual choice of book, but we all need to try something new from time to time. A story of two girls that shared a history together, finally reunited after years apart. The story deals with some powerful, topics but is well written. Not your usual Mills and Boon of days gone by, but don't be put off from giving it a go.

A sincere thank you to the publisher, author and Netgalley for providing me with an ebook copy of this book in exchange for a fair and honest reviewl.

This is not my usual genre, I’m more into crime books and psychological ones too however I wanted to take the opportunity to read something from outside my norm. And I am glad I did!! Thank you for  opening up my mind to something totally different.

Nora and Sophie were best friends in a small American town with plans to go to college together and the whole world at there feet. Until one day Nora and her dad have a huge row and Nora leaves to join the army leaving Sophie in the small American town. Sophie married Nora's boyfriend, Charlie, a lawyer who has his eye on becoming a senator. and Sophie is settled to being a supporting wife.
The story begins with Nora returning home for her father's funeral and of course she has revisit all that lead up to her leaving.
I loved it. Really refreshing angle for a romance.

I was pleasantly surprised with this book! When I first saw the title I was given the impression that this book may have a slightly cynical side to it but I couldn’t really be more wrong.

The character development was amazing and you felt like you really got to know Nora and Sophie (I think Sophie especially) really well. The struggles and emotional turmoils that they both go through is evident from the start and you feel a caring towards them.

My favourite relationship was that between Sophie and Nora, the dynamic was just amazing but I think the relationship between Sophie and her daughter, Logan was a very close second. For me this was the most emotional part of the book and reading Sophie put herself out there really strikes up emotion for every reader.

At first I wasn’t hooked on this and if I’m honest, I wasn’t sure if I was going to like it as you could predict the main ending to a certain extent. However I was soon hooked and there were so many events in the book that I really didn’t see coming.

I would definitely recommend this if you enjoy love stories - this also feels more realistic and isn’t a classical fairy tale romance! It reminded me of Cecelia Ahern’s books to a certain extent