I think there should have been trigger warning for rape and incest. I really disliked Elizabeth for a long while, but Richard i hated more. he was whiny and complaining. I don`t know if it was the transelation or something. But it was so much awful things happening, so much complaining and whining. I did not enjoy it.

Sadly, I did not have time to read this book before it was archived, however, I still believe it is a worthwhile read!

Thank you #netgalley and @hodderandstoughtenbooks for this e-ARC in return for my honest review.

The first part of this book was promising but, overall, I found it difficult to keep reading. I assume the book flows better in French as this was full of awkward phrasing and odd words. I might have got past the translation issues and enjoyed the book if not for the truly awful male characters. Elizabeth was either stuck with Richard who wanted to 'possess' her or the incestuous grandfather. Terrible.

I received a copy of the book from Netgalley to review. Thank you for the opportunity.
An interesting idea behind this story and some good writing.
The characters were interesting and engaging. However, the translation of French to English left much to be desired as often the writing didn't make sense and ruined the flow of the story. In addition to this, the story became bizarre and unrealistic at times which confused and disengaged the reader unfortunately.
An OK read.

this is a great historical fiction novel. it was so interestined to read and entertained me for quite a while. thanks so much netgallye!

The Manhattan Secret is a compelling tale of one little girl and the story of her life after her parents die. Marie-Bernadette Dupuy does a good job in this historical tale.

There's a lot of layers to this story.
Elisabeth's grandfather is looking for her.
She's raised by loving, "adoptive" parents.

There are some tough revelations and some complicated decisions in this tale of moving on from one's past.

I found the first half of this story riveting, but somewhere along the way I lost interest. I guess in the end it wasn't for me.

The Manhattan Secret is a book translated from French which may have contributed to some of the trouble I had getting into this book. The book has a combination of romance and historical fiction that follows the main character Elizabeth as she undergoes a lot of trials from her childhood to the trouble she's has as an adult. This book has some pretty vivid scenes that include some disturbing content. At one point the main character seems to become psychic and can see things in her future that end up happening in the end of the book.. The ending is an abrupt surprise and leaves the reader wondering about the future of several characters but not in a way I found enjoyable.

Thanks #NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review

This was a sad read for me.
A young girl orphaned on the way to New York is taken in by two new yorkers.
I found it quite hard to read at the beginning because the story was so sad and although I wanted to see what happened to her in her life I thought that her finding out about her past was only going to bring even more upset.
When she returns to France she finds secrets and it was such a long read for me that by the end I was pleased with myself that I had finished it.
I usually enjoy historical fiction but maybe the translation meant this did not hit the mark for me.
3 stars
Many thanks to NetGalley for an ARC in return for an honest review.

Poor Elizabeth, thrust from one life to another through no fault of her own. This story is a series of ups and downs with the real revelation that the life she took for granted is turned upside down in her sixteenth year. It is the yearn for family that finds her back in her native France hoping for family and in the end finding love and losing ,searching for family and realizing home begins in hearts of those who have looked out for you time and time again.

1886 France - Elizabeth is a happy child with parents who dote on her. The family history however is troubled and her parents decide to immigrate. Expecting her second baby, the voyage is harsh and her mother dies in childbirth on the voyage itself. Her father is distraught but determined to set course for New York and to set up in the carpentry field which is his speciality. Fate however has other plans and he loses his life within a few weeks of arriving in America.

Getting lost and being found by a wealthy New Yorker who loved her very much and who provided everything he possibly could for her should have been a boon but Elizabeth even at such a young age, and throughout her growingup years had flashbacks of life with her parents and her grand parents and a young boy who befriended her years ago.

The story of how Elizabeth and the changes that happen so drastically very negative and then very positive makes for an interesting change, especially told over a few decades.

I wanted to love this one sad much but sadly this fell a little flat for me. I found myself putting it down more than I was reading it.

I wanted to love this one but sadly it was actually a DNF for me. The writing wasn't bad exactly, but I just could not engage with the main character(s) or the overall story.

Lisbeth was separated from her parents and adopted in New York when she was a child. Now, she's 16 and she wants to know her French family so she's gone back to France. Lots of secrets and lies and frankly, abuse. There is a much better. novel in this hefty tome had it been re-edited after translation. I wanted to like it but I never warmed to Lisbeth and much of it felt just wrong. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. A rare DNF and pass from me.

I'm sorry I just couldn't finish this one, it was a bit too melodramatic for me. The premise was good, but somehow I just wasn't connecting with the storyline.

Thank you NetGalley for the preview of this book.
The story looks so promising, just the type of story I usually love to read: Mystery, lost family, French castles, etc. To be honest, I found it difficult to follow, the character development was in my opinion not good, maybe translation issues? Some weirdly thrown in "sex" scenes with strange vernacular. It is a long novel that I just could not finish. To me, it didn't flow well, and the events got to be cliche. I did finish the book, but it was not easy.

I received this from Netgalley.com.

Elizabeth is tragically orphaned and adopted by wealthy New Yorkers.

This was translated and it wasn’t bad per say, but the English dialogue felt off, stilted and redundant and a couple hundred pages too long.

2 stars

As this story begins I was transported to the Laroche family in Guerville Castle, Montignac, France in 1886.
Meeting the initial characters was certainly intriguing,
Catherine and her father Hugues Laroche.
Adela: Catherine’s mother, and our protagonist Elizabeth aged 6.
It’s a stormy night in every way, as Catherine’s husband Guilliame Duquesne refuses seemingly magnificent offers from father-in-law Hugues.
Grandfather Hugues wishes to persuade Guilliame not to take his young family onto the ocean liner ‘La Champagne’, and to abandon his plan to start a new life in New York leaving the next day.
Young Elizabeth is whisked away to an icy bed by the frosty young housekeeper Madeleine after being shown images of some ocean creatures in preparation for the sea voyage by her mother.
Hence, we meet the mysterious Justin aged 8.
This is all just in the first few chapters, and I am already well engaged, wanting to read on to get some answers.
Especially as to why humble Guilliame the carpenter is so hell bent on taking the pregnant Catherine and Elizabeth to this new life in the colonial ‘New World’ of New York City.
Catherine has booked third class passage hoping to save her money for their new life ahead.
I have some serious doubts about Guilliame at this stage as he seems lose everything too quickly.
The ensuing events are an emotional rollercoaster of tragic misfortunes and serendipity for Elizabeth.
I loved that we eventually get to find out a whole lot more about Elizabeth’s paternal French family, and mother Catherine’s story.
Through Elizabeth’s premonitions we are guided to the missing puzzle pieces.
If there is a sequel to this story I would certainly love to read it.
There were so many things that I liked about this book, including that it led me to spend an hour or so looking at images and histories of castles in the Dordogne area.
As other reviewers have mentioned it has some forceful sexual imagery, but these are slightly balanced out by Elizabeth’s more positive sexual experiences as she grows in confidence, direction and self-belief.
The translation of Dupuy’s words seemed a little awkward at first, but the storyline soon ascends this.

Thanks to NetGalley for giving me an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.
#NetGalley #TheManhattanSecret

I'm not sure how I truly felt about this book. I liked the plot, but disliked parts of the book. It takes place in the late 1800's and tells the story of a young girl,named Elizabeth, fleeing France for New York City with her parents, to escape her cruel grandfather. They're trip is rife with unfortunate events, which continue after they arrive in NYC. Elizabeth is orphaned and taken in by a wealthy couple who raise her lovingly. At the age of 16 Elisabeth finds out the truth about her past and returns to France and the families of both her mother and father, who are very different. The first part of the book is much better than the second. Although I did like the unexpected twist at the the end, things got a little too dark in the last quarter of the book. Aside from the story line, I felt the writing was a bit weak in places. The author often has characters talk to themselves - it seems that is the only way she could get her point across - but it seemed very odd to me. Again, I had a hard time rating this book, but ultimately I did enjoy it and was anxious to see how it ended. Thank you NetGalley for the ARC.

Beautifully written and gripping story. I couldn't put it down. It's the fastest I've ever read a novel of over 400 pages. I loved it and I highly recommend it. The romance and tragedy mixed with the physical and social settings of New York & France in the late 19th Century makes this novel exciting and refreshing. The plot twists are innovative.
Elizabeth's defiant character at first can be quite irritating because she comes across as naive, selfish and ungrateful however, you see her grow in to a strong, resilient woman. Elizabeth's world comes crashing down in her late teens when she finds out something that has been hidden from her - in her head, she had been living a lie from a young age. Her subsequent actions following the revelation gets her in to trouble numerous times but it's her strength and defiance that gets her out of it. Towards the end of the book, you begin to sense her actions may avenge her mother's death. She did what her mother, Catherine, could not do; you almost end up feeling a slight sense of justice. I'm excited to find out what happens next!

As a fan of dramas and sagas, I really wanted to be able to devour and love this book. While certainly interesting and dramatic, it fell short for me. I am reader in the sense that when I’ve gotten a certain way into a book I will finish it, but I do have to admit I was asking myself many of times why I was still reading it.

The premise a young girl from France orphaned in America gets raised by wealthy adoptive parents is interesting. When she is 16 she learns the truth and returns to her homeland of France. I think what I found absurd was how ridiculous the author made the bad characters to be. They were a cliche in the worst way.

I know this book is well rated so I, along with many other readers it appears, wonder if something was lost in the translation process.

Thanks to NetGalley for providing me an ARC in exchange for an honest review.