I enjoyed reading this novel, it was interesting and I definitely became invested and wanted to find out more. Not quite as addictive and gripping as I would perhaps have preferred but a decently solid enjoyable book

Ooo this one definitely had a twist that I was not expecting! Go ahead and read this one for yourself because trust me it will keep you guessing until the very end. I loved it! Writing style was fantastic as well.

This was a decent read, but wasn’t what I expected based on the synopsis. It centers on Anna, who has finally found happiness with Guy, but can’t seem to break free from her past and what happened to her missing twin sister, Birdie. Anna and Birdie grew up in the foster care system (note- these parts are often graphic and sad) and the experience has shaped who she is today.

The book pings back and forth between Anna’s childhood and the current time- I found this engaging and easy to follow. We get to know the things that happened to Anna as a child that shaped the decisions she makes today.

I did find Anna a little difficult to like; I didn’t know why she continued to torture herself by visiting places that brought her terrible memories. I also was turned off about how she didn’t let anyone get close to her, though this is somewhat understandable based on her upbringing. I also felt that the book left a lot of unanswered questions related to what was going on with social services.

That being said, the book held my interest and though I had an idea of how it was all going to turn out, it succeeded in the attempt of giving the reader bits and pieces of childhood traumas to understand where Anna is coming from today. Not my favorite book, but a decent read. Thanks to Netgalley for providing me a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

The Secret Sister opens with Anna,, a grown-up, living with her husband Guy whom she loves with all her heart. However, the book is the story of Anna and her sister, Birdie. Their mother had died from a massive drug overdose and their father, well, as much as he tried, he was as much a failure as their mother albeit in a very different way. This led to them being admitted to the country's "care" system. I say care sarcastically because care couldn't be the furthest thing from it. What these two children went through is shocking. They went from family to family being abused, sexually and otherwise, both sisters trying desperately to survive this torrent of hell being wrought upon them.

This book evoked many emotions in me. Revulsion, heartbreak, sadness, even fear. I won't beat about the bush in this, it's a deeply disconcerting book in parts but also strangely compelling. These parts are a bit like watching a severe accident; you want to look away but something keeps you staring straight at it.

It's slow to get going, I won't deny it. However, you are repaid dividends once the plot finally gets established and it finally comes into its own. DeLuca's writing style owes to this triumph. She keeps you interested through the slow parts with her fresh, vibrant writing.

It's due to these slow parts though that I cannot in all honesty give the novel a five-star review. Due to the graphic nature of some parts of the books which I honestly found hard to swallow, I have to downgrade it also. For that, I give The Secret Sister, three stars.

Thank you to the author, the publisher and Netgalley for my free copy of The Secret Sister in exchange for my honest review.

Anna and her sister Birdie were failed by the care system. They were sent to many foster homes and then moved onto care homes. Birdie couldn't cope and fell in with the wrong crowd. Moving forward 15 years Anna is teaching at a college that helps under privileged kids. She lives from one wage to the next until she meets Guy and swiftly moves in with him. This book promised so much from the sypnosis, but was quite long winded with lots of mindless writing about how much Anna liked shopping, and then i felt the ending was very rushed. I would have liked to have known the final outcome.
I received this book from Netgalley and publishers in exchange for an honest review

I was a bit disappointed with this book personally, it was well written and the characters were good.

I just found it hard to get into the storyline and it didn't really 'grab' me.

Thank you to Netgalley and Canelo Publishers for giving me the opportunity to read this book.

This book was not what I thought it would be. When I read the synopsis I was intrigued but as I kept reading it it became more and more disturbing! I thought at first I would not finish it but it did keep me engaged enough to want to know what happened! It is difficult to read in certain parts but again I wanted to see how it turns out!!! Some of the content is very graphic and does go into child abuse, but if you can read through it, it’s not a bad book! You have to decide if you you can stomach some of it!

Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Crazy good. This story tells of an incredible bond between twin sisters who end up in the care system. Ups and downs throughout and an absolutely heartbreaking ending. I loved it.

Okay, I was totally blown away by this book. I thought it was going to be your run of the mill mystery. Did she do it? How did she do it? Who will figure it out? Wow, I was wrong, this is a amazingly written book, if you think you can figure it out, well good luck to you, because you will not. This book will be recommended to most people I run into. I will be bringing this book up every chance I get. Great story!!!!

This was a real slow burner of a book but utterly compulsive reading. I found the subject matter harrowing but so well written and well researched that it drew me in to the dark underbelly of society that is the home of many fostered children. The story of Anna and her twin sister Birdie broke my heart. : a mother dead from a drug overdose, a loving but incapable father, abandoned to the "care"system , tossed about from foster family to foster family, each worse than the last. Anna tries desperately to protect her more vulnerable sister but sadly watches helplessly as she is absorbed into a life of abuse, prostitution and misery . Anna resolves to bring the seemingly pillars of society involved in the debasement of Birdie, to justice and this entails complicated forethought and planning. In the process , the frost that encases and protects her heart, is in danger of melting, as she learns what it is to know the gentle , all consuming love of Guy . In trying to avenge her lost sister, will she have to sacrifice her own happiness?...I'll leave the reader to find out. I feel I need to read something light hearted after this dark book but I can highly recommend it, though it makes for uncomfortable reading. Sadly , for many young people, this is a reality and one that society as a whole, needs to address .

I started reading M.M DeLuca Y. A Novels, and love that I have grown with the author. This novel is one you cannot put down! I put aside all my work so I could binge it in a day. A gripping story places you in the driver's seat of our protagonist Anna's life. A character so well crafted you can't help but be invested in her journey as she unravels the horrific truth of her past. With many twists and turns this novel kept me on edge and guessing till the end.

Thanks to Net Galley and the publisher for sending me an ARC copy in exchange for an honest review

Thanks to NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

The Secret Sister is an interesting read. Anna is keeping secrets from her husband Guy and is unsure she can trust him. Odd right? Married but not sure if he can be trusted?
This book has some intense twists and turns that kept me on edge.
Be warned there are some graphic scenes as well.

3.5 stars rounded up to 4 **TRIGGER WARNING** There is child abuse, some graphic scenes and drug abuse.

I want to tell my husband, Guy, everything about my past. He's been so wonderful, providing me with with a life of comfort and love. He deserves the truth. But if he finds out who i really am, the perfect life i've built will come crashing down. I can't tell him until i reveal the truth about what happened to my little sister.

Anna was a teacher struggling to survive from week to week when she first met Guy, a wealthy lecturer. The attraction between them was instant. Anna is also trying to find her sister Bridie. The story flips back to the time when Anna and Bridie were brought up in foster care to the present day and Anna's luxurious life. The story is hard to read in places, in fact it's actually heartbreaking. I also felt the book dragged on longer than necessary. I did enjoy this book.

I would like to thank #NetGalley, #Canelo and the author #MMDeLuca for my ARC #TheSecretSister in exchange for an honest review.

I found it hard to be gripped by this story of Anna who has so many secrets she wants to tell her husband Guy. But she cannot until she finds out what's happened to her younger sister. A very disturbing and I am sorry to say, I did not like this book at all. Not my cup of tea.

The book opens in Las Vegas, November 2019. Anna Holt purposely gives her husband Guy the slip and hides from him. He becomes frantic phoning and texting her. She admits that she loves him very much but that she has made a promise to her twin sister Birdie to fix everything for her. Make it all right again. This intrigued me and I couldn’t wait to find out what this meant.
We skip to Minneapolis eight months earlier and learn that Anna knew all about Guy before she met him in person. Anna is an English Lit teacher at an alternative high school living paycheque to paycheque. She’s a good teacher, loves her job and cares very much for her students. Anna first meets Guy when he comes to her school to give a professional development presentation to the staff of the school. Guy and Anna are instantly attracted to each other. You can feel the sexual chemistry between them right from the beginning and throughout the book.
Anna is a compulsive shopper and the mall is her happy place. For the first sixteen years of her life she was deprived of good clothes, decent food, safety and security, permanence and a home to call her own. She also lost her sister Birdie. Anna is the thinker and Birdie is the dreamer and Anna feels that she has to act as Birdie’s protector. When Dennis, their father, can no longer care for them they are taken by Children’s Protection Services. They are placed in a number of foster homes, some good, some terrifying where they are abused. At some point Anna loses track of Birdie and is constantly searching for her and trying to remember what happened to her. You’re afraid for her when it appears that her life is going so well but inside she is falling apart.
The author does a very good job of creating the characters with great atmosphere. You can imagine them, for instance like Robin, the principal, “a dusty relic from the sixties hanging grimly onto the barest semblance of youth, with his diamond stud earrings, wispy strands of reddish-gray hair and musty checkered shirts that smelled of old laundry.”
This book is a very good read and sometimes the description of what happens to vulnerable young underage children lost in the foster care system is upsetting. However, you can tell that the author has researched this and writes it in a sympathetic manner. The author builds tension that grows throughout the book and you find yourself unable to put the book down. I would definitely recommend this book.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for sending me an ARC in exchange for an honest review

Really enjoyed this quick read. The Author covers a tough topic that we may not like to admit happens in our own hometowns, though is a very real issue all over the world. Anna's recurring flashbacks to her very tough childhood, between foster families and group homes, transports you to the reality that many underprivileged youth face every day and the grief they then carry into adulthood. After the disappearance of her sister and with no one else to trust, Anna looks to settle the score with the corrupt system and superiors responsible for her sister's demise. While others claim that the story was predictable, I found the opposite as it did not end how I expected which left me both surprised and satisfied.

Thanks to Net galley and the publisher for sending me an ARC in exchange for an honest review, and thank you to M. M. DeLuca for the raw and eye-opening novel.

Would recommend!

This book had such a raw storyline. I really enjoyed it. Would recommend this to every person wgo asked me.
I didnt take long to read it

Thanks NetGalley, Canelo and M. M. Deluca for an Arc to review.
An unsettling, disturbing, heartbreaking book, but so is life sometimes.
But does that mean it's not a good book?
I really liked the book but I didn't enjoy reading it, the book didn't shy away from digging deep in the dark sufferings of those poor souls and the dark depths of those perfectly disguised wicked souls with their deceptive layers. I pray books like this could raise enough awareness to cause a change, to save someone who it is not too late yet.
The writing style is engaging though I wouldn't recommend it to readers who would be triggered by graphics scenes and child abuse.

I was drawn to this book because of some of the Authors other work and I'm glad I was. Although it is a tough subject matter, it is very real and the author covered it very well. From living in foster homes - the good, the bad and the ugly - to surviving and succeeding and helping others to succeed along the way, is something that shines in the story of Anna and Birdie! Even though the story is set in Minneapolis, it could be your town, as I certainly felt that I recognized it as being "my town". The story very much helps us to walk in someone else's shoes, thereby helping us to be more considerate and tolerant in our daily interactions. Thank you.

A heart-wrenching clash of past and present which is not for the feint hearted. It is rare for a book to make you feel so many strong emotions, but The Secret Sister does this throughout the book and beyond. A struggling teacher Anna meets a wealthy lecturer called Guy, who takes her lovingly into the heart of his family. Anna's troubled past continues to haunt her as she tries to piece together the story of her missing sister, Birdie. Although some of the story was uncomfortable to read, with discussion of sexual exploitation and drug abuse of children who have slipped through the care system, there never failed to be a sense of hope within the book. The descriptive language was captivating and intriguing, meaning I couldn't put the book down. A real insight into the dark depths of society and the gruesome side of human nature. This has been the most memorable book I have read in a long time.