Growing up in a home with both a full & and a half sibling, I could relate to most of the characters. Because of this connection, I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book. While exploring the dynamics of the Spencer family, I was pulled into the narrative by the complexity of the sisters' relationships with each other and their parents. This book authentically shows the secrets, miscommunications, and misunderstandings we all carry that we fail to mend because of pride, stubbornness or a sense of self- preservation. Only when we make ourselves vulnerable and chose to let others in and share our truth, will we feel the most connected and in turn, free.

Centered around the family patriarchs collapse at an anniversary celebration, family secrets are unlocked and the fallout from it touches everyone.

Thank you to the publishers , Netgalley and the author , for my gifted book ! Another book I enjoyed !! The story was well written and fast paced !

George collapses during his speech at his 25th Wedding Anniversary party. His family 2nd wife Mara, daughters Dinah and Vaughn from his first marriage and their younger daughter Lottie are thrown into turmoil. When Lottie visits her father a nurse says he has been asking for Bonnie his first wife. Lottie decides to look through Bonnie's box in the loft and a mystery unfolds. A emotional story of a family with hidden secrets

George is just about to make an announcement at a family party when he collapses with a heart attack. he is on life support in hospital while his devastated three daughters, granddaughter, and second wife are all in disarray. They all have hidden secrets and there is also the mystery of the death of George's first wife, Bonnie, who died in a car crash many years ago. I enjoyed this book and found it an easy read although I found it slightly confusing as it kept changing perspective from all the characters.

Dinah, Lottie, and Vaughn are at their childhood home to celebrate the 25th wedding anniversary of their dad, George, and his wife, Mara. Dinah and Vaughn are George's daughters with his first wife, Bonnie, who died in a tragic accident when the girls were very young. Vaughn is married with children, Dinah a single mom, and Lottie the youngest lives at home. Just as he was going to make a stunning announcement George collapses from a serious heart attack and spends weeks in the hospital.
As the girls try and navigate around their father's illness relationships are strained as the tension between Mara and DInah and Lottie and DInah are put to the test. What has caused the tension between some of the family members? What is the mysterious box in the attic that belonged to Vaughn's and Dinah's mother Bonnie? What was the announcement that their father was going to make before his heart attack?
This is a good drama about families, their relationships and secrets with some suspense thrown in to keep you interested.

I enjoyed reading this domestic drama. George and Mara are celebrating their 25th anniversary when George has a heart attack.. His three daughters are devastated. While their dad is slowly starting to recover the sisters and Mara have lots of decisions to make and lots of family secrets and unresolved issues to clear up. I highly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys reading about families and realistic situations we all deal with from time to time. The writing style is easy to read and the characters are totally believable.

Thanks to Net Galley for allowing me to read this arc for my honest review.

First, i have to say that this book was not what I expected. I thought it would be more of a mystery, and have darker tones to it with a surprise twist at the end (isn't that what everyone does now?)

Instead this was a sweet family drama full of romance, sisterhood, and family crisis with a mystery thrown in. I read the book in one sitting - it was a well written easy read. Really good for this time of stress in our lives. Pure charming escapism..

Thank you to the author, the publisher and to #netgalley for the ARC which did not impact my review.

This was a quick, easy read (I read in 1 afternoon) that centered around a old family secret that had the potential to tear a family apart. I received an ARC from NetGalley and this is my honest review.

This book tells the story of a near-tragedy that opens the door to the unveiling of a handful of family secrets, some that have been carried for years upon years. My interest was definitely piqued at the beginning of this, however it seemed to drag on, with a lot of repetition and wordy passages that were a bore to read.

This was a very good book! The bond between family and especially sisters was a great add to this book!
The story was great! The writing was good! This wasn't what I thought it was going to be but overall it didn't take away from the book! Still a very good read that I will be recommending.

The First Wife's Secret is a story told from the perspective of like 5 different people. Three sisters deal with the aftermath and uncertainty after their father has a heart attack during an anniversary party. They are also forced to confront the past and decide what they actually want out of life.

I'm not really sure the time line of this book, if I had to guess I'd say the events happen over a 2-3 week period.

I enjoyed the book, it’s well written and each characters perspective was clearly defined. However reading from so many different perspectives is kind of jarring.

I think classing this as Mystery/Thriller is a bit of a stretch. The mystery is just something that the parents didn't deem it appropriate to tell their (t the time) young daughters about. Also, it's not clear whether Lottie ever tells her sisters what she learned.

(To each their own, but if my math is correct, the dad remarried and had a baby within a year of his first wife passing?????)

*Thank you to the publisher for this eARC

Thank you Netgalley and BooksGoSocial for the eARC.
This was a good family drama which I enjoyed quite a bit.
George and Mara are celebrating their 25th wedding anniversary with their children and stepchildren. Just as George starts an announcemen, he suffers a severe heart attack and whatever he had to say is left unsaid.
The family dynamic is well developed, it rings true, especially when it comes to the bond between sisters. The ending was satisfying too and I definitely recommend this read. The ending was good too and I definitely recommend this read.

I quite enjoyed this family drama although it seemed to lack a bit of something for me.

It didn't really keep me on tenterhooks although the characters were well developed.

Thank you to Netgalley and Books Go Social for allowing me to read this book.

At George & Mara's twenty-fifth wedding celebration, George begins to make an announcement in front of all of their friends and family, and then collapses. He is rushed to the hospital, where he has to undergo emergency surgery on his heart. While he remains in critical condition, the family itself is put through all sorts of stressors that test the strength of their family and each member in it.
I have to say, I was a little disappointed in this one. It wasn't a bad book, I just didn't find it as wonderful as most of the other reviews I read on it. It immediately introduced all 3 daughters, the wife and a granddaughter, and I was probably halfway through the book before I was able to keep everyone straight. The story was somewhat interesting, but not the big shocker I thought it would turn out to be. This one just wasn't my cup of tea.

George and Maya are celebrating their wedding anniversary with their daughter Lottie and George's daughters Vaughan and Dinah from his late wife Bonnie. Just as he stands to make an announcement he collapses with a cardiac arrest. While hes in hospital the rest of the family deal with matters present and in the past. Will things ever be the same again for the family?
Received this book from Netgalley and publishers in exchange for an honest review

Dinah, Lottie, and Vaughn are at their childhood home to celebrate the 25th wedding anniversary of their dad, George, and his wife, Mara. Dinah and Vaughn are George's daughters with his first wife, Bonnie, who died in a tragic accident when the girls were very young. Vaughn, the oldest, has a seemingly perfect life with her perfect husband. Dinah is a single mother raising her young daughter. Lottie is the youngest and is the only one still living at home.
Just as he is about to make an announcement, George suffers a severe heart attack. What was he going to announce? Why is there so much tension between Dinah and Mara? What caused Dinah and Lottie to become estranged? Is Vaughn's life really as perfect as it seems?
This book is about the bond between families, especially sisters and how misunderstandings can affect relationships. There's also a bit of mystery regarding Bonnie. I really enjoyed this book and all the characters, it was a quick, easy read and kept my interest throughout.
Thanks to Netgalley for the opportunity to read this book.

Claire Amarti will have you examining the influence one small choice can have on the rest of your life. Her second novel, “The First Wife’s Secret,” is to be published February 28, 2021, and is a family drama about ordinary women who find out that their ordinary lives may not be so ordinary after all.

As the Spencer girls’ father is about to speak at his back yard 25th wedding anniversary party, he drops the microphone and falls to the ground. As he’s rushed for emergency surgery, the girls are reminded just how precious life is, and they begin to struggle with choices they’ve made that have contributed to the disconnected family. The longer the patriarch stays in the hospital, the longer the girls have to come to terms with their relationship with each other and their loved ones. At the heart of this novel is the theme of second chances. Mara, the second wife and mother to Lottie, unburdens her secret, which, in turn, gives Lottie freedom to reveal her secret, too. Vaughn and Dinah, George Spencer’s children from his first marriage, have already lost their mother, Bonnie, in a tragic car accident. Their father’s heart attack and close call is a warning for them to heal the rift and reach out to the others to create a stronger family. As the Spencers learn, second chances are rare, and it’s important to grab them when the opportunity presents itself.

You’ll love Amarti’s fantastic story. There’s a little of all of us in these ordinary women facing life’s difficulties. You’ll be reminded that we are all facing battles and if we take our eyes off ourselves for a moment, we can enlist others to help support us and return the offer once battle fatigue is over. We need each other. We weren’t designed to fight alone. Amarti’s story will challenge you to look at yourself in a different light. It’s when we have this ability, we realize that our strength comes in unity and doesn’t compromise our place within a family nor our individuality. Bonnie, the first wife, made a poor choice and it affected not only her life, but also loved ones close to her for decades to come. There’s a lesson in this for all of us; don’t make decisions lightly. We are all just one decision away from a completely different life.

Thank you to Claire Amarti, Books Go Social and NetGalley for the advance copy in exchange for an honest review.