It took me a little bit of time to get into the book but once I did I didn't want to put the book down. I'm trying to decide if we are meant to like Perry or not but I really didn't like him. I think it was because at the start of the book there was no story to like him even though the character Morgan kept saying he is great I didn't feel that at all.

Morgan and Zoe were both completely loveable and I absolutely loved following their story. It was a very sweet romance and I feel Beers did it well.

3.5/5 stars

Let’s hit this off with saying that I love Georgia Beers. I have already read a couple of books by her and have enjoyed them all, especially her more recent releases. Beers just seems to have a way with creating two very real main characters that have such palpable chemistry. This book was really no different. Right from the beginning, I was rooting for Zoe and Morgan, and almost squealed a couple of times at their cute interactions. It felt so much like a real relationship, the first look, the first kiss and tiptoeing around each other not knowing. It just felt so down-to-earth and didn’t fail to put a smile on my face.

The voice of Morgan feels quite new for Beers. It was first-person, talk to the reader sometimes narration. At first I found this a bit jarring because I wasn’t expecting it, but I got used to it pretty quick. While I would have loved to have Zoe’s perspective as well, hearing just from Morgan in first-person made her feel even more genuine. She was very relatable with her internal dialogue, especially as she was trying to navigate her feelings for Zoe. This just added another layer of enjoyment to the book for me, although I do feel like this kind of narration will be a hit-or-miss thing for some people.

I’m not normally a big fan of messy plots and high angst, so I was a bit nervous at the start of the book. Morgan messaging Zoe for her brother but also developing feelings for her is the definition of a disaster waiting to happen. Thankfully, this was a relatively low angst book despite the messy situation. I do think the ‘resolution’ of the conflict regarding this plot was a bit rushed towards the end, with the characters feeling like they had forced reactions, but overall I think it was handled much better than it could have been. Despite Perry being a roadblock, Zoe and Morgan had that kind of connection that meant they were destined for each other. They had such great chemistry and had such fun and playful banter.

While this isn’t my new favourite by Beers, I do really love Zoe and Morgan. Their sparks were flying from the start and they pretty just made me smile like an idiot. It was sweet and sexy, the perfect combination.

e-Arc provided by Bold Strokes Books, Inc. via Net Galley for Review. All thoughts are my own. My thanks to Bold Strokes Books, Inc. for providing me with the arc for review.

Plot
Morgan is a quiet bookworm, who spends her friend time writing poetry with her cats for company. She works as a receptionist at her brother's medical practice - and helps him with his dating life, by composing text messages to girls he meets online.

Enter Zoe, a pharmaceutical rep, who walks into the office and both siblings are immediately smitten. However, Morgan thinks Zoe is straight, so agrees to help her brother out - composing poems for him to send to Zoe. When Zoe and Morgan grow closer, and Morgan's feelings continue to grow things get complicated.

A female/female adult romance, following two women in their 30s. Release date of 13th April 2021.

Thoughts
I adore Morgan as a protagonist! I found her very relatable, she is a bookworm and is perfectly content by herself, there was so many lines in this book about Morgan that I felt could have been describing me. She is kind of average? Which I personally find quite rare in romance, where protagonists tend to have super exciting jobs and lives. Morgan is perfectly happy in her quiet office job, spending her free time by herself and with her friends/family.

Zoe as a love interest was great! Although, very insta-love-y for both siblings. Both Morgan and her brother have super intense feelings for her straightaway, but Zoe seems completely unaware of this.. which I found a little strange.

The relationship between Morgan and Zoe develops kind of slowly, given that they both seem to like each other when they first meet. I like how the author showed their shared values and interests throughout.

My main issue with this book was the perspective. It was told in first person from Morgan's point of view - which was fine. However, there was some parts - especially early on - when Morgan addressed the reader.. it felt kind of out of place in an otherwise standard first person narrative.

Overall, I really enjoyed it! I would recommend it if you are looking for a quick, female/female romance to read.

Representation
LGBT
- main relationship: female/female, both characters are Lesbians
- Side characters include gay and lesbian characters

Morgan Thompson is content with her life. She expends her days working as an office manager for her brother's, Perry, practice and her nights with her two cats and a good book, or writing. Trying to get help her shy brother with dating, she is sometimes task with writing responses to women Perry finds attractive. Morgan doesn't mind, as all she wants is his happiness. However, she is not so sure about helping Perry with the new and beautiful Zoe Blake, a pharmaceutical rep that has just moved to town. Chance and luck bring Morgan and Zoe close and Morgan when lines blur Morgan has decide if she is willing to hurt her brother and keep Zoe for herself.

This book was incredible. Being first person, you really got to know Morgan and you cant help but to love her. The chemistry between Zoe and Morgan was tangible and sexy! The writing was well done and the little poems here and there were sweet and unique. Morgan's relationship with Perry and her family goes through ups and downs and is very real and relatable.

This is definitely one of Georgia Beers best books!! Up there with 'Blend'! Can't wait to get my hands on a paperback copy and read it again.

I received this ARC via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

4.25 stars

Morgan Thompson is used to sending flirty messages on behalf of her bad-with-words older brother, Perry. The newest woman to catch Perry's eye is Zoe Blake, the newest pharmaceutical sales rep assigned to Perry's clinic, where Morgan also works. To help her brother, Morgan pulls out all the stops—from learning about Zoe's interests, to writing poems for Perry to send to Zoe. The only issue is that Morgan might be feeling more than friendship for her brother's love interest, and that feeling only grows the more she gets to know Zoe. Will Morgan remain loyal to her brother, or will she take the chance to follow her heart?

cw: briefly mentioned parental death

Sigh. This book started out so well. SO WELL. Then a little past the halfway mark, conflict appeared, and a lot of characters made frustrating choices. It was still a good, engaging read, and the end was satisfying.

The Characters: The story is told from Morgan's first person POV, and it's very conversational, as though she's speaking to the reader. Because of this, we get to know Morgan a lot better than we get to know the other MC. Morgan is very down-to-earth, funny, and well-intentioned. She's also a bit insecure, which I'm sometimes put off by, but it didn't bother me with Morgan. Zoe, in Morgan's eyes, is gorgeous and put together and charismatic. She isn't super fleshed out, although we do get into her interests and a sad backstory. Zoe and Morgan share a lot of interests and it's pretty clear that they click well together. There are some side characters, Perry being a main one (and he was an ass), but none of the others were that developed. I did really enjoy Stefan's character though.

The Romance: Right from the start, there is a lot of sexual attraction happening on Morgan's end of things. This initial interest turns into more when she also finds that they have a stuff in common. Because Morgan isn't allowed to like Zoe (since her brother does too), there is just a lot of pining and longing and denial in the beginning, which was fun for me to read. Zoe and Morgan's relationship ends up moving pretty quickly, perhaps more quickly than what would be realistic, but I enjoyed it. The conflict was inevitable, and like I said, people made questionable choices. <spoiler> Morgan lies to Zoe by omitting the fact that she wrote the poems for her brother, which I didn't think was too big of a deal. Something that was never addressed but stood out to me was when Morgan lies to Zoe about Perry being okay with them dating. In reality, Morgan is really pissed at Perry and decides not to listen to him anymore, which I think is perfectly valid, and Morgan should have just told Zoe this. </spoiler>

The Plot: It's pretty centered around Perry's attempts to woo Zoe and then moves to Morgan and Zoe's relationship. I saw the conflict coming, as I mentioned before, but I did not like the way it was handled. I especially didn't like the added conflict caused by Perry's selfishness, and Perry and Morgan's mom's lack of understanding. The conflict was eventually resolved, but that part of it made the book less enjoyable for me.

The Writing: It was solid. It flowed pretty well, although if there's something I could nitpick, it's that there were too many detailed explanations of what people were doing to imply other meanings... For example, it would be like, "She raised her eyebrows to let me know that she was joking." That's fine once or twice, but it happened pretty often. I feel like we can judge from the context that she's joking. Also how does raising one's eyebrows do that?? Maybe just say that she said something in a joking tone? Also there might have been a minor discontinuity regarding eye color, but again, this is me nitpicking.

All in all, this was a fun read. The conflict was kind of annoying, but I still ended up enjoying the book. Would recommend, especially if you enjoy the Cyrano de Bergerac trope.

*I received a free ARC from NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

I’m still working my way through Beers back catalogue, but I’m beginning to learn that you can’t go wrong with a Beers romance, especially when you’re looking for a feel-good, easy, enjoyable read. The Secret Poet is no exception to this.

Morgan works for her brother, Perry, at his medical practice. In her spare time she likes to read and write poetry. She’s happy working with Perry, and enjoys her day to day life with her two cats - Ross and Rachel. Zoe is a pharmaceutical rep, she’s new to the area, and when she goes to visit Perry’s clinic meets Morgan.

A significant chunk of the book revolves around Perry falling for Zoe and trying to get her to date him. Her effectively guilt trips Morgan into helping, and despite the fact she’s also developing a big crush on Zoe offers to help him out because she loves her brother.

The book is all told in the first person from Morgan’s point of view and I enjoyed being in Morgan’s head. Beers has found a great balance between the low level angst of Morgan’s lack of confidence and her humour, which makes it okay that we don’t experience Zoe’s point of view in the same way.

Both characters are really likeable and they are easy to imagine together. Their flirting is really well written and their connection seems genuine. Their chemistry is also pretty great. Even when they have a moment and don’t talk for a while, they aren’t mean and they’re open to communication and acceptance on both sides of the relationship.

It’s a shame that so many of the feelings of both characters revolved around Perry for so long, but at the same time, it makes it effective as a narrative, so I can completely see why it was this way.

I don’t love this as much as I did Hopeless Romantic or 16 Steps to Forever, but I would still highly recommend this to all romance fans, especially when you need a pick me up.

I received an e-ARC via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Although this is a pretty good book, I have to say it won't go into my "favourites" folder of Georgia Beers' books. I didn't really feel the chemistry between Morgan and Zoe, and their getting together sort of felt a bit sudden. Apart from that, this is a well written book, like all the others from this author. 3.5 stars.

4.25 stars. I can always trust Georgia Beers to deliver a heartwarming romance, and she certainly did with The Secret Poet. At first, I worried I would be put off by the mistaken identity aspect, but I’m glad to say that any deception in this story didn’t play out like I was afraid it would. The POV is first person from Morgan’s perspective – I’ve read only one other Beers first-person story, which was her novella “Triple Dog Dare.” I find that first-person Beers reads differently from third-person Beers: they’re both lovely, but I think I like first-person a little bit more. To me, it’s quirkier, more intimate, and more touching.

I enjoyed experiencing this story through Morgan Thompson (33). She’s a socially insecure, hopeless romantic daydreamer whom I related to so much. I appreciated how she’s not one of those characters who’s a whiz at everything – she fell into her job because of her brother Perry, sucks at golf, and considers herself an amateur poet – but she’s intelligent and has a full life with her own interests. Zoe Blake (38) is such a kickass love interest! She’s the exact brand of sweet and confident that totally results in a book crush for me. I would have enjoyed getting to know her a bit more, but what we get is plenty sufficient for the feelings.

And speaking of those sweet, fluttery romantic feelings, this delivered 110%. Multiple times in the story, I found myself physically reacting to how SWEET these two were with each other! This isn’t the deepest romance novel, but the fact that Beers could make me feel those magical feelings without my knowing that much about Zoe speaks to her ability to write a romance. If I were rating based on warm-and-fuzzy-feels alone, this would be an easy five stars. However, there are some things that unfortunately lowered my rating.

I was rather irritated at the conflict in this book, since it happens so suddenly, and since I just don’t care for that type of conflict. But the way they find each other again kind of made up for it, as we get to hear how one of the MCs acts the way she does.

Some things I noticed in this book, that I’ve noticed with other Beers books, are the use of ableist language (in this case, casual language that makes light of self-harm) and the implementation of stereotypes (a lot of these are addressed and even claimed, like the way Morgan’s friend Stefan embraces the “gay male stereotype,” but there’s also an instance where Morgan refers to Perry as being unfeeling in true male fashion, or something like that).

Overall, I greatly enjoyed The Secret Poet and am excited to read Georgia Beers’ next book.

3.5 stars. This is the book to read if you’re looking for a nice, easy read, it’s sweet and low angst. After reading a couple of books filled with adventure, action and angst, this was like a gentle morning breeze.

I loved the dedication: <i>‘To anyone who has loved from afar…</i>. It’s a good description of what the book is about, well, the first half of it anyway. Morgan works as an administrative assistant in her brother’s GP clinic. She loves her brother, who is crushed by his divorce, and Morgan wants nothing more than a new love in his life. Only when she decides to help him woo the pharma sales rep Zoe, by writing sweet and funny poems in name of her brother, she falls for Zoe herself. Determined not to interfere with her brother’s happiness she ignores her growing feelings for Zoe.

Both Morgan and Zoe are kind and likeable and the chemistry between them was immediate, and even though Morgan completely missed it, I felt it. Zoe is warm and full of confidence and Morgan is gentle and content with her quiet life, together with her two cats Ross and Rachel (yep, love those names!).

This is a well written book that I think many will enjoy, but not everything matched my personal tastes. The book is written in the first person from the POV of Morgan and I’m a fan of first person, but unfortunately Morgan sort of talks to the reader on occasion and this didn’t work for me. Furthermore, because it’s told in first person you connect most with Morgan and I would have liked Morgan to be a bit bolder. She’s rather passive and has very low self-esteem and I did not quite get where that came from. Finally, the dark moment at the end felt a bit formulaic and I wondered whether the reason of the conflict really justified the conflict. These were small issues that didn’t bother me too much. I still enjoyed the read, but the book didn’t really stir up my emotions and sweep me off my feet.

All in all, this is a relaxed read with a love for poetry that I easily recommend if you're looking for a sweet, low angst book.

𝗘𝗻𝗷𝗼𝘆𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲, 𝗹𝗼𝘄 𝗮𝗻𝗴𝘀𝘁 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗱.

I don't enjoy the fact that a great deal tiptoes around the feelings of an undeserving character. Perry isn't bad, just self-entitled in my opinion and I didn't need to go far into the story to find out. The fact that he uses his sister and her flair for poetry to score dates says it all. Not an ounce of effort or sincerity. And frankly, his marriage disaster is just an excuse.

But thankfully this is Georgia Beers and the story doesn't stall just because Perry might get hurt at the thought of his sister dating a woman who had rejected his advances. And Morgan and Zoe progresses somewhat steadily romantically despite agreeing not to date each other. They hold back every now and then but I guess they can't be stopped because their chemistry is really good. I like how they are a good fit, interested in the same things - literary works, poetry - and I enjoyed their flirting a lot. It doesn't hurt that they are both really likeable people too. And so I pretty much enjoyed every second of them together until the black moment took the shine off the book a bit.

Overall enjoyable read, low angst.

Georgia Beers has many great books and she is a good writer, but this one is not one of my favorites.
I don't really know what I did not like about it, maybe it was the 1st person POV, maybe it was the theme of one pretending to be the other, maybe it was Peter's unreasonable reaction.
Well, this one was not for me.

Georgia Beers is such a consistently great author that I will automatically get her books even without reading the blurb. Her name on the cover is enough for me to know I’m getting a story that I will love. This is true for her latest novel, The Secret Poet.

Morgan Thompson and Zoe Blake are the romantic couple in this tale. I connected with both of these characters quickly, but since the story is written in First Person POV through the eyes of Morgan, I really felt closer to her than Zoe. This POV is limiting because we only see, feel, and hear (etc.) what Morgan does, but in this case it worked out well.

The premise of the story is great, the setting is lovely, and the romance is sweet enough to melt your heart. However, this book is really a character driven tale. Luckily, all the characters, both main and secondary are well-developed and fit their roles perfectly. After reading this, I really want to have a best friend like Stefan, Morgan’s BFF.

This novel is just a bit shorter than some of Ms. Beers books, but that makes it a quick read full of wonderful characters, a lovely romance, and heart-melting love scenes. I totally enjoyed reading The Secret Poet, and if I could write poetry, I’d end this with a short poem, but:
I’m no poet
And I know it
So I’ll just end it
Right here.

I received an ARC from NetGalley and Bold Strokes Books for an honest review, and no awards for my poetry.

I received an ARC copy of this book from the Publisher via Netgalley and voluntarily leaving my review.


Morgan works with her brother Perry as the office manger for his medical practice. Morgan and Perry are both attracted to the new pharmaceutical rep Zoe but when her brother express a interest in Zoe he ask her to write some poems that can give home the encourage to ask her out and because he not exactly good with words.

Morgan and Zoe get to know each other but she knows nothing can happen because her brother has a thing for Zoe but when Zoe tells him she not interested things get more complicated when Zoe finds out Morgan the one who wrote the poems.

Morgan and Zoe are likable characters I enjoy their witty banter with each other. Perry was sweet at the beginning but throughout the book he became a jerk which I didn’t like when he came to Morgan for help in the first place. I like Morgan playing Cyrano de Bergerac for her brother but I didn’t like that she felt unworthy for Zoe when she was doing something unselfish for her brother who didn’t appreciate it. Loved that she name her cats Ross and Rachel.

Nice romance with some angst.

Morgan Thompson is an office manager for her brother, Perry’s, medical practice. One day a gorgeous new pharmaceutical salesperson, Zoe Blake, walks into the office and both Morgan and her brother are attracted to Zoe. Zoe does return visits to the office every one to two weeks and she and Morgan get to know one another a bit. But Perry makes it clear that he wants to ask Zoe out on a date. They initially spend some time together that a charity golf tournament. Then Perry enlists Morgan to author some poems that he can send to Zoe to impress her to where he could ask her out on a real date. She hesitates but agrees to help her brother. Eventually Zoe breaks the news to Perry that she “doesn’t play for his team”.

When I first started this book it took me a while to adjust to the first person narrative. I’m not saying this is good or bad, just an adjustment period.

This was a sweet story of finding that right person and holding on for dear life. Generally the book was upbeat with limited drama, some humorous dialogue, and thought provoking poetry. 4 stars

I received an ARC from Bold Strokes and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Georgia Beers is usually a solid go-to when I need a light-hearted, fun romance. This book did not live up to those expectations and didn't have the same style as her other books. From the start, I was put off by the narration - having the main character address the audience ("My name is Morgan..."), negativity about her own appearance and lack of self-confidence, and constant stream of internal monologue. I also didn't feel any sexual tension between the two characters. This book just didn't hit it out of the park for me even though I've loved all of the author's previous books.

1.5/5

I really didn’t want to have to write a negative review about this book. I’ve read several Georgia Beers books previously and I enjoyed them. This book however, I felt every second of this book. This book took me about a week to read because I just could not focus on this book for any length of time.

The idea for the book is interesting. Morgan works in the office for her brother Perry, a doctor, and one day they get a new pharmaceutical rep, Zoe. Perry, and Morgan, are immediately attracted to Zoe and Perry decides to pursue her. He asks Morgan to write poetry for him to give her because he’s not good with words and Morgan is. It was an interesting topic that made me want to read the book, shame it didn’t continue to be interesting.

I don’t know if there was a single character on the page for an extended amount of time that I liked. Perry started off sweet if a bit overwhelming but by the end of the book I couldn’t stand him. Morgan just read as plain boring. I couldn’t force myself to be even the slightest bit invested in her life and since the book is told from her point of view (first-person) that was a major problem. She also seemed to have no actual desire to stand up for herself when her brother asked things of her. By the end of the book, I also still felt like I barely knew Zoe. There might have been a lot of information about her but all I can recall is that her mom died, she plays golf, and her last girlfriend left her with trust issues.

The only good thing I noticed about this book was the writing. You can tell that Georgia Beers is an experienced author. I wonder if my opinion on the book might be different had it not all been stuck in Morgan’s head, but I’ll never know. The poems were also an interesting part of the book but that was really all for me.

I really like Georgia Beers’ other works but this one is a hard pass for me. Based on other reviews, I might be the outlier here.

There is so much to like about this book. First Georgia Beers does a great job with plot development and character development. The secondary characters are well developed as well and even though Morgan’s brother was a jerk he was well developed. The other thing that I really liked about the book is that there was no major angst and trauma, although it was a sad little twist or two that was readily resolved. That’s one of the things I enjoy about escape reading.
The book revolves around two main characters who you easily come to love, there is Zoe who appears as confident, warm, and humorous; and then there is Morgan who is rather the opposite in someways and that she has no self-confidence and believes she is invisible. Both women lead simple lives and Morgan is very comfortable being by herself and her cats and sitting by the fire reading. The initial contact between these two women set a spark that continue to grow the more contact they had with one another, but. Zoe is off-limits because Morgan’s brother would like to date her. There is Bergerac element to the story with a bit of poetry that I really truly enjoyed, mainly because I understood it.
The two areas of this book that were a bit of a challenge for me is that it was written in the first person, I would have liked to have known more about what Zoe was thinking and feeling, which was missing being written in first person with Morgan telling the story. However that being said the author does a wonderful job writing in the first person that’s sort of made up for it. The other thing that I would have liked was more information in the epilogue about what these two women were up to in their lives and the epilogue gave very little indication of that. With those minor issues I absolutely thought this book was so well written and amusing that I truly recommend it for anybody who likes lesbian romance with a touch of poetry.

I desperately wanted this story to be double the length. That’s how much I liked this story. I adored the love from afar premise and the beautiful poems Morgan secretly writes for her brother to Zoe, The story is remarkably paced well but I so wish it was longer. I’ll also add that this might be one of my favorite Epilogues from this author to date.

Ah man, I loved this book!! I also hate it, because I didn't want to sleep for 2 nights, just so I could finish it. But then I was bummed when it was over!

I don't have anything super interesting to say, because it was just such a sweet book. I think it's mainly because of Morgan, whose head you are in for the whole book. She was just such a nice person, and incredibly sweet, so when she finally "wins" then you can't help but feel so happy for her. And Zoe is like the hot, super nice chick that you want to hate but can't because she's secretly a little dorky....yeah, they were perfect together.

Not a huge amount of drama, but enough that you rooted for them. I wanted to punch Perry sometimes, but he's the slightly egotistical bigger brother, so you give him a pass sometimes, just like Morgan does. Underneath it, you can tell he loves his little sister and wants her to be happy.

Overall, one of my favorites that Georgia Beers has written lately. Can't wait for the next one!

With every book Georgia Beers writes, I think her writing gets tighter and more enjoyable. I’d never heard of the Cyrano De Bergerac concept before I heard Georgia talk about it in a virtual panel. But even so, wooing a girl one is interested in is bound to be ripe for misunderstanding, angst and hurt feelings when the truth is revealed. Beers does not disappoint!

Zoe and Morgan are constantly thrown into each others’ paths, are obviously interested in and are perfect for each other. They have witty banter, they’re obviously attracted to each other and the spark between them is obvious and undeniable. Their journey is intense and sweet.
I enjoyed the characters in Georgia’s last book, but I think the characters in The Secret Poet were even more memorable. I could understand their motivations, even Zoe’s. I really had to laugh out loud at some of Perry’s patients, too.

This is a sweet story of attraction, romantic frustration and acceptance. I’m so glad Bold Strokes Books and NetGalley granted me an ARC in exchange for this honest review.