Hidden Secrets
Published November 13th 2012 by Montlake Romance, Kindle Edition 256 pages
Kim Brewster’s ill-fated marriage was annulled so quickly that she thought she could keep the whole thing a secret…until she found out she was pregnant. But before her confession can blow a hole in the seemingly perfect lives of the Brewster women, her great-grandmother, Hannah, drops a bomb of her own. She’s selling her hotel and moving to a farm in Oklahoma—and all the Brewsters are coming with her. Kim is sure her grandmother, Karen, and mother, Sue, won’t go along with the plan, but Hannah can be very convincing. Soon the women are working the farm, selling their wares from a roadside stand, and finally feeling like a family.
And as the Brewster women’s lives take shape in ways they never expected, Kim may have found another shot at love. Luke thought he’d washed his hands of women, but when he stops by the vegetable stand and meets Kim, he’s instantly smitten. To find love, though, they’ll both have to dig past their hidden secrets.
User Reviews
Rating: really liked it
I bought this from Amazon based on all the 4 and 5 star reviews - I can only assume that the people who gave it a 4/5 star rating got a different book, because this was boring and predictable. The story is about 4 generations of women from the same family - aged 80, 60, 40 and 20. The 60 year old and 40 year old were so dull I couldn't even remember which one was which - the only vaguely interesting character was 80 year old Hannah, but even she was the victim of a personality overhaul within the first few chapters. The women pack up their whole lives (they actually don't even pack, they just go and get movers to pack afterwards) to move to a farm in Oklahoma left to Hannah by her best friend Norma, who has died. Hannah and Norma had not seen each other in 60 years but had kept in touch via letters - letters so detailed, apparently, that Norma would correctly predict the various jobs the women would undertake when they got there, because she left them all letters with no real content. The title "Hidden Secrets" is a bit redundant (thanks to April who pointed out my incorrect use of the word 'oxymoron' here) - is there any such thing as a secret that's not hidden? What alternative types of secrets are there? Open ones? Ones that are unhidden? (aka not secrets). I found the insta-romance predictable and in Kim's case - surprising. I can't think of many 24 year old men who would behave in the way her love interest did given the circumstances.
The story had great promise - four generations discovering more about each other in one summer than they previously knew over a lifetime - but it ended up being a wishy-washy tale about an old lady who immediately drops everything she has worked for and held dear for decades to take over her friend's entire life, and instant love connections that I found unrealistic and dull. There was obviously nothing wrong with the two main males in the story - so what were they doing, waiting round celibate until some "highfalutin" ladies rolled into to town (view spoiler)
[ so they could get down on one knee within a month?! Even though Kim was pregnant with someone else's babies, this guy she had known for all of a few weeks suddenly decided she was the one for him? Rubbish. (hide spoiler)]I finished it, but I raced through the last 50 pages.
Rating: really liked it
Carolyn Brown is one of my favorite Oklahoma authors. Really, she is one of my favorite authors, but she writes about Oklahoma in a way that makes me proud to live here. Most of Carolyn Brown's books are romances published by Avalon Press which I believe is out of business. Hidden Secrets is published by Montlake Romance and not really a romance though it does contain romance.
Hidden Secrets is the story of four generations of women who on the spur of the moment agree to spend the summer in Oklahoma to manage a farm which is left to Hannah Brewer by a distant cousin she has never mentioned before. The women leave their lavish lifestyles in West Virginia for various reasons with hidden secrets. Eighty year old Hannah wants to relive the summer she turned sixteen on her previous visit to Oklahoma where she met Norma Andrews. Hannah's daughter, sixty year old Karen Tarleton, is in the middle of a messy divorce and battle over a winery that she owns with her husband. Karen's forty year old daughter, Sue DeHaven, is a widowed school teacher needing something to fill her summer break. Sue's twenty year old daughter, Kim DeHaven, needs the summer to tell her perfect family that she is pregnant and the father is getting married to someone else. None of them imagine that they will stay in Oklahoma beyond the summer.
Rating: really liked it
Wonderful book! 4 generations of women, starting life over. Lots of hope and love!
Rating: really liked it
I am sorry for those who could not suspend their disbelief and simply enjoy this heartwarming story of 4 generations of women coming together in a way that defied their previous lifestyles and desires at earlier times in their lives.
I thought that Hannah, Karen, Sue and Kim accepting as well as thoroughly embracing to the fullest the wonderful gift that Norma had bequeathed to her beloved cousin lovely.
The fact is that as new beginnings went this one was not only a total shock to the four women in question but to anyone who had known them or was even slightly acquainted with any of them in any way.
The author is one of my favorites for penning family driven stories and this one touched my heart as well as my mind from it's beginning to it's ending epilogue.
Rating: really liked it
Great story...Very easy reading. Wonderful story with so much love and happiness. I highly recommend if you enjoy a nice love story, which in this case had a bit of a surprise ending.
Rating: really liked it
4 generations of women all move from the city and luxury to a farm, which the great grandmother, Hannah, inherited from an old friend. I love the interactions between the ladies and other friends they meet when they move to the farm. There are a couple of romances brewing, which is a must for anything I read!
Rating: really liked it
First timer with this author and I really enjoyed it. I might keep an eye out for her other books
Rating: really liked it
I love books about family, especially if it’s about the females in a family. This book had a great grandmother, grandmother, mother, daughter.
The relationships of these women were good but grew as the book progressed. By the end their bond was as close as it could be and was unbreakable.
The story-line moved along at a good pace and there were a lot of surprises. The narration was very good, especially considering how many female voices there were.
This is a story about the bond women have through thick and thin, and how you can reach the happiness you desire no matter your age.
I loved this book!
Rating: really liked it
Carolyn Brown is not writing earth-shaking, epic stories meant to leave you rethinking your entire life. These stories are simple and distracting from everyday life and feel-good. Given that, Hidden Secrets is successful on all fronts. A quick read with likeable characters that make you smile (and even tear up occasionally).
Rating: really liked it
Love the family in this book.Where to start? Overall, this book was fantastic. Four generations of women make a trip of chance into a move of a lifetime! Most families have secrets but these women show what it is like when you forgive one another and just love.
Rating: really liked it
Love love love Wish it would of kept going!!! Loved the twist the plots and EVERY character in this book. Wish it kept going!!’
Rating: really liked it
Author Carolyn Brown has created another masterpiece in Hidden Secrets. After learning her cousin Norma passed away and left her the family farm, Hannah Brewster decides to sell the Brewster Hotel, that they have owned and ran for 60 years, and move to Oklahoma. Unbeknownst to them, Hannah intends to take her daughter Karen, who is going through a divorce, her granddaughter Sue, who is still grieving over her husbands loss, and her great granddaughter Kim, who has a couple of secrets of her own. After living in luxury most of their lives, they believe Hannah has lost her mind, but after a few weeks on the farm, each of the ladies discover that there is more to life then designer clothes, high end hair salons and housekeepers. With the help of neighbors John and Luke, the farm is thriving. With all of the ladies living under the same roof, they are discovering things about each other that they didn't know, secrets are being revealed. For the first time in their lives, the ladies begin to understand one another and can say they have found true happiness. Filled with many surprises, Hidden Secrets will lift your spirits and be a testament to the fact that love can solve anything. Filled with laughter and tears, Author Carolyn Brown continues to write five plus star reads!
Rating: really liked it
I really enjoyed this book and its characters. However, I found it a bit too good to be true. That is the reasoning behind my 4 star rating instead of a 5 star. I do think sometimes we need books like this to lift our spirits though. Four generations of strong-willed and determined women take off on a journey that will bring out secrets they have been holding back from each other. They needed to break free from issues they were facing in West Virginia. They never anticipated their journey to Oklahoma might change their lives forever.
Kim Brewster’s ill-fated marriage was annulled so quickly that she thought she could keep the whole thing a secret…until she found out she was pregnant. But before her confession can blow a hole in the seemingly perfect lives of the Brewster women, her great-grandmother, Hannah, drops a bomb of her own. She’s selling her hotel and moving to a farm in Oklahoma—and all the Brewsters are coming with her. Kim is sure her grandmother, Karen, and mother, Sue, won’t go along with the plan, but Hannah can be very convincing. Soon the women are working the farm, selling their wares from a roadside stand, and finally feeling like a family.
And as the Brewster women’s lives take shape in ways they never expected, Kim may have found another shot at love. Luke thought he’d washed his hands of women, but when he stops by the vegetable stand and meets Kim, he’s instantly smitten. To find love, though, they’ll both have to dig past their hidden secrets.
Rating: really liked it
Let's start by saying that this type of book is not my "cup of tea." I dislike romance novels in general and this one did not change my outlook.
I was drawn in by this one because the book starts with a family from Morgantown, WV, which is only an hour away from my home. (I had to let go of a typo on the back cover that said it was Morganton, WV - goodness, how could you let your publisher get away with that!?!?!)
Spoiler alert - if there could be a spoiler to this tame story - they considered themselves "city folk" being from Morgantown and whatnot and moved to the "country" which was Emet, Oklahoma.
There was very little drama and the "secrets" that these women kept were doled out like they were biblical revelations and they were just your run of the mill "hushes" that you hear growing up in the country.
It was nice to see that all the ladies rekindled their family relationships and everything turned out "alright" in the end. If you like happy endings with a very small story arc, this is the book for you! Tame, predictable and happy for everyone involved.
Rating: really liked it
Carolyn Brown has so much talent for making me fall in love with her characters. Kim Brewster is almost 20 years old. She just found out she is pregnant and is afraid to tell her mother, Sue; her grandmother, Kim; and her great-grandmother, Hannah, because they are so "perfect" and she doesn't want to be disowned.
When Kim got married in Vegas, she quickly realized the mistake she made and ended up getting the marriage annulled. Before Kim could figure out how to tell everyone, her great grandmother, Hannah, tells everyone that she is going to move to a farm in Oklahoma and they are all going with her!
At first I didn't think I could keep everyone straight. Four generations of women, all about 20 years apart are a lot to keep track of! It wasn't so bad though after a couple chapters. This was a light, quick read with great narration done by Shannon McManus.
