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brewtifulfiction's review against another edition
5.0
This is a story of friendship, family and fueds.
Nora and Sophie, who secretly fell in love as teenagers. But living in a small, religious town in Texas meant that what they found beautiful, in the eyes of others was considered a sin. The day came when Sophie's mother caught them in the act shall we say and one such consequence for their actions was that they ended up separated. Nora forced to leave town by her father and for many years after there would be no contact between these women.
Fast forward eighteen years and Nora is back in her hometown for her dad's funeral.
A lot has changed since she left but some things remain the same, like her feelings for Sophie.
You always come back to your first love.
Sophie to everyone else has moved on. The secret of Nora kept all this time, the towns people none the wiser to her true thoughts and feelings. Now married to Nora's ex boyfriend Charlie, she is now a mother, a wife oh and a recovering alcoholic.
But after seeing Nora at Ray's funeral (Nora's father) she can't deny those feelings that she's tried to keep buried.
Will she be able to overcome her personal fears and begin to finally live the life that she desires and deserves?
I love that the protagonists in this story are both feisty and independent in their own ways. Both on a journey of discovery, opening minds and reinforcing that love is love no matter who it is with. A beautiful representation of just how complicated any relationship can be.
This isn't a disaster waiting to happen; it's a challenge. I'm Sophie F***ing Wyatt. Bring it on.
There is a real depth to this tale.
Each character with their own flaws, there is no perfection to be found here making the story all the more realistic.
This is a second chance romance that is emotional, exhilarating and explicit (but tasteful) at times. Be prepared to jump on a rollercoaster that you might not want to get off of.
The Secret of You and Me is a quick and easy read and although it might be a romance novel that is outside of some peoples comfort zones but I feel like it is a necessary read and I hope to see more like it in the near future.
Nora and Sophie, who secretly fell in love as teenagers. But living in a small, religious town in Texas meant that what they found beautiful, in the eyes of others was considered a sin. The day came when Sophie's mother caught them in the act shall we say and one such consequence for their actions was that they ended up separated. Nora forced to leave town by her father and for many years after there would be no contact between these women.
Fast forward eighteen years and Nora is back in her hometown for her dad's funeral.
A lot has changed since she left but some things remain the same, like her feelings for Sophie.
You always come back to your first love.
Sophie to everyone else has moved on. The secret of Nora kept all this time, the towns people none the wiser to her true thoughts and feelings. Now married to Nora's ex boyfriend Charlie, she is now a mother, a wife oh and a recovering alcoholic.
But after seeing Nora at Ray's funeral (Nora's father) she can't deny those feelings that she's tried to keep buried.
Will she be able to overcome her personal fears and begin to finally live the life that she desires and deserves?
I love that the protagonists in this story are both feisty and independent in their own ways. Both on a journey of discovery, opening minds and reinforcing that love is love no matter who it is with. A beautiful representation of just how complicated any relationship can be.
This isn't a disaster waiting to happen; it's a challenge. I'm Sophie F***ing Wyatt. Bring it on.
There is a real depth to this tale.
Each character with their own flaws, there is no perfection to be found here making the story all the more realistic.
This is a second chance romance that is emotional, exhilarating and explicit (but tasteful) at times. Be prepared to jump on a rollercoaster that you might not want to get off of.
The Secret of You and Me is a quick and easy read and although it might be a romance novel that is outside of some peoples comfort zones but I feel like it is a necessary read and I hope to see more like it in the near future.
bookish_spoonie's review against another edition
4.0
4.5 stars
This is a wonderful story of Nora and Sophie who secretly fell in love as teenagers, were caught together and separated for 18 years.
It is a story of love against all odds, of friendship and of defeating the haters.
It is wonderful to read a lesbian love story where the characters are in their 30s. It gave the story real depth and so much meaning to their love story.
Nora and Sophie are both incredible characters. Nora is fierce and unapologetic about who she is. She was an absolute gem of a joint lead character. I loved her background being in the army and her journey to the present day. She held so much emotion and it was so great to see her character change.
Sophie is kind and yet very broken. She has lied about who she is for 18 years and married the father of her child. Sophie's story was my favourite. From her relationship with her daughter to her alcoholism as a way to cope. I wanted the best for her, she deserved every happiness despite her mistakes.
The writing is beautiful and the storyline simple and very character driven. I adored it and highly recommend this beautiful love story.
Please note that I was gifted this book in exchange for an honest review.
This is a wonderful story of Nora and Sophie who secretly fell in love as teenagers, were caught together and separated for 18 years.
It is a story of love against all odds, of friendship and of defeating the haters.
It is wonderful to read a lesbian love story where the characters are in their 30s. It gave the story real depth and so much meaning to their love story.
Nora and Sophie are both incredible characters. Nora is fierce and unapologetic about who she is. She was an absolute gem of a joint lead character. I loved her background being in the army and her journey to the present day. She held so much emotion and it was so great to see her character change.
Sophie is kind and yet very broken. She has lied about who she is for 18 years and married the father of her child. Sophie's story was my favourite. From her relationship with her daughter to her alcoholism as a way to cope. I wanted the best for her, she deserved every happiness despite her mistakes.
The writing is beautiful and the storyline simple and very character driven. I adored it and highly recommend this beautiful love story.
Please note that I was gifted this book in exchange for an honest review.
triiiangle1350's review against another edition
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.0
magicmerlia's review against another edition
4.0
This book reminded me a little of the movie "happiest season".
Although the main couple is not quite as toxic.
The struggle between doing whats "right" in the eyes of your community and the person you truly love and want to be with was portrayed exellently. There was a lot of struggle not with the outside world but between the couple that bothered me a little. I get that there were important things to hash out but every single conversation the two of them had seemed to end with them fighting and then sleeping with each other. I was missing a few domsetic scenes between the two of them, where they just put their fight aside and cook dinner together and actually enjoy each others presence without fighting or jumping each others bones.
The part I liked most about the novel were the characters. They felt very real and each had their struggles and problems.
Although the main couple is not quite as toxic.
The struggle between doing whats "right" in the eyes of your community and the person you truly love and want to be with was portrayed exellently. There was a lot of struggle not with the outside world but between the couple that bothered me a little. I get that there were important things to hash out but every single conversation the two of them had seemed to end with them fighting and then sleeping with each other. I was missing a few domsetic scenes between the two of them, where they just put their fight aside and cook dinner together and actually enjoy each others presence without fighting or jumping each others bones.
The part I liked most about the novel were the characters. They felt very real and each had their struggles and problems.
bcat0124's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
funny
hopeful
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
sallyneate's review against another edition
2.0
Perhaps it's because I don't usually read romance books, but I found many aspects of this story frustrating. While each of the main characters had compelling elements and definitely had chemistry, I don't get why they had literally the same argument pretty much every time they encountered each other. I genuinely feel that the right happy ending for this book would have been for everyone to go away and get a lot of therapy and go have some far more stable relationships with other people.
denise0611's review against another edition
There’s enough homophobia in my own life lmao maybe I’ll sit this one out
There were also fatphobic comments and I don’t want to read that
There were also fatphobic comments and I don’t want to read that
aceed18's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
sonja123's review against another edition
2.5
I genuinely hate the old lovers-to-lovers trope, which unfortunately I forgot before reading this. I never root for the couple you're supposed to root for!!! Did not enjoy it.