HOW TO KEEP A SECRET – Sarah Morgan
HQN
ISBN: 978-1-335-61300-4
July 2018
Contemporary Romance

Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts – Present Day

Lauren and Jenna Stewart are sisters and close, but they've lived on separate continents for the past sixteen years as Lauren resides in Great Britain with her husband, Ed, and their daughter, Mack. Jenna remains on Martha's Vineyard where both girls grew up, and where their mother, Nancy, also still resides. But one day, Ed dies of a heart attack and Lauren is left penniless and homeless and returns back to the United States to live with Nancy. The moment she steps off the ferry with Mack, a secret from her past is exposed when she discovers her mother there with Scott Rhodes. Turns out Scott is Mack's real father.

Lauren was eighteen and pregnant when she met Ed, who offered to marry her after Scott told her that he wasn't ready to settle down. She agreed and moved to Great Britain with Ed, where she had a wonderful life raising Mack. Ed's death is shocking enough, but finding out he was financially insolvent is the bigger shock. Now she has to figure out how to support herself and Mack. Running into Scott again stirs up feelings she thought were dead. She's changed, but has he? Will Mack ever forgive her for not telling the truth about her paternity?

Jenna is married and trying to conceive but it isn't working. Her husband, Greg, appears to have mixed emotions about having a baby even though he says he's fine with it, As Jenna tries to deal with getting pregnant, she wonders if her marriage is failing. Then there are the secrets that not only Lauren has kept from her, but the one their mother did too.

Nancy hates to give up the home that has been in her family for years, but with ten bedrooms it's too big to keep up. It's nice having Lauren and Mack around but she still feels frozen in the depression that has enveloped her for years. Will Nancy finally face the fears and demons that are preventing her from moving on with her life?

In Sarah Morgan's HOW TO KEEP A SECRET, it turns out Lauren, Jenna, Nancy, and even Mack, have secrets they've kept from one another. Mack had accidentally found out Ed wasn't her real father and resents Lauren for not telling her. Of course, the moment Mack and Scott come face to face, it's apparent he's her father as they share the same eyes. Lauren had thought he'd moved on after their summer fling and is surprised he's still hanging around in Martha's Vineyard and that he is friends with Nancy. As she deals with what has happened to her since Ed's death and grappling with her conflicting feelings for Scott, she has to figure out a way to move on with life.

Jenna is a schoolteacher and loves children. It's a cruel twist of fate that she can't get pregnant and it's consumed her. Maybe too much so as it appears her quest has alienated Greg. If only he'd talk to her about what is really wrong. Can they resolve their issues? Mack is having problems settling into her new school. Hooking up with the wrong crowd nearly has her in trouble, but luckily, she is rescued…by the last person she expects. Meanwhile, Nancy begins to experience the cathartic effect of throwing away mementos of her past. Does this include getting rid of the bad memories of her marriage to her children's father?

Each chapter of HOW TO KEEP A SECRET is dedicated to the point of view of each of the four female characters. Every single one of them carries a secret or two and must deal with the fallout of the reveal. Lauren never told anyone—outside of Ed—that Scott was Mack's father. The other women feel a sense of betrayal that she kept this secret. But what about their secrets? There is an evident growth of the women in this tale, as is the slowly building romance between Lauren and Scott. They're both older—will they find love again?

HOW TO KEEP A SECRET is that perfect summer read which will touch the hearts of readers.

Patti Fischer