Review: The Secretive Wife by Jennifer Peel

My rating: 5 stars / It was amazing

Synopsis

I have a famous secret, but it's not the biggest one I keep.

From an outside view, my life would be the definition of boring. I'm married to a landscaper, albeit a very attractive one, I drive an old cheap car, and I write articles for an online magazine. So, maybe I've been a constant fixture on the New York Times Best Sellers list for the last few years, but that secret is locked safely in my attic.

Here's a word of advice. If you want to keep a secret, don't tease your mother-in-law about what's in that attic, especially when her life goal is to save her son from you. Now that my famous secret is out, past acquaintances willing to do anything to get their own fifteen minutes of fame are lying to the media about me. But my biggest problem isn't the lies in the press, it's the truth I'm forced to face. The secret I've kept from everyone, even my husband, the man I love, the first person who made me feel like I belonged somewhere.

Now I have no other choice but to tell the truth and face my biggest fear, that Peter and I were never meant to be together and my secrets could take him away too.

My Review

Make me ugly cry, why don't you Jennifer Peel! The character of Delanie is someone I cannot relate to at all, but that doesn't matter, because the author does such a skillful job of getting me in her head and feeling her emotions and understanding why she is the way she is. The story begins four years into her marriage, and she's living in a kind of oasis with her perfect husband. Her life before Peter was complicated and intense, and her life after her secrets begin to unravel is also complicated and intense, but now her relationship has to weather the storm. I appreciated the way the author built the backstory and let us get to know and like Delanie, Peter, and his family (at least certain members) before unleashing the real angst. The mother-in-law drama in the first part of the book is just a warm up. I'm doing my best to not reveal any spoilers while still persuading you to read this compelling book! Just know that by the end I was streaming healing tears as the story made me think about circumstances in my own life... but I did far more laughing than crying while reading the book overall. I loved the way Delanie and the other characters are real and flawed, accepting of themselves but also trying to improve. Delanie's individual sense of humor came across in her voice and I enjoyed more of Sam from the previous book in the series, The Sidelined Wife, who is also pretty funny. The books don't have to be read in order but I was glad I did and I highly recommend reading both!

(I received a complimentary copy of the book; all opinions in this review are my own)