The Secrets We Keep: A gripping emotional page turner

Engaging plot! A bit hard to relate but the interest to know the rest of the story never dwindles!

Secrets, secrets, don't tell anyoneLive the life, pretend the funKeep them covered, keep them hiddenThey can be one, they can be tenPretend they don't botherThey will come out, one way or the otherSecrets, secrets don't tell anyoneLive the life, pretend the fun...And this was exactly what happened with Rebecca and Tessa. Summer vacation for three months, cottage rented by the lake, friendship blossomed, some true, some false, some as a crutch, some pretense.This book by Kate Hewitt showed the human psyche where a movement could trigger memories and sometimes an event could erase memories. A beautiful heartwarming story where the secrets hidden led to drastic results.I felt bad for both Rebecca who drank to forget and Tessa who wanted to make memories yet forgot important ones. Both the women had their own stories and both were linked as the summer progressed.They were neighbors who had come to spend the summer by the lake, became friends, started over depending, soon leading to consequences. I liked how Kate showed me this by slowly developing the women's characters with their ever puzzled, enigmatic husbands.The only thing that niggled me was that I wanted the women to be proactive, but that was just transference. (transferring my personality on to them)The book worked well as it presented the emotional side of the secrets we hold so dear, it dealt with certain tough topics. And the story taught me to make as many memories as I can in the present time.A quote from the book when secrets brought life threatening effects"We are all going to move past this. By staring this on the face, by looking into our weaknesses and failures and finding the strength to admit when we were wrong, and then to change."

I loved this book, couldn’t put it down. I didn’t expect it to end like that kept you guessing what was going to happen, I cried a lot so have hankies ready. A very well written book.

Easy summer beach read. Not to intense but yet kept you wanting to read more. I would recommend. Another good book by Kate Hewitt.

“How do you keep your chili safe when you can’t even protect yourself?”That line on the front cover spoke to me. I have a blended family of 4 kids, but when my 2 oldest were little, it was just the 3 of us. For years it was like that. There were many times a thought like this crossed my mind, single a single mother, so I can definitely relate.Right away, I was intrigued by this book.The story follows 2 women, Tessa and Rebecca. The chapters flip back and forth from each woman’s point of view. I really enjoyed this form of storytelling because it gave me a wife view of what’s going on from all angles and I felt like I was really there. I could easily picture myself there.These women are from different worlds, but they find themselves neighbors for summer break when they rent houses in Upstate New York right next to each other.Rebecca is a rich housewife, and Tessa is a SAHM from Brooklyn. They are each trying to get away from their lives, but what back hime is so bad?So much happens in their 3 months as summer neighbors. To say this story was drama filled would be an understatement.The female friendship that was formed at the beginning was intense and special. I was so drawn to their stories, that I legit enjoyed this book. It’s one of the first times a book has made me cry. The final heartbreaking twist at the end is one that I did not see coming.The writing was so well written. And jt flowed so beautifully together. It was a gripping novel to say the least.

Well told story about the long term after effects of a childhood trauma.

I thought the overall story was good, a little drawn out. The author did exceptionally well at getting to know the characters and setting the story which became a little drawn out. I only became hooked the last few chapters.