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14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Some Secrets Should Remain Hidden, May 22, 2002
By A Customer
Julia London is a wonderful writer whose books have always kept me enthralled from the opening page until the last, sometimes into the wee hours of the morning. The same cannot be said, regretfully, of "The Secret Lover." The story revolves around a divorced victim of marital abuse, Sophie Dane, who moves back to London for a fresh start after years of living abroad as the companion to an eccentric Frenchwoman, Honorine. As she tries to transcend her scandalous past, she meets two brothers, one legitimate, one not, and has to choose between following her heart down a path of further notoriety or taking what appears to be the safer route encouraged by her family. The main problem with this book for me was the lack of any really likeable characters in it. The heroine is retiring, easily manipulated, and insecure. These are probably honest qualities of a victim of domestic abuse, but as I was reading the book, I kept thinking to myself,"Get some backbone, Sophie!" The hero is lackluster, the villain is wholly one-dimensional, and even the secondary characters, Sophie's Frenchwoman, Honorine, and her servants, Fabrice and Roland, who are supposed to provide comic relief, leave the reader feeling flat. What is truly sad, however, is what Julia London does in "The Secret Lover" with Sophie's brother, Julian Dane, and his wife, Claudia, who were the protaganists of her earlier book, "The Ruthless Charmer." If you loved them in that book, you will hate them here, as they have turned into pompous know-it-alls, with no compassion and little humor. Maybe it was because I did not warm to any of the characters that I found this book to be an incredibly slow read. The book is well written from a technical standpoint, but unless you can identify with a heroine-as-victim, you may find that it lacks that special "sizzle" that have marked Julia London's previous works.
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13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Superb Historical Romance, April 30, 2002
Ms. London, well known in the romance genre for her popular series, Rogues of Regent Street, acquaints readers with Sophie Dane, the younger sister of a former rogue, Julian Dane. The year is 1836, when Sophie elopes with Sir William Stanwood, unaware that he would physically abuse her. Eight years later, Sophie has survived a scandalous divorce and is a traveling companion to Honorine Fortier, a free-spirited French-woman with whom she has traveled the globe. But to Sophie's dismay, Honorine wishes to journey to London where Sophie must relive her sordid past and face the members of the ton. Spending her London days in a nearby park, Sophie spies an attractive man across the pond. As he soon becomes aware of her studying him, the two societal outcasts become friends before they become lovers. He just happens to be Caleb Hamilton, the illegitimate son of Will Hamilton, father of Trevor, Sophie's apparent suitor. While Sophie attempts to discover the nature of Trevor's attraction to her, he does everything possible to prevent Caleb from having any contact with their ailing father. Adding substance to the plot is Honorine's interest in Will and her ability to aid his recovery from a seizure disorder. But as the affair between Sophie and Caleb progresses, Caleb becomes reluctant to keep theirs a secret relationship. Will Sophie succumb to familial pressure to marry Trevor, the legitimate heir, or follow her heart before Caleb is lost to her forever? Ms. London has created protagonists who stand apart in the romance genre with a very profound love found in a relationship both believable and enviable. The elements of romantic tension are sufficient to thicken the novel's plot without creating so much strife as to detract from the read. And the supporting characters are especially colorful, from the free-spirited Honorine to her traveling companions, Fabrice and Roland. In the sub-genre of historical romance, Ms. London is one of the very best.
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9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
You'll either love it or hate it. No middle ground., April 30, 2002
Lady Sophie Dane fled London and the man she had eloped with (and then divorced). The scandal would follow her forever. Sophie did not care. She never intended to return. She became the companion of a young French woman named Honorine Fortier. Things were grand for years. But then Honor announced they were traveling to London! Caleb Hamilton was the illegitimate son of Lord Will Hamilton. Will's second son, and heir, was Trevor. Will had often visited Caleb as he grew into adulthood, but a stroke ended that. When Caleb approached to check on his father, Trevor refused to allow him entry. All of London buzzed with gossip of "The Imposter" son and of Sophie's sudden reappearance. But the Ton did not know the half of it! Muddy waters ran much deeper in the Hamilton household then anyone could possibly guess. And Sophie's family was trying to push her into accepting Trevor as her betrothed. *** That is all I can tell without spoiling the plot. There is MUCH more to the story than I stated above. This book starts out with a simmer, slowly builds up more steam, and ends with a bang. On a personal note though, I did not like the Epilogue at all. All I can say is that this type of Epilogue will have no middle ground on the emotions of the readers. They will either love it or hate it! All-in-all, this is a book I can recommend to any who like Regency Romances. *** Reviewed by Detra Fitch
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