Customer Reviews

The Secret Trilogy: Three Novels... One Epic Love Story

5 star:		(13)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

This was not a light, beach-read of escapist fiction. This absorbing book was not an easy read, but one with substance, in which you had to pay attention to what the author was doing with words and phrasing, changing pace and tone to bring out the nuances of her characters, their interactions, and their psychology.

Emotionally, the story of these three novels revolves around Lydia Beaumont, groomed by the formidable Paula Treadmill to succeed her in the upper echelons of their Fortune 500 financial firm, and the abiding love she has for Helaine Kristenson, which she seeks to express in the first book, then holds firm to ever after.

At the beginning of the first book Lydia has been recently unlucky in love, and only begins to emerge from her bruised numbness when she becomes unexpectedly fascinated by one Dr. Helaine Kristenson. Except she doesn't know who the famous psychiatrist is, and is in fact so absorbed in her financial world that she's wholly ignorant of pop culture to a large degree. She only knows that she can't get her out of her mind, and her life begins to open up again as she contemplates winning her affections. Little does she know that Helaine's attention has been unwillingly grabbed by tall, dark and beautiful Lydia.

There are no big dramatic scenes in these novels, in which the many simmering thoughts and emotions of the various players finally explode in great messy drama. But there is plenty of action. Machinations. Conflicting emotions. The supporting characters are each given meaty roles of their own in the intensely public and high-stakes dramas that play out involving Lydia, whose steady regard for Helaine drags her into the public eye.

These books are something of a series of character studies. The action and many of the descriptions remain fairly cerebral, versus very tactile, but this suits the characters so I can't say that it's necessarily a weakness, but it keeps the reader at something of a distance that draws you to keep reading in an effort to close the gap. The author plays with point of view, and pacing. Her use of poetry, music, lyrics and ambient sounds to change the rhythms and tones of the scenes she sets was alternately very literate, surprising, and enthralling.

I don't know whether I loved these books, but I was engrossed by the characters of Lydia and Helaine, and the way these novels were written, and indeed how the whole trilogy was structured. I'd say the first was my favorite of the three, but all had merit, and reading them was definitely a singular, intelligent, affecting experience. Those readers looking for a book with depth that can be chewed over will not be disappointed with this read. Everything is not tied up in a pretty bow, characters are not completely idealized (though they are gorgeous and financially well off, emotionally they are human and their imperfect actions and reactions reflect this), all things are not fair; the bad guys don't necessarily get their comeuppance. But in the end, that probably makes the whole journey through Lydia's life with her blonde goddess, as well as the lives of those around them, all the more profound and extraordinary.

I posted part of this review under The Stolen Kiss, but I'm posting an edited/extended version here, in case it helps understand what can be expected from this trilogy, and from this author.

Fellow readers, be prepared to be in awe, to be surprised, to be enamored by this extraordinary sequence of events and this collection of larger than life characters. If you're after content description, you won't find it from me, but I refer you to some of the reviews for the three books in the series where you can glimpse what this trilogy is about in terms of "storyline". I don't want to spoil it for anyone, suffice to say it is an epic love story. I'm more inclined to talk about the form, because, frankly, I've never read anything quite like it in the so-called "lesbian fiction" genre.

For me, the byline for the whole trilogy is intelligent writing, very bold and extremely respectful of the readers' mind -Francine Saint Marie trusts that the reader will be pulled into the lives of these characters of their own accord, without pushing them in any given direction. The reader, in turn, is hereby advised to trust this writer and her masterful skill to accompany us for the ride, from a distance. She won't take your hand and smooth the way for you, though, more likely you'll feel about to be pushed from a cliff, no parachute in sight.

This trilogy is a mental trip of intense feelings, of understanding that what isn't said is just as powerful as what is said, of sitting there stunned between the end of one chapter and the beginning of the next, thinking "what now". The three installments are a masterpiece of fluid consistency, of powerful and elusive characters that you want to know more of but you can't expect to until they are good and ready.

This is true for the three books of the trilogy, but of course The Secret Keeping caught me unawares, being the first and all. I'm not sure what I was expecting, but I know it rocked my world. I've read critics comparing this author to Virginia Wolf or Sarah Waters, and I'd think that'll give any reader an idea that this is very far from formulaic, plain writing, and very close to the very best of contemporary English literature. Smart, unique, engaging are the words used by reviewers to describe this first in the trilogy. Indeed, for me the pull and force of the story lays fundamentally in the way it's told, it is a romance, yes, but it is so much more in terms of literary currency. This is not a book you can rush through, it isn't a book where you can take anything for granted either, it's too sophisticated for easy guesses and easy ways out.

Fortune Is a Woman picked up the narrative with a slightly different twist, it isn't arranged in "parts" but in chapters, there are more characters and more points of view (no, the two don't necessarily go hand in hand in most novels) -and this is a prelude to what you'll find in "The Stolen Kiss" in terms of style. Book 2 defines its very essence in the preface, if you're so smart as to "get it" right there. It took me slightly longer, I'm not ashamed to admit, but when I did, I understood why the book started out as "Keeping Mr Right" but was later "renamed" to "Fortune is a Woman". (Both titles work, I think it's just a matter of point of view, at which this author is so adept.)

The Stolen Kiss is as much a well paced thriller as it is a complicated love story, it's as much a detailed, larger than life depiction of human motives and interactions as it is an amazingly simple and recognizable description of following one's heart. The book reads exceedingly well as a continuum, but at the same time it can be savored as a fantastic collection of stories, a multifaceted, multidimensional Rubik Cube. Each chapter, and each character, describes one and the same story from different points of view, and that allows the reader, this reader anyway, to "feel something" for all protagonists, to feel a certain degree of empathy for all of this author's creatures, while gaining a very rich perspective on the complexities of the story and indeed the complexities of human nature.

The biggest creature in the whole trilogy, yet, is the literary tour de force that the writer pulls out of her hat. The narrative, the dialog, the "gaps" that are created by the different points of view (pay attention to chapter titles!) only to be closed later by a different point of view, are all consistent with the previous installments and all contribute to create a world were the reader's mind is free to speculate and to ponder, just as one would do in real life, and just the same end up surprised that life has an agenda of its own, not necessarily in tune with all the speculation and the pondering.

I'm left with a very strong feeling that these characters dictated where the story went, I never along the trilogy felt that the writer was "manipulating" them (much less myself) in any given direction, on the contrary, at times I felt torn at their decisions and didn't fully understand their motives. I always felt that they were the ones speaking through the writer, instead of the writer speaking through them, and this is particularly true of "The Stolen Kiss". The characters' drivers --love and hate and vengeance and power and interests, are what moves this epic story along, and it's a funny feeling, like the writer was never there, or just acted as a messenger. Personally, I think that requires extraordinary talent.

I already said, but it bears repeating: There is nothing ordinary about this trilogy, it's totally original, absolutely unique --after every few pages it begs the question "how did that happen and what on earth can I expect next?" I think the trilogy, and very specially the last installment, requires a lot of trust in the author, that's she'll close the loops, that she'll make it all coalesce not only for the readers' sake but mostly for the characters' sake.

And she does. Does she ever. Bravo, Francine, bravissimo.

This trilogy's marketing tag line "Three novels. Two women. One epic love story" is almost entirely untrue. The novels are more like booklets. The women are more like cardboard movie posters. And the story is neither epic nor about love. I'll admit, there are two women in the story (and precious few other supporting characters.) I'll give `em that.

What a disappointment! I'm mystified as to where the positive reviews and the (gasp!) potential literary prize are coming from. I just don't see it. You've probably heard the term "lipstick lesbian". This book begs for another term: "Bisexual bobblehead." The characters wobble, all right, but they don't stand up.

The book revolves around two characters, and is relatively devoid of plot or setting to distract us from how shallowly they are drawn. The first is a licensed psychotherapist who specializes in couples therapy. She decides that she is in love with someone before they have exchanged a single syllable of conversation or, indeed, even directly introduced themselves. (I would hypothesize that most couples' therapists have ample opportunity to observe the difference between love and lust, as well as the consequences of confusing these two things.) Even more disturbing, she apparently cannot distinguish between date rape and rough sex, and neither can the story's narrator. (Apparently some reviewers are confused about this also, implying that readers will find BDSM in these novels. BDSM is a sexual art based on consent. The scene in this book that the therapist character refers to as rough sex is most certainly not BDSM. Rather, it meets all legal definitions of rape.)

The second character is a successful investment banker who is seemingly paralyzed by indecision. I really can't tell you much more about her, except that she's good looking, because...um... a couple hundred pages later, that's all I know. Oh yeah, and she's lonely. Wow - deep.

After much consideration, I've decided that these books were written by a man. Probably someone in his late teens or early twenties. I say this because 1) I just can't imagine a female author referring to one of her two primary characters as "the blond" for a book and a half. 2) There is a fundamental confusion between love and lust threaded throughout the trilogy without any reflective self-awareness whatsoever. 3) There are graphic depictions of sex and sexual violence, but no meaningful dialogue and ridiculously one-dimensional characters - a rare combination for most female authors. 4) There is a total absence of political consciousness about the choices that the characters make or the reality of being bisexual in a hetero-dominant world. Yet the women's bisexuality is referred to repeatedly, which would imply the author thinks this matters *in some way* to *someone*. Just how it matters to the characters, one of whom is newly discovering her bisexuality, we're left to guess. (Gosh, that could actually have been interesting.) It's possible the characters' bisexuality makes his own fantasy more believable to the author, if lesbianism is beyond his mental grasp. 5) The primary characters are so disempowered and inept that they require a third party, the waiter in the restaurant where they look longing at each other from across the room, to initiate all interaction between them. Yeah, right. The waiter is, naturally, male. Thank God he was there! I don't know *what* they would have done without him!

In short, it reads like a common male porn fantasy written in the form of tedious interior monologues written by someone whose never spent time in the vicinity of a female mind. Sort of like "Penthouse Letters Editor tries his hand at lesbian wedding photos." Ill conceived and unbelievably boring. The result is tawdry but not hot, tedious and not worthwhile. If you're looking for erotica, I have to tell you this totally fails the wet test. I was wanting a love story, but it bombs out in that arena, too. On the whole, I'd say the trilogy is slightly more interesting than reading bus ads, but less satisfying than sorting tax receipts. And i'm not getting a refund this year.

I resisted buying this book for a long time, in large part because of the somewhat mixed reviews. Readers tend to love or hate the Secret Trilogy with very few readers expressing moderate views. It is easy to get seduced by 5 star reviews and raves about what I would call the standard lesbian literary fare--typically lebian romance novels by some very popular authors. I have to admit that I had had my fill of these books. By the time I picked up the Secret Trilogy, I had almost forgotten what good literature looked like. So it took me a bit of an effort to really get into this Trilogy. In fact, reading it was a bit jarring at first. I became so accustomed to flying through contemporary lesbian romance novels. If you are making the shift from the standard lesbian fare, I would highly recommend patience with the first 1/3 or so of the first novel in the trilogy. It is well, well worth it.

So here is my review. This book is a classic. I don't think I will ever forget these characters, so well drawn they are by the author. The love story is one that really resonates with me; I have known this kind of love. The kind where you see someone and that person's presence grabs you and doesn't let go. You must meet this person and get to know them. It is almost like you found a missing part of yoruself. In the book, the two came together and then had some real struggles along the way, as life goes. Yes, there are parts of the book that seem a bit, well, fictionalized. But that's to be expected, It was simply engrossing. A thinking person's love story. And really, really well written. And I didn't hate the ending at all. In fact, my stomach was in absolute knots by the end of the third novel, not quite sure how things would conclude; how the author would weave together all of the dangling story lines. I should not have worried. The ending is beautiful. I felt satisfied and fulfilled reading the last paragraph. I very much look forward to reading this author's future works, and I am going to have a hell of a hard time going back to the standard lesbian literary fare.

I enjoyed this book. Is it perfect? No. I have always found it hard to find decent lesbian fiction that is written well and can hold my interest. It is obvious that Francine is a good writer who enjoys telling stories, so I was able to catch a ride on her tale and have a good time. Although there are times where the plot and the characters are over the top, I still found the story engaging. Definitely worth reading.

This will be a brief review but I just finished this trilogy in a week (it was that engaging) I couldn't put it down and the plot unraveled revealing character development as well as twists, turns and very elegant but sexy scenes. Amazing trilogy!

I absolutely loved The Secret Keeping, and subsequently the other two books in the trilogy.
The story and writing style is unique and refreshing. I was enthralled and enraptured by the mesmerising, intelligent, captivating, sensual and very witty prose from the first page. What a joyful roller coaster romp of a story and a delightful mind challenge. Beautifully written.

I could not put this down. From the first word to the last, I was so emotionally drawn into their world. I laughed, yelled in frustration and cried. It has everything a good book needs; heroines to love, bitches to hate and most of all a love that never ends. I just finished it and want to read it all over again.

Dear MS. Saint Marie,

The Secret Trilogy was wonderful. I fell in love with the characters almost straight away, it truly was an epic love story. I think your ending was done with great thought given to the characters and the readers. You are a great writer and I do hope you continue to write such terrific stories. I have downloaded all of the followup's to the Trilogy to my Kindle.
I'm not so good with words but I have expressed as best I can just how much I loved the Secret Trilogy.

Did you ever want to read a book that was unlike any other book you ever read in a genre? A book that takes writing to another level, and that has you wondering how come you ever bought the "good lesbian romance", five star reviews before? A book that narrates the loveliest, most delightful love story without ever once resorting to any of the formulaic lesbian fiction props? Where the depth of each and every character makes you feel like you know, or would love to know, these people in real life?

This is that book. And fancy what, it's not a book but three. This is the first thing any reader needs to know about this Trilogy: The protagonists and their motives carry over, but the books are distinct, both in content and presentation of the facts. The Secret Keeping is my all time favorite in the lesbian fiction genre, Fortune Is a Woman and THE STOLEN KISS are close seconds. On the genre, I'm convinced I don't do these books a favor by placing them in that category, I'd just as soon place them under great contemporary literature, but be aware, at least, that the lovers in this epic story are women.

The second thing that's good to know about this Trilogy is that the author doesn't take you by the hand, and she most certainly doesn't point the way to any of her characters to save them the twists and bumps, the pains and anguish, and she most certainly doesn't make the glory easy. Both ladies and gentlemen in this story are on their own, being their own good, bad, ugly, twisted, humanly flawed people, and that makes them all a perfect reflection of what we all love and hate, love to hate and hate to love, in any breathing person we cross paths with.

And that's just it, you won't only be reading a novel, you'll be breathing these people and their lives and choices in. You'll have to fend for yourself, while these protagonists and antagonists do the same in the complex world of relationships, wants and desires and hates and revenges. There's no absolute good and no absolute evil, this is a masterful depiction of personalities that transcend the written word.

This drives me to the third thing worth knowing about the Trilogy: You need to be prepared to be frustrated out of your mind when pretty much nothing happens as you'd expect or wish. When does life ever, anyway? Be also prepared to be as mad as you'll be thrilled more than a few times and, above all, be prepared to be blown out of the water by the wit and smarts within these pages. These are three novels like none other I've read, and that goes for the story, the diversity and different nature of characters and scenarios and, primarily, this is a book like none other when it comes to intelligent prose.

I'm glad to find, every once in a hundred full moons, a writer that thinks I can connect the dots, or that doesn't care much one way or the other if I can't. That would be the readers' problem, the novels just won't be disgraced by spelling it all out loud. Less is really more here, and even while you'll have to work out to fill some of the blanks, you don't really need to all that hard, because it's all there, just thankfully NOT spelled out but masterfully styled into this author's gifted prose.

This is an out of the box, unusual treat. Check out the reviews for each of the books contained in The Secret Trilogy if this review doesn't push you over the edge. Treat yourself, and be prepared to change your outlook and perceptions about "lesbian fiction".

You can also check out other reviews at THE SECRET TRILOGY: Three Novels. Two Women. One Epic Love Story.