Customer Reviews

Secrets

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(11)
2 star:		(9)
1 star:		(33)

 

 

I am a huge Jude Deveraux fan, have read all her books, some several times, but this is a meandering, wandering collection of loose ends. No romance at all, first kiss about 20 pages before the story wraps up.

There's young love, CIA, murder and nothing to grab onto, everything is glossed over and rushed when perhaps something, ANYTHING good might have happened.

It has to be the oddest book I've ever finished- I would suggest passing this one up. A total disappointment.

I have been a Jude Deveraux fan for years and have read most of her books. I will buy a book just because it has her name on it. This is the first time I have been disappointed, and it was a major letdown.
The opening chapters had the potential to become a good story. Unfortunately, it quickly became a maze of confusing story lines that went nowhere interesting and were populated by characters that were undeveloped and boring shells. Most of the dialogue was trite and just plain silly.
I advise you take a pass on this offering and hope Ms. Deveraux's next book is more up to her usual standard.

I've read almost all Jude Deveraux wonderful books. " Secrets", should have been kept a Secret from her
readers. Boring, Boring, Boring

I recently traveled to a conference and purchased this book to read on the flight and in the hotel. There was a glimmer of promise in the beginning, but, it skid downhill from there. With 90 minutes left on the flight home, I gave up and could not bring myself to continue to read this drivel -- I set the book aside and picked up the inflight magazine which was better reading.

I was very disapointed. If you feel compelled to read this book because you are a Devereaux fan, get it from the library. Save your money.

I am a huge fan of Ms. Deveraux's books. I have collect and/or read, if not all, of her books. I even re-read several of her books. But this was a major disappointment. It started with a promising storyline then it just deteriorated. First time, I had to "force" myself to finish any of her story. By the time, I got to the end ... I was lost and the twist and turn of the story got so wacky that I didn't take the time to try to figure out the twist. I was just glad I was able to finish the book. And THAT was THAT -- an end of this sad story. I won't be picking up this one to re-read that for sure. Don't waste your money on this uninspiring, disappointing story.

I discovered Jude Deveraux when I was 12 or 13. I was heavy into English History and "A Knight in Shining Armor" was like a dream come true for my heavily romantic 12 year old self. I've been a die-hard fan ever since.

However, I think she must have died and someone is trying to pull a VC Andrews with "secrets" or that she was kidnapped by aliens or something. Not to be outright rude but I hated this book, could not stand the main character (was she stupid?! Like seriously) and in the end all the secrets piled upon eachother made me give up on a long awaited book. I generally don't feel that money has been wasted when I buy a book... but a certain brick and mortar book store has changed their all access return policy and now I am stuck with this.

Maybe I can make a book safe out of it or something-- because goodness knows no-one is going to willingly pick this stinker off of my bookshelf.

Where do I start? I have no idea what the plot of this book was, and I just finished reading it! Cassie falls in love with Jefferson Ames as a girl of 12, and she carries that love into adulthood. Instead of going out and getting married after college and getting a job she calls off her engagement to move closer to a now widowed Jeff. She weasels her way into his family and somehow becomes his nanny. As far as I can tell this is the only plotline I could understand. Then in a tangled web of events Cassie meets her elusive next door neighbor, an aged movie star (the greatest movie star of all time) who is also a spy for the government. Upon meeting her Cassie she reveals things about Jeff that makes Cassie question her complete devotion to him and all of the things she thought she knew about the man she had loved for most of her life. Jeff's whole life is a maze of secrets and Cassie wants to get to the bottom of them before its too late. There's also several murder mystery plot lines added into this that are tied into the movie star/spy but there's so many odd story threads that its difficult to tell what is actually pertinant to the storyline and what isn't.

This book is horrible! Every so often I got glimpses of what her writing used to be, but for the most part it was just a jumbled mess of confusion. Cassie is so naive and Jeff is so condescending that it made me dislike both of the main characters. Some of the plots she created were just too far out there to be believeable, and in the end it seemed like everyone was some sort of spy for the government (which is apparently easier to write than to actually develop some characters.) I always go out and buy Jude's books as soon as they hit the bookstore but I might hesitate the next time I see a new one of her titles. If you want to read a book by her that's not terrible may I suggest "Remebrance" or her "Velvet" series.

Like many of the other reviewers, I have read every Jude Deveraux book published. I've read many of them multiple times but this will not be one of them. Once was more than enough. It all had the elements of an interesting read but they didn't come together into a satisfying story, much less a satisfying romance. The biggest secret is why her editor didn't send the manuscript back with orders to keep working until she got it right.

Bottom line: if you are a Jude Deveraux fan and simply *must* read this book, get it from the library. Better yet, skip this book and instead go back and re-read your favorite of her earlier books. You'll be much happier.

A big part of the problem was that the book didn't make me feel the emotions brewing between Cassie and Jeff. The words said what they felt but didn't *convey* what they felt. And Cassie and Jeff's interactions through most of the book were stilted or limited so when the time came for them to discuss their feelings, it felt fake. I appreciate what one of the reviewers said about this book being appropriate for a teen to read, but even without explicit sex scenes there should have been a little sizzle -- at least some smoldering glances. Deveraux is so good at writing romance, I don't know how she could have missed the mark so far in this book.

Another thing missing is a hero and heroine you can really pull for. Cassie is a doormat for most of the book. Yes, some of Deveraux's best books have had heroines who started out being doormats. But those women had something inside them that made you want them to break out of their shells and grab happiness. Cassie is just boring. And Jeff is more of a background shadow than a hero. Nothing in the book made me understand why Cassie got such a crush on him when she was 12 or why she still thought she loved him now that she's an adult. He's even more boring than Cassie. The most interesting character in the book is Althea Fairmont.

Perhaps all the extra goings on -- Althea Fairmont, Skyler, nearly everyone being a secret spy, Leo Norton, the secret meeting at the lake, the mystery weekend, etc. -- got in the way of writing a good romance. I hope Ms. Deveraux hasn't lost her touch because when she is on her game, she writes some of the best romances I've read.

Unfortunately, I waited for the new release and expected sparks to fly, and all I received was a kiss--at the end of the book!! Is this a new style of writing "romance" novels"? I've been a Deveraux fan forever, but this story had all the romance and suspense of the comic strips! I've also read this plot before about the renactment of a murder from a previous story of Deverauxs' with "Samantha and Mike Taggert" and half expected those same chracters to pop up in the story line. Good Try--But, Try Again!!! Truly a disappointment!!!

So, I'm going to be the honest reviewer and tell you what's wrong with this book....ok....ready.....wait for it......
No Sex.
I'm sure I' m over simplifying it...but its the truth.
Just like in real life, you cant base a relationship on sex (unless youre a man...ok just kidding), but if its missing....well Houston we have a problem. It's not that I expect porn, cause thats what is cable for..(kidding again), but I do expect heat, longing, desire... And...when it comes to this book, it might as well be a milk carton with the words "Missing : Passion" on it.
Ok so now that thats out of the way, let me just say that the story really is sweet. You have a young woman who's had an uber crush on the hero for like....ever. She somehow wheeldles her way into his life and his home without looking like a stalker, and everyone in the town has a secret. The hero is engaging, and if you read the book long enough youll get to see that he's not as oblivious as he comes off. The anticillary characters are as always, colorful and delectibly flawed, and true to form she really does corner the market in character development. Jude has an incomparable flare for story telling, and this book is no exception. She takes delight in giving her characters charm, wit, humor, and the all to human flaws that endear them to the reader. By the time the story unfolds, and you realize that the entire town isnt crazy....theyre just big fat liars, you're ready to see the two leads really fall deeply, madly, truly in love. BUT, and this a huge but,... it just doesnt happen, or if it does, it does so after I put the book down. I found myself wanting to shake the book and ask "Ok,...is that all ya got? Whats up with that??"
When I think about great romance, I do think about Jude. "A Knight in shining armor" which i happen to think is the perfect love story, "Wishes", "Legend" just to name a few are all, in my mind what good romance should be...a great story, with great characters who you want to see get together because you really felt they were made for each other. There was a lot of romance in this book, but no real passion. To be blunt, it was like engaging in hours of foreplay and then moments before "magic time" having your partner leave the room to play online chess...or something equally as trifling. So, I say read the book if you want a good story, and have time to kill while doing laundry...but if youre looking for the grand passion that her earlier books reveled in....this ain't it.