A thrilling family saga (Fairham Island) - The Secret Sister

This book was incredible! It was hard to put down, but that is how all of Brenda Novak's books are. My only negative to say was I was sad when the book ended. , not by the way it was ended it, I just was so into the book I didn't want it to end. I can't wait for the next book.

The Secret Sister by Brenda Novak takes a dissects each member a dysfunctional family and while providing a steamy romance and numerous twists. I would like to see more of this story now that she's patched them back together again to explore how long it will last.

Interesting story, delving into many peoples past lives, as well as their relationships today. It has a little mystery, with romance, and left me wanting to know more about what happened to these characters later. I'd love to see a sequel.

I loved this story line and the characters. They were so believably real. The ending gives somewhat of an explanation as to why the matriarch mother was as she was. Can't wait to read the next book!

I absolutely loved this book! It was a page turner from the beginning and not as predictable as you might think. Characters were well developed and the plot twists were a surprise. I actually cried when it ended!

First of Brenda Novak novels I have read and found it really difficult to stop reading and do anything else!
Infact I have bought and read book 1,2, and 3 I find the Whisky Creek novels fascinating Having read about Brenda Novak she seems to be very kind and clever lady.

Maisey comes home to Fairham Island South Carolina after the death of her baby and a divorce, she comes home to a drug addicted brother and a cold controlling mother.
This is a story full of family dysfunction, romance, intrigue, joy, it has it all.
Something happens to make her realize she had a sister that disappeared when she was very young, what happened to her? The search takes her on a trip that has a very surprising out come for her and her brother.
I could not put this book down, I just kept turning page after page until I got to the end.
Loved this book as I love all Brenda Novaks books, I was so glad I bought this book, can not wait for her next one.

I found The Secret Sister to be an extremely compelling novel. Once I entered the world of Fairham Island, I stayed there through the night finishing the book in one sitting. Seriously, how could I stop and go to sleep while our heroine was falling apart, falling in love, and following every trail to discover if she had a sister and what happened to her?--I couldn't!
I absolutely loved Maisey right from the start. Healing from a heartbreaking loss and a divorce, her strength of character shines through. She was a heroine that I truly liked and cared about from page one. Our hero, Rafe, is strong, straight forward, sexy, honest, and obviously loves his daughter, Laney, unconditionally. The attraction between Maisey and Rafe is not to be ignored or denied. I loved how their relationship developed however rocky it began. And I loved how Rafe was always there for Maisey despite the mixed signals she gives him, and in spite of the secrets she seems determined to keep which appear to torment her.
Maisey came back to Fairham ostensibly to help her brother, Keith, heal from his demons, and finds herself fighting her own battles and finding herself in the process. Their mother Josephine is cold, controlling, and harsh to say the least. Status and appearances are seemingly all she cares about, leaving her children, now grown and in their 30's, intimidated and accommodating for fear of repercussions. Maisey wishes their relationship could be healed after 10 years apart, but finds her mother unchanged.
Then a discovery unleashes a mystery buried in the past. Who is that little girl in the photos, did she and Keith at one time have a sister, and if so, what happened to her? Maisey is driven to pursue the truth in spite of objections from her family, and she doesn't give up. She travels down the path leading to answers to her questions and the mystery unfolds bit by bit. I was held captive as the truth unraveled. I finished the book feeling content, but knowing this story and its characters are going to stay with me a long while.

*I received an ARC of this novel in exchange for an honest review.

While I liked the story concept, the reason I bought the book, I was generally disappointed in the underdeveloped two dimensional characters. The story is told from the pint of view of the principal female character (Maisey). In some respects that is ok but limited understanding of her mother, a key character, and Maisey's lover Rafe.

Unfortunately the author really does not develop the relationship between Maisey and Rafe so its hard to understand how they got from lust at the beginning of the story to marriage at the end of the book. While there are some sex scenes, they are stilted and uninteresting. I like explicit sex in a book when it makes sense. In this book the sex felt like it was there just for the sake of being there, It never seemed to result from any kind of connection between the characters and revealed nothing new about either character or their relationship.

The story itself moved very slowly and was often mired in unnecessary and mundane details that did not add to the development of the story or of the characters. I am not sure that I would want to send the money to read the next book in this series unless the author improved in the areas I have mentioned. I might add that this is the first book I have read by this author and if it is representative of her work, then I fail to see why she is popular.

I just finished reading Secret Sister by Brenda Novac. It was a very good read. It kept me caught up in the story the entire time. I recommend you give it a try. Has just enough mystery to keep you guessing.