Book Review: The Secret of You and Me by Melissa Lenhardt *

Are you ready for a love story from a small town in Texas, where two best friends are reunited after one abruptly left 18 years before?  In The Secret of You and Me by Melissa Lenhardt, Nora and Sophie are connected by Nora’s ex Charlie who is now Sophie’s husband.  Published by Harper Collins, the story takes you through their own stories in their own words of how the years have taken their toll and they now have to face the truth, however hard that truth may be.

This story pulls you through a flurry of emotions. You learn about the years of lies and coverups and the worry of an oppressive and interfering town, which makes the truth seem so much harder to accept. You learn about Nora and Sophie and how their connection to Charlie runs much deeper than you might initially think, and how Nora’s two-decade-long fall out with her dad came about.

What I thought of the book

I love a good love story and I really, really enjoyed this book by Melissa Lenhardt. When I started reading this, we were on our way to the Lake District and the drive took so long I ended up being a quarter of the way through by the time we arrived at the little house we were staying at. It was such a well-written book and a compelling story, I really couldn’t put it down.

You firstly start in the eyes of Nora, who has had to travel back to the small town in Texas where she grew up, for her dads funeral. She really doesn’t want to be there, having fallen out with him nearly 20 years ago. We learn how once she left she went onto join the army and how leaving her small town, she went on to create her own adventures and potentially hideaway from her life with her ex-best friend Sophie.

But having Nora back in town creates all sorts of gossip for all the locals that over the years have only ever heard updates on her life through her Aunt Emmadean. Emmadean is so happy for her niece to be back in town and wastes no time in getting her back in touch with her long lost friend Sophie. This is where you are introduced to Sophie’s story through her eyes and introduced to the characters that connect their lives together.

As the story goes on, we discover how the past can’t be ignored and that there is no way in which Nora and Sophie can hide what went on all those years ago. I don’t want to give anything away (as I try not to do with all my book reviews), as this really has you gripped to its narrative throughout. I could never decide whose side I was on, did I feel for Sophie or Nora?

Getting to know both Sophie and Nora, you really start to understand how they feel and what they have had to go through, through years of hiding away and running from the truth. And how the small town in which they grew up made it unbelievably difficult for them to accept the truth, or at least their truth, as the pressures of the people they knew clouded everything they ultimately felt.

I really enjoyed wondering what would happen next and quite frequently being sad or happy by the outcome that came about. Often in Romance Novels, you can pretty much guess that things will work out, but with this one, you are guessing all the way through right to the very last pages of the book. Don’t read this if you just want an obvious love story…pick it up if you like the unexpected.

Where can you buy The Secret of You and Me? 

You can get the book from Amazon here.

How much is the book? 

The book is currently available at £7.31. Please check the Amazon link for the latest price.

About the book
Author : Mellisa Lenhardt
ISBN-13 : 978-1848458086
Number of pages : 400
Publisher : Harper Collins

About the Author

Mellisa Lenhardt is a passionate writer and her skill is unquestionable in her latest Novel. Prior to this she has another seven novels to her name (all of which I will be looking to buy in the near future). She has been coined as a new sub-genre called Feminist Westerns, where are books discuss, everything from race, LGBTQ, and the old west. Her most recent novel is definitely her most contemporary.

As well as a highly reviewed author she is also a wife and mother or two boys and two golden retrievers. She enjoys eating peanut butter and Nutella, especially when she knows she should really be sitting down and writing instead of snacking. She lives in Texas and uses this state as a backdrop for the majority of tales.

Review by : Lex Ward

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*We were sent a copy of the book in return for a feature. All opinions are our own.