Secretly Smitten
I have been, or can be if you click on a link and make a purchase, compensated via a cash payment, gift, or something else of value for writing this post. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers.
This past month I had the privilege of reading a collection titled Secretly Smitten with four stories by four wonderful female authors: Colleen Coble, Kristin Billerbeck, Diann Hunt and Denise Hunter. I had read a few of their works, but wasn’t sure what to expect with this title as the independent stories are connected as each showcases one woman in a particular family in the quaint town of Smitten.
About Secretly Smitten
Summer, fall, winter, spring-Smitten, Vermont, is the place for love . . . and mystery!
There’s a secret in Grandma Rose’s attic-a forgotten set of dog tags belonging to her first love. But David Hutchins was killed in action and never returned to Smitten. How did the dog tags end up in the attic?
The mystery intrigues Rose’s three granddaughters-Tess, Clare, and Zoe-and they decide to investigate, though their mother, Anna, warns against meddling. But as the seasons turn and the mystery unravels, the three young women and their mother encounter some intriguing mystery men of their own. Has a sixty-year-old puzzle sparked something new for this close-knit family of women?
Join popular romance novelists-and real-life BFFs-Colleen Coble, Kristin Billerbeck, Diann Hunt, and Denise Hunter for four delightful intertwined tales of mystery and sweet intrigue.
Meet “The Gals” Who Wrote Secretly Smitten:
RITA-finalist Colleen Coble is the author of several best-selling romantic suspense novels, including “Tidewater Inn”, and the Mercy Falls, Lonestar, and Rock Harbor series.
Christy Award finalist and two-time winner of the ACFW Book of the Year award, Kristin Billerbeck has appeared on The Today Show and has been featured in the New York Times. Her books include “A Billion Reasons Why” and “What a Girl Wants.”
Denise Hunter is the award-winning and best-selling author of several novels, including “A Cowboy’s Touch” and “Sweetwater Gap.” She and her husband are raising three boys in Indiana.
Diann Hunt has lived in Indiana forever, been happily married forever, loves her family, chocolate, her friends, her dog, and, well, chocolate.
My Thoughts about Secretly Smitten:
I’ll admit it… I really enjoyed this title. Unlike a straight novel, you get the cohesion of one story with the feel of four unique ones. I’ll be honest and say I wasn’t entirely sure how it would all flow with the different authors. I was pleased to have each individual story possess it’s own feel, yet the pieces fit well together. You could tell that the authors are great at communicating with each other so it comes across feeling like the story of a family from the perspective of 4 women.
One upside I discovered for this particular set up was that I could read one ‘section’ per night and not have the same “I’ve got to read just a few more pages” feeling. Not that there’s anything wrong with wanting to stay up all hours of the night to read a great book. I just appreciated knowing that I could feel that one character’s storyline was mostly ‘wrapped up’ within the confines of their own story and as thus could eagerly anticipate reading the next story on a different night.
While each author wrote in their own way the story of one Thomas lady, they were true to the overall story line which sees each lady find the love of their life over the span of about a year. Woven throughout these four stories is a fifth love story, that of the family matriarch, Grandma Rose. Each story has some suspense and a little twist here and there. But, in the end, each woman gets her happy ending.
If you are looking for a book with ‘depth’, then this might not be your cup of tea. But, if you want some fun romance that is kept clean written by talented female authors, then put this book on your list. After sampling their writing, you might be adding their other work to your reading list. And, if you are like me, you’re about ready to go searching for a community like the Smitten to visit or even call home.
Don’t just take my word for it! Visit the Secretly Smitten blog tour page to see what other reviewers have to say about this title.
Visit with “the Gals” of Secretly Smitten:
The “gals” are celebrating the release of Secretly Smitten with a fun Live Webcast on February 5th. They’ll be debuting the *NEW* animated Smitten trailer, giving away tons of prizes, dishing on the book and their friendship. They’ll also be wrapping up the Secretly Smitten blog tour, answering audience questions and testing your trivia skills. Don’t miss the fun and bring your friends. Click here to RSVP and set up a reminder.
Disclaimer– I was provided with a copy of this title to facilitate a review through Litfuse. No monetary compensation occurred and all opinions are my own.
Love finding new reads! Thanks for sharing this!!
This looks like one fun read!! Thanks for sharing. Ill have to put this on my list of books to read for sure!! 🙂
I really would love to read this book, sounds like its very interesting!
Sounds like a fabulous read and one I need to add to my ever-growing list!
I alternate between heavy and light reads, so I’ll keep this one in mind for a lighter one!
Liz,
I think I’m averaging 2 or 3 light reads for each heavy one. But, that’s not counting all the work my brain is doing homeschooling 4 different age groups into the mix. I think that just demands more brain candy than when I was working full time.
Interesting, I never thought there could be multiple authors to a novel. It’s the first time I’ve seen that.
Cinny,
This one kept the authors ‘separate’ in that each wrote one part of the total story. However, the books I’m always amazed over are when there are co-authors who do the writing together. I’m not sure how they do it, besides maybe having one lay-out the whole story and the other flesh it out.
This book sounds great! I always have the feeling that I need to keep reading and tend to give up sleep to finish the book. I like that it is broken into 4 sections. Maybe I could get to sleep before 2am reading it.
Tammilee,
That’s one big reason I loved this book! Four sections meant I could do it over four nights and not feel like I ‘slighted’ the book.
I love the title of this book. I think it’s awesome to see a new style of writing with 4 different writers coming together.
This collection sounds like it would be a fun read.