DNF @ around 50%. I am normally a big fan of royal stories, especially ones with a mystery but I found myself not rushing to pick this one up so I am putting it down for now. I may revisit later as there are a lot of great reviews.

I was really intrigued by the synopsis and was eager to read it. Unfortunately, this one was a miss for me. I think it is a case of it's me, not the book. The story just didn't hook me and I found myself getting easily distracted so I decided to end early and not try to push through and finish it.

This book was a little slower than I expected it to be and found it only entertaining about a third of the way in. I look forward to checking out more by this author, as I have heard praise on her series. This was an enjoyable read but felt a bit messy at times.

This book left me feeling a little voyeuristic. It felt very close to things that are probably true for the royal family and I hated that feeling. Overall, the book felt dated and there were very few twists and turns since I felt like I knew the story. I love a book about royals, but prefer fiction to non-fiction.

Thank you Netgalley for the chance to read and review this title. I will review this title at a different date.

Thank you Netgalley, Atria Books and Lucinda Riley for free e-ARC in return of my honest review.

I was very excited to get approved for The Royal Secret, however, the book did not exceed my expectations.

Joanna Haslam, a reporter, gets tangled in a Royal Secret that should not be known to public at all costs. Gossip, betrayal, murder are only a few techniques that are used to keep the story out of newspapers.

It was quite an easy read, somewhere quite a page turner, but overall, I would say it has a slow burn. I believe characters were nicely developed, especially the protagonist Joanna and her childhood friend Simon. I liked how their relationship had progressed through the story with some unexpected twists and turns. At the same time, the flow of the narrative wasn't smooth. The chapters were interchangeable between characters with the goal to show events through more eyes. I think that approach helped to understand the whole story structure. On the other hand, it was overwhelmed and confused from the start.

The Royal Secret is a little bit of everything. It is a little bit of a mystery, a little bit of a love story, a little bit of a stressful life of Royals and those who protect them, it is even a little bit of PTSD (Ian story has clear signs of PTSD). Also, few story lines were utterly predictable (love stories especially).

At the end, I never felt satisfied. Neither by the mystery side of the book, nor love story (which all were too cheesy for my liking). I tried to like The Royal Secret more. Unfortunately, I wasn't kin on it much.

a Lucinda Riley book. Need more be said ? She doesn't disappoint.
This novel of twist and turns is a very compelling read. Is it based on
the current Royal Family's past ? You be the judge.
Highly recommended.

oanna Haslam a reporter goes to legendary actor Sir James Harrison’s funeral where she meets an old lady called Rose who she helps home when she becomes ill at the funeral. When Joanna receives a letter from Rose Joanna goes on a hunt to discover Jame’s secrets but there are people out there who will do anything to stop this secret getting out,and they are very powerful people.

This book had me gripped from the start, you can really sink you’re teeth into it as it is a complex tale with a strong conspiracy theory thrown In with secrets, murder and romance.

A must read book with an ending you won’t see coming!!

Honestly this book was so slow for me. I had trouble remembering who everyone was as there were tons of characters and the family lines got a bit confusing. This was a good read but obviously a bit dated as it was originally written a long time ago and republished. It just didn’t really feel like it stood the test of time and didn’t feel all that captivating when considering all the other recent fiction releases.

I loved this book! It is a great story, with well developed and interesting characters. It is also suspenseful and has some interesting & surprising twists.

I did not finish this title. It started way too slow.

What I liked about it:
The story sounded exactly up my alley.
The Royal theme is huge right now.

Why I put it down:
I was unable to find a connection to the story and the characters.
It went beyond a slow burn for me.

The star rating is based on the DNF status. Not the novel itself.

3.75 stars

A very slow to start old school espionage mystery with a dash of Hollywood and British royalty! Once the story picks up the well rounded characters highly intriguing theme keep you reading. Add in a love letter, scandal, old money, heartbreak, inter-generational family drama and you have a wonderful story.

If the word royal is in the title, it’s a given that it will end up in my TBR stack. I love guilty pleasure royal romances, but this is so much more! Part romance, part mystery, this book has something for everyone and is an amazing beach read. A young journalist is given a mystery to uncover after an old actor passes away, but her investigation quickly turns deadly. I felt all the feelings on this one. There were a couple of times where I was truly angry at the author, but in the end, I really enjoyed it! I truly did not guess the ending which is rare!

I found The Royal Secret to be so intriguing, this mixture of suspense & romance. Lots of plot twists and strong female characters make me so happy & engaged. This was my first Lucinda Riley novel & I want more please! She is an incredible storyteller & all the British scenery & colloquialisms filled this Anglophile’s heart.

From my blog: Always With a Book:

It is no secret that I am a huge fan of Lucinda Riley. I have read/listened to quite a few of her books, including her The Seven Sisters series. She is such an amazing author and I am always captivated by the stories and characters. And this latest one is no exception.

I will admit that this one appealed to me not only because of the author, but because it had that "royal" element to it. I am such a fan of anything to do with the royals and this one certainly did not disappoint. While that was just one small bit to the overall story, it did add a thrilling aspect to the story-line as there were secrets that someone was willing to keep hidden at all costs.

As usual, the characters were completely engaging and I fell in love with them and was completely invested in each of their stories. There were the characters that right off the bat, you loved and rooted for all the way through, and then there were those that you just knew were no good, and then there were those that you questioned. I loved this...I love when character's motivations aren't quite as black and white right away.

I loved that this book had a little bit of everything - action, espionage, romance, history and secrets - and while the book is quite a chunkster, it moves at such a pace that you quickly find yourself completely immersed and involved, and those pages fly by. This is a bit of a departure from what I've read before from Lucinda Riley, but I loved it just the same. She is an author I trust and I will recommend her time and again. I definitely urge you to pick up a book of hers...give this one a try, you won't be sorry!

This book was so compulsively readable that I did not want to put it down from the moment I started reading it. So make sure you carve out some time for this one because though addictive, it’s also longer than I expected at around 530 pages for the hardcover.

The story begins when Joanna, a young journalist trying to make her start, is assigned to cover the funeral of a well known and respected actor. While she is attending the funeral, she is seated next to an elderly woman whose health is declining and ends up needing help to leave the funeral early and go home. Joanna accompanies her and ends up stumbling upon a story that is much bigger than she ever imagined.

We get multiple perspectives throughout the book. From Joanna to her best friend Simon, to the grandchildren and heirs of the deceased actor, Marcus and Zoe. The further you read, the bigger the mystery becomes and the higher the stakes. This book truly kept me guessing the entire time. I found myself trying to piece together the mystery and while I usually have a pretty good handle on how things will play out in a typical thriller, The Royal Secret continued to throw in twists that had me reading until the very end.

Thank you SO MUCH to Atria books for the opportunity to read and review this book!

2 stars! ⭐️⭐️

Sigh. This is going to be brief.

I absolutely adore Riley’s Seven Sisters series. So, when I saw The Royal Secret on NetGalley, I really wanted to read it. The premise was great and - let’s face it - the title is super intriguing! Sadly, this book did not meet my expectations. I found it to be super slow, boring at times, too long and a chore to read. I just didn’t get it. Trying to keep up with all of the characters just added to my confusion.

This was the first standalone novel I’ve read by this author. Although it was not enjoyable, I plan on reading some of her other books because I’ve heard they are very good.

Thanks to NetGalley, Atria Books and Lucinda Riley for my advanced copy to read and review.

Joanna is a journalist and her boss sends her to cover the funeral of a famous actor. There she meets an elderly lady who gets ill and helps her home. Through this meeting she gets involved in a story that could be a huge scandal. Joanna’s childhood friend is also involved but has his own secrets to hide.

I have read books from Riley’s The Seven Sisters series which I have loved. And I confess that my main reason for reading this was the author.

There’s a lot going on with multiple plots and sub-plots. I didn’t really care for the romance part, but the mystery James Harrison left was interesting. I thought there would be more about the royals, like meet them or whatever, but they serve such tiny bit of the story.

It was different from what I was expecting and sadly I couldn’t really connect with the characters. I enjoyed it but I guess I was hoping for more based on her other books.

The Royal Secret (originally published as Love Letter) was an entertaining read. I struggled with the pacing and the sheer number of characters and side stories. I read it on Kindle which was harder for me than had I read it as paper book. A paper book would have made flipping back to check earlier character mentions, etc easier. I did a lot of backtracking which made the book seem longer. If you like a character driven, lengthy novel, The Royal Secret is a good choice. If youre looking for a quick or easy read, perhaps not.
I received my copy through NetGalley under no obligation.

Lucinda Riley’s Seven Sisters series is a favorite of mine, she writes great detail into her historical fiction parts that have me anxiously awaiting the next installment.

The Royal Secret, originally titled The Love Letter, is a story full of mystery, intrigue, and secrets. It isn't a short story, coming in at approx 624 pages which to me spells an epic read with depth of character, a plot that has plenty of time to develop and one I love to get lost in. I looked forward to getting lost in the pages like I do with the Seven Sisters.

I was grabbed right away with a mystery that sent Joanna on the chase. There are many characters and the story evolved around different POV’s, it was nice to see the different sides to the story.

I applaud the author for undertaking such a huge plot and coming up with this story. This isn't one of my favorite Riley books, there were a number of inconsistencies that irked me and while I struggled to connect with some of the characters the middle part dragged on at times where I had a hard time concentrating.

Towards the end, there were some twists and turns as the mystery was slowly revealed that kept me reading and curious as to the conclusion.

My thanks to the publisher (via Netgalley) for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.