It was very nice, and quickly read.
I wish there were some more to it, though. But it was very enjoyable nontheless.

An unconventional love story between a Pastor and a secret keeper woman! Peyton, the secret keeper, is in big trouble. She's anxious, single and helpless. Pastor Brice is fun, unmarried and always helpful. Peyton reveals her secret to the Pastor. What happens next is the plot. It's a cool storyline and was fun to read. Happy reading!

Unfortunately, this one was a no-go for me. I had absolutely no connection to the tone or personality of the writing - you know when you pick it up and the writing itself (wording choice, pace, rhythm) is a struggle? That was my issue - now that being said, perhaps it will be a hit for others. It was a little rougher than I wanted and I'm not even talking subject-matter.

I did not enjoy this book. The two main characters made poor decisions and never seemed to learn and grow from them. I found them both annoying as well as the situations they got into.
I had been hoping for a light romance but I just never engaged with the characters.

Unfortunately this story wasn't for me. I struggled to reach the midway point and wound up DNF as it just wasn't appealing to me.

This was my first book by this author, It was pretty enjoyable. I would give this book a 3.5 star rating! It was a pretty Quick and easy read!

I requested this book from NetGalley on a whim and later realized it is a Christian themed love book which I'm not typically a big fan of. However, since I was provided a copy I had to give it a shot and tried to keep an open mind going into the story. The Secret Keeper is the first book in a series of six, and as it is also said on the book description by the author, it is not your typical "Christian Romance" and there is lots of talk about sex and swearing and although there definitely is a religious aspect to the story, it's not too much to make you feel overwhelmed if you're not into that kind of fiction. I enjoyed the author's writing style; it was quick paced and easy.

The story revolves around a young woman (Peyton) who is the secret keeper in her family and finds it a burden, has a potty mouth, makes lots of poor choices, and has her own secrets. I found her a very frustrating character with her constantly changing emotions and it directly affected how I feel about this book. The story started out fun and interesting, but it kind of didn't work for me after I read about one third of it. The family dynamics, the choices of characters, the language and just the overall vibe turned me off. I will not be reading the sequels.

My review is also posted on Goodreads:

I received a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. Thank you NetGalley.



Sorry for the delay in my review, life has gotten in the way.

As said in the blurb, this is a "christian" themed book.. Although they did say it wasn't hte "typical christian romance" story... it still held a bit more christian / religious aspect than i'd like in a book. There IS definitely sex / taboo topics discussed in this book that wouldn't be appropriate for some reglisious folk though.

This is a hard book to review because it started out ok, but as the story progressed, it just seemed to go downhill. There was a lot of potential: how does the church respond to unwed pregnant women? What happens when the pastor falls in love with the unwed pregnant woman? How do parents, clergy and the church respond when the woman loses her baby?
Sadly, the topics were only touched lightly, the church was reduced to lots of rules, most characters were reduced to caricatures and I just couldn't warm up to the two main characters: Peyton and pastor Brice Northam.
Pastor Northam behaved very unprofessionally when he made a move at a time when Peyton needed him to be her pastor and friend. I think most pastors would be asked to step down if they behaved the way he did. Peyton's behavior was more like that of a teenager than a grown, independent woman. Peyton's parents were like something of a different era, expecting her to sit with them in church, prying in her private life, overreacting, judging and shunning their daughter, and they didn't even seem to be that strait-laced to start out with.
Peyton's boyfriends are mere caricatures, throwing tantrums, dumping her after professing undying love. The story doesn't mirror reality at all.

I wouldn't describe it as "Christian Romance". There's too much profanity and talk about sex. It's not appropriate for a person who sees waiting until marriage as something positive.

I finished the book, but I lost interest about half-way through.

Thanks to Netgalley and Wayzgoose Press for the ARC.

This book introduced me to a world I know nothing about and for this alone it was fascinating. Peyton is the secret keeper in her family nd finds it a burden. But she too has secrets because she is having sexual relationships and has found herself pregnant to a man she despises. This is hard enough. ut Peyton comes from a family of strict Christians - Lutherans- nd sex before marriage is forbidden. While she struggles with her faith and her family ties, and her impending motherhood, a further complication develops as she gets very close to her family Pastor.

I found it interesting to be led through the emotional turmoils of people who believe that sex outside marriage is sinful.. people who believe that their family and community ties give them the right to condemn behaviours which for much of society are totally normal. The inner conflicts of someone who wants to be good and honorable but who is not sure what she - or he believes in.

I found the book fascinating even if it stretched my credulity.I know this may be the situation of many young women in the USA but I found it almost like science fiction. I laughed at some of the descriptions and I had a lot of sympathy with the heroine even while I found her frustratingly ready to be bossed about by Pastor.

Definitely would consider reading the sequels.

In the interest of full disclosure, I am NOT a fan of Christian romance. I read this book with squinty eyes - since it professed to be not a typical Christian romance. And I would agree with that. That being said - I still did not really like it all that much. A lot of my issues in the book were not related to the Christian themes - but some were. This book also needs a serious content warning in relation to <spoiler> pregnancy loss</spoiler>.

In this story Peyton is the keeper of all her family's secrets - but she has a big one herself. She got pregnant after a one-night-stand with a really awful artist she met through her job in a gallery. Brice is a pastor - of the hot-priest variety. He is also a keeper of secrets - bound by the confidentiality rules of his job. Peyton goes to him to talk about her pregnancy and how to break the news to her parents. Her family is very active in the church (her father is a church elder). Nothing goes well or easily for Peyton in this book - <spoiler> she experiences a pregnancy loss late in pregnancy (around 17 weeks) and has to deliver her baby. She then has a brief rebound relationship with the hated artist's assistant, who dumps her like hot coal after having sex with her, telling her he loves her, and then finding out she was pregnant with the artist's baby. She then takes a chance on a relationship with Brice, but struggles with the lack of premarital sex and the opinions of her church community and becoming a pastor's wive. All the while, basically being shamed by her family and herself for her actions</spoiler>.

I had two major issues with this book (1) the slut shaming that is a constant theme of the book. and (2) the lack of maturity and overall poor-pitiful me attitude of Peyton. She isn't a bad person or morally deficient. She is basically a fairly normal 25 year old who is pretty immature. She does some growing up in the book - but really - its pretty weak.

I also didn't realize this was the first of several books that were published some time ago. I'm not sure I will read the others - because I am not sure I can handle some of the possible themes. Her brother announces he is gay during the book, and while there seems to be a general acceptance of that - but I see problems down the road, given the view of homosexuality by the Lutheran church. And I really can't stand intolerance.

I received this book as an ARC - but my decidedly unpopular opinion is all my own!