This was an easy read that I found engaging. The plot was good and I liked the chemistry between the characters. It did feel a bit predictable to me at moments but overall I thought it was a good read and would recommend it to others.

Thanks to NetGalley, the publisher, and the author for my ARC. All opinions are my own.

I really enjoyed this introduction into this world and I just couldn’t get enough of it. I just so thoroughly enjoyed meeting these new characters and getting to go on their journey. I will most definitely be reading more wonderful books from this author.

What a wonderful modern day marriage of convenience story!
I really enjoyed this book. I'm a sucker for single parents, fake relationship && marriage of convenience tropes and this one hit all the spots.
This was my first book by this author and I will definitely read more.
Definitely recommend if you are looking for a cozy romance to warm you on a cold day or a lighter read on the beach.

This is a romance book. I really enjoy this book. I love how the characters are well-developed and how the two parkers brothers are so different. I love how one kid changed so many adult's lives. Great book. I was kindly provided an e-copy of this book by the publisher or author via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Small Town, BIg Secrets was a nice book, a good beach read although at times a little nerve wracking. I loved both the main characters although I am not sure i always bought the story as much as I wish I did. The book was still an easy read, good writing, and I would read more by the author.

Becky McAllister and Steve Parker have needs - no, not the carnal sort - and they strike a deal that will help them both. Becky's young son needs a critical surgery and she needs help providing for his care. Steve is running for DA and his campaign manager insists that he is slipping in the polls due to the fact that he is unmarried. They could marry - if only for a year. Her son could get his surgery paid for and he can present a wholesome image to his constituents.

However, Becky is holding a secret from Steve. Will this very secret be their undoing before they reach their goals? Especially when the health and life of a young child is at stake? There is a lot of give and take in this story and, as a reader, I needed to find validity to Becky's secret. As I become utterly invested in each book I read, her secret had to feel very real to me. Well, the conflict pretty much lasted throughout the story and that sense of realness came through for me. The story brought in a lot of emotion, especially for a couple who agreed to an arranged marriage, one free of romance and the expectation of sex.

So, the way the conflicts were tied in with the romance was done very well. I love how what happened affected more than Becky and Steve. Watching all of that play out was more than rewarding. Small Town. Big Secrets is the second book in the Trinity River series. So, before reading this I was able to borrow the first book in this series from my library, Back in the Rancher's Arms. Both stories were very good books and I do look forward to continuing the series.

Many thanks to Entangled: Bliss and to NetGalley for this ARC for review. This is my honest opinion.

A very sweet small-town romance with a great romantic story. Loved this one!

Many thanks to NetGalley, the publisher, and the author for my ARC. All opinions are my own.

Was rather enjoying this story although it did feel a little saccharine and the heroine is a bit too perfect and one-dimensional. Then it got around the 75% mark and something happens that, to me, seemed to happen just to throw an unnecessary wrench in the plot, which just made me shake my head because it was all moving fine until then, and that episode just made the heroine move from okay to total Mary Sue. This could've held the line perfectly well with the internal conflict without needing this external conflict to further muddy the waters

Becky McAllister is 23, a waitress, a single mom, and she lives in the small town that she grew up in, which she loves. Money is tight, and her son unfortunately needs to have a hernia repair surgery. When she goes to see her sons father to ask for help, he’s not there. But, his brother Steve is, and he decides to make her an offer she can’t refuse! He needs a wife to win the election, and she needs money for Byron’s surgery. This seems like such a great plan, what could really go wrong?

This is book two in the Trinity River series. This can be read as a stand alone. I did not read the first book in the series yet, and I was able to follow along fine. This book was so good! Right from the start I was hooked, and couldn’t wait to see where this story was going to take me! I loved the connection between Becky and Steve. I really enjoyed both of their characters together and on their own. This book will keep you hooked the whole way through. If you’re looking for a good marriage of convenience romance, I highly recommend this one!

Thank you Netgalley for this eARC in exchange for an honest review.

A sweet romance story and my first by Elsie Davis. I loved Becky and Steve they are the perfect couple even if it does take them a while to work that out.

Becky is a single mom, her son Byron is her life but he needs an operation that Becky finds herself in a difficult situation.
Steve is in the running to be the next D.A but needs to to show that he's a family man for the polls. When Steve and Becky meet they come up with a plan that is mutually beneficial to them both but are they just kidding themselves that they could keep their real feelings out of it.

A great read that I thoroughly enjoyed and would highly recommend.

Small Town, Big Secrets is a well written romance.. Good plot and character development. Romance readers will enjoy this book. I received an arc from the publisher and this is my unbiased review.

Byron steals the book! With that being said, this book was an interesting and sweet read. Becky was a struggling mom with a son who was sick and in need of surgery. A dead beat dad, who was loaded, but blackmailing Becky to keep his identity secret. For someone as sweet as Becky, you know this was one horrendous blackmail to have that stain on her reputation of no dad mentioned for her sweet son.

Steve Parker is hot, sweet and flirtatious with Becky. Soon they realize that the other has a secret, he's a Parker and she's got a son who is a Parker. Teaming up to get what they each need, Becky and Steve soon develop feelings for one another that they neither one share with the other. Secrets, snobbery, and stubbornness make for a sweet read.

So… I want to start this review by clarifying that I respect all the hard work that goes into writing a book. Also, that I’m just a nobody reader with no literary training so this is just my opinion on a story I read.

Now that that’s out of the way, I took a chance on Small Town, Big Secrets because I liked the sound of it by the blurb. I have absolutely no issue with the whole pretend relationship romance trope and I usually find them very enjoyable. Add the fact that the heroine is a single mom and I was so eager to jump in! Unfortunately, the story just crashed and burned for me.

Every character felt sadly one dimensional, almost cartoonish in their personalities and actions. The writing was tons of telling with very little showing and this made it harder for me to connect and engage with the story. I don’t mind a predictable plot, but with everything else going on, it turned Small Town, Big Secrets into a dragging mess I wasn’t overly interested in. There was also this huge part of the plot that didn’t pan out for me, that was Becky’s son’s need for surgery… (view spoiler)

I forced myself to finish Small Town, Big Secrets as I wanted to see how the author managed to close all the dangling threads of the plotline, but I have to be honest here: it was work. I found no real enjoyment in reading this story, it felt more like a chore really. Now, this doesn’t mean other people won’t love this book, it just didn’t work for me at all.

*I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book*

I received an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This is the first book I've read by Elsie so her writing style was new to me. I appreciated the depth of the characters and the building out of the story. However, I felt that I could predict too much of what was going to happen from the Judge down to the situation between Becky and Steve. It didn't take away from the overall story, especially with the likes of Byron - too cute!

This was a great book as far as a cozy, sweet read that delves into the small-town romance trope. I recommend it if you are looking for a quick read that gives you the "marriage of convenience" aspect - I know that's one of my fave tropes to read.

Are you a sweet romance fan? While I love a good, steamy romance, I also love a good, clean sweet romance. And Elsie Davis delivers a feel-good, heart-warming romance in Small Town, Big Secrets. It’s the next book in her Trinity River series but I can honestly tell you that it IS a standalone title. I haven’t read book one yet, and at no point did I feel like I had missed out on any backstory. But if you follow my reviews, you know I’m a series junkie, so at some point, I’m going to be catching up on book one, Back in the Rancher’s Arms!

From the wrong side of the tracks, Becky is a single mom working hard to make ends meet. But with a huge medical bill hanging looming in her immediate future, she’s left wondering how she’s going to keep making ends meet. Rich, successful lawyer Steve is running for the DA position and needs a boost in the polls. When he proposes a fake marriage idea to Becky, she can’t turn it down. But will she be able to keep her secret safe, and her heart, too?

NICUnurse’s Rating: You gotta love small towns. When your reputation is golden, you are golden. But when your reputation isn’t quite so golden, it’s a struggle to overcome your past and your mistakes. Yet, sometimes love will find you anyway. And it can be from the last person you’d expect it to be. While Becky is definitely no wallflower, I loved the white knight theme. Some of us never quite outgrow our love of fairytale endings! We’re living in a time of true uncertainty right now, and sometimes you just need that kind of an escape. Thankfully, this book delivered just that.

I give Small Town, Big Secrets by Elsie Davis 4 out of 5 stars!

This was wonderful story! I really need sweet story to read and found it in this book! I really in enjoyed the characters

I really enjoy books that have strong characters! This really can make the book! I loved how the character interacted with each other.

I fell in love with story!

This was five star read!!

Steve and Becky will have you in their corners cheering them on to a happily ever after in this touching story. Beck is a single mom with a sick son on her hands and no insurance. Steve wants to be the next DA but to carry it off he needs a wife. Becky is young and has the look he needs so he lays out his plan, one year of marriage and he will cover her son's medical costs. Becky is a struggling, independent woman who will do anything for the health of her son even going along with Steve's plan but will a secret she withholds and fate have everything back firing? I voluntarily agreed to receive an ARC of this book for an honest review.

A sweet and warm-hearted contemporary romance, Elsie Davis’ Small Town, Big Secrets is an enjoyable and moving read that is simply adorable.

Becky McAllister had once wanted nothing more than to leave the small town of Riverbend behind and make something of herself in the big city. Fate, however, had other plans in store for her and the girl with big dreams still lives in her hometown and although she certainly does not regret having her beautiful son, Byron, money troubles and worries about the future certainly have her wishing that things could be a bit easier for her. With Byron sick and needing surgery, Becky has to come up with a substantial sum of money which she simply hasn’t got and she doesn’t know where she is going to get the cash from for her beloved son to get the care he needs. All seems desperate for Becky, but she might just end up getting help from a most unlikely source…
Steve Parker is in Riverbend working on a very troubling case. A workaholic who has always championed the underdog, Steve has big dreams for the future and he is determined to pull out all the stops to win his local DA elections – even if he seems to be lagging behind in the pools. Romance is definitely not on the cards for a man who has always shied away from commitment, but ever since he met shy and sweet waitress Becky, he simply hasn’t been able to get her out of his mind. However, Steve cannot afford distractions of any kind. If he needs to win the election, he needs to figure out a way to appeal to voters. Should he listen to his advisers who are telling him that he would get more votes if he had a wife in tow? Or should he continue to stay firm in his resolve to remain single?

Ever since Byron’s father had broken her heart by refusing to acknowledge his son, Becky has steered clear of affairs of the heart – even if she has not been able to stop thinking about Steve Parker. Finding out that Steve is her son’s uncle is the most shocking piece of information she has received in a very long while, but the shocks just keep on coming when she hears Steve’s jaw-dropping marriage proposal!

Marriage to Steve will provide her with enough money to care for her son and theirs will be a marriage of one year that is purely for convenience’s’ sake, but the more time Steve and Becky spend together, the more they realise that there is nothing convenient about their feelings for one another! Will their practical arrangement give way to a love that will last a lifetime? Or will Steve and Becky continue to hide in the shadows and keep how they really feel about one another under wraps?

An emotional and entertaining contemporary romance that will warm readers’ hearts, Small Town, Big Secrets is a terrific page-turner about a mother’s sacrifice, forbidden attraction and falling in love when you least expect it with a wonderful heroine, a gorgeous and honorable hero and plenty of drama, humor and warmth to keep readers hooked from start to finish.

An irresistible romantic read fans of small town romances are going to love, Elsie Davis has penned a winner with Small Town, Big Secrets.

I really enjoyed this one as a cute fake lovers to real lovers story. I loved the easy chemistry that Becky and Steve have. I felt that the miscommunication at the end of the story was a little convenient as I feel that it could have been solved pretty quickly. The epilogue is sweet with a happy ending even if Beckys son is Steves brother Jack's son.

Thank you to Entangled Publishing for a copy for and honest review.

Marriage of Convenience is one of my favorite historical romance tropes but one that rarely works for me in contemporary. This one works, not so much because of circumstances but due to the characters themselves. Becky's sweet little boy needs surgery and she is truly out of options. She's a good mom, raising her son on her own and doing the best she can while also helping her mother and younger sister. Then there's Steve who is being pressured by his campaign manager to present a happily married candidate to voters in order to win the election he needs to help underserved mothers. He really is a good guy, with his heart, and priorities, in the right place.

I enjoyed Becky and Steve. The chemistry between them is immediately apparent, and I found myself rooting for them from the get-go, but what I most enjoyed was the solid friendship they formed before allowing deeper feelings to enter the picture. Steve's relationship with Byron, Becky's young son is so sweet. I loved that he fell just as hard for Byron as he did for his mom. But, there are some significant obstacles in their path to happiness.

I appreciated that the author didn't make this a triangle story and instead focused on the primary couple. From the beginning, Steve was on Becky's side, even after he discovered the secret she's been forced to keep. I loved how he stood up for her, and with her, even when she made it difficult to do so, and how they discovered, together, what was most important in their lives.

One aspect of the story that I had a hard time believing was the change of attitude from Steve's family in the Epilogue. I can understand the author wanting to tie everything up with a nice, happily-ever-after bow but to ask me to believe the abrupt turnaround from people who were truly horrible throughout most of the book was a stretch. That aside, however, I finished the book confident that Steve, Becky, and their family were headed for a life of love, happiness, and no secrets, in their small town.