The Secret Path
4/5 ⭐️

Thank you @netgalley and #publishersgroupcanada for this e-ARC! This one was released May 3 here in Canada. I’m so slow on my reviews lately, if you’re in Australia, I’m right on time because it’s being released this week 😂 So for those who haven’t yet, run don’t walk, this is an excellent summer read!

She only got one star knocked off due to it being very descriptive at times that I didn’t I always find to be necessary.

What would you do if you found the love of your life and lost them? Twice. This by description seems like a basic love story but factor in excessive amounts of wealth, the Costa Rican rainforest and a kidnapping, and it is anything but!

I have always wanted to go to Costa Rica and this book has now moved it to higher priority.

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Thank you to NetGalley, the publishing house and the author for the opportunity to read an advance reader copy of this book in return for a review based upon my honest opinion.

This book was a wonderful escape into the jungles of Costa Rica. In a time when travel
Is not possible, reading a book that swept me away to the mystical rainforests was absorbing. I loved Tara’s story, I was caught up in her tale following her from the depths of despair to the top of her field to the jungles loved from her childhood.

I have to say when I started reading I initially didn’t really care for the story, I found it bland. The beginning of the book is in 2011 and I found it a tad irritating but as I read I realized it was just the back story to the good part ten years later. I liked the present part a lot and enjoyed the dynamics between the characters. Great ending as well.

I love how Karen’s endings always answer the burning questions you have while reading her novels. She is the queen of mystery and intrigue and this new book doesn’t disappoint. There is almost always something I couldn’t have ever predicted.
These details she puts into her writing make me an addict for her new releases and I have to keep coming back for more and more.

She also tends to touch on controversial topics and she does this with such grace. This specific instance she compares modern medicine with the holistic herbal approach.
She does all this while also pulling on my heartstrings and teaching me important lessons on eco tourism and sustainability. She is the whole package, and I can not rave about Swans books enough.

Thank you Pan Macmillan for a copy of this book. All thoughts are my own.

I am a huge fan of Karen Swan. I buy all her books and tend to read them right when they are released. I don’t even read the blurbs anymore-I see her name and know that I will enjoy the book. I think I know what to expect. Many have a dual timeline, one in the present and one in the past. There will be a romance and after some drama there will be a HEA (Happily ever after) ending. Her books are set all around the world and her evocative writing takes me to that place as if I am actually there. During this time when we can’t travel books are my only way to visit these destinations. “The Secret Path” promised a Costa Rica setting which coming out of a long Canadian winter sounds just about perfect.

Although this book included many of the expected elements it also really surprised me. There was no real historical timeline, just the story of one woman in her student years then again ten years later. Reading of her youth and the doomed love affair I was hoping very strongly that the endgame romance wasn’t going to be with the same dreadful man from her student days. He did her wrong in a way that I would never forgive, and I really didn’t want them to end up together. Sadly, my fears were realized, and he was the love interest for the rest of the story. There was a HEA ending but I admit that I never could get on board with their relationship, and it left me feeling a bit uneasy and not fully satisfied.

Luckily, the plot was not all about the romance. I was shocked to see this was more of an adventure/survival story than exclusively a romance. All the danger made it quite suspenseful and although some of it was over the top it kept me reading to see what crazy situation Tara would end up in next. There was everything from car chases to runaway boats going over waterfalls to the threat of jaguars. The trouble for Tara was never ending and her survival was often unbelievable, but I don’t expect fiction to always be realistic. I feel like this was quite a departure for Swan. I haven’t read some of her early books, but I think this is a new direction. I admit that I missed the historical aspect as that is usually my favourite part of her books, but it was interesting to see her do something different.

Thank you to Pan Macmillan for providing an Electronic Advance Reader Copy via NetGalley for review.

When I’m not writing those wonderful reviews of mine I work in a hospital. I have been at it for quite some time now: thirty plus years. And when I’m not working, I read a lot. That is, I used to read a lot. Because all my time is now spent taking care of sick people, thanks mostly to that damned global pandemic of ours. Anyway, to make a long story short, I barely read nowadays and when I do I invest on authors that I love. Case in point: Karen Swan.


I have been following her career for quite some time. Though I have yet to read her entire back list, I always enjoy her stories of beautiful people and the gorgeous locations she puts them in. Her latest, THE SECRET PATH (Paperbacks available now in Canada from Macmillan), follows that same recipe to a T, but contrary to her other novels, it has failed to capture me totally. No fault to her, I must say. It’s just that I prefer not to read about anything involving medicine and such. Yes, I should have glanced at the synopsis before requesting the novel on NetGalley. Color me crazy, but I just prefer avoiding reading any summery when it involves a fave author of mine. So forgive me Ms. Swan if I’m not that keen over your latest. I’m sure you understand where I’m coming from and I’m also sure that other readers will enjoy it better than I did. But I promise to be back when the itch beckons again which will probably happen in the next months or so since I have the holiday novel with your name on it to look forward to.

Karen Swan is an auto-read author for me. So much so that I didn’t even read the description of her latest, The Secret Path, before requesting it! I know I will always enjoy the travels she takes me on through her writing and the story will be heartfelt and enjoyable. I really liked seeing Costa Rica in this novel but the actual story didn’t thrill me quite as much as I’d hoped.

Here’s the book’s description:
Every step leads me back to you.
At just twenty years old, Tara Tremain has everything: a trainee doctor, engaged to the man of her dreams—a passionate American biology student called Alex Carter. But just when life seems perfect, Alex betrays her in the worst way possible.
Ten years later, she's moved on, with a successful career, good friends and a man who loves her. But when she's pulled back into her wealthy family's orbit for an unmissable party in the heart of Costa Rica, she finds herself flung into crisis: a child is desperately ill and the only remedy is several days' trek into the heart of the jungle.

There's only one person who can help—but it's the man who shattered her heart a decade before. And how can she trust him, of all people?

It might have been because I wasn’t really sure what kind of story I was going to be getting into and because I was reading an e-galley (and couldn't check how many pages it lasted), but I found myself wishing the 2011 storyline would hurry itself up. Which is quite silly because it was really enjoyable! I knew it was leading up to Something Big, though, and I found I just wanted to know what that was already. I also couldn’t help but wonder if some of the things mentioned in that timeline (an Airbnb in the countryside or American true crime documentaries streaming on Netflix) really would have been things in London in 2011. I know both Airbnb and Netflix were around back then but it just smacked of Now-ness that it brought me out of the storyline a bit.

I’ve appreciated Swan’s stories even more in the last year (this is the third of hers I’ve read in 13 months) than usual because she always sets her novels in far flung places. Or, if they’re not that far flung, they’re at least flung enough that I’ve never been to them myself (that’s not too hard, I haven’t traveled a ton). Her books have been set in places like London (where she lives), the Scottish Highlands, Paris, the Netherlands, Greece, Banff, Norway, and, in this latest story, Costa Rica. Tara talks often about the Instagram worthy scenes she sees (a bit often, to be honest. It’s gorgeous but influencers are too surface level, I get it). She’s seeing a lot more of the country than she ever had before plus she hadn’t even been back to her family’s cabins in over a decade. The reader gets to “see” all the sights right alongside with her and I could almost feel the oppressive heat and humidity as she trekked through the jungle and hear the waves on the beach as she and her friends relaxed (before all hell broke loose, of course). It was a really nice escape, especially after a week that saw my province impose even more lockdown restrictions to try to curb the spread of COVID-19.

I liked Tara and I was impressed at how she tries not to let her father’s immense wealth get in the way of having a normal life. She has to work extremely hard for it to be that way, of course, but she was always determined to become a doctor and do a lot of good with the opportunities her family’s money provides her with. It was incredibly honourable and it made me really like her. Alex, on the other hand, didn’t seem right for her and I’m not sure I would have acted in the same way as Tara had I been in her shoes. I’m not totally thrilled with how the relationship ended up but if it makes them happy, then I suppose I should be happy for them too. It’s kinda strange how committed we get to these fictional characters and how we feel we know what’s best for them sometimes!

Ultimately, The Secret Path let me down. It is not a bad book and I think Karen Swan’s latest suffered simply from my high expectations. There was too much going on and I didn’t love how the Happily Ever After worked itself out. I know not all of hers will knock it out of the park and it won’t stop me from reading her next book, which will come out near the Christmas season. I wonder where she’ll take us next?!

*An egalley of this novel was provided by the Canadian distributor, PGC Books, via NetGalley in exchange for review consideration. All opinions are honest and my own.*

The Secret Path deserves far more than five stars! Having read every book written by Karen Swan, I feel that this one is her best yet. It contains every emotion; from sweet romance, to heartbreak, elation, terror, and pure love. Alex and Tara are fated from the beginning; a love story set in the stars but lived here on earth. I loved the descriptions of both London and Costa Rica; the city-scapes and hectic lifestyle, contrasted with the lush jungle and spirituality. This novel is one to be savoured and enjoyed more than once.

Thank you to Netgalley, Karen Swan and Pan MacMillan for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!!!!

Wow! Wow! Wow! Karen Swan has done it again! Like wine, Swans writing gets better with more books! Her last two have been my absolute favourite and the issues she is discussing are important and she treats them with such dignity and respect.

The characters in this book are wonderful (well, not all of them, but the bad ones are written SO WELL!) I felt a connection to Tara and feel there are aspects to this character that encompass so many parts of different women. I also love her her bestie and while she can be blunt and to the point, she can easily wade through all the crap. Even the characters we love to hate carry aspects of those who have made a seemingly selfish decision for some right reasons? The character in mind is a complex mix of good and not so good, yet has a big heart. And of course we cannot forget the Indigenous characters in this book. Their beliefs, their way of life, the sacrifices they make on the daily - they make us look like utter wimps and are a great reminder that not all of us have it so bad.

The setting. THE SETTING!!!!! First of all, I love London. I have yet to get there thanks to covid, but that city holds a special place in my heart and I love all books set there. And Costa Rica. It reminded me of some hopes and dreams I had that got buried in a drawer and now want to see the light of day again.

My heart fell so in love with this book. I will absolutely be purchasing a copy for my shelf and envision myself reading it again and again. I HIGHLY recommend this one and please let me know if you read it!!!!

The Secret Path is an adventure with some romance thrown in. Set in Costa Rica, Dr. Tara Tremain is set on helping out an employee's sick son.This sets off a series of events in the jungle that keep you racing to the end!
Thanks to Netgalley for an ARC in exchange for my honst review.

Known for her evocative locations and deep complicated love stories with twisting plots, Karen Swan has written a masterpiece that kept me spellbound for hours! In “The Secret Path,” Swan transports us to the deep, dark jungle in Costa Rica where a doctor and a botanist are forced to face their past in order to save a little boy and, ultimately, themselves. This is one adventure you will NOT want to miss.

Dr. Tara Tremain and her cardiologist boyfriend, Rory Hutchings, are heading to Costa Rica for an important family celebration. Exhausted from the demands of their job, they’re both looking forward to some down time together. Unfortunately, life has other plans for them. When Tara hears that one of her dad’s employees has a sick son, she offers to see if she can help him and heads off for a day’s journey into the dense jungle. After a random attack, Tara’s guide needs medical attention. When she finally manages to get him to the ranger’s hut, she can’t believe her eyes. The last person she expects to come to her rescue is someone she didn’t ever think she’d see again. After he broke her heart ten years ago, can she risk it all to let him save her?

This was 75% adventure, 20% family drama, and 5% romance. The perfect mix for a reader who hates cheesy romance. I’ve been in the jungle in Costa Rica, seen the capuchin monkeys and scarlet macaws, and Swan instantly whisked me back there with her descriptive writing. At a time when travel is restricted, this was a welcome armchair travel. I loved the twists and turns in the plot increasing my heart rate and reading pace. This is a SPECTACULAR read and one I won't forget easily.

Publishes May 3, 2021.

Thank you to Karen Swan, Pan Macmillan and NetGalley for a spectacular advance copy in exchange for my honest review.