I finished this book in one sitting, and just couldn't put it down! I love Ms Harte's writing, and can't wait to get my teeth into the next book. Recommended!
TB

This book was very predictable and not the usual standard from this author. The pace was also slow.
I felt that it wasn’t as good as I had expected

Really seem to have my reading mojo back at the moment, so i'm thouroghly enjoying catching up on the books i've been meaning to read for a while.
Secrets and lies felt a little different to me after reading 'The Risking it all series of books by this author.
Secrets and lies is told from the different perspectives of the two main characters. Ella and Connor. It takes us on a journey of lies, crimes and deception. Filled with tension this is a gripping read that is easy to get lost in. It seems an unusual romance between the characters, a romance that is fraught with lies. I had mixed feelings throughout this book, although i really did enjoy it, at times i wanted to scream at the characters and bang their heads together.
It felt a mixture of gritty gangland crime and romance. a tale of two halves as they say. A different yet enjoyable easy read.

This is the first book I have read by Stephanie Harte so I wasn't sure what to expect from this book as it is so different to what usually read, it's not my typical genre but it's good for the soul to venture out of the comfort zone on occasion, right?

I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed this book, I thought it would be something and it turned out to be something else completely. I had originally thought this would fall into the crime/thriller genre, but I thought it was less thriller and more gangland with the briefest nod at romance, which was interesting. I thought it was a bit of a mixed bag, at times it fell heavily in the gangland culture, with all the danger and tension you would expect and then others it was calmer with a flattering romance between Ellie and Conner and then there is drama as the two genres compete with each other.

I really enjoyed the whirlwind romance between Ellie and Conner, I thought that it was slightly overshadowed by the rest of the story and I did have my issues with Ellie and her nativity towards Conner and his way of life, despite being sucked into it too. I would have liked her character to develop a little more and for he to open her eyes to actually see the world she was living in as we readers did.

Overall, a compelling story, but I found it a little too fussy.

This book was really good. A great storyline and good well developed characters. This book kept my interest throughout.

I was emerged in this mystery story! It.was honestly very interesting and intriguing getting Conor's side of everything. I actually liked him. And Ella she was awesome I just loved her character.
The story was my most favorite. Its well written with a great plot and ending!

This is the first book that I have read by Stephanie Hart but I really enjoyed it. The story highlighted how important issues such as how easily a person can get sucked into a relationship and lose themselves and also how the experiences from your childhood can impact your future.

If you like books written by Kimberley Chambers and Martina Cole then this is definitely up your street and is worth a read.

Highly enjoyable, thrilling and gripping from the start.
Yet another brilliant book from Stephanie Harte.

Living in a fabulously large house in London with all mod cons Conor Baxter has it all, a flash car, designer suits, exotic holidays, and a great and charming personality. But how does he make his money? He's involved in gangland crime, being the middle man that dealers turn to when they need to sell or buy drugs, working for drug barons all over the world he works alone and is his own boss. Then he walks into The Riverside tavern and immediately is met with the girl of his dreams.

Ella Dawson is 19 years old and a language student working part-time at the tavern to pay her fees.
She is immediately attracted to Conor and they start an unlikely relationship her being 19 him 29. At first, he doesn't let her into his world claiming to be an IT rep.
He wines and dines Ella treating her like a princess. Much to her parent's horror she soon moves into his luxurious home. But life with Conor isn't all Ella expected, firstly he has OCD, nothing has to be out of place and he buffs his kitchen worktops until they shine. Secondly, he keeps disappearing for days on end, and she is lonely.

This book wasn't bad, but there was a lot of repetition to it which I felt the author used to bulk out the story.
It had its twists and turns but wasn't as good as the previous book by this author.
Thank you NetGalley for allowing me to read and review this book. xx

Really enjoyed this book.So well written so involving kept me reading late into the night could not put down,Characters that come alive excellent storyline.Will be recommending the book&the wonderful author,#netgalley#aria

Secrets & Lies is a compelling London-based gangland thriller with psychological elements which begin appearing around mid-way through. 19-year-old Ella Dawson is a university student working part-time at the Riverside Tavern to financially support herself and pay her tuition fees when in swaggers Conor Baxter. Immediately they both feel the electricity in the air between them; if there really is a such thing as love at first sight then this is most definitely it. He tells her he is a supplier and seller of IT equipment but little does she know, he has ties to the local gangland underworld. He is a former enforcer for one of London’s most prominent gangs turned middleman after he got fed up with following orders and now enjoys being his own boss. He still has ambitious plans for himself that he soon will put into motion, but he knows it will mean partnering with some extremely dangerous individuals. Ella had been living a fairly normal life until she met Conor and a mere few weeks after their first encounter, and despite her being 10 years his junior, he moves her into his extravagant home much to her parent's dismay.

His job as a middleman entails sourcing and distributing cocaine for small-fry London drug lords and the money he earns goes towards lavishing Ella with meals - dining at Michelin star restaurants, opulent holidays and a wardrobe full of designer gear. He treats her like a Queen, but she is starting to question exactly what her beau does to make so much dough. Sadly, as soon the honeymoon period is over, Conor's behaviour turns from protector to a possessive, controlling and jealous boyfriend. To make matters worse, he has managed to get Ella caught up in his business negotiations with the Spanish cartel which has Ella terrified and feeling completely isolated. Can their relationship survive? This is gritty and enthralling gangland crime fiction with buckets of suspense, excitement, terror, thrills, twists and an underfire romance at its centre. The slow-burning story unfolds from the perspectives of Ella and Conor and is delivered in alternating chapters. The action never ceases and the short, snappy sections make it easy to fly through the pages.

I was excited to read this book, but it was just not for me. The chapters are written in the POV of the main characters, Ella and Conner, but they read like the ramblings in a person's diary. So much of the content is repeated over and over throughout the chapters that it took away from the plot and made the story drag on. Would not recommend.

Connor is branching out on his own from being an enforcer for the dregs of society, then he meets ella, but ella does not appear in the same social circles, can they make it work????? twists, turns, gritty gangland at its best, highley recommend

I loved this book. If you're looking for an action packed gangland thriller then this will not disappoint. I found this hard to put down and finished the book in 2 days.

Highly recommended. Thank you to Netgalley, Aria & Aries and the author for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I love the gangland genre, but unfortunately this book wasn’t for me. Connor is a 29 year old gangster who’s had a bad upbringing and trusts no one. Ella is a carefree 19 year old who is a social butterfly. Their relationship is fast paced and before she knows Ella is living with Connor and slipping into his dodgy lifestyle. The book is written in chapters looking at Ella and Connor’s point of view.

I am a big fan of UK crime fiction however this is the first book by Stephanie Harte that I have read.

Generally I enjoyed the book however I feel unsure as to what genre it wanted to be. It started off as gangland crime, then morphed into more of a psychological thriller (which is fine as the genres appear to be merging more recently) but then I felt it went more into something else that I cannot think of a way of describing without spoiling things. Having said that, as a whole, it was a totally readable, interesting book which gave the author a chance to address many subjects that we hear about and live with such as OCD, mental abuse within relationships, how an image of what appears to be an ideal life can sometimes turn out to be something completely different and how items of monetary value can sometimes sway our judgments.

Many thanks to NetGalley, Aria & Aries and the author for providing me with an electronic advanced copy of the book in return for an honest, unbiased review

A very good book quite predictable but is defiantly worth a read . Will read other books by this author as was good .

I have enjoyed reading all of Stephanie Harte books However, her latest book Secrets and Lies was good but it didn't grip me I could of put this book down and walked away. With Stephanie's other books I was gripped within the first few pages and loved them. This book I found predictable, just slow........... and a little bit boring - it need a stark to get it going. Shame though as I love her style of writing.

Thank you to Netgalley and Aria and Aries for the ARC.

Ella is a 19 year old uni student working part time in a pub living a normal life until she meets Conor who comes along and sweeps her off her feet. He has money coming out of his ears and lavishes her. But how does he make his money? What will Ella make of it all? With enough money to last a lifetime, surely they'll just live happily ever after? Romance, crime and thrills, this book has it all. Loved it!

I couldn't get into this book and didn't like the genre. I've read 'gangster' books before which have been much better written. This was written in chapters from the point of view of Ella, a student, and Conor, part of the local underworld and 10 years older than 19 year old Ella. I found a lot of it unbelievable and it didn't grab me.

Thank you to Netgalley for an ARC.