I really enjoyed Her Secret Life. I thought the characters were very well developed and each had their own unique story and personality. I particularly enjoyed how two sisters may have been at the same event, but had completely different experiences in what they remembered. That seems to be the case in my life with siblings as well.

The plot of the book was predictable. I don't know if it was supposed to be that obvious of their mother's life, but I picked up on it right away. I don't think this took away anything from the book, but there definitely was no mystery for me.

Her Secret Life wasn't necessarily memorable for me. It sort of plateaued for me, but I do feel that this book would appeal to anyone who loves to read about family dynamics. I would give this read 3.5 stars just because I wasn't yearning to listen to it. I do think my sister and some of my friends love this, and I have already told them to put this on their To Read list.

I would love to read more by this author since I think she does do such a great job when her characters.

The narration was wonderful and easy to listen to and follow.

Based on the cover and the description I thought this was going to be more of a mystery/thriller. It definitely is not. This was a nice story and had great character development but this is not typically my kind of book so it is hard for me to give it a fair rating. If you are looking for a gripping mystery this isn't it. But if you are looking for an interesting family drama about reunited family, family struggles, and starting over, this may be for you. I really think that readers that are more into Women's fiction will enjoy this very much so I will give it 4 stars.
Thank you NetGalley and Anna E. Collins for allowing me to listen to an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

A year after the death of her husband, Leah returns to her hometown to try reconnect with her mother, only to find out she is too late, her mother is dead. Leah and her two sisters, Allison a successful realtor and Jillian an equally successful pilot, must work together to settle their mother’s estate after her death.

Told through the viewpoint of the three sisters, this story covers the current lives of the three sisters, their childhoods and the different relationships each had with their mother. Will the time spent together and the secrets they discover bring them closer or push them further apart?

From the description I was waiting for a mystery to unfold or a twist to take place but that was not the case, instead this was a beautiful story of family, love and grief. While not my usual read I really enjoyed it and found myself invested in the characters and was anxious to see how their storylines played out.
I highly recommend this book,

I love how the sisters relationship changed after the funeral. I knew Alison perspective was going to be the hardest to change. Jill's story is a little heart broken because she felt her mother could have had a better life if she wasn't born. Leah is the one that held everyone together. I will love to see a book with Leah and Andrew. This is a good book to read.

I really did enjoy this story. I liked the concept, the narration, everything… except I spent the first few chapters convinced I had seen it on the tv and yet I knew I couldn’t have. I soon tracked down the show in question. It was a UK mini series called Maryland. Ok, the stories do diverge but the beginnings were so similar that I was convinced I knew the ending. I didn’t. If you didn’t watch Maryland you will love this. If you did it may grate.

Thank you Netgalley, Anna E. Collins, and Bookouture Audio for the advanced audiobook! A great audiobook listen with narrator Laurel Lefkow. I enjoyed this story and all the heartache and drama it brought along. The story was woven perfectly and I was left satisfied with the outcome!

Her Secret Life by Anna E. Collins immediately pulled me in with the death of Leah's husband, Neil, and what's uncovered. However, it abruptly slowed down and I couldn't get back into it until I found Allison to relate to. It didn't help that I figured out the secret(s) well before we're meant to. I do appreciate that each sister is distinct in her personality and characteristics, but that also lead me to never warming to Jillian and how sanctimonious she is about her parents.

I didn't like Laurel Lefkow as the narrator. The sisters are 37-42, but she sounds much older than that. No one has a distinct voice, which makes it more difficult to follow along. Anna does start each chapter identifying the current POV, which helps, but I had to rewind more than once to keep up with the story. Also, like the sisters, I am from Washington State. No one here calls University of Washington U-Double-U, it's U-Dub. There are many other mispronunciations that distract from the book.

I rate Her Secret Life 4 stars because I like the story and love the message and family relationships. I deducted a star because some parts dragged on and the narrator wasn't my favorite.

Thank you to Bookouture Audio for providing me with an ALC.

Three estranged sisters return to the Pacific Northwest after learning about their mother’s unexpected death. They mend their broken fences while trying to balance their personal lives and what to do with their mother’s estate. While sorting through their mother’s things they begin to wonder if they truly knew her at all.

This was a nice change of pace from my usual reads. I enjoyed the characters and loved seeing them overcome their differences. I really liked to see Leah as she developed more strength and confidence in herself. The narrator was easy to listen to but a bit slow for me. I was able to speed up the audio and understood it fine. This was a good read, and I would recommend it.

Thank you @NetGalley, #AnnaECollins, and #BookcoutureAudio for the opportunity to listen to this advanced copy for an honest review!

Love, loss, sisterhood and self-discovery paired with strong female roles make Her Secret Life a book for all women! I laughed and was frustrated and shed tears with the sisters in this book. With each turn of the page I was more emotionally invested and couldn't wait to see where the story would take me.

This wasn’t what I expected but I thoroughly enjoyed it. An amazing family story. I did find the narration a bit robotic at times though.

When their mother passes away three sisters begin to uncover secrets about their distant mother. I thought this would be a bit more of a thriller but it was more of a family drama

Book Her Secret Life
Author: Anna E. Collins
Narrator: Laurel Lefkow
Publisher: Bookouture Audio
Genre: Women’s Fiction
Pub Date: January 31, 2024
My Rating: 3 Stars
Pages: 358

Story is told from the POV of three sisters:
Leah, Alison and Jillian.
The cover got my attention with ~
A Mother’s lie
Her daughters’ inheritance
A house full of secrets…

Leah the protagonist decides to finally make peace with her mum, she arrives at her childhood home too late, as her mum has been found dead.
Now Leah has to deal with her sister whom she rarely sees or communicated with.

She stays at her childhood home to get it ready for sale she has nothing to go home for as her husband died and her daughter Hannah has gone travelling with her boyfriend.
Story had me curious but I struggled a bit with how slow it was; plus I wasn’t connected with the sisters. They seemed to have a limited vocabulary with more profanity that I like. (I have a low tolerance and hearing nasty language via an audiobook always makes it worst!)

I hung in there and it did get better ~ I liked the ending

Want to thank NetGalley and Bookouture Audio for this early Audiobook.
Publishing Release Date scheduled for January 31, 2024.

Great mystery. Well written and expertly narrated

Thank you to NetGalley and the Publisher for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

First I want to say this book doesn't have a shocking twist, or a dramatic OMG moment. You will figure things out before the characters do and that is okay. This book is truly about how much Domestic Violence can effect the victim, as well as children & other family members, how the mind can just skip over memories that cause you trauma. & how much unspoken sadness, regrets, & desperation can alter your entire life.

When their mom suddenly passes away suspiciously, three sisters begin searching for answers, quickly realizing they didn't really know their mother.. As they start to understand the past they have a new understanding of the present. Now looking forward to the future and healing from their past, and their fears.

Three POVs - ( Allison - Married, Realtor. ) ( Leah - Widow, Mom, Librarian. ) ( Jillian - Single, Pilot. )

I also want to add that all domestic violence is off page.

Thanks to NetGalley and Bookouture Audio for the advance audiobook of Her Secret Life.

Her Secret Life
By: Anna E. Collins
Narrated by: Laurel Lefkow
Bookouture Audio
Release date: 01-31-24

This book is based around 3 sisters and their mother. It’s full of secrets and lies that was told all across the years. The sisters don’t talk to each other that much, but when their mother is found dead in the lake beside her house they come together. They help each other in grief and rekindle their relationship.

A lovely book which brings family together,

I listened to the audiobook and found the narrator easy to follow, she had good accents for each of the sisters. Each chapter was prompted well.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for a copy.

Thanks to NetGalley for the free audiobook in exchange for my honest review. I honestly think I would have enjoyed reading this book much more than the audio version. It is narrated by Laurel Lefkow who I did not find captivating in the least, some of that is not her fault.

Pros:
The storyline and characters were interesting and I enjoyed the ins and outs of the sibling relationship as they learned more about one another as well as the past issues with their mom. Allison was not a favorite but there's always one who's unrelatable.

Cons:
The story is from the POV of 3 sisters after the death of their mother. In the audiobook it is very hard to distinguish which character is speaking so the story is somewhat hard to follow at times. Add to that the narrators monotonous tone and it was hard to push through.

It is described as a gripping thriller and that is not what I found it to be. It actually wasn't a thriller at all, more of a women's fiction describing the relationship of 3 sisters and a mother with many secrets they found after her passing. None of it was gripping or thrilling.

Overall, it was a good book but I do think the print copy would have been more to my liking. I do enjoy audiobooks but this one was not a favorite. I do think people who read this expecting twists and turns and any type of mystery will be disappointed as that's not how it felt to me.
#netgalley#Hersecretlife

This is a wonderful examination of the lives of women. I loved the narration! It wasn't so mush a thriller or a mystery though.

Full of love, loss. Family drama & mystery. Pretty great read. Look forward to reading more from this author.

A good old family saga with three delightful sisters all with their problems and issues and a dead mum who has left a lot of unanswered questions
I enjoyed it despite it not being my favourite kind of story and whilst a bit too twee in a lot of parts it covered I retesting topics too.

This was an enjoyable story, but completely different to what I was expecting from the description, “gripping” and “the most shocking of secrets”. I thought it was going to be more of a domestic thriller, but actually it wasn’t that at all. It was interesting though, with three sisters who were very different and had drifted apart for a variety of reasons, brought back together when their mother is found dead.

The dynamic between them and the reasons for it that emerged were sad and just shows that you really don’t know what goes on behind closed doors.

The mother’s secret was portrayed as a huge deal and without giving a spoiler, all I can say is that we’re not in the 1920s and so I actually didn’t think it was that shocking at all!

2.5/3 ⭐️ Thanks to Netgalley, Anna E. Collins and Bookouture, for an ARC in return for an honest review.