I listened to the audiobook for this title and the narrator did a great job. The story follows Kate Furniss who has been working as a housekeeper for Coldwell Hall, she is hiding and works to maintain her secrets and professionalism at all costs. In the Summer of 1911, a young man named Jem Arden mysteriously shows up casually claiming the new footman position. The minute he shows up, Kate can feel her mask slipping. This beautiful story alternates non-linear timelines from the Edwardian Age to the trenches of WWI. The methodical writing of this story was incredibly creative! I enjoyed the war trope, the forbidden romance arc, the hidden secrets, the fight for survival, the non-linear timeline, and the hunger for vengeance. This work of Historical Fiction/Romance/Mystery/Thriller is a great read. I enjoyed the writing of. Iona Gray and look forward to reading some of her other books. I would definitely recommend this book to lovers of historical fiction and mystery.
Rating 4.5

Thank you, NetGalley, for the chance to preview this audiobook!

I received an early copy of this book and this was my first experience with the author. The audio production did a great job and it was easy to listen to. With that said, this work was out of my norm as far as genres and I had a difficult time becoming invested in the story and characters

I really enjoyed the historical fiction aspects of this book. A lot of research was put into it - although some of the information does not seem relevant to the actual story. The romance was cute and I thought added to the storyline. I felt that the mystery portion just became too much. I felt that there were too many storylines which made it hard to become invested as it felt that none of them were developed and detailed enough. The descriptions of the locations, people and sciences was done incredibly. I felt as if I was in the book at times. There was an alternating timeline, which although well done, did not seem necessary to the story. Overall I enjoyed this book - and definitely recommend for anyone interested in historical fiction, downtown abbey feels.

Thank you NetGalley for my advanced reader copy.

Thank you so much to Macmillan Audio, lona Grey and NetGalley for the opportunity to listen to this audiobook. First and above all else, the voice talent was perfect, absolutely perfect.
It did take me a little while to get into the plot and the storyline jumps here but I really enjoyed this book. It felt like a mashup of Downton Abbey with a touch of Outlander and with that vibe, how can you possibly go wrong?!

I loved this historical fiction story mixed with some romance and mystery - perfect combination. You definitely find yourself living the everyday life of all the characters. I love a war trope with the forbidden romance angle - the characters were developed so well. I was definitely entertained. At times the dual timelines confused me but I was able to still enjoy everything. Thank you to NETGALLEY and the publishers for this audiobook in exchange for my honest opinion.

This story had a little bit of everything with suspense, mystery, romance, and historical fiction. There were parts that were slow for me and not as focused on the main plot, but the romance, but I grew to enjoy those parts. I liked the house staff perspective so it was not as much based on WWII, but on the house staff experiences.

While this is tagged historical fiction it is more from the manor house staff perspective, not WWI in the trenches. Lovely story. Excellent character building. Little bit of romance. Move a bit slow. I enjoyed the narrator.

Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC. This author is becoming a favorite of mine. This book was fantastic and fast paced. My heart is still racing. I loved it.

This author is a master of historical fiction, while she hasn't written many to date each is beautifully written. I think it's because they feel like she is sharing a story that has been passed down and cherished. Love that this one is a different spin to it than many books written in the same time period. There were times it was hard to do the audio (but to be fair I don't usually like historical fiction as audio books, I like to hold them in my hands), but speeding it up a little helped. That being said, I plan to actually read the hard copy of this now too as I feel like I missed some things that make it so much fuller while listening. But that wasn't a story line problem, it was my listening skills issue. I recommend this author and book to all historical fiction fans- you will want all of her books.

Macmillan Audio ALC
I still remember where I was when I read The Glittering Hour, so I was so excited to see that she had written another one. This book is heartbreaking and tender. The comp to Downton Abbey is accurate. I loved how the author created the dual timelines here - between 1911 and the trenches of WWI. It created such a compelling story and mystery. I loved the character of Kate and how the reader is slowly introduced to her. I also liked how Jem's parts had a male narrator, which captured the war in such brutally honest ways. I think this book brilliantly explored how secrets and power between house staff created such intricate dynamics. I was invested in Kate's secret, Jem's secret, and the other secrets present and how they weaved together to create this compelling story. The narrators are British, which added such depth to the characters. The performances were excellent.

I was so excited for this book as a newcomer to historical fiction of romance and mystery. I mainly read mystery/thriller books, so diving into this was somewhat treading new waters. I must admit that my love of Downtown Abbey drew me into this and the promise mystery reeled me in. Unfortunately, only the historical parts were interesting and not the romance or mystery parts.

I enjoyed reading the daily challenges of the characters, the social trysts they had to endure. That was the historical parts that made the book interesting. Everything else that was supposed to stir the waters didn't really pack a punch, as I wasn't really pulled into what would happen and what had happened to catapult any other events. I almost preferred just to read the historical facts during that time and what the upstairs and downstairs of these characters went through and that would be it.

Most of it was because there were sooo many characters that it was difficult to keep up. If it were centralized to just Kate and Jem and the occasional facts about Coldwell Hall, it would have deepen the entire book so much better. But it was littered with all the extras that didn't make this book so mysterious.. This became meh for me,

Thank you to NetGalley and St Martin's Press and MacMillan Audio for an audio copy of this book. All opinions are my own.

🎧audio review:
I have to admit I was lost most of the first half of this audio book. I had a hard time keeping the characters straight and it moved very slowly. However the second half picked up and I was able to get invested in the characters and pick up the plot. It was a solid second half and I was able to enjoy the way the author wrapped up the whole plot line.

Duty, desire, and deception reside under one roof.

I throughly enjoyed Iona Grey’s new novel, The Housekeeper’s Secret. Told in alternating timelines from 1911 and 1916, the story is full of secrets, mystery, romance, and murder.

As the title implies, the story is primarily told by Kate, the housekeeper at Coldwell Hall. Kate has come to Coldwell to escape her past. It’s there that she eventually meets Jem, a footman with a mysterious past of his own. As they embark upon a forbidden romance, the mysteries of Coldwell Hall, and of their pasts, are slowly revealed.

With a full cast of “downstairs” characters, it gave off some Downton Abbey vibes. All of the characters and their stories were well developed and the time-period felt authentic.

Thank you for the ALC. The narrator did a wonderful job bringing each character to life.

Kate Furniss is the housekeeper of Coldwell Hall. This is the perfect hiding place for her. She is running from an abusive husband.

Then there is the footman, Jem Arden. He is at Coldwell Hall to find out what happened to his brother. His brother has been missing and he went missing from Coldwell Hall.

I enjoyed the mystery surrounding these two characters. And when their love blooms…it just might find them in a mess. Jem is strong and he protects Kate to the best of his ability. Kate is also tough, tougher than she knows. But will their strength protect them??

Boy this book is long! Longer than it needed to be. It just moved so slow. But the author created enough mystery surrounding the two main characters that I kept with it. I have only read one other novel by this author The Glittering Hour. And apparently I had the same thoughts about that novel.

I do believe the narrators, Raphael Corkhill; Shakira Shute, were another reason I kept listening to this book. They were truly fantastic.

I received this novel from the publisher for a honest review.

Thank you St. Martin’s Press for the #gifted ARC and thank you Macmillan Audio for the #gifted ALC of The Housekeeper’s Secret! #MacAudio2024 #TheHousekeepersSecret #IonaGrey #stmartinspress

𝐓𝐢𝐭𝐥𝐞: 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐇𝐨𝐮𝐬𝐞𝐤𝐞𝐞𝐩𝐞𝐫’𝐬 𝐒𝐞𝐜𝐫𝐞𝐭
𝐀𝐮𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐫: 𝐈𝐨𝐧𝐚 𝐆𝐫𝐞𝐲
𝐍𝐚𝐫𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐬: 𝐒𝐡𝐚𝐤𝐢𝐫𝐚 𝐒𝐡𝐮𝐭𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐑𝐚𝐩𝐡𝐚𝐞𝐥 𝐂𝐨𝐫𝐤𝐡𝐢𝐥𝐥
𝐏𝐮𝐛 𝐃𝐚𝐭𝐞: 𝐀𝐮𝐠𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝟏𝟑, 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟒

This book reminded me a lot of Downton Abbey, where the lives of the staff intersected with their upper-class employers. There were secrets and lies and forbidden romance. I had really high hopes because I loved Downton Abbey. However, this one did not work for me. I had a really hard time keeping up with the different characters and the alternating timelines. I think the intentions were great and I really wish this one would have worked better for me, but I just could not get into it. I do not listen to a lot of historical romance, so if you gravitate towards this genre, maybe you will love this one.

I listened to the audiobook, and I did enjoy the narrators. I think they were perfect and really did a great job bringing the characters to life. This was my first time listening to Shakira Shute and Raphael Corkhill and would definitely listen to an audiobook narrated by either of them in the future!

Posted on Goodreads on August 11, 2024: https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/144922955?ref=nav_profile_l
**Posted on Instagram - Full Review- on or around August 11, 2024: http://www.instagram.com/nobookmark_noproblem
**-will post on designated date

I loved these narrators. I think they made this story come to life so well. Kept me listening all the way through. I enjoyed this book more because of the narrators.
This was a very interesting book for me. I've not read many at all set in this time period. From Edwardian Age to the trenches of WWI. Set in the moors of Northern England, Coldwell Hall. A story told from the servants POVs.

Kate is determined to keep the secrets of Caldwell Hall in. She's also determined to keep her own secrets hidden. And yes she has a few. One that could hurt her. But she is very good at her job and does all she can to keep things running smoothly. Then she meets Jem and things take a turn. Is it love? Or something else?

Jem has secrets of his own. He came to Caldwell Hall for reasons of his own and did not intend to fall for anyone much less the head housekeeper.

Told from different timelines and different prospectives this story will hold your interest once it gets going. I have to admit that it was a bit slow starting for me but it didn't take to long to get there. To get the main characters. It's fairly easy to follow and the flow is pretty good. There are some things that tended to interfere with the flow but it can be overlooked in part. At least I managed.

This book was a new subject matter for me. Being about the servants instead of the rich homeowner. All that they do each day and the secrets that they all tend to have. I think this author did a good job of getting things right. Well researched. Read the Acknowledgments for more info.

I enjoyed this book.

Thank you #NetGalley, #MacmillanAudio, for this ARC. This is my own true thoughts about this book.

Four stars.

🎧🎧 Book Review 🎧🎧 A sweeping journey back to the Edwardian era of England. Told over the span of near a decade from 1911 to 1919, The Housekeeper’s Secret is an absolutely rich and immersive dive into the world of the wealthy and those who cater to their every need and want. Desperation, while for varying intentions, seems to be the one thing that connects those from all walks of life. Hope for a better future helps Kate and Jem forward but can they truly leave the past in the past? In a world changing so fast with inventions and on the brink of war, their own lives mirror this uncertainty. This absolutely beautifully written, gripping novel is a poignant reminder that while the world was such a different place a century ago, humanity has remained the same and that through the darkness, there is beauty and light.

Review is on Goodreads and will be on instagram and Amazon on publication date.

I could not finish this book. I made it about half way but I was confused for most of it about who was who and could figure out where this book was going.

Well written story, however I found it hard to keep track of all the characters and their importance and relationships with each other throughout the audiobook. I probably wouldn’t have had such an issue with this if I was reading the text. If you like romance books set in the early 1900s and like a dash of war/military and some secrets, you’d enjoy this book!

The Housekeepers Secret
By: Iona Grey
Pub Date: August 13, 2024
Publisher: St. Martins Press

4⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

1900s in England.

A sweeping novel with the servants POV. Secrets, mystery, love and intrigue.

Kate is the housekeeper and she knows about the goings on in the manor and the secrets. She does not want this secrets to get out.

The challenges of the servants at the time were well historical accurate. I admit I don’t know much about that time period, but this novel was very detailed and interesting.

Thank you for the advanced audio.