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The Secret Sister
The Secret Sister
The Secret Sister
Audiobook10 hours

The Secret Sister

Written by Brenda Novak

Narrated by Carly Robins

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

4/5

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About this audiobook

After a painful divorce, Maisey Lazarow returns to Fairham, the small island off the North Carolina coast where she grew up. She goes there to heal-and to help her brother, Keith, a deeply troubled man who's asked her to come home. But she refuses to stay in the family house. The last person she wants to see is her wealthy, controlling mother.

Instead, she finds herself living next door to someone else she'd prefer to avoid-Rafe Romero, the wild, reckless boy to whom she lost her virginity at sixteen. He's back on the island, and to her surprise, he's raising a young daughter alone.

Then something even more disturbing happens. She discovers a box of photographs that evoke distant memories of a little girl, a child Keith remembers, too. Maisey believes the girl must've been their sister, but their mother claims there was no sister. Maisey's convinced that child existed. So where is she now?
LanguageEnglish
Release dateJul 28, 2015
ISBN9781494581466
Author

Brenda Novak

New York Times bestselling author Brenda Novak has written over 60 novels. An eight-time Rita nominee, she's won The National Reader's Choice, The Bookseller's Best and other awards. She runs Brenda Novak for the Cure, a charity that has raised more than $2.5 million for diabetes research (her youngest son has this disease). She considers herself lucky to be a mother of five and married to the love of her life. www.brendanovak.com

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Reviews for The Secret Sister

Rating: 4.041095890410959 out of 5 stars
4/5

73 ratings12 reviews

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  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    That ending was great did not see it coming! Great read
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Another brilliant book with plenty of complex characters and a twisted plot line. I thought I had it figured out several times, but was always wrong. Great story!
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    A well written novel with compelling characters, a hint of suspense and a truly rewarding ending. I was drawn into the story from the very first page and intrigued until the very end. The island and its quirky inhabitants are easy to envision and relate to. If you like a light mystery with hunky heros, spunky heroines, and lovable little girls, this is my recommendation for the perfect summer escape.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Brenda Novak tricked me!! Just when I thought I had it all figured out she blindsided me with a twist I didn't see coming, and it was clever. As the title suggests, there could very well have been a secret sister that protagonist, Maisey Lazarow, didn't know about. When a metal box that was keenly hidden emerges, the photographs inside incite vague memories of a girl she may have once been acquainted with. But how could that be? Keith and Maisey are the only two children of Malcolm and Josephine Lazarow. Or are they? Maisey doesn't dare broach that subject with her mother. Josephine is an odious, overbearing and austere woman who exerts her power and influence on Fairham Island, the place where Maisey grew up and has now returned to help her brother, a weak and broken soul who can't get his life together. Maisey's relationship with her mother is so shallow that she refuses to stay in the family home, Coldiron House, preferring to take up residence on the far side of the island where her family owns a number of bungalows that are in desperate need of repair. Even a crumbling cottage is better than living in the same house with her mother. But when Maisey finds out that the contractor who's been hired to do the renovations on the bungalows is none other that Rafael "Rafe" Romano, a guy she had a fling with in her younger days, and who now owns and lives in one of the bungalows nearby with his adorable young daughter, Laney, Maisey wonders how she'll be able to divert her attention away from the alluringly attractive man that her mother would never approve of for her daughter. Bad enough she's recently divorced from Jack, a man who her mother had advised her not to marry; a fact that Josephine will not let her forget. And now, finding the pictures of the young girl in that box raises many questions. Who is she, and why hadn't her parents told her and Keith about her? Why aren't there any police records about her, or small-town rumors circulating that she's heard about? Could her mother have anything to do with the child's disappearance? The implications of that thought alone are unnerving. Aside from trying to find answers to these lingering questions, she'll have to make a decision about who she wants to have in her life romantically, Jack or Rafe; straighten out her careless, irresponsible brother, revitalize her writing career, heal from a personal tragedy, and put forth her best effort to mend the rift with her mother that's been intensified by her reluctance to break things off with Rafe. The mystery/romance combination of this story really worked for me. I love mysteries, and I love romance, so when they work in tandem I'm contented. This method of storytelling also gives more space to the plot rather than the bedroom scenes. That's a plus for me because I prefer wholesome romance where heavy sexual content is non-existent. As was the case with The Secret Sister, my attention was drawn more to the mystery of the unidentified girl than it was to Rafe and Maisey's relationship drama, although I was interested in knowing if their feelings for each other would overcome any obstacles that threatened to keep them apart. In the end, I had to suspend disbelief just a bit to come to terms with the rapid progression of their love, but isn't that what enjoying fiction is all about sometimes? In conclusion, The Secret Sister was a tantalizing mystery that pulled a fast one on me, along with a romance made up of two unlikely, but very likeable adults, and secondary characters that consisted of all the traits that make for an interesting and absorbing read. I look forward to finding out more about the Lazarow family in Fairham Island book 2, The Secrets She Kept. Highly recommended.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    Maisey Lazerow is coming home to Fairham Island to help her brother, who recently attempted suicide in the despair of drug addiction. Perhaps they can help each other, because Maisey is feeling broken herself after her infant daughter died of SIDS just two years ago. As often happens when a child dies, her marriage has fallen apart. She needs to heal and hopes to heal her brother Keith.The Secret Sister is the first in a series from Brenda Novak that focuses of the children of the indomitable matriarch Josephine Lazerow, a wealthy, beauty and status-obsessed woman who has withheld love and approval from her children all their lives. Maisey has hardly spoken to her during her ten years away and remembers well how harshly she treated Keith. Maisey wonders how much of Keith’s troubles come from her mother’s failure to be a loving, warm mother.Unwilling to live at the family estate, Maisey decided to live in one of the Smuggler’s Cove rental bungalows her father built long ago. They have been damaged by a hurricane and a local contractor, Rafael Romero, is living in a bungalow, too, and repairing the others. There’s a strong mutual attraction that she resists because her failed marriage has caused her not only to lose faith in men, but in herself. She is unable to resist Rafe’s daughter, Laney, though. Her bright spirit and loving acceptance of Maisey draw her out and bring the two together despite her doubts.Meanwhile, when Rafe finds old photos in one of the bungalows, long-forgotten secrets are brought to light. Secrets her mother and her brother want left alone. Leaving things alone is not Maisey’s strong suit.3pawsI liked the character development and sense of place in the novel. Maisey, her brother and her mother are all flawed people. Rafe is a bit of the perfect romantic hero, tailor-made for this heartbroken woman who has lost a daughter, but at least he has his inept high school encounter with Maisey to balance against his romance novel hero checklist. There is a mystery about what happened when Maisey was a child, but the investigation is not very suspenseful. There is never a real sense of jeopardy to justify this as a suspense novel. It’s a romance and as a romance it succeeds better than most. As suspense, though, it falls flat.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    The Secret Sister by Brenda NovakBook starts out with Maisey and her brother Keith has summoned her to come back home to help with their mother.She arrives and will be staying at her father's bungalows, the contractor is refurbishing them after the last big storm. Nobody gets along with their mother Josephine. Maisey has also been divorced for a year and had a daughter died from SIDS but her mother always, blamed her.Raef is the one to find the box while doing carpentry work and brings it to Massey and she does recall the taller child but she's not sure who it is. Mysteries and secrets from many as she tries to patch things with her mother, help clean the bungalow and work at the family floral shop. Liked the romance, sex, helping blind child, talk of flowers, braiding hair from the book she wrote and to find out about the girl in the photo and blackmail money... I received this book from National Library Service for my BARD (Braille Audio Reading Device).
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    For me, this one started out strong but then it seemed to have lost me a little but I still liked it. Great story line, although I did guess the big mystery early on in the book.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    This is absolutely one of the best books I've read this year! The writing as was expected is spectacular and the story Ms. Novak crafted is filled with both heartwarming and heartbreaking moments. There is romance as well as mystery and intrigue and the story is so gripping you will not want to put it down.

    After surviving a hellish childhood in Fairham, Maisey Lazarow never expected to return to the small island. As her life takes a cruel turn, she finds herself back there to give herself time to heal as well as support her brother Keith in his efforts to straighten out his life. The last person she expects or wants to see is Rafe Romero. The boy, well a man now, who long ago broke her heart. As she gets to know him again, she soon realizes he is not that boy any more. When Rafe discovers a box of photographs of who he thought was Maisey as a child, memories begin to trickle back and send Maisey and Keith on a journey that will change their lives forever.

    Put this one on the MUST read list! I highly recommend it.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    Maisey Lazarow never imagined herself return to Fairham, but after the death of her infant daughter, her divorce after ten years of marriage, and her stalled writing career her options are limited. The only thing she's looking forward to doing is being there for her older brother Keith. Maisey's return opens up past hurts and then she uncovers a family secret in The Secret Sister by Brenda Novak.Maisey knows that her family is no one's definition of normal. Her mother can only be classified as cold. Her mother, Josephine Coldiron Lazarow, has been married multiple times and she feels as if she has the right to control her children's lives even though they are both in the thirties. Maisey's mother didn't approve of her ex-husband and doesn't approve of her current romantic interest, Rafe Romero. Now that Maisey is attracted to someone and trying to move on, her ex-husband decides to come back into her life and wants to start again. Maisey is also trying to uncover who the little girl is in pictures that have been hidden away for decades. The more she uncovers the more questions are raised. Does she have an older sister? What happened to her? Why won't anyone discuss her? And the bigger question, is she in love with Rafe?I found The Secret Sister to be a quick and enjoyable read. I enjoyed most of the characters, especially Maisey, Rafe, and Rafe's daughter Laney. I enjoyed reading about Maisey's quest to uncover the truth about her sister against impossible odds, including her mother's decision to kick her out of a family-owned bungalow and firing her from a family-owned business (told you she was cold). Maisey's brother Keith has mental health issues and is a drug-addict. Needless to say, his erratic behavior adds a lot to the turmoil and drama of the story. The Secret Sister offers romance, tons of family drama, intrigue due to a family secret, and a lot more. If you've enjoyed reading anything by Ms. Novak in the past, then you'll want to read The Secret Sister. If you haven't read anything by Ms. Novak, then The Secret Sister is a good place to start.
  • Rating: 2 out of 5 stars
    2/5
    THE SECRET SISTER by Brenda NovakIf you read the back of this book, you will think it is a mystery with perhaps a bit of romance thrown in. You would be wrong! This is a romance (if you consider a romance to consist of jumping into bed within 5 minutes of meeting a guy and repeating that quite often and quite explicitly) book with a very shallow, immediately solved, mystery that shows up only in the last few chapters.The characters are pretty stock. The romance is mostly just sex. The writing is grammatically correct. The mystery is a snooze. The setting sounds like a lovely place to vacation. If you want a beach book to while away a few hours, the book is okay. 2 stars out of 5 (for good grammar)
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    I have always loved Ms. Novak's romantic suspense stories and this one is no exception. What a wonderful story! This is a suspenseful mystery with romance mixed in. It is very well written with likable, well developed characters and perfectly paced. Touching and heart-warming, this novel would make a great gift or beach read. I can't wait to read the next book in the series!ARC received from the author in exchange for an honest review.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    This book was a solid five star read! It was the perfect combination of mystery and romance. At times it felt like I was watching an episode of CSI, I kept coming up with theories of what could've happened. What I loved most was that in the end, I didn't see it coming. Sometimes books can be a little predictable but not this one. The Secret Sister kept me guessing until the very end when all the loose ends came together perfectly. The conclusion was satisfying and it left me feeling really good (I was worried this might not be the case). The romance between Maisey and Rafe was lovely. I enjoyed their interactions so much and the chemistry between them was off the charts. Rafe was pretty amazing because he still had some of the bad boy in him from when he was younger -he could be flirty and confident but at the same time he also matured so much and became this truly good man. How adorable was it for him to be a single dad? Him and Laney were a perfect fit for Maisey in her current situation, like it was meant to be. They complemented each other beautifully. I highly recommend this book, I guarantee you will not be disappointed! *I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review*