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Perfect Secrets
A quintessentially sexy anthology, including a novella, from four popular artists journeys to East Texas, Savannah, Upstate New York, and the Old West to explore the sometimes shocking and sometimes delightful romantic results of secrets, scandals, and illusions. Original.
- GenresRomanceAnthologies
371 pages, Paperback
First published August 1, 1999
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112 people want to read
About the author
Brenda Joyce
106 books1,298 followersBrenda Joyce is the bestselling author of forty-one novels and five novellas. She has won many awards, and her debut novel, Innocent Fire, won a Best Western Romance award. She has also won the highly coveted Best Historical Romance award for Splendor and Two Lifetime Achievement Awards from Romantic Times BOOKreviews. There are over 14 million copies of her novels in print and she is published in over a dozen foreign countries.
A native New Yorker, she now lives in southern Arizona with her son, dogs, and her Arabian and half-Arabian reining horses. Brenda divides her time between her twin passions—writing powerful love stories and competing with her horses at regional and national levels. For more information about Brenda and her upcoming novels, please visit her Web sites: www.brendajoyce.com, www.thedewarennedynasty.com and http://mastersoftimebooks.com.
A native New Yorker, she now lives in southern Arizona with her son, dogs, and her Arabian and half-Arabian reining horses. Brenda divides her time between her twin passions—writing powerful love stories and competing with her horses at regional and national levels. For more information about Brenda and her upcoming novels, please visit her Web sites: www.brendajoyce.com, www.thedewarennedynasty.com and http://mastersoftimebooks.com.
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
June 13, 2020
I picked up this romance anthology to read "Across a Crowded Room" by Judith O'Brien.
Nicole Lovett's new job has led her to Savannah, Georgia, where she works for a small TV station and moves into her late Aunt Adele's house. When a new position opens up at work, Nicole is sure she will get the job. Instead it is given to Martha Cox, a former Miss Georgia and Nicole's high school nemesis. When Martha arrives in Savannah she visits Nicole and unknowingly eats a piece of fruitcake that Aunt Adele made nearly half a century ago, Nicole hopes she gets a stomach ache. Instead, Martha disappears from her hotel room and never shows up for her first day of work. Nicole is sure that Martha has died from ingesting the fruitcake; and the cute guy who asked her out must be a cop trying to get the the goods on her. Christopher Quinn claims to be a writer; but is he a homicide detective trying to get a confession from Nicole?
I enjoyed the first-person narrative in this short story. I found it very amusing and loved her use of sarcasm. The romance was very light and we didn't get to know the Christopher very well. If you're looking for a nice in-depth romance, skip this one. If you want a funny story with a somewhat ditzy heroine, you might like this one. My rating: 4 Stars.
Nicole Lovett's new job has led her to Savannah, Georgia, where she works for a small TV station and moves into her late Aunt Adele's house. When a new position opens up at work, Nicole is sure she will get the job. Instead it is given to Martha Cox, a former Miss Georgia and Nicole's high school nemesis. When Martha arrives in Savannah she visits Nicole and unknowingly eats a piece of fruitcake that Aunt Adele made nearly half a century ago, Nicole hopes she gets a stomach ache. Instead, Martha disappears from her hotel room and never shows up for her first day of work. Nicole is sure that Martha has died from ingesting the fruitcake; and the cute guy who asked her out must be a cop trying to get the the goods on her. Christopher Quinn claims to be a writer; but is he a homicide detective trying to get a confession from Nicole?
I enjoyed the first-person narrative in this short story. I found it very amusing and loved her use of sarcasm. The romance was very light and we didn't get to know the Christopher very well. If you're looking for a nice in-depth romance, skip this one. If you want a funny story with a somewhat ditzy heroine, you might like this one. My rating: 4 Stars.
April 28, 2019
This wasn't a great group of short stories. Below is a synopsis of each tale. I found the most to like in the last story.
WHEN DREAMS WON'T DIE (Brenda Joyce) Contemporary story or not, I have certain expectations about a heroine. I expect a heroine to have a moral compass that isn't affected by hormones. Blair slept with her to-be brother-in-law days before his marriage to her sister.
Then she left town, had the baby, didn't tell the father, raised said child on her own, comes back to her hometown and doesn't think the citizens will figure out she had the baby with the man she had obviously had a crush on during her growing-up years. I wondered what (love interest) Matt saw in Blair.
ACROSS A CROWDED ROOM (Judith O'Brien) This is another contemporary story that seemed rather hollow. Aunt Adele was an interesting character, as were Christopher Quinn and Nicole Lovett. However, there was too much plot and not enough time for development to suit me.
THE RETURN OF TRAVIS DEAN (Kathleen Kane) This story seemed to have lots of potential until the ghosts interfered. I just don't care for ethereal beings in my historical romances.
Travis has been gone four years instead of four days. Katie, obviously anticipating their nuptials, had Travis' baby while he was gone. To save herself embarrassment, she tells the local citizens that she and Travis married secretly before he left. When Travis comes back, Katie won't let him tell her why he was delayed for such a long time. That just didn't seem logical or likely.
REDEMPTION (Delia Parr) Of the four stories, I enjoyed this one most. Sarah has a tarnished reputation, through no fault of her own. She lives outside of a small town, waiting for the community to change their opinion of her.
During a blizzard, someone approaches Sarah's cabin and bangs to get in. After Sarah realizes that it is not her former fiancee' (coming to taunt her some more), she helps the stranger survive. However, her former fiancee' seeing the back of the stranger leaving, tells the town that Sarah has had a man with her during the storm.
The author does a nice job of showing the hero and heroine growing, through their interaction with each other, so that they brought out the best in each other.
This was a nice story, but it could not save the others.
WHEN DREAMS WON'T DIE (Brenda Joyce) Contemporary story or not, I have certain expectations about a heroine. I expect a heroine to have a moral compass that isn't affected by hormones. Blair slept with her to-be brother-in-law days before his marriage to her sister.
Then she left town, had the baby, didn't tell the father, raised said child on her own, comes back to her hometown and doesn't think the citizens will figure out she had the baby with the man she had obviously had a crush on during her growing-up years. I wondered what (love interest) Matt saw in Blair.
ACROSS A CROWDED ROOM (Judith O'Brien) This is another contemporary story that seemed rather hollow. Aunt Adele was an interesting character, as were Christopher Quinn and Nicole Lovett. However, there was too much plot and not enough time for development to suit me.
THE RETURN OF TRAVIS DEAN (Kathleen Kane) This story seemed to have lots of potential until the ghosts interfered. I just don't care for ethereal beings in my historical romances.
Travis has been gone four years instead of four days. Katie, obviously anticipating their nuptials, had Travis' baby while he was gone. To save herself embarrassment, she tells the local citizens that she and Travis married secretly before he left. When Travis comes back, Katie won't let him tell her why he was delayed for such a long time. That just didn't seem logical or likely.
REDEMPTION (Delia Parr) Of the four stories, I enjoyed this one most. Sarah has a tarnished reputation, through no fault of her own. She lives outside of a small town, waiting for the community to change their opinion of her.
During a blizzard, someone approaches Sarah's cabin and bangs to get in. After Sarah realizes that it is not her former fiancee' (coming to taunt her some more), she helps the stranger survive. However, her former fiancee' seeing the back of the stranger leaving, tells the town that Sarah has had a man with her during the storm.
The author does a nice job of showing the hero and heroine growing, through their interaction with each other, so that they brought out the best in each other.
This was a nice story, but it could not save the others.
December 20, 2025
"When Dreams Won't Die" by Brenda Joyce 2*
This story left a bitter taste in my mouth. It is impossible to root for a heroine who lacks basic morals - sleeping with her sister’s fiancé days before their wedding and continuing to engage with him years later. Blair proves she is no better than her wayward mother, even choosing a hook-up on a kitchen floor over being on time for her own daughter. Every character felt selfish and distasteful; it’s hard to call this a romance when there’s no one to respect.
This story left a bitter taste in my mouth. It is impossible to root for a heroine who lacks basic morals - sleeping with her sister’s fiancé days before their wedding and continuing to engage with him years later. Blair proves she is no better than her wayward mother, even choosing a hook-up on a kitchen floor over being on time for her own daughter. Every character felt selfish and distasteful; it’s hard to call this a romance when there’s no one to respect.
July 30, 2018
Enjoyed them all, but the Kathleen Kane one was the best; but since they were all short, I could read them quickly.
December 7, 2019
This was a quick read...4 stories in the book...Would be a great book to take traveling
November 26, 2010
From the back cover:
Everyone has one. Everyone loves to hear one. Secrets can last for years, or can be exposed in one shocking moment. And sometimes, secrets can be the perfect thing to bring even the most unlikely lovers together...
From the foothills of east Texas to the moss-draped riverbands of Savannah, from a small town in upstate New York to the sun-baked terrain of the Old West, four spectacular authors deliver romantic and unforgettable tales of scandals, deception and perfect secrets. Illusions will be shattered, lives will be changed--and nothing will ever be the same once they're revealed...
And my review:
I figured that an anthology featuring so many good authors would have to be a hit. Boy, was I wrong! For one thing, each story ranges from 60 to just over 100 pages, so they are much too short for decent character development or plot twists.
The first story is Brenda Joyce's WHEN DREAMS WON'T DIE, a contemporary romance. The heroine, who was the love child of a married man and his mistress, comes back when her father dies, and falls in love. My problem with this story was the heroine. She was horrible! She slept with her half-sister's fiance just days before their wedding, got pregnant by him, never told the guy, and then ran off. To sleep with someone that you know is engaged to someone else is bad enough, but to do that to your own sister is unforgiveable! I didn't want the heroine to get a happy ending. I wanted her to get her just desserts.
The second story is ACROSS A CROWDED ROOM by Judith O'Brien, another contemporary romance. First off, it's written in the first person, which happens to be a pet peeve of mine. (Unfair, I know, but true.) Also, the heroine rambled inwardly far too much. There wasn't enough action and dialogue. Instead, the story was more like one big internal monologue by the heroine.
The third story is THE RETURN OF TRAVIS DEAN by Kathleen Kane, a historical western. This was the story I really expected to like, as the other two books I've read by this author (Catch a Fallen Angel and Dreamweaver) were both keepers. But this story was so irritating! The hero had disappeared four years ago, and suddenly returns without a word to discover that the woman he left behind claimed they were secretly married, bore his son, then claimed he died and had a funeral for him. What drove me nuts was that the heroine wouldn't let the hero explain where he'd been, even though he tried repeatedly. How realistic is that? If my man went missing for four years without even bothering to send a letter, and then suddenly dropped back into my life, the first words out of my mouth would be, "Where the *%$! have you been?!", not, "I don't want to hear your explanations." This story also had a paranormal aspect to it that I felt didn't really add much to the story.
The fourth story REDEMPTION by Delia Parr is another historical novel. The heroine has lost her reputation (even though she did nothing wrong), and so no one in town wants anything to do with her. On a stormy night, the hero takes shelter in her cabin, and they fall in love. This story was just okay. I never really felt a spark between the characters, nor could see why they should fall in love.
Sadly, not one of the stories in this collection was worth the purchase price for this novel.
Everyone has one. Everyone loves to hear one. Secrets can last for years, or can be exposed in one shocking moment. And sometimes, secrets can be the perfect thing to bring even the most unlikely lovers together...
From the foothills of east Texas to the moss-draped riverbands of Savannah, from a small town in upstate New York to the sun-baked terrain of the Old West, four spectacular authors deliver romantic and unforgettable tales of scandals, deception and perfect secrets. Illusions will be shattered, lives will be changed--and nothing will ever be the same once they're revealed...
And my review:
I figured that an anthology featuring so many good authors would have to be a hit. Boy, was I wrong! For one thing, each story ranges from 60 to just over 100 pages, so they are much too short for decent character development or plot twists.
The first story is Brenda Joyce's WHEN DREAMS WON'T DIE, a contemporary romance. The heroine, who was the love child of a married man and his mistress, comes back when her father dies, and falls in love. My problem with this story was the heroine. She was horrible! She slept with her half-sister's fiance just days before their wedding, got pregnant by him, never told the guy, and then ran off. To sleep with someone that you know is engaged to someone else is bad enough, but to do that to your own sister is unforgiveable! I didn't want the heroine to get a happy ending. I wanted her to get her just desserts.
The second story is ACROSS A CROWDED ROOM by Judith O'Brien, another contemporary romance. First off, it's written in the first person, which happens to be a pet peeve of mine. (Unfair, I know, but true.) Also, the heroine rambled inwardly far too much. There wasn't enough action and dialogue. Instead, the story was more like one big internal monologue by the heroine.
The third story is THE RETURN OF TRAVIS DEAN by Kathleen Kane, a historical western. This was the story I really expected to like, as the other two books I've read by this author (Catch a Fallen Angel and Dreamweaver) were both keepers. But this story was so irritating! The hero had disappeared four years ago, and suddenly returns without a word to discover that the woman he left behind claimed they were secretly married, bore his son, then claimed he died and had a funeral for him. What drove me nuts was that the heroine wouldn't let the hero explain where he'd been, even though he tried repeatedly. How realistic is that? If my man went missing for four years without even bothering to send a letter, and then suddenly dropped back into my life, the first words out of my mouth would be, "Where the *%$! have you been?!", not, "I don't want to hear your explanations." This story also had a paranormal aspect to it that I felt didn't really add much to the story.
The fourth story REDEMPTION by Delia Parr is another historical novel. The heroine has lost her reputation (even though she did nothing wrong), and so no one in town wants anything to do with her. On a stormy night, the hero takes shelter in her cabin, and they fall in love. This story was just okay. I never really felt a spark between the characters, nor could see why they should fall in love.
Sadly, not one of the stories in this collection was worth the purchase price for this novel.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 25, 2013
This was the first read for me by this author and I did enjoy the read. I'm sad to say I forgot the title of the first story but it was by Brenda Joyce.
I'm so glad the heroine ended up with who she did because it was more meaningful than what she thought she was holding on to for years; absolutely nothing! She left town and like all other women starts fresh and starts a new, which was good for her.
There's nothing like realizing after so many years that you've wasted time on memories of someone you thought you loved, but yet has never changed one bit. Then right under your nose for so many years theres that one person who had your baack thru thick and thin, black and white, ups and downs, sideways and long ways, highs and lows ok you get the picture!
The mystery unfolds of who the murderer is and I kind of suspected that person, because when a story line pretty much accuses someone of murder, its usually not that person.
All and all I would definitely read other books of the this author! Thanks for a good mystery, love story and GOOD READ!
I'm so glad the heroine ended up with who she did because it was more meaningful than what she thought she was holding on to for years; absolutely nothing! She left town and like all other women starts fresh and starts a new, which was good for her.
There's nothing like realizing after so many years that you've wasted time on memories of someone you thought you loved, but yet has never changed one bit. Then right under your nose for so many years theres that one person who had your baack thru thick and thin, black and white, ups and downs, sideways and long ways, highs and lows ok you get the picture!
The mystery unfolds of who the murderer is and I kind of suspected that person, because when a story line pretty much accuses someone of murder, its usually not that person.
All and all I would definitely read other books of the this author! Thanks for a good mystery, love story and GOOD READ!
March 10, 2016
Where do I start?...oh yeah, the first story "When Dreams Won't Die" by Brenda Joyce was so depressing I wanted to reach into the book and shake the lead female. Lost love, unwanted children, and alcoholism round out a trifecta of morose topics guaranteed to depress the reader.
"Across a Crowded Room"... Meh.
" The Return of Travis Dean"was a hoot. Talk about a firecracker. Really enjoyed this story.
"Redemption" was a sassy little tale that was a pleasure to read.
So two stories, not so hot. Two stories really enjoyable. Just skip to the last two.
"Across a Crowded Room"... Meh.
" The Return of Travis Dean"was a hoot. Talk about a firecracker. Really enjoyed this story.
"Redemption" was a sassy little tale that was a pleasure to read.
So two stories, not so hot. Two stories really enjoyable. Just skip to the last two.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews