Hearing My Secrets

by Julie L. James

At first glance, Marion Andrews would seem to have it all. She's just been promoted at her job at the top home design magazine where she's worked for a few years on the creative team, and she's earned it, even after a few blunders. Her personality and work ethic have taken her far, but not everything is as it seems in her personal life.
Marion's been hiding her biggest insecurity for years, and now that she's working closer with her handsome and austere boss, Mr. Shaler, she's never felt more unsure about whether or not she should reveal it. Mr. Shaler isn't as intimidating as Marion thought and she never expected things between them to be quite so friendly.
During her transition in her new position, she meets Charlie, a stranger who insinuates he knows things about her past. Charlie keeps popping up in her life, revealing more each time, and getting closer to Marion in every way.
Caught between her tragic past and her dramatic present life, Marion realizes she doesn't have control over everything and has to find a way to navigate how she can "have it all" without the unforeseen drama that comes with it.

Genres: Romance

390 pages, Paperback

Published October 10, 2023

Reviews

[Caris · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is Julie L. James’s best book yet! Hearing My Secrets was a fun read. I found myself laughing out loud at times and then I also was surprised to shed a tear or two. The story captured my attention and I couldn’t put it down. Without spoiling the story, I have to say I fell in love with Mr. Shaler and Marion’s relationship and the way he treats her throughout the novel. I hope there is a sequel so I can get more Mr. Shaler in my life.

[Likely Story · Rating 4 out of 5]

Julie L. James’s Hearing My Secrets is a heartfelt and quietly powerful novel that blends workplace drama, hidden disabilities, and unexpected romance into something utterly engaging. From the opening pages, we’re drawn into Marion’s world—a young editorial assistant at a glossy home design magazine who is trying to keep a tightly held secret: she wears hearing aids.

The strength of this book lies in its honesty. James doesn’t sugarcoat Marion’s insecurities, frustrations, or her deep desire to be seen for her talent, not her limitations. The writing is warm, often funny, and steeped in the little textures of life—fabric swatches, late-night train rides, whispered lobby secrets. There’s something incredibly comforting in how ordinary everything feels, even as major emotional shifts are happening.

The story evolves gently, but not without stakes. Between a blossoming workplace crush, office politics, and glimpses into Marion’s painful childhood accident, Hearing My Secrets keeps you hooked with emotional resonance rather than high drama. And when romance sparks, it’s the kind that feels earned—tender, tentative, and full of chemistry.

It’s rare to find a novel that explores disability, ambition, and love with this much grace. This is a quiet triumph of a story—one that champions sensitivity without sentimentality, and strength without loud declarations. You’ll be rooting for Marion from the first page to the last.

Check out my full review here:https://likelystory.blog/2025/07/30/r...

[Lydia Simon · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book made me angry. The main character, Marion, has a disability, but she behaves as though it's something to hide, and through most of the book the author treats Marion's deafness as something that conveniently creates conflicts or miscommunication to drive the plot. For something as important as disability, it needs to be more than that. The reader has to wait until 90% of the way through the book before Marion has an audiology exam, which is where we first get serious attention to the disability. Marion has no deaf friends and doesn't seem to be a part of any deaf community.

The main love interests are her age-inappropriate boss, who's portrayed as perfect, and Charlie, who works for a different company in the same building, and who has hacked into Marion's email and has been reading them for four years. I will give the author this: Charlie oozes creepiness every scene he's in. At one point, Marion describes him as being "one step away from being an obsessed stalker." I think, if he works hard, he might be a couple of steps away from no longer being an obsessed stalker, but maybe that's just me.

Shaler is intended to be a romantic ideal, but the age gap and his own near obsession with Marion make it difficult for me to want to cheer for this connection. I understand that other readers enjoy age gap romances, and this is better than some. At least he met her when she was already an adult. The scene at the end when he says he's been telling her he loves her when she's had her hearing aids out, so he could say it while still respecting that she wasn't ready to hear it, makes me a little less angry about them getting together. He's still her boss, though.

The best written parts of the story, in my opinion, are those dealing with Marion's tragic backstory and the above-mentioned audiology exam. I didn't care much about what happened in the book until I read these scenes.

I did also enjoy Marion's friendship with Emma and would have liked more scenes with the two of them.

So, Hearing My Secrets made me angry, but has some scenes that still made me glad that I read it.

[Holly Dennis · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a cute workplace/age gap romance. There was tension, and little bit of mystery, and fun and open communication and dialogue.

Read if you like:
- Disability rep
- work place romance
- age gap romance
- interior design

[Michele Knopp]

I very much enjoyed this book. I try to put myself into the character's. I read this book with a southern accent. Secrets was the perfect title. I read every single word. Sometimes I skip boring parts. That was not the case with Secrets!

[Meg Stewart · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another great read from Julie L. James. I couldn't put it down.

[Picture_pretty_books · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thank you to the author for the gifted book, I have seen such growth in her storytelling! I enjoyed this work place romance and especially seeing the struggles for a MC with a hearing aid.