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Springhill #5
Family Secrets
"I could have you arrested for kidnapping!"
"Good afternoon to you, too, Mr. Worthington," Amanda replied coolly.
"Where's my son?" Chase demanded. "And what the hell did you think you were doing, snatching him away from his nanny?"
Amanda shrugged, trying to appear calm. Chase wasn't exaggerating - technically she had kidnapped the child. "Don't you at least want to see Nicky first? He's in the bedroom. I promise I won't disappear."
Chase scowled, then strode toward the bedroom.
"By the way," Amanda called, "there's a very good children's medical guide next to the bed. You might want to read the section on chicken pox." She turned and smiled grimly at Nicky's nanny. "Make yourself comfortable - he may be a while. It's a long section."
"Good afternoon to you, too, Mr. Worthington," Amanda replied coolly.
"Where's my son?" Chase demanded. "And what the hell did you think you were doing, snatching him away from his nanny?"
Amanda shrugged, trying to appear calm. Chase wasn't exaggerating - technically she had kidnapped the child. "Don't you at least want to see Nicky first? He's in the bedroom. I promise I won't disappear."
Chase scowled, then strode toward the bedroom.
"By the way," Amanda called, "there's a very good children's medical guide next to the bed. You might want to read the section on chicken pox." She turned and smiled grimly at Nicky's nanny. "Make yourself comfortable - he may be a while. It's a long section."
Mass Market Paperback
First published January 1, 1994
4 people are currently reading
77 people want to read
About the author
Leigh Michaels
351 books173 followersLeigh Michaels is the pseudonym used by LeAnn Lemberger (b. July 27 in Iowa, United States), a popular United States writer of over 85 romance novels. She has published with Harlequin, Sourcebooks, Montlake Romance, Writers Digest Books, and Arcadia Publishing. She teaches romance writing at Gotham Writers' Workshop (www.writingclasses.com) She is the author of On Writing Romance.
When Leigh was fifteen she wrote her first romance novel and burned it. She burned five more complete manuscripts before submitting to a publisher. The first submission was accepted by Harlequin, the only publisher to look at it, and was published in 1984.
Michaels was born in Iowa, United States. She received a Bachelor of Arts in journalism from Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa, after three years of study and maintained a 3.93 grade-point average. She received the Robert Bliss Award as top-ranking senior in the School of Journalism and Mass Communication, and won a national William Randolph Hearst Award for feature-writing as an undergraduate.
She is married to Michael W. Lemberger, an artist-photographer.
When Leigh was fifteen she wrote her first romance novel and burned it. She burned five more complete manuscripts before submitting to a publisher. The first submission was accepted by Harlequin, the only publisher to look at it, and was published in 1984.
Michaels was born in Iowa, United States. She received a Bachelor of Arts in journalism from Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa, after three years of study and maintained a 3.93 grade-point average. She received the Robert Bliss Award as top-ranking senior in the School of Journalism and Mass Communication, and won a national William Randolph Hearst Award for feature-writing as an undergraduate.
She is married to Michael W. Lemberger, an artist-photographer.
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
October 6, 2020
"Family Secrets" is the story of Amanda and Chase.
My heart! So good!
Our heroine manages a hotel in a remote small town, when our heartthrob hero returns to film the sequel to his popular movie. He is widowed with a young son, and soon, the heroine is taken with both of them. She keeps her feelings hidden, until his son gets chicken-pox, and the heroine ends up babysitting him. She soon finds herself falling in love with not just the child, but the father too. Old secrets are unveiled, some angst makes us cry, and it all ends in a WONDERFUL hea!
I totally did not see the reveal coming- I was so shocked! I really adored Nicky, the bird Floyd added some necessary humor, the secondary characters were well written and our main couple was super likable. So much heartwarming goodness in this one.
Another kickass read by Ms Leigh.
Safe..ish
4.5/5
My heart! So good!
Our heroine manages a hotel in a remote small town, when our heartthrob hero returns to film the sequel to his popular movie. He is widowed with a young son, and soon, the heroine is taken with both of them. She keeps her feelings hidden, until his son gets chicken-pox, and the heroine ends up babysitting him. She soon finds herself falling in love with not just the child, but the father too. Old secrets are unveiled, some angst makes us cry, and it all ends in a WONDERFUL hea!
I totally did not see the reveal coming- I was so shocked! I really adored Nicky, the bird Floyd added some necessary humor, the secondary characters were well written and our main couple was super likable. So much heartwarming goodness in this one.
Another kickass read by Ms Leigh.
Safe..ish
4.5/5
October 14, 2013
This is STILL the cutest, most adorable, loveliest and funniest harlequin ever. They don't make them like this any more. I mean, how many stories are natural and not-boring????????
Very cute and well-written. The children acted age-appropriate and it kept the reader wanting to know more. Leigh Michaels very rarely disappoints!
If you wish to know what the book might read like, read that thing called 'summary/description' above...
=)
August 1, 2011
I didn’t expect to like this book because how credible could a romance between a Hollywood actor and an ordinary inn-manager be? Given the success rate of Hollywood unions, I thought this theme would be a disaster-in-the-making.
Oddly enough, the match-up seemed plausible by the second encounter. I think this was mainly because the story had emphasized the hero's character as a harassed single dad and minimized his being a famous actor. There was only one paparazzo in the book and the heroine easily dealt with his intrusiveness. The hero was portrayed without the glamour and partying associated with Hollywood types. Instead he had the same burdens and fatigue of any other man with a demanding job. The illness of his child also was a convenient plot device to sequester the H/h together; it allowed their relationship to develop naturally, one-on-one, and based on mutual liking instead of idolization. Thus, in the end I can imagine an HEA between the two unlikely candidates.
One thing I like about this book too is the heroine’s interaction with the child. I’m a sucker for romances with babies and children if done well and this is definitely well-done. Secret baby plots are common but in many of these books, once the baby’s use is established, he’s cast away. Not in this book, however. I liked the spaghetti scene, the haircut episode and the parakeet’s prayers. I thought the scene with the “chosen baby” was poignant especially how the hero described the newborn baby snuggling up to him.
Overall, I think Leigh Michaels was particularly clever in tying all the seemingly non-relevant little things into one seamless plot with big emotional impact.
Recommended.
Oddly enough, the match-up seemed plausible by the second encounter. I think this was mainly because the story had emphasized the hero's character as a harassed single dad and minimized his being a famous actor. There was only one paparazzo in the book and the heroine easily dealt with his intrusiveness. The hero was portrayed without the glamour and partying associated with Hollywood types. Instead he had the same burdens and fatigue of any other man with a demanding job. The illness of his child also was a convenient plot device to sequester the H/h together; it allowed their relationship to develop naturally, one-on-one, and based on mutual liking instead of idolization. Thus, in the end I can imagine an HEA between the two unlikely candidates.
One thing I like about this book too is the heroine’s interaction with the child. I’m a sucker for romances with babies and children if done well and this is definitely well-done. Secret baby plots are common but in many of these books, once the baby’s use is established, he’s cast away. Not in this book, however. I liked the spaghetti scene, the haircut episode and the parakeet’s prayers. I thought the scene with the “chosen baby” was poignant especially how the hero described the newborn baby snuggling up to him.
Overall, I think Leigh Michaels was particularly clever in tying all the seemingly non-relevant little things into one seamless plot with big emotional impact.
Recommended.
July 27, 2020
Overall an enjoyable read.
An adorable 😍 4 year old.
A Hero, who, for a Film Hero, is pretty down-to-earth.
A Heroine who fills the emptiness in her life by caring for other's kids.
A wannabe OW who plays a very minor role.
An adorable 😍 4 year old.
A Hero, who, for a Film Hero, is pretty down-to-earth.
A Heroine who fills the emptiness in her life by caring for other's kids.
A wannabe OW who plays a very minor role.
April 28, 2013
I read this one before and it was okay. I didn't find the hero all that drool worthy and to be honest, he seemed like a real crappy dad.
September 1, 2023
Meh. I couldn't really connect with the male lead character. The plot twist could be seen a mile away. It's been many years since I've read an old Harlequin style romance. Possibly the format just isn't for me any more. Or possibly this was just not an engaging or well written book. 🤷
April 30, 2022
Dropped a star because
1. No responsible MANAGER of a hotel with a 2x overbooked full house with movie stars and crew ( she has to rent out separate home units for the leftovers!) drops everything on day 2 to babysit for the star's kid who has chickenpox. That's beyond belief. She literally holes up in her room for the next 2 days without coming out, and hopes the staff is managing well. And this after we saw how many problems cropped up on day 1 which were very efficiently managed by the h. How can anyone jeopardize their entire business that too in peak season, which is stated in the book to inject much needed economy into her hometown, on a random whim? Granted, there was eventually a method to her madness, read the spoiler at your own peril - but I still can't countenance this:
2. The H was truly a negligent father who threw money, toys and abusive nannies at his only son in the place of parental time and care. And its not like he was a mega star, either - he makes good made for tv movies and has his own popular show or sth. But that's it. He lets a complete stranger take his child and move the kid into her apartment just because it was convenient for him. He would then come in after midnight for 5 minute cuddles then sign off for a dawn start to the movie set next day, on repeat.
3. A big part of me felt that he only made do with the h because she was a nanny cum mother cum playmate to the boy. The first time he enters her hotel, his eyes skate over her non descript pale blonde hair and light eyes and focus for a second on her hot, red headed colleague - don't blame me, these are the h's own thoughts in the book. This was absolutely not attraction at first sight for him.
4. The twist at the end was very unwelcome for me and frankly I felt that the author had already stretched her coincidences sooooo much that I just didn't buy any of the shit. The H then ends up supremely manipulating the h into giving in to him and I am glad the h stood her ground and let the H come back to her and plead at least.
HEA.
1. No responsible MANAGER of a hotel with a 2x overbooked full house with movie stars and crew ( she has to rent out separate home units for the leftovers!) drops everything on day 2 to babysit for the star's kid who has chickenpox. That's beyond belief. She literally holes up in her room for the next 2 days without coming out, and hopes the staff is managing well. And this after we saw how many problems cropped up on day 1 which were very efficiently managed by the h. How can anyone jeopardize their entire business that too in peak season, which is stated in the book to inject much needed economy into her hometown, on a random whim? Granted, there was eventually a method to her madness, read the spoiler at your own peril - but I still can't countenance this:
2. The H was truly a negligent father who threw money, toys and abusive nannies at his only son in the place of parental time and care. And its not like he was a mega star, either - he makes good made for tv movies and has his own popular show or sth. But that's it. He lets a complete stranger take his child and move the kid into her apartment just because it was convenient for him. He would then come in after midnight for 5 minute cuddles then sign off for a dawn start to the movie set next day, on repeat.
3. A big part of me felt that he only made do with the h because she was a nanny cum mother cum playmate to the boy. The first time he enters her hotel, his eyes skate over her non descript pale blonde hair and light eyes and focus for a second on her hot, red headed colleague - don't blame me, these are the h's own thoughts in the book. This was absolutely not attraction at first sight for him.
4. The twist at the end was very unwelcome for me and frankly I felt that the author had already stretched her coincidences sooooo much that I just didn't buy any of the shit. The H then ends up supremely manipulating the h into giving in to him and I am glad the h stood her ground and let the H come back to her and plead at least.
HEA.
May 27, 2024
Nevychované děcko je otravné samo o sobě. Ale když dojde ještě na skvrnu velikosti mexického dolaru, když podle fotky v časopise pozná na první pohled své dítě, kterého se vzdala hned po narození, a když si hrdina na konci uvědomí, že ji miloval už čtyři roky před tím, než ji vlastně poznal, protože upletla pro dítě, kterého se vzdala, svetřík... To je moc i na brakovku.
Zbytečně dává do uvozovek slova, např. „ledový“ salát, „pelíšek“ atd.
Světle žluté dupačky s králíčky (s. 86) jsou na s. 115 a 148 „svetřík“ a na s. 147 „svetříček“.
s. 30 Víte_-
s. 36 a_-
s. 39 strhaně [ztrhaně]
s. 93 Stpeh
s. 124 veřer
uvozovky – s. 139
čárka - s. 10, 27, 33, 37, 45, 69, 70, 148
[Rodinná tajemství, české vydání, 1997]
Zbytečně dává do uvozovek slova, např. „ledový“ salát, „pelíšek“ atd.
Světle žluté dupačky s králíčky (s. 86) jsou na s. 115 a 148 „svetřík“ a na s. 147 „svetříček“.
s. 30 Víte_-
s. 36 a_-
s. 39 strhaně [ztrhaně]
s. 93 Stpeh
s. 124 veřer
uvozovky – s. 139
čárka - s. 10, 27, 33, 37, 45, 69, 70, 148
[Rodinná tajemství, české vydání, 1997]
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 30, 2022
It was okay.
Im not a fan of Heroes who are movie stars, like the one in this book, just because of the reputation they have for changing partners and having multiple marriages.
The kid was cute. I liked how his relationship with the heroine developed. I sort of guessed the twist in the tale, however it also was a bit too much of a coincidence.
All in all it was cute and satisfying.
Im not a fan of Heroes who are movie stars, like the one in this book, just because of the reputation they have for changing partners and having multiple marriages.
The kid was cute. I liked how his relationship with the heroine developed. I sort of guessed the twist in the tale, however it also was a bit too much of a coincidence.
All in all it was cute and satisfying.
July 4, 2020
I loved finding out all the family secrets! Very good read!
November 29, 2022
I thought this was "meh" at first- until the twist!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 10, 2016
3.5
That was awkward. The secret baby who wasn't...a secret that is. More that his origin was.
So our H - random hollyweird actor - is in smalltownville to make a made for TV movie - a sequel for one made 4 years earlier. He has his kid (adopted) with him, and nanny no. 4 who really is only in it for the connections. Kid gets chickenpox, leading to nanny getting fired (because she failed to notice kid running a fever, developing spots, etc., and was dragging him out for whatever reason.).
Heroine runs the motel. Steps in and adds babysitting to her duties. A week or so goes by, then...
Hero suddenly realizes - after he slept with h - that son looks remarkably like h. Cue lots of blaming.
Over the next few days (week, not sure), they try to avoid each other. H suddenly decides he wants h in his life, and starts making sure to be wherever she is with her friends' kids, before finally having a discussion or two with her about marriage and a real relationship.
Issues -
The h claimed to have known before she saw the kid that it was hers (more on that later) and yet...if you hadn't seen it since it was a newborn, how would you recognize it? Well, other than the picture of its apparent mom holding it that appeared on a magazine just weeks after it was born. But would you recognize a newborn? Maybe? I dunno...h never gave any indication at all about her secret connection to the kid. I was a bit puzzled as to why she was concerned about getting attached seeing as how she babysat for just about everyone (what's one more?)
Timeline - supposedly she worked 2 years before going off to college. She was around 25 (not specific), and the kid was a 4 year old. When she came back - after graduating and apparently 2 years previous, she worked her way up. Seems a bit of a stretch that she could work her way up that fast, even in a locally owned hotel, and she'd been in the position of manager long enough to have oversaw a lot of renovations. Even without the hazy age thing there, something seemed off about it.
The deal with the kid. She was in her early 20s, pregnant, in college, and with parents who threatened to disown her if she didn't adopt it out. The lawyer they sicced on her essentially sold the baby to the H and his then wife.
That was awkward. The secret baby who wasn't...a secret that is. More that his origin was.
So our H - random hollyweird actor - is in smalltownville to make a made for TV movie - a sequel for one made 4 years earlier. He has his kid (adopted) with him, and nanny no. 4 who really is only in it for the connections. Kid gets chickenpox, leading to nanny getting fired (because she failed to notice kid running a fever, developing spots, etc., and was dragging him out for whatever reason.).
Heroine runs the motel. Steps in and adds babysitting to her duties. A week or so goes by, then...
Hero suddenly realizes - after he slept with h - that son looks remarkably like h. Cue lots of blaming.
Over the next few days (week, not sure), they try to avoid each other. H suddenly decides he wants h in his life, and starts making sure to be wherever she is with her friends' kids, before finally having a discussion or two with her about marriage and a real relationship.
Issues -
The h claimed to have known before she saw the kid that it was hers (more on that later) and yet...if you hadn't seen it since it was a newborn, how would you recognize it? Well, other than the picture of its apparent mom holding it that appeared on a magazine just weeks after it was born. But would you recognize a newborn? Maybe? I dunno...h never gave any indication at all about her secret connection to the kid. I was a bit puzzled as to why she was concerned about getting attached seeing as how she babysat for just about everyone (what's one more?)
Timeline - supposedly she worked 2 years before going off to college. She was around 25 (not specific), and the kid was a 4 year old. When she came back - after graduating and apparently 2 years previous, she worked her way up. Seems a bit of a stretch that she could work her way up that fast, even in a locally owned hotel, and she'd been in the position of manager long enough to have oversaw a lot of renovations. Even without the hazy age thing there, something seemed off about it.
The deal with the kid. She was in her early 20s, pregnant, in college, and with parents who threatened to disown her if she didn't adopt it out. The lawyer they sicced on her essentially sold the baby to the H and his then wife.
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews