Intimate Secrets

Nottoway

by Candice Poarch

Years ago, Jonathan Blake’s fiancée died the night before their wedding. No one has been able to capture his heart since. But Jonathan carries a secret that could come back to haunt him.
Johanna Jones returns to Nottoway, Virginia, to refurbish the stately Nottoway Inn to its former glory. She has had a secret crush on Jonathan since high school and no man has been able to measure up. But now that she has his attention she fears that she can never hold first place in his heart the way his first love does. Can she accept second place? And then trouble comes for both of them with the potential to shatter both their lives.

256 pages, Kindle Edition

First published September 1, 1999

About the author

Even as a child Candice Poarch was a dreamer and created scenes in her mind. She quickly fell in love with writing stories centered around families and romance. The quest for love is universal, she says. Being familiar with rural Virginia, she portrays a sense of community and mutual support in her novels, many of which are set in small-town America.

Candice grew up in Stony Creek, Virginia, south of Richmond, but now resides in northern Virginia. She has been married for thirty years and is the mother of three children. A former computer-systems manager, she has now made writing her full-time career.

Reviews

[Jamee Pritchard · Rating 2 out of 5]

For a romance novel published in the 1990s, the author provides an interesting discussion about the generational expectations of (Black) women in the domestic and public sphere. The heroine is a career woman with long-term professional goals, and her marriage and the idea of children come second after the success of her business. The story would have been better if she had a bit more backbone in her interactions with the hero. It's a personal preference, but I hate an arrogant hero and a pushover heroine.

[Lena Neely · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ok Read

This was an okay read. I enjoyed it and figured out part of the mystery after the first incident. I feel like the cousin mystery could have been completed better. Off to book four.