A Secret Affair: A Novel of Illicit Love, Unwavering Devotion, and Devastating Loss

by Barbara Taylor Bradford

Seeking some much-needed rest and relaxation after a long stint as a TV-news war correspondent in Bosnia, 33-year-old Bill Fitzgerald travels to Venice. There he is struck by the dark beauty of a young American woman, Vanessa Stewart, a 27-year-old glass designer from New York.Unhappily married, she welcomes a no-strings friendship with Bill. Soon they embark on an illicit affair and find themselves desperately in love. They vow to see each other whenever and wherever they can. But on their third meeting, one of them does not show up.Once again, Barbara Taylor Bradford weaves a love story of uncompromising ardor, this time taking readers through secret trysts in Venice, Manhattan and Southampton. In A Secret Affair, she touches on subjects that will stir the hearts and minds of her readers -- unconditional love and devotion, loyalty and loss.

Genres: Romance, Fiction, Chick Lit, Italy, Adult Fiction, Novels, Contemporary

194 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 1996

About the author

Barbara Taylor Bradford was a British-American best-selling novelist. Her debut novel, A Woman of Substance, was published in 1979 and sold over 30 million copies worldwide. She wrote 40 novels, all bestsellers in the United Kingdom and the United States.

Reviews

[Toby · Rating 1 out of 5]

Disclaimer: I do not normally read books that are classed as "romance."

And this book was horrible.

Not just the plotline (LOL WHAT IS THAT) but the writing.

If I wrote a plethora of sentence similar to this, but more boring, I would be like Bradford. You wouldn't understand why I am so well known, and would view me as annoying, frustrating, and a pain. The sentences I write are never complex, just very long-winded. You'd almost call them tedious, perhaps even boring. Maybe you'd say that I need a stint at an intensive writing camp, a long vacation to refresh my brain, or maybe just retire as an author. You would probably be right, because I really do have a pattern to my writing, almost a "fill in the blank" type of thing. You might think that I just pluck whatever adjectives that sound good out of thin air. For example, you might think that Bill is boring, frustrating, and annoying. In fact, he sounds just like me. Yet he goes on to describe Vanessa with terms that seem so bizarre, so strange, so mismatched to the tone of the rest of the book.

And egad, it's hard to try to copy a writing style that totally is NOT mine. Ugh.

SPOILER ALERT: This book is PREDICTABLE.

I did not like Vanessa, nor did I like Bill. And the parts when Bill and Vanessa are spending time with Frankie - OMG what best friends refer to each other (to each other's faces) as "Francis Xavier" and "William [I forget his middle name and don't care enough to look it up]"?!! If someone used my first and middle names regularly when addressing me, I'd slap 'em. Even if they were my best buddy. To me that's like "OMG HERE YOU ARE AND YOU ARE IN TROUBLE."

*sigh*

Thankfully this book came in one of the $5 mystery boxes that my local library does for their annual HUGE book sale. (Considering that particular box had about 30 books in it, I really spent nothing for this. THANK GOD. If I spent really anything more than I did on this book, expecting a good story, I would CRY.)

ARGH.

[Jg · Rating 1 out of 5]

I think what annoyed me the most about this book - and this makes me sad to say it, because I *loved* Barbara Taylor Bradford's Emma Harte series (the first three only, the rest were like afterthoughts) - is because BTB's characters in this book are American, yet despite her best efforts, they still hopelessly sound like Brits (same thing with her novel Everything To Gain). It just strikes me as utterly unbelievable that a thirtysomething American guy would describe a cute-as-a-button little girl as a "Botticelli angel". This phrase has also been used in BTB's other novels, by the way, like the Emma Harte series. It made me go, "Oh puh-leeze!!"

The story in itself, while not entirely original, was just really...boring. Thank goodness I just borrowed this from the library - I really would've been very annoyed if I had spent money on it, even from B&N's bargain aisle! :(

[Carol Waters · Rating 1 out of 5]

This took just a few hours. Seriously, how does this stuff find readers? I was at a B&B and everything else was religious. She’s 27 and married to a rich lawyer who doesn’t want kids. He’s a widowed journalist who sees his kid a few times a year. She designs glasswork. He is a war junkie. They have sex. Somebody dies. Nobody lives happily ever after because sex is always punished.

Oh, and the writing is terrible. Americans don’t say, “Happy Christmas” and butch guys don’t drink Bellinis. Just ick. Their bedroom scenes were hilarious and read like fan fiction or the “insert sex scene here” common to this kind of stuff.

[Smack! · Rating 2 out of 5]

Let’s be honest, nothing much happens in the majority of this book. When you do find the plot, the story is practically over. Two stars because it did have a sweet ending.

[Josie · Rating 1 out of 5]

First and foremost, this is not a romance. If you think Nicholas Sparks is a romance writer, then this book is for you. If you're familiar with the romance genre, then this is not. Secondly, this big love affair was shown less than half the length of the book so it was completely unrealistic. There is also cheating, which is a huge no-no for me. And yep, pretty much everything about this book was dreadful. So, slow pacing, insufferable and selfish characters, a lackluster love story, and a depressing ending make this a book I would never recommend and will definitely be going in my unhaul pile.

[KJ · Rating 1 out of 5]

I am dumber for having read this book. In regards to reviewing this book there is the potential for me to rattle on and on forever - but I'm going to keep it short. This is the Kmart of romance novels. One step up from Walmart but not that far up. It read like a Dick and Jane book. "Bill is a successful man. Bill is a journalist. Bill said, 'Darn it!' Vanessa makes beautiful glass decorations, is unrealistically successful and visits Venice. Yay, Vanessa!" Just so overly simplistic you could feel your brain slipping into a humorless and mediocre state.

[Kristy Fuhrer]

I got this book for free and I paid what it is worth. It is terribly written and has a boring, predictable plot. There was no effort at artistic descriptions. The characters where flat and the story seemed rushed. Fortunately it’s a short book so the pain ended quickly.
I got another BTB book at the same time but it’s going to Goodwill with this one.

[Marian · Rating 2 out of 5]

I feel this book was just so-so. Nothing much exciting happens. It reminded me of just an ordinary story.

[JJ · Rating 1 out of 5]

Short. No characters or much plot. Very dated.

[Leeann Zaccagnino · Rating 1 out of 5]

This was the WORST book I’ve ever read. So surprised that a Barbara Taylor Bradford novel could be so awful.

[Theresa · Rating 2 out of 5]

180 pages for this author is a small novel. On one hand it was okay. On the other hand it packed quite a lot of emotion. Man bumps into girl and, wow, it's 'love at first sight'... They both have absorbing careers - she is making artistic glassware and he is an international war reporter; and the center of their world is Venice, Italy! Yep, very romantic! However, the realities of everyday life begins to create maybe just a slight inconvenience, or a major problem! Maybe I shouldn't use this cliche but I think it fits as this is how I felt on reading the last page - 'it is better to have loved and lost, than never to have loved at all!'

[Judy · Rating 2 out of 5]

You could tell that this story was written a while ago. "He ran his finger down the side of her face". There were some surprises- I thought that one of the men, Bill or Frank, war time reporters & friends, was going to be killed during the fighting that they were covering and I thought for sure that she, Vanessa, was going to turn up pregnant. A quick read, though. This is the story of a well known war correspondent, Bill, who meets a woman in a hotel bar, Vanessa, they become fast friends with her and they eventually become lovers. One problem, though...she's married. After a night of passionate lovemaking, Vanessa tells Bill of that inconvenient fact. She also tells him that it's not working out; they are never in the same place for very long; her husband, Peter, is a lawyer to the stars, so they really have no life together. Vanessa is 27, Peter, is 35; she wants a baby, Peter does not. I conjured up all kinds of scenarios-Peter shoots Vanessa rather than letting her go, but she doesn't die, Bill rushes in to take care of her; Peter shoots Bill rather than letting him have her-neither of which happened. Instead, it's Bill who is kidnapped by terrorists and held for two weeks. When Bill doesn't show up for a planned tryst in Venice, their rendezvous point, Vanessa is convinced that Bill has grown tired of her and has dumped her, even though he has just reiterated, strongly, that he's in this relationship for the long haul; he wants to marry Vanessa. She retreats to her place in Southampton, Long Island to be alone with her thoughts, alone with her pain and her tears, away from everyone. She's unplugged the TV set, doesn't get the newspaper, and is totally cut off from the outside world. Drucilla (what a name!!!), Bill's Mom, tracks down Vanessa(I don't know how; she's never been to the cabin before, doesn't know anyone who knows Vanessa) but there she is, at Vanessa's door, bringing the bad tidings of Bill being kidnapped. Maybe the book should've been longer to add some other scenes. I don't like the way it ended. On to the next one.

[Andrea Del Rio · Rating 1 out of 5]

Decepción No. 2 del año.

Tristemente, este año me he encontrado con dos decepciones, una de ellas es este libro, la otra fue "Cuidado con ella".
Me pone mal ya que soy una fanática del romance. Amo el romance. Pero la relación entre los protagonistas no ha terminado de convencerme. No tiene nada que ver el tema de infidelidad, ya que no es el primero que leo, sobre este tema el primero que leí (y me enamoró) fue "Palabras que nunca te dije" de María Martinez.
No sé, pero "Encuentro Privado" lo sentí muy forzado todo y no me terminó de convencer para nada.

[Suheyla · Rating 2 out of 5]

Kitabın ilk satırlarında Bosna Hersek savaşı ortamında bir gazetecinin o telaşlı haber aşkını görünce okumaya karar verdim. Hatta ilk sayfalar akıcı da geçti. Bu siteye eklemenin uygun olduğunu düşünüp okumaya da devam ettim. Gerçi kahraman bir gazeteci ise hep bilinmedik durumlara da kendini hazırlamalı okuyucu. Ancak ortalarında bırakmayı da düşündüysem de dil biraz akıcı olduğundan devam ettim. Sonunda ise güzel bir aşk romanının bitişiyle kapattım kitabı. Yani okuduğum için pişman değilim ama bir savaş muhabirinin o çalkantılı hayatı sayfalara yansımamış. Çok daha doyurucu olabilirdi.

[Paula Galvan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Bill Fitzgerald, chief foreign Correspondent for CNS, an American cable news network, travels all over the world, risking his life documenting the devastating carnage terrorists inflict on the innocent in the name of their political and religious beliefs. After losing his wife years before to cancer, finding love in far away Venice is the last thing he expected, yet when Venessa Stewart walks into his life, Bill falls deeply in love. Theirs is a whirlwind romance that, unfortunately, ends tragically. Short and heartbreaking, this tale was also very entertaining.

[Luana :) · Rating 2 out of 5]

Romance entre Bill, un periodista de guerras norteamericano, con una hija y viudo a sus 40-something, y Vanessa, 30-something, artista, quién lo conoció en Venecia. Bastante cliché, not much plot, se conocen y conectan mucho, they sleep together and decide that they're endgame, predictable. Pero llega un twist esperado y termina con un corazón roto (spoiler ! no fue el de bill, porque para que se rompa un corazón tiene que estar vivo buuu).

[Paul Adler · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not read any Barbara Taylor Bradford books before, but I did enjoy this one. Widower Bill Fitzpatrick meets and falls for Vanessa Stewart while on holiday in Venice. Bill is a TV war correspondent and Vanessa a glass designer. They meet a couple of times and fall hopelessly in love. They decide they want to be together, but tragedy Thwarts their plans. Easy book to read aithough it has adult themes it is not an embarrassing book to read.
RECOMMENDED.

[Carolyn · Rating 3 out of 5]

A quick 1/2 day read. Not going to lie - I chose this one, that has actually been on my shelf for ages, because it was only 175 pages. I am (was) 4 books behind my goal for the year - gotta hustle!

This was a bit of an abridged Nicholas Sparks novel. that's all I'll say about that. Then again, the book is from 1996 - unlikely any of my friends will ever read it!

[Meredith · Rating 3 out of 5]

As much as I love Barbara Taylor Bradford - and I do! I do! This book was a little slow to get into, and I wasn't happy with the ending. I can also do without the graphic sex scenes at this point in my life. I fell in love with the characters once I got into the book but then it all fell apart as the story played out. Sorry. :(

[Jennifer · Rating 2 out of 5]

There really wasn’t much point to this book. It is classified as a romance, however, when one of the romantic parters is already married to someone else… that is not romance, it is selfishness. I don’t understand the point of her already being married. It added nothing to the story, and soured the entire thing.

[JUDITH Turner · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mixed feelings

This is a wonderful love story. But it seemed as if the author was rushing things to a conclusion. There was a depth of emotion that made the book sad, but there was a lot of emotion missing. The ending was so abrupt and devoid of emotion as to be stunning. I had no clue that was going to happen. That kind of ruined the book for me.

[Virginia R. Balser · Rating 5 out of 5]

A remarkable story!

As I read this book I wondered how many others have experienced a similar event. To find love, to experience the rapture of that love, but in the end loose it all through no fault of anyone involved. While it is sad, its the memory of it that lingers on forever.

[Yanira · Rating 3 out of 5]

La descripcion de Venecia, su historia y cada uno de los lugares visitados me traslado a cada escena....el amor que nace entre los protagonistas intenso y unico...Adore a Billi y admire a Vanessa, lo malo el final muy inesperado, quede con un nudo en la garganta y senti que falto cerrarlo....

[Feyza · Rating 2 out of 5]

That end!!! First 50 pages was boring, full with governmental things and after that it becomes exciting and you think 'okay, I' m gonna love this book' but then, boom! There is no plot, just plain daily talks. I was expecting a plot twist until the very last page.. :(

[June Holmes · Rating 4 out of 5]

A beautiful story

I read any book written by Barbara Taylor Bradford. She is my favorite author. I have read most every book she has written. Secret Affair is a story that tells about a love that happens once in a lifetime. Totally beautiful and sad at the same time.

[Alyssa · Rating 2 out of 5]

I don't usually read romance at all. The plot seemed very run-of-the-mill and the "affair" was barely even so. Still, I can see why people read these: for the quick thrill on 2 pages and the fact you can really rack up a good book count with how fast you can read them.

[Faffy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Heartbroken

I have always loved every Bradford book, she t byells a good story and shares the emotions of her characters with us. I wasn't too pleased with this story, it ended so sadly it almost broke my heart.

[Kathy · Rating 4 out of 5]

This story takes you from the Middle East to Venice to New York. From war torn areas to romantic city. There is some action, some romance, some mystery. Overall, a good story. The ending just happened. I felt there was more story to be told.

[Maria Lucia Beltran Mihajlovic · Rating 1 out of 5]

disappointing

Superficial and one sided polítical views. The lady is a cheater but “prides herself in being honest.” Boring. This author has other great books but this one was very disappointing.

[KCSAINTS · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very disappointing, not one of the best BTB books, but I don't think any of her books will be as good as the Emma Harte series. Didn't enjoy it at all.