The Space Between Secrets

by Sheri Langer

In her forties and desperately yearning to be a mother, Rachel Sutton is devastated each month by a negative pregnancy test. Her marriage is on the rocks, but she believes a child will fill the hole in her heart. Life seems bitterly unfair until Rachel is presented with an opportunity to adopt a baby overseas.

Though her husband balks at the idea, Rachel is determined. When he goes away on business, she decides to head to London on her own to get the child. However, the adoption falls through, and Rachel extends her trip to avoid going home. After making friends with Rena, a young British woman, Rachel impulsively offers to have Rena and her baby stay at her home back in the States for a few months.

When tragedy strikes, Rachel makes a decision that will have far-reaching consequences. As she works to avoid being discovered, she realizes that everyone she knows is hiding something. Rachel must unravel the truth and forge a new path to a future she never imagined.

Audible Audio

Published May 13, 2025

About the author

Sheri Langer is a chocoholic writer and editor who routinely feasts on romantic comedies. She’s been known to spontaneously reenact scenes from classic favorites like When Harry Met Sally.

A self-proclaimed moderately talented home-cook, Sheri spends a fair amount of time concocting dishes that can never be repeated. A creative rebel at heart, she has always colored outside the lines and has an instinctive aversion to recipes. To keep the calories from getting too out of hand, Sheri does step and aerobic workouts in the privacy of her bedroom, where no one has to be subjected to her lack of rhythm.

An avid word fan, Sheri frequently plays Just Words, Boggle, and Scrabble, mostly against the computer so she has excellent odds of winning. With her four kids all grown up, three of whom live in various locations across the map, Sheri and her guy, Brad, spend much of their downtime watching General Hospital and football, shopping, and pursuing the best ice cream on the planet. Much to the chagrin of their waistbands, they can often be spotted sitting on a bench outside their favorite creamery, eating obscenely overstuffed giant waffle cones.

Please feel free to connect with Sheri on social media. You can help her procrastinate by engaging in spirited exchanges or viewing pics of her great-looking family and ridiculously adorable cat, Zoe.

Reviews

[Tanya · Rating 5 out of 5]

She wants a baby so much but life is not fair as she just cannot get pregnant. It is affecting her marriage so she tries for adoption but he is not happy about it. She goes anyway while he was away and it falls through. She will meet a single mother and life may just change. What is going to happen? How will he react? Will it affect her marriage? See what is going to happen
I received an advance copy from hidden gems and I want to review

[Jennifer · Rating 5 out of 5]

I voluntarily reviewed an Advance Reader Copy from the Author. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.The Space Between Secrets by Sheri Langer is wonderfully written, and impossible to put down.
Will Rachel find happiness and motherhood?
Rachel Sutton is our main character, and she has quite the drama going on, even though part of it she isn't even aware of at the time. I immediately connected with Rachel. She has a crazy relationship with her sister. However, they genuinely love each other, which is good since they work together. Rachel's sister is a mother and seems to get pregnant easily, much to Rachel's disbelief.

Rachel's husband is a selfish jerk, and she keeps making excuses for him. She is a total enabler when it comes to him. My best friend once told me, "Never marry your rebound," and Rachel proves this logic. She wants a baby so badly that she heads off to London to adopt a baby whose mother abandoned her, while her husband heads off to work out of the country.

I enjoyed watching Rachel find herself and a family of her own, even if it was quite unexpected and not exactly within the legal process.
Five Stars
My Rating for The Space Between Secrets by Sheri Langer is five stars. I love a good romantic women's fiction occasionally, and this one was perfect. I highly recommend it and look forward to reading other books by Ms. Langer.



Thank you for dropping by! I hope you enjoyed this review of The Space Between Secrets by Sheri Langer.

Until the next time,


This review was originally posted on Baroness' Book Trove

[Leslie aka StoreyBook Reviews · Rating 4 out of 5]

There is so much to love and hate about this book! And by hate, I mean some, ok one, of the characters. 

Rachel and Phil are in a loving relationship...or are they? Rachel desperately wants to have a baby, and Phil seemingly goes along with it, but she hasn't gotten pregnant. I had some suspicions about why. Phil also seems to be a narcissist. They have an opportunity to adopt a baby, but things go awry. There is more to the situation; I also suspected a few things there. 

Rachel also has a younger sister, Beth, who is very outspoken and obsessed with Rachel's love life...the intimate details, that is. And she isn't too shy to let Rachel know how she feels about Phil. While she isn't wrong, it is like she is banging Rachel over the head with a mallet regarding her opinions and feelings. I thought she needed to take a step back or at least tone down her feelings. She wasn't wrong, but being forceful about your opinions is not helpful to the other party.

This is Rachel's journey of self-discovery. Who is she without a child? Is Phil the person she wants to spend the rest of her life with? When a certain situation occurs, how will she handle it?

I enjoyed reading this book, and a few twists/revelations near the end regarding Phil was apropos. 

We give this book 4 paws up.

[Tara Peters · Rating 4 out of 5]

An engrossing book about a woman finding herself amid secrets and betrayal. Rachel is a woman who wants nothing more than to be a mother, even staying with her husband. There are cracks in her marriage but she is determined to make things work. There were times that I wanted to wake her up and make her realize she was fighting a losing battle.

When she goes to adopt a baby, things don’t go as planned, but she meets a wonderful woman with a child. After a heartbreaking turn of events, Rachel finds herself with her new friend’s baby and a decision to make. Does she raise the baby as her own and try to find the father or act as if this is the baby she adopted? Her conscious helps her along the way and she begins the search.

While looking for the father, she starts realizing the way her husband treats her isn’t ok and decides that she is done. Multiple secrets are revealed about her husband and she starts falling for a man named Zach. Along the way, she also met a woman who is very insightful and a man who she thinks is the father. I loved how much Rachel grew in this book. Her relationship with her sister, Wade and Zach are also nice. When she realized who the dad is, she is fearful that she won’t be able to see the girl anymore.

I couldn’t put this book down. I received an ARC and this is my honest, voluntary review.

[Katherine Hayward Pérez · Rating 4 out of 5]

Shari Langer is a new-to-me author. The Space Between Secrets has such a mysterious title that I was hooked just by that.

I felt immediately invested in Rachel's story. The author goes deep into her relationship and feelings, and this makes the book emotional. I was concerned for her and her marriage.

I was proud of her for always fighting for what she wanted. I was wondering how her journey to London would go. I love any mention of London, since I was born there.

Meeting Rena was unexpected for her. How will that and being in London change her life?

I love that Rachel isn't frightened to take risks and goes to London despite what her husband thinks.

It's interesting to find out what happens to the other characters.

The Space Between Secrets made me wondeer what motivates us to keep secrets? There are secrets and lies here.

The Space Between Secrets is a book I am glad to have discovered.

It was my pick for Book Lover's Day 2024.

Thanks to Sheri Langer

4 stars

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

[Marcia Crabtree · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved reading this book. I was hooked from the first page to the last. It is a love story and an anti-love story. It’s a book about love, and family, and trust, and betrayal. It’s about friendship, and it’s about relationships in all myriad forms.

The book has many interesting and improbable twists and turns, each intriguing and surprising in many ways. Although the title says it’s about secrets, the depth of those secrets are staggering. Although I guessed the answer to the book’s main puzzle early on, the rest of the unending, shocking revelations came as interesting surprises.

Although this is the first book by Sheri Langer that I’ve read, I look forward to reading more, including her book published several years ago titled “Love-Lines.” I am thankful to Ms. Langer, Red Adept Publishing, LLC, and BookSirens for allowing me the chance to read this book as an advanced reader’s copy. I am leaving this review voluntarily.

[Lia Lorimer · Rating 3 out of 5]

Mixed feelings about this book
I put this book aside a few times, considering the slow pace of the plot, Rachel’s focus on the actual or imaginary sexual prowess of every man, and her sister, Beth’s continual obsession with junk food, boring and repetitive!
However, as the story moved forward, albeit in fits and starts, my interest was caught, with the last third of the book catching my interest.
Rachel’s desire to be a mom dominates her thoughts, initially blinding her to her husband, Phil’s narcissism.
However, her sudden outside interests soon after achieving her ambition, albeit for a specific purpose, seemed rather strange as baby Janie seemed to spend more time with sitters than with her mom!
The author showed creativity in the intricate, sometimes unrealistic, manner she managed to connect all the strands of the plot.
I received a free copy and am leaving this review voluntarily.

[Nicole Normand · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received an ARC from Hidden Gems
I'm a bit torn with this one. Some parts were really good, some not so much, some were predictable but still enjoyable to get there, some were quite endearing. Same with people. I did not like Beth the sister. She demanded TMI about Rachel's relationships with pretty much anyone; I'm not talking just in the bedroom either. I loved Zach and Edie. I can understand Connie. Rachel was desperate and did what she thought was the best for the child through all her difficult decisions. The whole scene with Abbott and Costello is hilarious but shouldn't have been. Sorry! Sometimes I was a bit confused, for ex. Do jogging suit really have zippers? Possible triggers: conjugal violence, infertility, and failed adoption. How far would you go to get a child of your own? How far would you go to stay childless?

[Jenny Reeve · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have read a book by this author before, and thoroughly enjoyed it. So when I was asked to review this one, I was thrilled.

Although the overall topic of the story was very good and certainly emotive, I found it really difficult to engage myself completely. I found the characters and storyline too predictable, irritating even. So much so, that I found myself reluctantly picking up my kindle to read it. But, I wanted to get to the end, simply to find out what happens and hoping that the storyline and characters would grab my attention a bit more.

Unfortunately, neither happened.

I am giving the book 3 stars because the topic was interesting and the behaviour of Rachel was understandable and the way in which the author understood the dilemma and feelings of a woman who desperately wants a baby.

I am sorry that I could not write a more positive review.

[Erin Clark · Rating 3 out of 5]

Rachel is desperate to have a baby with her narcissistic, philandering husband Phil. When the opportunity arises for her to adopt an unwanted child in the U.K. she hops on a plane and flys to London. Unfortunately the adoption falls through, but life has other plans for Rachel and she must pivot her expectations and adapt. She has to learn to trust in fate. I enjoyed The Space Between Secrets by Sherri Langer, it's funny and heart wrenching at the same time. However the whole premise of the story was just not believable to me, Rachels predicament was way out there on the reality scale. Granted this is a story written to entertain but it just did not ring true for me. 3 stars.

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

[Sunshinyda · Rating 4 out of 5]

I both liked and disliked this book. I hated one of the characters. The "husband" was clearly to be tossed out with the dishwater. Friends were to be cherished. I felt sorry for Rachel, so focused on having a baby and thinking it would save her marriage, which was beyond salvaging and she couldn't realize it or the MANY reasons why it was unsalvageable. Not my usual book to read but I did since I received a free copy. I will say I liked Rachel's growth along the way and how she 'found' herself again.

[Shannon · Rating 4 out of 5]

This isn’t my typical genre but I truly enjoyed this book. Rachel has a lot going on in her life but she’s set on becoming a mother, no matter what it takes. There were parts of this story that were funny, parts that were predictable and some that just broke my heart. There were also plenty of surprises along the way to keep it interesting as well. A great book!

[Lisa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read in one sitting it was that good. Interesting well written storyline with a fast pace and attention to detail. Multi layered characters. Some drama and suspense. A must read book.

[Paula Pugh · Rating 3 out of 5]

I only read about 20% of this novel before I stopped. I felt no connection with the character Rachel. It sounded like a good story and I was disappointed by the very slow development of the plot.
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

[Peggy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loved this book. Easy to follow. This book will have you finishing it pretty quick as it draws you in and you can find yourself forgetting about reality!

[Gabriele · Rating 1 out of 5]

Penis....blahblah....penis.....blahblah.....penis....okay, I'm not a prude, but how can a writer be so obsessed with this body part? Dnf

[Diane How · Rating 4 out of 5]

Although the story introduces Rachel Sutton's marriage much like a steamy romance, it is far from perfect. Her narcissistic husband seems to enjoy the sexual efforts to impregnate Rachel, but then he's off to who knows where. Rachel devotes all her energy to having a baby even going as far as cashing out her retirement to adopt a newborn. I enjoyed the unexpected characters she meets along the journey to London and the twisted predicament she finds herself in when she returns. An enjoyable read.