Parting Secrets

by Becky Melby, Cathy Wienke

Jeanie is pursuing her dream of winning a pastry chef contest that will send her to Paris to study and possibly teach. But she hadn’t counted on her daughter’s father showing up in time to give her away at her wedding. But Steven is here. . .and asking questions about Jeanie’s disappearance nearly thirty years ago. If she reveals the truth, she risks losing him again. When the past rises up and engulfs them with its secrets, can their rekindled feelings for one another survive the devastating impact? Is there really a future for them—together?

176 pages, Kindle Edition

First published March 31, 2010

About the author

Wisconsin resident Becky Melby is the author of more than 20 titles, including her latest, Candles in the Rain, plus the Lost Sanctuary Series, four books in the Guideposts cozy mystery series Secrets of Wayfarers Inn, and a novella in A Door County Christmas. Married for 48 years, mother of four, grandmother to sixteen, Becky thrives on writing, reading, camping, rides on the back of a silver Gold Wing, and time with family. Connect with her at www.beckymelby.com or Facebook.

Reviews

[Shandy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another short read, but a good read.

Follow the lives of 2 separate families who are reunited after 30 years in a tale of forgiveness, love and truth. Watch as these families put secrets to rest, and live the lives they were meant to live as a family. A very good love story, of it never being too late to go after and follow your dreams.

[Carrie · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Parting Secrets" by Becky Melby and Cathy Weinke has some interesting, uncomfortable, and complicated plot developments for a short Christian novel. For starters, the two protagonists, Jeanie Cholewinski and Steven Vandenburg, have a past, which resulted with Jeanie getting pregnant out of wedlock. That was challenging in itself, but the uncomfortable complication was that at the time, Jeanie was a seventeen year old high school student, and Steven was a 22 year old student teacher. When Jeanie realized that she was pregnant, she ran away to keep the pregnancy a secret from her family, and to protect Steven from being charged with statutory rape. She also left without telling Steven about the baby, and they do not see each other for almost thirty years.


Through what Jeanie and her mother would call "Godcidences," coincidences orchestrated by the Lord, Jeanie and Steven have been reunited at the wedding of their daughter. It is here where Steven finds out that Angel is his daughter and it's a bit much for Steven to take in. He struggles with the anger that he feels over Jeanie's abandonment and neglect in not telling him that he had a daughter. However, he still carries a torch in his heart for Jeanie after all these years, and now as a widower, he is free to finally pursue a much longed for relationship with her.


Jeanie, a baker, has had a hard life as a single mother. Her dream of becoming a teacher may be finally within her grasp when she enters a baking/pastry competition where the grand prize includes a nine month apprenticeship in France with a renown pastry chef. Now that her secret about Angel is finally out, she is ready to pursue this dream. She isn't ready to drop this in order to have Steven in her life. In addition, a dangerous man from her past is trying to pull her back into a dark lifestyle, one in which she had been trapped in for three years after she had left Steven. She cannot bear the thought of the exposure of this secret life being made known to her friends and family, especially to Angel and Steven.


Will Steven be able to convince Jeanie to give them a second chance? If Jeanie does choose Steven over the French apprenticeship, will Steven still want her after finding out what she did to survive in those mysterious three years? Will she also be able to protect Angel from the threats that the dangerous man is making?





At 176 pages, the authors have packed a lot into the plot with such limited room. There is plenty of foreshadowing about Jeanie's secret past, and although it wasn't exactly what I thought that it was going to be, her entrapment into and involvement in sexual exploitation added to the list of heavy topics that were touched on in this novel. Much of the emotional angst was centred on the fear that Steven would reject Jeanie once he finds out what she did during those three years. There was also Steven's turmoil over Jeanie's removal of his freedom to choose whether to go to jail for having sex with an under-aged female (and being reunited after his incarceration), or to have a life without Jeanie and Angel, a life that he always felt was second best.


If the novel were longer, I think that the story could have delved more into the guilt that our protagonists may have felt over their respective choices and actions. With a longer novel, I think that the issue of forgiveness could have also been developed further; Steven's anger over Jeanie's disappearance and withholding of Angel's existence seemed to be minimalized. Any anger or bitterness that the girls who were hurt by Jeanie during those dark three years seemed to be easily glossed over with the explanation that they knew and understood why she did what she did. Maybe, truly, people can be that gracious and forgiving, but it would interesting to think about what might have been if things were not that neat and tidy in the execution of this plot.





As I mentioned before, "Parting Secrets" tackled quite a few taboo topics, making it a meatier novel than what I anticipated from such a short novel. The novel wasn't terribly heavy, but it had more substance in it than what I would have expected. I also found it intriguing that the protagonists were an older couple, rather the young'uns that appear in the majority of romances that are out in the market today.

This review also appears on my blog:
http://whatiscbreading.blogspot.ca

[Joleen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really good writing!

What do you do when, in order to save the life of your child or loved ones, you get caught up in something you know you're going to hate, regret, and despise herself for.

This book is about Jeanie and the life she left as a teen. Caught up in the life-changing predicament of teen pregnancy only to be caught up in another life changing event to survive. After escaping that horrible life, does she keep it a secret, can she confide in anyone, does she hide from her past and hope to live a normal life?

What if after 20-some years that past comes back to haunt her, and a horrible person from her past is intent on making her life miserable once more.

The book starts with the marriage of her daughter, and the man Jeanie loved as a teenager, who had no knowledge of this child, walking her daughter down the isle. He's finally getting to know the daughter Jeanie kept secret for such a long time. Jeanie, at 17, left because she was underage and he might have been tried for statutory rape, as he was a student teacher at the high school.

Soon they both realize, after all their separate history, and his marriage (to a woman who died of cancer), that they still have feelings for each other.

But what does she do with this past she's been keeping secret for so long? And what does she do about the man who wants to bring back her past?

This book hit on a topic I never thought that I would read about, because of its sensitive nature. It has to do with teen sex slavery. I never believed I could enjoy a book about this topic as much as I did this one. It was so well done. I didn't feel like I was forced into emotions I didn't want to have. This was Jeanie dealing with her own past, and bringing it into a proper perspective as she allows God to deal with what happened. It's about Jeanie facing it, and bringing it out in the open, the hardest thing she believed she could do. It means coming out with a horrible secret that no one knows, not her mother, her love interest or her own daughter.

Well done, well-written, loved all the characters. Fantastic ending. I really recommend it.

[Shelley · Rating 3 out of 5]

Happened on this book while the Kindle edition was free!

The story centers around Jeanie Cholewinski, a fifth generation baker in a small town,
who has dreams of winning a pastry chef contest. One which will send her to Paris, along
with other sweet goodies.
Upon being introduced to Jeanie, we learn her daughter just got married and a former flame,
(who happened to be her daughter's father) returned to her life.
Naturally, questions follow.
Some Jeanie isn't prepared to answer.

“If she reveals the truth, she risks losing him again.
When the past rises up and engulfs them with its secrets, can their rekindled feelings for one
another survive the devastating impact?
Is there really a future for them—together?”


One might think this was, strictly, a Christian romance.
There were heavier topics brought up in this story, which added to it's uniqueness, in my opinion.

The main characters of Jeanie Cholewinski and Steven Vandenburg were enjoyable, easy to like
people. Each had a collection of Christian friends/family, who kept them grounded and offered
support.

Naturally, there were baddies trying to create problems. Did they succeed? No spoilers here!

What I liked about this story: the characters, story line, the baking aspect,
I found the bakery to be an interesting place!

I felt some topics were smoothed over, a bit easier, than they might have been in real life.
A bit of a struggle would have been believable or expected.

Would have liked a bit more family bonding with Angel and her (new found) brothers
or with the new family unit, in it's entirety. Maybe another time....

Unsure what's going on in the cover for this book... it doesn't relate to the story, at all!
Now, a bakery window, filled with goodies, would have been perfect!

Would I recommend? Sure!
As I mentioned, a few heavier topics are touched on... but, this remained a “clean” book.
176 pages, for the Kindle edition.

[Lisa · Rating 3 out of 5]

Second in the series of christian romance novels. I will pick up book three at work tomorrow.

[Lynda Knapp · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very enjoyable book!

Although the secret Jeanie has been keeping for years is a very touchy subject, it was very well-written. The characters all seemed realistic. I do recommend this book.