The Secrets We Keep

by D.R. Coghlan

For a love that lasts a lifetime

Laura sells her car, quits her job and says goodbye to Melbourne and her troubled life. She arrives in Europe with a bulging backpack, still hurting from an affair with a married man, but determined in her search for love and belonging.

But is escaping the past really that simple?

Laura meets Roxy on the road and together they hitchhike around Ireland. For the first time in her life Laura finds herself attracted to another woman. She pushes these feelings aside and focuses instead on her desire for Jordi, from Barcelona. He's hot and he wants Laura. She falls for the touch of his hands, the scent of his body, his all-consuming passion. She tells herself there is nowhere else she wants to be, but all is not what it seems.

And then there is Olivia, with the infectious grin, who rescues Laura and keeps her safe. In her arms, Laura feels at home but Olivia is not part of the plan, it's not supposed to happen. Has she messed up again?

As Laura travels through foreign lands, she struggles to find her way and stay safe but finding the path that leads to true love seems so much harder. Her choices are often influenced by fear and clouded by inner turmoil. She will need to call on all of her determination and courage if she is to overcome the past and learn to choose love over fear.

The Secrets We Keep is a deeply emotional, tender-hearted love story of a young woman trying to rise above the trauma in her life. Although she is deeply flawed, her passion and her determination to learn and grow may just provide a lifeline to a better world.



Praise for The Secrets We Keep

*Five Stars* D.R. Coghlan has done an excellent job at writing a good book. I loved the chemistry between the characters. I will definitely be reading more of her books.

*Five Stars* An amazingly attention-grabbing story with great characters, details and depth. It kept my interest and total engagement throughout really well

*Five Stars* This was a great book that was well written, you could immediately identify with the characters.

242 pages, Paperback

First published November 6, 2018

About the author

How we grow through our challenges (or not) is something D. R. Coghlan finds intensely interesting. Along with her own spiritual journey, it is what motivates her to write. D. R.'s writing features themes of love, emotional healing and personal growth, as well as spiritual awakening and edge of reality psychic abilities.

Her first novel, The Secrets We Keep: A Love Story was inspired by true events. She followed this with a lesbian romance duology called Maddie and Kara and most recently, a novella, Good Girl Bad Girl: A Lesbian Romance.

D. R. is now moving into new territory, exploring psychic connection and spiritual awakening in her new series, Psychic Heart

The first book in the series, titled, Awakening introduces us to Ronnie, a woman in her forties who is searching for meaning in her life after her marriage explodes. Ronnie’s search takes her to Nepal where a visit to a monastery brings a spiritual awakening, unearthing her latent psychic abilities. These abilities are then put to the test when two girls vanish from a remote Himalayan village.

Awakening will be out early in 2021.

D. R. lives on the south coast of Australia with her family and her rescue Kelpie dog, Molly.

Check out D. R. on her author Facebook page drcoghlan.author to see closer contact and join her mailing list to receive bonus content and be among the first to hear about her new releases. Website: www.drcoghlan.com

Reviews

[Jude Silberfeld-Grimaud · Rating 3 out of 5]

Maybe I should have read the blurb better. This book is much heavier than I had inferred from it. It’s a tough journey for Laura and was at times painful to read. There’s only so much pain I can handle and there’s way too much of it here. Yet this book is well-written and coherent but it’s definitely not for me.

[Kexx · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow! Stunningly powerful book that was beautifully told. Very matter of fact about emotions and decisions, lots of tears, lots of love from surprising places. Loved it.

[Jeanne Richardson · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the 1st book I've read written by D.R. Coghlan; she has done an excellent job at writing a good book; I will definitely be reading more of her books.

The story line caught my attention at the very beginning and kept me interested throughout the entire book.

I loved the chemistry between the characters.

I received a free copy of this book via booksprout and I’m voluntarily leaving a review.

[Nadea Croix · Rating 5 out of 5]

I found this story to be a very enjoyable read. An amazingly attention grabber with great characters, details and depth kept your interest and totally engaged throughout really well

[Sylvia Lane · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a great book that was well written, you could immediately identify with the characters.

There were a couple of surprises in it that kept me fully engaged. Excited to see what else this author comes out with!

[Nicole · Rating 3 out of 5]

Written by a friend of a friend, I feel a little guilty that I have not rated this higher. It is not a bad book. The story is quite beautiful and occasionally surprising. However, I did find it a little wordy — the dialogue particularly so. Written always in complete sentences, it did not show the intimacy between the main couple, Laura and Olivia. Coghlan has another two books in the pipelines and I will keep an eye out for these in the hope that as she matures as a writer, her style will become a little easier to read.

[Michael Wells · Rating 5 out of 5]

Secrets in love

This book is about Laura who left her home in Australia I want to Europe. She traveled around Europe and has Different experiences with with various people. She was trying to find herself and eventually she did. The plot of this book is very good there were times it was happy and sad but overall it was a wonderful book about finding loveAnd your place in the world.

[Elsabe Colff · Rating 5 out of 5]

Laura is living the life... traveling and exploring her sexuality. I loved every bit of it and couldn't put it down. I am really looking forward to reading the rest of the author's books!

[Karen · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was well written, enough to keep me reading but something prevented me from really connecting with the main character. She just felt distant. Maybe there was too much of the character explaining what she did and how she felt. At times it felt like a travelogue – she did this that there and then she did that here and met these folks here and wherever.

I did not like some of her decisions and had to keep reminding myself of how young she was in the book. The earliest experience with Jordie would have clued me in to what kind of person Jordie was so I was surprised how often she professed to love him. Laura did mature and worked through some or most of her issues. Olivia was lovely, but again I didn’t feel a connection.

I really didn’t like the ending. I wanted a different outcome, but life happens.

Although I am lukewarm about this novel, I would read more from Ms. Coghlan.

[RNPride · Rating 5 out of 5]

I found this book enjoyable. I didn't want to put it down. I got a lot out of this book. I enjoyed the travel references. I found the characters likable. The book was well written and worth reading. The ending was well written and caused me to feel emotions I didn't expect. The story was wrapped up nicely even though it did not end the way I would have preferred it to. I will be looking into the author's other books.

I received the book in exchange for an honest review.

[Jude · Rating 5 out of 5]

Mixed

I have to say, I have mixed feelings about this book. It was a wonderful love story, all about the twists and turns of life. There are parts I did not see coming and I'm not yet sure how I feel about that. But then again, real life is like that, isn't it? Well written, well done.

[Tanya · Rating 5 out of 5]

She lacks up and goes to Europe to find herself. She meet a man who she thinks is the one but why does she want something else. Will she find herself? Can she run from her past? Follow her as she travels around Europe and see how she gets on

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.