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Nora hasn’t looked back. Not since she fled Texas to start a new life. Away from her father’s volatile temper and the ever-watchful gaze of her claustrophobically conservative small town, Nora has freed herself. She can live—and love—however she wants. The only problem is that she also left behind the one woman she can’t forget. Now tragedy calls her back home to confront her past—and reconcile her future.
Sophie seems to have everything—a wonderful daughter, a successful husband, and a rewarding career. Yet underneath that perfection lies an explosive secret. She still yearns for Nora—her best friend and first love—despite all the years between them. Keeping her true self hidden hasn’t been easy, but it’s been necessary. So when Sophie finds out that Nora has returned, she hopes Nora’s stay is short. The life she has built depends on it.
But they both find that first love doesn’t fade easily. Memories come to light, passion ignites, and old feelings resurface. As the forces of family and intolerance that once tore them apart begin to reemerge, they realize some things may never change—unless they demand it.
PRAISE FOR THE SECRET OF YOU AND ME:
“A compelling story of second chances and being true to yourself.”
—Harper Bliss, bestselling author of Seasons of Love
“Lenhardt convinces in her portrayal of the conflict between desire and control.” —Publishers Weekly
“Real strength is quiet and steady, not bombastic. Cowards are always the loudest people in the room.”
The Secret of You and Me by Melissa Lenhardt is an incredibly touching story about a love that refuses to be broken, despite the number of years apart, past lies and misunderstandings, and the social stigma that rages on in the small Texas town of Lynchfield.
Nora and Sophie were best friends growing up, becoming even closer as they approached adolescence and adulthood. Embracing their budding sexuality and their growing fondness for each other, the girls quickly discovered that their love was both beautiful and terrifying. Nothing prepares them for the aftermath of discovery, separation, heartache, and the subsequent struggle over the years to capture that same level of attraction and love that they seemingly lost almost 20 years ago.
Melissa Lenhardt masterfully presents this same-sex love story in all its complexities, beauty, fear, and acceptance. When Nora returns to Lynchfield following her father’s death, she is confronted by his house full of junk that nobody wants, her aunt’s tightly kept secret, and the inevitable confrontation with Sophie and her husband, Charlie, and her daughter, Logan. The explosive history between Nora, Sophie, and Charlie cannot be ignored for long, and the ensuing drama is well delivered, engaging, and quite satisfying and entertaining. Tempers flare, passions flame, secrets are exposed, and life for these characters will never be the same.
The Secret of You and Me is a love story between two women and an amazing portrayal of the devastating effects of lying both to the world and to yourself. Nora’s life in a big city has given her more freedom to express her sexuality openly, but Sophie is not as fortunate. Small towns filled with narrow minds and even looser tongues are no place for a closet lesbian to come out and flaunt her sexual preference. But what happens when the love of Sophie’s life returns and reignites the passion and the desire to deny her heterosexual false front and confess her love for Nora from the rooftops. This story about Nora and Sophie is tender, true, and undeniably necessary in a world filled with ignorance and the reluctance to accept anyone with different views, beliefs, and lifestyles.
Melissa Lenhardt’s writing and storytelling are always so fresh and wonderful, capturing the reader’s attention with unique story lines about strong women who may bend during adversity, but they never completely break, standing firm instead and more determined, stronger, and more faithful than ever before. If you are offended by same-sex relationships, some scenes in The Secret of You and Me may shock you, but the raw power of Nora and Sophie’s relationship may just keep you reading and appreciating the beauty of such true love.
Books about LGBTQ relationships are not new, but The Secret of You and Me is a bit different because it provides a delightful peek into the hearts of two women whose love remains the same, always.
Enter the giveaway below on or before August 21, 2020, for a chance to win some fabulous prizes.
I received a free copy of this book from Lone Star Book Blog Tours in exchange for my honest review.
Melissa Lenhardt is a women’s fiction, mystery, and historical fiction author. Her debut mystery, Stillwater, was a finalist for the 2014 Whidbey Writers’ MFA Alumni Emerging Writers Contest, and Sawbones, her historical-fiction debut, was hailed as a “thoroughly original, smart and satisfying hybrid, perhaps a new sub-genre: the feminist Western” by Lone Star Literary Life. The New York Times called her sixth novel, Heresy, “An all-out women-driven, queer, transgender, multiracial takeover of the Old West.” The Secret of You and Me, her seventh novel and her first contemporary women’s fiction novel, was published on August 4, 2020.
When Melissa isn’t writing, she’s thinking, “I really should be writing,” and eating Nutella or peanut butter straight out of the jar. A lifelong Texan, she lives in the Dallas area with her husband, two sons, and two Golden Retrievers.
either a FaceTime call or virtual book-club visit with the author.
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I like what you say about Lenhardt’s strong women characters bend in adversity but never break. That’s what makes them so fascinating — you just wonder how much they can take and at what point they’re going to snap back and take charge. Thanks for a great review.
Thanks! Melissa is an expert at creating strong female characters, and this book is no exception. I really got immersed in this story.