This book grabbed from the Prologue, filled with both endearing and funny moments. In a few pages, Ms. Garwood had me loving Judith, the heroine, and her friend Frances Catherine. By the end of Chapter 2, I was also in love with Iain, the hero, and smiling like a silly girl. What a nice way to start a book!Judith and Frances Catherine met as children and formed an unlikely friendship. Judith was English and Frances Catherine was Scottish, and everyone knew that English and Scottish hated each other... Well, everyone but Judith and Frances Catherine! Their friendship lasted through all the years, and now Frances Catherine was pregnant and wanted Judith by her side as promised years before, to help her with the birth of her child. Iain was the laird of the Maitland clan and Frances Catherine's brother-in-law, and the idea of having an Englishwoman as a guest in his lands didn't particularly sit well with him but he agreed to fulfill his sister-in-law's request - after all, he was an honorable man and he always put his family first, no matter what. So he set to England to fetch Judith and escort her to her friend's side, even though he expected her to dishonor her childhood promise and not go to Frances Catherine's. She was English, hence her word didn't mean anything, right? Well, Iain was more than surprised to find out his preconceived notions about Judith were wrong, not to mention a bit disturbed to see how she managed to enchant not only him but all of his men in no time. But she had a secret - yeah, the one the titles refers to - that could complicate a relationship between them, so she was determined to fight her attraction to him. Not that would make any difference, once Iain had his mind set on keeping her... ;)Iain was just wonderful! Honorable, protective, caring and, oh yes, arrogant. He didn't ask, he demanded. His marriage proposal to Judith made me gasp, then laugh. It was so delicious and outrageous. "Judith, I'm keeping you." How could she argue with that? (LOL) And yet, he couldn't find a way to get her to understand the "chain of command" to be followed in his clan. But he was no fool when it came to Judith and didn't waste time trying to keep her at arm's lenght.Judith was as great as Iain. Honorable, kind-hearted and smart. Stubborn too, because that was the only way she could meet Iain's arrogance. She wasn't afraid to stand her ground but she never acted like those stupid heroines who pick a fight with the hero just to show how "feisty" they are. She was above that. Seeing her argue her cases in her particular ilogical way of thinking was too funny. No wonder everyone always ended up agreeing with her.Iain and Judith's love story was funny and sigh-worthy at the same time. I lost count of the times I laughed out loud - thankfully, there was no one else around or they would think I was crazy - or simply smiled in contentment. There were also a few angsty moments near the end of the book, but I never doubted that Iain would make everything right.Now, I need to comment on the feeling of déjà vu that bugged me a little while I was reading it. In one particular sequence of events, I was reminded of A Kingdom of Dreams by Judith McNaught: when the little boy threw some stones at Judith, she protected him, settled the matter by herself and, in the process, gained the boy's mother's allegiance and respect. That had enough similarity with some events in McNaught's book to make me raise an eyebrow. Going further, Judith and the heroine in A Kingdom of Dreams also had some similar characteristics: both were somewhat mistreated by their own families, their fathers were their heroes' enemy and they only found their "place in the world" in their heroes' clans. Of course, there were several differences that kept the books apart, and The Secret was a very enjoyable read by its own merit. I already see myself rereading it over and over again in the future.
I read this a couple weeks ago so things have slipped out of my mind, but I will try my best. I will start by saying this, The Secret captured my attention from the beginning. At first, I was only going to peek but the temptation was too strong... and I might have accidentally finished it without my BR buddies. Sowy. :(Our hero Iain is a big, hunky monkey. Enough said. Okay no I'm not done with him just yet. I liked that he was understanding with Judith and that he treated her with fairness. But of course he is an alpha male so he was definitely controlling... in a very sexy way. One of my favorite parts was his proposal. It went something like this: "Judith. You will marry me." Yup way to be romantic my highland hunk.Judith did come off as sort of naive, but I can't deny that was brave. I loved that she held her chin up and worked to excepted by the people. Judith was caring to a fault. Though I didn't find her unique, I still loved her. There was just this one problem with this book. Every conflict that arose was fixed just too easily. Don't get my wrong I did't the H/hr to suffer or anything, but this is just a regular problem that I have with Ms. Garwood's books. I need just a little more angst.Since I was mentioning the proposal, I will also talk about the wedding. FUNNIEST WEDDING I HAVE EVER READ ABOUT. My roomie thought I was crazy. But it was just too funny. Here's a small part of it: "Judith, do you take Iain for your husband?"She looked up at Iain before giving her answer. "We'll see.""That won't do, lass. You've got to say I do," he advised."Do I?"Iain smiled. "Your aunt and uncle will be welcomed here."She smiled back. "Thank you.""You've still got to answer me, Judith," Father Laggan reminded her."Is he going to agree to love and cherish me?" she asked."For the love of God, he just did," Brodick impatiently called out.4.5 stars!!
What do You think about The Secret (1992)?
I love this series and eventhough I've read the next two before this its still interesting to read and I can love the writing prowess of this author. One of the best historical writers fore me!♥
—edzkie♥§*.*§♥
I won't be writing a review but I will write a few of my thoughts on this book. As much as a I liked the light-hearted tone of this book, I also felt that Julie Garwood essentially just glossed over any drama or angst. It was almost like she wanted to simplify everything for us. The plot wasn't very sophisticated, but I enjoyed her writing and wit enough for the plot to not really matter. I was slightly disappointed in the ending. The ending of a romance novel is usually the best part of the book but I think this one had it back to front. The book started out great, stayed great but fell off a bit towards the end. Perhaps it was just missing that extra bit of excitement. I would definitely recommend this book to readers who want to read a historical romance without drama and angst.
—Sophie ♥
This book was a treat! I loved many aspects of it - one of my favorite themes is one of friendship. The heroine, Judith, is English and her BFF is Scottish, Frances Catherine. They meet at border festivals during early childhood and remain friends despite hatred among their respective countries. They tell each other funny things that only kids would think of - like you get pregnant from drinking from a man's goblet of wine that he spat in. LOL. Judith has had a pretty bad upbringing - her mother is selfish and hostile toward her, her uncle is a drunk, but she has an aunt/uncle who love her and take care of her for the first four years of her life and then she visits them for half of the year thereafter. When Frances Catherine gets pregnant, she knows she has to go to visit her and help with the delivery - especially since both the mother and grandmother of Frances Catherine died during childbirth. Judith has taken it upon herself to learn as much as she can about midwifery in order to help her dear friend. That is so cool - imagine a young, unmarried woman in those times doing that!! Then the hero comes into the picture - Iain - ultra handsome Scottish warrior, laird of his clan, brother to the husband of her BFF. Both the hero/heroine have great personalities and I enjoyed the dialogue between these two. I look forward to reading more from Ms. Garwood - this was my first novel by her - especially the sequel to this book, .
—Zumbagirl
