Title: Keeping Secrets in Seattle
Author: Brooke Moss
Publisher: Entangled Publishing
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Rating: 3 stars
Source: ARC provided by publisher
from Goodreads…
Seattle hairstylist Violet Murphy always knew the day would come when her best friend Gabe Parker would want to settle down. She’d secretly wished it would be with her, but now that he’s chosen someone else—the prim, perfect Alicia—he wants Vi to be his best man.
Healing her broken heart isn’t easy, but when Violet meets Landon Harlow, a man who isn’t fazed by her funky style and less-than-delicate attitude, she takes a step in the right direction. Until Gabe’s fiancé’s gorgeous façade begins to crack, and Violet’s disturbing past comes back to haunt her, that is. Vi now finds herself armed with a series of lies that would break Gabe’s heart—and his engagement—if he knew their truth, and a secret from their childhood that could change everything.
With the wedding looming, her relationships unraveling, and the bachelor party of the century to plan, Violet must choose between a fresh start with Landon, or confronting her painful past and risking it all for a chance at a future with Gabe.
Is this a good book? Yes, yes it is. The story is compelling, the characters are well developed, the good guys are great and the bad guys are unredeemable and horrible. The secondary characters even have moments where they steal the show with their witty banter…you know I love some witty banter! I love the Nancy Drew expedition Violet and her roommates take to dig up Alicia dirt…well done ladies.
Is this story frustrating? Oh hell yes. Very much so. At some point in the book, every single character, save Landon, made me want to throttle them. I was really concerned we were going to get into a love triangle with some cheating but for those of you who hate that like I do…read on sisters…there’s no bed hopping! There’s some emotional hopping and a good guy gets hurt but, I’m thinking you’ll see that one coming. I’m concerned with why it took so long for Violet to share her secret with her life long best friend but on some levels, I get it. What I don’t get is why Violet keeps pining away for Gabe. He’s kind of a dick…I get that he’s missing a huge chunk of Violet’s history but still, they’re best friends. I really wish they’d found a way to be honest with each other sooner but then again, if they did that, we wouldn’t have the angst necessary for a fun book, right?!!? There is angst aplenty. I guess I wanted Violet to not seem so desperate. She doesn’t have the best role model of a mother, and she’s really had some shitty cards dealt her way but the unrequited love thing didn’t sit well with me. Maybe it’s because Landon, her “rebound” romance really is a good guy – he didn’t deserve to get his heart broken but in the end, their relationship teaches Violet to believe in herself a little more. It makes her stronger…finally! Give Keeping Secrets in Seattle a try, it’s a fast read. It’s more of an emotional ride than a scandalicious sexy tale but it’s still worth a read. I really enjoyed the old journal entries at the top of each chapter – they offer excellent insight into the way Violet’s brain works, why she is who she is and why she makes the decisions she makes. In her heart, Gabe is the only man for her – she just needs to have him realize she’s the only one in his heart, too.
One thing I have to throw in, shocker, it’s on a personal note. It’s kinda’ related to Keeping Secrets in Seattle but kinda’ not. In the book, Violet has plenty of reasons to hate on Alicia, body type aside. Alicia is a bitch and all sorts of nasty regardless of dress size. Alicia is a bag of shit left on your front stoop but damn. As a skinny girl (naturally skinny, not skinny by way of strict diet and intense exercise), I’m kinda’ tired of being written off as a conniving, hungry, gold digging shrew all the time. Do curvy women really just hate skinny women at first glance? Is it just a given? Hell, I have friends who are heavier than me…shit, the whole world is pretty much heavier than me and there’s not much I can do about that. Unlike Alicia in the story, I eat…a lot…a lot, a lot. Now, you can hate me for that or you can chose to look past my bony arms and pass the fucking potatoes. I have to wonder if it would be okay to talk about a woman’s fat ass as brazenly as it is to constantly refer to someone as a skinny bitch. (FYI, “fat” is considered worse than a swear word in my house so don’t bring that shit in here!) It’s just a trend I’ve noticed a lot lately. Personally, I think we women need to stick together and stop tearing each other’s physical appearances down – hell, we’re all bitchy enough without bringing ass size into the picture. Now, I’m off to eat second breakfast. Yes, that’s a thing I do – I get up wicked early with the kids so by about 10 AM, I need to feed the beast again, waiting until lunch is not an option, not unless you enjoy me going all shaky, irrational crazy on your ass. True story.
So, to sum it up, Keeping Secrets in Seattle will make an excellent book club discussion book. I think it hits on some polarizing issues that will generate some really awesome and heated debates. Let me know what you think.
Purchase Links
The whole fat versus skinny comes down to self-esteem. We as women always want what the other person possess or an ideal of what society dictates is beautiful or ideal. Besides the ” Dove” soap campaigns, Honey Boo Boo (reality tv) and Mike and Molly (tv sitcom), I can’t recall in the last 10 years where we would have seen bigger people are portrayed in main stream media
Now stating the above, I still don’t feel that society should be responsible for fuelling wars or hatred between bigger and smaller people. So I agree with you we should support each other as women regardless of size. Queue music…I am off my soap box! Good review and this books is already on my TBR list.
Oh and by the way you go on with your fine self and eat away. You are definitely blessed with a great metabolism so you should strut your skinny self and be proud
I’m with you Scandal and Lola! I really hate it when people talk down to me because I’m smaller than they are. The kicker is that I am not under-weight at all, I’m very normal. And fat IS the F-word in my house. I have 3 daughters! They don’t need to hear that shit.
I’ve thought about reading this book. I have read other reviews that said it was frustrating. Maybe I’ll add it and save it for a pool-side read this summer.
Lola – love your soapbox and you are right, for better (Mike & Molly) or worse (honey boo boo) I think TV has changed in the last 10 years with it’s representation of real people.
It took me a long time to be proud of my skinny self, even when heroin chic was in (I’m not nor have I ever looked heroin chic)…my insecurities stemmed from being a late bloomer – back in the 80s, jr high school was just as difficult on the super skinny girl as it was on the overweight one – damn those locker rooms and having to change out for gym – seriously, I didn’t need a bra until the end of high school! That shit will fuck with your brain – thank goodness I got past it and can now enjoy what I see in the mirror.
Hope, to your point, once my daughter arrived on the scene everything changed…I’ve never talked about dieting ever because I’ve never done it but my husband has to watch what he eats all the time, and he exercises a hell of a lot more than I do (the man has the most outstanding arms I can not lie) but, HE had to change his running dialog surrounding food issues with the kids. We’ve worked hard to talk about healthy lifestyle choices instead of dieting…no one wants to diet all the time. I think lifestyle changes are what you have to do but that’s just me.
I hate the ‘skinny bitch’ ‘fat bitch’ name calling. Really, she is just a ‘stupid bitch’, size does not matter. The skinny girls get shit to eat more and the fat girls get shit to eat less. As a mom to a little girl, how body image is portrayed is so important to me. I just tell her everyday she is beautiful so I can send her out into the world with confidence. As women we should empower each other and all the name calling just screams jealousy to me.
I have the book on my TBR list but I hate when the nice guy gets his heart ripped out…*sigh*
Tania, be ready ’cause Landon’s heart gets shredded and it really sucks because he’s a really great guy – he really loves her but she can’t, as hard as she tries, love him back the way he deserves. It’s frustrating to watch because you know she’s fooling herself and that ends up with her stringing Landon along.
I’ve said all along, we women do enough bitchy things to each other and tear each other down enough without ever bringing weight into it. Girl shit is the worst shit – it bears repeating, if boys have a problem with each other they fight it out, dust if off and move on…if girls have a problem they can’t stop until they’ve shamed each other into eating disorders…girl shit is the worst shit. And yes, it all boils down to jealousy and insecurity.
To your point, I think you should tell your daughter she’s beautiful every day AND I think you should let her catch you telling yourself you are beautiful, too. They follow our lead.
Love the review Scandal.
You Know, it shouldn’t matter what size/shape/weight/ height you are……NO ONE….has a right to make snide remarks about you!
I have been VERY conscious of this since my mid teens.
I went to an All Girls Boarding school…. I had one girlfriend with Anorexia and other commit suicide over self esteem/various issues. Nasty shit to have to try and deal ( plus live it with them) at any age let alone 14/15yrs old.
We didn’t even have a set of scales in our house until six or so months ago when My Girl purchased a set. I have since ‘stolen’ them and they live in our Ensuite. She thinks I am watching my weight but I am really making sure how many times a week she weighs herself.
See I am a sneaky bitch!
There isn’t enough money in the world to make me go back to 3-17 years old, those years were brutal! I couldn’t imagine doing it at an All Girls boarding school. Hell, my freshman year of college, I roomed with 2 other girls in an all girls dorm…for 3 weeks. I had to get the hell out of that shit! I got myself moved to a co-ed dorm across campus just for a little sanity (and the view, not going to lie sharing a dorm with a bunch of male athletes did not suck)
I love what you’ve done with the scale..we have one but it’s kept hidden in the garage and only my husband uses it.