Read what people are saying about "Hidden Secrets"
Ellen Khodakivska rated it 5 stars on her bog:
If you like tear-jerking and touching family stories, you’ll enjoy reading this novella.
Genre: Novella
Language: English
Release date: 2021
The Plot: Since early childhood, Alice has been obsessed with an old attic in her deceased grandmother’s Victorian farmhouse. Her obsession grows when she finds there an old chest full of old letters and diaries that belonged to her grandmother. Diving into reading them, Alice can’t stop being surprised how masterfully her grandmother kept the family secrets. Revealing most of them, Alice decides that it’s not enough. She is about to carry out a sort of investigation to bring peace to all those involved in this story, no matter whether they are still alive or already over the rainbow.
The Writing Style: This is my second book by this writer. As well as the previous book, this one gave me a feeling of coziness. This book is a light, enjoyable and quick-read novella full of smooth, heartbreaking, and touching twists. This story possesses a unique charm of delicacy and tenderness of the human soul. It warmed my heart and filled my soul with a flock of positive vibes. I read it in one sitting, and the only thing I regretted was that this story came to an end.
The Characters: There are not so many characters in this novella. All of them are wonderfully described. The writer depicted the inner sufferings of the main character so real that I started sobbing a bit. I liked how the author managed to reunite different generations, making their genealogical tree bloom and flourish.
Warnings: death, grief, depression
Would I read other books by this author: Undoubtedly, yes!
My humble rating is: 5/5
P.S. I do hope you’ll enjoy reading this touching novella as much as I did!
Comment sent to me by a reader in a private message:
Hi, I just read it. As usual, I really enjoyed it. So easy to read and very interesting. You want to finish reading to find out more.
Tuhin Ojha (book reviwer) commented:
Personally, I found the title of the book intriguing and soul worthy. Some of us have secrets which do not conform with regular protocols of the society. However, these chunks of clandestine are generally wrapped around ragged papers of diaries, sometimes written deliberately to be discovered by someone at some point in their lives. That's what makes the narrative intersting.
Here, the author brings a beautiful portrayal of a romantic story between grandparents, brought to light by their grandchildren, "Alice", years after the timeline of the events. Alice discovered her grandmother's relationship stresses with her artificial husband, "George", condescending and reciprocating her failed relationship with Alfred, the love of her life. She encounters the trauma faced by Agnes (her grandmother) during the course of events. Finally, she unlocks the mysteries buried in the diaries for over eighty years. However, the Author keeps the mysteries intact until the last chapters of the story. I was going through the same cabbalistic desires which Alice was going through, when she was unlocking the secrets in chronological order. Highly recommended for its artistic way of interpreting love, romance, emotions and serendipity.
Rogue Reviews gave it 5 stars on Amazon.com
As always,I enjoyed enormously this author`s book. It served me a piece of history and a warm flash of old time romance. Author Chantal Bellehumeour has a gift of pulling the reader into her stories from the first page and keeping them glued on the story until the very last page.
I loved the little twists here and there and even though the story of forbidden love is as old as time,the author had placed a surprise at the end of it. Kudos for that!
This was a fast read which I can gladly recommend to everyone.
I loved the little twists here and there and even though the story of forbidden love is as old as time,the author had placed a surprise at the end of it. Kudos for that!
This was a fast read which I can gladly recommend to everyone.
Jeff Overall rated it 5 stars on Amazon.ca
Wow, this was a very entertaining story! I enjoyed spying on Alice while she learned more and more about Agnes - it felt like a very real history with grief and happiness. Both Alice and her grandmother are well rounded characters I got to know well in a short amount of time. I highly recommend an afternoon with this short story - you will not be disappointed!