The Secrets Sisters Keep is the delightful second book in the Devlin Sisters series. Five years have passed since we first met Julie, Louise, and Sophie in Me and My Sisters, and things have changed quite a bit in their lives.
Julie—frazzled mother of four whose family has always struggled financially—finds her life turned upside down when her husband is the recipient of a large inheritance. They’ve moved into a fancy house, enrolled the triplets in a fancy school, and their money woes are a thing of the past. Life is good… except Harry is consumed with making investments and playing golf with his new friends, none of the mothers at the triplets’ new school are very friendly, and Julie feels lonely and unable to fit in.
Louise always seems to be completely in control and able to handle anything. But an incident at Clara’s school causes Louise to be confronted with something she feels unable to handle, leaving her frightened and unsure of what to do.
Sophie is divorced and doing her best to move on with her life, but it’s not easy when her ex-husband falls in love with a much younger woman, Pippa. It’s made worse when her daughter, Jess, seems to love everything about Pippa and is constantly telling Sophie how great she is. Unable to find a new love of her own, Sophie feels more alone than ever.
Once again, Moriarty delivers a story so good, you won’t want to put it down. All the characters we came to know and love in the first book are back again, with a few new ones. As unpredictable and funny as Marian—Julie’s friend—was in the first book, she was even more so in this one, and it was lots of fun getting to read more about her.
The character I enjoyed reading about most, apart from the sisters, was Louise’s daughter, Clara. Without giving anything away, I’ll say that she’s a significant piece of the story. The plot surrounding Clara was beautifully written. I felt great empathy for Louise and completely understood how she was feeling concerning Clara. The book as a whole is wonderful, but the story about Clara was simply outstanding.
Add this one to your summer reading list, folks! I think you’ll be happy you did.
I received an advance reading copy of this book courtesy of Bookouture via Netgalley.
Author: Sinéad Moriarty
Title: The Secrets Sisters Keep
Series: Devlin Sisters #2
Publication Date: July 1, 2016 by Bookouture
Rating: 5 stars
About the Book
Julie, mum of four boisterous sons, is about to see life changing in ways she never expected. When her loving husband is swept up by a whirlwind turn of fortune, she finds herself looking to the past for the company and comfort she so needs.
Single mother and successful career woman Louise’s perfectly ordered world is about to change for ever. She would do anything for her gifted little girl. But is she ready to accept that there are some things she can’t control, in order to face the challenges ahead and help her daughter?
Younger sister Sophie has worked hard to rebuild her life since her divorce. But when her ex husband starts seeing someone new, it feels like her greatest fears have come true.
The three sisters all have painful secrets. Sharing the bad as well as the good, they’re about to support each other more than ever before.
The Secrets Sisters Keep is a moving story of family, friendship and second chances. Perfect for fans of Marian Keyes, Elin Hilderbrand and Mary Alice Monroe.
About the Author
SINEAD MORIARTY was born and raised in Dublin where she grew up surrounded by books. Growing up, Sinead says she was inspired by watching her mother writing at the kitchen table and then being published. From that moment on, her childhood dream was to write a novel.
It was at the age of thirty, while working as a journalist in London that she began to write creatively in her spare time – after work, at lunch times … and, truth be told, during work hours. After a couple of years toying with ideas, she joined a creative writing group and began to write The Baby Trail. The bitter-sweet comedy of a couple struggling to conceive hit a nerve in publishing circles. It was snapped up by Penguin in the UK and Ireland and has, to date, been translated into twenty-five languages.
Since writing The Baby Trail, Sinead has moved back to Dublin where she lives with her husband and three children and their little black cat, Minnie.
The Geeky Bibliophile 
I remember reading this and thinking Jess was completely caught up in the whirlwind with Pippa. I could almost see what happened when the baby arrived a mile off.
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I could see it coming, too. I felt so sorry for Jess, but I was kind of glad it happened, too. It was the only thing that was going to stop her fascination with Pippa.
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Exactly. I think that’s a pretty perfect mirror of reality though, because priorities change when a new baby arrives. I felt sorry for Sophie too!
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Ah, yes… poor Sophie. She was put through the wringer in this one!
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