Book Review of Tell me your secrets by Cara Summers
Author Name: Cara Summers
ISBN: 978-0-373-79290-0
Publisher: Harlequin
Type of book: Adult, contemporary, Gothic/thriller style, romance,
Year it was published: 2006
Summary:
It was a dark and sexy night... And Brooke Ashby knew she was in over her head. As head writer for the soap opera Secrets, she was used to living vicariously through her characters. But that all changed the day she learned she was adopted, and that her identical twin sister had mysteriously disappeared. What else could she do but try to discover what had happened, even if meant taking her sister's place? It shouldn't be hard. After all, she was good at research and had a talent for acting, if she did say so herself. Her plan seemed foolproof...until Brooke found herself in bed with her sister's fiancé...
Characters:
The character of Brooke certainly seemed rounded as she conquered her fear in the book and even went for someone she was in love with. She also often lets the emotions get the best of her, and she is loyal and doesn't give up. Sloan's character and James's could also use some explaining, in particular why is James, Cameron's father, likes Sloan and even wants him in the family? Sloan himself holds some interesting secrets and it's fun watching him and Brooke spar with one another and wonder if Sloan figured out whether or not she is not Cameron? I kind of wish that more from Sloan's point of view could be given.
Theme:
I have to admit that in someways I thought it was a parody of Gothic novels. A while ago I read The Mysteries of Udolpho by Ann Radcliffe, and I thought that the explanations towards the end of the novel were given way too easily. One of the things that was struggled was how could she be in love with someone who belonged to her twin sister, but since I don't want to spoil the novel, I will not mention anything more about it.
Plot:
The plot is pretty straightforward, that is she hears about her twin sister and her curiosity and adventurous spirit take charge of her. The ending is given satisfactorily and I like that the author has done certain things between Sloan and Cameron.
Author information:
Was Cara Summers born with the dream of becoming a published romance novelist? No. But now that she is, she still feels her dreams has come true. She loves writing for the Blaze line because it allows her to create strong, determined women and seriously sexy men who will risk everything to achieve their dreams. Cara has written more than thirty-five books for Harlequin Books, and when she isn't working on new stories, she teachers in the Writing Program at Syracuse University and at a community college near her home.
Opinion
When I first got this book and read it, I had to admit that I thought it wasn't a good book; first of all is the whole third person vs first person narrative constant switch which seems to have really annoyed me, and another is that it seemed implausible or something of the kind. (I admit that I seem to have been spoiled by recent romance novels. Currently I am trying to read Feather in the Wind by Madeline Baker which was my favorite a long time ago, and all I could be is shocked by the man's behavior towards the woman.) After re-reading it however, I am surprised to say that I actually got more pleasure from reading it. Although she tries to make this novel into a mixture between Gothic and mystery it seems, there is also a some sort of parody I believe, especially with the whole twin sister plot. I really would have liked to learn certain things that she didn't mention however.
3 out of 5
(0: Stay away unless a masochist 1: Good for insomnia 2: Horrible but readable; 3: Readable and quickly forgettable, 4: Good, enjoyable 5: Buy it, keep it and never let it go.)
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