Samantha Garman

“Thomas Charles Whitmore, Earl of Grisham, you are hereby declared guilty of high treason against the British Crown. You have been found guilty of selling English secrets to Napoleon Bonaparte. Your title is hereby stripped from you, and your wealth and lands forfeit to the Crown.”

Starting in Neville Prison in 1815 and having the main character watch as his father is hung for treason, gave Secrets of the Heart a gripping beginning. He's a young nineteen year old pampered son of an Earl who suddenly has his title and wealth stripped, along with the death of his father. His fiancee shuns him and he has nowhere to turn to. Readers get a pov of a mysterious man who let's us in on a conspiracy that framed his father and sets up the son for death. However, while his family dagger is stolen, the son gets rescued by a sea captain named Griff and off sailing he goes to the West Indies and America. Just call him the unluckiest, luckiest guy in town!

Blaine Sebastian Grayson Whitmore. That man is dead. “My name is Sebastian Grayson. You can call me Gray.”

Our newly monikered Gray, learns to dagger fight among his seasickness and then is introduced to the fact he is on a pirate ship. It's all quite gentlemanly though, they do their best not to kill. Alas, we do not get a lot of sweet high seas pirate action as the next chapter jumps us ten years and Gray is now the pirate captain. This will be a trend in this story, jumping from points to points without developing or showing the reader the journey. Gray now decides that he must avenge his father! So off to England where he plans on posing as a wealthy merchant to uncover who and why his father was set-up.

Gray’s eyes were hard. “Felicity knows nothing. She will never know I was a pirate. She believes she is marrying a man of business, and when this is all over that is exactly what I will be.”

Enter our heroine Felicity Canton and her three sisters who have been left destitute due to their gambling father. He died a while ago, shot in the back for cheating at cards, and have now found out that they must have a fire sale, everything must go! As the oldest, Felicity knows it's on her shoulders to save the family but she's not totally a martyr. Winterbourne has been trying to court her for a while but with plenty of fat-shaming, the author and Felicity let us know that she ain't having him. How fortuitous that a wealthy merchant has just moved into town! Felicity says something sassy and Gray can't believe how different from all the other misses she is. They kiss at around 20%, Felicity visits him in hopes of becoming his housekeeper for money but he suggests they get engaged, marry a week later at around 40%, and are off to sail to visit Gray's retired mentor Griff. Remember how I said things just kind of jump from from point A, to B, to C, to etc.?

“I love you. It is time you let me. You trusted me with the secret of your life, now trust me with the secret of your heart.”

Now, if you're like me, you start thinking some of that sweet pirate action is going to happen on the honeymoon cruise, and it you'd sort of be right. We get one high seas battle that was pretty fun to read and at least propped me up from the by rote without the emotional and depth filling out of the details format this story had. Felicity learns about Gray's pirate past, they have a good visit with old Griff and back to England they go. On the sail back, they have a boarding by the Royal Navy and learn that they are searching for the famous pirate named Morpheus, who lets his victims live. Oh, noes! Hopefully, Gray can keep his identity a secret.

“This proves Carrington is a traitor, but this will do nothing for my father.”

At this point, I mean we're into the second half of the story, you're probably saying “Didn't he go back to England to avenge his father?”. I didn't didn't forget about that, but the author kind of does. Gray completely outsources his avenging and uses two of his trusty shipmates to do the heavy lifting. Sinclair, he uses as a butler and all around hangout in the background until you randomly have something to say, which by the way will be written in a cant that makes deciphering what you're saying extremely difficult, but I digress. He sends his other shipmate Chester to London, and I quote, Also, I would like you to locate the scar-faced man. The scar-faced man is the one who tried to kill Gray, he hopes that man will lead him to some answers. He sent poor Chester to London to search for a “scar-faced man”???? Surprise, surprise, though, good man Chester comes through, against all odds, and coherent storytelling.

My wife has been kidnapped!

With Felicity on board, Gray decides to take the fam to London and, at least, appear to be helping in the avenging by going to parties and clubs to drudge up some hot gos about what happened to his father. If I'm Sinclair and especially Chester, I'm questioning the division of labor. Around the 70% mark, we get some actual movement on his father's case and learn that his father was set-up by a man named Carrington. With a Scooby-Doo villain info-dump to Felicity, who was kidnapped(!) by Carrington, we learn he loved Gray's mother and blamed Gray's father for taking her away from him and “letting” her die. At around 80% the whole father avenging story is wrapped up (Felicity got a dagger to the belly but she fine) and the Royal Navy comes sniffing around. How or why they think Gray is Morpheus? Don't worry about it, the author sure didn't. We get Gray confiding to his three series bait handsome titled friends and a truly wtf and intelligence insulted plan that worked, scene that has Gray in the clear of ever being found out as Morpheus.

“I am the Marquess of Hardwick and you are my marchioness,”

Bland is probably what I used to describe this story with occasional flashes of wtf. Felicity and Gray's relationship happens out of nowhere, they like each other, Gray gets scared to admit he loves Felicity, and they love each other. The father gets avenged, mainly thanks to Chester but Gray gets rewards with titles restored and an upgrade to marquess. This was written in 2013 and clearly was setting-up one of Gray's friends, Duke of Stafford with Felicity's sister Abby but doesn't look like this series was ever finished. Now, I saved the best for last, Alexandre Dumas makes a late appearance and in truly the best wtf, it's alluded to that he is going to artistically license Gray's life. So, if you ever wondered what inspired Dumas to write the Count of Monte Cristo, now you know!… (plus d'informations)

This was such a good book. It just made me so happy and I couldn't help but laugh throughout the book.
The plot itself could be quite serious in a way. Loosing a job and finding your partner cheating on you on the same day could totally make a much more serious book, or a more dramatic book but the way Samantha Garman writes, just makes the book hilarious and really easy to read.
When it comes to funny characters, I think Sibby is in a category by herself. She just seems to totally make every situation humorous.
All in all, I think this is one of those books that just makes you feel better no matter what and it's also super quick to read as it kinda gripped you and didn't let go until the very end.

* I received this book for free to review via Reading Deals… (plus d'informations)