First sentence: Adelaide Stanhope sat at her father's graveside, as still and upright as the surrounding tombstones.

All My Secrets is a generational historical romance (of sorts). The stories of a daughter, mother, and grandmother are interwoven. The story unfolds in a series of storytelling flashbacks--a revealing of past secrets. The three women are at a crossroads (of sorts). Difficult choices remain to be made. Will they fight to keep their mansion and their lifestyle even if it comes at great personal cost? Sylvia wants her daughter, Adelaide, to marry for money--and quickly--before the rumors start to spread of their change of fortune. Junietta wants her granddaughter, Adelaide, to choose a different path, a different life, to hold out on marrying until she falls head over heels in love. Junietta sees the dangers of wealth. It comes with great responsibility, but it corrupts and taints. Adelaide spends time listening to her mother AND listening to her grandmother. What will she decide? And how will she feel about the secrets of her mother and grandmother?

I don't always love stories told from multiple points of view. But I found all three narrators (and their stories) compelling--for the most part. The setting is New York in the nineteenth century. The "present" day is 1898/1899. The past occurs many decades before--also in New York.

Faith does play a role in the story but not in a stuffy way. ( )

Excellent story! Couldn't put it down. 5+ stars ( )

It's been a while since I read a book by this author but this story has made Lynn Austin a must-read author for me! All My Secrets is the tale of three generations of Stanhope women who've known joy, grief, and heartache. All My Secrets is set in New York during the last years of the 19th century and Austin gives readers an excellent view into the lives of the wealthy and affluent families who lived during the Gilded Age. This was a time when women were dependent on their wealthy husbands, and most were content to allow this to happen! Most, that is, until Junietta Stanhope arrived on the scene!

This is a stunning story that I won't forget, and I'd love to see it made into a movie. If you enjoy historical fiction and Christian romance, please grab a copy of this book. I believe that you'll be as entranced as I was!!

I received a complimentary copy from the author and publisher. There was no obligation for a positive review. ( )

The author's choice to narrate this story from the viewpoints of three generations of women in the hopes that the stories will inspire readers of all ages amazed me. It also made the story more intimate and captivating. The youngest character, Addy, is often getting caught up in what other people think of her and taken in by the societal norms that tell her what she should be and do.

Adelaide's mother Sylvia is another lady going through unpleasant changes following her husband's untimely death. She is in grief and coming to terms with the fact that her daughter will soon get married and leave her all by herself.

On the other hand, Junietta truly believes God, can use us at any age. This story explores the idea of God's forgiveness while exposing the negative consequences of resentment and bitterness. As the secrets these ladies have been keeping come to light, amazing things happen.

Readers are given a close-up and intimate look at how these three incredible women struggle to survive when it seems impossible for them to do so. Oh my, this was such a heartfelt story with incredible attention to detail. Junietta sees an opportunity to help Addy venture beyond the confines of her childhood home. Junietta tells Addy, “It’s your life, not your mother’s. Do you have the courage it takes to break free from the mold that society will try to cast for you? You don’t have to do things their way, you know…As we start all over again, we’ll have a chance to make a new life for ourselves and decide how we want to live from now on. Change can be difficult, but it can also be very good for us.”

I admired how each of the three ladies looked within to determine what matters most in life. Will they play the role that society has urged them to play, or will they look for a greater good and try to change the world? They could reduce their belongings and intentional about decisions that will impact not just their own life but also the lives of numerous generations to come.

This is a powerful, thought-provoking story. I like how the author skillfully included biblical verses into the story, allowing these complex characters to go inward and gain fresh insights on their surroundings and a deeper understanding of themselves.

If you haven’t read a book by this author, I recommend this one. This would work for a book club pick too. There is much to discuss.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I requested and received a copy of this book by the publisher and NetGalley. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

Nora St. Laurent
TBCN Where Book Fun Begins!
The Book Club Network blog https://psalm516.blogspot.com/ ( )

Over the last few months, I’ve been eagerly anticipating reading this book. Lynn Austin has long been one of my favorite authors, so whenever I see one of her new titles coming out, I do my best to get my hands on it. This one took me a little while to pick up before I was able to slip it into my reading rotation, but I started it with high anticipation. I’m not sure I’ve ever read a Gilded Age novel before, so that, too, added to my excitement when I picked this up.

Unfortunately, this book fell flat for me. Despite elements that I genuinely enjoyed, I found a good part of this book disappointing. Much of this book fell into the telling (not showing) writing style, and throughout the story, I struggled to connect to the characters. I did LOVE the grandmother; her perspective and old-lady tendencies (especially as regards her ever-present and ever-useful cane!) were a delight to read. But Sylvia and Adelaide were characters I never felt like I got to know properly; they felt much more reactive than proactive.

The historical narrative scenes were somewhat interesting, but I realized I was having trouble with those, too, when a tragedy happened, and my reaction was “Okay, so what?” Normally, I would have expected that scene to be a real gut punch, but it wasn’t…and that was disappointing, because that’s when I realized I couldn’t care less about the characters. I feel like if this book had been written as a split-time novel (rather than lots of flashbacks and narration), it may have been a stronger story.

I was also a little disappointed at the faith element in the story; the main thrust of the book seemed to be that we ought to follow our heart and marry for love instead of monetary gain, and there was no real mention of looking for the Lord’s guidance and blessing in building these relationships.

As I said, there were parts of the story I really enjoyed. The grandmother was a lot of fun, and I found the perspective on some of the major historical events (the Gold Rush, the Civil War, etc.) to be fascinating to read about. I love it when I can get to see different and new aspects of historical events I’m familiar with in the fiction I read! If you don’t mind books that are a little slower-paced, this might be a book you’d enjoy; ultimately, it wasn’t for me. I’m looking forward to Lynn Austin’s next novel; hopefully, that will be more down my alley!

I was given a complimentary copy of this book, and this is my honest opinion of it. ( )