The Royal Secret focuses on the scandalous lives of some of London's elite - lives filled with secrets, romance, espionage and mystery. It was this premise, and the author's name (I adored her earlier book, The Midnight Rose), that prompted me to request an advanced copy of this book. But while the story promises a delightfully salacious royal scandal and long-held secrets, my feelings for the book are a little more complicated than I had anticipated.

The plot meanders through the lives of numerous characters that are weaved together in varying degrees of success and interest. Unfortunately, the narrative soon becomes convoluted with extraneous side plots which left me feeling like I never quite connected to the story or characters. I strongly believe the book could have benefited with a hearty edit because it loses much of its impact due to its excessive length. The plot, that had its compelling moments, unfortunately concluded with story lines becoming more and more far-fetched, making this book fall into the 'just an okay read' pile for this reader.

In the end, this was a decent read with good intrigue that held my interest in varying degrees but, ultimately not as engaging as I had hoped. Readers who enjoy a bigger tale with lots of characters and are willing to accept a neat and tidy ending, will probably enjoy this book more than I did.

Note: Author originally published this book in 2000 as The Love Letter.

Disclaimer: My sincere thanks to Atria Books and NetGalley for providing me with a complimentary digital copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

I did not finish this book. It’s not that it was bad, just not at all what I thought it would be and what I am into at the moment. I might try again another time.

Lucinda Riley books are some of my favorites as she is always consistent. This is another really good book. The mystery will keep you turning page after page. I had no idea what the secret was until the very end.

I love love love Lucinda Riley’s books and The Royal Secret is on my NEXT pile! I can’t wait to start this one, every book she writes is so good. If you haven’t read her Seven Sisters books, those are wonderful.

Here is what you need to know about The Royal Secret:

When Sir James Harrison, one the greatest actors of his generation, passes away at the age of ninety-five, he leaves behind not just a heartbroken family but also a secret so shocking, it could rock the English establishment to its core.

Joanna Haslam, an up-and-coming reporter, is assigned to cover the legendary actor’s funeral, attended by glitzy celebrities of every background. But Joanna stumbles on something dark beneath the glamour: the mention of a letter James Harrison has left behind–the contents of which many have been desperate to keep concealed for over seventy years. As she peels back the veil of lies that has shrouded the secret, she realizes that she’s close to uncovering something deadly serious–and the royal family may be implicated. Before long, someone is on her tracks, attempting to prevent her from discovering the truth. And they’ll stop at nothing to reach the letter before she does.

This historical novel caught my eye thanks to the author plus the genre of historical fiction. I also love when a book has elements of suspense and deception.

This book, surprisingly, kept me guessing until the end! I thought I had it figured it out, but I was fooled by the red herring, which sticks around for a long time. This book hit all my marks-- strong female lead, mystery, romance, and a little royal intrigue. Chick lit at it's finest. And the backstory is so interesting--it was supposed to be published ten years ago, but after some pushback from the royals, the publishers put the kibosh on it.

When the famous actor James Harrison is dead, he leaves a shocking secret that could ruin the Monarchy. Joanna is a reporter who tries to discover the secret that the the government would kill to keep it buried. I like Joanna and Zoe. Both of them are smart and independent women. The novel moves very slowly and would have been more enjoyable if it was shorter and a more developed love story. This, I did not buy the romance between Marcus and Joanna. He seemed a skilled player and not someone who would truly fall for her. There was no real reason or explanation of why Joanna was different of all the other girls. As for the mystery, it is very predictable. You could solve it in the first few pages. Overall, I love Lucinda Riley’s historicals, but this one needed more work. I do recommend this for fans of political thrillers. Full review to come!

Wish I could give more than a five star rating. This book is a wonderful read. Older teens and grandparents will enjoy this story that deals with a fictional royal family in England. I've had this on my TBR pile for awhile now but was upset because I though Ms. Riley should be working on her Seven Sisters series and not writing something unrelated but I discovered this book was first published in 2000. The storyline caused such an uproar the publisher pulled it and dropped Lucinda as one of their authors. It certainly reads like it could be a true tale with all the affairs, intrigue and M-15 doing anything to stop a love letter from being exposed to the public. I couldn't stop reading this book. The character Joanna is well written and very normal. She is to write an article about the funeral of Sir James Harrison and finds herself helping a very elderly woman get some from the service. She discovers the woman is dead when she visits her two days later. This starts a chain of events that are very believable and fast paced. I loved this story and look forward to telling friends, family and book lovers to pick up this book. I received a copy of this ARC in exchange for a fair and honest review.

I always enjoy reading Lucinda Riley! Every time I thought this story was coming to an end and I thought I had it figured out, it would turn and go in a different direction. This book was written back in the 90"s so it funny to read about VCR tapes and older technology, but I like the way she added a last chapter to tie it all together, Can't wait to read more of her "Seven Sisters" stories.

Oh how I love a book that's so completely unputdownable like this one was. Wow, is all I have to say here.

I think this is one of those books that's best gone into without knowing much in advance, so as to be completely swept away. So for the sake of not giving too much away, I'll be short with my explanation as to what to expect here. This is, put very simply, a story about a journalist, Joanna, who discovers an incredibly dangerous secret about the British monarchy that has the power to destroy it. We've got an actor with a secret that could destroy, and it's of course our journalist Joanna who is to cover the funeral of James. A dark secret is being hidden under the glamour of fame, and that's where I'll leave this.

Now, holy moly! The lies, the scandal, the twists and turns that seem to come with every page. What more can I say than that the storytelling was brilliant and so well done. I became so wound up in and invested in the lives of all the characters, that I truly could't put this book down. There was so much going on here with a little bit of mystery and suspense that kept the story moving and intriguing to the core.

This book has officially set my sights on Lucinda and not only will I be going to back to read her previous books, I'll be keeping a close eye on any future releases she may have up her sleeve. This is definitely a book I will be recommending to so many readers!

Thank you so much to NetGalley and the publisher, Atria Books, for the free review copy in exchange for my honest review.

This book is a fun mystery about a beloved English actor, Sir James Harrison, who passes away, leaving behind a mystery about his past for his family to unravel. A young journalist named Joanna Haslam gets pulled into a scandal involving the actor after she attends his funeral. An old letter surfaces that sets in motion a dangerous mystery surrounding Harrison and possibly the royal family! Joanna quickly becomes embroiled in trying to unearth a possible scandal. Her job and her home are threatened by the forces who are trying to keep this mystery from ever seeing the light of day.

As much as I love mysteries and books set in the UK, I think this book would have benefitted from being a bit shorter. It dragged in parts and the characters weren't quite interesting enough to keep me really engaged in this story. Thank you to Atria Books and Netgalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

The Royal Secret

"Oh, what a tangled web we weave, when first we practice to deceive!"

What a thriller this is...highly engaging from start to finish, with brilliantly formed characters and a highly intriguing central theme.

So what do we have here, a young journalist, Joanna, who accidentally stumbles on secrets that could threaten a nation and endanger her life. Zoe, whose grandfather was a celebrated actor, is a single mother, and on her way to becoming a celebrated actress. Sir James Harrison, Zoe's grandfather, trying to unburden his secrets and a secret love letter before he dies, but it's too late...while Zoe has secrets of her own. With what seems a "cast of thousands" we are treated to murder, espionage, drama and romance. But wait there's more, you'll just have to read it for yourself.

A love letter, a scandal, money and family form the heart of this and it was very different from what Ms. Riley usually pens. The book is lengthy, but you have to stay with it to get to the finishing line. I have read all the "7 Sisters" books that have been written so far, just having finished the 5th novel in the series, "The Moon Sister." One of my favorite authors, this book, although written years ago, showcases her talent! The novel written at the time of Princess Diana's death, has been shelved for 20 years, understandably so. I am so very glad that it has been re-released.

My thanks to NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Highly recommended.

I was surprised by how much I enjoyed this story. It was well written and well paced. It was suspenseful and entertaining with love, betrayal and a mystery at every turn right up until the very end. It’s mind boggling that a book set in the late 1990s is now considered historical fiction.

I saw The Royal Secret by Lucinda Riley on Netgalley and thought this sounds like my kind of read. I was pretty excited when I was approved and picked it up right away. When I read the introduction it noted that the book was originally published in the UK as The Love Letter. That sounded familiar to me so I checked my bookshelf and sure enough I had the book - ordered last fall from the Book Depository!

Set during the mid 90’s this book had a nostalgic feel for me - life before text/instant messaging and the internet. How different this story might be if it was during today’s time period.

Overall, I enjoyed the story and it’s relatively quick pace. No one character stood out to me as none seemed fully fleshed out. However, I did caught up in their world and how the mystery affected each of them. And that makes it entertaining reading for me.


Thank you Netgalley for giving me the nudge to read this one and provide my honest review.

Having read most of Lucinda Riley's other books, I found this one to be a little different than what I was expecting. It was still a well-written mystery, however, and I thoroughly enjoyed the Royal Family being thrown into the mix.

What a fun romp of a read this was! Terrific story with very likeable characters. And some surprise twists song the way!

I only made it a few pages into this before setting it aside. I found it confusing, and I couldn't keep track of who was whom. I wish it had been easier to follow.

Riley never fails to tell a good story. A mixture of family mystery, romance, and a larger mystery to solve makes for an intriguing read, leaving the reader to hope for a happy ending for the characters who, left in the dark, are trying to figure it all out. Perfect for readers of Kate Morton.