An easy, breezy, fun summer read for fans of womens fiction (although I completely hate that term...) Lainey losses her job at a chateau in France and poses as boyfriend and girlfriend with her gay best friend, Kit. They become live-in help for a large, chaotic family. Everything works out for everyone in the end, of course. But that's the fun of books like these, you know it's going to end happy. Even the secondary characters are well-drawn. A nice, fun read.

This book hit just the spot. It was light and airy and full of fun characters and lots of happy at the end.

Jill Mansell has perfected this lane and she stays in it. Sometimes she colors outside her own lines, some of her books skew a littler darker and heavier-- even for her special brand of fizzy chick lit. Some just don't have the sparkle or the characters are duds. This one, though, hits every on every cylinder: Great banter, engaging individual plots, root-worthy romances, and nice little surprise ways in seeing how all the various characters' lives and stories intersect.

The main character is Lainey. She is one of those bright, energetic people with lots of optimism. She and her bff Kit work in the hospitality industry at a vacation destination chateau in France owned and operated by an older couple. Only the couple can't keep up with the extravagant expenses to keep the chateau going and the most recent event there, a very public staged engagement proposal by a multimillionaire to his girlfriend does not go as planned so they won't get the income they'd been counting on for the grand wedding. Hence they have to close and Lainey and Kit are out of a job.

On their way back to London they happen upon an advert for a live-in couple to work as household staff for a family. The advertisement makes the family sound fun and the two are a bit desperate for work. But, the catch, they are not a couple. Lainey just broke up with her player boyfriend and Kit is gay. But they tell a small fib. Hence the title of the book.

As you can guess that small fib works as a bit of conflict of the book.

For Lainey that is Seth, the oldest son of the family they are working for. Seth is one who hires them, having done a back ground check vetting them. Lainey and Kit vow to make sure no one would ever doubt they are a couple so as to not muck up their new job. Yeah... that doesn't go so well.

While Lainey and Seth are pretty much the main characters, the books if filled with a lot of other good characters. Seth's entire family have their own side plots, as does Kit and even the multimillionaire from the failed engagement party in France.

All in all this was a quick, easy and super enjoyable read. Just the sort of book that is perfect for the summer and definitely something to lighten the mood when you need something to do just that.

A nice little cozy with rebirth and becoming who you truly are, as the themes of this novel. The characters are very real and fleshed out well. I really enjoy Kit and Wyatt for their humor and truth.
Thank you netgalley and the publisher for this arc

Thanks to Netgalley and Sourcebooks Landmark for the ARC in exchange of an honest review.
I loved this book and could not stop reading it.
Perfect for the beach or cuddled up on a rainy day.
I loved how I felt like I got to know all the characters. It did not seem like one main character like most books, it felt like every person in the book was a main character.
It was light-hearted and warm and fuzzy all at the same time.
This author usually doesn't disappoint me and she sure didn't this time.

I feel like I should preface this review by saying that I am a HUGE fan of Jill Mansell. I started reading her books when I was 16 years old (Millie’s Fling was my first and is still one of my favourites!) and have never stopped.

It’s Started With a Secret is exactly what a Jill Mansell fan wants in her books. An idyllic location (and a little, very subtle crossover action, which I loved), a fabulous ensemble and incredible central characters (and relationship) in Lainey and Seth. I especially loved how much of Seth’s POV we were given, as he navigated through his feelings for Lainey.

My favourite book of Mansell’s since 2015’s The Unexpected Consequences of Love (which happens to be the crossover I mentioned earlier), this will definitely encourage new readers to make their way through her impressive backlist. It certainly makes me want to read them all over again!

Thank you NetGalley, Sourcebooks Landmark and Jill Mansell for a copy of the e-ARC in exchange for an honest review. It’s Started With a Secret is available June 2, 2020.

Super fun beach read. What a tangled web we weave when first we endeavor to deceive. This was such a fun story. I really enjoyed it.

Many thanks to NetGalley, the publisher, and the author for my ARC. All opinions are my own.

Cute story in a beautiful setting, Jill Mansell tells a charming tale with fun, quirky characters. Lainey and her best friend Kit (who is male - and gay) portray themselves as a couple to obtain a position for employment at a lovely home in Cornwall. What ensues is a unique experience as Lainey begins to fall for Seth, the stepson of Majella, the loving mom of the family. Complications arise because of Lainey and Kit’s secret. This was well written, but I found it to be a little long, at over 400 pages.

Thanks to NetGalley and Sourcebooks Publishing for the advanced e book copy.

Jill Mansell is still the queen of feelgood stories! I have read almost every one of her books and her stories always have a momentum so you can't put the book down. It was the same with this one. I read it on one sitting... my family was not happy :)

If you want a story about a big family and be charmed by them, read this! You won't be disappointed. You'll root for them all and only wish them the best!

Lainey and her "boyfriend" Kit tell a little fib to secure a job as live in caretakers of the Myles family in Cornwall. A famous 80 year old actor and his children and grandchildren need a firm hand to keep the home operating smoothly. Lainey and Kit have just lost their jobs at a nearby chateau and decide to take this family in hand. Seth is more than enough to get her heart beating faster but will the lie she told keep them apart. Touches on love of all genders, but is a very wholesome and lovely story. Jill Mansell is a good author of a multitude of books. This is one of my favorites. I received a copy of this ARC in exchange for a fair and honest review.

Jill Mansell is one of my favorite authors. Her books remind me of feel-good Hallmark movies full of romance, drama, and happy endings. The characters are always well developed, likable, and relatable.

In It Started With a Secret, Lainey and Kit are best friends that work together at a beautiful chateau. They find themselves jobless when the chateau suddenly closes. Lainey finds the perfect opportunity for a new job but it requires a couple. Lainey and Kit make a pack to pretend to be a couple to apply for the job. Once hired they must keep up their pretend relationship under the scrutiny of her employer’s grandson.

This book would make a great beach read. Thank you, NetGalley for the opportunity to read an advance copy of this book.

Jill Mansell’s books are always my favorites, and this one is no exception. This story follows Lainey and her friend Kit as they head off for their new job with a secret. So many fun characters are introduced—all having small secrets of their own. I appreciated the way some more sensitive topics were handled with care and respect. This book is perfect for those who enjoy a fun story that, while may be a little predictable, is an easy to read, clean, feel-good story you can recommend to anyone. I thought this book was a perfect happy read and look forward to more.

If the setting takes place in Cornwall, I'm there. If they're written by Jill Mansell, I'm there as well. This heartwarming story, filled with love, a bit of drama to go along with it, fit the bill for me during this horrific time in all our lives. My thanks to NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I love Jill Mansell's books! This one is another great one- perfect to read outside on a summer day. (Hopefully by a pool with a drink in hand?!) This book is exactly what the title says- starts with a secret. But all the other characters have secrets too. Overall, this is a great read and I can't wait for another Jill Mansell book!

It Started With a Secret is filled with little secrets. Nearly every character has a secret, from Kit & Lainey who have just lost their jobs and tell a small white lie to land jobs they love, to the cast of characters living at the house they are now caring for. This was an easy, pleasant read. Likeable characters, family drama, plenty of self-discovery, and every tangent wrapped up in a nice little bow at the end. A little too “feel-good”, “couldn’t possibly work out that well for everyone” for me.

This book was my first Mansell I've read. Although it was a light read, it handled sensitive issues well, such autism, homosexuality, identifying birth parents, teenage angst, etc. well. I would have liked to go deeper into some of the storylines and descriptions of the beautiful places. Thanks to #netgalley and Sourcebooks for the advanced copy.

i will read every single juill mansell book ever. she is the greatest author of all time in all the world and this book is wonderful and amzing and i adore her.

This is one of those books that won't change the world but it changed my world this week! It's a lovely, sometimes silly story that falls under the British chick-lit genre. I really needed something light, escapist and romantic and this was perfect. This the story of Lainey who has a job at a chateau in France that ends when the owners can't make a go of it. She's able to get another job quickly with her friend Kit-basically being the housekeeper of a house at the seaside in Cornwall. The family members are quirky and lovable just as most of Mansell's characters are. It made me want to be a part of this setting and these people. The "secret" alluded to in the title is that Lainey and her gay friend Kit have to pretend to be married to get the job. This proves awkward when both Lainey and Kit find other romantic interests ;). Loved it! Thanks to NetGalley and Sourcebooks Landmark for the ARC in return for my honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley, Sourcebooks Landmark and Jill Mansell for the ARC and this is my true and honest review.
Lainey and her friend Kit losing their jobs at a French chateau hotel was where the story started. They were in a need a new job. Finding what they thought for them would be the perfect job only had one small detail that they had to agree on to apply. They had to tell their prospective employers they were a couple. They got the job and got along wonderfully with the family they worked for. They had to keep their secret so they could keep the job.
The family and all the others fit so well together. The book was a truly fun one to read and I am looking forward to reading more books by this author.

It Started with a Secret begins with Lainey, who is trying to survive losing a job after the resort where she worked had to close. To make matters worse, her gorgeous boyfriend decided that it was time to split leaving her both jobless and boyfriend-less. She finds the perfect opportunity to start over, but to get a job she needs to tell a tiny little secret...

Lainey finds a job working to care for the perfect crazy family, which includes a Sir Richard Branson-type celebrity. With a set of twins, young son, and an attractive grandson the job keeps her on her toes. And although she has sworn off love, there is something about the mysterious attractive grandson. However, this family has a few secrets of their own...

It Started with a Secret was the perfect beach read. The story was fun, and the characters were extremely likeable. I recommend this book, and plan to add the author's earlier books to my TBR pile.

I wanted to like this book, and I really tried, but the characters were a bit too one-dimensional for me. With the exception of (maybe) Richard, every character (and there were many) in this book was either good or bad-no gray area or moral ambiguity to be found. I also found the plot line to be overly predictable, even for this type of feel-good, romantic comedy. All-in-all, it was just so-so.

I received this book free from NetGalley in exchange for my honest and unbiased opinion.