I was enthralled by this story. It immediately sucked me in. The characters were complex and distinct, several harboring secrets that were revealed just slowly enough. I enjoyed the back and forth storytelling (between the summer of 1911 and WWI in 1916). The writing was beautiful, but not over the top and flowery. If you enjoy Downton Abbey and the like, you will enjoy this book.

Thank you Netgalley & St. Martin’s Press for an eARC ♥️♥️♥️

As a huge historical fiction fan, I was completely swept up in the story from the very first page. The way Iona Grey weaves together the threads of duty, desire, and deception is nothing short of masterful.

I adored Kate, the reserved and proper housekeeper, and my heart ached for her as she struggled to reconcile her feelings with the societal expectations of the time. And Jem, oh Jem! The brooding and mysterious footman who stole her heart. Their forbidden love affair had me on the edge of my seat, wondering if they'd ever find a way to be together.

The historical details were impeccably researched and added such depth to the story. I felt like I was right there in Coldwell Hall, surrounded by the opulence and grandeur of the Edwardian era. And the way the story unfolded, alternating between the past and the trenches of WWI, was simply brilliant.

In short, I'm utterly smitten with this book 🔥👍🏽

The Housekeeper’s Secret by Iona Grey is set in Northern England at an estate called Coldwell Hall. Kate Furniss is the head housekeeper and definitely keeps many secrets from the other servants and confides in a footmen, Jem, who has secrets of his own.

There was some suspense, a bit of romance, and lot of historical drama.
The book wasn’t easy for me to get into, but it was well-written. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

The high number of POVs threw me off at first but it really was necessary to get all points of the story. After a certain point I really couldn’t put this down because I wanted to know what HAD happened and what was GOING to happen. It sort of reminded me of a more mysterious Downton Abbey.

As a fan of historical fiction, I was truly intrigued by the description of this book and excited to be given the chance to read the eArc. Unfortunately, this was a DNF for me. There were so many characters and the viewpoints changing throughout chapters, I found it confusing and I often could not follow along.

Thank-you Netgalley for the opportunity to read this eArc.

To be honest, this book took me a little while to get into because it’s a little slower to start and I found myself almost a bit bored and confused with the changing timelines/pov initially, but I am SO glad I continued with it. As the story picks up I could not put it down. There was so much suspense, hidden secrets, mystery, beautiful prose, and forbidden romance. The writing is beautiful and so descriptive and I absolutely fell in love with the characters. What a wonderful story, I was on the edge of my seat for the last half-quarter of the story and the characters were each so complex and fleshed out that I felt with them so deeply. 100% worth the read despite the initial slow start. Thank you NetGalley and Iona Grey for the ARC, this is a beautiful story with such a satisfying conclusion and the afterword about writing it during covid really added to the overall feel for me.

I couldn’t even finish this book. I got 20% thru and could not get into it. There were way too many characters right off the bat I felt like I needed a map. I also wasn’t even sure what the plot was or where the story was going. I couldn’t keep reading it and that never happens to me.

3.5 stars rounded up

If you enjoy Downton Abbey or Gilded Age, you’ll enjoy immersing yourself into the downstairs drama unfolding at Coldwell Hall, the secluded and worn down estate in Northern England. The scenes of this book are so richly drawn that they played out just like these period dramas in my mind. Forbidden romance, secrets, a mysterious disappearance, gothic period setting, this ticked all the boxes!

There were a lot of characters to keep up with and multiple perspectives made things a bit confusing at times. I also thought that the dual timeline was poorly organized and could have left out the WWI timeline and used just the letter as a bridge between before and after.

My biggest problem was the pacing. If I weren't reading as an ARC with the promise to provide feedback, I might not have DNFd it, which would have been a shame, because I really did enjoy the book. But the first 2/3 of the book felt incredibly slow and the last third felt rushed. As it was, I didn't feel the hook until about halfway through. Had pacing been evened out more, I would have given it a whole other star.

Still, I loved the Bronte vibes and while I wish I'd gotten to see more of the plot resolution unfold on the page, I was happy with how everything turned out. Fans of historical thrillers will enjoy this, if they can get past the slow pacing of the first half of the book.

Thanks Netgalley for allowing me to read this book. Kate's been a housekeeper for a couple years. She holds many secrets which she wants hidden. She meets Gem who makes her happy. I enjoyed the chemistry between Gem and Kate.

An enjoyable historical romance, full of tension and the drama of those downstairs, I definitely recommend this to readers who enjoy historical romance and Downton Abbey. There are elements of some of the supporting characters that could be tighter, but over-all I really enjoyed the main character, the non-linear narrative worked well, and it found a satisfying conclusion.

I really enjoyed this story. I thought the mystery aspect of the story was just enough to keep me going and wanting to find out all the secrets of the characters. I really liked the romantic side of this story though. I thought it really enhanced the book and made me intrigued. The characters were great, and the action was very interesting. Thank you St. Martin’s Press for sending me an ARC of this book.

I really enjoyed this book! Jumping back and forth in time made it so I was always on the edge of my seat and didn't want to put it down. While some of the tropes are popular (upstairs/downstairs dynamics, pre-war England, etc.) I thought it was a fresh take with an interesting and complex cast of characters. It was well-written and well-edited.

i’ve been really interested in pre wwi fiction so i picked this up. i found it pretty intriguing, thoigh i think it fell flat on both the romantic and mystery aspects, which is a shame.

the bill of the story takes place in 1911. if i’m being honest i didn’t think there was need for the framing device of the battle of the somme since we spend so little time in that timeline, and it obscures rather than reveals.

i liked the setting; it’s downton abbey esque and focuses almost entirely on the lives of the servants. there’s a lot of jumping around between the characters, though, which took away from kate and jem’s story, and i really wished we were more focused on them as they were such interesting characters

definitely pick it up if you’re into mysterious romances!

I loved this one filled with excellent historical detail but did feel it could have done with some editing and less plot jumping around but overall was. Good book

I enjoyed the book but I believe it could do with a little more editing. Perhaps adding a prologue for clarity. The beginning is hard to follow.

Overall I enjoyed the storyline and the plot. However, the jumping around for the point of views made the story difficult to fully understand. I had to constantly reread in order to figure out who's point of view it was. The timeline was also thrown around, so in combination of the two it was executed poorly.

A decent read but not one I would find myself recommending.

The end of the system of service, great country houses and “below stairs” intrigue which was significantly changed in Britain by WWI. In this well written and captivating story, the housekeeper isn’t the only character with secrets. Kate has escaped her brutally violent husband and gained shelter and some small feeling of peace as a housekeeper in a slightly run down and remote country house. Jem, a handsome and enigmatic young man arrives just as the house need more footman and he’s immediately hired. Jem has an alterior motive for wanting to gain access to this specific house but doesn’t divulge his secrets to anyone. Once the old Baron dies and his ne’erdowell son assumes the role (he has plenty of unsavory secrets as well) many changes happen. Including the increasingly undeniable pull between Kate and Jem which would be a relationship that, if discovered, would mean dismissal for both of them. Maids, valets, chauffers and village residents also have secrets and lots of mysteries and what happened in the past add to the story. Can Jem and Kate overcome all, including separation by WW!, to love together??
The only issue that I have with the book is the abrupt collapsing of 2 years’ events in the epilogue. It felt that the author wanted to end the book at the last chapter and her editor required as much tying up of loose end in a few words a possible. The pace felt completely different than the rest of the book.

Thanks to Net Galley for an ARC. My opinions are my own.

I quite liked this book. Told in a dual timeline, as well as interspersed with passages of a letter written to the housekeeper makes the story a bit hard to follow sometimes.

The characters are vividly described and developed with great care. Kate Furniss, the housekeeper has a secret that is alluded to throughout the book. She's not who she pretends to be. Jem Arden, a substitute footman has a secret. He's on a mission to discover what became of his brother who disappeared years before. When Jem and Kate's worlds collide, it sets off a chain reaction that frees them both. A mystery as well as a love story, The Housekeepers Secret is a worthy read.

If you’re a fan of Downtown Abbey, you’ll like this book. It reminds me of being down in the kitchen with all of the maids, cooks, and housekeepers sharing the stories, news, and gossip. The beginning is a little bit of a struggle to get through with the amount of characters introduced, and it can be a bit confusing keeping track of who everyone is, but it builds through switching perspectives.

Things I liked:
- Dual timelines
- Mystery and love mixed
- The writing

For transparency, I did receive this book on NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Unfortunately I could not finish The Housekeeper's Secret. I tried multiple times to continue farther in. This started out and stayed really slow. There was so much detail written in each and every scene that it just became too much. Beginning this book there were so many introductions to so many characters that you just couldn't keep up. The story seemed to bounce around a lot and seemed like it never got anywhere. When writing in this genre I understand wanting it to be ominous but, the suspicions in this title so early on led me to believe there were missing great details.