When three friends get together, they quickly get reminded of the fourth friend they lost as teens. Told between past and present, this book slowly unraveled to reveal the truth between friends and what happened when they were teens.

I loved the narrator for this one. She was clear and spoke at a good pace. It was well animated without ever feeling over the top. There are a lot of characters and moving pieces, but I never felt lost or confused. I greatly enjoyed this as an audio book!

The story itself was a bit slow at times. There's a lot happening but not much at the same time. I was hoping for more suspense/thriller, but this is definitely a more quiet story. Lots of side stories and everyone has their personal drama. I enjoyed seeing the friends come together and it did wrap up nicely in the end.

Thank you for Harlequin and Netgalley for an ALC.

I am unable to give feedback as it states I am not authorized to download or play this audio book. However I am writing this as I do not want it to go against my feedback percent.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishing team for the opportunity to read/listen to as an ARC a bit early.


From the very beginning, the characters and storyline grabbed my attention and never let go! This is the first Jill Lynn story that I’ve had the pleasure of reading and/or listening to and it has definitely spurred me forward to read more from this author.

Despite their flaws and secrets, the characters really stick with you. Some thriller/suspense novels lack depth, but not in this case. The characters really do grow within a very short time.

The narration was delightful and pleasant to listen to. Tanya Eby did an incredible job. Her narration was clear, well read, and well animated without being over the top.

As for the story/plot, there were many twists and turns and unfortunately the story didn’t end the way I thought it would, haha! I think that calls for a point in the author’s favor though, so no complaints on that front.

I will say, some of the side stories seemed to purposefully throw the reader off the trail and it kept me guessing. I would have loved some more developed side paths, but overall, it was a great story.

Make sure you stay for the epilogue for a fun treat!

Definitely looking forward to telling my friends about this one and finding more books by this author! Great read!

A cryptic, unsigned note is left at the vacation home of long-time friends, warning that the secret must be told. But what secret? This "friendcation" brings three couples together. The women share a secret from their past, and each of the couples has one or more secrets they are keeping. Plus there is a teenager along for the eye-rolls.
It's not bad, but it could have been funnier or cuter or more mysterious. The characters could have been better developed or more complex. In this tale, complexity was mostly hinted. The narration is good on the audiobook. We do switch POVs and there are three epilogues, so everything is wrapped up neatly at the end. 3.5 rounded down.
My thanks to the author, publisher, @HarlequinAudio, and #NetGalley for early access to the audiobook of #ThingsWeKeepHidden for review purposes. Publication date: 26 August 2025.

I really enjoyed Things We Keep Hidden. It had a lot going on plot-wise, which made it a bit confusing at times, but it kept me engaged. The storyline is layered and intriguing, and the plot twist genuinely surprised me—I didn’t see it coming at all. What stood out most to me was the underlying message that things work out the way they’re meant to, even if it’s not how we expected.

3.25 ⭐️
Thank you to NetGalley for allowing me to listen to the ARC Harlequin audio of Things We Keep Hidden in exchange for my honest review!

This was a good story and narration. Did it surprise me, no, but I did enjoy it. It really made me miss my close friends from high school.

Veil, not to be confused with Vail Colorado.
That made me chuckle!

This was a really interesting introspection into characters that are so deeper than their surface and first impressions. The friends any their husbands all had interesting stories individually, as couples, and as a group. Everyone has flaws and problems, no matter how much they try to hide it.

The characters were fleshed out well, but I did find the plot quite hard to follow in the middle. I should have kept a chart on all the characters and their connections!

Thanks for the ARC NetGalley!

Thank you for the LRC. This was a very enjoyable audiobook. Set in the context of a friend-cation of high school friends and their spouses, with several having secrets to keep and how those have impacted each of their lives, as well as how those unfold, I wanted to know what happened next. The characters were likeable, and at times, I could envision sitting among them as part of a friend group. I thought the author did a great job in developing each of the characters, individually and as couples, while keeping the progression of the storyline. The author did a great job of creating a well-developed, cohesive plot that flowed well. I felt that I got to know each of the main characters and that it came together nicely and artfully woven into the narrative. There were some red herrings throughout that worked well and led to a satisfying conclusion. The audiobook was pleasant to listen to and I very much liked the narrator who was perfectly suited for this book. No spoilers so I will leave it just at saying that the epilogues (yes plural) were perfect and well done.

Thank you, Netgalley, Harlequin Audio, and the author for this free LRC.

I really enjoyed this audiobook. I think the author did a great job developing the characters and also in following with each of their points of view in addition to CeCe’s point of view in the past as well. Then there is the added in family drama complications as well. I really enjoyed listening to this. Great narration. Great writing. I thought it was a creative idea on the part of the author.
Highly recommend this one!

Title: Things We Keep Hidden
Author: Jill Lynn
Format: 🎧
Narrator: Tanya Eby
Publisher: Harlequin Audio
Genre: Women’s Fiction- Family Drama with a bit of mystery
Pub Date: August 26, 2025
My Rating: 3.5 Stars Rounded up
Pages 336


Payton, Isley and Clara have known each other since childhood Once they finished college, married and moved to different areas they promised to get together yearly. Now the husbands join them.
Isley and her husband Trevor live in Denver and bought a vacation home called ‘The Haven’ located in Breckenridge, CO. They invited the friends for their annual ‘friendeation” stay at their new place. So the couples Isley and Trevor, Clara and Hank, Peyton and Liam plus their fifteen year-old daughter Regan as she had some issues and they felt they couldn’t leave her home with friends.

The group plans to enjoy an R&R but also to work on a fundraiser that honors their childhood friend Cece who committed suicide. Twenty years ago
However when a note stating Tell the truth or I will’; arrives they are all shaken. They realize they must confront that night twenty years ago when Cece took her life.

This is told from the POV of friends as well and Cece twenty years ago.

There is a mystery with Ceca’s death. However, I was like everyone else in thinking it was suicide since she had tried four years earlier. As I listened to Ceca’s story, I soon had doubts she would kill herself.

This story started out a slow family drama. In addition, to Ceca’s death and revealing what they experienced that night, there are some issues with the couples and their children.

I was pleased there is a HEA.
Want to thank NetGalley and Harlequin Audio for this early audiobook.
Publishing Release Date scheduled for August 26, 2025,

First book by this author and it was interesting. The book is basically about all the things people, couples, teenagers keep hidden and are usually private but shows sometimes people need to talk things through in order to find a direction. The characters were well developed and there are some flashbacks to let the reader gather historic data for the current situation. The author spent a lot of time building up to this big reveal and it was a bit anticlimactic. A contemporary story of three friends and their husbands and families whose lives at first seemed pretty perfect. 3.5 rounded up. Thanks to Netgalley, the author and publisher for the opportunity.

Three lifelong friends and their husbands (and one of their daughters) come together at a cabin in Colorado for a mini vacation and to plan the charity event for their childhood friend Cece. "As the weekend unfolds, all three will revisit the bonds they share and the challenges that have shaped their lives. And by the trip’s end, a truth that shocks them all will be revealed."

This was an enjoyable medium paced low stakes dramatic mystery with themes of friendship, parenting, marriage/relationships and secrets. There was a lot of relationships dynamics at play: Pay, Isley and Clara's lifelong friendship and their trauma bond; each woman and their partner and each woman and their teenage/young adult kids. This made for a winding mystery and many questions about their pasts that were mostly answered by the end. I was curious to find out what happened with Cece but knew from the beginning it wasn't anything truly nefarious that the girls did. I also suspected the ending, which hurt, but didn't know how it would happen.

The audiobook narrator was excellent and brought the story to life. I could picture this as a made-for-tv movie with some popular mid-forties/early-50s actors. Personally, I had a bit of a hard time connecting with characters just because they are on different stages of their lives than I am as a mid-30s woman, but it was still an enjoyable story and something that I would recommend to my mom or any readers who like emotional and dramatic stories about relationships and secrets.

This was my first book by this author and I appreciated her writing style and the way she weaved together multiple storylines and relationships.

Thank you to NetGalley and Harlequin Audio for the opportunity to listen to and review this ARC!

3.5 stars rounded up.

Always curious to dive into a friends with secrets novel and this one had alot happening, this isn't just your average clean romance story.

The last time lifelong friends Payton, Isley and Clara were together, Clara broke their unwritten rule and brought up the one thing they never talk about. And now, more than twenty years after their friend Cece took her life, they must confront that night as the three women and their husbands—plus one unexpected guest—gather at Isley’s Breckenridge vacation home. With tension already simmering just below the surface of their relationship, they’re each left shaken when a cryptic note Tell the truth or I will.

Who is the message for and what does it refer to? The women fear it could be linked to the truth they’ve kept hidden since the night Cece died…or maybe it has something to do with one of the problems they’ve each brought with them.

Isley’s son is in rehab after narrowly avoiding jail time, spurring her to a reckless act of her own. Clara, usually so careful to follow rules, is haunted by the one night that she didn’t. And Payton has been in denial regarding her husband’s so-called “plan” for their marriage.

As the weekend unfolds, all three will revisit the bonds they share and the challenges that have shaped their lives. And by the trip’s end, a truth that shocks them all will be revealed.

A quiet, character-driven story about friendship, secrets, and forgiveness. The premise was intriguing, but the pacing felt slow and the emotional impact didn’t quite hit for me. I didn’t love it, but I didn’t dislike it either. For me it was just a middle-of-the-road read.

This story is about three friends and their husbands. It also involves their children. There is a mystery while they are on vacation together and a long ago secret get brought back up. I liked parts of this like the back in time parts with Cece. But some of it I just did not connect with and wish it went a little deeper. I did like that everything was figured out and solved for all the characters. I give this a 3.5.

From the very first page, Things We Keep Hidden by Jill Lynn is an absolute triumph, a riveting and emotionally charged read that left me completely captivated. Having had the chance to listen to the ARC audiobook from NETGALLEY, I can confidently say this is one of those rare stories that stays with you long after the final chapter. I loved every minute and was genuinely sad to see it end.

The novel centers on three lifelong friends—Payton, Isley, and Clara—who find their bond tested by a tragic event from their past: the suicide of their friend Cece over twenty years ago. The secret of that night has been carefully buried, a fragile peace maintained by an unspoken pact never to discuss it. When the women and their husbands gather for a weekend getaway, the tension is already palpable. But everything comes to a head with the arrival of a cryptic, threatening note: "Tell the truth or I will."

This simple message acts as a masterfully executed catalyst, shattering the group's fragile calm and forcing them to confront not only the night Cece died but also the individual secrets they've been harboring. Isley is grappling with the consequences of her son's reckless behavior, which has led to a reckless act of her own. Clara, known for being the rule-follower, is haunted by a single night of rebellion. Meanwhile, Payton is in denial about the true nature of her husband's plans for their marriage.

Jill Lynn weaves these multiple threads together with incredible skill. The plot is a perfect blend of pulse-pounding mystery and deeply emotional character drama. I was on the edge of my seat, constantly trying to piece together the truth about what happened all those years ago, while also becoming deeply invested in each woman's personal journey. The author's exploration of friendship, loyalty, guilt, and forgiveness is both raw and authentic.

The narration of the audiobook was superb, adding another layer of depth to the story and making the characters feel incredibly real and relatable. This is more than just a suspense novel; it's a powerful story about the things we keep hidden, the burdens we carry, and the unbreakable bonds of friendship. The final reveal is genuinely shocking and provides a deeply satisfying conclusion to the mystery.

For anyone who loves a character-driven story with a compelling mystery at its heart, Things We Keep Hidden is an absolute must-read. Jill Lynn has crafted a truly unforgettable novel, and I cannot recommend it highly enough.

Thank you NetGalley and Harlequin Audio for the ARC

🎧 AUDIOBOOK REVIEW 🎧

3 ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️

Things We Keep Hidden was an emotional story about family secrets, forgiveness, and second chances. I enjoyed the overall premise and appreciated the dual timelines and perspectives, which gave more depth to the characters and their struggles.

The narration was clear and easy to follow, though I didn’t feel as emotionally connected to the characters as I hoped. Some parts of the story moved a bit slowly for me, and I found it difficult to fully invest in the relationships. Still, the themes of healing and redemption were meaningful and well-presented.

This was my first book by Jill Lynn, and while it wasn’t a standout for me, I’d be open to trying more of her work in the future.