When it comes to home grown women's fiction - Rachael Johns is an author you don't want to miss. She writes wonderful stories with a local flavour which are relatable, interesting and have some incredible characters.

The Art of Keeping Secrets is a novel about three mums and the secrets which threaten to tear their lives apart. The story starts with Felicity (Flick), Emma and Genevieve (Neve) watching as their sons are about to attend their year 12 formal. Flick appears to have the perfect life - a doting husband, a daughter about to get married and a son all set to finish school and start university. Emma's had a hard few years with her husband trading her in for a newer, much younger model and finding things a little tough financially. And Neve proud of the man her son is turning into despite her having to play the role of mother and father. But Flick's husband wants to tell the world the secret they've been hiding from the world for the past two decades. Emma's worried her kids love their stepmother more than her and her headaches have her popping pain killers like tictacs. And Neve's son has decided he wants to meet his father... The secrets these women keep could ruin their friendships and hurt the ones they love the most with even the best kept secrets having a way of coming out.

This book is mostly about friendship and the relationship between the three women was a pleasure read. Flick, Emma and Neve have been friends for years and it shows. They survived Emma's divorce together, and leaned on each other when things have been tough. The events in The Art of Keeping Secrets prove to be their toughest obstacle to date and I liked how they faced it as real people. They each have their own problems and morals. I loved that they approached situations with their opinions coloured by their pasts and personal histories. There was a sense of love between these women but what made their friendship all the more special was how they didn't blindly agree with the others all the time just because they were friends. These characters for all their faults became all the more real to me and compelled me to read their stories.

I loved the pace of the novel right up until the ending. The resolution felt a little rushed and everything wrapped too quickly and completely for two of the characters and not quite resolved enough for the other. But I still enjoyed the journey. The twists and turns of the women's lives right up until the final few chapters was exciting and I was drawn into the dramas and the friendships.

The Art of Keeping Secrets is perfect for fans of well written women's fiction and books about friendship. A great standalone novel with a dash of romance, the struggles of family life and the power of friends, this book was highly enjoyable. I will definitely be reading more Rachael Johns novels in the future.

Another great contemporary fiction read from Rachael Johns!

This is the book that starts the story which continues on in Rachael’s 2021 release, How To Mend A Broken Heart. I accidentally read the follow-up first, but other than knowing where a big plot point was headed, it really didn’t affect my reading of this book.

I found this story of three women, Felicity, Emma & Neve, keeping secrets and each reaching a crisis point in their lives to be so moving and heartfelt, but with some very funny and entertaining moments too. The cast of characters surrounding the three leads was very nicely done & really helped me to become invested in the lives of the women. I could easily have spent more time with these characters (and for anyone who reads the books in order… unlike myself - you get to!).

This is a novel that will have you turning the pages & hoping for a happy ending for this trio of friends!

ARC received via Netgalley for an honest review

Oh what a tangled web we weave! Secrets, little white lies, they all come back to haunt us eventually.

Felicity (Flick), Emma and Genevieve (Neve), best friends, and they tell each other everything.. right?

That is until their secrets start to emerge, and they each have to deal with the consequences.

Will they tear their friendships apart, or will it bring them closer, that is the question.

As I turned each and every page, I was anxious to know what would happen to each of the lovely ladies, their families, their friends. I felt their anger, their pain, their sorrow. I felt their happiness, their hope, their dreams coming to fruition.

I laughed, I cried, I got angry and sad. And I had hope in my heart that each and every one of them would get the outcome that they wanted.

There is one of these that I feel that their story is not completed yet? And I hope that we get more of it sometime in the future.

Ms Johns took me on a journey of hope, fun, laughter and discovery from one side of the world to the other. I became completely engrossed in the tale she was telling, and I can't wait to see what she brings us next.

The Art of Keeping Secrets has now overtaken The Patterson Girls as my new favourite Rachael Johns book. This fabulous contemporary fiction novel follows the lives of three women, who have been friends for years but are each keeping secrets.

I giggled, I teared up, I kept turning the pages. The only reason I didn't finish it sooner was that I put all my books down for a few days so that I could flit around the Romance Writer's of Australia conference, soaking up the love, and get to meet [a:Rachael Johns|5322143|Rachael Johns|https://d2arxad8u2l0g7.cloudfront.net/authors/1323691466p2/5322143.jpg] in person (*waves* hi, Rach).

I received this book free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

3.5 rounded up

I went into this story relatively blind and and a big fan of Rachael's books, I knew this one would meet all expectations.
Due to this, I'll keep my review short and sweet. No spoilers whatsoever.
In this book, we have mums; Emma, Flick and Neve.
3 Point of views, 3 stories, 3 BIG secrets.

This is an emotional rollercoaster that has you smiling, laughing, crying and angry all in the space of a couple of hundred pages.

This is a story first and foremost about friendship, being there for one another through even the hardest of times, whether you agree with your friends or not.

If you're a fan of emotionally charged stories, strong female characters and friendships, this is for you.
Womens literature at it's best.

Loved it.

4.5/5 stars!

How To Mend a Broken Heart is one of Rachael's newer novels, and extends on this story. I will be picking that up very soon. I can't wait to see what the future holds for one of the main characters in this one.

Enjoyable story, that is quickly read due to it flowing really well. The story is of three friends, Neve, Flick and Emma, each with their own things to deal with, and their own secrets to keep or spill.

Flick’s marriage holds a secret

Neve holds a secret about her son and his father

Emma has a secret she’s not actually aware of until the story eventuates and has a bit of a crush on her (gay?) male boss. Emma is very busy due to being a divorced parent with the financial demands of running a household and looking after her kids, she is always tired and always has a headache, oh and she has a crappy ex husband.

The ladies have been friends for years and tell each other everything, or do they, some secrets have been kept hidden.

I enjoyed it immensely and it was lovely to have a story that was mainly based in Western Australia.

I’ll read books by author again, as she writes really well.

According to the Oxford Dictionary a SECRET is something that is kept or meant to be kept unknown or unseen by others. And this book is like no other...

From best-selling Australian author Rachael Johns comes an explosive new read, The Art Of Keeping Secrets.

Stepping away from her rural romance novels for a little while, Johns The Art Of Keeping Secrets is a highly addictive and explosive read that is bound to have avid romance and contemporary fiction readers riveted from the very first to last page!

Bursting at the seems with secrets that range from little white lies to those that threaten and undermine you very existence, The Art Of Keeping Secrets was an astounding read that left me reeling in the best possible way. The pacing and tension of the novel is spot on, so much so that I'm actually a little bit in awe of the way Johns was able to continually up the ante with each secrets revelation and timing. There was not one second where this book lagged, in fact all in all it's pretty damn fast paced with so much happening in a very true to life style.

As I've come to expect from Johns' previous books, the characters were an array of eccentric personalities, character flaws and hearts of gold that felt not only alive on the page, but honest and very real. The emotions these characters evoked in me as a reader sent me on a roller-coaster of a ride as I laughed, loved, was confused and hurt by, felt despair, loss and fear alongside and found hope with them. They incited just about every emotion known to man kind, and they were 'just' fictional; just words on a page. If that doesn't tell you about the power of words and Johns' extraordinary craftsmanship, I don't know what can.

Given the nature of the book, I can't really talk much about the plot (or it's characters really) in great detail without the fear of spoilers, but what I can tell you is that this a book that needs to be read,as it's a narrative you will want to experience for yourself. What I will say however is that The Art Of Keeping Secrets is an extraordinary book about secrets both big and small that we tell ourselves and others almost every day and how those consequences can haunt us for life. It's about family, relationships, love, marriage, one's health and well being both mentally, physically and emotionally. Most importantly though it is a story about three women and their families, about finding themselves in a world more unexpected then known, and what it means to be comfortable and at ease with oneself. It deals with everything from trivial matters to earth-shattering truths and is a book with one hell of a mighty heart.

With the cat now out of the bag, I think it's safe to say that this new book from Rachael Johns will NOT stay secret for long, nor does it deserve too! After all, it's not every day a book comes along that will shake you to your core and have you re-evaluate your own decisions and lives, and make you feel thankful for the people in your own life. I highly recommend this novel to everyone young and old and can't wait to see what the future holds for this extremely talented and versatile author.

This review was originally posted over at The Never Ending Bookshelf on October 20, 2016 and can be found here: http://wp.me/p3yY1u-14O

Really enjoyed this.

The Art of Keeping Secrets was a roller coaster of emotions wrapped up in a rock solid story as three friends journeyed together through life, love, and a multitude of family issues.

‘Even if their lives *were* falling apart, at least they had each other to laugh and cry with.’

Rachael Johns has a way of writing stories that are thoughtful, character-driven, and have a realistic feel to them. The Art of Keeping Secrets bumped that up a notch for me, as she also added in thought-provoking twists to relationships and some non-traditional issues we face in the world today. It was interesting to see how Neve, Emma and Flick, while presented as everyday women with struggles most parents face, were also dealing with secrets they hadn’t told each other. And that’s where the drama and the real depth of the story began. Read More