Review: Secrets She Kept by Cathy Gohlke

 

Name: Secrets She Kept 

Author: Cathy Gohlke 

Genre: Historical fiction, Christian, Romance

Format: 🎧 audiobook 

Publisher: Tyndale House Publisher

What's it about?

The secret a mother was forbidden to share . . . the consequences a daughter could not redeem—but will risk everything in her attempt.

All her life, Hannah Sterling longed for a close relationship with her estranged mother. Following Lieselotte’s death, Hannah unlocks secrets of her mother’s mysterious past, including the discovery of a grandfather living in Germany.

Thirty years earlier, Lieselotte’s father, ascending the ranks of the Nazi party, demands a marriage for his daughter to help advance his career. But Lieselotte is in love—and her beloved Lukas secretly works against the Reich. How far will her father go to achieve his goal?

Both Hannah’s and Lieselotte’s stories unfold as Hannah travels to Germany to meet her grandfather, who hides wartime secrets of his own. Longing for connection, yet shaken by all she uncovers, Hannah must decide if she can atone for her family’s tragic past, and how their legacy will shape her future.

IMPORTANT NOTE: What is written below is purely my own opinion! You might like certain parts of this book that I didn't like and vice versa. 

My Thoughts on...

The Characters 

• Lieselotte: I loved how real she felt. As I was reading her POV, I could genuinely feel all her emotions. From her joy and delight to her despair and anger. I loved how real and raw her POV felt. 
• Hannah: She was okay, but in my opinion, she acted a bit childish at times. Some of the actions and stances she took didn't make sense to me. However, in her defense, I can understand that she was going through a lot of turmoil as she tried to find out the truth. 
• I didn’t precisely understand Lieselotte’s relationship with a certain someone. It seemed like it progressed too quickly. However, some people might not mind this. 

The Plot

• The plot was quite watertight, and everything seemed to make sense
• Hannah's POV semeed to have a pretty slow pacing pretty at first as Hannah tried to find out the truth. But it started to pick up pace around 30-50% of the way, which I liked
• I felt that Hannah’s timeline was a bit slow, whereas Lieselotte’s was more well-paced. 
• It wasn't predictable! There were quite a few twists that I didn't see coming, and I really appreciated it. 

Writing Style

• Very enjoyable to listen to. I liked both voice actors, especially Lieselotte’s voice actor. It was pretty easy to follow the story and to understand what was going on. 
• I loved Cathy Gohlke's writing. She transported me into the scene and I felt like I was there in her story world. 
• Her writing seamlessly blended the character’s thoughts with the plot 😍 

Final Verdict: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

I loved the story's pace and the immersive environment of the whole story. Especially loved Lieselotte’s timeline and how she grew as a character. However, I didn’t really like the pacing of Hannah’s timeline. It felt a bit slow for me, and her character seemed to act childish at times, in my opinion. 

You might like this if you like: 

• Dual timelines
• Bantering friendships
• Strong and courageous protagonist
• Stories set in World War II