The Valet's Secret

Title: The Valet's Secret (audio)

Author: Josi S. Kilpack

Narrator: Justine Eyre

Genre: Regency Romance, Historical Fiction,

Publisher: Blackstone Mountain

Source: Hoopla

My review:

The Valet's Secret is the first book I have read by Josi S. Kilpack. I was drawn to this book by the cover and that it was a Regency Romance, something I discovered that I enjoy.

Trigger Warning: physical and verbal abuse. 

I was disappointed in this book. First, I listened to the audio version (Justine does an AMAZING job), but at the halfway point, I had to switch to paperback because I just needed to be finished. Why? Because, up until that point, the book was SO heavy, and I wasn't expecting it. Second, I am not a huge fan of insta-love. Third, for that time period, I am not buying what happened immediately upon Rebecca and Kenneth's immediate meeting.

Once I switched to paperback, I was able to get through the book quicker but still wasn't quite satisfied. There is a huge thing in the book that is never resolved and it bothered me. Second, after all we went through to get to the end, the ending felt abrupt.

I would advise reading other reviews if you are planning to read this book. A lot of people rave about how sweet it is (and I guess it is), and all the things, but for me, it was just a heavier read.

★★★/5

Synopsis (Goodreads): 

A passionate kiss from a handsome valet becomes a Regency Cinderella story when he is revealed to be the heir to the earldom.

York, England, 1819

As a once happily married woman, Rebecca Parker had a good life, but now widowed, working for a living, and her only child grown, she feels invisible, tired, and lonely. That is until the day a valet speeding by on a horse nearly runs her off the road. Mr. Malcolm Henry is apologetic, gentle, and handsome. She’s instantly drawn to him, which is why, rather than stopping him from kissing her, she kisses him back, reigniting a nearly forgotten passion. But love at first sight only happens in fairy tales—never to an ordinary woman like her.

She sees Mr. Henry again and feels the possibilities growing until, while working in the kitchens during a dinner party, she sees the valet she kissed sitting at the right hand of the baroness. Mr. Henry is not the earl’s valet; he is the heir to the earldom—Kenneth Winterton.

Heartbroken, angry, and betrayed, Rebecca does not trust Lord Winterton and refuses to accept his apology. But when Lord Winterton proves he is as kind and gentle as “Mr. Henry” was, she finds herself willing to give him a second chance. But will he take a chance on her? He needs a wife to help him in his place in society, and nothing about Rebeccas life does that . . . except how he feels when she is with him.

Trust, love, loneliness, and passion collide in this story about a man who will risk it all to fight for the woman he loves and a woman who does not believe in fairy tales—until she finds herself living in one.