Having been privileged to reveal the cover for Taryn Leigh’s The Secret Letters a few weeks ago, I am delighted to be sharing my review today as part of the blog rour run by Rachel at Rachel’s Random Resources.

The Secret Letters is published today 9th August 2020 and is available for purchase on Amazon and all online bookstores, as well as from the Taryn Leigh directly.

The Secret Letters

Rachel, saved from an attack twelve years before by a faceless stranger, never got to thank him, never knew his name.

Despite the devastation she chose to rise above it to help others from their pain by becoming a psychologist… Her only issue now is that she’s an expert at fixing everyone else’s problems, and blind to her own.

After a long relationship with her boyfriend Will starts to go south, she turns to her best friend Amelia for guidance.

Suddenly her world is turned upside down when tragedy strikes and she’s left with no one to comfort her but Will’s rude older brother Ruari.

Paralysed by fear, she struggles to take grip of her life, until the day when anonymous letters begin to appear from the stranger who saved her twelve years before.

My Review of The Secret Letters

Rachel deals with others’ problems but isn’t good at dealing with her own.

The Secret Letters is a highly entertaining story that I really enjoyed. Whilst I was able to guess many of the plot reveals, this was by no means detrimental to the read because Taryn Leigh structures her novel in a very satisfying way. There’s a super balance between dramatic moments and quieter aspects so that The Secret Letters feels complete and rewarding.

One of the elements that I thoroughly enjoyed was the sense of place. I’ve loved visiting South Africa in the past and The Secret Letters enabled me to visit an area, Pretoria, that I haven’t been to and to relive some of the experiences, like safaris, that I have been on. The descriptions of food too add an extra element of realism that left me feeling quite hungry at times.

I found Rachel an intriguing character. She can be insightful and completely blinkered. She can be generous and selfish. She is both strong and vulnerable, occasionally behaving foolishly and recklessly so that she embodies traits that so many readers will recognise. On occasion I found myself desperate to tell her to do something differently!

Whilst the plot is quick and entertaining it was the exploration of theme in The Secret Letters that appealed to me most. Taryn Leigh has a sensitive insight into the way we can be self-delusional, how our past can so deeply affect our lives and how true family and friendship is something that doesn’t always come easily but might need to be worked on in order to thrive. The impact of fear on an individual is almost tender in its portrayal.

The Secret Letters is an entertaining narrative with a real sense of humanity running through it. I enjoyed reading it.

About Taryn Leigh

Taryn Leigh is a South African Author, who spent her childhood with her nose buried in books. Her love for reading transpired into her ambition to become an Author.

Taryn Leigh’s first book, Perfect Imperfections, is available in Paperback, eBook and AudioBook. She lives in Pretoria with her husband and son.

Find out more by visiting Taryn’s website, finding her on Instagram and Facebook or following her on Twitter @tarynleighbook. You can also join her fan group on Facebook for giveaways and special news: Taryn Leigh’s Official Fan Group.

There’s more with these other bloggers too: