Rating: 
Summary: For the first time...I don't know what I think
Review: I truely have mixed feelings about the elipogue. It was sweet but it did leave the book on a downer. I also, in general, do not like books where everything is explained to the reader through a long speech made by one of the characters to a group of other characaters. This may seem petty but we had the little bit of mystery explained to us over more than 10 pages. It would have been nice to have it come out a little more over time.
I did like the characters and they were developed well. Ian was cute and Caleb was truely one of the best leading males I have read in quite a while! I am impressed with the story and I liked the book pretty much until the end where we got a long drawn out explanation (catch-up story) and then the epilogue. It was a nice wrap up to the series however.
Rating: 
Summary: Heartbreaking
Review: I was having a good time reading the Rogues of Regent Street series and I couldn't wait to get to the story of Sophie Dane, whose first love turned out to be the worst. Actually, this book is pretty good. I agree that it did have moments of stagnancy...but they were brief and nearly painless. It was great to watch the relationship between Sophie and Caleb develop. However, I wish Ms. London would have given them more dialogue instead of describing the kinds of things they would talk about when together. But that initial meeting and the next were perfect. I really enjoyed the secondary characters...Honorine Fortier and Will Hamilton, Fabrice and Roland, Lucie Cowplain and even Trevor (especially as his insanity grew). I could really picture all of them living as I read. That is precisely why I was really aghast by the epilogue. I expected to read, you know, the traditional Caleb and Sophie become parents and reflect on how beautiful the future will be now that they're together. However, we got a glimpse into the next several decades (which I thought was great and refreshing). What I did not expect to get at the end was the telling of how family members that I became fond of died off, including this book's main character. How depressing! This is the only time I've ever read a romance novel and cried from utter melancholy at the end. I like a lot of realism in my fiction, but that was cruel.
Rating: 
Summary: WHAT??? The Epilogue was outstanding!!
Review: I'm confused by the comment made below that because of the epilogue the book was ruined. I won't ruin it for you when I say that it only made the book better. It was a nice, realistic touch to books that too often have only cheesy quick endings. It is still a 'happy' ending and one that I have read over and over again just to relive the emotion Julia London put into it. Read it and you won't be disappointed.
Rating:
Summary: strong early Victorian romance
Review: In 1836 England, Sophie Dane chases "freedom" when she finally decides to leave her cruel husband to become a companion to Honorine, as the woman travels abroad. Sophie knows the price she will pay is a divorce from her spouse and non-existence except in terms of gossipy scandal from her peers. Legally not being married is simply great to Sophie, but the Ton reaction is a high price. Still, to the beleaguered Sophie, fleeing this marriage is worth everything.In 1844, Honorine decides to return to England taking Sophie with her. Honorine cares for Lord Trevor Hamilton, recovering from a stroke. Trevor's son Caleb has also come from the continent to help his father. Caleb and Sophie are immediately attracted to one another, but they first must confront, almost accost the past, if they are to pursue a future together. THE SECRET LOVER is first and foremost an early Victorian romance. However, the tale contains several other elements involving inter-family relationships, not all positive, that make for a stronger blend than usually found within the sub-genre. The prime characters are fully developed so that the audience understands what drives them to risk scandal. Romance readers will enjoy reading Julia London's mid nineteenth century novel that has a sort of Dickens undercoat to an already engaging tale. Harriet Klausner
Rating:
Summary: Beware the Epilogue
Review: In truth this is an amazing piece of historical fiction. Being a 2 book a day reader, I've become jaded and it takes alot to get me to run home to read a book. This story had it, funny characters, great dialogue and a to die for hero. The book is by turns witty and charming and had the Eplogue NOT been included I would have added Julia London to my must buy list. But not now.. I literally threw the book across the room and as far as I am concerned I wasted 3 hours reading a book that in the long run left me feeling rather [upset]. So in fair warning don't read the Epilogue unless you DON'T like to think of "Happily Ever After."
Rating:
Summary: London in her prime?
Review: Julia London deserves five stars for depicting a romance heroine who grows up, faces her own flaws and mistakes, takes charge of her life, takes risks, and stands up for herself. Then there's Caleb, he's to die for. He's for all of us who still enjoy a misunderstood, brooding, very sexy hero. And by the way, London has a very literate writing style too. What's not to like?
Rating:
Summary: Some Secrets Should Remain Hidden
Review: Julia London is a wonderful writer whose books have always kept me enthralled from the opening page until the last, sometimes into the wee hours of the morning. The same cannot be said, regretfully, of "The Secret Lover." The story revolves around a divorced victim of marital abuse, Sophie Dane, who moves back to London for a fresh start after years of living abroad as the companion to an eccentric Frenchwoman, Honorine. As she tries to transcend her scandalous past, she meets two brothers, one legitimate, one not, and has to choose between following her heart down a path of further notoriety or taking what appears to be the safer route encouraged by her family. The main problem with this book for me was the lack of any really likeable characters in it. The heroine is retiring, easily manipulated, and insecure. These are probably honest qualities of a victim of domestic abuse, but as I was reading the book, I kept thinking to myself,"Get some backbone, Sophie!" The hero is lackluster, the villain is wholly one-dimensional, and even the secondary characters, Sophie's Frenchwoman, Honorine, and her servants, Fabrice and Roland, who are supposed to provide comic relief, leave the reader feeling flat. What is truly sad, however, is what Julia London does in "The Secret Lover" with Sophie's brother, Julian Dane, and his wife, Claudia, who were the protaganists of her earlier book, "The Ruthless Charmer." If you loved them in that book, you will hate them here, as they have turned into pompous know-it-alls, with no compassion and little humor. Maybe it was because I did not warm to any of the characters that I found this book to be an incredibly slow read. The book is well written from a technical standpoint, but unless you can identify with a heroine-as-victim, you may find that it lacks that special "sizzle" that have marked Julia London's previous works.
Rating:
Summary: You'll either love it or hate it. No middle ground.
Review: Lady Sophie Dane fled London and the man she had eloped with (and then divorced). The scandal would follow her forever. Sophie did not care. She never intended to return. She became the companion of a young French woman named Honorine Fortier. Things were grand for years. But then Honor announced they were traveling to London! Caleb Hamilton was the illegitimate son of Lord Will Hamilton. Will's second son, and heir, was Trevor. Will had often visited Caleb as he grew into adulthood, but a stroke ended that. When Caleb approached to check on his father, Trevor refused to allow him entry. All of London buzzed with gossip of "The Imposter" son and of Sophie's sudden reappearance. But the Ton did not know the half of it! Muddy waters ran much deeper in the Hamilton household then anyone could possibly guess. And Sophie's family was trying to push her into accepting Trevor as her betrothed. *** That is all I can tell without spoiling the plot. There is MUCH more to the story than I stated above. This book starts out with a simmer, slowly builds up more steam, and ends with a bang. On a personal note though, I did not like the Epilogue at all. All I can say is that this type of Epilogue will have no middle ground on the emotions of the readers. They will either love it or hate it! All-in-all, this is a book I can recommend to any who like Regency Romances. *** Reviewed by Detra Fitch
Rating:
Summary: Superb Historical Romance
Review: Ms. London, well known in the romance genre for her popular series, Rogues of Regent Street, acquaints readers with Sophie Dane, the younger sister of a former rogue, Julian Dane. The year is 1836, when Sophie elopes with Sir William Stanwood, unaware that he would physically abuse her. Eight years later, Sophie has survived a scandalous divorce and is a traveling companion to Honorine Fortier, a free-spirited French-woman with whom she has traveled the globe. But to Sophie's dismay, Honorine wishes to journey to London where Sophie must relive her sordid past and face the members of the ton. Spending her London days in a nearby park, Sophie spies an attractive man across the pond. As he soon becomes aware of her studying him, the two societal outcasts become friends before they become lovers. He just happens to be Caleb Hamilton, the illegitimate son of Will Hamilton, father of Trevor, Sophie's apparent suitor. While Sophie attempts to discover the nature of Trevor's attraction to her, he does everything possible to prevent Caleb from having any contact with their ailing father. Adding substance to the plot is Honorine's interest in Will and her ability to aid his recovery from a seizure disorder. But as the affair between Sophie and Caleb progresses, Caleb becomes reluctant to keep theirs a secret relationship. Will Sophie succumb to familial pressure to marry Trevor, the legitimate heir, or follow her heart before Caleb is lost to her forever? Ms. London has created protagonists who stand apart in the romance genre with a very profound love found in a relationship both believable and enviable. The elements of romantic tension are sufficient to thicken the novel's plot without creating so much strife as to detract from the read. And the supporting characters are especially colorful, from the free-spirited Honorine to her traveling companions, Fabrice and Roland. In the sub-genre of historical romance, Ms. London is one of the very best.
Rating:
Summary: A wonderful read
Review: Set at the beginning of industrial era in London, Sophie was the "plain" one of her family. She fell for her only suitor, and when her brother rejected his suit, she eloped. She finds, like many girls do, that should have thought more carefully. Her husband beats her and spends her inheritance. Escaping and obtaining a divorce, Sophie leaves England for 8 years to escape the viscious gossip. During those years abroad, she becomes a companion for a colorful French widow, Honorine, who determines it is time for Sophie to return to England and find love. Sophie eventually has two suitors - Caleb & Trevor, half-brothers (one legitimate, one not). One wishes to love her, and the other wishes to marry her for other self-serving reasons. The story was well-written and stayed true with the time period. I enjoyed the entire book
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