Secrets Never Told

Rating:
Summary: Her work just gets better and better
Review: Let me start off by saying that I love the book. When you think about relationships, you have to realize that relationships are not going to be perfect. And i think that the approach that Ms. Alers took addressing this topic was superb. I will derfinitely recommend this book to any and everybody I know. Good read..

Rating:
Summary: Her work just gets better and better
Review: Let me start off by saying that I love the book. When you think about relationships, you have to realize that relationships are not going to be perfect. And i think that the approach that Ms. Alers took addressing this topic was superb. I will derfinitely recommend this book to any and everybody I know. Good read..

Rating:
Summary: Ms. Alers leave you hanging in Secrets Never Told
Review: Morgana and Franklin are a very successful African-American couple who allowed success to bridge a gap in their marriage. Upon learning of her husband's infidelity and her mother's death,in the same evening, she flees back to her hometown in the South. There, through her mother's diaries, Morgana finds secrets never told.

After the funeral, Morgana's stays to sort out her mother's business. While there, she meets a young artist and drifts into an affair.

In reading this book, there was no clear defintion as to why Morgana began the affair. It seemed tasteless with no purpose.
For Ms. Alers to suggest Morgana's affair, which was not based on passion or love, but convenience, could be compared to her mother's love affair with Julian was absolutely ridiculous.

In reading her mother's diaries, she suddenly sees the light for forgiveness was unexplainable. This could have been developed more. It made no sense. There was no discussion, screaming, no, I am sorry, nothing between Morgana and Frankllin about hsi affair. I couldn't get pass it.

When Franklin realizes Morgana had an affair, he seemed relieved because he would not have explain his affairs through the years or what made him seek other women. He accepted her affair and said, "Now we are even."

What makes an affair even. Explain this to me.

I recommend if you don't want explainations and willing accept as is, then read it. However, if you want a book with depth and strength, look somewhere else.

The book leaves you hanging. It seems as if Franklin will continue to have affairs because it was a very powerful aphrodisiac to him.

Rating:
Summary: Things Are Not Always As They Seem
Review: Morgana is a small business owner, she is married to a prominent D.C. attorney, and is the proud mother of two rather successful young adult children. So it would seem that at this point in her life all is well, however, appearances can be deceiving. Behind the façade of a happy couple, she and her husband really seem like roommates sharing the same space instead of a couple sharing a life. Then life as Morgana knows it is shaken to the very core when she discovers her husband is having an affair just minutes after receiving news that her mother has died. She heads to Salvation, Georgia to make funeral arrangements for her mother and get away from her husband. But while in Salvation Morgana finds herself on a journey of self discovery during which she uncovers unspoken family secrets through her mother's diaries. During this journey she learns more about her family, and most importantly herself.

Rochelle Alers has crafted a richly conceived tale about the impact that secrets can have on a family and the sacrifices that people make in the name of love. As the story unfolded I found that I couldn't put this book down. Although this book is a mainstream fiction read, there is a hint of romance intermingled in the plot that will satisfy Alers' diehard romance fans. This is a complex story about love, hate, betrayal, and sacrifice that is sure to leave readers satisfied.

Reviewed by Stacey Seay
of The RAWSISTAZ Reviewers

Rating:
Summary: A Very Pleasant Read........
Review: My girlfriend recommended this book to me and boy I'm glad that she did. I finished this book in two days! I liked the way that Ms. Alers jumped back and forth from the present to the past which is not an easy task for a writer. Morgana goes home to bury her mother and discoveries these wonderful diaries which gives her a glimpse into another side of her mother. These diaries also helped Morgana to come to terms with her own marriage to Franklin. Morgana meets a young man named Erick while in Salvation who helps her come alive again and in the process, Morgana realizes that everyone makes mistakes and that forgiveness is the key to heal open wounds. Which is not an easy task when one is confronted with infidelity!

Rating:
Summary: Secrets Never Told
Review: Once I started reading it, I could not put it down. I was courious the entire time as to what is going to happen next. I was stunned at the ending when they were in the shower and she told him they were even now. I would have loved to have had a responnse from him. Rochelle Alers has never failed me. She is one of the few authors that I have all her writings. I look forward to more from her.

Rating:
Summary: Can Long Time Secrets of Past Be a Blessing?
Review: Rochelle Alers continues her tradition of great storytelling with her venture into mainstream fiction in her offering, Secrets Never Told. Known for writing romance, her Hideaway series being the most prominent, she offers her readers a delightful novel.

In 1945 Salvation, Georgia, Randolph Johnson is a self-made wealthy young man, respected and powerful in his community. Yet he holds malice towards the "talented tenth" population of the town, most especially Edward Graham, who comes from generations of privilege and wealth. By hook and crook he manages to literally win the hand of Edward's daughter, Katherine, in marriage. He has won the prize and will now command the respect he is obsessed with having.

Fast forward to present day, Chevy Chase, Maryland where Randolph's daughter, Morgana Wells, receives a double blow when within minutes of being told by her beloved uncle Julian, that her mother, Katherine has suddenly died, she discovers that her husband of almost thirty years is having an affair. Devastated, she flees Maryland to go home to Salvation, to not only bury her mother, but perhaps also to lay her marriage to rest. The next few days, amidst making arrangements for the burial, she never lets on to her two adult children, Justin and Sandra, that she is considering leaving their father. Filled with bitterness she sends her husband back home telling him she needs time to settle her mother's affairs and to meditate on the fate of their marriage.

It is at the lake where Morgana goes for solitude that she encounters an attractive dread locked man, Erick, who is a photographer/artist in-residence in nearby Savannah. He wants to photograph and paint Morgana. A man who has his own baggage, he is just the breath of fresh air she needs to bring back the passion missing from her life. But it is in the attic of the mansion where she grew up that she finds a set of her mother's journals that will forever change her life. In these pages, Katherine recounts her young married life in Salvation and makes revelations that in a few days threaten everything that Morgana holds sacred.

Evenly paced, this novel explores issues that are commonplace in black literature; intra-racial prejudice, classicism in the black South and how mixed-blood, issues of self-worth and self-hate, sin and redemption are intrinsically intertwined with family tradition and long-kept secrets. Furthermore, Ms. Alers is able to give her characters a humanity that defies pointing fingers of blame for a disintegrating marriage, allowing internal examinations of both Morgana and Franklin. Readers are also treated to the imagery and flavor of the Low-Country area of Georgia, making this yet another fulfilling southern novel of which this reviewer has been consuming for the last few months. Ms. Alers continues her tradition of fine storytelling that will delight her fans.

Dera Williams
APOOO BookClub

Rating:
Summary: Excellent
Review: Rochelle Alers has done it again. This was a fantastic read. The story was well developed, The characters made you wonder and made you care. And I can not wait for this authors next book.

Rating:
Summary: Secrets have a way of coming out.
Review: Secrets have a way of coming out. Even if they are Secrets Never Told . I really enjoyed Rochelle Alers mainstream work with Secret....

I think she did a very good job with the story even though I caught on to the idea who Morgana's father was.
I'd better stop now before I say to much . I sometimes have a way of saying to much for readers. I will say read this intruiging saga of love, betrayal , marriage , infidelity , and yes forgiveness. One that I throughly enjoyed.

You Go Rochelle !!!

Rating:
Summary: Secrets
Review: The story revolves around Morgana Johnson-Wells, co-owner of an elegant gift shop, mother of two children, and wife to Washington, D.C.'s most celebrated African-American criminal attorney. Morgana is shaken to the core when her mother dies unexpectedly. Calling her husbands uptown apartment to share her grief, she receives another shock as a female answers the phone.

In turmoil over the loss of her mother and her husband's adultery, she heads home to Salvation, Georgia. With the help of her uncle, she put her mother's affairs in order. Packing away memories of the past, she stumbles onto her mother's diary, which brings to life secrets from the past. As Morgana reads the diary, her life is turned upside down. Soon Morgana must answer the same question her mother asked: Is her marriage worth fighting for?

I enjoyed the novel as a whole, but I did not think it was one of Rochelle's best works. The character of Morgana and especially her husband could have been developed more. At times moving between and present was a bit confusing. The ending was somewhat predictable and could have been developed more. I would recommend the book for the marvelously mature audience.

Sylvia