All My Secrets by Lynn Austin was a captivating historical fiction novel. I was drawn into the plot immediately. The characters were all well developed and very believable. The women in All My Secrets were all strong, resilient, intelligent, respected and kind. All the women were members of the wealthy and privileged Stanhope family. There were three generations of Stanhope women that lived under the same roof. They all resided in the Stanhope mansion located in New York City. In the later years of the 1890’s, the Stanhope women received devastating news. Arthur Stanhope III or A.B. as everyone knew him as, had died an untimely and tragic death. A.B. was Sylvia’s husband, Addie’s father and Junietta’s son. The lives of these three Stanhope women were about to change drastically.

After the funeral for A.B. was held, the Stanhope women learned about the contents and conditions of A.B.’s will. All of the Stanhope fortune would be passed on to the next male Stanhope heir. A.B.’s will had left almost nothing to his wife and daughter. The stipulations of the Will was decided upon years ago by the first Arthur Stanhope. It had never been changed or challenged in all the years after it was mandated. The terms of the will left Sylvia and Addie with the mansion, the family yacht and a small monetary inheritance. It was going to be hard to hold on to the Stanhope mansion without the income from the Stanhope business.

Addie was at the age that if circumstances were different, she would be attending dances and dinners with her friends. Most of Addie’s friends were hoping to find a suitable and preferably rich husband so that they could continue to live the posh lifestyle they were accustomed to. It wouldn’t take long before Addie’s and Sylvia’s friends learned about their new financial circumstances. For all intents and purposes, the Stanhope women were broke. Sylvia, Addie’s mother, felt it was her duty to help Addie secure a husband before their circumstances were revealed to all. Junietta, Addie’s grandmother, thought that this was the perfect opportunity for Addie to decide what kind of life she wanted to lead. Of course, Sylvia believed that Addie was destined to live the same type of life she had led before A.B. died. Both women, Junietta and Sylvia tried to influence Addie and persuade her to choose the life they saw her living. Addie was confused by the mixed messages she was getting from both her grandmother and mother. What did they expect from her? Addie did not want to disappoint either one of them. They were both the most important people in her life.

Over the course of All My Secrets, both Junietta’s and Sylvia’s pasts were revealed. Addie listened to the stories that both her grandmother and mother told her about their younger years and everything that had happened to them. She was surprised to learn about all the secrets they had both hidden from each other and everyone else. Addie knew that everything that her mother and grandmother had experienced and lived through had made them stronger and more secure women. What type of life would Addie decide to lead now that she knew what she knew about her grandmother and mother?

All My Secrets by Lynn Austin was such an incredible story. I didn’t want it to end. The touch of romance was sweet and only added to the story. I listened to the audiobook that was very well narrated by Sarah Zimmerman. All My Secrets was told from alternating POV’s from the three Stanhope women. It alternated between Junietta’s and Sylvia’s past and then returned to the present. All My Secrets was the first book that I had the opportunity to read by Lynn Austin but now that I have discovered her I will seek out other books that she had written. I really enjoyed listening to All My Secrets by Lynn Austin and recommend it very highly.

Thank you to Recorded Books for allowing me to listen to the audiobook of All My Secrets by Lynn Austin through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.marilyn-s-challenge63 s16 comments Karren Sandercock 986 238

New York, 1898. When Arthur Stanhope III dies unexpectedly, his will reveals that his fortune, company and holiday home in Rhode Island will be passed on to the closed male heir and a clause his grandfather made years ago and he couldn’t change it.

This leaves his mother Junietta, wife Sylvia, and daughter Adelaide in a precarious position, their finances in a mess and they have wait to hear how bad it is from the lawyers. Sylvia, knows she doesn’t have time to waste to ensure Adelaide is launched into society as soon as mourning period passes and quickly find a rich husband. Before anyone in their social circle realizes they’re practically broke, as once this is revealed and they will not be invited to the right places and not be able to live the life their accustomed to. The Gilded Age, in New York lineage, prestige, and coming from old money means everything, and it opens doors that would otherwise be slammed in your face and the women have no time to grieve their loss.

Sylvia’s mother-in-law, Junietta, believes their life needs to change and she wants her granddaughter to make her own decisions and not do what expected of her without understanding she has choices. Junietta is determined to share with Adelaide how she ended up being married to Arthur Stanhope II and her wisdom. At first Sylvia is horrified with her mother-in-law’s plan and despite being married to her son for years and they’re not close and why dredge up the past? Junietta won’t be swayed, she doesn’t believe young ladies should be sheltered from unpleasant situations and events, and it’s living in a perfect bubble and she want's Adelaide to have a full life and be loved.

As Junietta shares what happened to her fifty years ago, it’s painful and Sylvia discovers she didn’t really know her mother-in-law and she changes her mind and she reveals the tragic events that occurred in her childhood.

Adelaide is taken on a journey, around areas of New York she has never seen by her grandmother, she meets new people and from all walks of life, her traveling companion is a young lawyer Howard Forsythe and he's the son of a preacher.

I received a copy of All My Secrets by Lynn Austin from Edelweiss Plus and Tyndale House Publishers in exchange for an honest review. A story about three generations of women in one family, at different stages of their lives, how they grow closer together as the secrets two of them having been keeping are revealed. It’s better to make a difference in other people’s lives and those who are less fortunate, it’s a far greater legacy than houses, possessions, wealth and social status.

A narrative about reflection and we all commit forgivable sins and you don't need to be religious to understand the authors message in her enlightening and well written book.edelweiss-above-the-tree-line edelweiss-callenge-202438 s6 comments theliterateleprechaun1,677 27

“This is our chance to look closely at our lives and decide what’s important and what isn’t. We can dream new dreams, look for new goals, pursue new adventures. You no longer have to live a life of mindless indulgence, conforming to a dull, unimaginative society.”

Easily in the top five of my 2024 reads, All My Secrets is an intergenerational saga of three Stanhope women; Junietta, a grandmother; Sylvia Grace, a mother; and 19-year-old Adelaide, her daughter. Austin rapidly engrosses readers with her tale of family secrets that spans the American Revolution, the Gold Rush, the Civil War, and the Gilded Age.

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