The Sweetheart Secret

( 6 )

Overview

The Sweetheart Sisters are ready for some good ol’ matchmaking…

Colton Harper, Rescue Bay’s resident physician, gave up his wild ways years ago, in exchange for a straight and narrow life. But then a one-night stand comes back to haunt him when the intoxicating woman he left behind shows up in Rescue Bay.

Once upon a time, fiery Daisy Barton was Colt’s wife—and still is, thanks to a paperwork glitch. Now she’s here in Rescue Bay, with a ...

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The Sweetheart Secret

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More About This Book

Overview

The Sweetheart Sisters are ready for some good ol’ matchmaking…

Colton Harper, Rescue Bay’s resident physician, gave up his wild ways years ago, in exchange for a straight and narrow life. But then a one-night stand comes back to haunt him when the intoxicating woman he left behind shows up in Rescue Bay.

Once upon a time, fiery Daisy Barton was Colt’s wife—and still is, thanks to a paperwork glitch. Now she’s here in Rescue Bay, with a once-in-a-lifetime chance at a fresh start—renovating a crumbling B&B. The catch? The loan she needs requires her “husband’s” financial backing.

Colt wants to turn Daisy away, but when he sees her coax a smile from his cantankerous grandfather, Colt realizes maybe she can help him, too. It’s the perfect arrangement—until the sparks start flying. Suddenly Colt realizes he’s still head over heels in love with Daisy, and that he’ll have to risk everything…or risk losing her forever.

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What People Are Saying

From the Publisher
Praise for the novels of Shirley Jump

“The story is inviting, intriguing, heart-tugging, and splendid in its sexiness.”—USA Today

“Shirley Jump’s stories sparkle with warmth and wit and glow with strong, heartfelt emotions.”—Jayne Ann Krentz, New York Times bestselling author

“Emotional and unforgettable, thumbs up for Jump.”—Lori Wilde, New York Times bestselling author

“A fun, heartwarming, small-town romance that you’ll fall in love with...Shirley Jump is a true talent.”—Jill Shalvis, New York Times bestselling author

“Shirley Jump packs lots of sweet and plenty of heat in this heartwarming first book of her promising new series.”—Virginia Kantra, New York Times bestselling author

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Product Details

  • ISBN-13: 9780425264522
  • Publisher: Penguin Group (USA)
  • Publication date: 9/2/2014
  • Series: A Sweetheart Sisters Novel Series , #3
  • Format: Mass Market Paperback
  • Pages: 304
  • Sales rank: 122716
  • Product dimensions: 4.10 (w) x 6.50 (h) x 1.00 (d)

Meet the Author

New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of The Sweetheart Bargain and The Sweetheart Rules, Shirley Jump spends her days writing romance and women’s fiction to feed her shoe addiction and avoid cleaning the toilets. She cleverly finds writing time by feeding her kids junk food, allowing them to dress in the clothes they find on the floor, and encouraging the dogs to double as vacuum cleaners.

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Customer Reviews

Average Rating 4.5
( 6 )
Rating Distribution

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Sort by: Showing all of 6 Customer Reviews

  • Anonymous

    Posted Mon Sep 22 00:00:00 EDT 2014

    This third Sweetheart series book by Shirley Jump continues this

    This third Sweetheart series book by Shirley Jump continues this emotional rollercoaster path set up for readers-- Former lovers and apparently still married couple Colt and Daisy provide lots of laughs, tears, and great fun and conflict all in one book. Everyone's favorite odd couple Greta and Harold definitely make many appearances in this installment as well as some new characters like Colt's challenging Grandfather and Daisy's sister. Check out this title along with the first two books to get three wonderful anytime reads!

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  • Posted Wed Sep 10 00:00:00 EDT 2014

    more from this reviewer

    The Sweetheart Secret by Shirley Jump

    Author, Shirley Jump takes readers back the quaint Gulf Coast town of Rescue Bay, Florida in her third book in The Sweetheart Sisters series, The Sweetheart Secret. This book features a story about a divorce gone wrong, for all the right reasons. The enchanting beach side setting, the second chance romance and a furry friend, all add up to make this a great contemporary romance read. Readers looking for small town charm and compelling characters will love this addition to the series. What I liked: Shirley Jump has created a small town in Florida that will draw the reader in. Rescue Bay is the kind of place that readers will want to visit often. The beach is perfect, the people are diverse and interesting and romance always seems to be right around the corner. I loved the small town charm of this novel. I wanted to stay at Daisy's bed and breakfast. I wanted to walk along the beach and feel the sand between my toes. I even wanted to visit those pesky matchmaking ladies that make this series so special. I think Jump has a real knack for small town romance and The Sweetheart Secret is a great example of that. Daisy the heroine was such a free spirit. She had a wildness about her that felt like catching a ray of sunshine. I really liked her. She had a very unconventional childhood since her mother never stayed in one place long and now she wants nothing more than to settle down. But the past has a way of getting in the way sometimes. I loved the fact that Jump used a botched divorce to get her characters back together, what a great plot device! Colt had to grow on me. He was a bit too straight laced and too buttoned up to make me like him in the beginning. He should have just told Daisy what was going on with him. But he grew on me and the two of them ended up making a great couple. Jump always seems to know how far she can take each relationship before it starts to come together. Even though I know it will probably be a happy ending she still makes me wonder. As usual the matchmakers, Greta, Esther, and Pauline steal the show, as far as, comic relief goes. They have a penchant for getting people together who need to get together, LOL! I found myself not only loving their meddling ways, but also loving the cantankerousness of Colt's grandfather, just as much. Major Pain, the rescue dog was a great character that also added another dimension to the story. The secondary characters always shine in Jump's books and this one is no different. What I didn't like: It did take a while for Colt to start flying right. He was a bit hard to like, but he did redeem himself. I understood from his back ground why he did what he did by leaving Daisy, but I didn't really get why he couldn't tell her about it. It might just be me, I have a tendency to think that honesty is the best policy, but I guess we wouldn't have had this good book, without that little issue. So, who am I to complain, LOL. Bottom Line: A great setting, characters that make reader want to get to know them and a sweet and romantic love story all added up to make a very good book. Jump knows how to write them when it comes to layers of feeling, both painful and blissful. The rescue animal also made the book even more compelling. A good choice for small town romance addicts!

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  • Posted Sat Sep 06 00:00:00 EDT 2014

    Some story scenarios just catch my attention and I can't resist

    Some story scenarios just catch my attention and I can't resist them like small town romances and reunion romances. In this case, it was a double bonus because I already enjoy this series and author for her heartwarming small town setting and tender yet tough romances, for her characters that desperately need love and of course for her inclusion of those adorable rescue dogs that end up with each couple. The series is tied together by the help *cough cough* interference of three matchmaking old ladies at the assisted living home and they generally steal the show.

    Each book has gentle ties to the ones before it through recurring characters that are still there even after their story is told, but the stories could be read out of order or as standalones too.

    This story opens with Doctor Colt Harper getting his examination room invaded by none other than the woman he married on a whim and broke things off three weeks later. That was fourteen years before and that was the end of any impulsive brash behavior on his part. Daisy Barton was trouble and she returns with a counter proposition to the divorce papers he sent that he should have sent long ago. Okay make that Daisy Barton is trouble because she is stirring up things in her usual way and turning his quiet, staid life on its head. He doesn't need her kind of wildness what with trying to take care of his cantankerous old grandpa and keep the past relegated safely into the back of his mind so the pain and memories of his failures won't resurface.

    Daisy only wants one thing from Colt and that's his name on a loan application to help her get her aunt's neglected, old B&B back up and running. Daisy has never had a real home or stayed in one place very long all her life, but when her aunt asks her and her cousin to bring the old place in Rescue Bay back to life she jumps at the chance. Some of the happiest months of her life were spent there and she just knows that the old inn will work its magic once again on Emma's life too and bring back the fun loving cousin that was as close as a sister. She has never stuck with anything in her life, but she plans to try this time for the sake of family and of the memories. All she has to do is persuade Colt- Colt who is nothing like the free-spirited man she married and is almost a total stranger who doesn't think much of her. Unfortunately, he won't just sign the loan; he needs help with his grandpa.

    The situation is volatile as they share the same house and watch each other warily while fighting off temptation. Secrets glide beneath the surface and keep them from acting on their attraction. Nothing is simple they like to think even though Greta, their own matchmaker tells them that life is actually very simple- do what it takes to be happy. Can two lonely, damaged people be brave enough to reach out for more- for the whole thing or will they throw it all away and play it safe?

    I enjoy how these stories have a few layers of tone to them. There is a lighter layer of small town characters, humor, fun, sweet little scenes, sexy moments and adorable dogs that do their best to bring their people together, but there is also the darker, painful layers underneath that hold the main characters back from living and loving.

    I'm learning to be very careful about snap judgments when it comes to how I feel about the characters of this series particularly the heroes. They come across as Class A jerks in the beginning, but then there is a tweak and voila things aren't what they seemed. In this story, Colt had a wild, carefree summer of love with an equally wild girl. They ran off at the end and got married. They were together for three weeks and then he left her leaving only a note with a promise to call and he didn't. Then fourteen years later while at a medical convention, he sees her again and they get together for one night and he makes noises about getting back together and then drops her cold, again. Her next contact is to receive his divorce papers. He never explained what sent him running and he still doesn't for most of the book, but he continues to blow hot and cold. See? Doesn't look pretty, but...

    Daisy comes across as this sweet thing that is trying to get her life back in order and is the easier person to connect with and sympathize with for much of the story. She was wounded by Colt leaving her not once, but twice and that was after her mother did it to her so often. But here's the thing, Colt never knew her background because she kept herself closed off from him too. Never did she indicate that she wanted something deep, mature and lasting like settling down with a career, white picket fence and family in fact she made it clear that she wanted the opposite. She knew where he was for all those years, but she never pursued him to see why he left and never returned. Yes, he was so wrong for the way he handled it, but she didn't fight for their marriage either. Her 'live free, wild and take a chance' lifestyle was just a way to mask her own fears and inner demons. And she did her own fair share of running and avoiding. Daisy had to grow and mature to see that the way the other half lived wasn't a bad thing and it is okay to be settled and responsible.

    So when this story is going on, there are two people who want each other, love each other, but are terrified to do anything about it. I loved how all this was set up and how the tension built between them. It was a tough romance between two stubborn people, but the angst level was appropriate for the issues. Colt redeemed himself when he healed from his grief and guilt and made a grand gesture to show he had changed. They both learned to appreciate their qualities of difference and to embrace each other's strengths. Daisy made him work hard there in the end so it took away a lot of the negatives I was feeling for Colt earlier on. To be brief, it’s a book that requires lots of patience before things get better.

    As with the ones before, I enjoyed the side stories. There are the secondary romances between Greta and Harold, and between Daisy's Cousin Emma and Roger. The hilarious scenes with the seniors broke up some of the heavier stuff with Colt and Daisy and with Colt and his grandpa. I liked the peek-ins with the other couples too. Not sure who is next with their story, but Colt's best friend sounds like a fun possibility.

    In closing, this one left me with a heartfelt sigh of happiness and an appreciation for the author's way of writing a romance. Contemporary Romance fans who like small town settings and couples who don't make it easy on themselves might want to check these out.

    My thanks to Penguin Group and Net Galley for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

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  • Posted Tue Sep 02 00:00:00 EDT 2014

    The author sent me this book to review and I am glad she did. En

    The author sent me this book to review and I am glad she did. Enjoyed it very much.
    Colton Harper is a physician in Rescue Bay and had given up she wild ways for the straight and narrow life.
    Daisy Barton is Colt's wife and still is. She needed a loan to redo a B & B. She needed her husbands financial baking.
    Colt did not want her here until he seen a smile on his cantankerous grandfather and thought she nit be able to help him.
    Colt realizes he is stell in love with Daisy.

    0 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

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  • Anonymous

    Posted Mon Sep 01 00:00:00 EDT 2014

    This is a wonderful summer read, and a wonderful way to while aw

    This is a wonderful summer read, and a wonderful way to while away a relaxing afternoon. Colton Harper, Rescue Bays uptight physician,  was raised with so many strictures, that when it came time for rebellion, he went all out. That was fourteen years ago. Much to his shock and chagrin his past comes back to his town with a bang. Daisy Barton has come to Rescue Bay to fulfill a wish for herself and for her family members. Although Colton feels he has to conform to a certain standard to make up for what he considers a personal anguish and failure, he is only hurting himself. Although his friends and family wish he would loosen up. His relationship with his grandfather is fractured and very heartrending. Daisy life is also very lonely and she finds it very difficult to connect with people's hearts and to put down roots. With a little judicious meddling from the senior set they, they may find their way to each other and the destiny that they deserve. This is a happy, caring but travail ridden story of self redemption and love. I was given this story to read for an honest review.  It was a wonderful experience.  Sincerely,  ML Roll.

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  • Posted Sun Aug 24 00:00:00 EDT 2014

    Just in time for one last beach romp and read of the season, S



    Just in time for one last beach romp and read of the season, Shirley Jump takes us back to beautiful, balmy Rescue Bay in this tender, lyrical romance, the third of her Sweetheart Sisters novels.

    This one tells the tale of local physician Colt Harper and the return of his in-name-only wife, Daisy Barton. While she returns ostensibly to renovate the family B and B, it's quickly clear that the renovations might well extend to their "marriage," as well. If only both of them will allow it.

    Of course the crotchety but loveable Greta Winslow returns (still avoiding Harold Twohig) in all of her grandmotherly glory to urge the lovers on.

    The titular "secret" is the key to healing not only one relationship as it is unveiled.

    Lovely, layered, and lush, Shirley's tales just keep getting more complex. With an eye to the particular (Oreo cookies described so thoroughly I am hard pressed to keep myself away from the pantry)and a paint brush for a hand (quickly yet aptly executed brush strokes of birds and squirrels), this book keeps yielding fond memories long after one closes it.

    Brava, again!

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