Calmer Secrets (Calmer Girls #2) in Get Reviews!

Nov 04, 2019 Kat rated it it was amazing

The Calmer Girls series is back with twice the juicy family drama and so much more. Where book one explored the relationship of sisters Veronica and Sam during their teen years, following them through high school parties, crushes on boys, betrayals and more serious issues like their mother鈥檚 alcoholism, we pick up in 鈥淐almer Secrets鈥� several years later with more of a general fiction, family drama feel, which I LOVED. Now Samantha is in art school. Ben Swift is out of the picture, or is he? Henr ...more

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Feb 07, 2018 Jonathan rated it liked it

Samantha and Veronica, formerly of Calmer Cove, Newfoundland, are girls no longer, and as young women, they are trying to figure out how to deal with those baffling beasts known as 鈥渕en.鈥� Though both are courageous enough to 鈥済rab the tiger by the tail鈥� so-to-speak, once having grabbed, Veronica lets go too soon, and Samantha hangs on far too long. Needless to say, neither strategy works very well. Maybe they should take a cue from their mother, Darlene: Find a good man, settle down, drink heavi Samantha and Veronica, formerly of Calmer Cove, Newfoundland, are girls no longer, and as young women, they are trying to figure out how to deal with those baffling beasts known as 鈥渕en.鈥� Though both are courageous enough to 鈥済rab the tiger by the tail鈥� so-to-speak, once having grabbed, Veronica lets go too soon, and Samantha hangs on far too long. Needless to say, neither strategy works very well. Maybe they should take a cue from their mother, Darlene: Find a good man, settle down, drink heavily.

The reader spends a lot of time in Samantha鈥檚 head, and gets to know her well. She thinks a lot, but does very little. Fate pushes Samantha around considerably in the book, and Samantha rarely pushes back. By necessity then, the major plot developments in the story are achieved through accident rather than action: a car accident, a condom accident, and an accidental poisoning, to name a few. In a similar manner, the major plot resolutions in the story are achieved through good fortune: The drunk grits her teeth and sobers up, the young man in deep trouble because he (mumble mumble) is miraculously let off the hook, and a new love-interest suddenly realizes he 鈥渕istook gratitude for love鈥� and dismisses his now awkward current girlfriend with a curt 鈥淚 told her to stay put.鈥�

In the course of this novel, Samantha comes across as a rather shallow person, and I have a feeling that was not the author鈥檚 intention. For example, when the aforementioned gentleman so blithely dumps his old girlfriend for his new girlfriend, Samantha doesn鈥檛 seem to recognize that his attitude doesn鈥檛 bode well for his future relationships with women. In another case, Samantha describes a school chum as 鈥渁 good and loyal friend, and a boy of great wit鈥� but not a love-interest because he wasn鈥檛 tall enough and had zits. Now, his face has cleared up and he鈥檚 a bass player in a band, and Samantha thinks 鈥溾€e had groupies?? Her interest was piqued.鈥� I鈥檓 not denying that there is an element of universal truth to Samantha鈥檚 attitude, but with all of her introspection, perhaps she could have given us some insight into this unfortunate aspect of the human condition.

There is one scene near the end of the book where one of the sisters describes a terrible situation she found herself in years earlier, and the remarkable decision she made at that time. I felt like this novel could have used one or two situations like that in the book鈥檚鈥渘ow鈥� to show us who these people are (now), as opposed to who Samantha thinks they are. I also wish the author had dug more deeply into her character鈥檚 attitudes. It felt like there was a lot of truth lying around and getting stepped on in Samantha's rush to get to her next romantic entanglement.
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Jan 05, 2018 David Rose rated it it was amazing

Shelves: indie, ya, romance

Calmer Secrets is a fascinating and mature, well-written second look into the lives of the Cross girls which takes place some four or five years after the events of the first book. The time gap and the substantial content in each novel support Jennifer Perry's decision to split this story into two books.
Samantha is all grown up, Ben is gone, and against her self-centred, irritating sister's advice she tumbles into a relationship with old friend Kalen - who has turned into a hot rocker. Their mot ...more

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Jul 24, 2017 Carolee Croft rated it really liked it

Shelves: new-adult

Part romance, part family drama, Calmer Secrets is an engaging story of two sisters who are healing from a rift that divided them a few years ago when they both fell for the same guy.
Samantha was so traumatized by her ordeal (which occurred in the first book in this series) she's extremely cautious about dating, but soon she throws caution to the wind when she falls for a dodgy but handsome bass player from a local rock band.
Her sister Veronica tries to warn her about him, and the reader gets l Part romance, part family drama, Calmer Secrets is an engaging story of two sisters who are healing from a rift that divided them a few years ago when they both fell for the same guy.
Samantha was so traumatized by her ordeal (which occurred in the first book in this series) she's extremely cautious about dating, but soon she throws caution to the wind when she falls for a dodgy but handsome bass player from a local rock band.
Her sister Veronica tries to warn her about him, and the reader gets lots of clues that Samantha's new boyfriend is hiding something (I seriously thought at one point he was secretly a gigolo because he seems to have some older female friends), but Samantha is head over heels in love.
Meanwhile, Veronica, a single mom, is still angry with Samantha about what happened in the first book. I seriously hated Veronica because she withheld so much information that would have been useful to her sister. I didn't see it coming until the very end, and I don't want to spoil the ending so let's just say the secrets that get revealed are worth waiting for.
The characters have real depth, and they reminded me of people I know. Veronica might be a piece of work, but I had a feeling she would find some sympathy and redemption as well. Samantha as "the good sister" could have been quite boring, but thankfully, she's not the goody two shoes character she aspires to be. Actually, Sam acts like a real brat at times, and I was a bit put off by the spiteful way she talks about her mother. I get that her mom is an alcoholic and has caused some problems for the family, but other than that she comes across as a gentle and well-meaning person.
Probably my favorite thing about this book was its setting in Newfoundland, Canada. The setting blends seamlessly with the plot, the characters, and the mood of the story. There's no awkward descriptions or explanations here. Instead the cold Canadian climate, the unemployment and alcoholism issues faced by many Newfoundlanders, and the warm small-town atmosphere are expertly written as part and parcel of the novel. It even drives the plot forward as the main climax of the book happens when Samantha and her family are separated by a winter storm. Overall, Calmer Secrets is a page-turning and heart-warming read.
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Sep 02, 2019 Nico Genes rated it liked it

Shelves: romance, young-adult, abusive-relationships

A novel that deals with real-life issues.

The story started kind of slow for me, but somewhere in the middle it got interesting and kept me reading faster and wanting to know what鈥檚 next. Samantha is a real character, one that the reader can resonate with. We can learn a lot about her thoughts and we get the chance to know her well. She is different than her sister Veronica. A lot different. The sisters do have their differences, but they also find at times some common things, especially when rel ...more

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Apr 12, 2020 I.M. Redwright rated it really liked it · review of another edition

This book was about family drama: Two sisters falling in love with the same boy, dealing with the alcoholism of their mother, lots of bad decisions... a mess of a family.

The story was entertanining while the characters were well drawn. The was a good balance of drama and romance in this story.

A pleasant read.

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Mar 29, 2017 J. Marie added it · (Review from the author) · review of another edition

Shelves: young-adult, new-adult, fiction, can-lit

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Jan 06, 2018 William Cook marked it as to-read

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