Celebrate Lit / November 15, 2025

Secrets of the Heart

About the Book Secrets of the Heart

Book: Secrets of the Heart

Author: Vickie McDonough

Genre: Christian Historical Fiction

Release Date: October 7, 2025

A Southern belle nursing a wounded stranger must choose between family duty and a love that defies everything she’s ever known.

Hannah Madison’s life is comfortable, well-ordered, and safe. She knows what to expect. Including her mother’s plans that Hannah marry Jamie Reed, the heir to the neighbouring plantation. But her sheltered life is disrupted when she stumbles upon a seriously injured stranger in the Reeds’ barn. He seems to need her help. As she nurses him back to health, Hannah is drawn to the handsome man with amnesia that she calls Adam. And as her feelings for him grow, Hannah must decide whether to follow her heart or honour her family’s expectations.

Adam remembers nothing prior to the day he met Hannah. Nothing of his true identity or the dangerous secret he carries. All he knows is he can’t help falling for his graceful and kind caretaker. But when his memories return, he’s faced with an impossible choice— pursue his love for Hannah and betray his family, or sacrifice his own happiness to preserve his family’s unity.

Can Hannah and Adam find the right path when duty and love collide?

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My Thoughts on Secrets of the Heart

Secrets of the Heart is book two in a historical fiction series. However, it can be read as a standalone novel if so desired. Since I’ve reenacted the Civil War since I was 7 years old, I have an insatiable love for all things historical. One of the primary roles I would portray before I got married, while reenacting, was that of a nurse, so this was a fun one to read for that perspective. Hannah fulfils a nurse role in this novel (also, I’m a nurse in real life, too).

This novel was so fun, with danger and suspense. Suspense is always my favorite, and I love historical fiction, so this checked all the boxes for me!

Hannah finds an injured and unconscious stranger in a barn. She names him Adam and takes care of him. But danger follows at every turn. Will Hannah go through with the arranged marriage to her neighbor, or will this mystery man complicate things? Will Adam ever remember what happened or why he was beaten?

I have voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book, which I received from Celebrate Lit. All views expressed are only my honest opinion. I was not required to write a positive review, nor was I compensated in any other way. All opinions expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the FTC regulations.

About the Author of Secrets of the Heart

Vickie McDonough is the CBA, EPCA and Amazon best-selling author of 54 books and novellas. Vickie grew up wanting to marry a rancher, but instead, she married a computer geek who is scared of horses. She now lives out her dreams penning romance stories about ranchers, cowboys, lawmen, and others living in the Old West. Vickie’s books have won numerous awards, including the Booksellers Best, OWFI Best Fiction Novel Award, and the Inspirational Readers’ Choice awards. When she’s not writing, Vickie enjoys reading, making cards, gardening, and travelling.

More from Vickie

Most of my writing career, I’ve been an author of western historical fiction set in the late 1800s, but a visit to Charleston and Savannah while on vacation stirred up a desire to write in a different time period. I was born and raised in Oklahoma, a state that is only 118 years old. I was quickly enchanted by Charleston’s rich history and fell in love with the centuries-old homes and cobblestone streets.

While in Charleston, my husband and I toured an antebellum plantation called Drayton Hall, which was built in 1738. It’s located on the Ashley River about 15 miles northwest of Charleston. Touring the magnificent old home gave me lots of fodder for a new series set in South Carolina. For instance, did you know that ballrooms were often located on a third or fourth story because you could get better cross-breeze which made the temperature a bit cooler, and it was less likely that mosquitoes would plague the guests on the upper floors.

Secrets of the Heart is set 22 years after Mutiny of the Heart, book 1 in my Windswept Brides series. When I sat down to begin writing Secrets of the Heart, the only thing I knew for certain was that I wanted to continue the story of the Reed family. I had thought the book would be mostly Jamie’s story, who was a young boy in the first book in the series, but the story took an unexpected turn. I’ve always liked forbidden love stories, where the hero and heroine seem destined to be together, but everything is working against them. I had to add that to my story.