The Secret by Kristen Proby. Photo: Sarabeth Pollock
Kristen Proby ushers in the next generation of Seattle love stories with The Secret, the first book in her new Single in Seattle series. The Secret is the story of Luke and Natalie’s daughter Olivia; though her parents have kept her out of the public’s eye, when she meets the devastatingly handsome actor Vaughn Barrymore, everything changes.
The With Me in Seattle series introduced fans to so many amazing couples, and now their kids are taking center stage. The next generation is stepping into the spotlight with their own trials and tribulations.
Luke Williams, successful Hollywood producer, kept his family from the spotlight to protect them from the harsh glare of fame. Incidentally, it was his retreat from that harsh glare that pushed him into the path of Natalie Conner in Come Away with Me in the first place.
Olivia uses her mother’s maiden name to stay under the radar as she works as a costume designer for her father’s movies. When Vaughn Barrymore barrels into her life, she’s immediately swept off her feet, but she knows that Vaughn is forbidden fruit; not only is he a huge celebrity, he’s also starring in one of her father’s movies.
Of course, love doesn’t stop for anyone or anything; no matter how hard Olivia tries to keep from falling for Vaughn, she finds herself falling harder.
Olivia is a very smart woman who has been able to hold her own in a tough business, and Vaughn might be a tough alpha but he also has a protective, sensitive side. Together, they’re quite the pair. It’s very easy to fall in love with Olivia and Vaughn.
If you’re new to Kristen Proby’s work, know that she’s a master at building a huge interconnected world for her characters to play in. With the Single in Seattle series the world has already been built, and longtime fans will be thrilled to see many familiar faces from the Williams and Montgomery families pop up in The Secret. As the series continues, expect to see more from the families as the kids start to find love themselves.
As a big fan of Proby’s work, I was thrilled when she announced the Single in Seattle series. I love how each book in the vast With Me in Seattle series builds upon the previous books, so I expected to see the same pattern in the new series and that’s what you get. With an abundance of alpha males (two generations of them!) and the strong women they love (again, two generations!), the stories have a familiar feel but also feel very new.
Olivia and Vaughn’s story could have been a standalone book and not related to the With Me in Seattle series and it still would have been amazing. However, being able to see the Montgomery and Williams families decades after their stories take place is a lot of fun.
I’m looking forward to many more adventures with these characters because the sky’s the limit. When you have so many protective dads and supportive moms, there’s no telling what kind of trouble their kids will find as they fall in love themselves.
The Secret is available now!
