Tracy‘s review of Can You Keep a Secret? by Sophie Kinsella.
Here’s another book from Holly’s Bookshelf. If you need more info about why I’m reading these books you can read it here.
Meet Emma Corrigan, a young woman with a huge heart, an irrepressible spirit, and a few little secrets: Secrets from her boyfriend: I’ve always thought Connor looks a bit like Ken. As in Barbie and Ken. Secrets from her mother: I lost my virginity in the spare bedroom with Danny Nussbaum while Mum and Dad were downstairs watching Ben-Hur. Secrets she wouldn’t share with anyone in the world: I have no idea what NATO stands for. Or even what it is. Until she spills them all to a handsome stranger on a plane. At least, she thought he was a stranger.…Until Emma comes face-to-face with Jack Harper, the company’s elusive CEO, a man who knows every single humiliating detail about her…
Emma Corrigan is currently working as a marketing assistant for the Panther Corporation. She really wants to do something great so that they will promote her to marketing executive. Unfortunately for Emma she just can’t catch a break. She’s sent to Scotland (she lives in England where most of the story takes place) to talk to some executives and accidentally ends up spraying Panther Cola all over him. Dejected and definitely not having a good day Emma boards her plane to England where the flight attendant, feeling sorry for her, upgrades Emma to business class. The plane starts experiencing severe turbulence and Emma is just positive that she’s going to die. She grabs hold of the man next to her and starts telling him all of her secrets – and I mean all of them! Luckily they don’t die and all the passengers go on their merry way.
On Monday Emma is dreading going into work because she’s afraid to tell the marketing director what happened in Scotland. But that’s not the worst thing that happens – the worst thing is that the CEO of the company, Jack Harper, has shown up and Emma realizes that she spilled all of her secrets on the plane to her boss! She’s mortified and tries to avoid him at all costs. But Jack enjoys being in Emma’s company and seeks her out.
After lots of different things happen Emma and Jack go on a date – although it’s not exactly what she was hoping it would be. Jack seems to know all about her and she feels like she’s being peg-holed, which she doesn’t like at all. Also, Jack keeps getting phone calls and when Emma asks about them he brushes her off and tells her to just quit asking..eventually she stomps away in disgust over both Jack and the date. She does agree on a second date with Jack but insists that she plan it. Things don’t go anything like she hoped on that date either and Jack is called away during the date – with no explanation as to why. Emma gets very annoyed because Jack knows everything about her but she knows nothing about Jack and he’s not planning on sharing.
This was a great book. It was funny and fun. It was light-hearted but also had a certain heartbreaking quality to it when it came to Emma’s family and her cousin Kerry (a side story line). Emma is just so messed up but she’s just trying to find her way in life as well as in her career and she’s someone I could totally relate to. She really was one of those characters that I read and think that I would love to be friends with.
Being that the story was told from Emma’s point of view we didn’t get to know Jack all that much until the end and then it was only a taste. But from what I learned about him I think he was someone that could fill a lot of the holes that Emma was experiencing in her life. And I loved that even though he knew everything about her – the good and the bad – he found it intriguing and a total turn on rather than a turn off. That’s my kind of man!
The secondary characters in this book play an integral role as well and I thought they were written quite well. We got a view of who they were without having to go through huge descriptions of their life and I loved that about this author. She seemed to get her point across about so many different aspects of the book without boring me with pages of description. She showed me everything I needed to know.
So end result – a light, quick, funny read that had me laughing out loud in many different places. Just a fun book.
Rating: 4.25 out of 5
This book is available from Dell. You can buy it here or here in e-format.
I LOVED this book! A total riot!
I recently read this one, thanx to Book Binge. Loved it. Need more heroes like Jack.
This is my favorite Kinsella book. I have read it 5 times. Love it, love it.
Hilarious scene on the plane. Overall an adorable book that needs to be made into a movie.
I was introduced to this book through Book Binge! Setting aside my astonishment at the fact that someone could spill all her secrets to a stranger during the first meet, I found the book quite enjoyable. I wish there were POVs from Jack’s side and more tender scenes of him and Emma but, nonetheless, a good read.
Oh, I have got to get this book! I have read Sophie Kinsella’s Shopholic books and just finished her book called THE UNDOMESTIC GODDESS. I absolutely loved them! She is an amazing writer!
I agree with you all. Just a great book! Since I borrowed from Holly I’m thinking I need to get my own copy so I can re-read! lol
Michele – I have read any of her other stuff – I’ll have to check out her other books.
This book is a full 5 stars for me. I read it twice and listened to the audio which was very good too! And this for me who cannot stand the Shopaholic books.
I love this book! I love this book more and more with each reread I do too!
This book has been on my reading list for a while. Thanks for the review!
I’ve never read a book by her. Loved your review, Tracy. This one sounds like fun. I’ve gone ahead and requested the audiobook. The reader is one of my favorites, and it seems like the story line would translate well to audio.
Thanks!
Luci – So was it the storyline of the the other books that you didn’t care for? I ask because you like this book so well.
Lori – You’re welcome! Let me know how you like it.
Renee – I’ll be interested to hear how you like it in audio. Not being an audio reader myself I always wonder how the book translates.
Tracey, I actually did not like the heroine of the shopaholic books. She was too much for me. I put that down to my not being a shopaholic so I cannot really understand her frame of mind. Although come to think of it, I I replace the clothes and stuff she was constantly buying with books – i might be in her exact position. Lol that had never occurred to me before.