Can You Keep a Secret?

By: Sophie Kinsella

Narrated by: Kate Reading

Length: 10 hrs and 43 mins

Publisher's summary

NOW A MAJOR MOTION PICTURE • From the #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Party Crasher and Love Your Life comes a novel with the same wicked humor, buoyant charm, and optimism as her beloved Shopaholic series.

“Sophie Kinsella keeps her finger on the cultural pulse, while leaving me giddy with laughter.”—Jojo Moyes, author of The Giver of Stars and The Last Letter from Your Lover

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. . . .

But come Monday morning, Emma’s office is abuzz about the arrival of Jack Harper, the company’s elusive CEO.  Suddenly Emma is face-to-face with the stranger from the plane, a man who knows every single humiliating detail about her. Things couldn’t possibly get worse. Or could they?

Praise for Can You Keep a Secret?

“Venturing beyond Saks and Barney’s, the bestselling author of Confessions of a Shopaholic and Shopaholic Ties the Knot entertains readers with backstabbing office shenanigans, competition, scandal, love and sex. . . . Kinsella’s down-to-earth protagonist is sure to have readers sympathizing and doubled over in laughter.”—Publishers Weekly

“If laughing out loud in public places is your bag, be sure to pick up [Can You Keep a Secret?]. Heroine Emma Corrigan is going to be your new best friend.”—Boston Herald

“Kinsella’s timing is so perfect, her instincts so spot-on, that it’s easy to . . . devour the book like the guilty pleasure it is.”—Miami Herald

“Chick lit at its lightest and breeziest . . . filled with fabulous clothes, stalwart friends, and snotty enemies waiting to be taken down a peg.”—Orlando Sentinel

“[Kinsella’s] dialogue is sharp, even her minor characters are well drawn, and her parody of the marketing world is very funny.”—Washington Post Book World

“[A] comedic frenzy of ill-fated events . . . punchy . . . fast-moving.”—Rocky Mountain News

©2004 Sophie Kinsella (P)2004 Books on Tape, Inc.

Critic reviews

• Romantic Times Award Winner - Best Chick Lit Novel, 2004

"Too good to pass up." (USA Today)

SO MUCH FUN

My first book with this author, but it is easy to see why her books are all best sellers. I laughed so hard listening to this hillarious book. Who would have thought that a few little secrets could weave such a tale.

I listen to books while on the treadmill and put in extra hours each day because I could not bear to turn it off. A must listen for anyone who enjoys a good laugh.

Enjoyable Chick Lit

This is chick-lit -- in the vein of Bridget Jones, the everyday girl in various humorous situations of getting ahead in her career, dealing with her too-blah boyfriend, fashion faux-pas, and family dysfunction. Certainly not ground-breaking literature, but lots of fun with giggle-aloud moments. If you like BJones, you will enjoy this book, it is much of the same (the characters, both male and female lead, are very similar in tone).
As for the narrator, she did a FABULOUS job with this book. In fact she pushes the 3-3.5 story to a 4 stars, just for her excellent delivery.

Not Just for Women

I thoroughly enjoyed this audiobook. The story is entertaining and the narration keeps your interest. I would recommend this selection for both men and women. The only warning is that it isn't for the puritanical. It is more PG-13 in my opinion but the main character is very open about her life.

I couldn't stop listening!

This book was great! I listened to the whole thing in one day. If you liked the Shopaholic books then you'll love this one. The main character is much more down to earth and likeable than Becky Bloomwood. Although I liked that character a lot too. I laughed out loud so many times. It's a good thing I wasn't on the bus.

Disappointed

All I can say is, ugh. What a disappointment! The only positive thing I can say is that the narration was wonderful. However, the story itself annoyed me. The whole book I was thinking, "you idiot." If there is a wrong decision to make, she makes it. Honestly, I don't understand why Jack even likes Emma. She lies all of the time and treats him like crap.

Cross Bridget Jones and Shopaholic books

This book was so much fun! I couldn't wait to find excuses to listen to it. It's got all the humor of the Bridget Jones and Shopaholic books, but in this story, the main character begins the story in a happy relationship. There are so many unexpected twists and turns and lots of wacky characters that you won't get bored. I'm sorry that it's over!

Telling Secrets

I bought this book because the narrator, Kate Reading is a great favorite of mine, I think because it is obvious she has fun at work. Like my other favorites, she has a trick of making an author's work her own almost as if she is making up the story as she goes. She is a wonderment with those glorious British words and phrases such as "gobsmacked", "cocked it up", "skivve out" and "fob me off". Was it Mark Twain who said that Britain and the United States were two great nations separated by a common language? Sophie Kinsella's goal in writing this book was not to instruct backward Yanks in current British slang but she sure was an education, a thoroughly enjoyable one.

This book is a big mouthful of pink cotton candy, a light romance all sugar and air. On a plane ride through hell, the heroine spills all her secrets to this total stranger including a few she didn't know she had. For instance, she had never been in love which would be news to her boyfriend. Worse, after she and the total stranger who turned out to be the CEO of her company started the "we", he manages to spill all her secrets on national television. Oh, this is a delicious book. The heroine is absolutely engaging. Her life is a mess. Her career is a mess. She is a mess, an adorable mess. It would be a delight to be around such a woman although she has the morals of an alley cat. One would worry about catching STDs from her. She is sort of a Catherine Morland (Northanger Abbey) kind of heroine, a loose Catherine Morland. Maybe better, she's a Meg Ryan in that modernized "Pride and Prejudice" movie "You've Got Mail" who if you remember could never think of a good retort until it was too late. How little we know about even a prospective mate. Like Darcy and Elizabeth, what we know for sure about each other is often totally wrong.

Entertaining book, horrible language

I think I would have really liked the book if it had not used the "f" word practically in every other sentence. I just wanted to wash her mouth out with soap.

Entertaining!

I found the story more silly than funny, but do agree that Emma reminded me of Bridget Jones in some of her roles.

"Can You Keep A Secret?" was my first Sophie Kinsella audio book, and although I may not buy another, I found this one entertaining. It was easy and light to listen to, and the time passed quickly.

Kate Reading gave an excellent performance.

Light Hearted and Fun!

I loved loved this story! It was so funny and light hearted. At times I felt like I was listening to Bridget Jones Diary. I loved the British accent, I felt it made the story really come to life! A perfect book to listen while cleaning the house or for a long car ride. I have listened to it twice now and still find myself laughing out loud!