Secrets & Wishes

By: Kathleen Rouser

Narrated by: Lynn Carnefix

Length: 11 hrs and 36 mins

Publisher's summary

Stone Creek, Michigan - April, 1901: Maggie Galloway and Thomas Harper clash after their sons collide in a fistfight. Both widowed, they're each doing their best as a parent to their children. Outgoing Maggie has dreams for a home of her own and a business to provide for her son as she searches for God's path for her life as a widow. Reserved Thomas struggles to establish his new pharmacy and take care of his four rambunctious children, while wondering how a loving God could take his beloved wife.

When Thomas becomes deathly ill, Maggie is recruited to nurse him back to health. Taking the children in hand, as well, is more than she bargained for, but she is drawn to help the grieving family. Both nurse and patient find themselves drawn to each other but promptly deny their feelings.

A baking contest sponsored by the Silver Leaf Flour Company brings former beau, Giles Prescott, back into Maggie's life. When Giles offers Maggie a position at their test kitchen in Chicago, he hints that, along with assuring her a good job, it will allow them to possibly rekindle their relationship.

But then a charlatan comes to town, and tragedy soon follows. Maggie and Thomas discover the miracle potions he hawks aren't so harmless when an epidemic hits Stone Creek. Thomas and Maggie realize they must work together to save lives.

Maggie finds herself caught up in battles within and without the battle to help the townsfolk in the midst of illness and chicanery, and the battle to know which man, Thomas or Giles, deserves to win her heart.

Inspirational content: Some content of an inspirational/religious nature

©2017 Kathleen Rouser (P)2018 Kathleen Rouser

Historical Fiction

Secrets and Wishes
: Kathleen Rouser

A slow moving historical fiction. Plenty of characters with interesting personalities. There were enough twists and turns to keep the listener involved.



The narration was ok, but not exceptional. Lynn Carnefix narrated.



I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.

Secrets & Wishes

A clean historical romance.

Maggie and Thomas, both widowed, are brought together by unexpected circumstances. The more time they spend together, the closer they get, but are they meant to be together?

Kathleen Rouser has done a great job of developing each of the characters. The pace is s little slow, but the story is solid.

I thoroughly enjoyed Lynn Carnefix’s narration. She did a fantastic job bringing voices to the different characters with just the right amount of emotion.

I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and I have voluntarily left this review.

Interesting story

Interesting story set Michigan in at the turn of the last century about two widowed people whose sons don't get along. Maggie is a bit judgemental and unforgiving but softens at the end. Thomas, an apothecary, is a bit of a mess organizationally and functionally, especially since losing his wife. He fights Maggie's beneficial influence on his shop and family feeling disloyal to his dead wife. Eventually, they learn to communicate in spite of small town gossip and a jealous rival. A side story about a traveling medicine show (charlatans selling patent medicines) brings them together. This is a clean, hopeful story. However, the narrator wasn't my favorite voice type and spoke much too slowly. I increased the playback to 1.4X with no loss of quality.
I received a free copy of the audiobook and am voluntarily providing a review.