Sometimes there is only a pole between survival and starvation. For Jessica Hughes, this is her reality.At 21, she’s single-handedly supporting her 2 younger brothers and her 4-year-old daughter while paying off her deadbeat mother’s gambling debts.Her life may seem like crap to others, but Jess knows it could be worse.Then, Hunter O’Shea walks back into her life and drops a bombshell – a secret … a bombshell – a secret that could destroy everything they once had.
Once again, Jess finds herself picking up the pieces of her broken heart.
Will Hunter find the courage to claim the family he never knew he needed?
Or will Jess move on before he gets the chance?
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This is the first book in the series. Jess is a single mother raising her two brothers and her daughter. She will do anything to keep them all together, she is one strong lady. Hunter is her one true love but circumstances kept them apart. When he comes back into her life, will she take him back? Find out by getting your copy of this book today.
Wow I don’t know where to start. This book is different from what KL Humphrey writes but I’m I’m love this this series.. This book starts out with how Jess has been making through life with out Hunter her love and Emme dad.. this storyline brings it together beautiful and will have you mad then you will be crying. This book will have your emotions everywhere. This book is a fantastic read that will have you looking at a second chance that would be a lasting love that is meet to be. But what will Hunter do when he finds out a secret that has been keep from both him and Jess, what will happen with their teenage love and a child born.. (
This is the first book by this author for me and I must say that I am impressed.
I loved the story. The strong heroine Jess who fights to survive her family and keep them going. She is young and has a 4-year daughter to care about and she takes care for her two brothers because her mom is an alcoholic and addict and she just left them and she comes back just when she needs money.
Jess is a pole dancer and she is a caring person, so kind and she tries really hard to make her family happy.
This book is worth reading. It’s quick to read but you will still find in the book a lot of secrets, fights for love, good friendships, and a little girl and two boys who will melt your heart.
Good job.
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I loved this book. Yeah I would have loved to get more background on her and Hunter but I also can live without the teen angst as we do get the full story of their break up before the book is done. Their relationship in a tenuous one blackened by an idiot mother who shows her true colors in action and deed. This is a great read that deals with Jess and her family and all that she does to keep them together. This isn’t your typical romance well that should be expected from this author. This is a clean read which is what needs to be kept in mind where the sex is concerned. There is foul language and if that bothers you it will cause you to miss a read that is emotional and has a strong plot line showing us who Jess really is and how strong she has become by embracing her life instead of whining about it. As Hunter’s father told them all, the secrets of life made them stronger.
This story makes you fill like your part of it. You watch the Family go throw ups and down, but never give up..
This is the first book in a new series from this talented author. Jessica is a pole dancer, who works hard in order to singlehandedly supporting her brothers and her daughter, as well as paying off her mother’s gambling debts. When Hunter makes an appearance back into her life, things do not go well. No spoilers; this is a definite must read, you will not be disappointed! This is a beautifully written story, which had secrets and love, and is a wonderful second chance romance. I look forward to reading more in this addictive series, and highly recommend for all readers.
Oh my! I just love Jess and Hunter’s story. They finally talked and listened to each other. I hope Owen and Richie have their stories in the works.
Jessica has had a tough life but she is a strong woman. This is a second chance romance with wonderful characters and a great story line. I recommend this book.
I received an arc and am leaving my review.
Wow! What a great story! I enjoyed this book and look forward to reading more by this author. Jessica has been given nothing but lemons but she has made the most of it. Being a dancer is not what she had planned but it keeps her family together. Family first. Until the past that she has tried to put behind her comes walking back into her life. Will she stand tall or will she fall? Life has a funny way of working out.
•• No other word than simply AWESOME! ••
I’ve come across Author KL Humphreys in various guises over the last few months and I have to say that I am loving every book that I’ve read. From her vengeful dark romances through a lighter thoughtful novella, and on to this absolute raw and gritty second-chance secret-baby romance, she’s pulled no punches at the risks the young ladies have to take in their jobs, when they live on the poverty line and have mouths to feed. This author’s talent is boundless, and her heroine is one strong and inspiring woman. This series looks like it could be simply one that is demanding to be read
With a mother that I would cheerfully take to with a spade, an older brother in prison and a boyfriend who’d abandoned her and her baby, 16-year-old Jess found a job that paid what covered the bills required to keep her, her daughter and her two teenage brothers housed, the kids in school, clothed and fed.
Ms Humphreys wrote her character beautifully. I loved that Jess owned her decision to work as a pole dancer. She knew it made the best money to feed her family. She did the best she could to keep everyone together, and was as strong as any mama bear would be to face off any enemy, to maim or kill to defend the members of her family. My favourite scene was early in the book; at the boy’s school headmaster’s office, and Jess was FIERCE. She did it all under judgemental eyes, in front of Hunter for the first time in six years, and she stood proud.
Because this is a first person POV, Hunter almost came across as much of a secondary character as much as the rest of Jess’s family did, BUT, Ms Humphreys definitely made it work here. Absolutely. This is Jess’s story, and Hunter had a lot of ground to make up for. And to be honest, I wasn’t even sure he should be atoned for his sins!! As always though, there was a lot to be unpacked, and the angst levels were ramped pretty much on high.
I also have to add that every secondary character in this book, apart from the ones obvious ones you’ll want to bury, are simply so well written that you’ll be wanting to hang around for the entire series. I already have three that I need to know have their own HEA’s, and with KL’s standard of writing, the one-clicking is going to be easy.
I love-love-love second chance romances, and this one is now up there as one of my favourites! 5-Stars!!! ••
Secrets are the death of everything and this story proves that with Hunter and Jess. I had a hard time with them at times because Hunter especially seemed immature even when the truth is revealed. I felt for Jess and what she had to do to make sure her family is fed. She’s had a hard life but some of her decisions are out of the blue or did not make any sense to me. The story is sweet and I do love second chances. I would have liked Hunter being a little more understanding.
Jess didn’t get to finish school, she’s supporting her younger brothers and her daughter, with her brother in jail and her mother is a drunk and sucks the money. The only way she knows how to survive is to get a job, she has no qualification and the only job that pays well is a pole dancer.
She does what she has to survive, to give her daughter a better life, and to keep her brothers out of the system. Even though her job is looked down on by some, she has some great friends that look out for her there.
Hunter shows up again and Jess had her life in order her and the kids were doing well, she still loves him but she’s trying to move on with her life, but Hunter never leaves her mind, should she talk to him can they get over the hurt between them.
Great start to a new series! The author brings a second chance romance between Jess and Hunter who were once school sweethearts. She pulls you in with all the emotions flowing throughout as well as all the issues they need to work through. Her scenes are painted in vivid detail and the story flows fluidly. I enjoyed and would recommend this book.
I voluntarily reviewed an ARC of this book. All opinions in this review are my own and freely given.
Loved it! This is my first book by this author and most certainly won’t be my last. Jess is a pole dancer so she can care for her teenage brothers, and her daughter. She’s hard a hard life, which has made her stronger and more determined. Then there’s Hunter, I really didn’t like how he treated Jess and the things he said to her, even though eventually he redeemed himself a little. Overall, I enjoyed this book and recommend it highly.
A strong heroine, second chances.
…engaging, intriguing, and interesting
This was a journey for Jess. She’s got a crap mom and she ended up pregnant at 16. The father of the baby doesn’t want anything to do with her. To make matters even worse her mom is a alcoholic and is never there. Jess is raising her 2 brothers and her now 5 year old daughter. She’s also a pole dancer. I don’t want to give any spoilers but I loved the journey she went through to get where she ended. I really enjoyed this book.
The Secrets of Life is the first book in ‘The Working Girls’ series. This is a second chance romance between school sweethearts but it’s so much more. This is Jess and Hunter’s story.
Jessica has fallen on hard times. She didn’t finish school. Her mother is a drunken money sucker and her older brother is in prison. Jessica is a pole dancer in order to support her two teenage brothers, Simon and Anthony, and her daughter, Emme who she is a single mum to. She does her best to raise them but know she is not perfect.
When Jessica’s older brother Owen is released from prison he soon learns about everything he has missed but believes that there is something still there between Hunter and Jessica if they only talk.
I was so mad at Hunter for the things he said to Jessica through a good part of the book with how he treated her because of his own actions that put her in this situation. When the truth eventually comes out I could understand a little but was still mad at him for not checking with Jess to begin with. His mother was another completely evil person and got what she deserved in the end but she did years of damage in the meantime.
I can’t wait to read th next book in this series.
I loved this book! I couldn’t stop reading until the very end. The characters were very realistic and I loved the happily ever after!
Love the British flavor of this book. Jess is AMAZING!!! Hands down one of the most impressive characters I have ever met. (Yes the writing in this book is that good, I felt like I knew all the characters and lived part of their lives with them.) Jess is the glue that holds her family together. She is tough yet lovely, smart vs sassy, kind but not a pushover. Her ability to forgive inspiring but most beautiful is her fierceness towards her brothers and daughter. Protective momma bear on the loose. She is mature beyond her years. Can you tell I would be president of her fan club?!! (haha) This book is definitely her story. Hunter, well I will say he grew on me. His flaws were surrounded by misunderstandings and miscommunication. What a wonderful book that felt like MORE than just a love story! It is about family and how you fight for your own/the ones you love. This is a must read… HAPPY Reading!!!
A good read that kept me interested throughout, and I loved the English setting, which somehow made it feel different to if the story was set in the US – I can’t put into words the difference though. I would’ve liked some POV from Hunter as we don’t really see much of him or know how he felt over the years believing the lies he was told. It just felt like something was missing from this story and that Hunter was more of a secondary character with there being more focus on Jess and her siblings and friends.