Review: Best Kept Secret by Amy Hatvany

Publisher: Washington Square Press

Pages: 352

Source: Personal Ebook

Rating: 5/5

After Cadence’s divorce her life took an unexpected turn. Working from home, and raising her son Charlie has been difficult. The money from her divorce settlement will soon run out, and her energetic son makes it difficult to work. The freelance market is difficult, and Cadence just can’t find the ideas or words. As a way to relax Cadence did what many of her friends suggested, she opened a bottle of wine. One glass of wine, turned into two glasses. At first she waiting until her son went to bed, limited herself to two glasses. Then she only had one glass in the day, sometimes two. Before she knew it her drinking began to spiral out of control. She needed two bottles of wine to get through the day, and did unexpected things to get it. When her ex-husband knocked on her door and took her son away, Cadence was devastated. How can she be an alcoholic, when she was never a drinker? How could she let this happen to herself? Why couldn’t she stop on her own? How much damage did she do to Charlie? 

Best Kept Secret is one of the most thought-provoking, emotional books I have read in a long time. It’s real, honest and heartbreaking. Amy Hatvany had me glued to the pages. As Cadence tries to recover, she always has her son in her thoughts. A custody battle ensues and Cadence must do everything possible to get her son back. She’s hurt that her ex-husband couldn’t settle this between them, now a stranger will determine her son's future. Her son means everything to her, and she can’t imagine loosing custody. Going through all the steps to get her son back is not enough, she must learn to admit that she is an alcoholic. Picking up her son from her ex-mother-in-law’s house is painful, having her ex-husband judge her is excruciating. Cadence learns to open up her world, and finds supporters in new friends. She learns that she is not alone. 

Alcoholism is a disease that effects more then just the alcoholic. In Best Kept Secret we see how Cadence’s alcoholism hurt everyone around her. When no one expected her alcoholism to begin with, and only noticed when it was out of control, it’s hard for others to begin to trust her. If they didn’t know before, how can they be sure that she won’t relapse? Her friends walk away without a second thought, and her mother has never been very emotional. Her sister wants to help her as much as possible, but she has her own life and twins to raise. Cadence must do this on her own, seek help, accept guidance and take it one day at a time. 

Amy Hatvany has created an amazing multidimensional, compelling read. Cadence can easily be your sister, your friend, or the mother next door. She’s realistic, likable, and good hearted. She never saw her addiction sneaking up on her, and she never wanted to hurt her son. She can be anyone in your life. The secondary characters are well portrayed, and real. This book is extremely well written, and highly recommended. I promise you will not want to put this book down, and you will be rooting for Cadence the whole way through.  

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