The Truth and Other Hidden Things by Lea Geller

{Thank you to Lake Union and Amazon Publishing for my gifted copy}

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Book Summary:

A freshly funny and heartfelt novel about one woman’s secret life, the stories she tells, and the thrill and notoriety of being noticed.

On the same day Bells Walker learns that her IUD has failed, her husband, Harry, is denied tenure at his Manhattan university. So Bells, Harry, their two adolescent children, and her baby bump move to New York’s Hudson Valley, where Harry has landed a job at Dutchess College in the town of Pigkill.

When the farm-to-table utopia Bells envisioned is anything but, she turns to the blogosphere. Under the pen name the County Dutchess, she anonymously dishes about life in Pigkill, detailing the activities of hypercompetitive parents and kombucha-drinking hipsters. Suddenly, Bells has a place to say all the things she’s been secretly thinking about being a wife and mother. As Bells turns the focus of her blog on her new neighbors, her readership continues to grow, but her scandalous posts hit closer to home: she puts Harry’s new job in jeopardy, derails her children’s lives, and risks the one real friendship she’s built.

When Bells uncovers scandals right under her nose, the Dutchess goes viral, and soon everyone is asking, Who is the County Dutchess? Now Bells has to ask herself if it’s worth losing the people closest to her to finally feel noticed by everyone else.

Publication Date:

April 6th, 2021

Genre:

Contemporary Fiction

Purchase Your Copy:

Amazon Link | LibroFM Bookstore Link

My Review:

I first became familiar with author Lea Geller when I read her 2019 novel, Trophy Life. It was such a fun and entertaining read that had a lot more depth than I initially expected.

I loved how her writing covered motherhood, friendship, disappointment, self-discovery, and finding your own path in life and I couldn’t wait to read what Geller came out with next.

When I saw that Geller was published another novel in 2021 I couldn’t wait to read a copy! The Truth and Other Hidden Things ended up being a total gem of a novel. It isn’t often that a book has me laughing aloud, and this one definitely did. Geller is gifted at writing narratives that are relatable with the perfect amount of humor and substance.

On the same day, Bells, the main character finds out that her husband wasn’t given his long-awaited tenure, she also finds out she’s pregnant. Needless to say, her tween and teenager aren’t thrilled.

As her family is forced to move out of the city, Bells is thrown into a group of women she doesn’t feel she fits in to, and turns to anonymous blogging, turning her feelings about her new hometown viral. I loved the humor, the writing, and the underlying messages of this unique and fun read.

Thank you to Lake Union and Amazon Publishing for a gifted advanced copy in exchange for my honest review. As always, all thoughts and opinions are my own.

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