His Secret Life

by Kim Cano

[Nadz@Totally Addicted to Reading]

“Oh! What a tangled web we weave, when we first practice to deceive.”
This quote was fitting for this story.

‘His Secret Life’ by Kim Cano is a thought provoking story about finding love in the most unexpected place. It touches on the very sensitive topic of homosexuality. It is not your typical love story. It highlights the struggles, discrimination, and temptations that homosexuals face on a day to day basis.

This is a story about a young and upcoming professional whose main focus is establishing his career as an investment advisor. Phillip knows without a doubt that he is gay, however, he not comfortable letting others know about his sexual orientation, as he is afraid of the backlash that is likely to occur as a result of persons knowing. Added to this, he is a disappointment to his father because he is gay and as such their relationship is on rocky ground. Phillip deceived his employer, coworkers, and clients into believing that he was heterosexual, which did not go down too well with his current boyfriend. He carried out this deception by hiring call girls to act as his date for major black tie events hosted by his employer. When an unexpected event came up and he found himself without a date, his sister’s roommate Emily agreed to help him out. What follows is a series of intriguing events.

The story, which was well written, was based on characters that were well developed and relatable. Phillip had difficulty reconciling his feelings for Emily with that of his attraction to men. How could he be gay and be in love with a woman? Is that even remotely possible? It was these issues that he had to face. His greatest fear in all of this was losing Emily. Added to that he had to deal with the issue of deceiving his employer which had far-reaching consequences. Emily had her own struggles to contend with. Falling in love with a homosexual for one and there was the fear that he may feel that he made a mistake and leave her for another man. She feels she has to go the extra mile to keep him interested in her.

‘His Secret Life’ demonstrates what can happen when we pretend to be what we are not. Phillip was not honest with his colleagues and it backfired. He was of the belief that they would not have treated him with respect, but there is no way he would have known that for sure. The story further shows that honesty goes a long way.

Another thing that this story highlighted was the power of love. Phillip is gay, but he never met a man who made him feel the way Emily did. What he felt for her went deeper than mere attraction. They connected on so many levels. In all honesty, I thought they were perfect for each other and at every page turn, I was hoping that he would not go back on his promise to her.

Verdict: I loved everything about this book except for the ending, which I thought was quite abrupt. It makes me wonder if there will be a part two. It is evident what his secret was but I would have loved to know if his love for Emily was strong enough for him to keep up the façade or did he give in to the temptations facing him every day.

This is my first time reading this author’s work and it was worth every moment. I can’t wait to see what next she has in store for her readers.