His Secret Past

by Ellen Hartman

Money, women and fame aren't everything they're cracked up to be. Former rock star Mason Star should know. He had it all and lost it. Now, years later, he's about to lose even his son and Mulligan's, the community center he's poured his heart into.

Returning to the public eye is the last thing Mason wants to do—but Anna Walsh's documentary is the only chance he has to save Mulligan's. Besides, Anna won't take no for an answer…and the beautiful, complicated woman has proved to be very persuasive. Especially on the dance floor…

But what Anna wants may be more than he can give.

Genres: Romance, Contemporary Romance, Contemporary

256 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2008

About the author

Ellen wrote much of her first novel in the back of a preschool classroom while she was trying to ease her younger son's separation anxiety. She had agreed to stick around for a day, maybe two. Somehow—the exact chain of events is hazy—one day turned into a full year of scribbling in a notebook on the bench in the corner. Her son is now a completely independent middle school student (phew!), and that book became her first sale to Harlequin Books.

Ellen and her husband are both from Scranton, Pennsylvania. They met on a blind date on New Year's Eve in a mutual love-at-first-sight moment—which would make an awesome novel, if only her husband would agree to be "fictionalized." Find Ellen on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/pages/Ellen-H...

Reviews

[Kay · Rating 4 out of 5]

A rock concert 17 years ago changed both their lives forever. Anna Walsh had goaded her best friend Terri into getting on the stage while the hottest band, Five Star, rocked on. Mason Star, the lead singer, had been drunk, in fact those days he’d always been drunk, and when the concert was over he was eager to keep Terri with him and coaxed her on the tour bus. And tragedy struck, a weird accident and Terri, the bus driver and two of the crew were dead. Anna had to face her family and friends and was seen as the catalyst for her friend’s death; Anne was the wild one, Terri was the good one. Shunned by her community and parents, Anna went on to college and she never looked back. Mason was on a spiraling free fall, esp. when his band mates kicked him out of the band. Finding the strength to get into rehab was one thing, but when he got out he discovered there was no place to go. Mason was determined to make amends for his past life. He built a community for people who were in desperate need, from addicts to runaways, to seniors who couldn’t afford the rent, and he called it Mulligans, the place for second chances, a do-over. It’s time now for Anna to find the answers about the bus crash, so when an opportunity arises to make a documentary about the band Five Star, she grabs it. Only Mason Star doesn’t want anything to do with the movie and he’s certainly doesn’t want to talk about the past. But when Anna offers the help he needs to keep Mulligans open, he’s forced to agree to finally talk about that night so long ago.

I’m not usually a SuperRomance reader, but when Ellen posted her very witty book trailer in a blog, I was so tickled and had to pick up the book. Which confirmed what I’d thought from the beginning; the man in the tux is definitely sexier than the guy in the towel! ( see trailer ) Anna’s search for the truth of her friend’s death sets her on a journey she never thought to travel. Not only does she learn that Mason is not the rock star she remembers, but she learns that she’s not so immune to the idea of setting her own roots. Mason is a character you can’t help but fall in love with. He’s troubled by his past and so afraid of screwing up. He doesn’t see that he’s the backbone, the fixer, the man everyone turns to make their lives good again. I’m glad that Anna took her journey and that she was able to help Mason find his confidence again. In my past experience, I’ve found some Supers to have uneven pacing and this for me can kill my interest. I was very pleased with this book, the story flowed wonderfully and allowed me to become very good friends with Anna and Mason. This story is balanced with emotions that are realistic and with some delightfully witty scenes, and it’s a story that I’m very glad a “man in a tux” talked me into reading ;)

[Phyl · Rating 5 out of 5]

This started slow, as the author had several threads to bring together. But ultimately I just loved so many things about the book that I decided to give it 5 stars. There is some very funny dialogue between h/h about music (it helps if you're old enough to remember the 80s), golf, and beds. I liked the way the heroine is written. She is strong and comfortable with who she is, and not shy about going after what she wants. The author uses details about filmmaking, music, New Jersey, etc. to enhance the story rather than overwhelm it. The secondary characters are also well-done.

[Cherry-Ann · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was really a nice book with good values and great ethics. These foci overshadowed the sex and intense love scenes we would normally expect in contemporary romances. Perhaps this is why the subtlety better conveyed everlasting love. Lovely read and highly recommended.

[Gail · Rating 3 out of 5]

Heroine has been haunted by an event in her past, and when her documentary business takes a sudden turn, she decides it's time to find out What Really Happened. Hero is an ex-rock star whose past was haunted by that same event--but he's not talking. Not ever, never. He's turned his life around by focusing on raising the son an old groupie dumped on him, and by helping others who need just a little hand up to live a successful life. Then this cheeky chick shows up wanting to dig up the old sore spots--only she's willing to help him out by making a film promoting his organization. And she's really hot too. He's having issues with his son as well--teenaged stuff. This was a very, very good read. Emotional, not too angsty, but with some real stuff for the characters to deal with. I enjoyed it a lot.

[Linniegayl · Rating 4 out of 5]

I gave this a B+ review at All About Romance

http://likesbooks.com/cgi-bin/bookRev...

[Brenda · Rating 5 out of 5]

Funny. Good dialogue.