Seven years ago Christof and McKenna met in a bar at a time when they were both at low points in their life, and unknowingly they helped each other. Fast forward to present day, they meet once again by accident when Christof’s car breaks down by the road side and Mckenna stops to help.
They feel a pull between them and start to get to know each other slowly. But Christofs meddling family has other ideas and come up with a plan for him to take Mckenna to Italy as a fake fiancé to help solve a family issue.
I really enjoyed this book and loved how patient and understanding Christof is with McKenna. She is a little skimmish and unsure, and he gives her the space to trust him and work out her issues.
There has been an underlying story about Dominic running through the series and I enjoyed see it come to fruition.
A wonderful addition to the series and I look forward to reading more.

I really enjoyed this book. I really loved Nona she was a hoot. I loved how close Christof’s family is. Christof is the whole swoony package. McKenna is such a strong woman. Her family isn’t anything like Christof’s but it’s just as strong. This was such a heartwarming book with a lot of spice. I enjoyed this book very much! I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own. I received a copy from the publisher through NetGalley.

I can’t say enough about this book from Ruth. Her characters are believable and the romance and love that began from the beginning was swoon worthy. McKenna is a go-getter, needing only a little nudge from a stranger, her dream became reality. She had even made an impression on the stranger, Christof and seven years later their paths crossed again. It was destiny. Their story was fun, romantic with lots of spice and family pulling things together for their happily ever after. Ruth even brought back some old friends from her other series. Together they discovered and solved secrets that could change some of their lives and even bring them closer together.
The Secret One was a book that you can’t put down once you start reading.

Great story!!! I loved Chris and Mack meeting in the beginning!!! Story progressed amazingly and I fell in love with the Romano’s!

YES, I Love this series Christof & McKenna have a chance meeting years before but they made and impact.. they helped each other chase their dreams without even being in each other life, then a chance meeting over a roadside car break down they realize maybe their time has finally come for their HEA. As always Ruth always pulls you in like your truly a part of the story. Their families are amazing! Come join this great crew for the ride.

The Secret One by Ruth Cardello is an enjoyable read. I really enjoy the Cardello characters. You may be surprised who the secret one ends up being.

Absolutely amazing. I love Ruth Cardellos book as they give such a wonderful feeling of family. There is so much love, friendship, respect and heart in this book. Christof and McKenna are beautiful together. I love how Christof is so sure of his love, so secure in himself to be who he is and to give McKenna the space and love she deserves while also allowing to see the love and family she already has. They were amazing together.
The amazing family plot twists kept me hanging on, the way the discovery was dealt with and how so much thought and love was put into how to approach it, with zero resentment. Such an amazingly strong family. Seeing Dominic finally get his family he so desperately wanted was moving too, the bonds of the past are broken and put to bed.
I can’t wait to see what comes next in this family.

This is another steamy story in the Corisi Billionaire series. This is the love story of Christof and McKenna. The chance meeting on the side of the road, McKenna a beautiful mechanic stops to offer him help. They begin a slow moving relationship, until his family gets involved. Christof is needed in Italy to address family issues, his mom thinks if he had a fiancé it would help the situation.
Christof is not a fan of his moms plan but does mention it to McKenna. She is up for the adventure and to see Italy with Christof. But McKenna is not prepared for how much her heart will be involved.
Will Mckenna and Christof’s fake engagement survive Italy? Will Christof be able to be the voice of reason in Italy to solve the family problems?

I enjoyed this story. A chance meeting between two people can inspire each other to reach for their dreams.
Thank you Netgalley for the complimentary copy. Thoughts and opinions are my own.

I loved Christof so much that it was difficult to rate this book. Though I did not care about all the family problems that are the plot and I didn't really love McKenna, either, Christof was such a strong character, truly the ideal man, that he alone makes me raise the rating from 3 stars to 4.

Christof and McKenna had a chance meeting in a bar, both had suffered losses in their families. Now years later they meet again and the attraction is still there. McKenna agrees to help Christof out with a family issue. This was an OK book. It had a decent plot but there were so many characters to keep straight I found myself getting confused, which is the reason for the 3* rating. I think if I had read the previous books in the series I would have had less trouble with the characters and understood theIt dynamics better. Thank you to net galley for an advanced readers copy.

It was really good, though I am a fan of the author. So take that with a grain of salt. The story was good and interesting. Kept me captivated until the end.

Hands down my favorite book of the series!!!! Chrisof and McKenna together was everything!! Great chemistry and hilarious banter. I hope there is more to come in this series.

I voluntarily reviewed this book.

3 stars
How do you meet the love of your life and then forget who they are the next time ? This was my biggest problem in the book. Maybe because Christof was drunk when he met McKenna. After that I was kind of bummed at their story. It seemed like their first meeting could have been left out entirely.

I love this series and this book may just be my favorite! McKenna is one of the best heroines I’ve read, and Christof made me swoon. I loved how they met...and met again. I loved the romance, the love, the families, and yeah, I just LOVED this book!

Christof and McKenna are meant to be but there are many twists and turns that have to happen before they come together for their happy ever after. The Secret One is much more than just a falling in love of our hero and heroine romance. The Corisi family has suffered much pain, loss and hurt and McKenna has had her own share of pain. There are family secrets that are exposed that can tear the Corisi family apart or unite it, as it should have been years ago.

I have to be careful where I read a Ruth Cardello book because at any moment I can burst into tears or laugh out loud so hard I can’t control my volume. Her stories are such a mixture of tears, laughs and whatever else she deems to throw into the mix. There is such love between her characters, not only regarding the journey of the hero and heroine falling in love but the closeness between every family member and anyone else who might come along. These people are there for each other no matter what the circumstances. This author writes beautiful stories surrounding family love, loyalty and strength as well as such joy and plenty of laughter as well as telling it like it is – no holds barred. There is such depth to this plot with so many ups and downs and a few twists the reader may have to pause just to catch their breath before continuing. The Secret One is such a lovely story of second chances not only for our H and H but also for several other characters. I thoroughly enjoyed the journey to Christof and McKenna’s happy every after as well as getting a glimpse of my favorite Ruth Cardello’s character, Dominic Corisi! I received an ARC from Netgalley and this opinion is my own.

This family is so wonderfully complex and beautiful. I love all of the different dynamics between everyone and learning more as we go along. Christof and McKenna had a brief meeting when they were young, yet it was significant and stayed with them. I loved the connection these two shared. It was like they picked up right where they left off, all those years ago. Mack was feisty, independent and strong enough to handle Chris’ crazy family. Chris played the mediator role, which he did very well. I really liked how steadfast he was when it came to his family. He loved them fiercely & unapologetically. This family continues to uncover secrets and go through so many emotional moments, but the love they have for one another is strong enough to see them through it all. I look forward to the next exciting chapter.

How do you say, "Hi, I'm Earth, have we met?" in Italian? There were just so many things that did not ring true of how things work on our planet. And sooooo many Italian stereotypes. And tough-girl-who-works-on-cars-but-is secretly-vulnerable tropes (Watts, is that you?). All of which I might forgive if it delivered on being really funny or suspenseful or steamy, but it falls short on all of those.

I hadn't realized the author has written many, many books and some of the characters and series overlap. So I was quite confused when some random queen knew all about the family and love lives of some businesspeople she's never met, but maybe there's a "psychic meddling queen" book I need to read. Actually, yes, I do need to read that. Will someone please write it if this author hasn't?

I don't quite understand how the sons turned the parents' one convenience store into a Walmart-like chain in 7 years or whatever, but again, that might be in a different book. The hero of this story met a girl in a bar when both were 20 and connected with a bit of insta-love, then they went their separate ways, but they reconnect years later. They jump from phone dates to fake-engaged in maybe a week, with remarkably little conflict between them along the way. The heroine has a couple of fairly tame nervous freakouts, and they fight about whether she'd take his name if they got married for real, but there's pretty much never a question where this is going. The sex scenes feel rushed, both in terms of their relationship and the way they are written. And the number of women who announce their pregnancies seems a little high, statistically... who's next, Grandma Nona?

Thanks to the publishers and NetGalley for a digital ARC for the purpose of an unbiased review.

I love a good fake relationship trope and I was excited to see the heorine is a mechanic. It all just felt meh to me. It wasn't bad but it wasn't great either.

Omg I am so glad I got to read this book.
I loved McKenna and Christof together.
From the very first page i was completely hooked.
McKenna has a whole lot of issues from past relationships, that much is clear. Her first meeting with Christof helped get her over the funk she was in when she met him. She became successful but also developed trust issues along the way.
The Romano family certainly has a lot of secret and I am so excited that I got to along for the ride. Christof is certainly my favourite Romano brother. I just love everything about him. It would have been really disappointing if his book wasn’t as good as the others. I love Ruth Cardello, I love her books and I certainly loved The secret one.

Fans of this series will not be disappointed with Cardello's The Secret One. Christof and McKenna's story provides the opportunity to push forwarad and intertwine the Romano and Corisi story lines. Christof and McKenna are perfect for each other and the story is the perfect fall read. Cardello leaves her fans eagerly awaiting the next installment.