Hester was a young girl when she was seduced by a scoundrel.  When she became pregnant, she was sent away and ostracized by her family and her shame was never spoken of.  Told her child died after her birth, Hester has had to grieve the loss of that tiny life for a long time.  What’s worse is that her parents never forgave her for her youthful transgression and have basically kept her under lock and key ever since.  With the death of her father, Hester’s life improves a little, but not much.  Her mother still follows through with the dead man’s orders and allows Hester no freedom.  When her favorite aunt appears wishing for Hester’s company on a trip to Bath, Hester stands in awe of the fact that her mother agreed.  For the first time in her life, Hester can be the fun loving person that she was meant to be.  That is, until the man who broke her heart appears and suddenly the heartache and bitterness Hester feels for what he did comes to the surface.  Lucky for her she has a new admirer, a man who is loyal and gentle.  If only Hester could trust him. 

Every single time Hester relieved the agony of her child’s birth and her subsequent shunning by her family broke my heart. I found myself wincing in agony at the hurt placed upon Hester for the only single inappropriate thing she had ever done in her life.  That aside, I found A Shameful Secretinteresting because of the intrigue concerning who was trying to reveal Hester’s secret and her romantic interest in Paul.  A Shameful Secret lagged a bit at places with side stories but all in all, I enjoyed seeing Hester’s happy ever after.