R&B balladry is done properly."[2] Peter Miro from Cash Box remarked that "Your Secret Love" "has the elements of his patented style: a soothing serenade, emotive backup vocals, sustained notes held over the refrain, a romantic flair. Altogether it's spelled "chartbound"."[3]
British magazine Music Week rated the song three out of five, writing, "This slick, somewhat passionless mid-tempo ballad is definitive Luther, and should please pop radio."[4] An editor, Alan Jones, stated that Vandross "is back on form" on "a slow-burning R&B plodder". He added that it "has a warmly familiar feel, and Luther's honeyed vocals lend it a pedigree few can match."[5] Ralph Tee from the RM Dance Update commented, "Luther's still got one of the best voices in the business, and here he sounds as good as ever on a brand new beat ballad that seems to have been landed on us out of nowhere. The song itself is not the greatest he's ever done, but a crispy urban mix is very agreeable indeed and for more welcome than another cover version."[6]