Secret Dreams and Forbidden Fire received favorable ratings from three sources, one of which was Kerrang!
Professional ratings AllMusic Deseret News Kerrang!    Secret Dreams and Forbidden Fire received generally mixed reviews from music critics, with much of the criticism being aimed at music producer and hit songwriter Jim Steinman. Steven Wine criticised the length of the tracks, stating that "only Bonnie Tyler's parents would want to listen to her sing the same song for six minutes, but three of the eight tunes on [the album] exceed that span." He went on to describe the album as a "bombastic bore", only complimenting one of Steinman's penned songs, "Ravishing". Tom Ford of Toledo Blade stated that "although Tyler proves able to do some interesting things, she is outdistanced by the tiresome ponderousness of the material," concluding that "the prissy, self-indulgence here is just too much to stand." Paul Speelman of The Age opined that Tyler and Steinman were "deeply entrenched in a rut", and found the music to be excessive. "There are banks of synthesizers, layers of percussion, dramatic electronic gimmickry and huge production: no wonder poor old Bonnie had to yell to be heard above that lot," he said, praising Tyler's voice. "The fact that she manages to salvage at least a few tracks attests to her vocal fortitude." He argued that the album was a case of over-indulgence, noting the eight minute and thirty-five second length of "Rebel Without a Clue". The album did receive some positive reviews as well. Jerry Spangler of Deseret News described the album as "a fine collection of tunes with good musical variety and a lot of energy." Doug Stone of AllMusic retrospectively stated that the album "depicts a cool portrait of '80s pomposity", but argued that with the album lacking songs like "Faster Than the Speed of Night" and "Total Eclipse of the Heart" from her previous album, Secret Dreams and Forbidden Fire becomes substandard to Faster Than the Speed of Night. David Hiltbrand of People complimented Bonnie Tyler's voice stating that "Tyler's bluesy roar has enough texture to take the gloss off Steinman's heavy pop arrangements", and "Tyler sings only in capital letters and Jim Steinman produces only at a full gallop pace!" 
