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minseigle's review
4.0
This book was dark and twisty ... I liked it! It was interesting off the bat and just got more exciting as it went on. I figured out some things about 50% of the way through, but I still wanted to read on to find out the whole truth. There’s a bit of “magic” (I don’t know what else to call it) and I didn’t like that aspect so much, hence the one star being taken away.
hebbie4792's review
4.0
This is a haunting story that will linger with me. Told with multiple voices that provide an unearthly view into the lives of two women loved by the wrong man.
bibliotequeish's review against another edition
1.0
This book started off really good.
I flew through the first few pages, but then the characters lost me. And if I don't care about the characters, its nearly impossible for me to enjoy the book.
There were a few things that thew me right away,
Elena was SO in love with Nicholas, but was bored with the repetitiveness of looking at pictures of him in his younger years, and gave his mother attitude because of this? (regardless of the mothers attitude later on in the book, at this point she was just her boyfriends mom, yet Elena was a little rude to her... the very first time she met her... at HER home, where SHE was a guest.... for no reason.)
Then there was this comment -
"The weight she has lost since Isabelles death adds to the elegance"
... I thought that was a weird thing to say.
But aside from all that, I just did not like the characters, any of them and because of this I found myself bored with the story. The story itself was the same one we have all read a hundred times, and the "twist" was the one we all saw coming.
I wish I could give this book a better score, but I just did not like it.
I flew through the first few pages, but then the characters lost me. And if I don't care about the characters, its nearly impossible for me to enjoy the book.
There were a few things that thew me right away,
Elena was SO in love with Nicholas, but was bored with the repetitiveness of looking at pictures of him in his younger years, and gave his mother attitude because of this? (regardless of the mothers attitude later on in the book, at this point she was just her boyfriends mom, yet Elena was a little rude to her... the very first time she met her... at HER home, where SHE was a guest.... for no reason.)
Then there was this comment -
"The weight she has lost since Isabelles death adds to the elegance"
... I thought that was a weird thing to say.
But aside from all that, I just did not like the characters, any of them and because of this I found myself bored with the story. The story itself was the same one we have all read a hundred times, and the "twist" was the one we all saw coming.
I wish I could give this book a better score, but I just did not like it.
caslater83's review against another edition
4.0
Wow.
This book is intense! First impressions are not always accurate. It takes time to build a relationship. Over time, you learn what you want out of a relationship. Unfortunately, we don't always pay attention to the red flags. Amelia and Elena learned the hard way. No one should have to go through that.This book was a page-turner. I hated Nicholas almost every page. The thing that bugged me the most was that his parents knew better than anyone else how extreme his behaviors could be..and yet, they remained silent. Choosing to blame Elena for everything when the reality was that their son needed help. Lots of help!
Despite the tragic abuse and gaslighting, it was still a decent book.
This book is intense! First impressions are not always accurate. It takes time to build a relationship. Over time, you learn what you want out of a relationship. Unfortunately, we don't always pay attention to the red flags. Amelia and Elena learned the hard way. No one should have to go through that.This book was a page-turner. I hated Nicholas almost every page. The thing that bugged me the most was that his parents knew better than anyone else how extreme his behaviors could be..and yet, they remained silent. Choosing to blame Elena for everything when the reality was that their son needed help. Lots of help!
Despite the tragic abuse and gaslighting, it was still a decent book.
cemsreadingcorner's review against another edition
I had to DNF this book because I was just not enjoying it. It was too fast-paced and Elena, the main character, was getting beat up by the man she married and she did nothing about it. She stayed with him, had a baby with him, and focused way too much on his ex-wife who supposedly drowned. I couldn’t read on. I didn’t realize this was a domestic thriller. I’m not too fond of books like that. There are way too many books about men who beat up their spouses. If books are written about that sort of thing, we need to see the women defending themselves and leaving the asshole who beats her. If that’s not what’s happening, then the book is not enjoyable to read… for me, at least. Maybe the author’s newer books are better. I’ll read them and see.
Thursday, June 8, 2023 at 7:50 PM
Thursday, June 8, 2023 at 7:50 PM
Content Warnings
Graphic: Domestic abuse
juliwi's review against another edition
3.0
Mea culpa. I read this book in 2018 and somehow my review got lost in the ethernet. I have active memories of writing it and yet it is.nowhere.to.be.found! The nice thing is that I got to write a new review and that The Wife Before Me itself had not disappeared from my mind. Thanks to Bookouture and Netgalley for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review and for their patience with me.
Domestic Thrillers have recently become a new favourite of mine. There is something about the domestic dynamic in thrillers that fascinates me: the everyday irritations that may or may not become reason for murder; the façade that hides a horrible reality; the pressures of domestic family life that boil over. It is all intriguing and I truly wonder how the COVID-19 lockdowns will affect this particular genre. Will it be something no one wants to touch, due to the actual horrid increase of domestic abuse and the general sense of loss and despair, or will it give a new twist to the stories? In The Wife Before Me, written well before our current pandemic, domestic violence plays a big role and I do think it is good to know that coming on. The descriptions are pretty rough at times, graphic and explicit, which will be triggering to some readers. While I sometimes wished Elliot had focused less on it, I also appreciate that domestic violence should not be swept under the rug. However, approach with care.
Elena is in love. She and Nicholas are the perfect solace for each other as she still grieves the loss of her mother and he grieves the loss of his first wife. Everything is perfect so of course she will move in with him. With each little acquiescence and compromise, Elena begins to lose ground. And then she finds a letter which changes everything. We also get the perspective of Nicholas' first wife, Amelia, whose story is also one of isolation and pain. The speed at which The Wife Before Me moves from almost a romance to stone-cold thriller could give you whiplash, but Elliot manages it very well. By the time all the different storylines from both Elena and Amelia's lives come together in the end it feels a little rushed, but overall I found myself very gripped by the story. I wanted only the best for Elena and Amelia.
Laura Elliot is a prolific Thriller writer and I could recognise her skill in The Wife Before Me. Many of the elements in the novel are traditional and expected of a Domestic Thriller, but Elliot manages to make something new and exciting with it. While many of the plot twists are also (kind of) expected, I still enjoyed the journey there. While at times the narratives of Elena and Amelia were almost identical, Elliot manages to keep them differentiated enough so the reader begins to care for both of them. As mentioned above, for my taste some of the descriptions of abuse in The Wife Before Me were too explicit, but they did do well to establish the dynamics. I noticed some issues like switching from first to third person, which may just be an issue of the ARC I had. This also added to the occasional confusion of who was narrating. However, I will most definitely be keeping an eye out for Laura Elliot's other books.
The Wife Before Me moves quickly from romance to thriller in its depiction of marriage gone horribly wrong. Read with caution!
URL: https://universeinwords.blogspot.com/2021/07/review-wife-before-me-by-laura-elliot.html
Domestic Thrillers have recently become a new favourite of mine. There is something about the domestic dynamic in thrillers that fascinates me: the everyday irritations that may or may not become reason for murder; the façade that hides a horrible reality; the pressures of domestic family life that boil over. It is all intriguing and I truly wonder how the COVID-19 lockdowns will affect this particular genre. Will it be something no one wants to touch, due to the actual horrid increase of domestic abuse and the general sense of loss and despair, or will it give a new twist to the stories? In The Wife Before Me, written well before our current pandemic, domestic violence plays a big role and I do think it is good to know that coming on. The descriptions are pretty rough at times, graphic and explicit, which will be triggering to some readers. While I sometimes wished Elliot had focused less on it, I also appreciate that domestic violence should not be swept under the rug. However, approach with care.
Elena is in love. She and Nicholas are the perfect solace for each other as she still grieves the loss of her mother and he grieves the loss of his first wife. Everything is perfect so of course she will move in with him. With each little acquiescence and compromise, Elena begins to lose ground. And then she finds a letter which changes everything. We also get the perspective of Nicholas' first wife, Amelia, whose story is also one of isolation and pain. The speed at which The Wife Before Me moves from almost a romance to stone-cold thriller could give you whiplash, but Elliot manages it very well. By the time all the different storylines from both Elena and Amelia's lives come together in the end it feels a little rushed, but overall I found myself very gripped by the story. I wanted only the best for Elena and Amelia.
Laura Elliot is a prolific Thriller writer and I could recognise her skill in The Wife Before Me. Many of the elements in the novel are traditional and expected of a Domestic Thriller, but Elliot manages to make something new and exciting with it. While many of the plot twists are also (kind of) expected, I still enjoyed the journey there. While at times the narratives of Elena and Amelia were almost identical, Elliot manages to keep them differentiated enough so the reader begins to care for both of them. As mentioned above, for my taste some of the descriptions of abuse in The Wife Before Me were too explicit, but they did do well to establish the dynamics. I noticed some issues like switching from first to third person, which may just be an issue of the ARC I had. This also added to the occasional confusion of who was narrating. However, I will most definitely be keeping an eye out for Laura Elliot's other books.
The Wife Before Me moves quickly from romance to thriller in its depiction of marriage gone horribly wrong. Read with caution!
URL: https://universeinwords.blogspot.com/2021/07/review-wife-before-me-by-laura-elliot.html
mandylovestoread's review against another edition
2.0
I really struggled with this book for several reasons - most of all that most of the story felt like so many other books that I have read recently. I have read a lot of great reviews for this book so I know that I am in the minority and I wish that I liked it more.
Elena meets Nicholas 2 years after the mysterious death of his first wife. They start dating and then move in together. That is when Elena sees the dark side of Nicholas - it is like he is different person. Domestic violence and mental abuse - and Elena starts to wonder if there is more to his first wife's disappearance.
Thanks to Bookouture and Netgalley for the advanced copy of this book to read. All opinions are my own and are in no way biased
Elena meets Nicholas 2 years after the mysterious death of his first wife. They start dating and then move in together. That is when Elena sees the dark side of Nicholas - it is like he is different person. Domestic violence and mental abuse - and Elena starts to wonder if there is more to his first wife's disappearance.
Thanks to Bookouture and Netgalley for the advanced copy of this book to read. All opinions are my own and are in no way biased
heyhannahrae's review against another edition
4.0
I liked this a lot! At some points I got a little confused about who was who... there were a lot of characters and there were a lot of names... but ultimately, it kept me VERY engaged. I'll check out thrillers from this author in the future because I really liked it. (But I did have it figured out!)
cassies_books_reviews's review against another edition
5.0
One cold evening as the sun sets Amelia Madison’s car slides into the seaoff masons pier her body is never found now if that doesn’t hook you in!!! Elena meets Nicholas at her mothers funeral he is also grieving the loss of his wife! He is the complete package caring sensitive but underneath that he’s a horrible person! This was a dark read and will keep you at the edge of your seat so many twists and turns. The ending is quick and will leave you breathless a must read !
hanleyca's review against another edition
3.0
While this book had a lot of great building - i was pretty confident and correct about the ending. I also want to commend the author on the realistic nature of abusive relationships. I also felt some whiplash between the changes between characters and first and third person. I think I would have enjoyed it a lot more from one or two perspectives. I don't like that one of the characters was dead - it felt gimmicky