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3.2 AVERAGE
3.2 AVERAGE
I loved it. I felt such sorrow for Laura and kept hoping that she could find happiness in the end. I didn't want to put it down. The author has a way of making you feel so uneasy. His writing reminds me of Ruth Rendell's.
I have never read any books by this author before so I wasn't sure what to expect, The Perfect Husband was a page Turner, I really wanted Laura and her baby to be free from her abusive husband Robert, he was such a horrible and nasty person and was very controlling. I did enjoy this book and what a shocking ending.
Merged review:
I have never read any books by this author before so I wasn't sure what to expect, The Perfect Husband was a page Turner, I really wanted Laura and her baby to be free from her abusive husband Robert, he was such a horrible and nasty person and was very controlling. I did enjoy this book and what a shocking ending.
Merged review:
I have never read any books by this author before so I wasn't sure what to expect, The Perfect Husband was a page Turner, I really wanted Laura and her baby to be free from her abusive husband Robert, he was such a horrible and nasty person and was very controlling. I did enjoy this book and what a shocking ending.
Good thriller to keep you at the end of your seat and twists to keep you guessing. It took me a bit to fully get into, but was glad stuck with it. Great for anyone who enjoys the domestic thriller genre.
Laura just found out she is pregnant. She is thrilled but her husband does not have the reaction she expected. As the story gets deeper you find out they do not have the ideal marriage and he is not a nice man.
This is a guessing game book. You never know what will happen or what secrets will be uncovered. Laura is the central character and she keeps the story interesting.
This is a guessing game book. You never know what will happen or what secrets will be uncovered. Laura is the central character and she keeps the story interesting.
It was love at first sight for Laura when she met Robert at a neighbor’s barbecue. He was successful, charming, and seemed to hang on her every word. A few months after their whirlwind romance began, Robert moves into her house, but it isn’t the happily ever after Laura imagined it would be.
The perfect man she fell in love with quickly transforms into a cruel, abusive monster who isolates and controls her in every way. With no access to her savings, and unable to get him out of her house, Laura—who always longed for a child of her own—still feels hopeful things will improve once she discovers she is pregnant. Those hopes are quickly dashed, however, and Laura realizes Robert remains a danger, both to herself and her unborn child… and she must do whatever it takes to protect them both.
I really wanted to like this book. It seemed to have all the necessary ingredients: a lonely, vulnerable woman meets what she thinks is the man of her dreams, only to find herself in an abusive relationship. A crisis situation (in this case, a pregnancy) that forces her to take action in order to save herself and her baby. It seemed to be a given that I would be fully invested in her plight, which she would (hopefully) eventually escape. I assumed it would be a compelling story that only got better, the further I read.
Sadly, that wasn’t the case.
The story is broken down into three parts, and part one was full of promise. It was deeply disturbing, and Robert was clearly illustrated to be a constant, unpredictable threat. Even though it was frustrating to see Laura go back and forth between leaving him and hoping to salvage their relationship somehow, it was logical that she would do that. It made me feel even more sympathetic towards her character, because I knew she was only fooling herself.
Part one ended with an explosive incident that left me eager to find out what would happen next. Laura’s emotions were all over the place, and her thoughts were exactly what you would expect at this point in the story. Things started to get shaky pretty fast, though, and it was all downhill from there. I found myself feeling less sympathetic towards Laura and became frustrated with the direction the story had taken. By the time I got into part three, I regretted that I’d chosen to read this book at all.
I would have enjoyed this book much more if the story focused solely on the events of part one. Part one was absolutely enthralling, edge-of-your-seat storytelling, in my opinion, and could have easily been expanded into a book-length story. (Had that been the case, I’d be writing a much different review right now!) I understand that Laura has some mental health issues and is dealing with a lot of trauma, but even so, the events of parts two and three failed to hit the mark for me. I spent a lot of time being annoyed with her decisions about various things, and by the time I reached the end of the book, I didn’t like her or feel any sympathy for her, at all—definitely not the reaction I expected (or wanted) to have.
Others may read and greatly enjoy this book. Unfortunately, it just didn’t work for me.
I received an advance reading copy of this book courtesy of Inkubator Books via Netgalley.
The perfect man she fell in love with quickly transforms into a cruel, abusive monster who isolates and controls her in every way. With no access to her savings, and unable to get him out of her house, Laura—who always longed for a child of her own—still feels hopeful things will improve once she discovers she is pregnant. Those hopes are quickly dashed, however, and Laura realizes Robert remains a danger, both to herself and her unborn child… and she must do whatever it takes to protect them both.
I really wanted to like this book. It seemed to have all the necessary ingredients: a lonely, vulnerable woman meets what she thinks is the man of her dreams, only to find herself in an abusive relationship. A crisis situation (in this case, a pregnancy) that forces her to take action in order to save herself and her baby. It seemed to be a given that I would be fully invested in her plight, which she would (hopefully) eventually escape. I assumed it would be a compelling story that only got better, the further I read.
Sadly, that wasn’t the case.
The story is broken down into three parts, and part one was full of promise. It was deeply disturbing, and Robert was clearly illustrated to be a constant, unpredictable threat. Even though it was frustrating to see Laura go back and forth between leaving him and hoping to salvage their relationship somehow, it was logical that she would do that. It made me feel even more sympathetic towards her character, because I knew she was only fooling herself.
Part one ended with an explosive incident that left me eager to find out what would happen next. Laura’s emotions were all over the place, and her thoughts were exactly what you would expect at this point in the story. Things started to get shaky pretty fast, though, and it was all downhill from there. I found myself feeling less sympathetic towards Laura and became frustrated with the direction the story had taken. By the time I got into part three, I regretted that I’d chosen to read this book at all.
I would have enjoyed this book much more if the story focused solely on the events of part one. Part one was absolutely enthralling, edge-of-your-seat storytelling, in my opinion, and could have easily been expanded into a book-length story. (Had that been the case, I’d be writing a much different review right now!) I understand that Laura has some mental health issues and is dealing with a lot of trauma, but even so, the events of parts two and three failed to hit the mark for me. I spent a lot of time being annoyed with her decisions about various things, and by the time I reached the end of the book, I didn’t like her or feel any sympathy for her, at all—definitely not the reaction I expected (or wanted) to have.
Others may read and greatly enjoy this book. Unfortunately, it just didn’t work for me.
I received an advance reading copy of this book courtesy of Inkubator Books via Netgalley.
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Trigger warning: DV
I was immediately invested in the story, but then it felt quite dull for me after Part 1. It is never the victim's fault, but I was screaming in my head for her to do whatever she could to just leave him. Laura's internal dialogue explained that she wanted to and had thought about it, yet didn't and was delusional that being pregnant would change him. The synopsis feels off because firstly, he isn't actually her husband. Second, things were BAD long before she was pregnant. I wanted to sympathize with the protagonist but couldn't, and instead found myself irritated by her actions and explanations. She was so stupid about so many things and it ruined the story for me. Even the ending couldn't save it for me.
This book wanted to be Behind Closed Doors but wasn't.
I was immediately invested in the story, but then it felt quite dull for me after Part 1. It is never the victim's fault, but I was screaming in my head for her to do whatever she could to just leave him. Laura's internal dialogue explained that she wanted to and had thought about it, yet didn't and was delusional that being pregnant would change him. The synopsis feels off because firstly, he isn't actually her husband. Second, things were BAD long before she was pregnant. I wanted to sympathize with the protagonist but couldn't, and instead found myself irritated by her actions and explanations. She was so stupid about so many things and it ruined the story for me. Even the ending couldn't save it for me.
This book wanted to be Behind Closed Doors but wasn't.
The Perfect Husband starts off with the unraveling of Robert and Laura’s relationship which is, honestly, increasingly uncomfortable to read as time progresses. I desperately wanted her to leave this man.
It starts to get a little repetitive until part 2 hits and then I’m all in needing to know what will happen next. I find myself screaming at her at times throughout this book because her choices are absolutely maddening.
The ending did have a good twist, thought I can’t say I hadn’t considered it several times throughout reading.
It starts to get a little repetitive until part 2 hits and then I’m all in needing to know what will happen next. I find myself screaming at her at times throughout this book because her choices are absolutely maddening.
The ending did have a good twist, thought I can’t say I hadn’t considered it several times throughout reading.
medium-paced
Loveable characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I really don't know what to make of this book. It did keep me reading though. Can't decide if I liked it or not.
Thank you NetGalley, Inkubator Books and Iain Maitland for letting me read “The Perfect Husband” on exchange for honest review.
⚠️ abusive relationship, domestic violence, death of pet ⚠️
I was 16 % in and then the cat is murdered. You can’t do that, not even to fictional animals! The book caught my interest, was mildly interesting and then you throw that at me!? Laughter at me, I can read pretty much anything but the death of a cat is a huge trigger for me. I was really close to saying bye bye to this one.
But ok, I pushed through. The book was already tainted for me by then, but let me walk you through the story. We have Laura who tells her story in first person POV, present time with flashbacks to the past. Laura is in a fairly new relationship with Rob. Whirlwind romance. Once he moved in, things go sour. Typical narcissist. Whatever Laura does, it’s wrong. Rob is never at fault. She was content with her live, working as a primary school teacher. But something was missing, the perfect little family. And surprise surprise Laura becomes pregnant and things get even worse. Someone will not come out of this alive. But who?!
I am allergic to the word “perfect”. Nothing in life is really perfect. What really is perfect? Why is it once again such a given that a relationship and a baby make things perfect? That was strike number two for me with This book. Also I can not stand the name Grace in books. So in creative. Sorry to all you amazing Graces of the world. But I get “Crush” and “Mad World” flashbacks from the name alone
I was not a fan of Laura either. Yes, you feel sorry for her, yes she does not deserve it, but please woman… the writing was off for me. Supposed to be “lovely” this and “perfect” that. I wanted to puke… she constantly puts herself down. I am really feeling for the baby though.
The end I was kind of happy with. It was better than the rest of the book. Not saying more though…
Yes I am a Petty Betty, I am still mad about the cat.
⚠️ abusive relationship, domestic violence, death of pet ⚠️
I was 16 % in and then the cat is murdered. You can’t do that, not even to fictional animals! The book caught my interest, was mildly interesting and then you throw that at me!? Laughter at me, I can read pretty much anything but the death of a cat is a huge trigger for me. I was really close to saying bye bye to this one.
But ok, I pushed through. The book was already tainted for me by then, but let me walk you through the story. We have Laura who tells her story in first person POV, present time with flashbacks to the past. Laura is in a fairly new relationship with Rob. Whirlwind romance. Once he moved in, things go sour. Typical narcissist. Whatever Laura does, it’s wrong. Rob is never at fault. She was content with her live, working as a primary school teacher. But something was missing, the perfect little family. And surprise surprise Laura becomes pregnant and things get even worse. Someone will not come out of this alive. But who?!
I am allergic to the word “perfect”. Nothing in life is really perfect. What really is perfect? Why is it once again such a given that a relationship and a baby make things perfect? That was strike number two for me with This book. Also I can not stand the name Grace in books. So in creative. Sorry to all you amazing Graces of the world. But I get “Crush” and “Mad World” flashbacks from the name alone
I was not a fan of Laura either. Yes, you feel sorry for her, yes she does not deserve it, but please woman… the writing was off for me. Supposed to be “lovely” this and “perfect” that. I wanted to puke… she constantly puts herself down. I am really feeling for the baby though.
The end I was kind of happy with. It was better than the rest of the book. Not saying more though…
Yes I am a Petty Betty, I am still mad about the cat.