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3.86 AVERAGE
3.86 AVERAGE
Wow this book kept me hooked the whole time! I kept trying to guess what crazy thing was going to happen next. Definitely recommend!
I loved Jenna Kernan’s Nadine Finch books and I have to say her standalones are just as good. Having just the right balance between character development and plot this book pitches you straight into a marriage that is absolutely terrifying.
After the death of her first husband, Jackson rescued Elana and her daughter Phoebe from poverty. At first he seemed charming but he is wealthy, influential as mayor and demands complete control. There is also the fact he has two ex wives with missing children and the Mennonite community to factor in.
With the FBI needing her to get evidence of his involvement in the missing children and her own daughters safety to consider Elena is going to need her wits about her.
My hackles went up as soon as I was introduced to Jackson. This man gives off more red flags than a socialist state convention. Elena immediately elicited empathy with the predicament of her situation. As a mother your child’s safety is always paramount, even if it means your own is at risk. The Mennonite community I found fascinating, closely resembling the Amish with the modesty clothing and lack of technology, making things a lot more difficult for Elena to leave.
Nail bitingly good this had me on the edge of my seat more than once. A nerve jangling, suspense filled thriller with a top shelf bad guy.
After the death of her first husband, Jackson rescued Elana and her daughter Phoebe from poverty. At first he seemed charming but he is wealthy, influential as mayor and demands complete control. There is also the fact he has two ex wives with missing children and the Mennonite community to factor in.
With the FBI needing her to get evidence of his involvement in the missing children and her own daughters safety to consider Elena is going to need her wits about her.
My hackles went up as soon as I was introduced to Jackson. This man gives off more red flags than a socialist state convention. Elena immediately elicited empathy with the predicament of her situation. As a mother your child’s safety is always paramount, even if it means your own is at risk. The Mennonite community I found fascinating, closely resembling the Amish with the modesty clothing and lack of technology, making things a lot more difficult for Elena to leave.
Nail bitingly good this had me on the edge of my seat more than once. A nerve jangling, suspense filled thriller with a top shelf bad guy.
This was an incredibly tense read that I really enjoyed.
As soon as I started reading it, it was screaming 'Behind Closed Doors' by BA Paris vibes. So tense, creepy, and seriously unnerving throughout.
The main character did frustrate me a lot, the red flags and subsequent decision making skills were interesting lol. But we do see this a lot in thrillers 'if that was me I'd have picked up on it', but would we really? So I decided to not be too harsh with that bit. It just adds to the tension even more!
The ending blew my socks off! Woah, I need a lie down...
As soon as I started reading it, it was screaming 'Behind Closed Doors' by BA Paris vibes. So tense, creepy, and seriously unnerving throughout.
The main character did frustrate me a lot, the red flags and subsequent decision making skills were interesting lol. But we do see this a lot in thrillers 'if that was me I'd have picked up on it', but would we really? So I decided to not be too harsh with that bit. It just adds to the tension even more!
The ending blew my socks off! Woah, I need a lie down...
I loved this book, and the plot was so different and unique which made it even better! Amazing book, definitely recommend you put it on your TBR.
I enjoyed this read, but I wish there was a little more thrill. Jenna Kernan’s writing style is lovely and flowed really well.
Jackson came in and changed Elana’s life. Shantel, Jackson’s ex wife, warned Elana that Jackson was not the man she thought he was. Not listening to the ex wife, Elana finds herself in a relationship fully controlled by Jackson.
If you love a descriptive novel that teaches life lessons, this is for you.
I look forward to reading more of the author’s work!
Jackson came in and changed Elana’s life. Shantel, Jackson’s ex wife, warned Elana that Jackson was not the man she thought he was. Not listening to the ex wife, Elana finds herself in a relationship fully controlled by Jackson.
If you love a descriptive novel that teaches life lessons, this is for you.
I look forward to reading more of the author’s work!
3.5⭐
I need to catch a breath...woah that was tense!
Elana is drowning with bills after her husband died leaving her and precious little Phoebe mostly to themselves without any family nearby. Elana's pretty face and curvy figure caught the eye of a billionaire mayor, Jackson of a little Florida town, Bald Cypress. To Elana, it's like a fairytale to marry a man like Jackson despite being warned about his character by his second ex-wife!
Elana is the type of protagonist you want to shake and tell her to get a grip. To listen to her gut instinct. All the red flags?
I need to catch a breath...woah that was tense!
Elana is drowning with bills after her husband died leaving her and precious little Phoebe mostly to themselves without any family nearby. Elana's pretty face and curvy figure caught the eye of a billionaire mayor, Jackson of a little Florida town, Bald Cypress. To Elana, it's like a fairytale to marry a man like Jackson despite being warned about his character by his second ex-wife!
Elana is the type of protagonist you want to shake and tell her to get a grip. To listen to her gut instinct. All the red flags?
I love it when a female lead knows how to stand up for herself, do the right things and bring a great closure.
Jenna Kernan's The Ex-Wives has it all - a strong female character, devious man and a few other side characters who bring the story together very well.
Elena marries Jackson who she meets after losing her 1st husband to an accident, Jackson promises a great life to her and her daughter Phoebe. Elena is on cloud nine when Jackson proposes to her, and chooses to ignore all the warning signs that come in front of her after she agrees to Jackson's proposal.
Right after their marriage, there are small signs which shows Elena how controlling Jackson can be - but is he doing it out of love, as he sometimes claims?
The Ex-Wives was a great listen, thanks to the beautiful narration by Stephanie Cannon.
Thanks Bookouture Audio, Netgalley for approving the audio ARC.
Jenna Kernan's The Ex-Wives has it all - a strong female character, devious man and a few other side characters who bring the story together very well.
Elena marries Jackson who she meets after losing her 1st husband to an accident, Jackson promises a great life to her and her daughter Phoebe. Elena is on cloud nine when Jackson proposes to her, and chooses to ignore all the warning signs that come in front of her after she agrees to Jackson's proposal.
Right after their marriage, there are small signs which shows Elena how controlling Jackson can be - but is he doing it out of love, as he sometimes claims?
The Ex-Wives was a great listen, thanks to the beautiful narration by Stephanie Cannon.
Thanks Bookouture Audio, Netgalley for approving the audio ARC.
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐.5/5 (rounded up to 5⭐)
⚠️ Content warning: domestic abuse, controlling and/or coercive behaviour, child abuse, profanity, gun, degrading language, murder, death, pregnancy, hunting, vehicle accident, incestuous relationship, alcohol use, blood, drugs, sexual situations, overdose, suicide, choking, vomiting, animal death, abduction, arson, animal cruelty and mentions eating disorder⚠️
Elana is recently widowed and left with a lot of debt from her first husband’s death when she meets Jackson, who is all too keen to pay off her debt and treat her to anything she wants. She goes from living a life of poverty to having security with Jackson. It is not long until this façade starts to crumble, and he starts to show his true colours to Elana although he is cautious enough to not show them around anybody else. Elana finds out from the FBI that Jackson had two previous marriages and when they tried to leave him, their daughters mysteriously disappeared. This is when she starts plotting her escape with her daughter, Phoebe…
It was well written. I really enjoyed how the chapters flipped between the then and now, as it showed you how much their relationship had changed between the two time periods. In the then, they appear to be happily in love but in the now, Elana starts seeing her husband for the walking red flag that he is.
Whilst Elana’s decisions may appear to be stupid to some, I think her decisions reflect how much Jackson had worn her down and as a result, it affected her ability to be able to think rationally as he completely changed her through his controlling and coercive behaviour, and she did what she had to do in order to save herself and her daughter from an abuser.
It shows the ‘extreme’ lengths that a person who has experienced domestic violence sometimes is driven to, in order to escape their abuser especially if they have power, like Jackson did as he is the mayor of the town that they live in. So, if Elana had not done what she did in the end, nobody would have believed her, and the situation could have been completely different. This also shows an important example of what people can be driven to do in order to be believed about domestic abuse, whether this is by law enforcement or even by people within their community.
This book provides a raw representation of domestic violence within a relationship (although it is not limited to just partners). I am also really glad that this book includes resources for different countries (UK, US, Ireland, Canada, Australia and New Zealand) within ‘A Letter from Jenna’.
Having said that, I have never wanted to punch a man so much in my entire life. Jackson is a truly awful man and he had me yelling at the book because of 1) angry he made me and 2) how upset I was with how he treated Elana. However, his character is supposed to be disliked because he is an abuser who uses his power to exert control over his wife (as well as previous wives).
The book does start off a bit slow, but it does pick up around the halfway point. Furthermore, I did find the ending a bit unrealistic as I had doubts about the possibility of Elana going on a date with another man so soon after leaving her abusive relationship with Jackson.
Thank you very much to NetGalley and the publisher, Bookouture for the opportunity to read this book!
I have posted this review to my NetGalley and Goodreads accounts. I will also post a review on my Instagram and Tiktok a week before the publication date (10th October 2022). This book will be available to purchase as an e-book on Kindle for £1.99.
⚠️ Content warning: domestic abuse, controlling and/or coercive behaviour, child abuse, profanity, gun, degrading language, murder, death, pregnancy, hunting, vehicle accident, incestuous relationship, alcohol use, blood, drugs, sexual situations, overdose, suicide, choking, vomiting, animal death, abduction, arson, animal cruelty and mentions eating disorder⚠️
Elana is recently widowed and left with a lot of debt from her first husband’s death when she meets Jackson, who is all too keen to pay off her debt and treat her to anything she wants. She goes from living a life of poverty to having security with Jackson. It is not long until this façade starts to crumble, and he starts to show his true colours to Elana although he is cautious enough to not show them around anybody else. Elana finds out from the FBI that Jackson had two previous marriages and when they tried to leave him, their daughters mysteriously disappeared. This is when she starts plotting her escape with her daughter, Phoebe…
It was well written. I really enjoyed how the chapters flipped between the then and now, as it showed you how much their relationship had changed between the two time periods. In the then, they appear to be happily in love but in the now, Elana starts seeing her husband for the walking red flag that he is.
Whilst Elana’s decisions may appear to be stupid to some, I think her decisions reflect how much Jackson had worn her down and as a result, it affected her ability to be able to think rationally as he completely changed her through his controlling and coercive behaviour, and she did what she had to do in order to save herself and her daughter from an abuser.
It shows the ‘extreme’ lengths that a person who has experienced domestic violence sometimes is driven to, in order to escape their abuser especially if they have power, like Jackson did as he is the mayor of the town that they live in. So, if Elana had not done what she did in the end, nobody would have believed her, and the situation could have been completely different. This also shows an important example of what people can be driven to do in order to be believed about domestic abuse, whether this is by law enforcement or even by people within their community.
This book provides a raw representation of domestic violence within a relationship (although it is not limited to just partners). I am also really glad that this book includes resources for different countries (UK, US, Ireland, Canada, Australia and New Zealand) within ‘A Letter from Jenna’.
Having said that, I have never wanted to punch a man so much in my entire life. Jackson is a truly awful man and he had me yelling at the book because of 1) angry he made me and 2) how upset I was with how he treated Elana. However, his character is supposed to be disliked because he is an abuser who uses his power to exert control over his wife (as well as previous wives).
The book does start off a bit slow, but it does pick up around the halfway point. Furthermore, I did find the ending a bit unrealistic as I had doubts about the possibility of Elana going on a date with another man so soon after leaving her abusive relationship with Jackson.
Thank you very much to NetGalley and the publisher, Bookouture for the opportunity to read this book!
I have posted this review to my NetGalley and Goodreads accounts. I will also post a review on my Instagram and Tiktok a week before the publication date (10th October 2022). This book will be available to purchase as an e-book on Kindle for £1.99.
mysterious
fast-paced
I liked that each chapter alternated between then and now. I love reading books with alternating POVs.
This book was quite twisty, just when you think you have everything figured out, another piece of information is thrown into the pile and you are left wondering if you actually have it all figured out.
I liked Stephanie Cannon's narration of this novel and I would definitely read more books narrated by Stephanie in the future.
This book was quite twisty, just when you think you have everything figured out, another piece of information is thrown into the pile and you are left wondering if you actually have it all figured out.
I liked Stephanie Cannon's narration of this novel and I would definitely read more books narrated by Stephanie in the future.
Thanks to NetGalley, Bookouture and Jenna Kernan for letting me read “The Ex Wives”.
“Their daughter’s went missing. Is yours next?”
I love myself a read cover. I can’t say really what this he is. A chip in some kind of pottery? A gaping black whole? Three wedding bars for the ex wives and the current one? Attention grabbing yes, understanding it? Nope?!
“Their daughter’s went missing. Is yours next?”
I love myself a read cover. I can’t say really what this he is. A chip in some kind of pottery? A gaping black whole? Three wedding bars for the ex wives and the current one? Attention grabbing yes, understanding it? Nope?!