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3.28 AVERAGE
3.28 AVERAGE
The Starter Wife was my first #NetGalley book!! I haven’t read her two previous novels, but this one was kind of disappointing. I didn’t like a single character. I couldn’t really tell where we were going- other than back to the wine that was obviously drugged (why would you keep drinking that???) and complaining. The unreliable narrator thing worked for me in the end, but wasn’t posed well throughout the novel, so it was just really confusing. Claire (protag) shifted from the present to the past in stream of consciousness that just didn’t flow. The last chapter or two had my attention, but other than that it was pretty difficult to get through
Byron’s beloved first wife committed suicide but her body was never found. He’s now remarried to Claire, a young girl trying to live under the first wife’s shadow. Claire starts to get strange emails and calls from a mysterious woman. Is this the first wife? Did she commit suicide or did Byron do something? Is the first wife dead or alive? Is Claire in danger?
This is a dark, twisted, and addicting read. You will suspect everyone and be shocked at the final conclusion. What starts as a domestic suspense quickly moves into psychological thriller status. And yes- this is another thriller with an unreliable female narrator. While this has been done ad nauseam, The Starter Wife is well written and engaging. It does contain a couple sexual instances that were unnecessary to the story and I feel were just there for the shock value, which I wasn’t a fan of. This was a quick read that kept me guessing until the end with a satisfying conclusion that tied up the loose ends. For me, The Starter Wife was ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5 stars (rounded up from 3.5). Thank you @grandcentralpub for this advance reader in exchange for my honest review.
This is a dark, twisted, and addicting read. You will suspect everyone and be shocked at the final conclusion. What starts as a domestic suspense quickly moves into psychological thriller status. And yes- this is another thriller with an unreliable female narrator. While this has been done ad nauseam, The Starter Wife is well written and engaging. It does contain a couple sexual instances that were unnecessary to the story and I feel were just there for the shock value, which I wasn’t a fan of. This was a quick read that kept me guessing until the end with a satisfying conclusion that tied up the loose ends. For me, The Starter Wife was ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5 stars (rounded up from 3.5). Thank you @grandcentralpub for this advance reader in exchange for my honest review.
I’ve officially read all of her books all of them under 48 hours because they’re insanely good and keep you interested from the first page. After I read the third one in a row I was able to guess at the ending a little bit (her writing follows patterns) so space her books out with others and you’ll LOVE them
Claire is dealing with a lot: writer's block, infertility, a potentially wandering husband, oh and his first wife might not actually be dead. So it is understandable that she is off kilter. The book provides two points of view. One is Claire as she deals with these problems and the other the reader isn't privy to until the end. Trying to figure this all out got a little more confusing for me than I think the story intended. The result was that I didn't quite engage with the story line. I didn't get to connect with any characters other than Claire and I never felt that I got to know her outside of her reactions to the events around her. These are things I would have liked. I was never sure who to cheer for! But underneath these issues was a good solid story.
Thanks to NetGalley and Grand Central Publishing for a copy of the book. This review is my own opinion.
Thanks to NetGalley and Grand Central Publishing for a copy of the book. This review is my own opinion.
I received a free copy in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions expressed in this review are my own.
Claire is a writer. Byron is a college professor. After the death of Byron's first wife, Colleen, the two meet and soon get married. Even after the wedding Claire still feels like Byron never quite let go of Colleen. They live in her house with all of her things and the walls are still adorned with all of her paintings. Colleen's death was suspicious with no body ever found. Claire begins to become suspicious of Byron and soon begins a spiral of truth that changes both their lives and their marriage.
I enjoyed this book. I figured out a good portion of what was going to happen very early in the book, however, there were times when the author had me second guessing myself. The characters are quite typical with your average Crazy Ass Psycho. None of this was enough to stop me from enjoying it though, as I found myself wishing I could just stay hid away reading until the book was over. It was such a page turner and I really enjoyed every second of it!
I recommend this book to those who enjoy the crazy female characters and fans of domestic thrillers or even just thrillers in general. I really think fans of crazy women would definitely enjoy the this book a lot.
You can find this and my other reviews at
https://fourmoonreviews.blogspot.com
Claire is a writer. Byron is a college professor. After the death of Byron's first wife, Colleen, the two meet and soon get married. Even after the wedding Claire still feels like Byron never quite let go of Colleen. They live in her house with all of her things and the walls are still adorned with all of her paintings. Colleen's death was suspicious with no body ever found. Claire begins to become suspicious of Byron and soon begins a spiral of truth that changes both their lives and their marriage.
I enjoyed this book. I figured out a good portion of what was going to happen very early in the book, however, there were times when the author had me second guessing myself. The characters are quite typical with your average Crazy Ass Psycho. None of this was enough to stop me from enjoying it though, as I found myself wishing I could just stay hid away reading until the book was over. It was such a page turner and I really enjoyed every second of it!
I recommend this book to those who enjoy the crazy female characters and fans of domestic thrillers or even just thrillers in general. I really think fans of crazy women would definitely enjoy the this book a lot.
You can find this and my other reviews at
https://fourmoonreviews.blogspot.com
I really wanted to like this book, but it just became completely unbelievable at the end.
Just when I think I have this story figured out it throws another wrench in the mix. A story of a love so strong that nothing or no one will stand in its way. A woman so bent on having her perfect life, perfect husband that she will do anything to achieve it. Nothing is going to stop Claire from what she truly believes is hers. Hers to do with as she sees fit. Hers to attain at any and all cost.
Claire fell so in love with Byron Westcott that she lost all reasoning. All common sense. She was young and dumb for sure. She completely redid her life for him. She went from being a dowdy teen to being a ver good looking young woman with a college education on top of it.
Byron Westcott loved only Colleen. Colleen was his world. His entire existence. His reason for being. He would have done anything for her. They had a love that was meant to last a lifetime. But it was not to be. Colleen went missing and that almost destroyed Byron. No body was ever found and it was presumed she committed suicide. Byron will always mourn Colleen even when he finally moves on to a life with Claire. But will things be good between them. Will he be faithful to her? Will she be enough to help him get over his loss?
This book is one that has so many twists and turns you may get lost. You may think things are heading in one direction and find out you was so far off base that you are totally shocked. I sure was. I thought I had things figured out. I really did. I was so wrong. This book is full of some very shocking twists and turns but it will keep you wanting more. You will want to know what happens next. You will want to know what exactly happened to who and why. Each time you think you have it something else will happen. To the very end you will wonder...
Who is Claire. What happened to Colleen. Who is Byron and what has he done. Who is who and what is happening. I really enjoyed reading this book. It sure kept me on the edge of my seat for almost two days. It’s a great psychological thriller. It’s one I highly recommend to anyone that loves a book with many twists and turns.
The characters are likable in a love/hate kind of way. Each one playing the part beautifully. This author was new to me and I definitely look forward to reading more of her books. This is a page turner for sure.
Thank you to #NetGalley, #Grand Central Publishing for the ARC of this book. This is my complete and honest review.
A big 5 stars. I loved it.
Claire fell so in love with Byron Westcott that she lost all reasoning. All common sense. She was young and dumb for sure. She completely redid her life for him. She went from being a dowdy teen to being a ver good looking young woman with a college education on top of it.
Byron Westcott loved only Colleen. Colleen was his world. His entire existence. His reason for being. He would have done anything for her. They had a love that was meant to last a lifetime. But it was not to be. Colleen went missing and that almost destroyed Byron. No body was ever found and it was presumed she committed suicide. Byron will always mourn Colleen even when he finally moves on to a life with Claire. But will things be good between them. Will he be faithful to her? Will she be enough to help him get over his loss?
This book is one that has so many twists and turns you may get lost. You may think things are heading in one direction and find out you was so far off base that you are totally shocked. I sure was. I thought I had things figured out. I really did. I was so wrong. This book is full of some very shocking twists and turns but it will keep you wanting more. You will want to know what happens next. You will want to know what exactly happened to who and why. Each time you think you have it something else will happen. To the very end you will wonder...
Who is Claire. What happened to Colleen. Who is Byron and what has he done. Who is who and what is happening. I really enjoyed reading this book. It sure kept me on the edge of my seat for almost two days. It’s a great psychological thriller. It’s one I highly recommend to anyone that loves a book with many twists and turns.
The characters are likable in a love/hate kind of way. Each one playing the part beautifully. This author was new to me and I definitely look forward to reading more of her books. This is a page turner for sure.
Thank you to #NetGalley, #Grand Central Publishing for the ARC of this book. This is my complete and honest review.
A big 5 stars. I loved it.
An exciting and entertaining book I couldn't put down. I loved everything: the style of writing, the character, and the plot.
I look forward to reading other books by this author.
Highly recommended!
Many thanks to Grand Central Publishing and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine
I look forward to reading other books by this author.
Highly recommended!
Many thanks to Grand Central Publishing and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine
Holy cow! This book was one of the most intense reads I've come across yet. Such a whirlwind of intrigue, mystery and emotions - you'll be turning the pages as fast as you can possibly read, until you've reached the end, and even then, you'll be left reeling!
This novel is released on July 9th 2019.
The Starter Wife was a first for me by Lauren. This novel is a mix of a domestic and psychological thriller and lately I've been reading many of those. I think that every author has their own way of weaving a domestic thriller and it's always interesting to see how different every author writes thier stories. I also love discovering new authors!
Byron's first wife, Colleen committed suicide, but his new wife Claire, has always felt like she was there evn though she is dead. She's all around her at home with all of Colleen's paintings on the wall and she feels that Byron is not fully over her. But one day when she gets an email from Colleen, she begins to question whether she is really dead. Because the thing about Colleen's suicide is that there was no body found.
I really enjoyed reading The Starter Wife, in fact I finished it in one day and only a few sittings. It's avery addicting read because the novel is told in the point of view of Claire, but there is also an anonymous narrator (in italics) in between Claire's narration and it was very exciting to read how messed up the character was. It's very unexpected once you find out who it is, but the novels shoots up from there and it is non-stop suspense. Everything is revealed bit by bit and as you read along and I can assure you that you will flip the pages faster than the other.
Lauren writes the novel at her own pace and she is in total control of the novel and we can see how talented she is at her job. It's hard not to want to follow along and see what happens next so kudos to Lauren on that. And that ending!!!
If you enjoy a good domestic thriller with an amazing ending then this is the book for you.
Thank you to Hachette Book Group and Grand Central Publishing for providing me with an advanced copy of this novel in exchange for my honest review.
The Starter Wife was a first for me by Lauren. This novel is a mix of a domestic and psychological thriller and lately I've been reading many of those. I think that every author has their own way of weaving a domestic thriller and it's always interesting to see how different every author writes thier stories. I also love discovering new authors!
Byron's first wife, Colleen committed suicide, but his new wife Claire, has always felt like she was there evn though she is dead. She's all around her at home with all of Colleen's paintings on the wall and she feels that Byron is not fully over her. But one day when she gets an email from Colleen, she begins to question whether she is really dead. Because the thing about Colleen's suicide is that there was no body found.
I really enjoyed reading The Starter Wife, in fact I finished it in one day and only a few sittings. It's avery addicting read because the novel is told in the point of view of Claire, but there is also an anonymous narrator (in italics) in between Claire's narration and it was very exciting to read how messed up the character was. It's very unexpected once you find out who it is, but the novels shoots up from there and it is non-stop suspense. Everything is revealed bit by bit and as you read along and I can assure you that you will flip the pages faster than the other.
Lauren writes the novel at her own pace and she is in total control of the novel and we can see how talented she is at her job. It's hard not to want to follow along and see what happens next so kudos to Lauren on that. And that ending!!!
If you enjoy a good domestic thriller with an amazing ending then this is the book for you.
Thank you to Hachette Book Group and Grand Central Publishing for providing me with an advanced copy of this novel in exchange for my honest review.