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3.28 AVERAGE
3.28 AVERAGE
(Thank you to NetGalley and Grand Central Publishing for an e-arc in exchange for an honest review.)
First, the good: Nina Laurin has an engaging writing style. The characters were believable. The premise of this one had promise - it could have played out in a really interesting way. I'd try out another one of her books.
And to explain the two-star rating: This one just didn't work for me. It's tough to explain why a thriller missed the mark for me without giving it away, but the plot felt like it was all over the place without actually going anywhere. There's a rape scene that was really unnecessary, and I wish hadn't been included. I hate giving ratings beneath 3 stars - I know authors work so, so hard - but by the 80% mark I was just speeding along, waiting for this one to be over. And the payout - the ending - didn't satisfy me in any way. Maybe I missed something that others will love here, but this just wasn't a mystery for me.
First, the good: Nina Laurin has an engaging writing style. The characters were believable. The premise of this one had promise - it could have played out in a really interesting way. I'd try out another one of her books.
And to explain the two-star rating: This one just didn't work for me. It's tough to explain why a thriller missed the mark for me without giving it away, but the plot felt like it was all over the place without actually going anywhere. There's a rape scene that was really unnecessary, and I wish hadn't been included. I hate giving ratings beneath 3 stars - I know authors work so, so hard - but by the 80% mark I was just speeding along, waiting for this one to be over. And the payout - the ending - didn't satisfy me in any way. Maybe I missed something that others will love here, but this just wasn't a mystery for me.
The Starter Wife by Nina Laurin was completely gripping from the start! In this psychological thriller, we are inside the mind of a complete sociopath who has an obsession that takes over her entire life.
I love a good unreliable narrator.
BRB - Going tell everyone to add this title to their TBR's!
Thank you NetGalley for the Review Copy of The Starter Wife in exchange for an honest review.
I love a good unreliable narrator.
BRB - Going tell everyone to add this title to their TBR's!
Thank you NetGalley for the Review Copy of The Starter Wife in exchange for an honest review.
Genuinely don’t know what to think about this one. It was good at times and others not. Confusing as well.
Living in the shadows of Byron’s first wife who committed suicide and who’s body was never found, Claire always feels like the second choice. After getting mysterious calls and emails Claire begins to wonder if she is still alive. This story is full of twist and kept me wondering the whole time. While there were a few things I didn’t love about it, I loved that it was told from different vantage points and it wasn’t until the end that we find out who the voices are. I’m a huge fan of Nina Laurin and although this was my least favorite of her books it was a solid 4 ⭐️ book for me.
Captivating from the start, this was an enticing psychological thriller. I didn't want to put it down because there was something new to try and figure out every chapter. The only downside was that it got a little confusing in the middle but by the end it was right on track again. I enjoyed this book and I am grateful to Netgalley for the opportunity to read an ARC in exchange for an honest review. I recommend this book if you enjoy psychological thrillers with a bunch of twists and turns.
The Starter Wife is a book that keeps the reader on edge trying to figure out exactly what is going on. When I started this book I had so many questions that needed to be answered and found myself so irritated with Claire and her naïveté so much so I realized I was talking out loud one day while reading it and a co-worker ask good book ? Lol. I would say that any book that gets under ones skin is a good book but that is not always the case. But luckily it is for me with this one.
Claire Wescott is a fairly new wife who has found herself in a situation no married woman wants to be in, her and her significantly older husband Byron are not spending the time together that they used to. He is leaving the house in the mornings without saying goodbye and it has been a while since they have had sex. Claire believes his dead ex-wife plays a huge role in his disinterest, believing he has not really gotten over her.
The Starter Wife has you questioning Claire’s decision making skills to marry a man she seems to be clueless about and her agreement upon moving into the house he and his dead wife shared. You even begin to question your own sanity and wonder why you haven’t figured out much about the book. This is a well written book (although I would’ve preferred a better ending) that keeps you questioning what exactly is going on and which character should you really be siding with?
Claire Wescott is a fairly new wife who has found herself in a situation no married woman wants to be in, her and her significantly older husband Byron are not spending the time together that they used to. He is leaving the house in the mornings without saying goodbye and it has been a while since they have had sex. Claire believes his dead ex-wife plays a huge role in his disinterest, believing he has not really gotten over her.
The Starter Wife has you questioning Claire’s decision making skills to marry a man she seems to be clueless about and her agreement upon moving into the house he and his dead wife shared. You even begin to question your own sanity and wonder why you haven’t figured out much about the book. This is a well written book (although I would’ve preferred a better ending) that keeps you questioning what exactly is going on and which character should you really be siding with?
Check on my full review on instagram at @bitchinbookclub_
I had a hard time caring about this book bc it’s essentially drama over an average joe. He’s nothing great or special or even a good guy. For me, husband and wife thrillers are so over done it really has to be a compelling story to get me through it. I wish I DNF’d this book because it had the most unreliable narrator. At the end there were so many plot holes it was not worth my time. I would not recommend you read this book BUT Nina’s other book “Girl Last Seen” is one of my all time favorites. I absolutely loved it. I’m sad this one fell short for me, but I think it’s just a me thing.
I had a hard time caring about this book bc it’s essentially drama over an average joe. He’s nothing great or special or even a good guy. For me, husband and wife thrillers are so over done it really has to be a compelling story to get me through it. I wish I DNF’d this book because it had the most unreliable narrator. At the end there were so many plot holes it was not worth my time. I would not recommend you read this book BUT Nina’s other book “Girl Last Seen” is one of my all time favorites. I absolutely loved it. I’m sad this one fell short for me, but I think it’s just a me thing.
The Starter Wife by Nina Laurin is an addictingly thrilling book. Claire is the second wife of the older professor Byron. Byron's first wife Colleen was a famous painter who committed suicide but whose body was never found. Despite their age difference, Claire and Byron fell madly in love and married. Claire moved in with Byron into the home that Colleen had carefully decorated and Byron seems to have trouble letting go of his dead wife and her possessions. Claire works from home as a writer; as she continues to get rejection letters for her work, her marriage also starts to experience difficulties. When Claire gets a phone call from an unknown number, she soon becomes convinced that Colleen is not really dead. As her life spirals out of control, Claire becomes so obsessed with discovering the truth that it might just destroy her.
The concept of a younger second wife living in the shadow of the first wife is not a new one. However, Nina Laurin's The Starter Wife felt completely fresh and utterly thrilling. While Claire fits the description of "unreliable female narrator" extremely well, her character was complex, intriguing and so obsessive that I couldn't stop reading about her. I couldn't put this book down because it had hooked its claws into me and I had to know what was going to happen next. And that twist? I didn't see it coming! The twist was incredibly well-crafted and totally unexpected. Laurin's writing is impeccable: each of the little details provided foreshadowing of what was to come. After I finished reading it, I went back and reread some portions more slowly. Laurin provides the reader all the clues but they are clever and subtle, which is why the twist is so shocking.
I really enjoyed this one! Smart, thrilling and very well-written, I have to check out Laurin's other books now!
Thank you to Netgalley and Grand Central Publishing for this ARC in exchange for an honest review!
The concept of a younger second wife living in the shadow of the first wife is not a new one. However, Nina Laurin's The Starter Wife felt completely fresh and utterly thrilling. While Claire fits the description of "unreliable female narrator" extremely well, her character was complex, intriguing and so obsessive that I couldn't stop reading about her. I couldn't put this book down because it had hooked its claws into me and I had to know what was going to happen next. And that twist? I didn't see it coming! The twist was incredibly well-crafted and totally unexpected. Laurin's writing is impeccable: each of the little details provided foreshadowing of what was to come. After I finished reading it, I went back and reread some portions more slowly. Laurin provides the reader all the clues but they are clever and subtle, which is why the twist is so shocking.
I really enjoyed this one! Smart, thrilling and very well-written, I have to check out Laurin's other books now!
Thank you to Netgalley and Grand Central Publishing for this ARC in exchange for an honest review!
I had a hard time caring about this book bc it’s essentially drama over an average joe. He’s nothing great or special or even a good guy. For me, husband and wife thrillers are so over done it really has to be a compelling story to get me through it. I wish I DNF’d this book because it had the most unreliable narrator. At the end there were so many plot holes it was not worth my time. I would not recommend you read this book BUT Nina’s other book “Girl Last Seen” is one of my all time favorites. I absolutely loved it. I’m sad this one fell short for me, but I think it’s just a me thing.
A fantastic thriller with resists and turns all over the place!
Claire is Professor Byron Westcott’s second wife, living in the shadow of his successful and famous first wife Colleen who died eight years earlier. Not only does Claire live in the house Colleen decorated and sleep in the same bed she once did, Claire has to cope with their home filled with Colleen’s artwork that Byron just can’t bring himself to part with. Soon Claire becomes sick of feeling like she’s a guest in this relationship and starts to dig into the death of his first wife: a supposed suicide. But Colleen’s body was never found...
This is a must read for anyone who enjoys dark thrillers. It starts out like any generic domestic thriller but it’ll soon have you on the edge of your seat, wondering if what you are reading is the truth or not. A great unreliable narrator and a believable plot. I loved this book!
Claire is Professor Byron Westcott’s second wife, living in the shadow of his successful and famous first wife Colleen who died eight years earlier. Not only does Claire live in the house Colleen decorated and sleep in the same bed she once did, Claire has to cope with their home filled with Colleen’s artwork that Byron just can’t bring himself to part with. Soon Claire becomes sick of feeling like she’s a guest in this relationship and starts to dig into the death of his first wife: a supposed suicide. But Colleen’s body was never found...
This is a must read for anyone who enjoys dark thrillers. It starts out like any generic domestic thriller but it’ll soon have you on the edge of your seat, wondering if what you are reading is the truth or not. A great unreliable narrator and a believable plot. I loved this book!