Welcome back to Reading, Reading, Reading!

I can’t remember the last time I reviewed something that wasn’t an ARC or a book I had received for review… but here we are! Last week, I visited one of my favourite book stores and picked up a copy of MY LOVELY WIFE by Samantha Downing, which was my most anticipated release for April. I finished it early Wednesday afternoon, so it is actually featured in my April Wrap-Up since I read most of it in April. However, since I have been sharing my reading updates throughout this book, I thought it would be nice to post a full review!

Synopsis (Goodreads):

Dexter meets Mr. and Mrs. Smith in this wildly compulsive debut thriller about a couple whose fifteen-year marriage has finally gotten too interesting…
Our love story is simple. I met a gorgeous woman. We fell in love. We had kids. We moved to the suburbs. We told each other our biggest dreams, and our darkest secrets. And then we got bored.
We look like a normal couple. We’re your neighbors, the parents of your kid’s friend, the acquaintances you keep meaning to get dinner with.
We all have secrets to keeping a marriage alive.
Ours just happens to be getting away with murder.

Is that not the BEST Goodreads synopsis you’ve ever read?! It got me hooked on the book before I even began reading it! I first want to say that I recommend going into this book completely blind (other then knowing the synopsis). This synopsis literally only tells you the tiniest fraction of what the book is about, and nothing about the plot is spoiled in it. One of my least favourite parts things in books are when authors take 100 pages to finally tell readers the things that are shared in the synopsis. This book does not do that at all, which makes it way more shocking. So PLEASE, if you want to read the book, DO NOT read this review! Come back when you are done, so we can discuss it! I will, however, say that I gave it 4/5 stars!

Now… I will not be spoiling any plot twists/reveals in this book, however, I will be sharing some extra info about the characters and overall plot line.

My favourite thing about this book was the writing style (which is never normally the case whenever I read an authors debut book… yes, this was Samantha Downing’s debut novel!!!). The writing was in the POV of the husband in this novel. It was so interesting to read from a male characters perspective, while describing a strong and fierce (and  disturbing) female character. I also really liked reading about their kids, the people he gave tennis lessons to, as well as Owen Oliver Riley, the murderer they are trying to “impersonate” in this book.

I also LOVED the plot line. This was one of the most unique and interesting thriller books I have ever read, and I was intrigued from the very first page. Like I mentioned earlier, the synopsis on Goodreads is a very small part about what the book is actually about, so the action truly starts from the first page. I did not see any of the plot twists coming, and the ending I did not predict AT ALL. I was shocked! I also loved the fact that every little tiny element of the beginning of the story was some how involved in the big reveal at the end of the book, so it was great to see those events come around full circle.

The only reason why this was not a five-star read for me was due to the fact that I never felt like I had to keep reading. I was never hooked into the plot, and it took me about 5-days to read this one, where as other thrillers typically take me two to three days to read and complete.

Overall, I highly recommend this book if you love mystery/thriller novels, and rated it 4/5 stars.

Good Night Book Owls!