I am unsure of how to review this book since the synopsis tells you everything that is not a spoiler already.

I enjoyed the twists and turns in this book. Very well-written!

This was such a fun book! Samantha Hayes has a real home run here. The story was fast paced and kept my interest. The twists and turns kept coming and the final Rob chapter blew my mind. I’m so excited to continue reading Samathas books!

This review is going to be hard to write, as the synopsis tells about all that can be said. The rest is twist after twist and spoiler after spoiler! My jaw dropped quite a few times during this one…and my heartstrings were pulled a bit, too…

Hannah had a rough start at life (to say the least) but she now has a wonderful partner, Rob, a beautiful daughter named Belle, and her own successful business. She has never told anyone about her past, as she has secrets to keep (and they aren’t your typical thriller character secrets - this gets pretty deep).

This book is a fantastic psychological thriller, but it also delves into a very serious subject. When Belle comes home from a summer in France, she introduces a new, much older, man to her parents. They are engaged, and since Belle just turned 18, there isn’t anything they can do about it.

One problem: Hannah knows Jack, Belle’s new fiancé, and knows that their brief courtship was no chance meeting. This man is not only a fraud, but a very dangerous man. How can she tell her daughter the truth about Jack without divulging her past secrets? How can she make her understand that this is a potentiality deadly situation?

My only complaint about this was that it felt a bit long and drawn out. Otherwise, this was a great story - well, stories, told in both the past and the present. The story in the past is quite compelling, broaching a subject few authors do. The story in the present is bonkers, and there were a few great twists that shocked me. Overall, a very enjoyable 4.5 star read.

(Thank you to Bookouture, Samantha Hayes and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my review. This book is slated to be released January 10, 2023.)

Omg what can I say but what a story! I cannot believe the twists and turns in this book! I finished this book last night and I am still sitting here in shock with my mouth open at the last chapter of this book! I thought I had it figured but I literally had no idea what was really going on haha. This book was amazing and had such a unique story line. I could not put this down and had to keep reading until I had finished it. I highly recommend everyone read this book if you want to be shook up.
I rate this book ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Cannot recommend it enough!
Thankyou so much for giving me the privilege of reading this ARC. Will be reading more from this author :)

Everybody has a past. Some people have a past that haunts them. But for Hannah, her past is haunting her in the worst way - head on.

When Hannah’s eighteen year old daughter, Belle, comes home from a summer in France with a brand new fiancé, Hannah is concerned. When Hannah sees who the fiancé is - a man from her dark past - she’s terrified for herself and her family. Hannah has to get “Jack” away from Belle and protect her secrets she’s kept from her partner, Rob, and her two daughters.

I really enjoyed this book! I felt like a lot of the drama was unrealistic in some aspects, but it didn’t feel like it while I was in the middle of the story. I liked the flashbacks and I think it helped to tie the entire story together. I feel like some of the last few chapters could’ve been swapped around a bit to make the flashback climax and the present tense climax happen at the same time (instead of the present time climaxing and the resolution coming, then swapping back to the flashback climax and finally resolution). But overall I enjoyed this book, 4/5 stars.

WOW!!!!! Hooked from the first page and read this book in one sitting… Full of tension and suspense. A real page turner, a domestic noir but OMG so much more!!!!!

ARC Review
The Engagement by Samantha Hayes 4.5 rounded up to 5 stars

What it’s about: So much more than the blurb. Don’t even read it. This is the story of a family- a woman and her partner, her 18 year old daughter and their 10 year old daughter- and trying to make sense of their pasts. When Hannah’s 18 year old daughter returns from her study-abroad in France with a fiancé, her parents are allowed to be upset, but the alarm that Hannah feels trickles into a much larger problem when she’s questioning why a man from her past who she escaped from is back into her life.

What I thought: This book was wild. Once I recognized that sex trafficking was a major theme in this book, I thought I might DNF. But nothing got too graphic. The storyline was engaging, and I found myself rooting for and hurting for the girls going through this. The main character fighting to protect her daughter and her family kept me going. I don’t even want to say too much without giving the book away. I thought I had it all figured out, and I had anticipated the first “twist’ of the book. But the second twist was something I never imagined nor expected and it truly shocked me. I read this whole book in under 18 hours only because I had to put it down for a few hours to sleep.

TW: sex trafficking

Thank you again to Bookouture and NetGalley for this advance review copy!
Pub Date is January 10th, 2023
#TheEngagement #NetGalley

I received this book as an ARC that I requested due to reading the blurb. It talked about a women who finds out her young daughter came home from a trip engaged to a man she knew from her past. A man who was bad news and she wanted to keep her family far away from him and her past.

The book was very slow for me. It went between the past and the present. I felt like it slowly showed you the past to better understand the main character but it was so boring…as the book got towards the end, it picked up. I gave this book a 3/5 because the last two chapters had me turning the pages like crazy to find out the truth. I did not see the ending coming at all!

I feel as though the book would have been better had it not took forever to explain the past in order to understand what was going on. I was able to figure out the main characters secret pretty quickly but the last chapter was definitely a surprise that made the book more enjoyable.

The storyline in this book is obviously very well researched, but it took a minute to really get into it. The beginning was a little jumbled, I felt. After the first 60 or so pages, it really picked up speed and I was invested. I wish the end closed a few more gaps. It would’ve been cool to see the epilogue as the last few chapters, and how that played out with the other characters. Then an epilogue about how that impacted everyone.

There were a couple of instances where people were having two conversations in the same breath, which was a little hard to keep up with, but it didn’t take too much away. Just had to go back and re-read a few times.

I wish I knew why the au pair seemed nervous when she dropped Belle off the night of her party. Would’ve loved to see that twist-tie into the story.

There was one error I noticed, where I believe the word “said” was meant to be deleted before published. Probably a very easy fix.

All in all, it was a good read. The writer obviously put a lot of time and research into the book, and it covers a lot of relevant and important topics.

Belle returns from France on her 18th birthday with a fiancé,Jjack in tow. Mum, Hannah, is horrified, as she recognises Jack from her past and Dad, Rob, is concerned about Jack's motives and the age gap between the pair. Belle is annoyingly naive and ignores the concerns of her family and friends, blinded by Jack's promises.
Hannah refuses to share her secrets, but these are slowly revealed and although some of the twists are predictable, this did not detract from the enjoyment of reading this fast-paced, page turner.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for sending me a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you Net Galley for the advanced copy. This book was not quite what I was expecting. I found it a little boring at times, and really wasn't a subject matter I was interested in. However, about halfway through, things got more interesting. I had a hard time with the character of Belle. She was so naive and bratty and I found her very frustrating. There was a twist a the end that was interesting. I give this book 3 stars. I was initially going to do 2 but the second half of the book brought it up to a 3.

This is a tough one to review. I both enjoyed it and didn’t at the same time!
I really enjoyed the premise of the book and liked it when we went back in time for the Molly chapters. This part of the book felt gritty and as if it were leading somewhere.
However, Hanah’s present was a little tedious and frustrating. I didn’t really understand why she was keeping the secrets that she was. Especially when we find out what they were, they could have been explained much sooner, but then again, there wouldn’t be a book. So, it was this part of the book I disliked.
Belle was THE most annoying character ever. She was just too oblivious to the obvious that she drove me insane. Even when her parents, whom she has trusted for almost 18 years, tell her they bought the jewellery, she believes Jack. She doesn’t stop and think that it’s a bit odd for mum and dad to lie about something like that; she just airyfairys it away and goes about her life in a pink bubble!
The ending wasn’t too bad. The action with the fire got a little hard to follow, and Hannah’s reason for doing this made no sense, especially as we had already been told there was only one way out of there. I had guessed the Molly side of things, so that wasn’t shocking.
Overall, it wasn’t a bad book, but it just didn’t grip me and wow me. I read it, it passed the time, and now I’ll move on and probably not give it another thought. Just three stars from me on this one.

I was interested in this book because of the titles name especially. I was right, the book caught my attention early on, and i was hooked.

The main character Hannahs daughter Belle just turned 18 and returns from a 2 month trip to france, engaged to a man Hannah already knows! The past is coming back to haunt Hannah and its a wild ride!

I am definitely recommending this book.

Wow! What a twisted thriller. From the start the author sucks with you with a plot that is like no other. The tangled web that is weaved between lady and present and relationships that were forged on lies captivated me.

There are a few trigger warnings to be aware of throughout the story. But this story was very unique and extremely fast paced with a MASSIVE twist at the end!!

This is the first book I have read by this author and I am now a fan! The story was told from different perspectives and across times (then, now) but it was easy to follow. I had two of the twists figured out but the last was a surprise. This was a thrilling story and I recommend it to anyone that is looking for a wild ride!

Wow! Just...... Wow! Once I started reading, I had such a hard time putting this book down. Belle comes home from a summer abroad engaged. The problem is, her mother already knows this man. Everything he has told Belle is a lie. But she can't let on without telling the truth about her sordid past as a sex worker. There's a dual timeline, which I really enjoy. There are also multiple narrators. There are a few big twists in the story. The whole time I was reading I would think I knew where the story was going and then bam! Plot twist. Read this book, you won't regret it!

You thought you had escaped him. Until he proposed to your daughter.

‘There’s someone I want you to meet,’ Belle says, as a man draws up to her side. He’s tall with dark hair and stubble on his square jaw. He’s dressed in expensive-looking clothes – tan trousers and a fitted navy shirt. He’s not exactly smiling, but the corner of his mouth curls upwards as he slides his hand around my eighteen-year-old daughter’s waist.

When our kids grow up all we want is for them to be happy and hope that the partner they choose will not only fulfil all their hopes of a wonderful future with someone but also be a welcome addition to the family they are marrying into. Oh dear, this is definitely not the case here when Belle brings home to meet her parents but what it does do is provide us with a very enjoyable book that I stopped all was doing and spent the afternoon quickly turning the pages.

There are a few over the top moments but hey this is fiction, and I am open to going with the journey the author is taking me on. Samantha Hayes is an excellent author and I have enjoyed many of her books, this is now added to that list. A great psychological thriller that I highly recommend. Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an advanced copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

I read this book in three nights. It had me gripped from the start and I really could not predict where it was going. It goes back and forth from the past and present of Hannahs life. In the present every parents nightmare has come true when her and Rob are faced with their 18 year old daughter becoming engaged to her first serious boyfriend who is at least twice her age BUT also someone dark from Hannahs past that she would rather forget.
The more we find out about Hannahs past the more we realise how dangerous he is.
I don't want to give anything away but towards the end of the book I was happy to award this story a four star rating. By the time I got to the end with what I can only call an explosive double twist it definitely became five stars for me. A great read. Well done Samantha Hayes!

THE ENGAGEMENT
BY: SAMANTHA HAYES

Hannah and her husband Rob have been planning a surprise birthday party for their daughter Belle, who is turning eighteen. Belle has just spent time in France because she is studying to become a language translator. The two parents go to pick Belle up at the airport, and she isn't on her flight. When Belle finally arrives home she announces that she is engaged.

When Hannah meets Belle's Fiance she is horrified because she knows him from her hidden past. He has Belle convinced that he is a successful business man, but he is really involved with nefarious criminal sex trafficking of young girls. Hannah knows this first hand, because she was a sex trafficked youth who had been a captive of his when she was seventeen.

Both her and her husband Rob know that they are helpless to try to get Belle to break things off with her new Fiance Jack. They realize that the more that you try to persuade that doing something that they as parents think is harmful; the more Belle is going to dig her heels in and do it simply, because her parents don't like Jack. For one thing he is old enough to be Belle's father, and he is lying about his age, and another thing Hannah is keeping a secret, also from her family.

Hannah owns a successful business called, Greene and Clean and Rob is an investment banker. They share another younger daughter together named, Amber. Belle was named after the character in Beauty and the Beast. She has also just announced to her parents that she is quitting school to work in one of Jack's businesses. This has Hannah and Rob very worried about their oldest daughter.

Hannah knows Jack to be really named Darren and she knows that he has taken up with her daughter to punish her. For reasons that disclosing why they can't go to the police would get into spoiler territory. To find out more you will have to read this mystery. Hannah has a lot of hidden secrets, but so does Rob.

This started out with such a promising premise, but I felt that it dragged out way too long, and could benefit with some editing cutting some parts out or paring it down. I wouldn't recommend it as a suspenseful reading experience, and it tended to get bogged down with unnecessary details. There is a twist at the end which elevates this to three stars! Can Hannah save her daughter Belle from Jack/Darren? Because if she can't Belle just might be in for some bad experiences that Hannah is trying to save her daughter, Belle from. Belle is stubborn and has dug in her heels not to take her parents advice in breaking things off with Jack/Darren.

Publication Date: January 10th, 2023

Thank you to Net Galley, Samantha Hayes and Bookouture for providing me with my ARC in exchange for a fair and honest review. All opinions are my own.

#TheEngagement #SamanthaHayes #Bookouture #NetGalley

When Hannah's daughter comes home from a language study in Paris engaged she is understandably surprised. But when Hannah realizes her daughters fiancé is a ghost from her past she realizes she must act before losing her daughter to this man. How far will Hannah go in order to save her daughter and what secrets of Hannah's will be divulged along the way?

"The Engagement' is a fast paced read that keeps you turning the page until the very end. I will say I did see both of the ending "twists' coming but they were revealed well and still made for a great read! This isn't my first Samantha Hayes book and it most definitely won't be my last.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this in exchange for my review.