Was given an opportunity from netgalley and canelo books for my honest opinion
5 stars
Was definitely a page turner from the start
The engagement by Samantha Hayes
Release date 1/10/2023
psychological thriller

A woman's past intercedes her future when her daughter brings home a man that she wants to marry. This man is double her age, but also he is bad news from the jump
Mom has a secret that she cannot let the rest of the family ever find out, including her daughter, but she must save her daughter from the grasp of this man that has entered their lives

Overall this was a great book. The beginning felt a little slow and getting used to the MC voice took a few chapters but I appreciate the jumps in time used to tie past and present together as the plot was weaved. There are certainly twists in this book. I have a penchant for figuring out the upcoming twists before they're revealed and I am happy to note I didn't completely figure out this book and was able to be kept in suspense; I enjoy that I didn't expect the final chapter at all and what was left to reveal.

The Engagement is a slow burn, psychological thriller that included sordid pasts, secrets and lies. The novel includes several of my literary favorites, dual timelines and POV plus a great twist at the end that I was not expecting! The novel opens up with Hannah and her partner Rob, waiting for the eldest daughter Belle to come home from a semester in France. However, when she shows up she is engaged to a man two times her age and someone that Hannah knew from her past life. Hannah’s past comes back to her as she is reminded of her youth working in a brothel for the man that is now engaged to her daughter. Samantha Hayes is able to show how vulnerable these girls are and the psychological suffering that happens in these places, making the reader sympathetic to their plight. I look forward to reading more from Hayes!

Thank you to NetGalley and Bookouture for sending this book for review considerations. All opinions are my own.

Hannah has always made sure her daughter, Belle, was protected from evil, but when Belle introduces her fiancé, Hannah immediately realizes evil has invaded her life once again. This was a good thriller with twists, and I enjoyed it!

"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 corners of his mouth curls upwards as he slides his hand around my eighteen-year-old daughter's waist. I grab my husband's arm to steady myself as my heart kicks into a thunderous gallop. "I want you to meet Jack," Belle says bouncing up and down with excitement. "He's, my fiancé." I have to stop this. If I don't, I'll lose everything.

The pace is on the slow side. We get character development on this mixed bunch of likeable and unlikeable people. Some of the storyline you can see coming. The story is told from multiple points of view. It also has a dual timeline, the past - eighteen years ago and the present day. It tells how events that took place in the past can shape your future, but they can also come back and haunt you. There's lots of twists in this well written book. Each character has a secret. This is a gripping read and I never saw the end twist coming.

I would like to thank #NetGalley #Bookouture and the author #SamanthaHayes for my ARC of #TheEngagement in exchange for an honest review.

This book had an interesting premise. Seemingly perfect suburban family's prodigal daughter Belle. comes back from a summer in France for her 18th birthday. She introduced her parents to her much older fiance "Jack", which they of course are not happy about. Plus, the mom, "Hannah" knows Jack from her past that she has kept a secret from her family. Hannah will stop at nothing to make sure her daughter stays safe as Jack's threatening presence looms over the family.

But this book was paced very slow for me. Like other reviews, it didn't pick up until the last 20%. I've read Date Night by the author and recall having similar issues with the pacing. That being said, I though I had the final twist all sorted out, but didn't see something coming, so that was a plus!

I received this book as an ARC thanks to Netgalley and Bookouture

Omg wow! Thank you for the advanced copy of this both. Have loved each book I've read of Hayes, and this did not disappoint! The story grabs you right away in the first couple of chapters. A daughter who is just turning 18 calls to say she's engaged?! And then to see he's double her age! And then...he looks familiar to mom...oh the twists. And then Molly and Hannah - had thoughts I knew where it was going, and was right but still more twists added. The ending was perfect too and all wrapped up nicely.
Can we have another new Hayes book already?

The Engagement introduces us to Hannah, a doting mother whose past catches up with her when her daughter Belle comes home from France with her new Fiancé in tow, Jack. Hannah struggles to live in the present while trying to keep her secrets buried and protect her daughter from a monster.

It’s an intriguing storyline with a sinister plot that’s weaved around grooming and sex trafficking. There were a lot of things I liked about this book like the premise, the character of Hannah, and the beginning of the story snared me right in while the twists and turns of the final two chapters blew my mind. However, the middle of the book could’ve been cut in half as it was far too drawn out with nothing really happening.

The author went into painstaking detail of absolutely everything (past and present) that made parts of the story almost boring. The characters of Rob and Belle were very bland and the constant chapter flipping between then and now, and Molly, Hannah, and Belle became jarring for me as a reader.

Thank you to NetGalley & Bookouture for providing me with an ARC in return for my honest review.

Release date 10th January 2023

“𝘐 𝘸𝘰𝘯'𝘵 𝘨𝘰 𝘰𝘧𝘧 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘢𝘥 𝘮𝘢𝘯, 𝘔𝘶𝘮𝘮𝘺, 𝘥𝘰𝘯'𝘵 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘳𝘺. 𝘉𝘶𝘵 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘪𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘢𝘥 𝘮𝘢𝘯 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘴 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘺𝘰𝘶, 𝘔𝘶𝘮𝘮𝘺?”

“𝘐’𝘷𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘴𝘰 𝘶𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘭𝘪𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢 𝘭𝘪𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘐 𝘴𝘪𝘮𝘱𝘭𝘺 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦𝘯’𝘵 𝘯𝘰𝘵𝘪𝘤𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘯𝘺𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘦𝘭𝘴𝘦’𝘴”

— 𝖲𝖺𝗆𝖺𝗇𝗍𝗁𝖺 𝖧𝖺𝗒𝖾𝗌 (𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗘𝗻𝗴𝗮𝗴𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁)

Hannah and Rob arranged a surprise party for their 18-year-old daughter Belle. She's returning from a two-month school language trip in France. However, they were in for a shock when Belle also announced her engagement to a man who's more than two decades her senior. Claimed that she'd likewise made the decision not to go back to school. However, Hannah's darkest nightmare goes beyond that. She recognises the man and is certain that he has come for a completely different reason. He represents a big piece of her past that she cannot reveal to Rob and Belle, not even from beyond the grave.

If I had to sum up Samantha Hayes' book, I'd say that majority of her blurbs would hold your interest. I' veread some of her books a few months ago, and realised that oftentimes I'd get this brief notion that the bad guys might turn out to be decent or could perhaps atone for their crimes. But no! They are primarily sociopaths! forced me to acknowledge how lousy a judge of character I am. The fact that I felt quite manipulated is unsettling. And I suppose that's also one of the reasons I like her writing—she has a way of twisting the reader's emotions. Although, the aspect of this book that I didn't fancy was reading the Then/Before scene. It made me restless, agitated, and pretty much frustrated with the character's choices. But, who knows—perhaps that is the impression the author is trying to give you when reading this book. And I am aware of how crucial it is to be written that way to fully appreciate Hannah's backstory. But keep in mind that this is simply my perspective and preference, as I have had difficulty paying attention lately, notably with multiple POVs. I gave the book four stars, given its climactic plot twist, which I appreciated. While I had a slight inkling, it was still surprising. Other than that, the synopsis for her other books, The Reunion and The Trapped Wife, sounds quite intriguing, so whenever I have the time, I intend to read those too. Anyhow, The Engagement will be available on January 10, 2023. Make sure to add this to your TBR.

I would like to thank Samantha Hayes, Bookouture, and Netgalley for the opportunity to read an eARC of this book in exchange for my review.

I was Instantly hooked… I literally couldn't put it down… Fantastic! 5 stars.
Such a terrifying subject, chilled me to my very core.
The characters were amazing. There were moments where I was actually holding my breath. So well written, filled with twisty turny suspense.
I highly recommend picking this up

3.5 ⭐️

This book is hard to review without giving too much of the plot away, but I must say I was very intrigued by the synopsis. The book is told in dual timelines and from multiple POVs. The beginning of the book was great and really sucked you in; the middle is where it lost me a bit. There is a ton of foreshadowing for Hannah’s past with no indication of what actually happened (although you can assume), so it kind of drags until that is revealed. THE ENDING THOUGH. Kept me on the edge of my seat. And that EPILOGUE? A great twist I did not see coming. Another solid domestic thriller.

Thank you to NetGallery and Bookouture for this eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Due to being set in another country, there were some verbiage issues for me but loved the plot twist in the end that I didn't see coming. I have not read this author before but will into more from her.

received this as an ARC from netgalley. This is a free, honest review.

This book was just too slow for me.

Hannah's eighteen-year-old daughter comes back from vacation engaged. To a man more than twice her age. A man Hannah knows. A man from her dark past . . .

Yikes! I was totally engrossed in this story, until . . . Hannah's past was mentioned over and over like a teaser but without any clues or info. I was frustrated. Teasers have to give something to the reader--a clue, a redherring, a twist, a reveal. SOMETHING! Along with this, the story gradually slows which is the opposite of how it should go. I nearly put it down but held out hope because the first half was so good. It ended up all right. Not great but okay.

Hannah’s 18 year old daughter Belle returns home from a trip engaged to a man who is triple her age. When Hannah meets him, she is mortified to discover that she knows him. Jack was a part of her dark past - a part of her that her family knows nothing about.

The beginning and ending of this book were strong. I felt really intrigued by the book at the beginning, and couldn’t wait to see what happened. Then it became too much of a slow burn for me and I found myself losing interest. While I love some great foreshadowing, Hannah mentioned her past too frequently without giving enough detail to keep me fully engaged.

The ending was much better. There were a couple of twists in there, and one shocked me quite a bit!

I enjoyed the multiple POVs & different timelines. I didn’t feel super connected to the characters until the end of the story.

I wish there would have been less of a slow burn, and more action. It also would have been interesting to get more background on Hannah & Molly’s experience and their friendship. I felt that was a bit lacking!

Thank you NetGalley and Bookouture for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I always get a funny feeling when I start a new book-will it grab me right from the get go? Will it start slow and take time to really grab my interest? The Engagement- sucked me in within the first chapter! A wonderful book that had me hooked and my heart pounding at times throughout the entire book! The story had a great flow with great plot twists but I couldn’t figure out how all of it would come together- but it totally did in a very clever way. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and am now looking at reading her previous novels! Thank you to NetGalley, Bookouture and Author Samantha Hayes for the opportunity to read and review this awesome book! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Thank you Bookouture, Samantha Hayes, and Netgalley for the advance copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

I have mixed feelings with this reading because on the one hand it presents certain interesting, captivating twists that one does not expect, but on the other hand it was predictable 95% of the time, something already smelled about certain things and I considered it a thriller or one of those books I usually read and I can't put it down because I need to know what's going to happen next.

Yes, it was an interesting read, different from what I usually read and that's why I think I had a lot of faith in it. The synopsis really leaves you shocked but from the beginning one already begins to elucidate certain issues that take away from the thriller (at least for me).

It's the first I've read by the author and I'd like to read something else to see how I get along with her!

I did not empathize with any character, they did not reach me. I was not moved, nor was I saddened by them. There were certain characters and situations that I didn't understand why they were in the book because they contributed absolutely nothing to the plot.

Anyway, I saw that many people loved this book and gave it 5 stars, I can understand why... but I don't feel that way.

The review will also be published on instagram: @magui.world

Thank you to #NetGalley, #Bookouter and Samantha Hayes for the opportunity to read an advance copy of THE ENGAGEMENT, to be published 10 January 2023. A very unique domestic thriller that involved a myriad of bends and twists, right down to the last page. It was narrated from mainly the perspective of two people (Hannah and Molly) with some additions by other points of view. The storyline was pretty fantastic and I have some questions about the possibility of all of those things coming together over that period of time. People who enjoy reading this genre will probably appreciate this novel.

Such a jaw-dropping and slow burnt thriller!

Hannah and Rob have two daughters, younger daughter Amber and Belle who is turning to 18! Belle spent 2 months travelling in France and brought a big and shocking news when she arrived home.

Meanwhile Hannah prepared a big and surprising 18th birthday for her daughter Belle. Major relatives and Belle's best friends were invited. Hannah was devastated when Belle told her she was engaged. Why? Because once she met Belle's fiancé Jack, she knew there was some problems. Jack looked familiar to someone Hannah wanted to forget. Hannah felt the room was spinning. Hannah escaped from "Jack", and her dark secret was going to expose.

Among the various POVs in these 50 chapters, Samantha intensified the story structure from a steady pace. Starting from the second half, I could not stop reading it. You just want to know "what's next?" If you are looking for a page-turning and twisty thriller, The Engagement by Samantha Hayes will be the one you should add to your To-Read-List.

Wow! This book was so surprisingly good. I finished two days ago and I cannot stop thinking about the ending!! Thanks to NetGalley and Bookouture for the ARC! I really enjoyed this novel.