I received an ARC copy of The Wife’s Mistake by Lorna Dounaeva from netgalley!

I absolutely loved this book! It was very fast paced and held my interest the entire time .. despite all the characters being horribleeee people!
One thing that made me laugh is the amount of money the couple won in the lottery. 12 million is a lot .. but for the lottery it isn’t and people were acting like they won 500 million !
But overall .. the book had suspense, mystery, tension, and shocking twists. But what would you do if you or someone you knew won the lottery. What would you do if they had secrets to hide?

I would definitely recommend this to my friends .. and already have!

Slow start but takes off with jets blasting into nonstop mystery, intrigue and delicious twists.
Natalie wins millions in the lottery and hides the tkt for a few days while she contemplates her next move.
When her husband Hayden finds it, they claim the win and nothing is the same again.
Suspecting Hayden of having an affair, her life takes twists and turns that you simply could not see
coming.
Nothing in her life is as it was and she suspects people all around her of possible nefarious actions.
easy reading and characters are very well defined - the action just takes a little bit of time to build
but once it does, you are off and running.
Don't think you have it figured out because you surely don't.
Good read.

**thank you to NetGalley, the publisher, and the author for the opportunity to review an ARC of this ebook**

2.5 stars rounded up.

this was a slow burn and very hard for me to get into in the beginning.
I felt nothing important happened until 75% through the book, the first 3/4 were slow and repetitive.
The ending was good and that made up for it.

Natalie, unhappy in her job, wins 12 million dollars in the lottery, but discovers her husband's possible infidelity. As they cash in the winning ticket, their lives spiral into chaos with threats and their pasts catching up to them. The story alternates between their perspectives, revealing secrets and leading to shocking twists. This thrilling read will be available on February 19, 2024, and is a must-read for suspense fans. Many thanks to NetGalley and Bookouture for the eARC.

The book had me from start to finish and I could not put it down. I liked the writing style the plot was good.
Giid book which I will definitely be recommending.

Thanks NetGalley for letting me read and review

“I have the life I’ve always dreamed of… but how long will it be until the past catches up with me?”

Lorna Dounaeva’s creative twists and tight pacing showcase her examination of the difference between ‘perfect’ and ‘ideal.’

Natalie and Hayden Peel have only been married for a year when they’re given the opportunity for a different life. Natalie is tired of working as a barista for an unappreciative boss at the Riverside Cafe. When she buys a lottery ticket she imagines the ideal life. Little did she know that “no matter what happened next, both their lives were about to change forever.”

We’re all programmed to seek an ideal life - some of us even get close - but rarely does our ideal version hit the bar we’ve set for ourselves. A perfect life, on the other hand, is attainable. Or is it?

When Natalie discovers that she’s won £12.5M, she plans on living a transparent life; “no more secrets, no more deceptions.” Unfortunately, what she decides to do with the paper ticket is just the first in a few secrets that she decides to keep from her husband. Will one of them be her undoing?

The uncomfortable and awkward vibes were fantastically portrayed. As a reader, I was shifting in my seat! Equally wonderful were the feelings of mistrust. It’s amazing how big it will grow when the seed is given the right conditions!

I loved the theme of family and greed as much as the opportunity to question if perfect and ideal are different notions. I concluded that not only are they different, but that winning the lottery is not something I have on my wishlist!

I was gifted this copy by Bookouture and NetGalley and was under no obligation to provide a review.

3.5 stars

In this book we are following 2 main characters, Hayden and Natalie. Both characters have things about themselves to hide. Natalie has secrets from her past and Hayden has secrets from his current life with Natalie. I liked how the book went back and forth from Natalie and Hayden's POV. The beginning of the book was a little slow, but I was drawn in and was trying to figure out who the bad guy was. Both of them seemed to not trust the other, and to me it almost felt like they were married but friends. I never felt a real connection between the two of them. There several times in the book where I was thinking it is weird that neither of them ever really knows where the other is at. The last part of the book (probably around the 60-70% mark) really picked up and it felt like there were a lot of secrets being exposed. I really enjoyed how the chapters were short, sometimes I have a lot of time to sit and read and others I only have 5 minutes before I am pulled in another direction, so I always like books with quick, short chapters so that I always have a decent stopping point. My only real main issue with the book was the ending with her sister. I don't want to say too much, but I was just kind of like, what? Will there be another book, is there more? I think because of that I didn't give the book 4 stars. Overall, I would recommend it to someone that likes Freida McFadden books. That is the kind of vibe I felt from it. It was a quick, fun read and I would read another of this authors books!

Omg the wife’s mistake was a gripping psychological thriller which had me gripped from start to finish I read it in a day as I could not put it down. I liked the writing style which seemed to help the story flow. Fantastic thriller which I will definitely be recommending. Thanks to netgallery and the publisher for my advanced copy.

Winning the lottery... I guess there are very little people who would not want that. Imagine what you could achieve with the substantial amount of money. Would you keep on working or would you enjoy life to the fullest? Would you invest in something or would you start your own business? The possibilities are huge, but you should also be aware. There might be vultures lurking around...

And then there is the relationship between you and your partner. Everything should be so much easier, because one big problem that is almost always on everyone's mind, money, is no longer an issue. The reality often paints a different picture...

This is my first book by this author and I can honestly say I was immediately attracted by the story. The characters could have been anyone's neighbours because they were so easy to relate to. I think the author described the situations lottery winners can/will find themselves facing, perfectly.

As per usual, a secret you are convinced is very well hidden, always seems to find a way to come out and bite you.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book and I loved the changes the two main characters went through. Were the changes for the better? That I will leave up to you to find out. ;) 5 stars

Thank you

Natalie is unhappy, working a dead end job as a barista and dreams of one day opening her own cafe. On a whim she plays the lottery and wins 12 million dollars. She’s in shock and excited to tell her husband Hayden until she checks his phone, after a night out, only to find that he might be cheating on her. She decides to keep it to herself, unsure if he will run off with his lover and half her winnings. However Hayden discovers the winning ticket on his own, together they cash it in and then their world spirals. It seems like everyone is after them and their money, they don’t know who to trust, even each other. They thought the money would be the answer to all their problems but then threats start pouring in and their pasts seem to be catching up with them.

This was a WILD ride! The story starts off at the scene of the crime, a dead woman in a Ferrari submerged in a pool and we work backwards from there. Alternating between the point of view of Natalie and Hayden, you quickly realized they both have their secrets. I loved reading their differing perspectives, sometimes revealing a funny misunderstanding to much deeper revelations. It is definitely a slow burn, be patient and take in all of the details because they will come in handy. Without giving away too much there are some absolutely shocking twists in this book and will keep you on the very edge of your seat towards the end. I absolutely loved this one! A big thank you to NetGalley and Bookouture for the eARC, you can get your copy February 19, 2024!

So I will start off by saying that this book was just “okay”. Wasn’t something that I could read straight through. There definitely was a lot of twists and turns in the story, but I feel there was too many to keep track of. To the point where you don’t know where the story is headed. BUT. With that being said… the ending shook me a little. Definitely didn’t see that one coming.

I read The Wife’s Mistake in a day as I couldn’t put it down. It’s a twisty, psychological thriller with more twists and turns than you can shake a stick at. Fast paced and well written, it had me hooked from page 1 and kept me enthralled to the end. A highly recommended 5 star read. Thank you to NetGalley, Bookouture and the author for the chance to review.

Thank you NetGallery and Bookouture for this Arc! After Natalie realises she just won 12 million dollars it takes her awhile to see if she will tell her husband but when he finds the ticket they think all their dreams come true. Mistrust, old indiscretions and fame all contribute to their life unraveling. This story held my interest and good plot twists but the writing just seems a little disjointed at times. 3.5⭐️

This book was great at the beginning and I really got into it, unfortunately it didn't keep up the pace / excitement for me and fell flat towards the end.

I have ver mixed feelings on this book. At the beginning I found it hard to follow and confusing as it did not seem to match the blurb. But as the storyline continues you are lead into understanding where the story is going. The middle holds you wondering what is next....but then you get twisted into another whirlwind that is even more confusing. The up and down leads you down on way just for another to come in an not make sense. Also can we discuss Daisy? Talk about confusing. Over all I didn't like any characters as they were all misleading and back stabbing. I was left with a simple wtf did I read. 3 out of 5 stars

This book started off very slowly and I couldnt get into it. Sadly this one isnt for me.
Thank you to Netgalley for the opportunity to read this ARC in return for an honest review

My first read from this author and so enjoyed. A very addictive read. Natalie is married to. Hayden Natalie hates her job at the coffee shop. She does the lottery every week. And then one night she checks her ticket and sees she has won. But she thinks Hayden is having an affair, so she does not tell him only her sister. and hides it in a tin. But Hayden finds it .and she has to let on she did not know. And then comes the big house the cars and her dream coffee shop but someone is stalking Natalie and Hayden now has a big secret. a very good addictive read so recommend.

Very slow burn in the beginning with a lot of characters thrown in from the start. I found it difficult to really connect to any of them since they all seemed to have something to hide. The way the characters were introduced, it felt like I opened the book on chapter 5. I felt a bit confused as to who they all were, how they related to each other, how did they know each other, etc. The end packed a major punch with a big twist that picked up the pacing of the story.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Bookouture for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you Netgalley for the advance reading copy of this book.

I found that this book was just ok to me. It didn't seem to flow very well I couldn't really conbect to the characters. It was very choppy and very predictable.

2 out of 5 ⭐️

The premise of The Wife’s Mistake is intriguing right off the bat - a woman wins the lottery and immediately her life is thrown into turmoil. I really enjoyed the elements of suspense from the very beginning of the book, and I think the fact that the characters in the friend group are all suspicious it added to the suspense but also kind of backfired on the author because it made none of the characters likeable. Because of this, I found myself rooting for nobody throughout the book. The last 20% of the book offers so many twists it kept me wanting to read more, which I always love.