The Broken Marriage
by Elena Wilkes
Pub Date: Apr 18 2024

The Broken Marriage is a complicated thriller. It starts out with a lot of action but does slow down some towards the middle of the book. It has lots of twists and turns, unlikeable and unreliable characters. It's worth sticking with though as the ending is definitely one I did not see coming!

If you're a thriller fan, I highly recommend this book!

Many thanks to #NetGalley #TheBrokenMarriage and #StormPublishing for providing me with an E-ARC of this book.

This book fell short for me. It centers on Hannah, who suddenly visits her former best friend Rachel 17 years after they had last seen each other while in college. Hannah has a secret to tell, and there is also a dynamic involving Rachel's husband Matt that must be worked out. Furthermore, Hannah is dealing with past trauma that threatens to further upset her plans. I did not feel that the story itself matched either the name of the book or the synopsis.

I found this story confusing, for the most part- it went back and forth between past and present times and covered multiple storylines that were only loosely connected. None of the characters were likable, and though I enjoy an unreliable narrator, the story wasn't linear enough for me to make a guess on who was hiding what, nor did I find that I even cared all that much. There were some major revelations as the book went on, and some were twisty while others didn't seem like that big of a deal. There was one really good twist that I didn't see coming at all. I didn't like the ending; it was abrupt and didn't really resolve anything, causing me to walk away with more questions than answers.

Overall, this wasn't the book for me. It started with confusion when it didn't really seem to be about what the synopsis said it was, and unfortunately never got more engaging. It included many themes that I generally enjoy but didn't come together for me. Thanks to Netgalley for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

** I received this as an ARC from NetGalley in return for my honest review.**

In "The Broken Marriage" Rachel and Matt seem to have an idyllic life, but beneath the surface, their relationship is strained by secrets. When Rachel's long-lost friend Hannah reappears during a snowstorm, tensions rise, and dark secrets are revealed. As the couple grapples with the truth, they realize everyone has something to hide, leading to a dangerous unraveling of their perfect facade.

Overall rating: 3.8/5

Ratings:

1. **Plot and Storytelling:** 4/5 While it held my attention for most of the novel, there were moments when the pacing slowed down, and I wished for more action. Nevertheless, the overall storytelling was engaging and enjoyable.

2. **Characterization:** 3/5 While the characters felt believable, I found it disappointing that some of them didn't show much growth over time.

3. **Writing Style:** 3/5 Although I enjoyed her style, there were certain parts in the middle of the novel where the plot seemed to stall, and I wished for more momentum. However, the overall quality of the writing was commendable.

4. **Originality:** 5/5 The book offered a fresh take on the thriller genre, diverging from typical roommate dramas and delivering a unique storyline that kept me intrigued throughout.

5. **Emotional Impact and Resolution:** 4/5 While I found the novel entertaining, it didn't deeply connect with me, and I didn't feel completely engrossed. However, the jaw-dropping ending delivered a satisfying and twisty resolution that I thoroughly enjoyed.

Overall, I'd recommend giving this book a read. I'd suggest either borrowing it from the library or reading it through Kindle Unlimited, as I believe it's worth checking out.

If you enjoyed this book, you might appreciate diving into works by an author like Charlie Donlea. Donlea's novels, such as "The Girl Who Was Taken" or "Twenty Years Later," offer gripping mysteries with intricate plots and unexpected twists.

This book started off slow for the first half with not a lot of twists and turns that I normally like. The FMC was hard to like and I felt almost bothered by how manipulated she was by her friends. But that toxicity played well into the set-up of the story and how it unraveled. I began to feel for the FMC and understood just how much she was struggling and how paranoid she felt.
Overall, this was a solid thriller for me but I found the first half hard to get into as I felt we just jumped right in.

This book had many plot twists, although some of them were a little confusing. I still throughly enjoyed the book, but was not happy with the ending at all! I felt very unsatisfied! Lol but maybe it’s for my mind to figure out maybe what happens in their future! I felt like I could trust anyone in the story and the ending absolutely threw me for a loop because I did not expect it at all! Overall 4 stars from me 😊

Rachel and Matt are a shining example of a perfect couple… or are they…? When Hannah turns up at their door after 17 years, a giant can of worms is opened up and it all goes a bit nuts!

A suspenseful and enjoyable read, with multiple POV. It had a good pace (although there was a bit of a dip about half way) and was full of twists - some would argue a tad unbelievable but I like my thrillers a bit unbelievable (it’s fiction after all…) - and despicable characters.

My first by Elena Wilkes - I’ll need to check out her backlist. 3.5 rounded up!

After seventeen years, Hannah makes the decision to face the events of that time. To that goal, she pays a visit to her closest friend Rachel, who is currently married to Matt and, along with Alison, constituted the group of friends she knew in her early years. An already unworkable situation gets even more tense when Hannah shows up because of things from the past. Unresolved problems within the group are evident from the start, which is distressing. The reading uncovers some of the events with a gripping plot. The characters kept me interested in a plot where secrets and betrayals are frequent, even though they occasionally annoyed me. The book is quite engaging and has several intriguing turns and twists. Ideal for individuals searching for a quick easy reading thriller this is the right book for you. Thank you NetGalley, and the publisher for the chance to provide an honest review.

This was just an ok read for me, I didn’t love it but I didn’t hate it either.
I found the characters unlikeable and the story at times a bit unbelievable and confusing and I thought the ending was rushed.
Having said that, I did find myself wanting to pick my kindle back up to continue reading. I would definitely read another book by this author I just unfortunately think this was not the story for me.

2.5 STARS ROUNDED UP ⭐️⬆️
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Thank you NetGalley and Storm Publishing for the opportunity to review this book.

Wow, not only will this one keep you up all night, but it will also not let you put it down! It's gripping and twisted ,mind bogglingly smart! Elena Wilkes is an amazing and creative story teller. She paints a full colorful picture on the page with words, that was such a pleasure to read.
My favorite character was Rachel as she seems to be the one that holds the ties to everyone, but she really doesn't know that she is the one that everybody flocks to.

This is a thrilling thriller! You will meet main character Hannah. She is a college student that lives in a house with two other young ladies named Alison and Rachel. Rachel has a on again off again boyfriend named Matt. One evening the two girls went out without Hannah so Matt had invited her to go to a party with him. She said sure and when they got there just remembers bits and pieces of what happened to her.

Seventeen years go by and Hannah shows up out of the blue on Rachel and Matt's doorstep. She says it's because she was in town for a conference when the real reason was to revisit what happened to her and try to put more missing pieces back in place! The road to get there though is not easy and so full of lies and very dangerous dark things!

Highly recommend this book!

Happy reading!

The Broken Marriage is fast-paced, well-written, and it has a good plot. It's one of those books that once you start reading you want to learn how the story ends. Entertaining and recommended for those readers who enjoy the genre.
I thank Ms. Wilkes, her publisher, and NetGalley for this ARC.

This book was just ok for me. I felt it was a little slow most of the time and did too much narration of the past. This detracted from the story for me.

The story deals with main character Hannah deciding to finally face her demons from the past and decides to visit her former now married to each other friends. The title doesn't depict the actual story. Little is actually devoted to the friends' marriage. This disappointed me as I love stories that dive into a marriage.

Thank you to Netgalley and Storm Publishing for an advanced copy of this book

After seventeen years, three college roommates are reunited under mysterious circumstances. The last time they saw each other, there was bloodshed and secrets that couldn't be revealed in the light of day.

My first thought regarding this book is that it's a fine book, nothing remarkable or memorable, but I enjoyed reading it, and the storyline was unique. The main characters were all morally gray and somewhat unlikeable.

I don't think we ever learned what Hannah does/did for work, which was irritating since I think it's essential and can provide more depth for a character. She made up many stories, but the truth about her career or job field was never revealed. Also, the ending was open-ended, which can sometimes work in the story's favor, but this time, it confused me.

The title and little snippet on the cover were a bit misleading since it wasn't just about the couple but the brokenness between the four roommates (specifically the female trio). With Matt and Rachel being "the couple," both were pretty terrible to each other and should have found a way to either talk through their problems or get a divorce. They were immature and childish at times, behaving in distasteful ways.

Emily, Rachel's adulthood friend, was sketchy the WHOLE time!

The mystery behind Leech and whether he was the perpetrator of what happened to Hannah seemed to have been solved rather quickly. It was more about the stalking and the connections and strings Leech could pull to torment Hannah, ahem... Emily.

In the end, when Allison reappears, and all of the details are pulled apart, it is honestly just a story about a toxic friend group that should have walked away from each other.

Thank you to Storm Publishing for allowing me to be an early reader of this book. All opinions expressed in this review are my own. The Broken Marriage by Elena Wilkes is scheduled to be released on April 18, 2024.

The Broken Marriage- Thriller. 328 pages. This book drove me nuts! It was completely unbelievable, so slow and full of annoying characters. I would have quit it if it wasn’t an ARC. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for my ARC. Two stars!

Comments (short): I was lucky to receive this as an arc copy from netgalley. I couldn't finish the book at all, even though I really tried to. I had to really think about what was going on, what was happening when, trying to piece things together and sometimes it took a while and a lot of re-reading. Hannah comes across as very immature, and I hated Rachel's character. I don't understand what made Rachel so special and why no one told her things straight. I just got annoyed with the whole book. I got to around 30% and just couldn't carry on. I would've loved to see what else got unfolded, which is why I read it for so long, but I just couldn't stop being annoyed.


Comments (long):
What I liked about the book
There wasn't a lot I liked about the book. I guess one thing I liked was the beginning, it drawed you straight in and made me so curious as to what was going on. I was very confused and didn't understand it but thinking about it, I think I understand what happened.

The Characters
Hannah comes across as very immature and very annoying. The story is told from her point of view but it's all over the place and very hard to follow. Her character comes across as the feel-sorry-for-me type, and that everyone should love her and the world owes her a favour for her parents not loving her.
Matt needs to grow a pair of balls and leave. He says he isn't happy but carries on and stays, so I don't feel any remorse for him at all. He was probably the only character in the book I could stand.
Rachel is just something else and I couldn't stand her character. She loves to be in control and have everyone wrapped around her finger and if they're not, she causes problems. Why no one told her straight or told her no, I'll never know. All her friends know she's toxic but yet choose to stay in contact and close to her.
The other girl, who I can't even remember the name of, comes across very immature. I get when she's mentioned in the story they're all young but she loves to create drama and fuel Rachel's drama. I didn't like her either.

The scenes
The scenes, when I understood what was going on, was very well detailed. It was just hard to keep track of what was happening and when so it was hard to picture scenes and then keep flicking between scenes.

The Plot
The plot had a lot of potential. It sounded like there was a lot wrong with the marriage, but there isn't apart from unfaithfulness and both being in love with someone else. There was so much more that could've been done, but it just felt that I already knew the whole story very early on but it just kept droning on with characters saying 'we'll talk about it later' when there was no need and could've had the conversation a lot more early on.

What I disliked about the book
I disliked the fact it was hard to keep track of what was happening, I had no idea whether I was in the past or present a lot of the time. I got confused as to where the characters were and what was happening. I kept reading to try and see whether it would make sense later on, but it didn't and it took a lot of thought and re-reading to figure out what was going on. I love a good thriller, but this just seemed like a marriage with problems that could be solved by talking to each other and for some reason Hannah kept placing herself in the middle of it. Her involvement in the marriage didn't made any sense and there was just no need for her to be involved in any of it. It felt like I'd already read the whole book very early on, but as the characters never spoke to each other it dragged out.

Summary
I did not enjoy this book at all. I'm unsure if it was just the format of the arc I was sent, but it was a struggle to figure out everything. It felt that it was dragged out a lot longer than necessary. I would not recommend, unless the format changes and its easier to read to keep up with what's the past and what's the present. There was also a few spelling mistakes within the book, not major, I could figure out what was supposed to be written, but should be sorted before the book is published

I thought the premise of this book sounded really great. Two friends come back together after 17 years. One filled with major mental and physical trauma from their college days. The other friend knows as "Ms Fix It". When these two lives come back together, all hell breaks loose.

Overall, I had a hard time keeping up with what was going on. There were too many weird relationship dynamics that didn't get fleshed out enough for me to understand what was going on. I felt zero connection to any of the characters. The ending left me absolutely confused. I was shocked the book was actually over (for me it ended at 90% before it went into a preview of a new book). It just felt like I hit a brick wall and couldn't get around it.

I wanted to like this book, but unfortunately I didn't. This book could be better for a different reader though!

I loved the psychological thriller element, it had everything that I was looking for and enjoyed how good the story was. The concept was everything that I was looking for and thought the psychological element was perfect for the story. Elena Wilkes has a great writing style and the characters worked well with the story.

This was a very amazing thriller that kept me guessing the entire time. With constant unreliable characters, and an unreliable narrator, you never know who to trust and you never know what’s coming next. The twists and turns at the end of the book I never saw coming and was surprised by every time! For my thriller friends, I highly recommend checking this book out once it’s released.

As a lover of psychological thrillers this book was always going to appeal to me and it did not disapoint. I have read over 40 of Daniel Hurst psychological thrillers and I think the key is to keep the reader guessing right to the end and then throw in an unexpected final twist. Elena Wilkes does this. Thanks to Storm Publishing and NetGalley for the chance to ARC this book.

Lies, manipulation and secrets. It's all there in The Broken Marriage, and from the prologue I thought I was in for a great psychological read. Unfortunately that didn't happen. I couldn't connect with any of the characters and I felt the story in parts didn't seem believable. I also have to agree with several other reviewers that the title felt misleading. I did struggle at first but was determined to finish, hoping the story might pick up. There were moments, but all in all I wouldn't say this was a page turner or a story that gripped.
My thanks to Storm Publishing, the author and Netgalley for an ARC of The Broken Marriage in exchange for an honest review.

The broken marriage is about three people that knew each other years ago, Rachel, Matt and Hannah. Hannah appears on Rachel and Matts doorstep after not seeing each other in years, she is deeply traumatized about events that happened when they all shared a house.

It’s a slow starter for me, but interesting plot line. I didn’t like young Rachel’s character, but the older one was ok. She was selfish, a bully who believed everything she said. Hannah has loads of issues and she tries to find closure in them.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for a copy.