This story, in terms of plot, was right up my alley but very quickly in that feeling started to change. I am perfectly capable of suspending reality if it helps the story but in this case there was a level of desperation to Emily that I not only couldn't connect with, but absolutely hated. She meets the love of her life even though him and his mom treat her like absolute garbage but hey, it's love so we can ignore all that, right?

I kept reading because I wanted to see how it all panned out, to see if the plot aside from that got better. But Emily should have been the most relatable character if not the most likable and she wasn't. She was whiny, desperate and honestly, delusional.

The one thing The Other Woman had going was the twist but it really wasn't worth slogging through the rest of it to find out and it wasn't the greatest twist. I almost wished we'd got a few snippets from Pammie's POV because at least she was awful but interesting. The story, it turns out, just wasn't for me.

The Other Woman by Sandie Jones is a captivating read. It has very strong female characters that I couldn’t help but love or hate right from the start. My heart broke for Emily who just couldn’t catch a break. At the same time, I was captivated by Pammie, the evil mom-in-law. Her behavior shocked me and at some point, I started wondering if this is the right read for me especially seeing that I will soon have a mom-in-law of my own. Pammie was entertaining, scary and I looked forward to reading about her with both excitement and trepidation.

This was a captivating read. Narrated by Emily, readers get to follow her story about her relationship and involvement with the Banks family. I thought that I had the entire narrative figured out but towards the end, a major twist was thrown in. I can’t really say that it shocked me because I could see it coming. However, I think I figured it out only when the author wanted me to do so. I don’t know if that makes sense but it wasn’t a twist that I could have predicted at the beginning of the story. The evil mom-in-law trope might seem like nothing new but trust me; Jones did bring in a new, unique angle to the story.

This was a well-narrated, enjoyable read and I loved being part of Emily and Pammie’s crazy world.

2.5 stars

The Other Woman is a wildly entertaining psychological thriller that's, unfortunately, more about the twist than substance.

The plot: Emily meets the love of her life, Adam. Adam is a pretentious ass and treats Emily like dirt. His mother, Pammie, treats her even worse and Emily thinks she's a psycho. Then there’s James, Adam’s brother whom Emily has the hots for. But hey, it must be true love because Emily is going to marry Adam no matter who or what gets in her way, including his psychotic mother and dreamy brother. But there’s a lot more going on behind the scenes and poor Emily is in for a rude awakening!

If there’s one thing I can’t stand, it’s when female characters come off as desperate and unintelligent when it comes to finding a man. Sure, Adam treats Emily like sh*t but she’s never felt this way about any man before so it must be true love. This level of stupidity irks me like no other. I almost DNF’d as I couldn’t bear to read any more about Emily’s stupid choices, but I kept going hoping that there would be a payoff. I’m not sure that there was, but the twist certainly put things in a different perspective.

The Other Woman is very readable, especially if you can tolerate Emily’s moronic choices and don’t get frustrated by her whiny voice. There are many elements that just don’t make sense and some of the relationships felt extremely contrived. The twist was different than what I was expecting and is why I gave this book 2.5 stars vs. the initial 2 I was planning on. I think this would have been a whole heck of a lot more interesting if it was told through Pammie’s eyes. Now that would have been a truly twisted read!

I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley and St. Martin's Press in exchange for an honest review.

Emily loves Adam. But his mother is difficult. Pammie comments on Emily's weight...causes problems whenever she can....and is just a complete pain in the butt. Obviously the woman wants them to break up. When Emily and Adam get engaged and their wedding approaches, the problems with Pammie only increase and even take on a sinister feel. Emily wants Adam....but what about Pammie? What is she going to do next?

Oh. My God. This book made me mad, sad and even scared. Some real creepy feels. I was totally into this story from the first snarky Pammie comment to the twist at the very end. From an emotional standpoint, I had a hard time reading this book without getting mad....Pammie really pulls some klunkers. I wanted to hop into the book and tell that woman what I thought about her and tell Emily to stand up for herself. So hard to be just the reader joining in on the story as only an observer. My one problem with this story is that Emily NEVER stands up for herself...she never really questions the situation enough to realize she should be exiting the relationship. She just has small temper tantrums and spits of anger....but then apologizes to Adam instead of standing her ground. Oh my....how weak willed and doormatish can you be? BUT, this is a suspense novel....and if Emily had stood up for herself, told Adam to go F himself and walked away to another relationship, it would have been a very short story. She had to be a bit weak for the storyline to work. And I've known women who put up with similar situations...so it isn't far from realism. It just heightened the suspense for me as I wanted to tell Emily she was an idiot for most of the book and I was waiting for Pammie to go absolutely mental. Great story. Emotionally exhausting, but great.

This is Sandie Jones' debut novel. I will definitely be reading more by this author! Her next book, Before Your Lies, will be published in June 2019.

I loved the pre-publication publicity for this book with the #WatchOutForPammie and other hashtags. I thought I was totally on Emily's side for the first part of this book.....but after finishing the entire thing....Emily is just too wishywashy for me. I think I will go with a side character and be #TeamSeb all the way! Best character in the book IMHO. Go Seb! Bestie stood by his friend Em to the end! :)

**I voluntarily read an advanced readers copy of this book from St. Martins Press via NetGalley. All opinions expressed are entirely my own. No future mother in laws were harmed during the reading of this book.**

This was a thrilling roller coaster ride, with an exciting twist! Just when I thought my ex-MIL was crazy, this book made me second guess myself, lol.

4.5 stars for this psychological thriller! The twist in this one was not what I expected. I’ll be brief in the synopsis of this book as you can read the description without me rehashing it all. Plus, I don’t want to give too much away.

Emily meets Adam. They fall for one another, meet each other’s families, and the relationship progresses. Adam’s mom, Pammie, acts like a psycho that is obsessed with her sons and only Emily sees it. Pammie is a great love-to-hate-her character that makes you just cringe whenever she’s around. Emily stuck around way longer than I would have. I won’t say anything else other than this is a must read for anyone that loves a good psychological suspense.

Many thanks to Netgalley and Minotaur books for this ARC!

Adam picks up Emily in a bar and they quickly fall in love. It is when Emily meets Adam's mother, she begins to understand that he is a Mommy's boy and his mother can do no wrong. Except she is a completely different person around Emily, and she is the only one that can see it.

This is a fast paced page turner with a surprising ending. Get on the roller coaster, hang on and enjoy the ride!

This is author Sandie Jones' debut novel and I can't wait to see what she has next.

Cliche' after cliche', contradiction after contradiction, eye roll after eye roll....

Confrontations started but then just abruptly ended, leaving me wanting so much more.

The whole premise was just too absurd from me to take seriously.

Others have had much better luck with this though, so what the heck do I know?

ARC provided by NetGalley

DISCLOSURE OF MATERIAL CONNECTION: I have a material connection because I received a review copy for free from Netgalley in exchange for a fair and honest review.

Emily was picked up in a bar. She wasn’t looking for a man, but this adorable, well-dressed guy offers to buy her a drink and one thing leads to another. Emily falls fast and hard for Adam. He is a perfect man; smart, handsome, fun and single.

Their relationship begins to move at the speed of light. Dates turned to cohabitation, living together they quickly become engaged and everything in Emily’s world revolves around Adam. The only glitch in the relationship is Adam’s mother. He is truly a momma’s boy and will drop any and everything if she calls. And oddly enough, he has not brought Emily to his mother’s home so they can actually meet.

Once they do meet, Emily is even more confused. His mom seems delightful. That is until she is left alone with her. It is as though her future mother-in-law has two personalities. She is a sweet little old woman that needs 100% of her son’s attention that can turn into a conniving, meddling woman that will do anything to drive a wedge between her precious son and Emily in the blink of an eye. What lengths will this woman take to keep Emily and Adam from being together?

Emily cannot say anything against the other woman in Adam’s life, even when she begins to fear for her life. Something is going on that seems to be escalating into madness and Emily is going to have to get out of the situation before there is no turning back. But will Adam believe her?

This amazingly intricate psychological thriller cannot be put down. Just when you think you have everyone figured out, you realize nothing and no one is what and who they seem to be. Or are they? I literally did not know what was going to happen until the last pages. In my opinion that is a fabulous psychological thriller.

This is the author Sandie Jones’ debut novel. It is an intriguing tale of mystery, suspense and of course a twisted psychological thriller. Ms. Jones is an author not to be missed; I am looking forward to reading more by this amazing author.

Copyright © 2018 Laura Hartman

4.5 stars

This book is full of so many twists! Just when I thought I had things figured out, I discovered I was wrong. It was so hard to put this book down, as I wanted to keep reading “just one more chapter.” If you think your mother-in-law is something else, just wait until you meet Pammie! I can’t believe this is the author’s debut book. I look forward to reading many more from this talented writer. The Other Woman is a psychological thriller at its finest!

Emily is leery to be in a new relationship after her ex cheated on her. But, then she meets Adam, and she realizes it’s possible to have a second chance at love. Then it comes time to meet Adam’s mom, Pammie. She appears to be a loving mother, but she treats Emily like she’s not good enough for her precious son, and Pammie goes to great lengths to show that (including multiple attempts at sabotaging their relationship). Of course, Adam is oblivious to it all. Will Pammie succeed, or can Emily stand her ground and have the marriage she’s always dreamed she could have?

The ending was totally unexpected! The book is fast-paced, and I wanted—no, needed—to finish the book and find out what happened. The Other Woman is one of the best books I’ve read this year (and I’ve read over 100 so far). It made me want to laugh, cry, and even throw the book (or, in my case, my Kindle) across the room on occasion. Flashbacks were interspersed throughout to fill in all the relevant details, but they never felt like info dumps. Sure, Adam and Emily seemed to rush to their engagement, but that does happen in real life, as well. If you’re looking for a new read that will grab you from the start, this is one to add to your list.

This review was posted on Goodreads and Amazon.

Disclaimer: I received a complimentary copy from NetGalley, but I wasn’t required to leave a positive review

I wasn't really sure about this book when I started reading. It took a bit to get into, but then, before you really even notice, you are hooked. The story starts slow but becomes intriguing and engrossing. The second half is fast paced and has you eagerly flipping pages. The characters are great, you either love or hate them but you want to know what happens with them. The slow start may be a deterrent, but hang in. The shocking ending is well worth the wait!

Emily meets Adam and thinks she's met the man she wants to live with forever. But once Emily meets Adam's mom, Pammie, Emily realizes that Pammie wants Emily out of Adam's life. Emily is determined not to let Pammie win this battle for Adam. At the same time, while Pammie is trying to undermine everything that Emily is, Adam will hear nothing said against his mom. As the battle between Emily and Pammie heats up, Adam's anger issues become apparent and he begins drinking more.

Emily has no idea why Pammie would hate her and want to drive her and Adam apart. Adam is no help when Emily tries to discuss the matter with him since he thinks Emily is imagining anything Pammie may have done wrong. And then there is James, Adam's brother, who seems to have fallen for Emily and also wants to drive Adam and Emily apart.

This is such an addictive psychological mystery and I wanted to find out what was behind the strange behavior of the Banks family. Pammie's two boys are so devoted to her and don't see or hear the unkind things that Pammie does to Emily. All this just makes Emily want to dig in her heels more and make Pammie realize that she can't take Adam from her.

The reason I gave this book 4 stars, rather than 5, is that red flags, as big as a barn, are slapping Emily in the face, concerning the actions of Adam and Pammie. Emily seems to hang on to her first impressions of Adam, without giving consideration to how he changes over time, and the fact that Adam gives no weight to her thoughts or feelings. Add that to his scheming and cruel mom and I can't see why she was willing to fight for a relationship that seemed not worth the time and effort. But I'm not Emily, so I set aside those thoughts and just enjoyed the book for the psychological thriller it is, all the way through the twist ending.

Thank you to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for this ARC.

Emily Havistock works in human resources and while at a conference, she meets Adam Banks. They enjoy chatting and he calls her after she gets home. Since then, they have seen one another often. Adam appears to be quite laid back and doesn’t seem to get easily riled like Emily can. Emily likes Adam a lot and now wants to introduce him to her gay friend, Seb, and see what he thinks of Adam.

When Adam introduces Emily to his widowed mother, Pammie, Emily is shown some photo albums. In one of them is a picture of Adam kissing a young woman named Rebecca with a caption saying, “Miss you every day.” She learns later that the young woman was Adam’s love and that she died.

Staying over at Pammie’s, she catches Emily and Adam having sex and is furious afterward and very cold to Emily. In addition, Adam becomes withdrawn from her. Their relationship soon becomes very unstable and Emily feels like Pammie is trying to break them apart. Just before their long-planned wedding, Pammie reveals that she is ill and they have to cancel the wedding as Adam just cannot be apart from his mother. As time goes on, Emily realizes she is pregnant. Can she continue in her relationship with Adam and his family?

This is a good story with a twist at the end. That twist didn’t necessarily surprise me. Pammie is the type of woman who makes “mother-in-law” sound like a four-letter word. I cannot say that I cared for Adam or Emily. They just seem like two losers. But! The book is good so don’t miss it.

Copy provided by NetGalley in exchange for a fair and honest review.

Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC of this book. Such a page-turner, I could not stop reading. I definitely recommend this book to anyone who likes thrillers. The fast pacing made it a joy to read.

Wow, there's not much I can say about this book without spoiling it for everyone else!

Emily is a successful woman, and meets Adam, who she falls for. Adam is very close to his mother, Pammie. He and his brother were raised by her after she was widowed. But things aren't as they seem. Emily soon realizes she is going to have to share Adam with his mom. How devious is Pammie? You have to read the book to find out.

I read this in one day, it was that good!

Thanks to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for the advanced copy. This is my honest review.

The Other Woman is the debut by author Sandie Jones. This is one terrific read. I really enjoyed it.

The Other Woman is one of those thrillers that you cannot put down. The twist at the end was quite delightful. I raced through this book. It is very fast paced and I needed to know what was going to happen next.

The Other Woman is set in London but these characters could be anywhere. The characters totally move this story along. They are truly fascinating.

I highly recommend The Other Woman.

This was a fantastic thriller to get lost in after reading a couple of non mystery/thrillers. I kept needing to turn the pages it became an obsession. Each chapter was a further twist and turn where you were inside the mind of our protagonist Emily. There were several moments where I exclaimed out loud “ oh my God” because it goes in so many directions. The author Sandie Jones created a very tight story that threatened to go off the rails but she was an expert making sure that did not happen. I didn’t ever say to myself I cannot see that happening in real life. The fear that “my partners parent might not like me” is a real feeling. It makes you nervous it makes you second guess every single thing you say. Eventually it wears off and you can relax but it is there especially at the beginning. I think that Sandie Jones really turns the psychological thriller on its head and makes you crave more and more and more. I cannot wait to read more by the author. But this is a suspenseful debut by a pro whose name will be legendary within this genre.

Synopsis: The most twisty, addictive and gripping debut thriller you'll read this year.
HE LOVES YOU: Adam adores Emily. Emily thinks Adam’s perfect, the man she thought she’d never meet.
BUT SHE LOVES YOU NOT: Lurking in the shadows is a rival, a woman who shares a deep bond with the man she loves.
AND SHE'LL STOP AT NOTHING: Emily chose Adam, but she didn’t choose his mother Pammie. There’s nothing a mother wouldn’t do for her son, and now Emily is about to find out just how far Pammie will go to get what she wants: Emily gone forever.
THE OTHER WOMAN will have you questioning her on every page, in Sandie Jones' chilling psychological thriller about a man, his new girlfriend, and the mother who will not let him go.

I received an ARC from the publisher and chose to write a fair and honest review

THE OTHER WOMAN will have you questioning her on every page, in Sandie Jones' chilling psychological thriller about a man, his new girlfriend, and the mother who will not let him go. “The Other Woman is an absorbing thriller with a great twist.

The Other Woman by Sandie Jones. A debut novel. A roller-coaster of a ride with a ending you don't expect. A enjoyable read. I look forward to reading future books by this author.

Thank you, Minotaur Books, for gifting me an advanced copy of this debut novel by author Sandie Jones, in exchange for an honest review. This book hits store August 21.

I will cut right to the chase; this book was totally my jam I LOVED IT – a roller coaster domestic thriller with so many twists and turns. I was gasping right through to the last page.

Emily meets Adam unexpectantly in the lobby of a conference she attends for work. The two of them hit it off and so begins their relationship, which takes flight almost immediately after their first encounter. They cannot keep their hands off each other and Emily has never felt this wanted by a man. She cannot pinch herself enough, to make sure it’s real.

Their fantasy relationship comes to a quick halt when Adam introduces Emily to his beloved mother, Pammie. They do say that first impressions are everything, but who would think that they could also take away everything?

To Adam, Pammie is the perfect mother who can do no wrong, and he is such a loyal son to her no matter what she does. She screams perfection in his eyes and he will be at her defence, no matter who her ‘attacker’ may be, even if it is the love of his life.

To Emily, Pammie is a complete nightmare – jealous, intrusive and possessive [ABOUT HER OWN SON] and outright evil to Emily at every juncture. Emily cannot seem to get this woman to like her, and finally she stops trying so hard to be accepted and focuses more on being the last woman standing in Adam’s heart.

I won’t give away any more as I think readers should experience this one blind and without any bias. Trust me this is definitely a thrill ride that you won’t want to miss.

I am shocked that this Sandie Jones’ first novel – she truly has mastered the thriller fiction game with this one. I cannot wait to read what she comes out with next.

With short and engaging chapters, this book will devour your attention – so be sure to set aside uninterrupted time when you decide to pick this one up.

My Rating 5+