Unfortunately this book was not for me, it was a bit slower than I would like and it just didn't hold my attention. I am sure other people will love it!

I have no idea why I went into A Perfect Marriage by Alison Booth thinking it was a thriller of some sort. Maybe it was the cover? Because the synopsis doesn't say thriller at all. But color me surprised when I finished and didn't get any thrills. Oy vey! The moral of this story is to make sure you go into this book without the expectation of a thriller, and you just might like it. It felt more like a domestic drama, and so many moments are heartbreaking since it deals with spousal abuse. The story is broken up into 2 time periods 1 being in the past and the other in the present, and this is the method Booth uses to give the reader a full picture of what happened. I liked this a lot, and it isn't really a surprise when you find out what happened to Charlie's dad.

The pacing is on the slower side, and I didn't really feel a huge connection to the story or find the characters all that relatable personally. But if you read the synopsis and think it sounds good, I definitely still recommend picking it up and giving it a try. The audiobook is great as well and narrated by Karen Cass, and I do think she added more to the book for me than if I had just read it. A Perfect Marriage isn't going to be for everyone, but if you enjoy slower pacing, more of a character study, and stories of women moving on from abuse, I would recommend picking it up. Again, not a thriller, you're welcome.

I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

Fantastic read..Drew me right into the characters and the feelings that come with what they were going through. I throughly enjoyed reading this

Thanks to the author,the publisher and NetGalley for an early release of this book.

Great idea for a book and really well executed. A thoroughly good read. Highly recommended. .

I truly enjoyed the pacing of the story and the well written characters. This book took me by surprise. It kept me interested throughout the story and I needed to see what was going to happen. I would recommend this story to all thriller and who-done it lovers.

A Perfect Marriage was a fun read with some twists along the way. I loved the relationship between the main character and Zoe, but overall was left wanting more in terms of plot. Still a fun read!

Just finished Perfect Marriage. Interesting story! Using alternating chapters of Then and Now, Sally’s story is told? Having survived a marriage of physical and mental abuse , Sally needs to decide what her seventeen-year-old daughter should know about her deceased husband. Enter a new man that Sally meets at a conference she attended. I enjoyed this story that exposes how Sally goes from the turmoil of her first marriage to hope and survival to let someone new into her life.
3.5

This is not really a thriller of suspense genre book, but still it was a good read. It deals with the effects violence in a marriage can have on all the parties and how it still affect people years after. Good solid drama read.

I received an advanced copy of this book through Netgalley. This book had me from the very beginning. I love that it kept me on the edge of my seat the whole time. I would highly recommend this book to my fellow readers. Thank you for the chance to review this book!!!!

I don't think that I would call A Perfect Marriage a suspense novel. I would categorize it as women's fiction. If domestic abuse, physical or mental cruelty is a trigger for you, be warned. Alison Booth presents complex and layered characters, all with secrets that, if revealed might change their relationships with others. I really appreciated her writing style, and the technique of setting her chapters in the "Then" and "Now." It allowed the story to unroll at a manageable pace for my taste. I found it a worthwhile afternoon's read, and would look for more from Ms Booth.

Sally Lachlan has a secret that has haunted her for a decade, is it now time to let it go?
After a disaster of a marriage and moving on with her life, Sally has a chance meeting with the geneticist, Anthony Blake, whilst away at a conference. It reawakens her desire for love and moving forward, but also makes her afraid of what her past marriage will say about her.
With her daughter, Charlie being curious about her father and his death, at the same time of meeting Anthony, past and future seem to collide and seeing her therapist seems to be Sally’s only relief from the turmoil going on inside Sally’s head.
I found this novel to be a quick read, though wasn’t really sure of how it was to work in the beginning, as it goes from past to present a lot and this made me really want to focus on the story, but also lost a bit of interest in the story, but with perseverance once I got halfway through, the story seemed to take flight in my head and I really enjoyed it. I think with time, the author will write a more fluid reading story and I look forward to reading more from her in the future.

This was definitely not what I was expecting to read. This did not have any mystery or suspense for me like I thought it would. Nor did it hold my attention for very long. I kept reading thinking maybe If I keep going it will get more interesting for me. Some might get into this novel if its what their expecting...a story about marriage with some mental/physical abuse in it.....not a mystery/thriller

This book tells the story of Sally Lachlan, a scientist and widower raising her now teenage daughter on her own. She has seemingly shunned love since the death of her husband 10 years ago, but after meeting the charismatic Anthony Blake she begins to hope for a different future. The story is sweet and gentle and draws the reader in and then opens up to drama and suspense.
Told in chapters of 'now' and 'then', more of Sally's past is revealed as the book goes on and we begin to see why she has struggled to move on with her relationships. Her daughter also becomes more interested in her deceased father and stumbles upon information which rocks her world.
I thoroughly enjoyed the gradual revealing of Sally's history and the reason for her current turmoil.

This was an ok book, but from the description I was expecting a psychological thriller and this definitely is not that. In fact, it's just a book about a woman who experienced a terrible marriage and now years later is finally deciding to come to terms with what happened to her.
There's nothing particularly surprising or, for that matter, particularly captivating about this book. It was a very quick read, but I didn't really connect with any of the characters. It is well written and flows smoothly.

An easy but gripping read, very well written - you really feel the journey and emotions with the character, a great book!

Such a good book once i GOT DRAWN IN PAST THE FIRST 3 CHAPTERS. rEALLY GOOD READ AN EXCELLENT STYLEOF WRITING

An interesting read. This story flits between past and present until all the details of Sally's marriage are revealed. It tackles the subject of domestic violence both physical and mental, sympathetically.

Thank you to Netgalley for my copy.

A fast moving 'then' and 'now' dual storyline book, I enjoyed this book. I was surprised in places as I expected the storyline to go down a certain route but the author surprised me by taking an unexpected route.

A fast moving storyline with complex characters and plenty of surprises along the way I recommend this book.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

A Perfect Marriage by Alison Booth tells the story of Sally Lachclan, a woman trying to rebuild her life after an abusive marriage. The story is narrated through two main timelines. The present time narration is focused on Sally’s life, ten years after her marriage. The past timeline tells the story of Sally and her ex. It is not chronologically narrated though. It moves from different episodes in the marriage sort of like how a person’s flashback would occur. You know how you remember a period in your life? Different things come back, not necessarily in the order that they occurred. It took a little time to get the hang of it but once I did, the narration flowed easily.

This story tackles the theme of domestic abuse. Although this is a theme that I have read many times, the author brought a new angle that I haven’t found in many books. Charlie is Sally’s daughter. She was only 10 when her father died and didn’t know much about the kind of man that he was. Sally finds herself in a position where she has to tell Charlie the truth. However, how do you tell your kid that their father was a monster? I could relate with Charlie due to my own experiences. I didn’t know how bad my folk’s marriage was until over a decade after their divorce. The two characters were so well developed and I think their portrayal was also quite realistic.

I also liked how the author developed the themes in the story. As I have already mentioned, the past is not chronologically presented. However, the author first presents the end of the marriage and the goes back slowly to the beginning. This illustrates how abuse develops in relationships and not just the physical but also the emotional that tends to go more unnoticed. In the present timelines, readers get to see the effect that abuse has on the victims. It wasn’t about dramatic, visible changes but more about the effects that cut much deeper such as loss of self-worth.

This is a story about family. It is also a story about secrets, love, loss, new beginnings and forgiveness. I would describe A Perfect Marriage by Alison Booth as a captivating, character-driven psychological drama.

Okay well I will start off by saying that this book was filed under 'mystery and thrillers' and this book is definitely not either of those things. Because of that I think my review will be different, considering I kept expecting a mystery or a thrill and didn't get anything like that.

What I did get was a then and now look at a marriage that was seemingly perfect from the beginning and then jumps to years later after her husband is long gone. This novel is about the ins and outs of marriage and what happens when the unexpected happens and your husband really isn't what you thought he was. Interesting and a perfectly fine book - just no fireworks really.

Thank you to the publisher for providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review.