EXCERPT: The door was almost closed when an arm was thrust through the crack, causing it to jolt to a stop and then slowly shudder it's way open again. Georgia stepped back.

'Whoever it is, just don't let it be Cadence, don't let it be Cadence. Please, please don't let it be Cadence.'

A woman stepped in, her eyes down, her face blotched with angry patches. Blonde hair partly obscured her contorted features. But Georgia could still recognize her.

Cadence.

ABOUT 'THE EX': She wants him back. She wants you gone.

Luke is The One. After everything she's been through, Georgia knows she deserves someone like him, to make her feel loved. Safe.

The only problem is his ex-girlfriend. Luke says Cadence is having trouble moving on. She texts Luke all the time and leaves aggressive notes on Georgia's car.

Georgia starts to feel afraid. But she decides to confront Cadence ... and that's when things get interesting.

MY THOUGHTS: I went into this expecting it to be more chic-lit than it actually was. Probably one of the reasons I enjoyed this so much. Moriarty slowly builds up the suspense on a base of ever shifting sands. I was more than pleasantly surprised. Intruiged. And entertained.

There's not a huge number of characters, Moriarty has kept it quite tight, and it works well. The pace is fast and suspenseful. Moriarty had me hooked early on, and kept me wanting more right through to the last word. It's the sort of book that you think, 'I've got a few minutes to spare, I'll just read a page or two,' and instead you end up reading several chapters and being late. I boiled a pot full of eggs dry. Neither the eggs nor the pot survived.

Moriarty has blended a mix of love, betrayal, revenge and manipulation into a suspenseful psychological thriller that has me looking for more titles from this author.

⭐⭐⭐⭐.1

#TheEx #NetGalley
@HarperCollinsAU #HarperCollinsAustralia
#NicolaMoriarty
#australiancrimefiction #contemporaryfiction #domesticdrama #psychologicalthriller #suspense

THE AUTHOR: Nicola Moriarty lives in Sydney's north west with her husband and two small daughters. She is the younger sister of bestselling authors Liane Moriarty and Jaclyn Moriarty. In between various career changes, becoming a mum and studying teaching at Macquarie University, she began to write. Now, she can't seem to stop.

DISCLOSURE: Thank you to Harper Collins Australia via Netgalley for providing a digital ARC of The Ex by Nicola Moriarty for review. All opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own personal opinions.

For an explanation of my rating system please refer to my Goodreads.com profile page or the about page on sandysbookaday.wordpress.com

This review and others are also published on Twitter, Amazon, Instagram and my webpage

I've never read anything by Nicola Moriarty before but I will definitely be looking into more of her books. The Ex was a fantastic thriller with enough crazy character moments and some great twists to keep you hooked. A fairly quick read, I couldn't put this down and read it over the course of a day. Definitely recommend as an entry to the thriller genre or as a great lazy Sunday read.

3.75 stars

Georgie is a nurse in North-West Sydney who finds Luke unexpectedly one night and starts a whirlwind romance. But everything is not completely rosy as Luke reveals he has a "crazy stalker" ex girlfriend who soon starts to hunt down Georgia....
This gets 4 stars for being fun and easy-to-read. There is not-hard-to-guess mystery here, and the writing is solid, but not literary or amazing. It was just the type of book to read when you don't want to think too much and have some nice leisure time on your hands.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review.

A really quirky read which I enjoyed even though I suspected one of the twists early in the narrative, Nonetheless the development of the story is well done and kept me reading.

I like Nicole's style and thoroughly enjoyed Those Other Women, so will seek out her previous works - what a talented family

OMG, this Moriarty clan is doing me in. They are wrecking my heart and soul with their books.
I loved every minute of this horror, thriller, suspense and a love story in disguise.
The Ex is a heart-wrenching, nail-biting, head banding on the wall story of... exes and girlfriends, boyfriends and fiends, families and friends. It is a story of survival. It is a story of very talented thorough evil that can wear numerous disguises and make you doubt yourself.
Oh, it is a story of a very sad person (spoiler alert). But it is a story of girlspower as well. It is the story of the values, real values in our lives.
A person needs just one person in the whole wide world to support them, to believe them and in them unconditionally... And a person needs to trust just one person to save them, to protect them... We are invincible if we let ourselves be so...
I read this book in a day. I could not put it down. Once again, Moriarty book spoke to me. It spoke to my memories, my fears and my victories.
A must read for everyone.

Georgia is immediately attracted to the good looking and charming Luke, the more she gets to know him the more she knows he’s the one for her.
There’s just one catch. Luke is still living with his ex girlfriend Cadence. And she won’t let him go without a fight.

Overall I enjoyed this book, it’s well paced and written good the only downside was the direction of the plot was very predictable. A few chapters on this book I knew which way this book was heading.
There was a little twist at the end but it didn’t really give me that ‘shock’ factor.

The Ex by Nicola Moriarty explores a new relationship and the pitfalls that occur when all is not as it seems, especially when a crazy ex becomes involved.

I enjoyed this book, although it follows a similar narrative to other psychological thrillers and you can guess who the 'bad guy' is going to be very early on in the book, the way it all came together in the end still surprised me.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the chance to review this ARC.

This book is a great thriller which had me turning the page to find out what was going on. This book is based on a stalker. If you like books about stalking then this is the book for you. She brings mental illness to the forefront , which is a topic prevelant in our society today.This book definately was a roller coaster ride. Great characters and a captivating story.

I really enjoyed this book. A great read which I would fully recommend reading!

A perfect guy and the girl that is desperate to find her man. Georgia finally meets the man of her dreams and everything else seems to start going wrong in her life. Luke has an ex girlfriend, Cadence who he says is not coping with the breakup and wants Georgia out of the picture!

Georgia find herself with problems in all aspects of her life, at work, with her family and friends. Is Cadence out to get rid of her? She starts to feel she is being watched but is unsure if she is being paranoid or if she is really in danger.

Thank you to Netgalley and Harper Collins Australia for generously providing me with this ARC.

I am on psychological thriller binge at the moment and I can’t read enough of them! When I read the synopsis I immediately knew this was my kind of book, because I love crazy stalker books!

This is my first book by Nicola Moriarty and I am impressed.

The storyline and characters were well developed with just enough angst and suspence to keep you guessing. Additionally I loved that it was set in Sydney’s northwest. I am familiar with the venues and streets Ms.Moriarty was referencing In the book and that familiarity added to my enjoyment. I loved the Aussie slang and the authors writing style just worked form me. It flowed easily and I found this quite a pager turner. The crazy relationship between Luke, Georgia and Cadence is as you would suspect not quite what it seems.....but that’s all I am going to say. It’s best knowing as little as possible.

I must admit I did work out the plot quite early on, but I didn’t know how it was all going to play out. When it all unravelled it was brilliant!

Oh my goodness! This was such a great thriller! I was hooked throughout and just wanted to keep reading to see what happened. I also loved that it was set in Australia 🇦🇺

Georgia has finally met The One. But Luke comes with extra baggage - his ex girlfriend, Cadence who can’t seem to let him go. How far will Cadence go to keep her man?

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for my complimentary copy of this book.

*5 Stars*

Copy kindly received via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This was a really interesting read, with good characters. Shows how easily people can be fooled by others who are smooth talking. (Most of us probably have been at some time).

I liked the ending, thought it worked out well.

This is a really clever book. Just when you think you’ve worked it out and know where the story is heading, it reveals another twist and turn and you head in a different direction. Love the suspense created by the elevator chapters, so well done and love even more that the female main characters are strong and feisty and seek revenge.

What a deliciously twisted, suspense filled thriller!

This was my first Nicola Moriarty book and I practically consumed it. If her others are anything as gripping as this one, I daresay it won’t be my last!

This book is excellently written, has a great cast of characters, and is very compelling, and while I suspected certain elements early on, the how and the why were done brilliantly.

Everything in this story is so intricately woven that I can’t say much more without giving away plot points, but if you’re a fan of the mystery/thriller/suspense genre then get on this book!

Many thanks to Nicola Moriarty, HarperCollins Australia, and NetGalley for an ARC is this book in exchange for an honest review.

Absolutely fantastic ! I enjoyed the 5th letter but this just superseded it . I generally feel I’m pretty good at picking up on twists but a few of these I didn’t see coming !!! A must read !

Life is great after Georgia finds her perfect match in a bar, just after she’s been stood up on a tinder date. There’s only one catch with this relationship, his ex is still in the picture and it seems she’s not happy he’s found someone else.

I really enjoyed this book, I suspected the direction of the novel early on but there were enough surprises to keep the pages turning fast.
I thought the storyline was quite realistic and scary to see the level of manipulation that can happen.
Highly recommended and had my heart thumping in a few places.

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for a copy to read.

I have read a lot of this type of psychological thriller of late but happily, this is one of the best.

Georgia meets Luke and he’s everything she’s ever wanted in a boyfriend. The only negative about Luke is that he still lives with his ex-girlfriend who, once she learns about Georgia, starts to cause trouble between the new couple.

Maybe because I have read lots of similar books this year, I thought it had a pretty obvious twist. However, even though I guessed what was going to happen at an extremely early mark, I still enjoyed the book immensely. And despite thinking I knew what was going on, the tension in the book built at a really good pace, until my heart was pumping and I had to read to the end quickly to find out the resolution.

I liked the Australian feel to the book. Although technically the setting could have been any larger city in the world and the characters’ language and dialogue would certainly be understandable to anyone in any country, I still got a nice sense that the characters were distinctly Australian.

I also liked the way Moriarty included modern aspects into the story with such ease. Texting, social media etc are all used with a deft touch and there was nothing jarring about their inclusion at all (which I find quite often is the case in contemporary books).

Impressively Moriarty presents a lot of sensitive issues with empathy and finesse. Depression, cutting, suicidal thoughts, anxiety and emotional abuse are all integral to the plot.

And, most impressively, Moriarty made the story seem realistic - something that is really a rarity amongst this genre! I really believed all this could have happened and I never once rolled my eyes and had ‘as if’ thoughts whilst reading.

I gave the book 4 out of 5, shaving off a star for how obvious some things were (although, now I think about it, that might have added to the novel's realism). I still highly recommend this book and Moriarty definitely proves her more famous big sister isn’t the only one with writing talent in the family.

PS Not sure what’s going on with the title. My version was called simply ‘The Ex’ but a lot of editions now seem to be ‘The Ex Girlfriend’. ??

When Georgia met Luke in a bar after being stood up by her date, she was immediately attracted by his good looks, charm and caring nature. As she gets to know him she falls deeply in love and knows he is 'the one' for her, well-deserved after all the bad relationships she's had. Soon he is meeting her family and moving in with her. But he comes with baggage - his jealous ex-girlfriend Cadence who just doesn't want him to leave her and won't give him up easily.

Nicola Moriarty has written a twisted psychological thriller which is a compelling page turner. With complex characters and a well paced plot it is a fast paced read. While the direction of the plot might feel a tad predictable, the underlying plot revealed in the suspenseful climax took me by surprise. Recommended for lovers of a good thriller.

Girl meets boy. They fall in love. There's just one problem...

She wants him back. She wants you gone.

Luke is The One. After everything she's been through, Georgia knows she deserves someone like him, to make her feel loved. Safe. The only problem is his ex-girlfriend. Luke says Cadence is having trouble moving on. She texts Luke all the time and leaves aggressive notes on Georgia's car. Georgia starts to feel afraid. But she decides to confront Cadence ... and that's when things get interesting.

Nicola strikes again and KILLS IT! Another amazing books from her. Once you start, you will not want to put this book down, especially from Part 2! It keeps you on edge, that you need to know what happens. It will give you the creeps and make you feel so uncomfortable, but will also shock you. I had a feeling it would turn on the way it did, but I still couldn't believe it when it happened. Cannot recommend this book enough!!

OMG I seriously don't know how I can review this great book without any spoilers!! Georgia is a nurse in a Sydney hospital and after being stood up in a bar by a tinder date she meets Luke - he is personable, well spoken and good looking - almost too good to be true. She falls head over heels with him and they quickly take their blossoming romance to the next level with him moving into her apartment and meeting her family at the wedding of her brother. The only issue is that Luke has an ex-girlfriend Cadence who is not happy about Luke's new girlfriend and cannot accept the fact that he has moved on. What follows is a roller coaster ride with Georgia feeling she is being stalked by Cadence. Meanwhile her relationship with Luke seems to be going too well and there are gaps that start to appear in his story that make her question whether he is being truthful to her. I really cannot express how good this book is, it is by far my best read of 2019 to date and I implore you all to read this book - you won't be disappointed!! This would make an excellent movie - just don't watch it alone! An excellent depiction of a domestic noir psychological thriller.