This was a hard book to review. I found the book going over the same things over and over. I struggled to get through it. sadly I had to put it down a few times. I am choosing not to publish my review on other sites as I do not like to spread a negative review for the author as I know they work very hard on a book. I wanted to like this book but I felt the material just was not there.

Diana is married to Robert and their daughter Karla is married to Jason, giving them two grandchildren, Holly and Josh. However, the adults in this story have some very sharp words will each other and are not living in married bliss. Follow these three generations of people as they try to muddle through the hustle and bustle of family life.

The cover of The Marriage Trap claims this novel is a psychological thriller. I did NOT find this book thrilling but found it to drag on and on. I thought The Marriage Trap was a MISERABLE read. All four adults were unhappy with their marriages and the mood was dreadful. The story got off to a BAD start in the first chapter when you are thrown into the situation of Jason leaving Karla. Then chapter two begins and the timeline goes back three whole months. From hereon you are given a day by day account of both marriages. It was off putting to read in the first chapter that Jason is leaving Karla and the rest of the book is background to that day. All four adults have their faults and you do not develop an empathy for any of them. Your gut feeling very quickly becomes that you are very glad you are not married to any of them.

There are plenty of secrets and lies to be revealed but each one takes forever, a hint here and a hint there until many chapters later you find out what the hints were all about.

I found the mood of this book very annoying, the three generations were living a miserable existence. There was no joy in their lives, making this novel a very sad read. The Marriage Trap did not stimulate me and I did not find it entertaining. I failed to engage with the story and found it a turn off. I think this book would put off any single people thinking of marriage.

In the acknowledgements at the end of The Marriage Trap, Sheryl writes…

Final thanks to every single reader out there for buying and reading my books. Authors write with you in mind.

...However, I did not enjoy reading The Marriage Trap. I found the domestic misery a chore to read. I was very disappointed with The Marriage Trap, I simply did not like the story. Having been happily married myself for the past 28 years, I thought the adults were behaving dreadfully towards each other. I think Sheryl has made a mistake by publishing such a negative novel.

I did like that each adult had their own chapters that represented their points of view. Sheryl can write very good novels as I thought her last book called The Second Wife was an OUTSTANDING 5 star read. Sadly The Marriage Trap left me COLD and I can only vote this latest from Sheryl the minimum score of 1 star. Sheryl can produce the goods, so hopefully better luck next time for her readers but if this was their first read, they may move onto other authors.

My thanks to Netgalley for a copy of The Marriage Trap by Sheryl Browne for an honest review.

Unfortunately this book seems more like a general fiction , with the storyline of a “Tv soap “ than a thriller or psychological novel. I couldn't really care for any of the characters, who seemed to act totally out of their originally character descriptions as the story progressed.... slowly.
Perhaps I was expecting more of the twist in the tale by the finish , but I found it all too predictable. sorry ! I feel it would be better described as woman’s fiction ?

Oh WOW! What an amazing but complicated story this is. It took right to the very end to unravel and tie up all of the loose ends. Another excellent story from this talented author . I loved it. Highly recommended

LOVED this book! It was twisty, full of unexpected turns, and it had some darkness that lent to the depth of the story. I devoured this book in just one night, so good.

Thank you to Bookouture and the author for the arc of The Marriage Trap my review is honest and unbiased in any way.

The Marriage Trap tells the story of Karla and Jason who have been married for 12 years and have 2 children but that is about to change when Jason declares he has found someone else and is leaving Karla. Then we are taken back to the previous 3 months to discover what led up to his decision to leave. The story is told from both Karla and Jason's perspectives and is full of twists and turns that kept me hooked until the very end.

Well that was something

This one took a a long while to get into. Nothing much happens for its entirety other than a few revelations that shift the outcomes a time or two. Everyone has a secret and they are all unsympathetic characters. The poor children are swept along for this horrific ride. This is a pretty bleak story.

When I reached the conclusion I was relieved that it was over and still unsure exactly what happened. Did I like the writing? Yes, it flows well and the characters are well developed. I did want to see it to the end but I have a mixed reaction to how much I enjoyed rather than was entertained by it. Probably would read more by this author.

Thanks to NetGalley, the author and Bookouture for a copy in exchange for a review.

The book is not what you think it is.....

Karla is a complete whack-a-doodle but I had to keep turning each page, devouring the story, to see if my hunches and ideas were correct. I was..and by the time I got to the end I went from hating Karla to having such an overwhelming sense of pity and compassion for her..

This book was fast paced. Hard to put down. It flowed well and it was very well written. It caught hold of me and had me hooked from the start . I was literally on the edge of my seat reading this book.

It took me a little while to get into this book, but it had some good twists and moments of suspense.

Yes… you will be wrong wrong wrong! You won’t know what’s coming. This book will definitely have you trying to keep your mouth closed as it will naturally fall open in an act of shock. The characters are so believable, the plot is layered perfectly, and the ending is full of shocking surprises! It’s everything a thriller should be!
I haven’t read a Sheryl Browne book that I didn’t love, read until all hours of the night, and want to hug and throw across the room at the same time! A brilliant author and a super nice person who always interacts on social media with her fans.
If the cover says “written by Sheryl Browne”, I am definitely adding it to the front of my TBR pile!

Kayla is married to Jason but the financial losses of his business plus the meddling of her father who has opposed their marriage since she fell pregnant over twelve years ago is wrecking havoc on their marriage.
The story unwinds slowly and is told from the perspectives of Karla, Jason, her mother - Diana and her father - Robert along with comments in Karla's narrative from her dead twin sister Sarah who died under suspicious circumstances when they were eight years old.
The first part of the book is slow reading and you often find yourself wondering if its worth pursuing but the reader is rewarded with an explosive, dramatic ending.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for allowing me the chance to read this book..

Great beginning, fantastic end. Fast, sharp, unexpected, full of twists and turns. This is exactly what you want from a good thriller.

5 SOLID STARS! Browne is one of my fav authors, while her books are not the normal thrillers, they’re so real that you actually ache while reading them! This one did not disappoint! It chilled me, broke me, and then shocked the he’ll out of me! Amazing, amazing, amazing! Cannot wait for her next story!
Will make sure to highly recommend!

Thank you Netgalley for the advance reader's copy, in exchange for my honest review/opinion.

The Marriage Trap was an okay book. It kept me entertained, but also thinking "why?" often. It was listed under mystery and suspense, which i do not believe it was either. More a general fiction novel.

Sadly, it took me a long time to get into this book. So much so, I frequently put it aside and read something else. There seemed far too much moaning and groaning from husband and wife, Jason and Karla, that could easily have been fixed with a proper face-to-face chat. Then again, that would have reduced the story to novella length. I didn't predict some of the ending, but felt it also left me dangling a little in thin air. However, the author writes well and I would read another of her books in the future.

3 ½ stars! It is hard to know for sure how I feel about this.
Some parts of this were so heart wrenching that I had tears when reading.

Karla was a character that wasn’t particularly likeable or even relatable at points. However, the beginning part of her nagging Jason to take her fathers’ money was really annoying. I could totally see where Jason was coming from regarding this.

Jason I found to be overall more likeable in the beginning. However, his character fell short in the end for me.

All these two needed to do was actually sit down and talk properly. But he was too busy “protecting” her from the truth and she was too busy lashing out at him to hurt him the way she thought he was hurting her. In the end I felt really awful for the poor children involved. I was angry at Karla for basically abandoning them in her heartache.

I found this interesting enough to keep reading but now that I am done with it I feel unsatisfied by it. The ending was left wide open with no resolution for this couple and as the reader I kinda wanted to know if they could fix it or not.

I enjoyed the writing style from this author. I had never read anything from her before but I would definitely consider reading another one from her in the future.

Married for twelve years, Karla and Jason have two children. Life is mostly good. They have a few problems, but they can work it out. That's what Karla thought, at least, before Jason abruptly announces he is leaving her for another woman. But Karla knows something Jason doesn't... and he had no idea what's about to happen.

The story begins with Jason packing his bags and informing his wife he's in love with someone else, before going back three months in time to show what led up to that moment. I loved how it immediately grabbed my attention, making me want to read as quickly as possible to find out how their marriage went wrong.

I imagine many scenarios along the way, but none were as shocking as the reason compelling Jason to leave. Whoa. Up to that point, my sympathies were all firmly in Karla's corner. Clearly, Jason was a jerk, and the obvious villain in the matter... or so I thought. Knowing all the facts made me reconsider everything I thought I knew about Jason and Karla, resulting in a definite shift in sympathy. In hindsight, it should have been obvious who was behind Jason's decision to wreck his family, but Browne's careful crafting of the story kept me in the dark until the moment of truth arrived. I was floored by it completely... outstanding!

The surprises kept coming after that, and it became clear to me that nothing was as it seemed. The final revelations of ALL secrets and motivations led to multiple satisfying conclusions. What a ride this book proved to be! I definitely recommend this book to readers who love books full of twisty surprises.

I received an advance reading copy of this book courtesy of Bookouture via Netgalley.

Not a bad story- but in the end it got a little too over the top.

I do not understand why Karla acted like she did- the nights out etc....it didn't make sense to her character

Hated the ending

I usually love Sheryl Browne’s books but I was a little disappointed with this one. The story is about Jason and Karla. They have been married for twelve years and have two children. Jason’s business is in trouble and Karla wants him to ask her father for a loan. Her father Robert is a bully, a ruthless business man and has a reputation for womanising. Karla has a love/hate relationships with him as some years ago her twin sister died and only her and her father know the truth about what happened. He also has never liked Jason and even wanted Karla to abort her baby when she found she was pregnant. Jason finally succumbs and asks Robert for the loan. Robert then tells Jason a shocking family secret that if revealed would tear the family apart so Jason realises that he must leave if it is to stay a secret. I found that I didn’t like the characters, the story was very drawn out and I guessed what the secret was . Sorry, just not the book for me.
Thanks to NetGalley and Bookouture for giving me the opportunity to read and review this book.