When I picked this book, I did it with the hope that this would be a "psychological thriller" as mentioned in the description. Sadly, I didn't find it to be as compelling and twisted as I like my psychological thrillers to be. I expect them to blow my mind away, which this did not. I totally saw what was coming and the ending was hardly surprising. This is a domestic thriller at best. That's not to say that this was something short of a good read. It was a decent book with a good number of twists (actually two good twists - one of which I saw coming).

Karla watches silently as her husband Jason hurriedly packs his belongings into a suitcase. She knows that her stillness is unnerving him as she watches his every move from the doorway of their bedroom.
Clothes are screwed up and packed into the case, along with a watch she bought him for his last birthday and his precious laptop. He takes everything from his bedside table. Everything except the framed wedding photo, which now stands alone. Karla strains to see the smiling faces in the photo. If only she knew then what she knows now. ‘I’ve fallen in love with someone else,’ he’d said to her, just moments earlier. The brutality of those words hit Karla hard and she struggled to breathe as she took in each word in turn.

As far as the characters go, the only ones I liked were the kids Holly and Jake and the mother, Diana. The main characters Karla and Jason were infuriatingly dense and their reactions to situations in the book were childish and reckless. They got really predictable halfway through the book. I found Karla's pov to be highly repetitive and extremely dramatic. She completely "loses the plot" midway and it only goes downhill for me from there. Given the story, I don't think the main characters behaved responsibly in any way given their history together. But every human is different and so is their response, so I'm letting that one pass. What the characters lacked in, the plot kind of made up for (maybe?). I liked the one big twist that is revealed halfway through although it wasn't what I'd say makes a psychological thriller. This was a decent one-time read.

Thank you, NetGalley, Bookouture and Sheryl Browne for an arc!

This story starts with the end of a marriage that seems destined to fail even before it started. While this story kept my attention throughout, I found it to be a very depressing read.

This was a really great book. It's the first I've read from this author and I was definitely hooked. Tons of twists and turns and so many lies to keep you wanting more. Great book.

Thank you Netgalley, the author and publisher for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

2.5 Stars (rounded up)! ⭐️⭐️⭐️

When I first came across this book, it sounded really interesting to me. I love a good, psychological/domestic thriller. The reality, however, did not meet my expectations.

The first 75% of this book was very slow, repetitive and tedious. Top that with the worst bunch of characters I’ve read about in a long time. There is not one redeeming quality in any of them. All liars and cheaters. So vile.

I almost gave up on this a few times. I figured out all of the twists before they happened - which is something that doesn’t always come easily for me. This was my first book by this author, but I’d be willing to give her other books a chance. This one just wasn’t my thing.

Thank you to NetGalley, Bookouture and Sheryl Brown for the advanced copy in exchange for my review.

Deliciously addictive!

Sheryl Browne has done it again! Another page turning thriller that has us gripped until the end.

The Marriage Trap will introduce you to Karla and Jason, married about 12 years with two kids and life seems to have become more challenging due to financial issues and we all know how problems with money often lead to problems in a relationship. Enter Robert and Diana, Karla’s parents. Robert, a wealthy man has never liked Michael and has been trying to split them to forever. Will he succeed this time?

The secrets and lies in this book just keep coming one after a another, enough lies to drive a sane person mad, and enough secrets to ruin the lives who happen to be in the path they take.

Another fabulous thriller by the talented Ms. Browne!!!

My husband has been keeping secrets for a long time. He thinks I don’t know what he does outside of this house. But I know everything…

Karla watches silently as Jason hurriedly packs his belongings into a suitcase. She knows that her stillness is unnerving him as she watches his every move from the doorway of their bedroom.

Clothes are screwed up and packed into the case, along with a watch she bought him for his last birthday and his precious laptop. He takes everything from his bedside table. Everything except the framed wedding photo, which now stands alone. Karla strains to see the smiling faces in the photo. If only she knew then what she knows now.

‘I’ve fallen in love with someone else,’ he’d said to her, just moments earlier. The brutality of those words hit Karla hard and she struggled to breathe as she took in each word in turn.

You may think you know what Karla will do next. But you’ll be wrong. Because Karla isn't who you think she is. Only she knows what's about to happen. And you will never see it coming.

An absolutely gripping psychological thriller for readers who loved The Girl on the Train, Gone Girl and The Other Woman. With twists you’ll never see coming, you will not be able to put this one down!


Mt thoughts
rating:5
Wow another win for Sheryl Browne , so far I've read three of her books The Babysitter ( which was my first time reading her books and I was hooked ), The Second Wife ( one of my all favorites of hers , and this one which is The Marriage Trap, and what a read this toured out to be , the inter time I was reading it I was hooked , and on the edge of my set or I should say bed , I couldn't put it down , and I was even holding me breath at times , this story is a little twisted , and dark because of the lies , the dark secrets . Other reason why I love her books is because her characters are all dark, and twisted and they never fell to give me goosebumps, and while there is characters that I love on this one there wasn't one at all, because all them was nasty , but that's what also kept me wanting to read more of it , this story will never let you down it didn't me , and now i can't wait to see what else she comes up with , with that said I want to thank Netgalley for letting me read and review ,

For a mystery/thriller to be truly effective, the author has to weave a plausible story without giving away the ending too early. Sadly, most of the ending to this book became obvious way too early. There was also nothing surprising about the full ending by the time it happened.

It was hard to care about Karla, although the author did perfectly nail all the toxic thoughts and emotions that can accompany being cheated on by a spouse. I knew a woman whose emotional journey through processing that type of betrayal was very similar to Karla’s. So, despite her being an annoying character at times, I give the author credit for her realism.

This book wasn’t a bad way to spend a few hours, but I can’t really recommend it, either. 2.5 stars, rounded up.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for providing a copy. This review contains my honest, unbiased opinion.

This book definitely had its moments and fireworks at the end. But sadly a lot was repetitive with no likable characters. Thank you netgalley and publisher for this arc in exchange for an honest review.

2 Disappointing Stars

“The Marriage Trap” revolves around Karla and Jason, whose marriage has fallen apart. Turns out Karla’s father has never liked Jason and has been trying to tear them apart for years. What reasons could he possibly have?!

Everyone in this family has been keeping secrets from each other. Jason has been having a little fun on the side and Karla, feeling left out, decides to have a little fun of her own. Of course, their kids are the ones who suffer. Shocking.

What happens next is a little strange (I’ll give it that) and then it just becomes a bit predictable.

I went into this novel almost completely blind, having quickly glanced at the blurb and not having read any reviews. It has been working for me up until this point, but unfortunately, here, it just didn't. In addition, I kept waiting for something to happen throughout the novel and nothing did. I think perhaps this was simply the case of my being the wrong reader for this novel.

This was another buddy read with Kaceey!

Thank you to NetGalley, Bookouture and Sheryl Browne for an arc of this novel in exchange for an honest review.

Published on NetGalley and Goodreads on 8.4.19.

Wow! I absolutely loved The Marriage Trap. Once again Sheryl Browne has written a story that I was gripped by and couldn't put down. A domestic noir with a lot of surprises along the way.
Can't wait to read Sheryl's next book! She has such a great way of writing this type of book. The characters were excellent and the plot had me turning the pages so quickly especially those last few chapters!

Get ready for the roller coaster of your life with this book filled with twists and turns. The ending will leave you with your mouth agape in shock! Sheryl Browne is definitely an author I'll keep my eyes out looking for more of her stuff! 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 rating from me!

Twisty twisty twisty! Sheryl Browne has taken me on another wild and crazy ride. This book starts out pretty straightforward. Jason is packing his bags leaving his wife Carla and their two kids. The story then jumps back to events leading up to this, and you are pretty certain you know the story. BUT then Bing bang boom things go sideways upside down and inside out! As soon as you get a handle on one twist another one comes along. And let me tell you what these twists were not for the faint of heart, they were dark and disturbing and oh so twisted! The lies did not stop with Jason and Carla they Extended to Carla’s parents Robert and Diana. The poor kids that were caught up in this large web of deceit, secrets, and lies! And the ending? All I’m going to say is WHAT!?! This was an entertaining fast-paced story that kept me glued to the pages from first page to last. Sometimes the plot was a little frantic, a little over-the-top, a little unbelievable, but I did not care because I was so very entertained! Another fantastic thriller to add to the TBR!

*** thanks so much to Bookouture for my copy of this book ***

Dramatic and heartbreaking story of marriages ups and downs and how secrets can change your life.

I read this in 2 sittings as i had to go to work and it really pulled my heart strings.

Fabulous reading, well recommended.

The Marriage Trap by Sheryl Browne was an excellent read and I didn't want to put it down!

It was a brilliant and dazzling story with plenty of mystery and suspense, though more of a domestic suspense novel rather than a psychological thriller. Full of secrets, no one escaped this story unscathed and the excitement and many twists that I didn't predict made this novel interesting and unexpected..

There were many underlying issues in this cleverly written story that eventually come together at the end and I never saw that very last shocking twist coming. I was left in the dark until the very end. Thanks Sheryl Browne for this fantastic book!

A high recommendation for the suspense and many surprises you don't see coming!

I received a complimentary digital copy of this novel, at my own request, from Bookouture via NetGalley. This review is my own unbiased opinion.

The Marriage Trap is a powerful thriller that had me reading as fast as could be. Sheryl Browne has become one of my top five authors of this genre, I can rely upon her to deliver a book that I will love.
This is a hard book to review as I don’t want to give anything away about the storyline but basically the book is centred around Karla and Jason, struggling to survive financially on Karla’s income as Jason’s business is failing and failing fast but don’t worry incomes Karla’s father, a rich self made business man, he is going to sort all this out and save Jason’s business. Things don’t turn out like Karla planned and Jason decides his only option is to leave Karla. Karla spirals out of control upon this news and here the twists and turns come aplenty.
I really wanted this couple to survive, they were both rightly or wrongly, likeable characters. I found this a really good thriller that had me hooked from the start and couldn’t wait to finish it.
I would like to thank Netgalley and Bookouture for this ARC I received in exchange for an honest review.

My thanks to Bookoutre and Netgalley.
I don't know what the hell I was thinking when I requested this book. I guess it sounded good?
Domestic drama? Really, Lisa? I don't like domestic dramas. I find them tedious and repetitive. Sort of like real life. Before I became mired in real life, I was a hit it and quit it type. So domestic isn't really what I like. At all! I suppose most people would enjoy this. Honestly, I haven't a clue. So, I'm giving this book a 3* rating. Only because I don't feel I can be objective about this.

This was one hell of a psychological thriller! I could have never thought about that twist at the end. Well actually any of those twists!

The start is a bit slow, but I would say hand on, because it gets better. There are so many secrets, lies and how the entire family and the marriages are built on such lies and frauds.

A great read!

This is my first Sheryl Browne's book and I cannot wait to read all of her others books!

The Marriage Trap was a wonderful thriller full of plot-twists and gasp-enducing moments. I could not put it down and would totally recommend it!

I have been a fan of Sheryl’s for a while now. I have read, reviewed and enjoyed each of the books that she has released. She has a knack of writing psychological thrillers that can mess with your head a bit and ‘The Marriage Trap’ certainly messed with my head. Saying that though, I thoroughly enjoyed reading it but more about that in a bit.
I loved the range of characters in this book. One of the main characters is called Karla and she is the wife of somebody, who has just decided that he is leaving her for another woman. I wasn’t sure how to take Karla and I certainly didn’t trust what she said. There was something about her that set little alarm bells ringing for me. That could just be me being over cautious of course, but then I do believe nobody and suspect everybody!! I can’t say that I warmed to Karla but that’s okay because it meant that I could study her from a distance.
It took me a little while to get into this story but that could have more to do with me being tired and shouldn’t be taken as a criticism of the author. Once I got into the story then whoosh off I went. After a bit of a slow start, I couldn’t get enough of this story. I was interested to see how the story panned out and as a result I couldn’t turn the pages quick enough. At one point the pages were turning that quickly that it was almost as if they were turning themselves. All too soon, I reached the end of the story, which I was disappointed about. I wasn’t disappointed with how the story ended but I was enjoying the characters, the storylines and the author’s writing style so much that I just didn’t want the book to end.
‘The Marriage Trap’ is well written. The author has a writing style that is easy to get used to and to get along with. Sheryl can easily turn a story on its head with very little effort. I smugly thought that I had worked out what was going to happen but then bam, Sheryl would introduce a twist which changed the course of the story.
Reading ‘The Marriage Trap’ was very much like being on a scary and unpredictable rollercoaster ride with more twists and turns than you would find on a ‘Snakes & Ladders’ board. Just when you thought that the action had settled then whoosh off it would go again. Overall I was gripped by the story and on occasion I was sat on the edge of my seat.
In short and overall I did enjoy reading ‘The Marriage Trap’ and I would recommend it to other readers. It’s not my favourite of Sheryl’s books but it is still an enjoyable read with twists that you won’t see coming. I can’t wait to read what Sheryl comes up with next. Here’s hoping that we don’t have too long to wait. The score on the Ginger Book Geek board is a very well deserved 4* out of 5*.

Karla and Jason have been married for 12 years and are the parents of Holly, 11, and Josh, 10. Karla works as an administrative assistant and Jason runs his own struggling IT business. Karla’s father, Robert Fenton, is very wealthy and has never approved of Karla marrying Jason. He has tried to get Jason to accept money from him to help his business, but Jason knows how controlling Robert is, so he refuses.

As Robert continues to work his controlling of Karla and Jason, he manages to break down their marriage. Karla seems to fall apart while Jason is trying his best to keep the children and the house going. But as we learn more about Robert and Diana’s marriage, we find theirs is very flawed.

There are lots of secrets that come to light as the story continues and some of them that are rather shocking. While Robert is the (boo-hiss) bad guy, I just did not like Karla. What a weakling she is! But I’m sure that thriller readers will enjoy the twists and turns of this book.

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