The perfect widow- AM Castle

This book was a bit of a disappointment for me as it was a really slow burner with what I felt was far too much waffle, although I did finish the book despite this. The story is told by 2 different people Louise & Becca but also then & now and I found that it became a little confusing.
Many thanks to the author and to net galley for the opportunity to read this book.

This book was a slow starter and a little rambly but once it got started I really enjoyed it !! It was well written I did figure it out but still worth the read!!

Thank you to Netgalley for this ARC.

For me, I found this book a hard one to read. I felt it waffled on for well over half the book before it picked up. It was told in past and present by the main character and from view point of Detective.
I didn’t really like the main character or the Detective. It was an ok read, not sure I would read another book by this author.

This was pretty good although the writing was weird and rambled on a lot. I was able to figure out the twists. Thank you to netgalley for the arc.

What a great book. Would definitely recommend to it others I no. Great work will look out for this author again

What a story. I read it in the day.
Louise was a normal girl who just wanted a happy marriage with loved children and she would do anything to get it. But Louise wasnt who we thought she was.
When she met Patrick she did everything she could to get him.
Well worth a read. As the story progresses you wont be able to stop reading either.

Thanks Netgalley and the publisher for rhe advance ecopy. Louise was raised by a drug addict mother and sold in exchange for drugs. Then her mother dies in a fire which Louise makes it out of. Louise marries Patrick and when he reverts to his old ways she has to make a decision as to whether to take it or keep her family safe. A slow moving book thats why I am giving 3 stars but not a bad read.

I was really looking forward to this read but unfortunately it didn’t really grip me! I continued to the end in the hope that it would become more fast paced and interesting but to no avail!
Louise has it all, big house, posh car, two children and an ambitious husband! However things are not quite as they seem,under the surface are affairs and financial problems! After a tragic accident pc becca appears And she is convinced there is more to the situation, so starts delving!slowly and painfully we find out more about Louise and beccas childhoods and backgrounds.The ending of the book feels very anticlimactic and unfinished!
Thank you net galley for this early read.

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.

Rating: 3 stars

Thank you NetGalley for an advance copy in exchange for my honest review!

I do hate leaving a bad review, because I appreciate how long it takes to write a book, but I have to say this book was not great. The only way I can describe it is very rambling and over-explained. I think the plot does have potential to be interesting, and I liked how it ended, but there needs to be changes in how its written to do it justice.

Most of the book was about how Louise Bridges was lusting after this one man, and basically her journey to get him. The writer seems to have this writing style where every single point rambles on for ages, and is repeated again and again. There was also a few story lines that didn't seem at all relevant (what was the purpose of Pete?). I didn't mind Becca's POV, but was struggling to see why she even suspected Louise, since her evidence was quite far fetched.

I didn't mind the plot, and liked that it ended with Louise getting away with it, though as said before its not surprising that she did get away with it since Becca's evidence was terrible. Anyway, I wouldn't really class this as a thriller, it was somewhat of a romance with a sudden out-of-the-blue twist at the end. I give it 3 stars because I did enjoy bits of it and it does have potential!

I was given this book by NetGalley for an honest review -
How far would you go to protect those you love?
Louise was raised by a druggie mother who abused her, and as she got older gave her to men to pay for her drugs.
And then there is a fire, Louise's mother dies, Louise and the cat are safe.
Louise reinvents herself and aims for a better life, a better wife, and a better mom.
She sets her sights on Patrick, who is a playboy.
Louise finally wins him and they raise two beautiful children.
Then Patrick returns to his old ways - Louise must take control or loose everything. How far will she go to save her family

I’m reviewing The Perfect Widow by A.M Castle, for Netgalley pre published.

The title is quite deceiving after reading the book. It led me to be surprised by what I read. I don’t like to give away spoilers and so you will have to discover for yourselves.

The characters are built up quite slowly and the chapters break up between ‘Then’ and ‘Now.’
There are also different versions from the different characters, to give their aspects and point of views on what happens.
I struggled to empathise with any of the characters. Becca, although has some good notions, repeatedly fails to gain any hard evidence and makes ‘rookie’ mistakes. I found that irritating but I still had to know! So perhaps that was the point?
Louise ‘tells the reader,’ how she got to where she is now which is to explain her behaviour. A lot becomes clear about her past, how she grew up and what she experienced, as if in some way as to explain away her behaviour.
Louise reminds herself repeatedly that she loves Patrick and it gelt to me that she wanted to be wanted and to be in control because she wasn’t as a child.

I really enjoyed how the story led to the how, of what was done. I expected it to be a ‘oh, so that’s what that was’ moment. But it didn’t come. Louise cleverly changed to fit in wherever she needed to. They were her survival skills from her childhood.
This book could quite easily have the ‘marmite factor.’ It did for me!

As much as it hurts me, I can't give "The perfect widow" more than 1 star out of 5, and that's me being generous. First of all, I didn't like the writing style at all. Lots of short sentences and short chapters that didn't allow for the story or the characters to develop. And when there's a chapter a bit longer we get pages and pages, going on and on about the same subject, feeling as if the author had a certain number of pages to fill and she didn't know how.

There are two different points of view, Louise's, with past and present lines, and Becca's, the PC that investigates the death of Louise's husband. And "investigate" is maybe a word too big for what she does. We know she suspects Louise of being involved in her husband's death, because she has an intuition, and that's all. In several points throughout the book we get sentences like "The evidence was stacking up so beautifully now" or "How had the woman got away with this for so long?", but the author doesn't explain at all what that evidence is or what she got away with, or even the steps Becca has taken to uncover that information. It's not till the last quarter of the book that the reader starts to get some answers.

And then we have Louise. In the present line we barely get to see how she's coping with her husband's death, and in the past line she's lusting after a man that barely says two words to her for half the book, showing an obsessive thinking and behavior that make her such an unlikable character.

There was a twist at the last couple of chapters, but it was so out of the blue and I was so bored out of my mind at that point that I couldn't care less.

Thanks to Netgalley and HQ Digital for providing an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

I felt the story was a little repetitive and nothing really happened for most of the book. The story was told through two different viewpoints and I found I didn't like either character. The writing was fluent and I feel with better execution it could have grabbed my interest more.

I understand how difficult it is to write a book so I truly dislike leaving a bad review but this book was not good. The premise was interesting, it is told from a past/present perspective of the main character and from the perspective of a detective. The book is rambling and full of cliches. The first 75% of the book is the main character lusting after “the man of her dreams “ but doing nothing to get his attention. During the final quarter of the book the actual story finally comes out. I’m really disappointed that it took that long because had the author started there I think this could have been a really good book. Unfortunately I do not recommend this book. Thank you to NetGalley and HQ Digital for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I couldn’t finish this book, I’m sorry. I absolutely hated the main character. The writing style wasn’t for me

After being frustrated with the pace of the first few chapters, I decided to skip around the book. The interesting thing is that regardless of chapter or POV, I kept reading the same thing over and over.

Louise loved Patrick... but not really. She was really just obsessed. Louise mourned for Patrick... but not really. She simply did what she had to do. Becca loved KitKats... but not really. Becca was cursed with bad genetics... but not really. She simply loved KitKats.

The deep-POV was so contrary that the reader was left in a muddle. It felt as though the repetitive introspection, riddled with inner debating, only further confused the intent of the narration. I liked the framework and believe this story could benefit with a little polish.

Thank you to NetGalley, HQ Digital, and A.M. Castle for an ARC of 'The Perfect Widow' in exchange for an honest and voluntary review.

Truly, this book is a struggle of a rags to riches woman, Louise.

A knock at Louse's door is answered by her 11 year old daughter, Emmy. Two policemen are at the door waiting to speck to Louise. They tell Louise that her husband (Patrick) had been killed due to a fire at work. One of the cops, Becca, feels that there is something off with Louise's response to the news and has become fixated on Louise.

Becca stalks Patrick's funeral looking for clues that Louise is not all that she seems to be. Even continuing her stalking to nightly events (along with donuts and Twix bars}. Becca is not "fashionably slim" and her mother continually reminds her of this. Her self-image is only buoyed by her status as a cop.

Louise grew up with a whoring mother and was poor. She had been able to obtain a receptionist job where she becomes extremely obsessed over Patrick.

The reader waits to know what happens between Louise and Patrick and if Becca's negative feelings of Louise actually pan out. Or maybe Becca is simply jealous of Louise?

A great read and particularly a fast read. I was caught up in the "what will happen"? You will be, too! I liked this read and it was easy to follow.

Many Thanks to HQ Digital and NetGallery for a good story!

On the surface, Louise Bridges has it all. The perfect husband. Two beautiful children. A lovely home. But then one night, there's a knock at the door: two police officers with the terrible news that Louise's husband Patrick is dead.

Officer Becca Holt hasn't delivered news like this before, so she has nothing to compare Louise's reaction to. But even so, something strikes her as off about Louise's reaction. Did Patrick really die in an accident? Or was there more to it than meets the eye?

The story is narrated alternately by Louise and Becca, and we see both past and present timelines unfold from Louise's perspective. I really enjoyed seeing how a younger Louise and Patrick first met, and was more invested in Louise's character as a result.

The story is well paced with some excellent twists, and I was never really sure who to trust - enough doubt is cast on the reliability of each narrator to make the read an interesting and engaging one. I was also conversely rooting for both women - for Becca to prove herself in the face of the disdain from her older male colleagues, and for Louise to get away with any crimes she may have committed.

A gripping novel with brilliantly drawn characters and an ending I won't forget in a hurry. I can't wait to read more from this author!

Thank you to NetGalley, who provided me with a free ARC copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This book just did not hold my attention. It just makes no real sense. After halfway I had to say, " NOT FOR ME".
Not a perfect read.
Thanks, NetGalley for the advance copy to review.