#TakeTheVow #NetGalley

A missing person- two possible versions of the story that leads to the missing of the groom, none of which seem complete.

Things I like- without giving the story away, I would say that the gaslighting concept was demonstrated perfectly. The characters of Amy and Jess are fleshed out completely. The friends Cathy and Zoe also act believably. The history of herbals and the meanings of the herbs and flowers were explained beautifully. Absolutely loved that part!

However, the book wasn't thrilling enough- especially, in the middle. It could've been a much shorter and tighter story. There were a lot of repeated conversations between A&B, A&C, B&D, where the scenes are described in detail all over again. The police investigation is a joke - they seem to care very little about WHO the missing person is and their background. Same with the two suspects -until the suspects themselves revealed some things, the police didn't have a clue. Police investigation in the real world is a lot more thorough and precise than what was shown in this book.

A little slow moving for my taste and I kept checking the percentage of book left while I was reading it.

All in all, I like the book and the characters, but it could've been shorter.

An enjoyable read, I was drawn in from the start. The story was fast paced and a good read. For me the second half of the book did tail off a bit and the ending was slightly disappointing. But overall I enjoyed the book

Amy and Matt are getting married. Two weeks before the wedding, Matt goes missing. The story is told from three perspectives: Amy, Jess, and Fiona. This book immediately drew me in, with Amy’s narratives about herbs and gardening. Although the basic storyline is familiar, the author spins it so well that it felt fresh. It is a slow burn of a story, as secrets and vows unravel. Recommended.

Amy receives a strange call from her Fiancé Matt two weeks before their wedding and after their vows have been written. Matt disappears and Amy finds out that another woman, Fiona, is also claiming to be with Matt and that he was going to leave Amy for her. This is news to Amy!
A well written thriller with added events along the way that keep you guessing until the end. Is Matt who he says he is or is there a secret waiting to come out?
Jess, Amy's daughter, is a very strong character and she helps to find the way to the truth at the end.
An enjoyable read and one I would definitely recommend.

Just two weeks before their wedding, Amy’s fiancé Matt disappears. This is the beginning of a nightmare where she tries to work out what has happened to him.

The story is told alternately by Amy, her daughter Jess, and by the other woman. The first half of the story moves at a rapid pace and had me gripped. As more is revealed of Matt’s character, it appears that their perfect relationship was not what it appeared to be.

The second half of the story, told more from the perspective of the other woman in the story, left me feeling somewhat perplexed. I kept alternating between which one of them I thought was guilty. The pace of the story slowed here and although still interesting, it wasn’t unputdownable as it had been at the beginning. The police involvement didn’t feel quite as realistic at it could have been as the WPC had too comfortable a relationship with Amy’s daughter to be entirely believable.

The ending took me by surprise. It was neatly packaged and explained the doubts I had been experiencing earlier. This is an enjoyable read with an unexpected ending.

This started out to be a really promising read, gripping from the beginning. As we see Amy and Matt planning their wedding, only two weeks away. Putting the final touches on everything with their wedding planner, and just needing to sort out the final seating plan. Until one day Matt left for work and didn’t return. Where had he gone? Amy is frantic, calling everyone she can think of. Eventually reporting him missing to the police. But then another woman reports a man missing as well, it turns out that was Matt as well.

The story is told with flashbacks of the past, to Kimberley and Charlie and tragic events, jealousy, that changed lives forever. Then the present through the eyes of Amy a herbalist who earns her living making ointments and potions from plants and herbs she grows in her garden. Jess her daughter, and Fiona a lawyer and seemingly the other woman.

The story begins really well, with a strong plot that makes you wonder where is Matt? Is he dead or alive? But then about half way through, something just starts to flag a little with the plot. The police officers and their investigation is ridiculous, in fact they don’t really do an investigation, that’s all down to Jess, she is the only one who looks for any type of evidence as to what is going on. Which made the story become unbelievable to a certain extent. The fact that Amy is arrested for the murder of Matt, she has a useless lawyer who never says a word. The police officer WPC Page’s tone we are constantly told is ‘sharp’. There is also some repetition of the story from 1996 which didn’t give any new information, it was the same thing being told, which seemed a little unnecessary.

I liked Amy and Jess both likeable characters, Fiona was hard. But they were needed that way for the story.

Overall a good plot, I was just disappointed as to how the second half of the book went.

I would like to thank #netgalley and #Avon for an eARC of this book in exchange for an honest, fair and unbiased review.

Alriiiighhttt

This book really pulls you in starting from the beginning! Gotta suck to have been ditched two weeks before your wedding! You can't even get in touch of your fiance to talk about why he left you and where he even was. There is no information until Amy needs to call the police to report her fiance, Matt, missing.
Too bad there is another woman looking for Matt too. They have been a couple for a while now.
You think it couldn't get any worse; not getting married to your love because he left you and went missing. Now he also has a mistress as well!
Oh how much I wanted to sympathize with Amy! I couldn't imagine!!! Until the author starts to reveal little innocent Amy's past. The scandals, the lies, the deaths.
This is a middle of the road book. I didn't love it, didn't hate it. Just there and existed to me. I feel like it fell a tad flat somewhere and it lost its magical mojo.
Entertaining however I must say. I'll keep looking out for more books by you Ms. Howells. I am intrigued.

Thank you NetGalley for this read in exchange for an honest review!

Amy is due to marry Matt soon, but he suddenly goes missing. Around the same time, a woman named Fiona appears from the shadows to expose that Matt was due to leave his fiance soon to be with her. This leave Amy in an incomparable heartbroken position. Where is Matt, though? AHHH! I love thrilling books like this. SUCH a page turner, I couldn't put it down once I started. This is the perfect quarantine suspenseful mystery read!! Thank you to NetGalley and Avon Books UK for a copy of this book for an honest review.

The Vow by Debbie Howells

Not all is what is seems. As preparations are underway for Amy and Matt's wedding a series of events leading up to the groom's disappearance leads to more questions than answers and makes you wonder if we really know the people we are closest with.

This book had me on the edge of my seat from beginning to end. Debbie Howells gets suspenseful thriller down to the very last detail. I highly recommend this page Turner!

4/5 Stars

Thank you #NetGalley and #avonbooksuk for a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

The Vow is a twisty psychological thriller told from multiple perspectives, that has the reader constantly guessing who they can trust.

The story centres around Amy, a second- time bride, whose fiancé suddenly disappears 2 weeks before their wedding. After reporting him as missing to the police, her fear turns to horror when she discovers that the man she thought she knew was leading a double life. What follows is an unravelling of the past and secrets that will leave you on the edge of your seat.

I really enjoyed the plot of this book and the atmosphere was creepy and pulled me in. There was something sinister about the alchemy aspect of the garden and there wasn't a single I wasn't questioning at some point.

On the one hand, I liked the red herrings the author threw in to keep the reader guessing, but when I reached the end of the story, I found myself reaching back and questioning why certain things were included.

I think this book was enhoyable but would have packed a bigger punch if it was about 50 pages shorter. There was some dialogue repetition that I didn't mind, but someone who reads a bit slower might have gotten hung up on.

Overall, this is a page turning read that would be great for fans of the Gone Girl-esque genre.

An engaging thriller, believable characters that I could relate to but maybe one coincidence too many! I enjoyed the plot which had plenty of surprises.
Amy’s wedding is two weeks away when Matt her fiancé, inexplicably disappears. She is devastated but when she reports it to the police she discovers that another women has also reported someone missing, someone who said he was about to leave his fiancé. Two conflicting stories but who is telling the truth? As the investigation continues Amy finds herself under suspicion and events from the past are discovered that turn her whole life upside down.

I liked how the story was told not just from Amy's side but also the "other woman's" side (Fiona) and even Amy's daughter Jess. All three of them had so much to offer in terms of story line.

There were so many secrets in this book .
Thank you so much to NetGalley and the author for the ARC in exchange for my review.

A compelling story within a story; I really enjoyed reading this clever book! Thanks to Avon and to the author for an advanced copy in exchange for my honest opinion.

This book was the first book I have read by this author. I truly loved this book and was engaged from the moment I started reading. My heart broke for Amy at first and then I started second guessing everything and questioning every character on what happened to Matt two weeks before their wedding. I enjoyed the flashbacks as well, at first I wasn’t sure of the connection but I enjoyed how it all fit together. I give this book 5 out of 5 stars. Thank you Net galley and publisher for this opportunity to read this book.

This is my first Debbie Howells book and I loved it! The story kept me intrigued from the beginning.

My worst fear when I was getting married was my husband to be leaving me at the alter for another woman. So while Amy was not left at the alter per say, it was extremely close to her wedding day when her husband to be just disappeared.

I liked how the story was told not just from Amy's side but also the "other woman's" side (Fiona) and even Amy's daughter Jess. All three of them had so much to offer in terms of story line.
There were so many secrets in this book and it really hit home with the "Not everything is always as it seems" theme.
Thank you so much to NetGalley and the author for the ARC in exchange for my review.

I was initially interested in this book because I am a corona bride dealing with having to postpone my wedding, but I can't imagine what our main character endures when her fiancé goes missing two weeks before she is set to marry him. I have read several books about missing wives and husbands but this one still hooked me from the beginning and had me eager to get to the final end reveal. I liked reading from the different view points and I didn't know who to believe or trust, everyone seemed unreliable. I liked the storyline from the past and how it wound up connecting with the events of the main plot. The author's exploration of the symbolism and use of flowers and herbs which I was afraid would be boring was executed in a way that kept me intrigued. I enjoyed the twist at the end, and while I had an idea of who was responsible, I was still pleased with how everything wrapped up. I especially enjoyed how the title was meant to throw the reader off and not intended as one would think.

Very powerful book. Kept me engrossed throughout. Amy and Matt are getting married in 2 weeks when a stranger stops Amy in the street and says she's in danger and she doesn't know the truth. Then everything starts to unravel

A big thanks to Netgalley and Avon Books UK, for the ARC of this.

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Two weeks before her wedding, a stranger stops Amy on the street & warms her about her fiancé & that she’s in danger. That night Matt never comes home. She reports his disappearance & calls off the wedding. Then another man is reported missing by his girlfriend Fiona, a man also named Matt & whom Fiona informs the police was on his way to break up with his fiancé to be with her. As the investigation goes on both women’s conflicting yet equally plausible stories emerge.

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This was a great page turner! I read it in only one day, I just had to know the solution. Amy (our main protagonist) is dumbfounded when her missing fiancé turns out to have a girlfriend behind her back. As we go along in the book, more & more secrets are revealed. No one is who they seem. I did like a lot of the reveals though once I’d reached a certain point, the whodunit was a tad easy to guess. However that didn’t diminish my enjoyment of the book. I think if you like a fast paced domestic thriller then you can’t go wrong with this one. This is the first novel by this author I’ve heard of or read & based on the experience I would read another one by her.

#Netgalley #thevow #debbiehowells #arc #booksofinstagram oh man. I'm torn on this review. When I saw the title. Because, hello, my name is Cori and I will judge a book by its cover 🙈 I went on thinking marriage vows. While that's how it seems to start off it takes a left turn to a man and a woman soon to be married. The man goes missing. Odd things happen. Maybe the fiance is crazy. Maybe she killed him 🤷‍♀️ I liked the curvy road journey we seemed to go on. It was more than just a story that didn't tie up neatly until the end. #bookworm #booksofinstagram #bookreader #readbooks #bookreview

Many thanks to Avon Books UK, Netgalley and Debbie Howells for the ARC of this book.

I was in two minds about this book.
Part one felt like it dragged on, I couldn't really connect with the main character and I felt a lot of the lines had been repeated a lot.
But part two blew it out of the water! I loved part two. The flashbacks throughout were well done, the plot twists were brilliant and the writing style was very descriptive.
Again I feel this is the kind of book you need to go into blind.
3.5 stars rounded up to 4 for that ending!