This is a very fast paced psychological thriller and once you start it's almost impossible to stop listening! I didn't know what or who to believe and it tied me up in knots as it has so many twists and turns, with a great ending.

The narration by Sarah Durham, Julia Bird, Julie Maisey and Joseph Balderrama was great, and the cover of this book is gorgeous!

This book kept me guessing from the start. The twists and turns came thick and fast and there were several ways the book could have gone. I enjoyed the book because it was a break from the usual formulaic psychological thriller. Recommended.

This was a very quick read, mainly due to fact I struggled to put it down! Amy, a herbalist who lives near Brighton, is looking forward to her dream wedding. She never imagined she’d be lucky enough to get a second chance at love, but here she is living with the man she loves. Her daughter Jess has just gone to university so it’s just the two of them. Upstairs hangs the pink dress she chose alongside a soft grey one for her daughter. One morning as she delivers an order, Amy is stopped by an old lady in the street who tells her to be careful because her fiancé isn't what he seems. Slightly shaken Jess rakes a call from Matt, he seems distracted and tells her he’ll be late home because he’s out with a client. He says ‘take care, babe’ - something he never says. Jess is unsettled, but tries on carry as normal, but when Matt doesn’t return that night she goes to bed fully expecting Matt to be next to her as she wakes. However, his side of the bed is empty. This is just the start of a nightmare scenario for Amy and her daughter Jess - where is Matt, who is he and do the secrets of the past always come back to haunt us?

This is an engaging thriller from Debbie Howells. I love the way she builds the kind, gentle character of Amy, to the point where we believe in her, When the narrator changes we have to re-evaluate everything we know. Is Amy telling us the truth or is she deluded and dangerous? I really wasn’t sure till the very end. I think her job as a herbalist also helps to make her trustworthy because when someone is a healer we imagine them as empathic, kind and gentle not capable of murder. The other woman has a credible role too, she works as a solicitor so the police might lean towards believing her version of events. I loved the opposing chapters, especially when we start to encounter the third, unnamed narrator. We have no idea which woman is speaking about the events of 1996, or could it be a third party. Howells drops enough red herrings to distract us - the WPC’s strangely selective answering machine, Amy’s friend who claims to have been propositioned by Matt at a partner or even one of the other women that have become Matt’s victims over the years. The subject of coercive control has been utilised a lot in fiction of late and here it is only part of the story, but explained well nevertheless, The discussion of gaslighting was accurate and explains why we have a fairytale narrative about Matt from Amy whereas her daughter and her friends have seen a slightly different picture. The scene where he has convinced the normally vegan Amy to eat meat was particularly chilling. The ending, when it came, was slightly too sudden as often happens with kindle books because if you don’t keep the word count displayed you don’t have any idea where you are in the book. On the whole a very enjoyable and readable thriller that can easily be devoured in a weekend.

Incredibly complex and twisted.

After a strange phone call, Amy’s fiancé is not seen again. After reporting it to the police, a few days later another woman reports her boyfriend as missing. Her boyfriend, is the same man as Amy’s fiancé. How’s is this possible? How deep do Matt’s lies run?

As I said, complex and twisted. Just as you think you have it figured out there’s another layer to the story that comes to light. Unreliable narrators, you’re unsure of who is telling the truth through the entire story. Started slow but ended strong for me.

I first was drawn to this book from the cover. I love it and think it is very eye catching. This is a great psychological thriller and if you pick this one up, I promise you won't be able to put it down! I don't want to give too much away but lets just say this is a book you want to check out. It is like Lifetime movie!

I was not a fan of this book, I'm afraid to say. The writing itself was jarring and repetitive in sentence structure: every other sentence went like this: "Looking out over my garden, I reached into my pocket." Next sentence: "Opening my phone, I clicked onto my Netgalley." Turning off my Kindle, I rolled my eyes. Persevering anyway, I stuck around to see what happened. Getting to the end, I found the resolution to be contrived and am typing this review,

I don't want to give away any spoilers but (spoilers) THREE characters who changed their name to mask their real identity?! This is convenient for the author to trick the reader, nothing else.

It was also repetitive: once information was imparted to the reader, every single character had to repeat that information in their dialogue at least twice. I read the same information in almost the same words at least eight times. What happened to summarised dialogue?

All in all, this was an easy read but not one I would recommend.

Matt and Amy are soon to be married and have decided to write their own vows. Amy was divorced long ago and is the mother to Jess who is in her second year at university. Amy is an herbalist growing many of her own herbs, and preparing concoctions for her clients.

Amy is disappointed when Matt calls to say that he won’t be home until later as his boss has asked him to take an American client to dinner. As it gets later in the evening and Matt doesn’t come home, Amy gets nervous when he won’t respond to her texts. The next day she calls the police who start to check into his disappearance. But some things that Matt told her are turning up to be untrue. When a lovely floral arrangement is left on her front porch and she realizes that the stems have been wrapped in a bag of blood, she is hysterical and calls the police again.

This book delves into Amy’s past plus that of another character. It shows how easily some women can be led by men. Grrr! Grow up, ladies and don’t let yourselves be pushed around. The author keeps the reader guessing almost all the way through the book which makes one wonder what and whom to believe. This is certainly an unusual and compelling plot, and I applaud the author for her creativity. The only complaint I have is that I feel there was too much repetition of conversations which is not necessary as the reader has already read them. Perhaps next time those repetitions can be deleted.

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

The book was really interesting and was definitely a page-tuner. My first read from the author and definitely won't be the last!

The story is told from three perspectives - Amy, Jess and Fionna - all with different personalities. I immediately warmed up and liked Amy's character. Although she came across as very naive but she was a likable and a very kind character, who would do anything to save her life and spare herself a bit of happiness after everything that she had gone through.

The only minor point that I didn't like was that Jess had a lot of involvement with investigating Matt's disappearance, which made me question the police, their skills and their competence. I understand that Jess was doing absolutely anything in her power to make her mother happy, but surely what she was doing was supposed to be a task for the police?

I was stuck to the book and couldn't let it go until I finished it. I highly recommend it! I am looking forward to reading more books from the author.

An intelligent and absorbing psychological mystery thriller that keeps you guessing till the very end.

We meet Amy and Matt who are about to get married in a couple of weeks. Suddenly Amy runs into a complete stranger who tells her that her life is in danger, and suddenly her Matt goes missing and the wedding is off.

Then we meet Fiona who claims that she was Matt's secret lover, and she had photos of them together as evidence.

What follows is an intriguing quest full of surprises to know what really happened to Matt, enjoy!

Thanks #Netgalley, #Avon, and author #Debbie Howells for a chance to review this book, highly recommended.

#TakeTheVow #NetGalley A tense twisty thriller that keeps you on the edge of your seat. Told in two halves from the perspective of two different women and with flashbacks to their childhood, this is well written and keeps you guessing the whole way through. I couldn't really relate to the character of Amy but that didn't detract me or stop me enjoying the book.

The Vow was an excellent psychological suspense thriller. Right from the start I was gripped by this story. It was well written and the characters were all well formed. I enjoyed everything about this book and it kept ,e guessing until the last few chapters. A great read.

What a fabulous story of suspense, kept me turning the pages and guessing what happened!
I found it fast paced and the characters interesting.

Great first third of the book but then the unrealistic situations, characters and unlikely police procedures made me lose interest. I finished it but felt myself so disconnected to the story I was glad when the complicate£ plot was over.

Rating: 3.5 🍷 🍷 🍷 !!!!!!!
Book: The Vow
(AVAILABLE NOW-Release Date: October 15, 2020)
Author: Debbie Howells
Genre: Thrillers, Mystery, Suspense

The Vow started off really promising. I enjoyed the background story and the connection between the characters, as unrealistic as it was, lol. The level of suspense and mystery kept me engaged most of the story. I have to say I was a little let down with the ending. I wasn’t mad with the exact ending but just the lead up to it. I felt the power and thrill just kind of was let out like a balloon. Most of the story, I was on pins and needles then the last 20% was blah. Because of the suspense of the beginning and the backstory, I would recommend it. It was a quick read and really did enjoy the mystery and storyline.

Thank you to @NetGalley @AvonBooks for an advanced copy of @TheVow

#TheVow #AvonBooks #NetGalley #advancedreadercopy #ARC #Kindle #AmazonReads #Booksofinstagram #readersofinstagram #bookstagram #nicoles_bookcellar #bookworm #bookdragon #booknerd #booklover #bookstagrammer #bookaholic #bookreview #thriller #mystery #suspense #bookreviewer

EXCERPT: Lost in my thoughts, at first I don't notice the footsteps behind me.

'Excuse me . . .'

The voice is unfamiliar. I hesitate, unsure if it's directed at me, then as the footsteps come closer, I turn around to find myself staring at a stranger.

'I need to talk to you.' As the woman speaks, I feel myself freeze. She looks older than her voice sounds, her grey hair wispy, her face strangely unlined. But it's the colour of her eyes, a transparent ice-blue, that is hypnotic. For a moment I'm mesmerised then, as a van speeds past, her hand grips my arm, pulling me away from the road. 'I have to talk to you.' There's an unmistakable urgency in her voice.

'Someone's watching you. They know where you go, everything you do.'

As she speaks, my blood runs cold. 'Who are you?'

Without telling me, she goes on. 'You think you're meant to be together.' Each word both softly spoken and crystal clear, her eyes fixed on mine so that I can't look away. 'You think he's the love of your life.' She pauses for a moment. 'He isn't who you think he is.' Then a strange look crosses her face. 'You're in danger.'

ABOUT THE VOW: Everything was perfect. And then her fiance disappeared…

Two weeks before her wedding, a stranger stops Amy in the street and warns her she’s in danger. Then that night, Matt, her fiancé, doesn’t come home. Desperate, Amy calls the police – but when Matt fails to emerge, she’s forced to call off her wedding day.

Then another man is reported missing, by a woman called Fiona – a man meeting Matt’s description, who was about to leave his fiancée for her. He was supposed to be moving in with her – but instead, he’s vanished.

Amy refuses to believe Fiona’s lover can be her Matt – but photos prove otherwise, and it soon becomes clear that Matt has been leading a double life. As the police dig deeper, two conflicting, yet equally plausible stories emerge from two women who allegedly have never met.

The wedding day never happened. But the funeral might

MY THOUGHTS: Starting with something positive:I love the cover. The flowers were a brilliant touch.

But the book? Repetitive and contrived. There are a lot of things that I would like to say, but it would create spoilers so I won't.

I prefer the second half of the book, starting from where we get Fiona's narration. I didn't like Amy at all. I didn't enjoy Jess's input in the first half of the book because I think it gave too much away, but she really comes into her own in the second half.

Even then, I found myself skimming large tracts of text. This totally failed to keep my interest. I adored two other novels by this author, The Bones of You, and The Beauty of the End. The Vow is a big disappointment.

Many other readers love this book. Reading is a very personal subjective experience, and not every book is for every reader. So, if you enjoyed the extract, and the plot summary interests you, please do read The Vow by Debbie Howells. I hope that you are one of the many who enjoy this read.

Improbable, implausible, contrived and repetitive (at the risk of repeating myself)

⭐.8

There are two sides to every story. But there's only one truth.

THE AUTHOR: After a number of career changes, Debbie now writes full time, inspired by the peacefulness of the countryside she lives in with her partner Martin, Bean the rescued cat and a rather elderly golden retriever called Bernard.

DISCLOSURE: Thank you to Avon Books UK via Netgalley for providing a digital ARC of The Vow by Debbie Howells. 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

What a great read!

Amy is getting married to Matt. She has an 18 year old daughter called Jess from a previous relationship and feels like she is given a second chance at love when she meets Matt.

Amy is a herbalist and creates remedies from plants that she has grown in her garden. This is an integral part of the story. Whilst delivering an order, an old lady randomly approaches Amy and tells her not to trust Matt and that she is in danger. Amy thinks nothing of it. That night, Matt disappears and she reports it to the police.

Another woman named Fiona then reports her boyfriend as missing. It turns out to also be Matt and she claims that he was about to leave Amy for her. He had been leading a double life. But is Matt the only connection that the two ladies have?

The story is told from the narratives of Amy, Fiona and Jess. We learn that Jess has never liked Matt but said nothing because she thought that her mother seemed happy.

We also have flashbacks of an tragic event that happened back in 1996 between a Kimberley and Charlie. In true thriller fashion, everything unravels and makes sense as you read on. It had me totally gripped!

I received an ARC copy of this book from Net Galley in exchange for my honest opinion of it. What would you do if your fiance disappeared two weeks before your wedding and you find out that he was in love with another woman who he was going to leave you for? This book is told by both women, Amy and Fiona, and Amy's daughter Jess. It had me really trying to figure out which character was crazy or if they both were crazy. Amy grows and sells herbs and is having alot of guilt in her part of a teenage death that happened many years ago. I enjoyed this book. I felt like it was dragging at parts but then really picked up towards the end.

Amy, madly in love, is distraught when the man she’s going to marry in two weeks disappears. What follows turns her whole world upside down. I knew I was going to like this book from the first paragraph and it kept me gripped all the way through despite Amy being a bit of a doormat. Daughter Jess seemed much more sensible and adult like. It’s a pity Fiona didn’t feature a bit more than she did. Loved the entwining of herbs and flower meanings into the story, garden descriptions and the inclusion of Steyning, a place I like very much. Thoroughly enjoyed my first book by Ms Howells.

Amy lives with Matt who she is marrying in 2 weeks. She's excited and looking forward to the next stage in her life. Then one day he doesn't come home. Amy's life is turned upside down as she realises that her life with Matt might not be as rosy as she thought.
This psychological thriller is great. The storyline is believable, has enough twists to keep you guessing and the ending ties up everything in a plausible way.
A real page turner. You won't be disappointed. An author to watch

Wow. This was twisted. This just shows how pathological some people can be. This story had traces of Gone Girl and A Simple Favor in it. Very well written and the story was very well crafted. Creepy, but a good read.