Roses are Red - Miranda Rijks

3*

From beginning to end I was undecided about whether the main characters in Rijks' tale of a woman deeply committed to both career and family life were truly believable. Focused on the end of one relationship and the beginning and rapid development of another, there was, however, no doubt that the plotline was sufficiently gripping to keep you absorbed to the very end. Even once you, as reader, were convinced that you'd worked out the who it was still impossible to detect why until the last chilling moment. If you're after sophisticated character development this book may not be for you but if it's a good page-turner that you want then look no further.

Horrocks
@sunnybookreviews who received a free copy in exchange for an honest review

Thank you to Inkubator books and NetGalley for allowing me to read an eARC of Roses Are Red. This review contains spoilers.

I gave this book a 2/5 stars, unfortunately it just wasn't for me. I couldn't connect with Lydia, the main character and couldn't even find the side characters interesting. I remember being about 15-20% of the way through and saying out loud to my husband that it was a shame I already knew what was going to happen and who the murderer was.

While I dont mind when things are unrealistic in a book, I had a hard time getting past the idiotic choices that were made by Lydia. The way that she just overlooked obvious red flags, even though she knew that something seemed fishy, such as when Patrick practically asked for 50000 grand on their 2nd date. Or that she had never met or talked to his sister. Or that Patrick
lied about where he was and was sneaky on the phone. I'm sure that was the way the author intended for things to be in the book, to show how easy people can be deceived when it is so obvious to others around them that that is what is happening, but I just was so irritated the whole time I was reading.

The writing style wasn't terrible, but wasnt my favorite either. I wouldn't say that it was jumpy or all over the place, but something about the way this was written just made me feel as if it was rushed and a little chaotic. I couldn't quite put my finger on it while reading, what exactly gave me this vibe.

All in all it wasn't a terrible book, but it was a below average read for me. I would still recommend if you are looking for a mystery/thriller and want something fast paced then you could check this out. Especially if you are new to the mystery/thriller genre, this might be a better read to you.

Lydia Palmer lives a wonderful life that most of us would envy. But her husband is a serial cheater, she's extremely unhappy and wants a divorce.

But someone else wanted her husband gone .. permanently. He is found at the bottom of their swimming pool.

The police say her husband may have been murdered. Her daughter blames her mother for his death. Lydia thinks maybe it was her business partner .. his wife was sleeping with her husband. Her business begins failing. Her world is collapsing.

Lydia is convinced that someone is trying to destroy her happiness. She’s wrong. They want so much more than that…

This is a riveting psychological thriller, well written with deftly drawn characters. There are twists and turns that lead to a surprising conclusion.

Many thanks to the author / Inkubator Books / Netgalley for the digital copy of this psychological fiction. Read and reviewed voluntarily, opinions expressed here are unbiased and entirely my own.

Another great one by Miranda Rijks.

Well written, captivating from page one. Strong storyline with good characters.

Carefull about dating sites... you never know what you're going to find and if it's too good to be true it generally is...
Lydia is a little naive, she believes she found the right man, the perfect man, Patrick, and things are good, they get married almost as soon as they meet... then someone is after her...

I've read Miranda Rijks so many times and am never disappointed, I find her stories addictive.

Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher, and Miranda for the ARC of this book. This is my honest review. All opinions are my own.

Adam and Lydia live a charmed life, beautiful house, great children and friends and a successful business. Until it all starts to fall apart - Lydia discovers Adam is having an affair with their business partners wife, she then finds Adam dead at the bottom of their pool, is it an accident or murder?. She does manage to meet someone through internet dating, Patrick is handsome and charming but is he too good to be true? As her life falls apart Lydia clings to Patrick, he is the only light in her life. After a very short courtship they marry without the blessing of her teenage children, but she deserves some happiness doesn't she? Yes, Patrick says so.

I didn't like the characters and found Lydia rather weak and needy. Who in their right mind would a) internet date within 3 months of their husband's death no matter what the state of their relationship? b) lend huge sums of money to this date who is by all intents and purposes a stranger? and c) marry this stranger within weeks of meeting him? She was far too trusting and also very selfish. Her children did not like Patrick so that should have put an immediate brake on the relationship, they needed not only time to get used to their Dad not being around but also time to get to know Patrick and get used to their mother dating again.

The book was well written and made me want to read more to find out what was going on, but the situations were unrealistic.

Great piece of fictitious writing. Thank you to Netgalley, Inkubator Books and Miranda Rijks for giving me the opportunity to read this arc.

I enjoyed this novel despite the holes in the story. A bit over dramatic at times, but I did enjoy it and recommend it, Main characters were a bit much to handle, but definitely a four star read. Recommend

Roses are Red by Miranda Rijks- Lydia Palmer has it all, she is wealthy, has her own business (which she shares with her husband Adam Palmer and friend Ajay Arya) and has the perfect family home. However, her world slowly begins to spiral out of control when her marriage with Adam begins to breakdown and her business begins to go down hill. Then, Adam dies unexpectedly and Lydia’s world is turned upside down. Lydia tries to move on with her life and explores internet dating where she meets Patrick. Patrick ticks every box and is the perfect man for Lydia but is all too good be true?
This is the first novel I have ever read by this author and was given it to read on Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. I really enjoyed this book. I found it was a very easy read and I really liked Miranda’s style of writing. I became lost in Lydia’s world. However, I did find this book to be quite a predictable read and found I worked out the ending quite early on. I would love to read a sequel and find out more about Lydia’s life following on from the events of this book. I’d give this book 4⭐️ and would recommend it to anyone who wants something quick to read. This book highlights how easy it can be to become a victim of fraud and has taught me to be more careful especially when meeting people online.

Lydia is is in the midst of getting divorced from her husband Andrew. Andrew has an untimely and mysterious death. Problem solved, right? Lydia doesn't waste any time and starts dating Patrick and get married!
Weird things start happening- who is sabotaging Lydia's life? Is it her business partner? Is it someone else?

This book was great, quick suspenseful read with twists and turns along the way.

Great reading. Its the first book I have read by this author and it wont be the last. Addictive compelling reading and I lost many hours sleep over this book - desperate to get to the end. It tells the story of Lydia and her family - Lydia is married to Adam, they aren't happy together and are considering divorce - then tragedy strikes and Adam is gone! Lydia cannot understand what has happened and although the police are doing all they can - they too cannot find out what happened to him. Move forward 3 months and Lydia has met Patrick on an online dating site - they immediately hit it off and are married with weeks. ..Whilst Lydia didn't want to be married to Adam any more - she still misses him and grieves for herself and her children. Over time things go bad for Lydia and it appears someone has it in for her. Patrick - the love of her life is worried for her and sets out trying to prove who is making her life hell. ...If I say anymore I will be telling you too much! Defintely read it!

This was my first novel from this author and I am absolutely hooked. This one dug it’s claws in to me and didn’t let go. There was a little bit of internal screaming going on, and I desperately wanted to smack the main character for being so oblivious sometimes. The author really made the naive, new to dating angle work. It was exasperating at times but not in a way that cheapened the story, it was very well done.

Thank you to Inkubator books for allowing me to read an advanced eARC of Roses are Red.

This book was almost painful to read for me; it's the first one in a while that I have really really not enjoyed and just wanted to put down at almost every page but as i'd been sent it directly from the publisher I wanted to try and finish it so I could give a complete review.

I have to be honest, the last 40% or so I just skim-read because I couldn't deal with actually reading it all. The plot was so insanely obvious from the first few pages and there are never any surprising twists or turns. I was really hoping there was going to be a big twist at the end that was a lot more subtle but everything just stood out from every page. Patrick being who he was and Fiona being in on the plan just were obvious; it read in every interaction we had from both of them and I just don't get how Lydia was so naive. This is a woman who's started her own business and we're meant to believe she would be this naive and gullible?

The characters all felt so cliche and one-note, there was no real character development and they were almost stereotypical caricatures. I think it wasn't helped by the overall writing which never actually dealt with any of the issues the book arose. Husband and dad dies; three days later they're all fine and we're not really going to touch upon their emotions. She's getting re-married, eh the daughter will be angry but that's it. There is no depth to the writing or to the characters which made it really hard to actually feel anything about what was going on.

The book was just so implausible and unrealistic that it wasn't ever enjoyable. Honestly not one I could recommend.

If you’re looking for a quick read Rose are Red is it. Lydia and her husband are getting divorced then he’s found dead in their pool.this book was hard to put down. Nothing’s what it seems. I’m definitely gonna be on the look out for books by Miranda Rijks.

Ohhh yes this was such an amazing thriller! I am telling y’all I was very happy with this novel throughout all of it!

This book really wasn’t for me. The story line was good but I thought the way things were dealt with were slightly unrealistic.
The main character Lydia annoyed me throughout.
Thank you for letting me read this book, unfortunately not for me this time

Eu amei esse livro! Foi um frenesi do começo ao fim, não consegui largar a leitura de jeito nenhum e fiquei a todo momento gritando com a Lydia na esperança de que ela deixasse de ser besta.
A leitura foi bem fluida e instigante, tanto que terminei o livro rapidamente.
Fui fortemente surpreendida por uns personagens no fim, eu já desconfiava que não eram boas pessoas, porém não imaginei que o desfecho fosse acontecer daquela forma e isso foi um ponto super positivo pra eu gostar ainda mais desse enredo.

I've enjoyed this author's work before, but this wasn't a winner for me. The protagonist was so dim and naive that it was hard to believe that she'd had a part in founding a multi-million dollar business. And her actions, especially in light of her husband's death were especially unbelievable. It was just all too implausible.

“Roses are Red” by Miranda Rijks is a suspenseful psychological thriller which I really enjoyed. I spent most of my time screaming at the main character “No! Don’t do that, Oh come on!!! Look behind you! Don’t be so stupid!” I really wanted her to realise what was going on but she was oblivious until the very end!
It was a great read, short action packed chapters and well formed characters made this a most enjoyable read.
I look forward to reading more from this author.

I was unable to put this book down and read it in two sittings, pretty much ignoring my kids whilst I got lost in Lydia’s tangled and messy life. I could pretty much see from early on who was out to wreck Lydia’s life but that said it took away nothing from enjoyment of this story.

The writing flowed easily and it made for a very easy read despite the complex situation. This is the first I have read from this author and I loved every second. It made my life seem like a breeze compared to the character's difficult situation.

I swayed from liking Lydia to dis-liking and by the end I loved her. She had it all. A successful business, a wonderful family and seemingly nothing in life to worry about apart from a husband, Adam. She’d recently found out that he was having an affair and a divorce was about to be placed but when Adam’s body is tragically found in their swimming pool she soon finds herself under the police spotlight.

Lydia is soon looking to find love again and through the use of online dating she meets Patrick. She can’t believe her luck and it’s not long before he is a big part of her life and a new wedding ring is on her finger. He’s a business consultant and is often away from home but he’s her new rock.

It’s not long before the killer of a husband is back on the scene and out to end Lydia lives. A number of terrifying incidents occur and when Patrick arrives home bruised and bloodied saying that the car he was driving which belonged to Lydia crashed as the brakes failed things get serious.

There is only one person that has a real motive for wanting both Lydia and Adam out of the scene and that’s Lydia’s business partner and long time friend Ajay but all is not as clear cut as it seemed.
This was a fast paced read that kept me engaged all the way through. I loved and hated all the characters at differing points but it all tied up and came together perfectly to leave a very satisfying ending.

There are some things that you think could never happen to you. You think you are smart and educated. You have life experience. But what if something does happen and you never see it coming? Lydia and her husband Adam run a successful craft company that Lydia started when she was younger. . Lydia and Adam have two kids Mia and Oliver and a beautiful house, expensive cars and the wealth to do as they wish. Lydia and Adams marriage is at its end. They both wish to divorce. Before this happens Adam is found dead in the family swimming pool. The police think its murder. Who is to blame? There are a few people that have motive. Lydia starts dating a man named Patrick and he seems too good to be true. . Remember what people say, if it seems too good to be true it probably is. What is going on in Lydia's life? Why do strange things keep happening to her? Why can't they find who killed Adam? This book was intense and enjoyable, especially the twist at the end.

Thanks to publisher and Netgalley for providing me a free copy of this book in exchange for a honest review.

Roses Are Red is a psychological thriller which won't let you sleep for hours.

I was quite fascinated by the synoposis itself and couldn't resist myself from reading.

The story is breathtaking and full of suspense.