Thank you to NetGalley for this ARC. Tish is basking in all the glory of netting this very rich man and scooping up all the millions of his company going public. Kate, John's first wife, is still half owner in this same company. Tish is determined to take everything. When John dies, his daughter is determined to get to the bottom of it! Good read though I figured it out. #thenextwife #kairarouda #May2021

Could not put this book down! I read this in one afternoon.
Based in Columbus,Ohio - how cool is that!?
Crazy characters and a crazy story! Wow is all I can say. I had no idea what direction this was going to go and I love that! A story that keeps me guessing! And that ending!!!

Thank you @mbc_books for my digital copy of The Next Wife. This one just released last week!

I love @kairarouda previous two books, so The Next Wife was one of my most anticipated books of the year. The audio was fantastic! Four different narrators for four different main characters-the next wife, the previous wife, the daughter, and the husband.

I read/listened to this one in a day which hardly even happens during the work week, it def kept my attention. It was a fun read! Like her previous books I feel like obsession played a huge underlying theme in this book. There were a few twists through out, one I figured out, one I did not. @blondethrillerbooklover called this a popcorn thriller and I totally agree. Great easy thriller for domestic thriller fans and fans of @kairarouda

Oh my so very good. Very angsty which I love. I found it to be a nail biter. Definitely a reread in the future. Great, smooth storyline.

The Next Wife is a cleverly written story of the two Mrs. Nelsons. Author Kaira Rouda has a serious talent for writing the dark sides of people. There are red herrings and twists and turns all round and you won't find out what really happened until the very end! Read in one day!

Many thanks to NetGalley and Thomas & Mercer for this ARC!

The Next Wife - Kaira Rouda

John and Kate were a loving couple, heading up their successful EventCo business, parents to college age daughter Ashlyn. That was before Tish.

Tish is 'The Next Wife' just four years older than his daughter.

I had seen some good reviews and it's billed as a psychological thriller so I was keen to read it.

The chapters are divided between the four main characters, until John's untimely sudden death, and then it's an acrimonious battle of wits and wills (in both senses) between the ex-wife Kate and the next wife Tish.

For a psychological thriller with four characters I found the characters flat and one-dimensional and there is no real distinction between the voices of their chapters. The plotting is simple, and not very much happens.

It gives me no pleasure to leave a bad review. I thought it picked up a bit in the middle and was mildly interested to say if the ending could save it, but alas, for me it didn't.

Thanks to Netgalley and Thomas & Mercer

Thanks to NetGalley for giving me an ARC for reading this book and trust me for an honest review.

This is the first book I have read from the author, it's a standalone so there is no need on having read others to get to know the story a thing I appreciate on thrillers. The writing style is very fluent, there isn't many descriptions or filler scenes that slow the plot so that is appreciated, adn we get to see different points of view which if done wisely gives more depth to the plot.

I gave it only 3 stars because I was expecting more, I thought we would see something much darker and twisted, but as the pages went by it turned out to be quite simple, and I didn't like the fate of one of the main characters as I found it almost comical and quite anticlimatic.

I

This is a great way to escape for a few hours with some very unlikeable characters and a storyline that moves like a chess match.
Kate and her husband built up a successful company together from scratch. From the outside, they had everything-a successful company, a beautiful and smart daughter, a happy marriage and then along came Tish and that all changed. Kate has to deal with the changes whether she likes it or not when John and Tish get together and Tish tries to become the “new and improved Kate”
There were times that this dragged a little for me and there were some parts that were kind of repetitive, but the ending, although somewhat predictable if you’re a thriller fan, still made up for it.
Thanks to Thomas & Mercer and Netgalley for this EArc in exchange for my review.

Imagine building a successful business with your husband. All the long hours, no money, valuable time spent away from your daughter, and now finally the payoff, the IPO launch of EventCo. All the key employees are celebrating with you, all stock owners and all set to be rewarded for believing in the company. Look there's John and Kate, the cofounders, their daughter Ashley, and a younger woman Tish who might be Kate twenty years ago. Sisters? I think not, she is John's second wife.
But what happened to Team John and Kate? Well, John decided the grass was greener in his executive assistant's office rather than in his wife's office or even at their house. Kate still maintains her role in the company they built, though she is not a happy camper by any stretch of the imagination.
Tish is well, Tish. Young and hungry and very happy to have John and his money all to herself. If only she could make Kate and Ashley disappear, her life would be perfect. But, she does console herself with the fact that she is the new Mrs. Nelson, so technically, she won.
John starts to rethink the decision he made regarding Tish, but before he can do anything about it, a tragedy occurs. Kate and Tish will go head to head to be sure they each get what they are entitled to, and that means the other woman will be left empty-handed. Kate was a woman scorned, determined to hold onto EventCo, while Tish was just as determined to hang on to the wealthy life she felt she deserved.
The Next Wife may be considered a popcorn thriller or a good beach read. Whatever you call it, it was a fast-paced ride on the cray cray train. I saw most of the events coming but was still glued to the pages as I couldn't wait to see which Mrs. Nelson would emerge victoriously. 3.5 stars.

This was such a quick read. It was hard to put down. There's lots of twists and turns throughout the book, especially at the end. It was super good and I love d it!

So disappointing.

This is my third book by Rouda and I have to say the magic is wearing off. Her first book, Best Day Ever, I gave 4 stars. Her second book, The Favorite Daughter, I gave 3 stars. I think even 2 stars may be too generous for The Next Wife.

I hated every single character in this book. They exhausted me as did the repetition. The entire book is the same discussions over and over and over again. The writing seemed juvenile, the storyline was completely absurd, and the ending did nothing to redeem this. To be honest, I'm not so sure I'll be grabbing Rouda's next offering. Next! 2 stars!

Thank you to NetGalley and Thomas & Mercer for my copy.

Thank you to Netgalley and Thomas & Mercer for the digital ARC in exchange for my honest review.

WHOA. This is my first book from Kaira Rouda and wow, was it good. It certainly started as a slow burn. I had a lot of questions, was constantly wondering where was this going to go and all of a sudden, BAM. I never saw the end coming.

I wish there was a bit more story involving Ashlyn, and her relationship with her parents - just a little more backstory, but otherwise this was fantastic and definitely one I'll be recommending to all of my fellow thriller lovers!

This was.......not great.

Tish is the second wife of a CEO. The CEO still works with his first wife. The company goes public and then the CEO dies.

What's left is the struggle for power and the struggle for the truth....how did John die?

The story, itself, is kind of obvous. The writing is....subpar? That's super mean, I know, but there is no...feeling behind any character. It's all very matter of fact.

Eh.

Thanks to netGalley and the publishers for the opportunity to read and review this book.

John and Kate Nelson created EventCo 15 years ago and now the company has become prominent and well-respected having processed one billion dollars in sales just last month. They sell party supplies, invitations, and concert tickets. John and Kate have a daughter, Ashlyn, 21.

Several years ago, John hired Tish as his executive assistant. Before long, John and Tish began having an affair. Then John divorced Kate and married Tish. It was through Kate’s hard work and determination that EventCo has now gone public. She is not going to let this twit undo all of her hard work.

Tish is young, greedy, and insecure. She is determined to be at the office with John while treating Kate with her “in your face” attitude. John wants Tish to stay at home but she won’t. She is beginning to weary him. He has been working very hard for the offering of their IPO and Tish insists on them taking a weekend to their home in Telluride. To appease her, John agrees. John has high blood pressure and the high altitude of Telluride is not good for his health. Oh, but this weekend does not go well and disaster strikes.

Oh, wow! What a story! The author’s perfect descriptions of the characters is fabulous. Kate is solid and strong. Ashlyn is also a determined young lady. Ah, but Tish is a total narcissist. She has no conscious and all she wants is money and attention. The ending had me snickering in glee. Do not miss this book because it is just brilliant! My kind of read. I loved it!

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

Every single character in this book is unlikeable. I’ve never wanted to unread a book the way I do this one.

3.5 It took me a while to get into this because I've read many very similar books. I wouldn't exactly call it a thriller. I thought it was good, but I predicted the "twist" at the end from the very beginning. I don't think besides said twist, it was all that amazing. It was good, but not amazing. I thought the writer put it together and I would label it a fun beach read. The plot is basically a man who co-owns a company with his wife, leaves her for his much younger assistant. He and the first wife get divorced. When we enter the story the new wife and himself are on a retreat together, but he is planning to leave her to get back with the first wife, and then the main event happens. The daughter is loosely involved in the story as well and the new wife's uncle and mother....

Thank you so much to #Netgalley #Kairarouda #thomasandmercer for this advanced reader's copy for an honest review.

A perfect marriage when a new assistant half the age of Kate and John is 51 became the next Mrs. Trish takes him off for a romantic getaway and dies. Now the company that was Kate’s brainchild half was left to Trish. Kate won’t lose any more, this is her child’s legacy.
While Trish wanting to better her self from the life she had before. Good interesting twist to read of how it will end up.
Given ARC by Net Galley and Thomas Mercer for my voluntary review and my honest opinion

The title does gives away a little about the story. John is a typical middle-aged male that left his wife for his assistant. Tish is four years older than John's daughter, Ashlyn. I find that Tish and Ashlyn's voices are the same. It's a voice of immaturity. Tish's character is all over the place. She wants to be evil and at the same time wants everyone to love her. Yet, she's nowhere near being a psychopath. Kate's character is annoying. She's not exactly the go-get-it co-founder of a major company. Her character wants to go in the direction of woe is me, but never really get there. The tension building for Tish's background was great; however, the reveal was a letdown. I had a higher expectation of this story, especially since it was written by Kaira Rouda. Her other books were amazing. This book was mediocre at best.

Thank you to Thomas & Mercer and NetGalley for letting me read this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

✨Book Review: The Next Wife by Kaira Rouda✨

📖: Kate and John have the perfect life, a beautiful daughter, and a huge company. Until Tish comes in and steals John away. Then, after a big company transition, something big changes everything. Trish thinks she has won. Kate thinks she has. So who really comes out on top? And is anyone really who they say they are?

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫: Woah! This one has been all over IG and I had to have it. I could NOT put it down! It’s such a great story of revenge and petty jealousy all wrapped up with a pretty bow. I loved how Rouda developed each character and how each chapter was a different person’s voice. The flow was perfect and I never felt like I was missing something while putting the pieces together. I was very pleasantly surprised. 4.5 stars!

Really enjoyed this story. Not familiar with the author but needed a new book and I'm so glad I'll choose this. Great story, twists, and ending. Will definitely look into other books from this author!