Betrayal, deceit, secrets and murder: what a delicious recipe for a domestic suspense thriller, right?

And it was—for the most part. I was really enjoying this book and looked forward to promoting it on Goodreads & Instagram…until I read the ending and my entire opinion changed.

This is a difficult review to write and while I appreciate the author’s writing and storytelling overall, I need to address the ending.

…and I’ll do so carefully so as not to spoil it for other readers (I’m also marking this review as a potential spoiler)…As a domestic abuse and sexual assault survivor I cannot—and absolutely will not—support the ending of this book. It’s shameful and a complete slap in the face to victims of sexual assault and everything the #MeToo movement set out to accomplish.

I have never once called out a content/trigger warning in my reviews, but I simply can’t overlook this one…

⚠️ Sexual assault/rape/false accusations of rape

Thank you to NetGalley and Graydon House Books for the gifted eARC.

Melanie is very relatable. She does not have a lot of friends, possibly because she's a stay at home mom, so when Collin encourages her to join the writing group, she is hesitant. When she meet Luke, she knows she is in trouble but can't help herself. The first half of the book sets up everything for the twisting ending.

I loved the pace of this book. There is a lot going on in the book besides Melanie and Luke and it all fits together very well. In the end everyone gets what they deserved.

Such a Good Wife by Seraphina Nova Glass is a domestic thriller that follows wife and mother Melanie as she navigates choosing to leave her career as an aspiring writer and take care of her angsty teen daughter, her young son who carries a diagnosis of Autism Spectrum Disorder and her Mother In Law living with Alzheimer's. Her husband is constantly working but they are a united front in the raising of their children and even how the household is run, they both pitch in and he seems to appreciate all she does for them. Melanie complains about being stifled and smothered, and decides to join a neighborhood book club. The book club turns out to be an excuse for rich women to get together and drink wine, and gossip. Melanie finds that to be beneath her and looks for something else. She decides to join a writing group at the local bookstore where she finds herself attracted to a local writer , Luke, giving a reading on his book Things develop quickly and she ends up having an affair. At first it seems she feels guilty, but not guilty in a way where she feels bad at how her husband or children would perceive her, but what would others think of her if they find out. Melanie begins to obsess over Luke and starts to pawn more responsibility onto her husband as he feels guilty that he is the one who has the career and she has to care for the home and kids and his mom. The story was a slow build and it took me a day or two to get into it as I found Melanie to be vapid and selfish at first. But as time went on and nobody was truly who they appeared to be, I fell rapidly into the twists and turns of the story. There is murder and mystery with surprises around every corner. This is a not a new story idea, but it was written well enough that it kept my interest. Thank you to Harelequin and NetGalley for allowing me to read this ARC in exchange for my fair and honest opinion.

Such a Good Wife is a twisty thriller that hooked me from page 1 all the way until the very end. I binge read the entire book while traveling from the West Coast to Hawaii and it was the perfect way to spend a long flight.

On the surface, Melanie Hale is the picture-perfect stay-at-home mom, happily married to her adoring husband Collin. She has a beautiful home, and a life that most women would envy.

However, Melanie’s life is not without challenges. She has an on-spectrum son that needs constant attention, a broody teen daughter and is a full time caretaker to her elderly ailing mother-in-law Claire. Mel’s challenges have her wanting an escape from her real life, in the form of joining a writing group and inadvertently meeting a popular romance writer named Luke Ellison. And that’s when everything in Mel’s life goes spiraling out of control.

This story is about Melanie’s journey into temptation and lust, bad decisions, and what she does to keep her family together. It’s a crazy book that goes in many directions and the twisting plot turns were unexpected. I loved it.

Melanie is a standout unlikeable character full of bad decisions at every turn starting on page 1. She goes to great lengths to cover up her mistakes. Some of the things that she does left me shocked, speechless, and horrified. All of the characters in this book are unlikeable except for Mel’s immediate family.

This book is about betrayal, secrets, marriage, family, murder, deception, and blackmail. It kept me engaged from the start until the end with many, many unexpected twists in between. It’s a trainwreck of a book, and I couldn’t stop reading. Well done.

I am sorry for not reviewing fully but I don’t have the time to read this at the moment. I believe that it wouldn't benefit you as a publisher or your book if I only skimmed it and wrote a rushed review. Again, I am sorry for not fully reviewing!

I absolutely loved this book! This was my first book by this author and it won’t be the last. This was a phenomenal domestic thriller and it takes the reader on one heck of a ride. Everyone needs to add this to their TBR list!

What a twisted book this is. It’s an edge of your seat thriller that has you almost finishing the book in one day. Melanie did annoy me in the beginning of the book but does end up surprising me at the end. There’s a twist I didn’t see coming too
Thank to the publisher and Netgalley for the early copy

How could a writing group and an author book signing turn into an affair and then a murder?

Melanie is married, a stay-home-mother, an overworked mother, and an aspiring author.

She attends the local writing group, sees the handsome author signing books across the room, starts up a conversation with him, and starts an affair with him.

Melanie is actually not very likable. She feels no remorse for her infidelity, but worries when she finds her lover dead in his home.

She worries the murder will point to her and ruin her family because she didn’t call the police.

We follow Melanie as she stresses about whether she will be charged and who actually did kill the author.

She also does some risky investigation in shady places and with shady people.

SUCH A GOOD WIFE is a tense read with twists you won't expect.

If you enjoy a nail biting read, you won’t want to miss this book. 5/5

This book was given to me by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I felt that the story was too similar to other I already read and didn't keep my attention.
Not my cup of tea.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine

3.5 stars

Just when you think you know what's happening, you find out that's not the case.

I really enjoy psychological thrillers, and this one is nicely detailed with well-developed characters. The suspense is solid, making for an exciting read. The heroine is flawed, yet relatable. The pace is just right to keep the reader engaged.

Thank you NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read and review Such A Good Wife, prior to its release date.

I thoroughly enjoyed this psychological thriller. I would also categorize is as more so of a slow burn domestic thriller. The characters are well developed and have many layers that you get to see throughout the narration.

Melanie is the girl you LOVE to hate, although at times I did like her. The anger and tension that built up inside me while reading about her love affair had my blood boiling.

This was a wild ride and at times I was left angered with Melanie and her behavior. She describes her life as feeling suffocated and needing an outlet, which leads to her affair, but what about everyone else that suffers from your misgivings? I get it, the once intense marriage has now become comfortable. You care for two uneasy children and had to sacrifice your career, but HELLO that's life! Anyway, as Melanie finally comes to terms with the fact that shes wrong and she is risking her family, she wants to end the affair. Unfortunately, she is unable to do so as Luke is found dead.

I don't want to drop any spoilers as this was a book you will not want to put down. I thoroughly enjoyed the writing style and would recommend this to all my domestic thriller loving book friends!

Such a Good Wife by Seraphina Nova Glass is a thriller read that really gives away what you will get simply by the title. Melanie Hale is our main character who we are to believe is such a good wife. Melanie is the type of woman that others envy looking as if she has it all, two wonderful children and a loving husband. What more could Melanie possibly need?

Melanie however isn’t as happy as she seems on the outside. One day Melanie decides to do something for herself and attend a local writer’s group hoping for a bit of inspiration in her life and her writing. However, after the meeting Melanie finds herself flirting with Luke, a charming writer who Melanie somewhat envies his exciting life style.

Melanie doesn’t quite know why or how she ended up in an affair with Luke or how to break things off now that it has happened. Sneaking moments with Luke became too addicting and Melanie knows she needs to call it off before she ruins her family and marriage but when Melanie walks in and finds Luke’s dead body she panics and runs and now Melanie lives in fear of anyone connecting her to Luke.

Such a Good Wife is another thriller that for me had it’s positives and it’s negatives while reading. The book really was a slow burner as it spends a lot of time on Melanie contemplating the affair and really seemed to drag that all out. The book for me did pick up though and have me engaged in the whodunnit all of the story and I thought it wrapped up in a twisted and fascinating way which I liked. Overall I’m giving this one three and a half stars.

I received an advance copy from the publisher via NetGalley.

Honestly I just could not get into the story. The majority of it was similar to past books I have read and not new or fresh. I appreciate receiving the arc for this one.

This book starts off extremely captivating as it describes the main character discovering a dead body. However, after that short chapter, the story development is very slow, yet rushed in a sense. For example, I personally found the development affair portion of the story was rushed or didn’t contain enough depth for me to really be invested. I just found it was sort of glazed over. There were quick sex scenes and narrative around the main character’s feelings, but I was missing something on that relationship.

The story was told in a first-person POV, narrated by Melanie Hale, the main character. I did enjoy that single POV as it made the story more mysterious. I did like Melanie’s character, the writing really highlighted the fact that Melanie had lots to deal with at home and was truly exhausted, worried and unfulfilled, so you could definitely sympathize with her character.

The ending was satisfactory but a bit rushed. I was still missing a conclusion on some minor aspects of the story.

There were a couple of unexpected moments, but I expected something more sinister to the story. In my opinion, this was less of a thriller and more general fiction. This could be a great book club read!

3.5 stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️💫 rounded up

Melanie Hale is a happily married mom of two in a wealthy Louisiana community. When her devoted husband Collin encourages Mel to join a writing group, she does. There she meets Luke, a handsome and successful author, and the two begin an affair.

Tired of leading a double life, Mel decides to end the affair and shows up to Luke’s house, only to find him dead. She flees, determined to keep her affair a secret and her name as far away from Luke’s death as possible. Only, someone knows all about what Mel has done…

I enjoyed this story from the start, although I was pretty mad at Melanie for having an affair. Her hubby is so loveable! But I guess then there wouldn’t be a book. 🤪 There are a few side plots (that may or may not have anything to do with the murder) including an abusive relationship with a local cop, a mother-in-law with dementia, and blackmail– all of which kept me interested. I thought the ending was a little ridiculous (the lengths Melanie would go to, hence the ½ star drop in rating from 4 to 3 ½), but overall I enjoyed this book!

Thank you to NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this ARC in exchange for an honest opinion.

Thank you to the publisher for my copy - all opinions are my own.

This is the exact kind of simmering tension, rolling to a boil drama that makes for PERFECT summer reading, I picked this one up with the intention of reading a couple of chapters, and promptly inhaled the entire book in one sitting.

With a plot that is perfectly crafted with the kind of intensity that has you hanging off every single chapter, I found myself totally hooked on what was going to happen. I loved the lead character Melanie, and her totally realistic behaviour as she struggles to reconcile her passionate affair with a relative stranger, to her daily life with her loving husband and children. I loved the build up to Mel finding Luke's dead body, and her frantic unravelling as she tries to figure out who did it, and what they want from her in the aftermath. I love the mix of totally disgusting and deplorable characters along with the vulnerable, scrappy characters you are rooting for with every new chapter.

Perfectly paced, and twisted in the most perfect ways, I cannot recommend this one enough for some very fun summer reading.

3.5 stars! This was a fast paced, quick read!
Mel is a happily married woman who has always wanted to write a book. Her husband urges her to join a writing group but when she does she meets hot romance author, Luke. She can’t stop thinking about him even though her own husband, Collin is charming and so lovable!
Soon, Mel is in deep with Luke to the point it’s over taken her life. Determined to end things, she goes to his house only to find him dead. But someone is on to her, someone knows she had an affair and Mel must cover her tracks.

A little predictable but still twisty enough to enjoy!

Thanks to NetGalley for my advanced ebook copy!

Wow, wow, wow, what a twisted tale! This is one of those that really keeps you guessing, until the author decides it’s time to let you in on some secrets! A twisted, raveled web, we get to watch deliciously unravel in a delicious, dark way! It’s not very fast paced, but instead is more of a slow burn, which I normally am not a huge fan of, but did enjoy this book a ton! Character development was done superbly, which only attracted me to the story more than I thought I could get! Dark, disturbing, chilling, thrilling, and shocking! A must read for my fellow thriller lovers! Highly, highly recommend!

One word- EXCELLENT! I love a domestic thriller but this one was SO MUCH BETTER because the author uses so many layers that readers head will spin! However, we will also be frantically flipping the pages to find out what happens... And when we do? SHOCK! Pure shock! I loved this one so much!

Sorry, this wasn't for me. The self righteousness of the heroine about people with dementia who are put into nursing homes by their families - most of the time families are not able to care for loved ones with dementia. Miraculously, and highly unrealistically, the heroine here is able to do that by sticking her MIL in an upstairs bedroom while she is able to care for three children, one of whom has autism, make meals for the family, etc and so on. Give me a break. Dementia involves wandering, combative behavior, dangerous behavior, etc and so on, and making the difficult decision to put a loved one in a home where they will get proper care is not neglectful or wrong, it is loving and right. I'm sorry if giving a one-star gets me banned from further ARCS but as someone who has dealt with family members with dementia I can not pretend to feel otherwise about the situation. (Plus the heroine somehow had time for an affair. With three kids AND an MIL with dementia and terminal cancer. This book should have been classified under science fiction.)