There’s a reason I’ll read anything KBelle writes and this book just solidifies that for me. Lately if I pick up a thriller I’ve been gravitating towards a domestic suspense and she’s basically the queen of the sub genre. A solid premise, a riveting plot, break neck speedy pacing and too much intensity to accurately describe makes this one of my fave thriller reads this year.

Part of the reason this one was so perfectly paced for me was that you get to hear from Jade right before the home invasion happens and during the terrifying ordeal, and then Cam both before and during as well BUT you also get pieces of an interview between him and a reporter after things end. So you don’t know how they end, you’re just aware the public response to his role was…not great, but that juicy addition was awesome. Oh! You also hear from Sebastion too, he’s the man holding Jade and her kids hostage. Never a dull moment here and I was so sucked in. Definitely a one sitting type of read, I was gripped and couldn’t wait to see how things turned out. A must read for thriller fans!

My Darling Husband is part of my thriller/mystery/suspense self-imposed challenge that I read during October. Because I get scared easily and often find myself dreaming about creepy scenarios that come from books, I limit the number of spooky titles that I read. In October, when the book world is overtaken with horror, menacing and suspenseful reads, I usually sit back and watch. However, if there are some thriller/mystery/suspense in my TBR, I like to take them all on in October, to keep up with the trend of October scary titles.

Thankfully, this book was not scary, but it was suspenseful and kept my anxiety level on high alert as I flipped the pages. The premise of a masked home invader waiting in the garage has is totally freaky, but happily, the intruder had no intent to kill or hurt the family. He just wanted money, and a weird amount at that, not an even million…just $734, 296. It was a bizarre number so that was one clue the reader gets to try and figure out the who and why behind it.

The story is told from three POVs and an interview. The husband, Cam, who is fearlessly turning over the city to get the cash to save his family. Jade, the wife, who is trying to make sense of what is going on while protecting her kids. And the kidnapper, Sebastian, who is an enigmatic character that I surprisingly, didn’t entirely despise. I enjoyed seeing the same situation through the different sets of eyes. Everyone is going through some type of “yuck”, and it’s the lack of communication and monumental secrets that tear everything apart.

This is a fast read and fans of Belle will not be disappointed

WOW. To say I devoured this book would be an understatement. Just finished My Darling Husband in less than 24 hours and IT. IS. GOOD. Go ahead and add this to your TBR immediately!

MY DARLING HUSBAND by Kimberly Belle is a fast-paced and riveting domestic thriller that kept me on the edge of my seat from start to finish. Jade and Cam Lasky have what seems to be a near-perfect life in the wealthy Atlanta suburbs. Happily married with two sweet children, a beautiful home and a rapidly expanding restaurant empire, there is little they could wish for. But all that changes in an instant when Jade and the children are held hostage in their own home by a masked invader waiting for them in the garage. The invader makes a very specific ransom request with a nearly impossible timeline. Bring exactly $734,296 to the house by 7 PM. The story is told from multiple points of view, Cam, Jade and Sebastian, the masked invader, as well as excerpts from an interview Cam has with journalist Juanita Moore well after the event. As the cat and mouse game ratchets up, secrets are revealed that throw everything into question for this family. How does Sebastian know so much about the family and why has he targeted them? To what lengths will Jade go to save their children? The tension escalates as time ticks down to the intruder’s deadline. As always, Kimberly Belle has written a gripping and clever story that is “unputdownable”. Highly recommended! Thank you to the author, publisher and NetGalley for the chance to read and review an early copy.

A nail-biter from start to finish!

Cam Laskey is better known as the Steak King in Atlanta. And if you want a table at one of his premiere restaurants you may be waiting weeks (maybe months) for a reservation. But what’s really going on behind those kitchen doors?

Cam’s wife Jade and her two kids Beatrix and Baxter, (known as the Bee’s) pull into their garage never realizing there may be someone there hiding, waiting for them.

A tense, suspense-filled read as Cam races against time to save his family. While Jade channels every bit of a protective mama bear to save her children.

Impossible to put this book down! I devoured it in just a few sittings. Kimberly Belle clearly knows how to keep a reader on the edge of their seat. I love her thrillers and cannot wait for her next!

Definitely one of my favorite thrillers of the year!

Posted to: https://books-are-a-girls-best-friend...

Thank you to NetGalley and Harlequin – Park Row.

Kimberly Belle's new book releases Dec 28th. Again she has delivered a domestic rollercoaster ride of a story.

Taking place over a matter of hours most of the story takes place inside the home of Jade and Cam. Told from both POV was necessary to get the full story.

My Darling Husband is fast paced in the sense of timing, I however found it dragged a little just because I struggled to connect with the story. Knowing some of the background didn't really endear me to Cam nor Jade which in turn, of course did not help. The story itself was interesting enough but suffice to say this isn't one of my favourite Bell books. I appreciated the ending but I didn't feel the suspense that was promised.

That being said with all the 4/5 star reviews out there it could just be me. You judge. My favourite Kimberly Belle books are The Ones We Trust, The Marriage Lie and Three Days Missing (read that one in a day).

My thanks to Harlequin (via Netgalley) for a digital arc in exchange for a honest review.

I really enjoyed this story. I most appreciated that the "bad guy" had a strong backstory, It helped shape his narrative and didn't make him one-dimensional, all bad and scary, but somehow relatable. The story was suspenseful, kept me on my toes, clammy hands. It had a smart POV with narrations of the wife, husband and captor, though the daughter may be one of my favorite characters ever!

The author touched on bigger picture issues within our healthcare system, home invasions, which I appreciated. There was a depth to a story that sometimes lags in this genre. I liked learning how the author took a personal story from a neighbor and spun it into this story, it read like it was personal.

Jade is being followed by a man with a manbun. Coming home with her kids “ the Bees”, Beatrix and Baxter, there is a masked intruder in her garage. Jade and her children are being held hostage and her husband, Cam has a few hours to come up with a specific amount of cash to save his family. But Cam is not the successful restaurant owner that Jade thinks he is. Can he save his family? A great read - that you cannot put down. Strong characters and plenty of drama.

Read this if you:
*would do anything for your family
*being taken hostage is one of your worst nightmares
*are a strong, badass female

Okay WOW this book was FANTASTIC. I could not put this down. Jade is held hostage with her two children in their house. The longer the hostage situation goes on, the more Jade tries to determine what is real and what the invader is lying about.

Thank you NetGalley & Harlequin for the eARC in exchange for an honest review. Pub date: Dec 28.

When Jade Lasky is confronted by a masked invader in her home, she assumes he just wants the money. As her husband Cam gathers the ransom money, they begin to wonder if there are other motives.

This is a page turner for sure. Any book with a hostage situation keeps me enthralled. It was very action orientated and you also knew there was reasoning behind the actions, and you’d find out eventually. I enjoyed the children in the story and thought they were well done. Usually kids in these type books annoy me, but I actually liked them here. I stayed up way too late to finish this one the same day I started it; it’s impossible to put down.

“I know one thing with one hundred thousand percent certainty: never trust the asshole with the gun.”

My Darling Husband comes out 12/28.

Thank you Netgalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing for an eARC of My Darling Husband, which pubs on December 28th! 💕✨

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (4/5 stars)

Wow! My first Kimberly Belle read and 100% won't be my last.

Jade, married to famous chef and restaurant owner Cam, comes home one day with her two children to find an armed intruder in her garage. As Cam scrambles to get the ransom money, their family secrets begin to unravel.

I don't often read abduction and hostage-type books as I sometimes find them boring with not much action taking place. That being said, this one kept me on the edge of my seat the entire time and packs a punch. I wanted something a little more from the ending, but I enjoyed the tension and layers of this story and had a hard time putting it down. The writing style is fantastic and the format goes back and forth between the home invasion and an interview after the fact with Cam - leaving you constantly guessing.

Oh my gosh what a wild ride! Kimberly Belle is a must read author for me and this thrilling book was amazing! I bit my fingernails, sucked in my breath, and was on the edge of my seat the entire time while reading! Jade and Cam are married and have 2 children ,Beatrix and Baxter. When Jade comes home with the kids, their is an armed intruder in the garage. Cam scrambles to get the ransom together to save his family. What does the intruder want? What will happen to Jade and the kids? This book was nail-biting until the very end!!! This is the book you need to read if you like thrillers you cannot put down!! I received an advanced readers copy and all opinions are my own.

The blurb was quite interesting and though I enjoyed Stranger in the Lake, this one is slower paced & more of a family drama. Cam is the steak king of Atlanta, he owns a few restaurants that’ll stop its luster and not producing well. His wife Jade is a SAHM to Beatrix and Baxter, she’s unaware of their financial situation. Jade and the kids are held hostage in a home invasion. Thank you to NetGalley and Park Row for a gifted copy. This is my honest review.

Cam Lasky is the Steak King of Atlanta with multiple restaurants but he is having a bad day. It starts with a fire at one of his restaurants and ends with a race against time to gather enough money to free his wife and children from a home invasion. Jade Lasky is determined to do what it takes to keep her children alive until her husband pays the ransom but she has questions - why were they targeted? Will her husband make it in time?

It’s me again, back with another abduction book, here to tell you that it freaked me out and I kinda liked it.

I’ve read a few of Kimberly Belle’s books before & I really enjoyed them. So I was extremely excited to get my hands on this one before it’s pub date. And it did not disappoint! After a while, reading the same premise, about the same thing, gets kind of boring and repetitive. But this one didn’t! I loved the alternating POVs from Cam, Jade, and Sebastian. And my girl Beatrix: I was rooting for her stubborn, headstrong attitude from the beginning. This was an exciting one for sure & I really enjoyed it!

A HUGE thank you to Harlequin Publishing & Kimberly Belle for my gifted ARC. Check out My Darling Husband on its pub date 12/28!

Whoa….I finished this book in just a few hours, on the edge of my seat, heart in my throat. My Darling Husband by Kimberly Belle is as good as a domestic thriller can get—a chilling tale of a mother and her two children taken hostage by a desperate and determined masked man. There are so many layers to this story, a breathless game of cat and mouse with startling revelations around every dark corner. This is also a story of the utmost bravery, of just how far a parent will go to save the lives of their children. I’ve been a huge fan of Kimberly Belle for years, and this gripping book is one of her best. Once I started reading, I couldn’t stop.

Loved it!! I am definitely a fan of Kimberly Belle. The Marriage Lie is still my favorite (and honestly may always be!) but My Darling Husband may just be a close second??

Kimberly Belle's books are always so engaging! Intriguing characters, great pacing, and great twists and turns throughout. The tension in My Darling Husband was insane in the best possible way. The only thing I would have liked is a bit more from the ending, hence the 4 instead of 5 stars.

Overall, this was a great read, just like all her others. I would highly recommend picking up any of her books!

This was hard to put down.

Jade is married to Cam, a celebrity chef and they have two young children. They live in a huge house and own five restaurants. Their daughter, Beatrix, is a musical prodigy and their son, Baxter, is sweet and caring. They seem like the perfect family. They're busy, but Jade thinks they're happy. When she and the children get home one afternoon, there is a man with a gun inside their garage. He takes them hostage in their home with a very specific amount of money for Cam to get. The problem is that Cam is broke. Jade has no idea how bad things are. There was just a fire in their best restaurant that morning. The other ones aren't doing well. Cam borrows money to open things without paying off the other loans first. It's really bad. But he knows he needs to find the money to save his family. The man inside is there for more than money though. He also wants revenge.

The book goes back and forth in time. Cam is talking to a reporter and we don't know if anyone else is alive. There are chapters from Jade, Cam, and Sebastian. The pacing is great throughout the book.

I gave this book 4 stars.

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for my earc.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

Jade has a perfect life in a gorgeous home in an enviable neighborhood, with a wonderful husband and two children

Until one day a masked intruder takes Jade and her kids hostage in her home.

Jade is frantically trying to figure out a way to get her kids out of the house as she waits for her husband to gather the ransom money.

As time ticks down, Jade realizes that her entire foundation is built upon lies….
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Kimberly Belle is one of my favorite authors, I love all of her books.

She really outdid herself with the pace of this one. You will feel nonstop pressure and anxiety as you fly through it. I was turning pages so fast I’m surprised I didn’t get a paper cut 😂
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You don’t want to miss this one!

Thank you to Harlequin Trade Publishing and Netgalley for a free ARC of My Darling Husband by Kimberly Belle in exchange for an honest review. This book publishes on December 28, 2021.

Rating 4 star
Genre Thriller

Holy Bananas!!! This book terrified me in the best of ways. This is my first Kimberly Belle book, but it won't be my last. If you are looking for a thriller that really gets your blood pumping and leaves you terrified at times, this is it! I would definitely recommend this book if you like scary thrillers.

Have you read other books by Kimberly Belle? I need recommendations now!

#htptrade #htpinfluencer

This review will publish on our Goodreads and Instagram account on the publication date!