This book will truly leave you guessing, it was definitely a surprise to me how much I liked it. If you are looking for a book that will make your thoughts twist back and forth with the different characters than this book is for you.

Thank you, NetGalley for the advanced copy of this book.

There was a lot to love about this book. Let’s just start with the fact that one of the main characters is named for the winner of Sally Hepworth’s Instagram competition to have a book character named after herself. Heather Wisher … how fun for you!

The book was somewhat general fiction and a bit of mystery. The characters: Stephen Aston is a doctor married to Pam, who has dementia. Stephen and Pam have two grown daughters, Tully, and Rachel. The daughters meet up with good old Dad at a restaurant and he has a lovely young woman in tow – and she (Heather) is about their same age. And he announces they are getting married. But what about Mom? Sure, she is in a care facility, but you are still married….

Now I know what you might be thinking, and I thought the same thing – little gold digger! Keep your hands off our father! However, as the story unfolds, and we learn more and more about the three young women, their mother, and a mysterious woman we learn about in bits and pieces along the way. We start to be able to identify with all of them as they become vulnerable and get to know what makes each tick.

In this book you will read about domestic violence, rape, excessive alcohol use, gas lighting, kleptomania, food addiction, abortion, the complexity of the relationship between sisters, and hear a whole lot of Dad jokes. It pulls you in quickly and the pages turned quickly.

The time is present day (several COVID references) and the place is Australia. This always leads to looking up words or phrases such as “op shops” which is what we call a thrift store or 2nd hand shop. What are Golden Goose trainers? They actually sell them in the US but I have never heard of them. Love the way a nosey neighbor is referred to as a “stickybeak”. And Panadol! What is this mysterious drug and what does it do to you? Oh…it’s basically just Tylenol. Ha.

I don’t want to include any spoilers so all I will add is that it was fun to read about the inspiration for the situation with the water bottle in the Acknowledgements section.

One of my favorite scenes was with Rachel and Darcy where Rachel is confessing about “something” and Darcy offers a completely different point of view. So lovely.

I did not want the book to end!

I couldn’t put this story down. It starts off where you meet young Heather who is marrying the much older Stephen. You also hear the story told from Stephen’s two daughters, and his wife. Each character is dealing with their own set of complex issues, that add value to the overall story. As the wedding approaches and Heather begins to have more accidents and injuries she can’t help but think Stephen might be the one hurting her. But who should she reach out to for help, one of his own daughters? His now ex wife Pam? She realizes she is utterly alone, and begins to think she is going crazy because Stephen is a doctor and would never hurt her. The story is told leading up to the wedding, where everything comes to a head. I do wish that what came after the wedding offered a bit more promising evidence and answers, I felt like things were loosely tied up. The epilogue came as a surprise, as it literally left me with more questions than I had before I read it. Overall, a great thriller with lots of elements of surprise. Sally Hepworth’s books truly never disappoint!

📚Book Review📚

Genre: Domestic Thriller
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Release Date: April 5, 2022


Where are my Sally Hepworth fans at?? 🙋🏽‍♀️❤️🙌🏼

I first fell in love with Hepworth’s writing in 2019 when I read The Mother-in-Law. That book kept me on the edge of my seat and all of the twists and the final turn gave me whiplash!! 🤪 This year I read The Good Sister and it was also twisty and unforgettable. So if you have read those (and even if you haven’t) mark your calendars for April 2022 for Hepworth’s newest one that will have you feeling like you are on a rollercoaster with all her tricky and twisty reveals. If you are someone who loves character driven novels, family drama, and books where the characters have way more issues than you do and you inevitably end up feeling better about yourself, this is the book for you!! 🤪🙌🏼👏

The book centers around two sisters, Rachel and Tully, their father and his incredible new and young fiancé, and their mom who is suffering from severe dementia. Rachel is a baker that hasn’t dated in forever. Tully is a mom of two boys who has a shameful secret and a husband who just made the worst investment. Their father, a heart surgeon, just divorced their mother who lives in a care facility so he can marry a women, Heather, who is his daughters age. 😳 The book is told in alternating perspectives and with each new chapter there are little reveals about our characters. Some are subtle and others are big ‘ol bombs that feels make your brain start spinning out of control trying to guess what is going to happen next. The book starts with someone collapsing at a wedding and throughout the book you are given little nuggets to help you try to figure out who it is and why in the world they are unconscious.

If you like books with short chapters and quick page turners I highly recommend this one for you in the new year! Enjoy!

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin’s press for this digital ARC copy.

Thank you NetGalley and St Martin's Press for the advance copy of The Younger Wife, to read and review.

I tried very hard to stay with The Younger Wife with all the character's dysfunction and layers of secrets; it was like peeling back an onion of hard subject matter (domestic violence, dementia, food addictions etc). But in the end I did not finish reading the book. I look forward to reading other books by Sally Hepworth, as she was highly recommended.

Look for this one in April, 2022!!!

Natalie (Tully) and Rachel’s mum has dementia. Their dad is remarrying a younger woman right in front of her. All hell breaks loose. And that’s just the first chapter. Talk about a page turner!!!

The entire family - Rachel, Tully, Stephen (their dad), Heather (the younger wife), Pamela (their mom) - has secrets. As these secrets slowly begin to see the light of day the world around this family begins to close in on them, and then collapse. The clever twists and turns make this book worth the read and definitely one to look forward to!!

Thank you NetGalley for this ARC! I devoured this book so quickly. Told from the perspective of sisters, Rachel and Tully, as well as their dad's fiancé, Heather, The Younger Wife is a character driven psychological thriller that will have you thinking, "I need to discuss this book with someone else... stat." Fans of The Last Mrs. Parrish and Tell Me Lies will enjoy this book. I am picky when it comes to this genre, but I would recommend this book!

TW: SA, abuse

ʙᴏᴏᴋ ʀᴇᴠɪᴇᴡ:
𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐘𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐫 𝐖𝐢𝐟𝐞 𝐛𝐲 𝐒𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐇𝐞𝐩𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐡

𝑩𝒐𝒐𝒌 𝑫𝒆𝒔𝒄𝒓𝒊𝒑𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏:
𝘚𝘵𝘦𝘱𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘈𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘯 𝘪𝘴 𝘨𝘦𝘵𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘮𝘢𝘳𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘨𝘢𝘪𝘯. 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘰𝘯𝘭𝘺 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘣𝘭𝘦𝘮 𝘪𝘴, 𝘩𝘦'𝘴 𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘮𝘢𝘳𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘧𝘪𝘳𝘴𝘵 𝘸𝘪𝘧𝘦, 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘪𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘢 𝘤𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘧𝘢𝘤𝘪𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘺 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘥𝘦𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘢. 𝘉𝘶𝘵 𝘩𝘦'𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘤𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘪𝘭𝘺, 𝘣𝘺 𝘥𝘪𝘷𝘰𝘳𝘤𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘩𝘦𝘳--𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘯 𝘪𝘧 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘢𝘥𝘶𝘭𝘵 𝘥𝘢𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘵𝘦𝘴𝘵.

𝘛𝘶𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘙𝘢𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘭 𝘈𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘯 𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘬 𝘶𝘱𝘰𝘯 𝘏𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘢𝘴 𝘯𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘢𝘯 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘭𝘰𝘱𝘦𝘳. 𝘏𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘢𝘮𝘦 𝘢𝘨𝘦 𝘢𝘴 𝘙𝘢𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘭 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘯 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘯 𝘛𝘶𝘭𝘭𝘺. 𝘊𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘭𝘺 𝘴𝘩𝘦'𝘴 𝘢 𝘨𝘰𝘭𝘥𝘥𝘪𝘨𝘨𝘦𝘳 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘢𝘧𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘧𝘢𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳'𝘴 𝘮𝘰𝘯𝘦𝘺. 𝘏𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘩𝘢𝘴 𝘴𝘦𝘤𝘳𝘦𝘵𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘴𝘩𝘦'𝘴 𝘬𝘦𝘦𝘱𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘤𝘭𝘰𝘴𝘦, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘰𝘸𝘯 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘮𝘢𝘳𝘳𝘺 𝘚𝘵𝘦𝘱𝘩𝘦𝘯.

𝘞𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘮𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘶𝘯𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘢𝘬 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘧, 𝘛𝘶𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘙𝘢𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘭 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘥𝘦𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘨𝘦𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘳𝘶𝘵𝘩 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘧𝘢𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘺'𝘴 𝘴𝘦𝘤𝘳𝘦𝘵𝘴, 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘯𝘦𝘸 𝘸𝘪𝘧𝘦 𝘤𝘭𝘰𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘯, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘧𝘢𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘪𝘴. 𝘉𝘶𝘵 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘨𝘦𝘵𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘳𝘶𝘵𝘩 𝘶𝘯𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘰𝘴𝘵 𝘥𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘴 𝘪𝘮𝘱𝘶𝘭𝘴𝘦𝘴...𝘪𝘯 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮?

Ahh! I struggled with how to rate this one. I enjoyed it so much until the end. I was invested early on and I especially was pulled into Rachel and Tully’s story and dynamic as sisters. Some parts of Rachel’s story made me cry and I could have read more about her and Darcy. I didn’t want to put this book down at the end of every chapter. In the end though, I wanted more for the female characters and the ending was not what I hoped for.

Thank you to @netgalley and St. Martins Press for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

BOOK REVIEW- ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

My Thoughts: Thank you to @netgalley, @stmartinspress, and @sallyhepworth for an E-arc of The Younger Wife in exchange for an honest review! This was the first book I tackled for NetGalley November and I couldn't have picked a better one to start with! This one started a bit slow for me but picked up quickly and once it did, I couldn't put it down. I love that it was told from multiple POVs and each characters backstory made for interesting reading material. The twists were revealed nicely in this domestic suspense novel! You can pick this one up on 10/26/21 ✨

Tully and Rachel's father is remarrying - just one small catch: he already has a wife. Their adored father Stephen has just announced he is divorcing their Mother Pamela who is suffering from advanced dementia, so that he can marry his new love Heather. Heather just so happens to be younger than his daughters - Tully and Rachel are not happy and very suspicious.

I have never read any of Sally Hepworth's books and was delighted to have the opportunity to read this domestic suspense. It was a page turner and definitely had me engrossed from the beginning - that said I was disappointed with the ending (I won't give anything away). I think there could have been so much more that the author could have done here with the domestic violence theme. I also thought she could have said more about Stephen's first wife who mysteriously entered the story but not much was provided here and that was odd - because I think it could have added so much more depth to this book.

I'm not sure what to rate this book as at times it was a 5, then a 4 and the ending a 3. I do plan on reading more of Sally's books because overall I did enjoy this book.

Thank you very much to Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for the advanced copy.

TW: Rape, Domestic Violence, significant gaslighting

This has been posted on Goodreads and I will post on my bookstagram account (bookscoffeegratitude) later in the year.

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4235139434

Hepworth, this book was a wild ride!!! I love a good powerful woman-driven thriller, and Hepworth didn’t disappoint. Meet two sisters whose father left his Alzheimer’s-ridden wife for the interior decorator (I know, right?) and see how the family manages this. All is not what it seems! Thank you to NetGalley and to St. Martin’s for the ARC!

I really enjoyed this book. It was really fast-paced, to the point where I felt like I blinked and I was already 40% of the way through. I liked the characters and thought that they were all super relatable and well-developed.
Can we talk about that ending though? Because that was great. Without spoiling anything, I will say that the tension built and built and built and then BAM. Great writing throughout.
I really enjoyed this book and wouldn't hesitate to recommend it to others.

Thank you to NetGalley and St Martin's Press for the ARC!

Review of The Younger Wife by Sally Hepworth

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I was so thrilled to get an ARC of the upcoming Sally Hepworth novel! She is one of my favorite authors. I felt this one started out a bit slow but once it picked up I literally couldn’t put it down. I was so, so invested in the characters and finding out what would happen next. This one made me feel all the emotions. I loved the relationship between the two sisters and especially enjoyed Rachel’s story.

Quick synopsis:

Sisters Tully and Rachel are surprised when their father, Stephen, announces his engagement to a woman named Heather who is very close to their age. Heather was his interior decorator right before their mother and his wife, Pam, was diagnosed with early onset dementia. He has since divorced Pam who now lives in a nursing home. In this family literally everyone has secrets and Rachel discovers a huge one her mother was hiding… leading her to an even bigger one about her dad.

My favorite part of this other than the sisters’ relationship was the ambiguous ending. I feel like I know what happened but the author is clever in making me think hard about human nature and perhaps once we hold a belief about someone we see what we want to see only.

This one is out April 2022. Big thank you to @netgalley, @sallyhepworth, and @stmartinspress for my advanced copy.

Tully and Rachel received some shocking news - their father, Stephen, just announced that he's marrying Heather, a woman who is around the same age as his daughters. If that wasn't bad enough, he is still married to their mother, who was recently admitted to a nursing home due to dementia. Stephen's daughters can't help but be suspicious of Heather. Their father is a successful heart surgeon with a beautiful home and a fat wallet. Is Heather only after Stephen's money? Has she been completely truthful to Stephen and his daughters?

Sally Hepworth has a way of sucking you right into a story, which is exactly happened when I started The Younger Wife. I finished this one in two days because I had to know how it was going to end. I loved Tully and Rachel - they were relatable characters with issues in addition to what was happening with their parents. The story definitely leaves you wondering what is real and what isn't. I can't wait to read more from this author!

Sally Hepworth is an incredible author and I will read anything she writes. This novel was just like her others, great characters, and a plot that reveals just enough to keep you on the edge of your seat.

I enjoyed this book all the way through, and the ending definitely packs a punch. I'm still uncertain how I feel about it, but I think a lot of readers will love it and appreciate the ending. The short chapters and cliffhangers throughout will keep you flipping the pages. Definitely one I would recommend picking up when it comes out in the new year.

Review posted to Goodreads.

Very much a can’t put down, binge in 24 hours type of book. Perfect balance of twisty whodunit and entertaining family drama. Not sure how I feel about that ending, but overall I loved the story!

This was a really engaging, entertaining read. I’m trying to figure out what category it fits into; it’s categorized as “domestic suspense”. To me, it was equal parts mystery and family drama. It touches on anxiety, how much what happens in our childhood affects us as adults, and also asks the question of how well do you really know someone? It’s strange because even though it ended on a bit of a question (I’m trying not to give any spoilers), I felt satisfied with how the story wrapped up. There were also parts that made me laugh out loud and the family at the center was so relatable. I’ll end with a quote: “perhaps the very worst people still had some good in them. And perhaps the very best had some bad”.

Thanks to NetGalley for this copy! I really enjoyed it. I will post this review to my Instagram book blog soon!

Sally Hepworth has done it again. Told from three POVs - Tully and Rachel (sisters) and Heather (their soon to be stepmother, who also happens to be younger than them both) - we get a slow burn story of a family, centered around the patriarch, who the women all adore. Right?

The ending was INFURIATING (!!!), I want solid answers! But the more I think about it, the more I like that it leaves you wondering what the real story is.

I really enjoyed this book. It was well paced and the characters were fully formed. I would enjoy reading other work by this author in the future.

This book, about a father trying to get married (while his wife with dementia is still alive) was....fine. I wasn't blown away by it. It was VERY predictable, and the foreshadowing was silly and elementary. There was little actual suspense.

I was not a huge fan of the ending, and I think it actually did a disservice to survivors of abuse, but that's just me.