I have officially become a auto-buy reader of Sally Hepworth!
The Younger Wife is a well-paced suspenseful novel about a family. It begins with a wedding between a heart doctor and a young woman, Heather, who comes from an uncertain background. She is marrying a much older man and she is about the same age as his daughters. He is extremely, recently divorced, when his wife becomes completely debilitated by dementia. At the wedding, he has invited the ex-wife and his daughters and their families, in addition to other friends and family. A traumatic event happens at the ceremony leading to an investigation and a medical emergency. We hear the story leading up to the big day from multiple POVs and find out that everyone has something that they are hiding.
This story is interesting throughout and I absolutely loved the different perspectives, sometimes of the same events.
This is a fun read and page turning juiciness. Highly recommend!
#TheYoungerWife #NetGalley #StMartinsPress

Ⓑⓞⓞⓚ Ⓡⓔⓥⓘⓔⓦ

𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝒀𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒈 𝑾𝒊𝒇𝒆
𝙱𝚢: @sallyhepworth
𝙶𝚎𝚗𝚛𝚎: Thriller, Suspense, Fiction
𝙿𝚞𝚋𝚕𝚒𝚜𝚑𝚎𝚛: @stmartinspress
𝙿𝚞𝚋𝚕𝚒𝚜𝚑𝚎𝚍 𝙾𝚗: October 26, 2021
@𝚐𝚘𝚘𝚍𝚛𝚎𝚊𝚍𝚜 𝚂𝚌𝚘𝚛𝚎: 3.99
𝙼𝚢 𝚂𝚌𝚘𝚛𝚎: 👰👰👰 / 5 Wives

Thank you @stmartinspress & @netgalley for the gifted ARC of 𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝒀𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒈 𝑾𝒊𝒇𝒆 for an honest & unbiased review.

If you need the synopsis of this story please go to @goodreads because this book has been everywhere on #bookstagram and I'm sure many of you have seen it once or twice.

This is a psychological thriller with a bit of family drama mixed in. And you all know how I enjoy some family drama! The first part pulled me in, and it made me want to keep reading. I enjoyed getting to know these characters, however I would have liked to know more about the husband's first wife and for her to elaborate more on their marriage. I mean why was she a narrator at all if we had such little information?

I really did not enjoy the ending and the last half of this book. I knew what this book was trying to do, but I just did not think the ending was very good. I felt it was a bit rushed and I would have liked a better outcome. The epilogue in my opinion added nothing because it made us as readers think that the women could have been imagining things once again.

I thoroughly enjoyed the drama, and the characters lives within these pages I just wish a few parts of this novel were written a little more solid and smoother.

TW: domestic violence, alcoholism

The Younger Wife is the new domestic thriller from Sally Hepworth.

"Well loved cardiologist, Stephen Ashton is getting married again. His new bride is the young and beautiful Heather. His first wife is currently living at a care facilty for dementia patients. She still comes to the wedding. After the vows the wedding party including Mom and daughters Tully and Rachel head back to sign the register. There are screams and the minister rushes out covered in blood and screaming for a doctor. Is someone hurt? What happened?"

Hepworth begins at the wedding with an unknown POV. We think someone is hurt but we have no idea what has happened. The story goes back a year and gives us the leadup to the wedding. This is a slow burn. Hepworth takes some time to reveal the sisters and Heather and Dr. Ashton. And this is a family with a lot of issues. I found myself pulling for the sisters and for Heather. I like that Hepworth doesn;t wave a literary magic wand and make everything better. Seems like it's more realistic.

No spoilers but there is a character you will despise by the end. I like the mini-epilogue. It's like "I've done all of these things to these characters - let them have a little happiness somewhere in the book."

If you like a slow-burn domestic thriller and you're looking for your next beach read, this is a good option. (especially if you like yelling at fictional characters)

This is a perfect vacation/beach/lazy day book - it reads quickly and keeps tension up to have kept me wondering how it would resolve. How fun is that? I’m not sure the book was satisfying - but it was fun and clever. I kind of saw it like that fun HBO series Big Little Lies - lots of quirky female characters drinking wine with their own backstories coming together. Recommending this one - it’s a fun ride. Thanks to St Martin’s Press for the advanced copy!

The Younger Wife by Sally Hepworth
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Tully and Rachel are going to lunch to meet their dad’s new girlfriend. Who is REALLY young. Who is this lady? And does she really know their dad? And the unique situation that he has put her into?
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This was a great mystery book! I love that the first chapter is from the end of the book because it was a great hook and kept me engaged with the story!
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Out of the three POVs the daughters were my favorites. I loved their relationship with each other as sisters and how even though they may have been distracted by their own lives and problems they were there for each other. 🥺
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I don’t want to give away spoilers but I enjoyed the flow of this story a lot. I think I read most of the book in two days. There are some trigger warnings so if you’re concerned then feel free to ask for those.
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4⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ I really enjoyed this and since this was my first Hepworth I will be reading more!

This book is worth reading for the hot water bottle alone, and the note at the end of the book makes this plot device even more fun. This book will circulate and delight readers.

Put this book in the hands of fans of Liane Moriarty, Lisa Jewell, and Paula Hawkins.

Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for an egalley in exchange for an honest view

Thanks to NetGalley, Sally Hepworth has become an author that THIS READER just cannot resist. It's hard to put down one of her family dramas! The Younger Wife is about a handsome successful doctor( Stephen) and his younger wife(Heather). Toss in his two grown daughters( Rachel and Tully(Natalie)) and their whole crowd of issues( first wife Pam with dementia) and some unexplained family secrets and this book become one hell of a ride.

I enjoyed the multi-character narrative perspective and the many twists and turns the story took as the plot progressed. Rachel, Tully, and Heather were fantastically written characters and each had compelling stories that made me feel empathy towards them. But I do think most men in the story( Stephen, Sonny, and Darcy) either came across as incredibly douchy or were incredibly perfect and that is perhaps because their perspectives are not added to the story.

As for the ending, it certainly kept me on my toes.






Expected Publication 05/04/22
Goodreads Review 22/02/22

100% insulted me as a female reader.

⏰ 𝐒𝐡𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐒𝐮𝐦𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐲 𝐄𝐯𝐞𝐫: Heather is the younger wife-to-be of a doctor. The doctor’s first wife Pam battles dementia and lives in a nursing home. His 2 daughters, Tully and Rachel, are shocked about their father’s choice in women, but as they get to know Heather, they uncover truths about their family they’ve buried a long time.

💡𝐓𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐬: Look, I’m being honest because it’s time for that, so I’ll say it:

STOP. WRITING. STUPID. WOMEN!

One more time for the authors in the back:

STOP WRITING STUPID WOMEN!!!

Women are not magnanimously stupid so please stop writing them all as such. My review will come across as scathing, and that’s not my intent - I truly adored Hepworth’s last novel The Good Sister and know she’s a gifted writer, but somehow, this was a Verity-ish attempt to tackle a topic that I think instead turned into an old boys’ club novel, thus my humble English teacher intent is to point out that this NEEDS to stop. Writers, editors… STOP.

Here’s my chief review point, spoiler be damned: the author shows not 1 but 2 women who suffer physical abuse and convince themselves they aren’t abused, in favor of them being… “drunk” (but remembers everything else) and/or “crazy.”

Yup. I really just read that. In 2022.

This archaic portrayal makes everyone think it’s ok to diminish women as “hysterical” and “crazy” and (not surprisingly) “stupid,” particularly men who started this horrendously inaccurate trope centuries ago which Charlotte Perkins Gilman famously brought to light when she shredded gender roles in “The Yellow Wallpaper.”

I actually feel a bit (a lot) insulted having read that a woman doesn’t KNOW she’s abused physically, talks herself out of it blaming alcohol, and instead second and triple guesses herself SEVERAL times and accepts and convinces herself she’s going crazy instead. Because she enjoyed a few glasses of wine? Oh and this happens several times. Yes, women in this book are viewed as “crazy” for trusting their instincts.

Do women make excuses for their abuser? Yep. Do they feel powerless? Yes. Do they think they are going crazy imagining they are abused instead of actually being abused? NO.

No all day this week and twice on Sunday. NO. They deny it to others but they know their shame.

Top it off with the women in the novel having to see therapists for their grab-bag of issues - one a kleptomaniac, another binge eats, and another might be a budding alcoholic. But the men in the novel? Cool, calm, collected, handsome, reassuring. The women? ALL “crazy.“

Insulting. The ending is merely a “did it happen” Verity-like 4th quarter hail Mary to try to make the women look legit nuts and basically just further irritated me. Please, stop. Women deserve better.

𝗔𝗹𝗹 𝗺𝘆 𝗿𝗲𝘃𝗶𝗲𝘄𝘀 𝗮𝘃𝗮𝗶𝗹𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲 𝗮𝘁 𝗦𝗰𝗿𝗮𝗽𝗽𝘆𝗠𝗮𝗴𝘀.𝗰𝗼𝗺 𝗮𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗶𝗺𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝗽𝘂𝗯𝗹𝗶𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻.

📚𝐆𝐞𝐧𝐫𝐞: Domestic mystery

😍𝐑𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨: no one.

🙅‍♀️ 𝐍𝐨𝐭 𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨: anyone

Thank you to the author, NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for my advanced copy in exchange for my always-honest review and for making me realize the fight for a better portrayal of women in literature is certainly not over.

Thank you Sally Hepworth, NetGalley, and St. Martin's Press for this ARC.

Sally Hepworth never disappoints! The Younger Wife, told through the eyes of alternating characters, will keep you guessing. The family drama unfolds like a compelling mystery as we follow the lives of sisters Tully and Rachel, their aging mother with dementia, and their father and his scandalously young bride=to-be.

Differing perspectives, a framework of dementia, and self-doubt create a compelling effect similar to that of an "unreliable narrator." What is real? What is the truth? Can these characters trust the accounts of their own experiences and can we, the reader, trust what we hear?

Like all of Hepworth's books, The Younger Wife will keep you invested from Page 1 to the very end.

5 Stars.

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for this e-ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I read Sally Hepworth's The Good Sister last year and loved it, so when I saw The Younger Wife as "read now" many months back, I was ecstatic!

The family dynamic in this book was unconventional and interesting. I loved the suspense and the well-developed characters. Rachel, Tully, Heather, and Fiona were all unreliable narrators. I enjoyed how the book started off with a questionable family event and then switched to the past events leading up to that event. I don't want to say too much to give anything away!
This book was unputdownable and was filled with so many secrets. I was furiously swiping through the pages on my kindle because I had to find out who Stephen Aston really was. By the end of the book, so many things were left unsaid that I was left hanging and had to make my own choice as to who I thought Stephen really was. I had read some mixed reviews on this, but honestly, it made me love the book that much more. It was quite clever of Sally Hepworth!

Another great aspect of this book is that the character, Heather Wisher, is actually a real person who won Sally Hepworth's Instagram competition to have a book character named after yourself. How awesome is that?!

Highly recommend! One of my favorites of 2022!

I will post my review on Instagram @thrillersandcoffee

Sally Hepworth does a family drama well. The Younger Wife had an interesting cast of characters and short chapters to keep you turning the pages until the end.

Content warnings: rape, physical and emotional abuse, kleptomania, anxiety, miscarriage, dementia

I was provided a free ARC copy of this book by @NetGalley and @stmartinspress in exchange for my honest review.
If you have read any books by @sallyhepworth before, you will know, the story usually has multiple layers, and this one was no different.
There is the story you think you're going to read (probably from reading the description on the back), the book you think you're reading (in the middle), and then the book that you read. And sometimes, none of those are the same story! After all, we all have secrets... And sometimes we even keep them from our family, our spouse, sometimes even ourselves!
This is a great story with lots of layers (like a parfait!)! The storyline follows the daughters, the new younger wife, and a "mystery" character as a spectator at the wedding! Through their eyes we piece together some secret truths about this family.
If you like books that hook you from the beginning, with intriguing characters, and only cluing the reader in bit by bit, this one is for you!
Depending on where you are in the world, this may already be available for you. If you're in the US, it will be published 5 April, so keep an eye out!
#NetGalley #TheYoungerWife

I was craving a mystery and this definitely delivered! This was twisty, but also predictable. There were several things I thought would happen that actually didn't, but the ending left me super satisfied. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️. If you like this author, you'll like this!

I could not put this book down! I started reading it at 10 pm and would have stayed up all night to finish it if my body hadn’t quit on me. I haven’t read something that has engaged and enraptured me that much in a long time. Every time I have talked to my husband about the book he says I seem very animated and excited while talking about it; again something that hasn’t happened in a long time.
So, thank you to Netgalley for letting me read this book early! I really loved it. This is my first Sally Hepworth book, but it will definitely not be my last.

Doubt was a central theme in this book that I kept coming back. We view this story from the perspectives of multiple women who are all tied to the same man, Stephen. We see the perspectives on his daughters. Rachel and Tully who suffer from mental health issues that put them both in questionable situations. We see the perspective of Heather, the soon to be younger wife of Stephen who suffered past traumas that affect her adult like. We see the perspective of Pam, Stephen’s former wife with dementia and the perspective of Fiona, Stephen’s ex-wife prior to Pam. Throughout this story, each character placed doubt in themselves in the ability to see the bigger picture of what Stephen was capable of. This doubt carried through to the end of this story…and as Sally Hepworth’s books often have this effect on me, I’m still questioning myself at the end.

This was my first from Hepworth and I enjoyed a so many things about this book. The life journey of Rachel was the most impactful to me, making her character my favorite. All the characters had such real issues and difficulties, meaning I didn’t have to suspend belief. A unique aspect when it comes to the thrillers I’ve read over the past few years.

This is jam packed with family drama, heartbreaking revelation, and strained dynamics. But it also holds some very beautiful moments of self preservation, comfort, and overcoming adversities.
Overall, I enjoyed this and look forward to read more from her in the future.

I really enjoyed The Younger Wife by Sally Hepworth! I think Hepworth does a fantastic job of writing family dramas. I enjoyed the characters and thought they were very likeable. The narrators of the audiobook did a really good job and I think they helped keep me immersed in the story.
*This book has a scheduled release date of April 5th, 2022.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a copy of this audiobook in exchange for an honest review.

This book started off strong, with a multiple POV set up and family drama/suspense like Hepworth is known for and we've all come to love. However, there really was no twist, and if there was, it was easily guessable. I also think the ending was extremely dangerous to people who have suffered abuse, as it insinuated that maybe it never happened in the first place and they'll never know.

Overall, I expected a lot more.

First off, I would not consider this to be a thriller. If you enjoy family drama with a little bit of mystery - this one is for you! There is a lot of dysfunction going on in this family that will leave you questioning who is reliable. I was anxious to see who the mystery wedding guest was and what exactly happened at the wedding! I will say that I started off disliking the sisters, but once I started learning their secrets I was pulling for them in the end! Still wondering about that ending 🤔

Thank you @netgalley and @stmartinspress for my eARC in exchange for an honest review!

I'm usually a fan of this author and was excited to read this one, but it didn't hold my attention like the others and seemed slower paced. I've never considered the idea that someone who commits domestic abuse could convince the victim that they were wrong, so from this point of view, it broadened my understanding of how to support others.