Thank you to NetGalley, William Morrow, and Katie Gutierrez for the advanced copy of More Than You'll Ever Know in exchange for my honest review.

I loved that this had such a heavy true crime feel to it despite it being fiction. The story about Lore leading a double life genuinely fascinated me (and definitely pissed me off), and I love that we got to hear her story from her point of view.

I also really enjoyed Cassie's POV chapters. She had her own history and drama going on and while somewhat sad, I was 100% invested in how her story was going to end up.

The ending was fantastic and actually gives the reader a lot to think about! I don't want to spoil so I won't go into any further detail than that. Suffice to say, I was really satisfied with it.

More Than You'll Ever Know will be out June 7!

I will be surprised if this one isn’t made into a movie! Although I really really dislike the main character, Cassie, and the huge chip on her shoulder in regards to women vs men, I can understand. We’re given enough context where we can see how she came to be this way but gosh she’s unlikeable the whole way through. Still, the story is GOOD!! I loved the parallels between Cassie & Lore, the story Lore told of her life with Andres and Fabian, and the TRUTH. I guessed it early on but that didn’t spoil it for me.

Living a double life sounds exhausting and something I'm way too lazy to do, but I sure love reading about it! Gutierrez kept the pages turning with her writing, which sometimes makes me feel guilty when I have other things to do, but not this time. The book was so good that I allowed myself to read it every second of free time I had.

Dolores – better known as Lore – Riviera knew she shouldn’t dance with the handsome stranger who wasn’t her husband, knew she shouldn’t climb on the back of his motorcycle, knew she shouldn’t meet with him again after that first night in 1985.

But even she couldn’t have known how tragic an unravelling it would lead to, how allowing herself to make those mistakes could lead to even more trouble than she imagined in her worst dreams. Twenty-two years later, reporter Cassie Bowman is driven by her own tragic past to uncover the whole story behind a murder whose headlines intrigued her – and to capture it, she’ll need to talk to the only woman who really knows the truth.

Told in alternating timelines and viewpoints, More Than You’ll Ever Know is so much more than just a search for the truth. Don’t get me wrong – that part of the storyline is gripping, and I absolutely needed to know the story of how it all went down. But to race to that ending would be to miss a stunning novel – a beautifully-written portrayal of family, of the second coming-of-age that is getting to know the truest part of yourself rather than a number that can be reached by anyone.

It’s her expertise that gives More Than You’ll Ever Know the nuance and consideration needed to keep it from sensationalism. Bigamy isn’t excusable just because the perpetrator is female, and the book never tries to sway the reader into thinking that it is. But bad decisions never happen in a vacuum, and Lore felt real, human, and it was easy to see how stuck she was, feeling like she was playing roles in support of other lives rather than truly living her own. Cassie, too, while not the focus of the story, was a fully realized individual, one who had plenty of her own concerns – she wasn’t relegated to a key to Lore’s truth, but even found some of her own along the way.

Katie Gutierrez may be a debut author, but she writes with an insight and confidence that usually belong to much more seasoned writers. I so enjoyed this first of her novels – and I’ll be here waiting for the next.

A good quick fun read for an afternoon escape, a weekend at the beach, a long plain ride etc. It will take you away and won't disappoint.

Cassie Bowman is true crime writer. As she searches for true crime stories to write about, she comes across the story of Lore Rivera.

Back in the 1980s, Lore Rivera’s double life came to halt when her husband and father of her kids, murders her other husband. Her husband went to prison and life went on for Lore.

Cassie is captivated by the story. How did this woman live two lives? She pursues the story and finds that Lore is willing to tell her tale. But as the tale unravels, Cassie’s own dark past starts to surface.

This book! Wow! As someone who loves true crime, I really enjoyed that Cassie was also a true crime fan. And Lore’s story is enthralling. This is a who-dun-it that keeps you guessing and turning the pages.

Thank you @netgalley and @williammorrowbooks for this ARC. This book is available for pre-order on Amazon and elsewhere & pub day is June 7, 2022.

☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆/5

I received an ARC of this novel from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Lore, a wife and mother, falls in love with another man. Her double life causes a murder--the death of one of the men that she loves. A journalist strives to discover the truth about what happened that night.

There is more than one truth.

Brilliantly written. I was captivated by the storyline.

Wow! Just wow! If I could leave a one-word review that would be it. But I don't feel like that would be giving Katie Gutierrez enough respect because this book was absolutely amazing! I was hooked on this storyline from the very beginning and found myself so invested in these characters. Gutierrez utilized two different points of view and alternating timelines to tell the stories of Cassie and Lore and how their very different lives ended up intertwined. Cassie, an amateur true-crime blogger, discovers the story of Lore, a woman caught leading a double life; married to two men. Cassie becomes obsessed with the story of how one husband murdered the other and dives into investigation mode while trying to navigate the twists and turns of her own life. Gutierrez created such real characters with relatable stories and experiences that it was easy to get drawn in. It's so easy to fall in love with books when the characters are perfect and lovable and bright and happy, but what about the characters who are so utterly... human? That's one of the things I loved most about this book, that the main characters weren't always likable. I found myself getting so frustrated with them in some situations, and is that not what life is about? All of the quirks and mistakes and ups and downs that make us all so similar? All so human? That's what I truly feel like this book captured. Humanity, and how the mistakes we make can alter our lives in so many different ways. And how much we are willing to risk for the people we love. I would have definitely been able to read this in a day if I didn't have kids because I just kept wanting to turn pages and find out what happened next. I will be looking forward to reading more of her work!

Wow! Some books can truly rock your world! Make you think everything twice, question your own life story and the choices you’ve made!
This was one of those thought provoking, captivating books that haunts you forever!

Lore Rivera might be one of the most unforgettable fictional characters: an international banker, a woman married with two men, living two double live, having two families: she’s married with Andres Russo who is recently divorced with two teenage children living in Mexico City and she is married with childhood sweetheart Fabian Rivera in Laredo/ Texas, raising twin boys who are at the same age with Andres’ children from his first marriage.

But when Andres decides to make a surprise visit to Texas for introducing himself to his wife’s coworkers, he realizes he’s not the only man his wife is married. And the same night he’s get killed by Fabian Rivera who is sentenced to 30 years in prison.

All those events take place in 1985. And as we move forward to 2017, we are introduced to Cassie Bowman, young true crime writer, blogger, who encounters the article includes Andres’ kids ( now they are nearly 50 years old adults) telling how Lore used their family and threw them like trash. She gets intrigued and decides to talk with Lore to write her side of story.
Lore is not only one struggles with her past demons. Cassie is about to get marry with Duke: lovely farmer, working on his food truck with a big and caring family. She hides her own family history from him. The history contains domestic violence, neglect, alcoholism, abandoned little brother she’s left to save herself.

Lore accepts to talk with Cassie because she thinks she can manipulate her to write everything she wants and Cassie needs this story for her new start as a true crime novelist. But as soon as she starts digging out more, she realizes she starts confronting with her own secrets she’s buried for years!

Normally this book started too slow and at the first third nothing particularly happened. But the back stories of two women, their circumstances, their inner voices were told so realistically and it still picked my interest. I couldn’t stop reading it. And of course a few chapters later when I started learning more about two women’s pasts, I was hooked!

Was Lore sociopath who could lie about her life and gaslight people without feeling guilty? What kind of woman was she? A pathological liar, a user, a hedonist or simply selfish woman who thought she was too wise to get away with everything she’s done or was she just dreamer who wanted to live in two parallel universes with two different families. Lore might be all of them and also none of them!

This book made me think a lot. I didn’t approve any actions Lore took but I accept who she was and I didn’t hate her. The pure realistic approach to the flawed, broken characters’ stories were truly impeccable.

It took more time for me to finish this book because this is whirlwind, mind bending historical journey telling the compelling parts of America and Mexican history: recession, devaluation, earthquakes, people’s struggle to keep their jobs, keep a roof over their family’s head.

I enjoyed to read both women’s stories and the big twist was a little foreseeable but it was still heart wrenching.

Overall: even though the book is a little longer and slower for me, I enjoyed each chapter and easily resonated with each character so I’m rounding up my 4.5 stars to 5 double life, finding yourself, secrets we kept stars!

Special thanks to NetGalley and William Morrow for sharing this amazing digital reviewer copy with me in exchange my honest thoughts.

Cassie Bowman, a true crime blogger with dreams of writing a book, delves into a Laredo, Texas murder. Lore, a banking account manager, attends a wedding in Mexico City where she meets Andres, whom she later marries, even though she has a husband and twin sons in Texas. Cassie uncovers the story of Andres 1985 murder for her crime blog and begins to investigate his death. Cassie befriends Lore, or is it Lore who snares Cassie into this story of two families and the lust of one woman. A good addition to the recent trend of true crime blogger mysteries.

The premise of the novel intrigued me (a true crime blogger investigates a woman who married two men, resulting in one man murdering the other). But I wished the pace of the story was faster and I didn’t like the protagonist or enjoy the writing style.

An addictive thriller that's also a smart and thoughtful examination of motherhood, marriage, and the ethics of true-crime journalism, Katie Gutierrez's debut is a knockout. Her prose is lush, the characters are complex, and the plot had plenty of twists that will keep you guessing. It's impressive how the novel manages to be such a fast paced page-turner, yet also an astute exploration of love, trauma, and the demands on women.

I woke up early to finish this book. Lushly written in the perspectives of two women, it deftly explores the role the roles that womanhood forces upon us, love in all its different forms, family, and the human need to be seen for who we really are. One thing I truly loved was how no one character was fully a victim or fully deserving of what they endured- instead they were complex, whole, and as a consequence, I loved them all. This book is a tour de force- can’t wait to see it get the love it deserves. Thanks to NG for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This was an absolutely riveting read! It was multi layered and multi faceted. It follows Dolores and Cassie and a shocking crime. I wasn’t sure what to expect going into this book but it was definitely enthralling. Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for this ARC.

More Than You'll Ever Know by Katie Gutierrez blew me away! The gorgeous prose, the character development, the seamless switching between time periods- I devoured this book in one sitting because I could not put it down. Kudos to Ms. Gutierrez- you have written an absolutely sensational debut!!! (& because I couldn't get enough of her words, I went onto her website and was thrilled to discover a whole cache of essays to read, and an option to subscribe for updates. hurrah!) Highly recommend!!

I just devoured this book. It was such a captivating read for me. The intricate and twisty web of secrets, cons, and a plot that kept one guessing until the very end is everything I didn’t know I needed to read. It was it was so spinning and enthralling at times, but also I was hooked since I was 5% in. Overall, it was one fine read!!

Double lives betrayal and drama. This book is an excellent story full of perfectly sketched characters. I absolutely recommend it, I really enjoyed it.