The Boyfriend is a compelling psychological thriller about a woman whose ex-boyfriends become the target of a spree killer and where nothing and no one is what they seem. 36-year-old Adele Davies is currently engaged to Tom Barton and is planning their lavish wedding. She's madly in love with him and believes in her heart of hearts that he is the one. In the past she's had 5 serious relationships, Tom is the sixth, that ended for one reason or another usually via mutual agreement or Adele finishing them herself. Enter Adele’s seemingly supportive best friend and fellow drunkard, Nicola, who often seems like a bad influence on her. They drink profusely and attend nightclubs despite being older than the average crowd; maybe they're just young at heart.

Tom doesn’t particularly like Nicola due to this and gets annoyed when Adele goes out and fails to inform him of where she is or when she will be returning home. They meet up frequently and on one of those catch-ups, Nicola receives a message informing her that Shaun Gibson, Adele’s first boyfriend, has been found hanged in the woods in a suspected suicide. Then Calum Jenkins, who she dated after Shaun, dies in a car accident. As her ex-partners keep dying, Adele realises that someone is responsible for killing these guys. Can she get to the bottom of who is carrying out these slayings before they target Tom? This is a compelling and original thriller with plenty of drama, twists, red herrings and a mystery at its heart. I raced through it as it's a quick read with highly unlikeable characters and a captivating plot.

The storyline itself was very enjoyable to me. The author did a fantastic job at keeping me guessing about who it was because I literally suspected everyone around Adele. However, I didn’t really find any of the characters likable including the main character Adele. She was very immature and only seemed to be marrying Tom because she was tired of dating and was worried she’d never find anyone. Tom.. wow from the very first time we’re introduced to him I saw nothing but red flags. Condescending, misogynistic, unsupportive, dismissive.. I mean the list goes on and on. And yet Adele ran after him constantly when he would shut down and walk away from their arguments. I was hoping she’d have more self love but alas in the end she chose to continue with the wedding. Aside from the characters not being likable the story had me hooked and I couldn’t wait to find out who the murderer was. And boy was he unhinged. Overall it was a good book.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a copy of this audiobook in exchange for an honest review.

I really enjoyed the premise of this story as it was the motive for the murder of Adele’s past boyfriends was interesting. It was different to have a murder killing all of her ex-boyfriends to get her attention. This was a chilling story and was enjoyable.

⭐⭐💫 (2.5)
"Adele has had a colorful romantic past, but she's finally found her soulmate in Tom. They're engaged, and she's looking forward to a future of blissful happiness. But then she realizes her ex-boyfriends are turning up dead. At first, the deaths seem accidental, but soon a sinister pattern emerges. All of Adele’s former partners are being killed off—in the order she dated them. As the body count grows, Adele has to figure out who is doing this and why. Otherwise, it’s only a matter of time until the killer gets to Tom."

Overall I enjoyed this book. The story moved quickly and kept me engaged. The main character, Adele, came off as immature at times with her excessive drinking/partying with her best friend night after night. This didn't seem like the kind of behavior for a character in her 30's who's engaged to be married, with her fiancé at home alone every night. Adele's fiancé Tom came off as misogynistic, patronizing, and completely unsupportive. Their relationship was unrealistic - why would these two even want to get married?
The author did a great job keeping you guessing throughout the story, I suspected everyone at one point! (My slight spoiler below shares the frustrating side of this.)




***SLIGHT SPOILER***
I was left slightly frustrated when the "Boyfriend" turned out to be someone from Adele's past that wasn't introduced in any way until the final reveal. While I completely enjoy a story that keeps me guessing, I also appreciate when there are Easter eggs throughout the story to lead the reader to the final reveal.

Thank you to NetGalley and Dreamscape Media for this audiobook.
Release Date scheduled for August 23, 2022.

This book was enjoyable, although I found it fairly easy to figure out what was happening along the way. I can't say I loved it, but I didn't hate it either. The characters were mostly unlikeable, including the main character. I would give this author another try.

This was an entertaining and infuriating book for me. While I enjoyed listening to the book, all of the characters were so unlikeable and the scenarios were so unrealistic/annoying it drove me crazy.

I had a hard time trying to imagine being engaged to someone who treated me the way Tom treated Adele. That is no way for a significant other to treat another person that they "love." Also, Adele was so unbelievably childish for a late 30 year old. I just couldn't stand it.

Thanks Netgalley and publisher for the digital copy in exchange for my honest review!

Adele has finally found the love of her life and is enjoying planning her wedding to Tom. When her ex boyfriends start turning up dead, she worries that Tom will be next. Or, is Tom’s jealousy causing him to murderous? The Boyfriend is filled with twists and turns that will leave you guessing until the end.

The Boyfriend is a psychological thriller about a women whose ex-boyfriends are dying! Accidental deaths or murder??? Adele Davies is engaged to Tom Barton and in the process of planning their wedding when she finds out one of her ex-boyfriends committed suicide. Soon after another ex-boyfriend is dead. Adele becomes concerned these deaths aren’t accidental and targets and she is determined to find who is doing this.
Overall this was a quick listen with some twisting, suspenseful moments.
Thanks to Dreamscape Media, Daniel Hurst and Netgalley for the advanced audiobook!

This book missed the mark for me. I could not engage with the characters or the storyline. The writing was drab and never pulled me into the story. The narration was well done, however.

3.65⭐ rounded up for the audiobook.
This was first published in June 2021 in book form and now has an audio version available as of August 2022.

Adele has had 5 serious boyfriends before she finds the one to settle down with, Tom. Each boyfriend starts dying in mysterious ways one by one. After the 3rd death Adele starts to thinks that maybe she is somehow linked to the murderer. Soon enough she knows she's right when she receives a text that says "3 down 3 to go". She goes to the police, but they aren't taking her too seriously.

It's mostly told in the 1st person by Adele and we get a few chapters from 'the boyfriend'. I liked this one well enough and I was engaged throughout. I thought I had the killer figured out a few times, but nope. Who is this mysterious boyfriend? You'll have to wait until the end to find out.

Lorna Bennett and Chris Devon did a good job narrating for 7 hours and 42 minutes, easy to follow at 2x. One thing I will say about Lorna is that while her male voices were overall okay she slowed down her voice for them, almost like she had to think about it.

Overall, a quick read/listen with some suspenseful moments. Adele did a bit too much drinking for my liking, but a decent book nonetheless. This is my first time with this author and it won't be my last.

TW ~ suicide references

I receive this book from the publisher through netgalley.com I am voluntarily leaving this review.

I struggled through this book and it was almost a did not finish for me. I had a really hard time liking Adele. She is planning her wedding to Fiancé Tom but is out almost every night with her best friend getting hammered to the point she has blinding hangovers and doesn't remember half the night. Tom obviously doesn't appreciate this but doesn't start questioning their relationship until she is persistent in telling him he is in danger because many of her ex-boyfriends are turning up dead and now she is getting strange text messages.

It just seemed strange, I would be calling off the wedding unless she went to rehab, and would definitely believe her when more than 1 of her ex's turns up dead just weeks apart. Then there is Adele's childhood accident that has left her with blinding migraines due to a head injury and amnesia (you would think that she wouldn't be drinking to excess just due to this alone!). Is there a connection between what is happening now and the past she can't remember?

The whole things jumped the shark for me on many occasions. I would give it a lower rating but maybe someone else out there will find it is their glass of Chardonnay.

Adele is shocked when her first boyfriend hangs himself, but even more surprised when her second boyfriend dies in a car accident a week later. When the third one dies in a house fire, she starts to realize someone is killing off her boyfriends in order. Adele goes to the police because she’s most worried about her fiancé, Tom. Could he be in danger, too? The police don’t believe her, so she starts to try and figure it out on her own.

The ending of the Boyfriend is crazy! I did not see it coming, nor did I even have a clue who it was throughout the book. Very suspenseful and creepy, it made me wonder how helpless and sacred I’d feel if I knew something was happening but the authorities didn’t believe me. I loved that it was written is such a way that no details were revealed until the very end. Great mystery!

I enjoyed The Boyfriend by Daniel Hurst. While reading it, I was torn between 3 possible suspects. As each was eliminated, I became more and more certain of who it was just to be proven wrong. I think that is what I enjoyed the most, the process of elimination for each suspect. There wasn't any waiting until the end to find out that everyone else is innocent.

I really enjoyed hearing from The Boyfriend throughout the book. I was most enraptured with his chapters. It would have been nice to have heard from him in the epilogue.

Lorna Bennett and Chris Devon were good narrators.

I gave it 4 stars because it was obvious that a man was writing this and trying to provide a women's perspective. I'm not saying that this isn't okay, but there were multiple moments when a male character was being patronizing, misogynistic, or dismissive and Adele would say the man was just being nice or excuse it (I'm the problem, not him, women arguing is a cat fight, etc.). that were clearly a man's perspective of women, not how most of us think of ourselves. I also didn't appreciate how Adele was an alcoholic and it was just accepted as being okay because she'd been through so much. If it would have been addressed as alcoholism, I would have been more understanding of her excuses and behavior.

This was not my favorite read; not even close. Adele has to be the worst main character I have ever read about: she's self-absorbed and completely annoying. I really have a hard time believing anyone can like her. Her destructive behavior makes her almost pathetic. I couldn't connect with her and found her hemming and hawing about telling her fiancé, the person she's supposed to spend the rest of her life with, about going to the funeral of her ex-boyfriend. Did she really think her fiancé was going to be jealous of a dead person?!!! None of it made sense. Is it because a man is writing what a woman should feel? Maybe. I don't know. All I know is that I could not get through this and will not be trying anything else by this author.

After a strain of boyfriends, Adele has finally found her soulmate: Tom. They are engaged to be married and are looking forward to the wedding. But one by one, her ex-boyfriends are turning up dead, and she is now afraid that Tom will be next...
This was a fast-paced mystery with a hint psychological thriller told in dual POV by Adele and "the boyfriend" (the identity of whom remains hidden up until the end). I listened to the audio book, and the narration was great, it was a quick read. I did however prefer the previous book I read by this author, The Accident. But it is definitely not the last Daniel Hurst book I read!
I received an advance review copy for free and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

#TheBoyfriend #DanielHurst #DreamscapeMedia #InkubatorBooks #NetGalley

Adele and Tom are planning their wedding. The only hitch is that her ex-boyfriends are turning up dead, with Tom marked as the final target.

Will Adele be able to figure out who is doing this and why before her fiance ends up dead?

This is a twisty tale with many red-herrings.

The narration keeps everything real.

I enjoyed listening to this ALC.

Wow. This book was a roller coaster ride for sure. I had so many theories and I was wrong on every single one of them. Honestly so rare for me to not figure out the twist because thrillers are all I read anymore. I have read so many of this authors books and they just keep getting better and better.

Thank you NetGalley for the audio to this!

I want to thank Netgalley and the author for gifting me the audio version. The narrator did a good job. The story was okay.

I could not get into this one at all and gave up at 30%. I have enjoyed books by the author in the past but this one just wasn’t for me.

I really don’t like giving a 1⭐️ Review but this really wasn’t a good read/listen. Many times I felt like stopping but I carried on listening. I had no interest in the characters and couldn’t care less what happened to them. Sorry but for me it’s a no.