oh Wow! I don't know where to start! I can't even begin to tell you how much I loved this book! The easiest 5 stars I think I have given hands down.

I enjoyed it because it keeps a quick pace with jaw dropping moments on almost every other page as we follow along with Elana "then" before marrying Jackson and "now" the present day. I felt sad for Elana because I could understand and sympathize how she could fall into the fairy tale web Jackson weaved for her and how he kept her trapped there. Boy was he a piece of work!

I can't say I read this in one sitting but I can tell you that it bothered me so bad during bedtime that I couldn't sleep and the hubby woke up in the wee hours of the night to find me perched in bed with my Kindle because I just had to know what was fixing to happen next!

Thank you to Netgalley and Bookouture for providing this copy for my honest review.

Great read! I was hooked quick and burned thru it. Secret pasts, death, betrayal. Wow. I loved the switching back and forth from past to present to provide the back story of his creepy past.

The Ex-Wives Jenna Kernan


5 stars

Elena is a single parent with a daughter, Phoebe, who is seven. She thought she would never find happiness again when the love of her life, Gavin was killed in an accident. However she then met, Jackson Belauru, a handsome and rich man who is the mayor of the small town in Florida where they live. Elena is happy to have financial security and spend her life looking after her husband and providing a good life for her daughter. Less than a year on everything in her marriage is going wrong. Jackson is showing his true colours, controlling every aspect of Elena’s life, tracking her every move, choosing her clothes and showing dangerous signs of cruelty if his slightest whim is not met.

To compound Elena’s horror she discovers that she is in fact wife number 3. The previous two wives have not only suffered the same type of marriage but both their daughters, who were Jackson’s stepdaughters have disappeared. Elena is trapped, she knows that she cannot escape this man and is terrified that her daughter will also disappear Jackson and his two brothers control the town in which they live and Elena has no money of her own or anyway to escape her predicament.

The story switches between the past and the present showing how easy it was for Jackson to prey upon a lonely woman. Elena, however is determined to bring Jackson to justice even at the cost of her own life and plans every step of the way with cunning and fortitude.

This was a gripping story and described in great detail how a man can be so controlling and abusive to his partner whist showing a totally different character to the outside world. It is worrying to think how many relationships like this that there must be in real life.

I read this book in a couple of days and would highly recommend it, an absorbing read.




Karen Deborah
Reviewer for Net galley

I really enjoyed this book by Jenna Kernan. It was my first from this author. I like how she pulled me in right from the first chapter, very important in a book to me.
Elana is a widowed mother of a young daughter. Although life isn’t easy, they get by. Until Elana meets the man of her dreams or so she thinks. He’s charming, handsome and very well off. He’s a dream come true at first. After they’re whirlwind marriage things begin to change. Jackson has a temper and is very very controlling. Elana learns that he has two ex wives and both of them have missing daughters. The circumstances around this seem to point right at Jackson to Elana because now she gets it. But how can she even think about leaving him not while having her own daughter to worry about. So she has to come up with a different way.

*Book Review*
The Ex Wives by Jenna Kernan
Release Date: 10/10/22

*Trigger warnings* “Their daughter’s went missing. Is yours next?"

I have never been so emotionally involved with a book until now. I was gripped by the harsh reality of the Elana's situation and how helpless she felt at each moment of her day.

This tale is filled with mistrust, manipulation, desperation, anger, abuse, love , hope and courage. It's a gripping story and not for the faint of heart. Once you start reading, you will find it hard to put down...turning each page to find out if it will all end in tragedy or will there be hope on the horizon?

This was my first book by Jenna Kernan. I absolutely loved evey minute of it. It was well written. It showed different time lines which I enjoyed. Only things I didn't care for it didn't show poverty for the first two wife only the last wife. Besides that I would give it 4 out of 5 stars

Wow! A lot of fun with some really unexpected twists and turns. Kept me on the edge of my seat and no way was I putting it down until I finished! Can't wait to read more!

I found this book to be pretty slow, and not very exciting I am sorry to say. It just didn't grab me, and it was a struggle for me.

I rate this book 3.5 stars.

One husband. Two ex-wives. Two missing children.
Jenna Kernan’s “The Ex-Wives” follows Elana Belaru’s life with her husband, Jackson, and daughter Phoebe. Jackson and Elana’s relationship started off as a perfect fairy tale—he was wealthy, charming, and romantic. Elana had nothing to her name, and she saw Jackson as her ticket to stability and safety for her and her daughter. On the day of her and Jackson’s wedding, Elana is startled to see a woman in her dressing room—Shantel, one of Jackson’s ex-wives. Shantel warns Elana to halt the wedding and leave Jackson before it’s too late. Elana’s rose-colored glasses didn’t pay any mind to Shantel’s warning, and she went through with the wedding. If only hindsight wasn’t 20/20. Elana, shortly after their wedding, realizes the mistake that’s been made. Jackson is an abusive MONSTER and there’s suspicion in his involvement surrounding his ex-wives’ missing children. The FBI corners Elana to request her help in proving Jackson is responsible for the disappearances. From here, she begins plotting her and Phoebe’s escape to leave Jackson and free themselves from the prison he’s created. Elana demonstrated the dire lengths a mother will go to protect her child. She acted out of desperation, and it shows in each step of her plan. Will she be successful in finding culpable evidence to use against her husband? Will Jackson take Phoebe away from Elana and make her disappear? Will the mother-daughter duo finally escape?

Kernan creates a highly intense storyline for our narrator and her daughter—it was hard to put the book down once you were locked in. The author did an excellent job exploring the complexities of coercive control and how it affects a partner and their actions. Moreover, I enjoyed how the story was written from a “then” and “now” perspective, it helped give the characters more depth when moving through the plot. Overall, this was an exciting read and I would recommend it my friends/fellow book lovers.

Elana, is a widowed single mother of Phoebe. She has been living a hard life since the death of her husband. However, her dreams are answered when she meets Jackson. Jackson is handsome, charming, wealthy, and sweeps Elana off her feet. Elana feels beyond lucky now that she has married Jackson. She lives in a big, beautiful house and has everything imaginable. Is she as lucky as she first thinks? She soon finds out that Jackson has not shared that he has been married twice before. Mysteriously, when Jackson divorced his ex-wives, their daughters disappeared. Elana begins to question her relationship with Jackson, and wonders if she truly is lucky. If you are looking for an engaging, thrilling novel that is impossible to put down when you start reading, this is for you. I highly recommend this book and will be looking for other novels by this author. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the advance review copy in exchange for my honest review.

Wow, just wow. This book shook me to the core. While reading it there were times I needed to set it aside bc the scenes were so intense. Jackson was so demeaning, the emotional abuse coupled with the physical had me cringing. I haven't felt the realness of a character in a really long time. Well done Miss Jenna!

Wow ,what a ride, right from the very start my heart went out too the main character and her daughter, as well as telling myself that the husband was not someone that I wanted to known in real life . I kept hoping that the Elana and her daughter would get away safely from the dangerous situation they was in , and that Jackson would get what was coming to him.It also made me keep asking myself was there a chance that the other 2 step daughters qas even alive ,and if so where was they . But the one thing that won me over was how strong Elana's character was even when she was scared, and how the author brought to life the topic of Domestic Violence . And how people every day lived their lives when they was and are in that situation . Other thing that I loved was how thick with tension and suspense from start to finish it was, and kept me on the edge until the very last page .

Book: The Ex-Wives
Author: Jenna Kernan
Publisher: Bookouture
Genre: Mystery/Thriller
Pub Date: October 10, 2022
My Rating: 3.6

Elana is recently widowed and was left with a large debt. Now as she looks out the window in her beautiful new home she sees her daughter Phoebe playing in the treehouse; Elana cannot help but think how lucky she is to not to worry about paying her bills: as she now has security with her handsome husband Jackson Belauru.
It is not long until she discovers that Jackson has a dark side.

She finds out that Jackson has been married twice and when his previous wives leave him each has a little daughter that mysteriously goes missing. At first, Elana states she was aware that Jackson has a stepdaughter who ran away but Elana finds out that that she wasn’t given all the information~ she indeed has not been told the truth.
Elana knows she needs to plan a safe way of leaving Jackson before something terrible happens to her and especially to her daughter.

I always enjoy reading the author’s notes and/acknowledgements. When author deal with disturbing situation, I like that they include hotline information.
In this case author, Jenna Kernan informs readers that domestic abuse is never the victim’s fault and provided information for help in many countries: Canada, UK, Ireland, New Zealand and Australia.

The National Domestic Violence Hotline number for here in the United States is
1-800 799-7233.

Want to thank NetGalley and Bookouture for this early eGalley.
Publishing Release Date scheduled for October 10, 2022

Woah woah WOAH! A domestic/psychological thriller that felt new in a way, more original and was oh so good, gripping and fast paced! The story starts quickly and drags you in. The ending is outstanding! There is a hint of crime and mystery which was an added bonus for me.

Elena falls in love with Jackson, the perfect, charismatic, rich, soon to be husband. She slowly finds out he's been lying about his past, including that when his exes left him, their daughters (his step daughters) went missing. Are Elena and her daughter safe?

I had anxiety turning the pages. This is written so well, from both past and present POVs.

I was having a break from the psych thriller tropes and this one made me glad to be back.

Publication date: 10 October 2022

There are a number of TWs to be looked up online. One of which is the one that gets me - ⚠️ spolier alert ⚠️ - an animal is harmed briefly in this book.

Thank you to Netgalley, the author and the publisher for providing an advance copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Thank you Bookouture and NetGalley for an early copy of The Ex-Wives. Want to talk ANXIETY every chapter???? This was a Totally Engrossing read. WOW!!!!!!! A rollercoaster ride would be easier to do than to be the main character. What an AWESOME READ!!! So sad its finished.

This is an enjoyable read at the start but I found it hard to keep my interest as I read through the story . I found the ending quite rushed and it couldn’t keep my attention.
I’m saying that I’m glad I finished the book and would read something by the author again

The premise of this book was so intriguing.

Elena is a widow and she takes care of her daughter Phoebe. Then she falls in love with wealthy mayor Jackson. But very soon it turns out he is not we she thought he was. After their wedding Jackson turns into a controlling, narcissistic man. And then something happens...

This book isn't bad but it's not good either. I love thrillers with twists and turns. Thrillers that mind fuck you. But this book is so straight forward. No twisted plot.

I was up till 5 am reading this because I just could not put it down.

This book is thick with tension and suspense from start to finish, which is quite a feat because a lot of thrillers are unable to keep up the tension for longer than half the book. Another thing I really enjoyed was the dual timeline. It was interesting to see the couple's relationship unfold and to actually see the main character realize the type of man that her husband was.

The only qualm I had about this book was that the writing was unfortunately lacking for me sometimes. There were sometimes random sentences thrown in that didn't have all that much relevance to the plot and there were 2 chapters that started off almost the same back to back.

Overall though, this was a solid book and one that fans of the mystery and thriller genre will surely enjoy

This was a fantastic domestic thriller! Kept me turning pages and my heart was pounding the whole time. I did feel like the author was not great at the different time lines. There was enough jumping around that sometimes it got confusing on what was happening, ie Now, 6 months ago, one year ago, now, one month ago, etc. It’s easier to follow if you have only 2 alternating tinelines. Still, a well written and exciting book. 4.5/5 stars!

I received a free advance reader copy from NetGalley and am leaving my honest review voluntarily.

Thank you for the opportunity to read this book before publication. 5 stars for a DNF as I am unable to comment on the overall quality of the book. What an interesting premise!!! I was super drawn to this book due to the synopsis. Unfortunately this wasn't for me. I found the writing clunky and longwinded. Perhaps with some tighter editing, this would've been more enjoyable for me.