THE EX WIVES BY JENNA KERMAN

This is written in a dual timeline from a 3rd person POV. Elena is married to what she believes is wonderful but finds later is a nightmare of a man named Jackson. There is manipulation and domestic violence.
At times you want to scream out of frustration at Elena to leave!!

Yes a real page turner and thrilling!

Thanks to netgalley for this advanced audio book in exchange for my honest review.

Thank you NetGalley for the audio copy in exchange for a honest review. Elana already had a young daughter Phoebe when she meets and marries Jackson. She thinks she has the perfect live for herself and her daughter. Then Jackson becomes controlling and she finds out he has two ex wives and both had young daughters who mysteriously vanished. Suddenly Elana fears for Phoebe and thei future. A outstanding thriller.

I enjoyed the narrator but the story has been told before. A woman is trying to leave her powerful, controlling husband. His ex wife tried to warn her. Two ex wives' daughters have gone missing. Who's to blame?

3.75 stars

The concept of this book was interesting, if not wholly unique. I appreciated some of the suspenseful twists and turns of the story; however, even though I finished it less than a week ago, I’m finding that the details of the very ending have somewhat escaped me; I had to review a few pieces of the story as it didn’t stick with me the way some do. Anyway, it was a quick, fun thriller that was easy enough to follow, and I did still mostly enjoy the story.

When they met - Jackson swept Alana off her feet. A handsome husband secured a glamorous lifestyle and a bright future for her daughter - she feels as if she has hit a jackpot. But behind Jackson's charming and generous smile, hides a manipulative and dangerous side that makes Alana question his true motives. And only a year after their lavish wedding, she is looking for a way out of her marriage. But that's when she learns the truth...

The Ex Wives is a typical phycological thriller about a single mother living in poverty, who comes across a prince charming, who swipes her onto his dark and shiny horse and puts her into a golden cage. We all know that story. And that's when Jenna Kernan comes in. Her main character uses multiple tactics to free herself and her daughter from the hands of her scheming husband, but she is unsuccessful. Going to the police is not an option. Jackson's family is running the town they live in. The only way out of this horrific marriage is to expose the entire family. And everything starts with a photograph in the unmarked box.

This thriller is an addictive read. I enjoyed all twists and turns of the plot, and there were a lot of them. If you are looking for a quick suspense read - I highly recommend this novel, as it has an unexpected and twisty finale waiting for you at the end of the book. Thank you, NetGalley for a free and advanced copy of the novel.

Wow! This is how to write a domestic thriller. You know who the bad guy is, but you are on the edge of your seat waiting to see what they will do and how it will all play out. I actually had to put it down at one point to break the tension because I was having anxiety for the MC.

The ending had a believable and interesting twist. There is something you will wonder about throughout the story and then it plays out later on. I did have a couple of questions about the end, but nothing that took away from the story.

This was my first read by Jenna Kernan and I'll definitely be looking into reading more of her work.

I listened to the audiobook narrated by Stephanie Cannon and I thought she did an excellent job. She added to the tension felt in the story. I'm hoping more of Kernan's work is read by this narrator.

4.5★

(Please note that there is domestic abuse in various forms in the story.)

3.5 stars

I did enjoy the Ex-Wives. The story was good, but I went back and forth with Elana. So many clues that she continually ignored, you just wanted to shake her and say “wake up”! Ex-wives with insights of what her soon to be husband has supposedly done. Missing children? So many clues that should have been researched. But, it’s a book so I will just aggravated with the main character and continue to read lol

Over all it was a good book, I listened to the audio and the narrator did a great job. I would recommend it for anyone who like psychological thrillers.

This one put the capital J in Juicy!! It was like a PSA, if it seems to good to be true, it probably is! The main character in this one started out submissive, weak and annoying. But the read got real good, real quick. There were plenty of tense moments and some twists I didn't anticipate. It ramped up at the end and I found myself reading late into the night to find out what happened. The ending fit the end of the story. A recommended read for those who like domestic thriller, but are OK with abuse.
The narration was excellent on this one.

Holy crap I really, really enjoyed this audiobook! It was captivating from the very beginning and kept me on the edge of my seat.

The Ex Wives by Jenna Kernan Narrated by: Stephanie Cannon was SOOOOOOO GOOD!!! and very cleverly written. I loved this audiobook. This book was fast paced and packed with great twists and turns throughout

Two ex-wives and two missing young girls, with so many secrets the ex-wives are hiding! This is so tense! especially the few chapters.......I was shouting out aloud!!! The ending was Excellent well the whole book was excellent!!!

I highly recommend this book I loved it and the Narrator was excellent throughout as well

Very quick archive date wish it would have been a bit linger to have enjoyed this one i will try reading a physical copy as the narration was flat for me

This was the first Jenna Kernan story I have read or listened to and it was really good! It is definitely another author to look out for when looking for psychological thrillers.

I liked Elana right from the start, but at the same time I wanted to shake her and tell her no. See the red flags! She is widowed and single mom of Phoebe and they have a lovely bond. It is clear she would do anything for her, so did she mess up by marrying Jackson. Can he really not be trusted? The further into the story you get the more you are left on the edge of your seat hoping that both Elana and Phoebe will get away alive! But how?

Found this one a little frustrating the main character elana felt like she made the wrong choice at every turn and sometimes not very realistic. The husband was a good villian tho very controlling and manipulative. Easy read just not one of my favs. Thanks to Netgalley for the Arc.

Oooh this book starts off with just hating Elana. She's so dumb, weak, just is not GETTING IT. But as the webs untangle, she grows on you. She's been through a lot and is essentially alone besides her daughter Phoebe, prior to meeting and marrying Jackson, so it's easy to see how quickly she became enamored with her new situation even if we, the readers, are extremely suspect. I listened to this very quickly and it kept me on my toes for sure!! There's a twist that I really enjoyed and I liked where it ended up. Good book! Will have to check out more from Jenna Kernan.

Elana is a single mom who suddenly finds the man of her dreams. Everything is fantastic..... until she finds out about all his ex-wives and their missing children. Now Elana needs to get out before it's too late.

I want to start by saying that I honestly enjoyed the author's style and that the book is a quick read. I would definitely read more from this author.

However, I absolutely hated this book for the first 3/4. I almost put it down multiple times. As a fan of the genre, I have read lots of stories about controlling men. However, this man was so over the top controlling that it was unreliable because to do so would have wasted so much of his own time. For example, all purchases Elana makes have to be pre-approved. When she buys a small food item and a book without prior authorization, he demeans her and drives an hour back to the bookstore just to make her return it. Absolutely unbelievable, no man would waste two hours of his own time over $10 no matter how controlling he wanted to appear. Additionally, he does things that no woman would put up with. For example, in a public place he tells her she can't use the restroom and has to hold it until they get home. They're in a public place, and he had never been violent towards her, no woman would just be like 'Ok I'll hold it', and TONS of women would say fine and then pee in his car to spite him.

As for Elana, she is so stupid it's almost funny. For the first 75% of the book this woman is dumber than a blonde in a horror movie. She's warned by one ex-wife, she gets bad vibes from another, she sees all the red flags, she has family could help, the FBI offers help....and yet this woman just stays. Then she gets dumber. Who gets screwed over in a legal document and then like 2 weeks later signs *another* legal document without reading it?! Then, all of a sudden, right at the end, she's apparently brilliant enough to mastermind this very involved plot to get away from him and she makes it all work seamlessly and he never notices?

The last 25% of the book was very tense and a much better, well-matched kind of cat and mouse situation but the first 75% is almost painful. That being said, I loved the author's style, and it was a quick read, I would love to see more from her but I really hope the characters are more realistic.

The storyline is extremely intense and another jaw-dropping thriller I have come across.

Elana thought herself was happily married to Jackson who was handsome and rich, just a perfect husband and stepfather to her daughter Phoebe. Sometimes Jackson would tell you what to wear, where to go, who to see and what to speak. Yes - sounded like loving and caring but at the same time he was a control-freak.

Elana had no idea that Jackson married before, not once but twice, He was a liar. Two ex-wives, two missing toddlers, the pattern was just like Elana and Phoebe. Maybe just coincident? No..when the ex-wives told Elana not to marry Jackson...now Elana worried something bad might happen to Phoebe.

What do you think of "Ex-wife"? Will you be jealous? Trying to dig into your husband's past and know more about their history? But what will you do if you feel the sympathy with the "ex-wife"?

The is one of the most gripping thriller, dark, family secret story I have listened.

I enjoyed The Ex-Wives by Jenna Kernan. This was my first experience at using an audio book. The story line keep me intrigued and I wanted to know what was going to happen next. This book has a bit of psychological thrill, crime and mystery. It was very easy to follow. I could see this book made into a good movie. I liked that the author provided some detail at the end of the book as to what happened later. I would recommend this book.

The Ex Wives
By Jenna Kernan


How far would you go to protect your child?

Elena is widowed with her young daughter Phoebe. She has no family except her dead husbands parents. Until she meets handsome and rich Jackson. He sweeps her away and takes care of her & Phoebe. Slowly he starts taking over every aspect of her life. Gives her a new phone, new cloths, a new car, everything he needs to track her every move. She takes Phoebe out for pizza one day and buys him a small gift and he throws it breaking the cute coffee mug she wanted to surprise him with. From them it only gets worse. She can’t do anything without him knowing. She soon learns that his 2 ex-wife’s daughter have gone missing. Where are these two girls? Is Phoebe next?

I enjoyed listening to this story but it did take me a little to get into it. I am not sure is it was the story itself, the narrator or if I was distracted.

Thank you to NetGalley and Bookouture for the advanced copy in turn for my honest review.

Thanks to NetGalley and Bookouture Audio for the audiobook ARC!

The Ex-Wives sounded like an interesting plot, and a little different angle than other thrillers that I've read in the past, but the execution was disappointing. I found the characters to all be very unlikeable, the dual timeline to be clunky, confusing, and hard to follow, and the manner of inserting the current COVID pandemic into the plot and the timeline to be downright awful. There are some really great books coming out right now that are able to seamlessly weave the COVID pandemic into the fabric of the plot (see Elizabeth Strout's excellent Lucy By the Sea, for one), but this is not one of them. Just really disappointing overall.

With thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for the opportunity to listen to this audio book in return for an honest review.

Synopsis

Two ex-wives. Two missing girls. Will yours be next?

Pulling a batch of my husband’s favourite golden oatmeal cookies from the oven, I smile to hear my daughter Phoebe playing in the treehouse outside. I was once so close to losing everything, but since I married handsome Jackson, I have a perfect life. Jackson might tell me what to wear, but he just likes to buy me nice things. He says I don’t need a job, and why would I want one? I can spend all day taking care of Phoebe and running errands in the fancy car Jackson gave me—he knows everywhere I go, and I love how much he wants to keep me safe.

But my whole world shatters when I find out Jackson is a liar.

He never mentioned he was married before—twice.

I love him so much. But how can I trust him now? Desperate for answers, I search our pristine house top to bottom. I thought Jackson was caring: but is it a way to control me?

When I track down his ex-wives, I see fear in their eyes. Both these women had little girls just like me. And when they left Jackson, their daughters went missing.

Devastated I’ve put Phoebe in danger, I have no choice but to find the truth about those poor girls. To protect Phoebe, I must pretend to still be the perfect wife, even though fear floods through me at Jackson’s touch.

But how far will I have to go? And what will happen to me and my sweet child if my husband finds out?

I really struggled with this title. The narration is good. The plot is good. The storyline is well formed. The characters equally well formed. It has many many trigger warnings. It should have been a thriller it should have left me shocked, yet I plodded through feeling like I had read it all so many times before. There was something quite hollow in it, and it just missed the mark for me I’m afraid.