This was such a fast paced read and when I got to part two I was wondering what in the heck was happening?!? Eden and her husband just dropped their daughter off at college when he asked her for a divorce. Totally blindsided and now very hurt and confused, Eden takes solace with social media and reconnects with an old flame. The one she always thought had gotten away after an embarrassing moment at a party and years later he is still attractive and quickly accepted her friend request. Learning how to navigate this whole messaging and single life, Eden quickly feels excitement and feelings she has not had in years. Justin seems to be just as lonely as she is and isn't afraid to start where things had ended at that party. As her daughter starts to act out at school and her to be ex-husband still seems to be trying, Eden is tangled in trying to start anew in mid-life, keep her daughter from thinking the divorce is her fault and rekindling an old relationship, things quickly escalate and Eden realizes that she may have just made the biggest mistake of her life. Can you really be sure about who you are talking to on the other side of that device? Her ex-husband is in the hospital, her daughter is missing and Eden asks the last person she should have for help. The truth of what really happened at that party comes out and Eden realizes that things were never what she thought and the people she thought she knew, she didn't know at all. Thank you to the author and NetGalley for the complementary ebook and to Thriller Book Lovers for the tour invite. This review is of my own opinion and accord. I felt like I was watching a Dateline or 48 Hours Mystery episode when reading this book, so good!

Eden’s life has changed dramatically and not in a good way. Her daughter Ava has left for college and her husband Dave wants a divorce. Suddenly Eden is alone on her 45th birthday and drunkenly reaches out to Justin Ward her old college crush. Amazingly, he answers her, and it seems that he has thought about her too. Is this a second chance for Eden or is life going to take another unbelievable turn? There is just some thing about Justin that doesn’t seem quite right.
It’s a Samantha M. Bailey book so you know it’s not necessarily going to end well. So many twists and turns. While I had my guesses about Justin, I was right to a point, then totally wrong.
I read this in one night since I just had to know how it would end.

What a slooooow and diabolical turn. I thought I figured this one out- just kidding, I was wrong. This was a wild ride , Samantha sets the stage and nails it out of the park with every book she writes. I love her writing and her ability to tell a story. She is easily a Fave Author of mine and I will always choose her books!

𝐋𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐢𝐬 𝐚 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐲 𝐝𝐫𝐮𝐠. 𝐀𝐧𝐝 𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐭𝐚𝐥𝐤 𝐭𝐨 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐲𝐨𝐮'𝐫𝐞 𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐚𝐥𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐢𝐬 𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐥𝐞𝐭 𝐠𝐨 𝐨𝐟.

Back when this book was just a title, I lusted for it and couldn't wait for the day when I would get the notification that it was ready to request, and that day came yesterday. I inhaled every word and am marveling for the third time just how well this woman can get in my head.

Eden Miller is every woman of a certain age. After she and her husband Dave drop their daughter Ava off at college, he blindsides her with the news that he wants a divorce. Eden finds herself alone on her 45th birthday, feeling like every sacrifice she has made in her life has been for nothing. Her husband has shut her out after his father's death, and her daughter acts like most teenage girls, as if Eden's very existence is a personal affront.

Eden has always been a good girl, a good wife, a good mother...and she's sick of it. But what does a good girl become when she's never been anything else? Eden finds the answer when she finds herself reminiscing over her college "one that got away," bad boy drummer Justin. On a whim, she investigates his social media, sends a friend request, and that one simple act will be enough to undo Eden's whole life.

A FRIEND IN THE DARK is so much more than just a domestic thriller; it's a heady, gritty foray into desire, longing, and the second half of a woman's life when she often wonders about the road not taken. It's a hand around the throat whispering of obsession, lust, secrets, and pain. It's the heartbreak of the unpublished chapters we all have; the ones we spend far too much time trying to revise and recast with different players.

I am forever grateful to be one of the first reviewers for this stunning book. Thank you so much to Thriller Book Lovers Promotions and the author for my early copy. This book will publish March 1, 2024.

A Friend in The Dark
By: Samantha M. Bailey
5🖤🖤🖤🖤🖤

This is my third novel by Bailey and she always delivers heart pounding novels.
🖤
When I saw the title I knew this would deliver a domestic thriller and I enjoyed the spicy scenes, which added to the plot.
🖤
Eden and her husband Dave drop their daughter off at University of Michigan for her freshmen year. As soon as they get to the parking lot he asks for a divorce. She is rocked to the core as he provides no explanation.
🖤
Eden sells real estate and while she is day dreaming, she sends a friend request to her college crush Justin! While in college something happened that changed Eden’s life forever and lead her to Dave, but she never forgot Justin.
🖤
Soon Eden’s behavior is erratic and bold. She starts taking chances in her personal and professional life. They begin an online relationship which makes her feel wanted and desired. She starts to realize Justin knows things about her that she has not shared? Is this all coincidence?
🖤
This novel had my heart racing as things changed with each sentence and the twists kept coming! So many scenarios that I had no idea where Bailey was headed, which kept me up way past bedtime to find out.
🖤
Thank you Samantha Bailey and Thriller Book Lovers Promotions for this advanced copy and being on your tour. This novel comes out March 1, 2024. I have already preordered to have with my other books by this author. I highly recommend Woman on the Edge and Watch Out for Her as well.
#afriendinthedark, #sbaileybpoks, #samanthambailey, #rhomasandmercer, #thrillerbookloverspromotions, #bookreview, #bookstagram, #booksconnectus, #stamperlady50

💻 BOOK / REVIEW 💻

@sbaileybooks is coming in 🔥HOT 🔥 with her latest novel, #afriendinthedark. If you're looking for a steamy, then sexy, then bloody read, buckle up. You're in for a super fun #domesticthriller thriller ride!

Thank you @thrillerbookloverspromotions and the lovely Tonya from @blondethrillerbooklover for allowing me the opportunity to read an #ARC so early in advance. I have been dying to read another book by Sam for years!

This one publishes 3/1/2024 by #thomasmercer - so be sure to save this post so you can order!

💭 My thoughts:

-The pacing was EXCELLENT. It will throw you right into the action and it's a very quick read. I think I knocked this one out in 4 hours because I couldn't stop!!!!

-The characters are well written and have enough good and bad qualities that the reader will become invested in their lives. Justin started out super swoony for me, but you can tell early on he is a prick. Also, I really wanted the best for Eden and Dave. I think the way their relationship ebbed and flowed was well done.

-There is some SPICE to this book, which I loved. It felt sexy and salacious. If you have ever listened to digital get down by N*Sync, you'll understand what I am saying 😉.

-The ending is an actual PANIC ATTACK in writing. That's all I can say. Go in blindly with this one - it's totally worth it!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for my e-ARC of A Friend in the Dark!

𝐑𝐄𝐀𝐃 𝐓𝐇𝐈𝐒 𝐈𝐅 𝐘𝐎𝐔
💻 still use Facebook to communicate with people
🎣 live in the state of Michigan
💔 are hung up on someone from the past
🎸 would do anything for a Les Paul

• 𝐖𝐇𝐀𝐓 𝐈𝐓’𝐒 𝐀𝐁𝐎𝐔𝐓

Eden Miller’s world is crumbling. Her husband blindsided her with divorce, and her daughter barely speaks to her. In an impulsive decision to escape her present and revisit the past, she sends a friend request to her college crush, Justin Ward.

One night twenty-three years ago changed the course of her life. It closed the door on Justin and opened the door to her husband, Dave. But what if Eden could have a do-over?

Eden begins an online relationship with Justin that awakens her in ways she never thought possible, and his voice and words make her take bold risks. But something’s off. He knows too much about her and her family…he’s been following her.

Eden is forced to awaken from her fantasy and look for answers―who really is the man on the other line? The truth about Justin―and about what happened that fateful night two decades ago―puts her and her family in a fight for their lives.

• 𝐌𝐘 𝐓𝐇𝐎𝐔𝐆𝐇𝐓𝐒

We are brought right into the action right from the start of this story! I honestly went into this one blind, and I am so glad that I did because I didn’t have a clue how anything was going to go down, but I knew that I was immediately invested when Eden, our first MC, begins chatting with an old flame. While I had my doubts and suspicions surrounding Justin and Eden’s exchanges, I was still 100% shocked by the twist near the end of the story. There was a lot that I just didn’t see coming but loved. The action was non stop which I loved as it made me fly through the story! I highly recommend if you enjoy fast paced thrillers!

Well based on this, 2024 is shaping up to be a year of great thrillers! This is my first read by Samantha Bailey and it cemented her on my auto buy author list!! I am so thankful she allowed us to have this exclusive tour for her before anyone else has a chance to read this! I am not one to read books this far ahead of pub dates, but I started this and could not put it down! Any second I got to read, I had it open and devouring it! I had so many thoughts and things right when I finished .. but spoilers… so I had to immediately message Samantha and get them all out! This book is going to get a lot of attention as it gets closer to publication date in March 2024! There were some things that I suspected, but the way Samantha reveals them is shocking!!! It was thrilling, twisty, shock worthy, made me cringe.. it really had me feeling all the emotions! Just trust me on this, you don’t want to miss it!

Eden Miller’s world is crumbling. Her husband blindsided her with divorce, and her daughter barely speaks to her. In an impulsive decision to escape her present and revisit the past, she sends a friend request to her college crush, Justin Ward. One night twenty-three years ago changed the course of her life. It closed the door on Justin and opened the door to her husband, Dave. But what if Eden could have a do-over? Eden begins an online relationship with Justin that awakens her in ways she never thought possible, and his voice and words make her take bold risks. But something’s off. He knows too much about her and her family…he’s been following her. Eden is forced to awaken from her fantasy and look for answers—who really is the man on the other line? The truth about Justin—and about what happened that fateful night two decades ago—puts her and her family in a fight for their lives.

Wow! A sizzling, deliciously, creepy and deceptive novel that had me reading till I finished the book. It took me a few hours to read which is abnormal but it was so good; I had to finish before sleep called my name. This book signifies Samantha as a favorite and I will forever read whatever she writes in the future.

😱 I read this in one day! I loved that Eden was a middle aged woman. After her husband, Dave, blindsided her by asking for a divorce, she is left feeling lonely and empty. What if Eden could have a do-over? She reaches out to her first crush, Justin, “the one that got away” and he awakens her in ways she never thought possible, and his voice and words make her take bold risks. But something’s off. He knows too much about her and her family… Eden is forced to awaken from her fantasy and look for answers—who really is the man on the other line? And what has she gotten herself and her family into?

This book was steamy and thought provoking! As a married person with children, it’s very easy to fall into a routine where intimacy and communication can fly out the window. It made me look at my life and marriage, as well as think about my parents relationship and consider all the what-ifs.

Highly recommend if you like thrillers with:
- Family drama
- Online romance
- Stalking
- Secrets
- Gaslighting
- Sexting
- Twists

Thank you Thriller Book Lovers Promotions, Amazon Publishing and Samantha M. Bailey for an advanced copy and being an early reader of this book.