Kate and Matt have a non-traditional marriage, to say the least. They love each other dearly, but Kate is sex-averse, so they haven’t been intimate in years. But they have an arrangement: Matt is free to have one-night stands with other women when he goes on frequent work trips, but he has to come home and tell Kate every single juicy detail, which Kate then uses as inspiration for writing her newest erotic novel. When a bohemian young widow named Annie moves into the neighborhood, she and Kate become fast friends, but Annie’s arrival threatens to upend all of their lives.

I was so entertained by this unique book, which is a clever mash-up of thriller and romance. If you’re used to typical psychological thrillers, this one might be spicier than you’re used to! This slow burn domestic suspense has the perfect build up to a wild and twisty conclusion.

This is a great book for fans of:
• Spicy suspense
• Dual POV
• Neighborhood Drama
• Book-within-a-book novels

I don’t think I’ve read a book like this before! And we are loving it over here at @thrillerbooklovers #pulsepoint #thepulse.
It’s a domestic drama thriller mixed with some spice. 🔥 I never really thought about reading the two together but it definitely worked for this one.

Kate is an erotica book author and she is happily married. But their marriage is not conventional. She is not interested in sex and to satisfy her husband and also give her writing ideas, her husband is allowed to sleep with other women while away on work trips as long as he follows a few rules. It works for them until it doesn’t….

Annie just moved down the street and has a daughter the same age as Kate’s. Annie is different and quirky. They strike up a friendship quickly but Kate learns Annie isn’t as she seems.

This book was a wild ride and I did not see that ending coming!

"𝑨𝒎 𝑰 𝒊𝒏𝒔𝒂𝒏𝒆 𝒕𝒐 𝒂𝒍𝒍𝒐𝒘 𝒉𝒊𝒎 𝒕𝒐 𝒅𝒐 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒔? 𝑾𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒊𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒄𝒓𝒂𝒛𝒚 𝒂𝒓𝒓𝒂𝒏𝒈𝒆𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕 𝒆𝒏𝒅𝒔 𝒖𝒑 𝒅𝒆𝒔𝒕𝒓𝒐𝒚𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒖𝒔?
𝑾𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒊𝒇?"

Special thanks to @thrillerbookloversthepulse @blackstonepublishing @lisa_kusel and @netgalley for the #gifted eARC.

👉🏼 swipe for synopsis ➡️

MY REVIEW:
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

So. This is not your normal spicy thriller, IMO. I would say this is a BIG slow burn, with an underlying suspense. Mostly because you're waiting to see when the thriller part is going to happen.
Toward the end, you start to see bits unravel and wondering ok, wait - did she kill him, or is she going to kill him?
Yes, there's lots of sex described, but cmon - it's a book about a romance author. What else do they write about?!

This one is a quick, interesting read! Add it to your preorder list ASAP!

PUB DAY:
July 16, 2024

QOTD ❓️⁉️❓️Have you ever met an author in person, and if so- who?
If no, what is your favorite color?

AOTD - I have not, and purple.

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#thrillerbooklovers #thepulse #pulsepoint #thewidowondwyercourt #lisakusel #blackstonepublishing #bookbuzz #thrillerlover #thrilleraddict #upcomingrelease
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3.5*
This was such an odd book. We have a married mum of one, famous for being an author. She writes erotica but hates sex. So she makes a deal with her husband, Matt. He can sleep with whoever he wants as long as he tells her so she can use the details for her stories. But, unsurprisingly, it eventually goes wrong.
This one was marked as a thriller, but to be completely honest, it was only the last 10/20% of the book that seemed to have any kind of thriller vibes. Most of the book seems to focus on Matt's sexcapades and parts of Kate's book. It was very, very sex orientated, and unfortunately, that just isn't something I enjoy reading. Had I known just how much sex and how little thriller there was, I don't think I would have picked this one up.
However, the writing was great. The last part of the story was twisty and unexpected. There was too much hide the penis and not enough stabby stabby for me.

First of all as others have mentioned, this is definitely not your typical psychological thriller and from the synopsis, you know it’s going to be a wacky and wild ride 😂. And it definitely was! A slow burn with good build up, some spice, and all the entertainment 👌🏻. Best part? Totally unique!

Lisa Kusel….you sneaky rascal. Not only did you deliver a well choreographed dance between the characters but you also produced an unputdownable piece de resistance. It was very clever with some cunningness mixed in. For those that enjoy suspenseful, outside-of-the box reads that make you want to know the untold stories of the whole town, do not pass this one by!!

Wow. This one was.... different. (In a good way I think)

Kate is your typical stay at home soccer mom on the surface. But what many don't know, she also is an erotic romance author and uses a pseudonym. She loves her husband but does not desire sex/physical intimacy and they have not had sex in years. With this, they have made a special arrangement. Matt is able to have one-night stands when he is out of town for work HOWEVER, he has to tell Kate every detail. This arrangement works and they live their lives without issue, that is until Annie enters their lives. In the beginning Kate sees this as the perfect opportunity to have a fellow mom friend. But little does Kate know; Annie has some big secrets of her own.

This book delivers dual perspectives from Annie and Kate as well as pieces of Kate's spicy books.
Spicy, thrilling and oh so twisty!


Thank you, Lisa Kusel, Blackstone Publishing and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This was domestic thriller all the way baby!
Kate married to Matt, is no longer interested in having sex with her husband however Kate writes erotic novels , how does that work!? this is such an interesting plot line, I just had to dive in.
Kate and Matt are happily married despite the fact that they have not slept together in years. Matt is handsome and likeable, by all accounts he seems like quite the catch... Or is he?
Enter Annie. Oh Annie...I don't really know how I feel about this character but at times I did find her believable, and in the end she fooled me.
Although I predicted a couple points it didn't stop me from lapping it up like a thirsty kitten. I thoroughly enjoyed the ending. This is for those who like a messy marriage with some spice 🌶️🌶️
✔️ Multiple pov. Jealousy. Revenge. Story within a story. Love triangle.
Thank you Netgalley and Blackstone publishing for this arc in exchange for an honest review.

Good book. Would have preferred a little more spice knowing what the main character was trying to do. I think that would have definitely helped the book The book wrapped up kind of quickly and I felt I missed part of it but overall it was a good quick read.

I could not put this one down! All the twists and turns - that had me at the edge of my seat!!! It’s exactly what I love in a thriller, plus there is some spice to it!!! This one, you absolutely need this one on your TBR!

Thank you so much for the advanced reader copy!!

Wow. This is definitely a different and unique kind of thriller. I don’t think I’ve read a thriller quite like this one before. The main character is an erotica novel author and her husband is her muse. Her neighbor is quite eccentric and loves natural remedies. She is quite the character. I enjoyed this book!

The synopsis is what made me request the book, because I thought it was going to be a mystery on what happened to Annie. The book started off good, but then towards the ending it got weird. At the beginning of the some of the chapters, it was hard to tell if Kate was talking about her life or her book. The ending confused me.

If I'm being honest, I didn't have high hopes for this book. I wasn't sure I was a fan as I started it. I was wrong. Once I got into this book, I couldn't put it down. I read it in a day. Thank you for the opportunity to read this ARC.

An unpredictable and original story line makes this one a quick read. Matt and Kate have an interesting marriage. Kate is a successful romance author who does NOT enjoy sex – at all. Because they have a daughter and are best friends, their unconventional means to a successful marriage works for them. Matt is allowed to sleep with women when he wants as long as he shares every single detail with Kate as fodder for her books. To my surprise this is way more spicy than most thrillers than a read and contains a story within a story. Annie, a newly widowed mom with plenty of secrets and a lot of attitude, moves into their neighborhood. Dual POV’s between Kate and Annie, make this flow along seamlessly. This would make a great weekend read, plot twists abound and you will not want to share your time with another person or book!

I was all ready yesterday to tell you how much I enjoyed this book. I was going to tell you how I read the entire thing in a matter of hours. I was going to tell you how the plot line was one that was new and fresh. I was also going to tell you what a sweetheart @lisa_kusel is, and how I can’t wait for this book to publish on July 16th. But then Instagram went down and everyone lost their minds, so I’m telling you today instead because I don’t want anyone to miss out!

Talk about plot twist after plot twist! At first, I was unsure about the book, and some of its content, but wow wow wow!! Once I started reading, I couldn’t put it down! This book was fantastic, and I absolutely loved the ending! It was so unexpected! I definitely recommend this book!

This is a really great book. It is about a husband and wife... the husband is allowed to have a one-night stand and the wife writes erotic romance novels and her husbands affair are what she writes about. Then a young widow and her daughter move to the street and she has secrets just like everyone on this street. This secret could destroy everyone. I really enjoyed this book!

Kate and Matt have an unconventional marriage that works for them until one of them slips up. Their deal is Matt is allowed one night stands as long as he shares the experiences with Kate to help move along her stories and characters. New neighbor, Annie and her daughter Terra, moves in and befriends Kate. It’s a bit predictable and different.

Holyyyyyy moly this one is spicy! I don’t think I would really consider it a Thriller, but you won’t be able to put it down! It’s basically a story within a story - the main character writes erotica, so you travel along with the characters in the book she is writing WHILE you are peeling back the layers of her marriage and her friendship with her new neighbor. You don’t want to miss this one! With so many similar books out there today, this one is definitely unique and entertaining!

"The Widow on Dwyer Court" by Lisa Kusel is a book that left me feeling conflicted, earning a rating of 3.5 stars.

The setup of this book is seriously wild – we've got a stay-at-home mom delving into writing steamy novels while her hubby's off having flings on work trips. Now, that premise definitely caught my attention, but I'll be honest, I struggled to really sink into the story. Some parts made me feel pretty uncomfortable, and it was hard to fully immerse myself in the plot.

But hey, props to Kusel for her creativity – this book is unlike anything I've ever read. Seriously, major points for originality. That being said, I couldn't help wishing the characters were a bit more relatable. None of them are exactly likeable, and by the second part of the book, I was kinda over their drama.

Still, there's something oddly captivating about "The Widow on Dwyer Court." So, would I recommend it? Yeah, I'd say give it a shot if you're into something a little offbeat. It's not perfect, but it's definitely got its own unique charm.