Thanks to #NetGalley and #Bookouture for the book #TheAnniversary by #ColeBaxter. This gripping thriller includes manipulation, murder and abuse. Who was driving the car that killed a woman? Was it Catherine or her husband? This crazy twisted story had me enthralled to the very end.

A romantic anniversary dinner to celebrate 5 years married ends in a car crash. A woman is dead, and her husband is saying she was driving. Yet she is certain her husband was the one driving. Why is he lying?

This book starts off with a bang, and is so action packed! This one kept me engaged from the first page. The story was not what I expected, but I loved it. Did I have to suspend a touch of reality for some of the action? Yes, but that did not take away from the story at all. This book was fast paced, thrilling, entertaining, beautiful, anxiety inducing, and intense. As you can see, this book made me feel a gamut of emotions. The characters were very well developed, and the plot was masterfully written. It flowed in a way that kept you reeled into the drama and twists while anticipating what was to come.

Thank you to Netgalley and Bookouture for this excellent ARC in exchange for my honest review.

2.5 ⭐️ When I first began reading The Anniversary, I was completely hooked. It started out strong, with all the makings of being a great suspense/thriller. Unfortunately, as the book progresses, I found myself enjoying it less and less, largely because of how overly-exaggerated everything felt. At points that should have felt suspenseful, I found myself very frustrated (mainly with the characters and the complete lack of communication). The whole plot felt so unrealistic, making it hard to feel connected to the characters or story. That said, it’s definitely a very quick and easy read that I finished over two days.

Thank you to NetGalley, Cole Baxter, and Bookouture for the e-ARC and audio ARC! All opinions are my own.

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
The Anniversary by Cole Baxter, an audiobook narrated by Stephanie Cannon is a completely gripping, nerve-wracking, breathtaking, suspenseful, and addictive psychological thriller packed with manipulation and gaslighting! This thriller will keep you on the edge of your sweet, will trigger your anxiety, will make you wish to through that book in the corner (be careful if you reading on a Kindle device), and sometimes scream from frustration... All possible emotions you need when reading/listening to a good thriller! There is one unexpected twist at the end that made me gasp for air as I would never guess it! All and all, a fantastic book! Some parts really annoyed me at the same time I do understand that they are necessary for the sake of thriller.

Romantic fifth-anniversary dinner turns into a nightmare. Their car is crushed, someone is dead and Tom states loud and clear that Catherine was a driver... There is no more life that Catherine knew before. Finally true light shines on the stage full of manipulation and gaslighting. There is no one to trust! There is no way to prove what is a lie and what is true...

This is a masterpiece of gaslighting, manipulation, selfishness, power, and delusion of God complex!

I was lucky to complete the first part as an e-book and the second part as an audiobook and both were equally amazing! So you can't choose wrong!

Thank you, NetGalley, Bookouture, and Bookouture Audio for spoiling me with both versions of this book!

A rare pass from me. The plot might seem familiar (secrets. lies, and so on) but there was potential undermined by reality. And the dialogue is not well done. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. I DNF.

The Anniversary had great premise. Catherine and Tom go out to celebrate their 5th anniversary and end up being in a tragic car accident. From there we begin to see the lies and secrets that he has been keeping.

Did not realize this was also a book of grooming, gaslighting, and narcissistic behavior. The dialogue was plain and simple yet unbelievable. I realize Catherine was young but she truly just rolls over and lets Tom walk all over her and she continues to play housewife? And then she got BACK in the car with him later? That was the point I had to walk away. It was a DNF for me.

I found this to be flat. We know within the first few chapters who was driving. And I just couldn’t get past the 40% mark to see if there was anything else that could shock and awe me.

Thank you to NetGalley and Bookouture for this ARC in return for my honest review.

Pub date: 19 April 2024

My first read from this author and what a read it was, dark and twisty with non stop action all the way. The characters were all invested in the storyline and it held my interest from the beginning until the end with a great satisfactory ending.

Thank you to Netgalley and Bookouture for this ARC which I can thoroughly recommend.

A gaslighting thriller with small town corruption thrown in. An accident after a celebratory dinner leaves Catherine in the hospital accused of causing an accident where a woman is killed. Her husband (Tom) tells the authorities she was driving and everyone believes him.

A fun premise that I was excited to dive into until…

My first issue was the over the top dialogue. It seemed almost campy and I had to check if this was satire.

The mystery of who was driving is too easy to prove which made the story fall apart. A BAC would definitely be taken at the hospital. Injuries would be noted and many professionals would have to go against their oaths for this story to play out. It was all too much

I was so disappointed by how much this book did not deliver on the promising premise. It could have been a well woven tale of the carefully woven lies contained within the tapestry of a perfect marriage. Instead, we got a dull, monotonous, unbelievable story full of tropes and stilted dialogue.

This book was painful. I skimmed so much of it because it was full of unnecessary, filler detail. The dialogue was nowhere near how any humans would ever communicate; there are so many unbelievable plot points that I genuinely thought I must be reading a parody; the characters are tropes; the descriptions are truly dull.

It was so linear and uninteresting that even at the 82% mark I was still hoping for a giant sweeping plot twist that just never came.

It’s a great book for people who like stories of coercive, abusive spouses facing their comeuppance in a really long, boring, painfully obvious way.

When Tom and Catherine go into Cincinnati to celebrate their 5th wedding anniversary, things go badly wrong.

On the way home, they are involved in a terrifying car accident and life changes for Catherine.

With no one believing anything Catherine says, she soon realises she is in terrible danger.

Can she escape and get the help she so desperately needs?

This was an entertaining tale and I didn’t want to put the book down. At times, the story was intense and my heart was pounding.

What do you do when everyone turns against you? You fight back and don’t back down, no matter what.

My thanks to NetGalley and Bookouture for a copy in exchange for my honest review.

One of my favorite authors , he never disappoints. I absolutely loved the story. Great characters, addictive plot and unexpected twists.

This wasn’t a bad book but I just expected a few more twists to the story . I’m not sure if I’d recommend this or not . I think it might appeal to some but wasn’t the best book I’ve read this year .

The Anniversary by Cole Baxter was a book that grabbed my attention right away and had me hooked till the very end.
Engaging from the very first page this will be a hard one to put down.
I thought this book was very interesting. It was well written, easy to read and the characters were complex yet relatable. I liked the twists and turns and how the author led you to believe certain outcomes when it turned out to be something else entirely different.

Thank You NetGalley and Bookouture for your generosity and gifting me a copy of this amazing eARC!

Wow, this book had me hooked from the get go! The twists and turns kept me guessing and wondering and I couldn't put it down! ❤️
Thank you Netgalley for the opportunity to read and leave a review! I will certainly be checking out more of Cole's books! ❤️

Name of Book: The Anniversary
Author: Cole Baxter
Genre: Mystery Thriller
Publisher: Bookouture
Pub Date: April 19, 2022
My Rating: 3.2 Stars
Pages: 320


Tom and Catherine Morris are celebrating their fifth anniversary with a romantic dinner. As they sit across the candlelit table their eyes are full of love ~ Well one of them anyway.

The next thing Catherine knows she is in waking up in the hospital. She and Tom have been in a car accident on their home from the restaurant. She is shocked to learn that someone has died. She is even more shocked as she is reported as being the driver.
Catherine knows that isn’t correct- Tom was driving but Tom is accusing her of being responsible for the accident. He goes on to say she has a violent history of mixing her meds with alcohol.
.Catherine cannot believe that the love of her life is telling such terrible lies. She thought they were celebrating five loving years of marriage!

I read a lot of psychological thrillers and I am confused that this is described by some readers as such. It didn't have the typical 'twists and turns'- that I love as they keep me guessing. This story was rather clear to me what was going.

Sweet Catherine was young and yes! I did feel sorry for how gullible she was; Jessica, of course, was completely different and added to what might have been a boring story.

This is only my second Cole Baster novel. One thing I can say is he knows how to create an unlikable psychopath. He states in his “Letter from Cole” this story was based on an idea he had regarding a big ‘what if” scenario.
Hmmm

Want to thank NetGalley and Bookouture for this early eGalley.
Publishing Release Date scheduled for April 19, 2024.

I thought I might try a different genre from what I normally read and this did not disappoint. I did find it dragged a little at times but the whole premise of it, is rather exciting and thrilling to read. I've never read from this author before but I certainly will read from this author again.

I thought this book was interesting but lacked the shocking twists and turns that I enjoy in the thrillers I’ve been reading lately.

Interesting overall plot.

Overall, I enjoyed this book and felt it had an engaging storyline, and was a quick read. Part of this enjoyment came from the novels’ polarizing characters - some quite likeable while others were easy to root against. I felt that the beginning was very captivating, with a lag in the middle, but I appreciated the twist at the end.

I plan on reading other books by this author!

Catherine and Tom are celebrating their fifth wedding anniversary, but dinner is filled with tension. After dinner, as Tom is speeding home, Catherin begs him to slow down. They crash and Tom pulls Catherine into the driver’s seat and blames the accident on her and gaslights to by saying that she was driving too fast and had alcohol at dinner, although he told her not to.

That is just the tip of the iceberg in their abusive relationship. Tom is constantly controlling Catherine, but this accident is the last straw for her and she finally stands up for herself.

Some parts were a bit far-fetched, but I didn’t care. It sure made the five hour plane ride from LA to Honolulu pass quickly. Totally enjoyed this one!

Thank you #NetGalley for the complimentary copy of #TheAnnivesary in exchange for an honest review.

I took a break between finishing this book and writing the review because I wanted my review to be…kinder. It’s still a tough road.

This isn’t a good book.

I’m rarely this discouraging, but it’s not even an ‘it’s not you, it’s me’ thing. It’s just not well written.

Rather than a book, it reads like an extended plot description. It’s over 300 pages, yet feels weirdly anemic when it comes to anything that actually builds a book – characterization, plot development, anything at all.

The story is illogical. It literally makes no sense and the author occasionally throws in some unbelievable action movie scenes which, unfortunately, make you laugh rather than gasp. None of the characters behave with any believability. There’s also no suspense. The book is literally like: Here is our heroine. Here is our bad guy. Here are our bad guys minions. Bad guy is going to bad. Good girl is going to good. Let us have villain’s villainous moment where he gets to crow about being a villain. Okay, the end.

I mean…I hope you like it and I’m sure some people will. But, I kind of want the time I spent on this one returned to me.

• ARC via Publisher