The Broken Marriage- Thriller. 328 pages. This book drove me nuts! It was completely unbelievable, so slow and full of annoying characters. I would have quit it if it wasn’t an ARC. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for my ARC. Two stars!

Comments (short): I was lucky to receive this as an arc copy from netgalley. I couldn't finish the book at all, even though I really tried to. I had to really think about what was going on, what was happening when, trying to piece things together and sometimes it took a while and a lot of re-reading. Hannah comes across as very immature, and I hated Rachel's character. I don't understand what made Rachel so special and why no one told her things straight. I just got annoyed with the whole book. I got to around 30% and just couldn't carry on. I would've loved to see what else got unfolded, which is why I read it for so long, but I just couldn't stop being annoyed.


Comments (long):
What I liked about the book
There wasn't a lot I liked about the book. I guess one thing I liked was the beginning, it drawed you straight in and made me so curious as to what was going on. I was very confused and didn't understand it but thinking about it, I think I understand what happened.

The Characters
Hannah comes across as very immature and very annoying. The story is told from her point of view but it's all over the place and very hard to follow. Her character comes across as the feel-sorry-for-me type, and that everyone should love her and the world owes her a favour for her parents not loving her.
Matt needs to grow a pair of balls and leave. He says he isn't happy but carries on and stays, so I don't feel any remorse for him at all. He was probably the only character in the book I could stand.
Rachel is just something else and I couldn't stand her character. She loves to be in control and have everyone wrapped around her finger and if they're not, she causes problems. Why no one told her straight or told her no, I'll never know. All her friends know she's toxic but yet choose to stay in contact and close to her.
The other girl, who I can't even remember the name of, comes across very immature. I get when she's mentioned in the story they're all young but she loves to create drama and fuel Rachel's drama. I didn't like her either.

The scenes
The scenes, when I understood what was going on, was very well detailed. It was just hard to keep track of what was happening and when so it was hard to picture scenes and then keep flicking between scenes.

The Plot
The plot had a lot of potential. It sounded like there was a lot wrong with the marriage, but there isn't apart from unfaithfulness and both being in love with someone else. There was so much more that could've been done, but it just felt that I already knew the whole story very early on but it just kept droning on with characters saying 'we'll talk about it later' when there was no need and could've had the conversation a lot more early on.

What I disliked about the book
I disliked the fact it was hard to keep track of what was happening, I had no idea whether I was in the past or present a lot of the time. I got confused as to where the characters were and what was happening. I kept reading to try and see whether it would make sense later on, but it didn't and it took a lot of thought and re-reading to figure out what was going on. I love a good thriller, but this just seemed like a marriage with problems that could be solved by talking to each other and for some reason Hannah kept placing herself in the middle of it. Her involvement in the marriage didn't made any sense and there was just no need for her to be involved in any of it. It felt like I'd already read the whole book very early on, but as the characters never spoke to each other it dragged out.

Summary
I did not enjoy this book at all. I'm unsure if it was just the format of the arc I was sent, but it was a struggle to figure out everything. It felt that it was dragged out a lot longer than necessary. I would not recommend, unless the format changes and its easier to read to keep up with what's the past and what's the present. There was also a few spelling mistakes within the book, not major, I could figure out what was supposed to be written, but should be sorted before the book is published

I thought the premise of this book sounded really great. Two friends come back together after 17 years. One filled with major mental and physical trauma from their college days. The other friend knows as "Ms Fix It". When these two lives come back together, all hell breaks loose.

Overall, I had a hard time keeping up with what was going on. There were too many weird relationship dynamics that didn't get fleshed out enough for me to understand what was going on. I felt zero connection to any of the characters. The ending left me absolutely confused. I was shocked the book was actually over (for me it ended at 90% before it went into a preview of a new book). It just felt like I hit a brick wall and couldn't get around it.

I wanted to like this book, but unfortunately I didn't. This book could be better for a different reader though!

This was a very amazing thriller that kept me guessing the entire time. With constant unreliable characters, and an unreliable narrator, you never know who to trust and you never know what’s coming next. The twists and turns at the end of the book I never saw coming and was surprised by every time! For my thriller friends, I highly recommend checking this book out once it’s released.

As a lover of psychological thrillers this book was always going to appeal to me and it did not disapoint. I have read over 40 of Daniel Hurst psychological thrillers and I think the key is to keep the reader guessing right to the end and then throw in an unexpected final twist. Elena Wilkes does this. Thanks to Storm Publishing and NetGalley for the chance to ARC this book.

Lies, manipulation and secrets. It's all there in The Broken Marriage, and from the prologue I thought I was in for a great psychological read. Unfortunately that didn't happen. I couldn't connect with any of the characters and I felt the story in parts didn't seem believable. I also have to agree with several other reviewers that the title felt misleading. I did struggle at first but was determined to finish, hoping the story might pick up. There were moments, but all in all I wouldn't say this was a page turner or a story that gripped.
My thanks to Storm Publishing, the author and Netgalley for an ARC of The Broken Marriage in exchange for an honest review.

The broken marriage is about three people that knew each other years ago, Rachel, Matt and Hannah. Hannah appears on Rachel and Matts doorstep after not seeing each other in years, she is deeply traumatized about events that happened when they all shared a house.

It’s a slow starter for me, but interesting plot line. I didn’t like young Rachel’s character, but the older one was ok. She was selfish, a bully who believed everything she said. Hannah has loads of issues and she tries to find closure in them.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for a copy.

received an advance copy of this book from NetGalley in an exchange for an honest review!

While overall I enjoyed this book, there definitely were a few triggers. R@pe, and child loss were the two biggest ones. Once you get past those triggers, it was enjoyable and a fast paced read.

There were points of this book that were totally mind blowing, including the huge twist. I feel like the way it flipped from past to present was a little confusing and not quite as seamless as it could have been. The main character Hannah was a bit dodgy, and unlikeable in how she even described herself. There were a few other characters that felt unnecessary.

Overall it was pretty good, and I would recommend it as a psychological thriller.

“Hold on to that moment, the voice in her head says. Hold on to what being alive really felt like, if only for the minutest fleeting second; you know what really living and really loving felt like.”

Red wooden hearts…
Fear…
Betrayal…
Deceit…
Lies…

Twist after twist in this book. Absolute page-turner, that has you not knowing which way to look, what to think, or who to believe. A book about betrayal, deceit, fears, lies, and just how complicated relationships can truly be. Can you really trust those you've known for so long? Is everything as it appears on the surface?

Thank you to NetGalley and Storm Publishing for this ARC!

I wanted to review an author I haven't read before in a genre that I love. Elena Wilkes did a great job writing this book, but it was not catching me, there were many twists where I was waiting to "what is about to happen here" but then I was let down because it would continue and nothing serious happened. I wanted to give this book an amazing 4-5 stars but I've got to be honest and give it a 3.5.

Slow and confusing. It was super hard to get into this book. The characters were very hard to connect and invest in, It was a DNF for me. I only made it 26% through the book. Thank you Storm Publishing for the opportunity to give this book a try. It just wasn’t for me.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for allowing me to read this arc. I loved the plot of this book for a domestic thriller, however, it was kind of slow going and I didn't really understand what was going on for awhile. I couldn't connect to the characters.

Synopsis/Thanks:
To the outside, Rachel and Matt have the perfect marriage. College sweethearts still just as in love as they were seventeen years ago when they first met. Looks can be deceiving, though, and when their college friend Hannah shows up looking to come clean about some secrets of her own and gets snowed in at their house, the cracks already running through the foundation of Rachel and Matt's relationship begin to rise to the surface. Thank you to Elena Wilkes, Storm Publishing, and NetGalley for an advanced reader copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

My Thoughts:
I thoroughly enjoyed this book. Right from the start, you could tell that something strange was going on beneath the surface of these friendships. I was suspicious of everyone in this book right from the get go. I knew there were more secrets that would come to light as the course of the book went on. I was sympathetic to Hannah and what she was dealing with internally, but I kept going back and forth on whether or not I found her to be a reliable narrator. Her obsession with her friendship with Rachel was at times sad to me and at other times downright creepy. The intensity and complexity of the friendships in this book really sent me back to my younger days. The concept of being so desperate to be liked and to make friends in a new environment like college is so relatable.

The last 10-15% of this book was a WILD ride. I was not prepared at all for that twist at the end, and it really caught me off guard. Every character in this book has secrets that they are desperate to not get out, but they can only hold them down for so long. The ending of this book is purposely a little ambiguous, but I really liked that. Sometimes I don't enjoy an ambiguous ending, but I felt like this one really fit with the book as a whole. I definitely recommend this book to all thriller fans!

First I want to thank NetGalley, Storm Publishing and Elena Wilkes for my ARC of The Broken Marriage.

This one was a wild ride! I could not put it down! It has me guessing right till the end. The twists and turns just kept coming and the end literally made me gasp! I never saw it coming. The story was well developed and relatively easy to follow. There were some parts where it was jumping to past and present that made me have to go reread a few sentences to make sure I understood what was going on. The characters were well developed and had me second guessing a few of them. Overall I really enjoyed this book and can’t wait to read more from Elena Wilkes.

This one was so good! Rachel and Matt are the perfect couple with a gorgeous home and successful lives. When Hannah, a mutual friend from their past, randomly shows up on their doorstep 17 years later, the cracks of their perfect life become visible. There is drama, lies, and so so many secrets! I definitely recommend this one. Thank you so much to NetGalley and publisher for this fun ARC!

I DNF this book at 20%. I wasn't feeling an attachment to the characters with their manipulation and treatment of each other.

Thank you NetGalley, Storm Publishing, and Elana Wilkes for the arc in exchange for an honest review.

I want to start my review by mentioning that I truly believe that there is a book for everyone, including those who haven’t yet realized they enjoy reading, I also believe that you shouldn’t decide what to read solely based on someone else’s opinion. After all, if we all like the exact same book there wouldn’t be a need for so many!

Unfortunately, I am not a fan of this book. It was very slow, the title didn’t match the plot, and it didn’t flow well. Some of the twists and turns were shocking, but several made me roll my eyes or sigh.

It is supposed to be about a broken marriage and secrets the spouses have, but the main focus of the book was not about their relationship,

If this wouldn’t have been an ARC that I agreed to review, I would have DNF (and I never DNF!) I do believe that this author has potential, but it needs to be polished,

I love a good domestic thriller, and this one had the potential to be one.
I finished it and did enjoy it, but almost didn’t continue with it .
I see that other reviews say the same thing that it takes a while to really understand and get into this one. So if you can make it through the halfway point, you’re good to go.
I would definitely give this author another
chance as I see a lot of potential in their writing style.

Thankyou to author Elena Wilkes, Storm Publishing and Netgalley for the opportunity to read this book.
Charlene 📚🤗🌸. @lastnownext

This started a little slow in my opinion, but the pace got faster as the plot progressed. The characters were written so some weren't easy to like , while others made you sympathise with them. It was told in two timelines, which I'm not a great fan of, but it was necessary to the plot. I didn't guess the reveal towards the ending either! I won't spoil the shock!

I was really excited to read this book based off the description and the cover. I love a twisty domestic thriller! This book was definitely full of twists, and for that reason I couldn’t put it down.

However, I found it to be confusing and going in a lot of different directions. It was a bit hard to follow and All the characters were very unlikable which isn’t my favorite thing. Overall I think this book wasn’t for me, but the twists were good. Thank you Netgalley and Storm publishing for the ARC!