What happens when you mix a marriage on the rocks, mean girl cliques, unconventional therapy, and continuous gaslighting? THE MARRIAGE VENDETTA is the result.

Eliza Sheridan is a stay-at-home mom who relocated to Ireland to further her husband’s career. She’s an outsider; shunned by the popular moms at her daughter’s private school. When she receives a photo that hints at her husband’s infidelity from an anonymous sender, she is unsure how to proceed. A business card with the name of a therapist shows up at the perfect time and Eliza seeks out treatment.

Her therapist, Ms. Early, suggests unusual strategies for dealing with Eliza’s concerns, ranging from bizarre to vengeful to dangerous. The results are not what anyone expects.

The premise caught my interest from the start and held it as the tension built throughout the book. The ending had me scratching my head. Hours later, I’m not completely sure how I feel about the conclusion, but I’m still thinking about it, so I guess the author accomplished her goal.

Thank you to NetGalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing for the advance copy. All opinions are my own.

I really enjoyed this one. It was mysterious but yet full of dark humor. Eliza’s character was funny and quite likable. I thought Richard was a bit of a jerk from the very start. I loved the plot of the story and the first half really had me hooked.

A boring, slow-motion trainwreck of a love story. The Marriage Vendetta felt less like a steamy revenge plot and more like 300 pages trapped in a hopeless, chemistry-free marriage. Zero tension, zero payoff ... just page after page of meh.

This book was juicy, full of dark humor, and just the right amount of unhinged. Eliza’s slow-burn spiral into revenge had me hooked, and I loved the mix of sharp wit, domestic drama, and chaotic therapy sessions. It’s giving “momfluencer meets Gone Girl” and I was here for it.

Flora Montgomery absolutely nailed the narration. Her delivery brought Eliza’s sarcasm, unraveling sanity, and emotional highs and lows to life. Some parts felt a little rushed, but overall? A wild, binge-worthy ride from start to finish.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ The Marriage Vendetta by Caroline Madden is a deliciously twisted take on therapy, marriage, and revenge — and I was absolutely hooked.

Eliza Sheridan is fed up. Her once-loving husband Richard has dragged their family to Dublin for his career, only to leave her feeling invisible and isolated. So when she gets an anonymous photo of Richard with another woman? Let’s just say she’s ready to burn it all down. But instead of filing for divorce, she ends up in therapy with Ms. Early — a therapist with very unconventional methods. And that’s when things get wild.

This debut is darkly funny, sharp, and so satisfyingly unpredictable. The pacing is fast and compulsive — I found myself flipping pages thinking, “No way is she actually going to do this… oh wait, she IS.” It’s the kind of book that blurs the line between empowerment and chaos in the most entertaining way.

And the ending? It delivered. I loved how everything wrapped up — smart, punchy, and just the right amount of unsettling. I also appreciated the historical inspiration behind the story, which added an extra layer of intrigue.

The only reason it’s not a full 5 stars for me is that there were a couple of moments where I wanted a bit more emotional depth or character development — but honestly, this book knows exactly what it is: a witty, wickedly feminist thrill ride.

Perfect for fans of Promising Young Woman, Gone Girl, or any story that makes you question what “good behavior” really gets us.

Eliza Sheridan is a trained concert pianist married to Richard and mother to Maya, 6. They moved from London to Dublin when Richard was given the chance to run a theater. He has written many plays and is a success. Maya is shy and doesn’t click with children her age along with having some quirky interests unlike more children her age. Thus, Eliza feels like she has to keep a careful eye on her. While Richard promises that he will spend more time with their daughter, he gets caught up in business with the theater and doesn’t always keep his promises.

One day, an unknown person texts a picture to Eliza showing Richard walking into a hotel with a beautiful woman who is definitely not Eliza. This has truly shocked and hurt Eliza. While she tries to talk with Richard, most of their conversations end up with him accusing her of just disagreeing with him. Frustrated, Eliza starts seeing marriage advisor Ms. Ellen Early.

The first meetings with the therapist show Eliza trying to give what she thinks are perfect answers although not honest ones. When she finally gets Eliza to open up with honest dialogue, her suggestions for helping their marriage become bizarre and downright illegal. Can this marriage be saved?

The first part of this book drew me in. However, I wasn’t enthralled with Eliza and couldn’t figure out why she wasn’t playing piano if she was so gifted. Richard is a jerk from start to finish. It’s the therapist that I just didn’t get. Why would anyone follow her suggestions? I guess that’s supposed to be the dark humor part of the book. An OK read and I’m sure many will enjoy it.

Copy provided by NetGalley in exchange for a fair and honest review.

What a really good debut! I loved this book. It made me nostalgic for a different time and I know may have not been the intention. I loved the characters and the plot. It was a fast read.
Thank you for the opportunity to read this arc.

Interesting story. The characters were all different, some nice, some horrible.

Eliza's husband just uprooted their family from London to Ireland for his career. Richard's a famous playright in London, but in Ireland he's a big fish in a small pond. The only reason Eliza agreed to move was because Richard promised that he'd have more time to spend with her and their daughter, Mara. She should have known better.

Eliza was a child prodigy when it came to the piano. She started playing at 5 years old and her father was extremely hard on her. At 20, she ran away from home with Richard to get away from him forever. After they married, she played a tour that was too stressful and she had to cancel for the first time in her life. She hasn't played the piano in 8 years.

When she receives a picture of her husband and another woman via her phone, she finds a business card left by her coffee cup with the name of a therapist. The therapist, Ms. Early, wants Eliza to go to some pretty intense methods to change her narcissistic husband's way of thinking.

Will she?

*I received an ARC from the publisher via NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

The Marriage Vendetta by Caroline Madden was a fun and entertaining debut novel.
I was hooked from the beginning!
It was amazing and engaging.
I was instantly sucked in by the atmosphere and writing style.
The characters were all very well developed .
The writing is exceptional and I was hooked after the first sentence.

The Marriage Vendetta by Caroline Madden was a suspenseful story about a woman named Eliza who receives a picture of her husband with another woman. When she gets a business card for a therapist, she decides to go. As the advice gets quirkier, Eliza starts to spiral, and her life gets messier and messier. Will she save her marriage? Is it worth saving?

I loved this book! I thought it was a great use of unreliable narrator; it not only made me question the character but also my interpretation of the story and who I should believe. The main character was three dimensional and developed well. I would definitely recommend reading this book!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for access to an advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.

1⭐️ Thank you to NetGalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing for an advanced copy of The Marriage Vendetta.

Eliza is over her husband Richard and all of his empty promises to her and their daughter. She receives evidence one day that he may be having an affair and she vows to get the truth.

This was a very odd read. I was not a fan of the writing style or the plot. It was not for me.

The Marriage Vendetta by Caroline Madden is my first book by this author. This romantic comedy gave me elements from a a 1970s or 1980s Goldie Hawn movie.... The chemistry between the FMC and the MMC jumps out on the page and is so entertaining to read!! A definite read for the Summer.

Eliza gave up her career for Richard and then her city when his career takes them to Dublin. She's mothering Mara, who is, btw, a gem but she's unsettled and unhappy. And she's even more unhappy when it appears that Richard is cheating on her. Enter Ellen, a therapist on a mission of sorts. She convinces Eliza to wreck revenge on Richard, which she says will tame him. So Eliza goes along with the plan until she doesn't. Some of this is quite funny, other parts sad in that way that you feel for Eliza, Richard, and always for Mara. There's a fun look at life in Dublin as well as a bit of side eye. Thanks to the publisher for the ARC. Very entertaining.

The Marriage Vendetta is exactly what happens when a bad marriage, unhinged therapy, and a pinch of “girlboss rage” all sit down for brunch, get drunk on mimosas, and decide violence might be the answer.

So here we have Eliza: fed-up stay-at-home wife, professional martyr, and woman clinging to her last shred of sanity with the help of… a questionably licensed marriage therapist who thinks emotional growth looks a lot like a lowkey crime spree. Therapy, but make it unhinged.

Her husband, Richard, is the kind of man who’d forget your anniversary but somehow remember every woman named “Tiffany” within a 10-mile radius. So when Eliza finds a photo of him canoodling with someone who isn’t her, her decision to go to therapy instead of jail is already pretty mature.

Enter Ms. Early, a marriage therapist with all the clinical professionalism of a chaotic TikTok life coach. Her brand of therapy involves revenge plots that spiral so far out of the DSM-V, you half expect the next assignment to involve glitter bombs and interpretive dance. And listen—I was here for the absurdity at first. Petty vengeance with a feminist edge? Inject it directly into my drama-loving veins.

But here’s the thing: the pacing wobbles like a drunk flamingo, and around the halfway mark, the book can’t decide if it’s a satire, a thriller, or a cautionary tale wrapped in a rom-com. It starts out like a spicy revenge fantasy and ends like you blacked out during therapy and woke up in a Lifetime movie.

Also, I wanted more cleverness, more actual laughs, and less flailing around in the second act. It’s as if the book was this close to being a dark comedy masterpiece but got distracted by its own reflection and fell into a vat of over-the-top plot twists.

So yes, I enjoyed the concept. The execution? A bit like Eliza’s vengeance attempts—some land, some just leave a mess.

But if you’ve ever fantasized about your therapist handing you a blowtorch and a list of petty grievances… this one’s for you.

The Marriage Vendetta by Caroline Madden is a wild ride. The story is full of tension, drama, and that perfect mix of love and revenge that keeps you guessing the whole way through. The characters are messy in the best way, and it’s so satisfying to watch their dynamic shift and evolve. If you're into stories with high stakes, emotional twists, and a darker edge, this one is definitely worth picking up. I couldn’t put it down.

was engrossed in this one from the start: it's a mix of dark humor, women's fiction with marriage woes that ended up in a whodunit-esque mystery. Weird combo, but it worked for me!
Eliza, our FMC is hilarious to me, she has side comments that are zingers and burns in the best way for whoever she is talking to. I actually laughed out loud at her dialogue a few times. She is a retired-ish concert pianist that gave it up to follow Richard's work to Dublin, she's a SAHM to Mara, and she has a past that makes it clear why she is handling things as she is.
Richard, our MMC is infuriating as told from Eliza's point of view. He's the breadwinner for his family. He's never home ("work"), Eliza catches him in multiple lies (some terrible, some a cutesy miscommunication), and he has his own history that is revealed at what I felt was a perfect time in the book. 
Our side characters include the Chickadees and "mother hen" (so named by Eliza) who are the other moms at Mara's school, the mysterious Lady Languish (who's moniker Eliza finds in Richard's phone), and of course, Ms. Ellen Early, marriage Adviser: the counselor Eliza works with that has a very unique protocol in her marriage counseling practice. 
This story magnifies the idea that two separate entities, without communication, can really wreak havoc on their own marriage. It's about how our past shapes both what we see in front of us and how we react in present situations, and it's about how our personalities mixed with our current life stressors can cause it all to go so wrong without the "correct" communication. 
TL;DR: I really enjoyed this unique mix of sub-genres that culminated in a feeling of "Wow these problems are so real and felt so real and maddening while reading...but this was funny!" 

*will link instagram post when it's up in 3-5 days

A darkly funny and sharply written debut. The Marriage Vendetta follows Eliza, a once-accomplished pianist turned resentful stay-at-home mom, who suspects her husband of cheating after finding a mysterious photo. When she seeks help from an unconventional therapist, things spiral into unexpected—and often outrageous—territory. Caroline Madden blends satire, suspense, and sharp social commentary into a compulsively readable story. Some of the plot twists I found predictable, but the voice is strong, the pacing tight, and the themes around motherhood, identity, and marriage are both timely and thought-provoking.

♡ Thank you for the free ARC, Harlequin Trade Publishing | Park Row and NetGalley.

The cover drew me in, but this ended up being an entertaining story. As a former therapist, I sometimes have a hard time with characters in this profession, as they often do not come across as realistic. This one worked alright since the story leaned into the absurd. While the premise was intriguing and offered moments of sharp wit, the plot and characters did feel exaggerated. I think that was to be expected, though. You might enjoy this if you appreciate stories that mix marital strife with dark comedy

I enjoyed this immensely. It is as hilarious as it is clever. The plot surrounds a wife who is unhappy in her marriage and goes to see a therapist in a last ditch attempt to fix things before she files for divorce. The therapists "tools" for feeling better are bizarre, hilarious, and unconventional. I really enjoyed these characters and I loved the little twists throughout.

A fast drama read about marriage troubles between Eliza and Richard. Great plot to display normalcy within a marriage on a daily basis.

I loved Mara, she was so funny. She reminded me of a mini Spencer Reid (iykyk).

I wish there was a bit more backstory about the therapist, some parts of it were strong and then fleeting.

Thank you NetGalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing for the digital ARC.