Review of ‘The Vow’ by Stefanie London, due to be published on 19 June 2025 by Avon Books UK.

Three former school friends, Ellie (Hollywood Actress), Sofia (Wedding Planner) and Rose (former Swimmer now wife and mother), reunite at an exclusive lighthouse for Ellie’s lavish wedding to Mitch.

The girls hide a secret, a Vow they made together with another classmate, Michelle, relating to an event that happened in their school 10 years ago. All agreed never to speak of it again.

Mysterious things start happening for the trio at the wedding venue - each girl has reason to believe that their past secrets are set to be exposed.

Accusations fly, friendships, relationships and loyalty are questioned, leading to a shock when the culprit is revealed.

Recommended read.

Thank you to Netgalley for allowing me to read this book in return for an honest review. I really enjoyed this exciting and mysterious thriller although I did work out the twist early on but I don’t think that took anything away from the story. An interesting mix of characters and I liked the multiple pov telling the story. I really liked the friendship aspect of the story and the fact that they all stuck together. Overall an enjoyable read that I would recommend.

Really engaging book! I liked the change between the main characters telling the story. I had a good image of the characters in my head and warmed to them all and their backgrounds helped put the story in perspective.
A few little twists, one I had a suspicion of but not exactly how it ended up being portrayed.
I’d not heard of this Author before reading this book but will be keeping an eye for others to see if they follow a similar style.
Definitely worth a read!

Really enjoyed this book.. Liked all the characters and it was good page turner. A great thriller that brings together the main characters and a blast from the past to the same destination. Coincidence? More than likely not! Thanks for my ARC.

This author is new to me, but I enjoyed this outing. Three successful women, friends since school, made a vow never to reveal a discovery way back when. Now they’re all grown up and successful and Ellie is getting married. Sofia, the wedding planner arranges the wedding and it’s at a remote location. Each character has secrets. Ellie’s A list career has faltered, Rose has doubts about her husband and as the layers peel away, the veneer cracks and reality hits. They’ve been brought together for a purpose. But why and by whom? I enjoyed this romp. It’s well paced and the characters, whilst not particularly appealing are convincing and I loved the glimpse into their not so perfect lives. It’s a neat story and kept my attention throughout.
My thanks to the publisher and Netgalley fir an early review copy.

A thriller which switches narrative - Sofia, Ellie and Rose did something when they were younger. And they vowed to never talk about it...but then old faces start to reappear and the threats ramp up. Each character has a backstory and most aren't positive - some leaning on traumatic. All this comes to a head during Ellie's should be wedding, just when it feels like they can't learn anymore about each other, and can't hurt each other anymore, but this is just the beginning.

I usually don't love a switch first person narrative, but this worked well, and enjoyed trying to work out who was to blame for what...

This had everything you could possibly want in a twisty thriller: secrets, jealousy, murder, betrayal - and an upcoming wedding for good measure!
Loved it.

THE VOW by Stefanie London is a fast paced mystery that will keep you entertained. I really appreciated the different POV characters, and that we got to see them as flawed individuals. Although I didn’t totally love the ending, I still appreciated the twists and turns and would recommend this book to someone looking for a quick read who enjoys stories of friendships between women along with suspense.

4⭐️

An interesting setting, well-fleshed out characters, with good pacing and plenty twists. Would read from this author again.

This book revolves around grief whether it be Ellie with a Mum who refused to be forgotten in such a manner that she was willing to sabotage her own daughter's happiness with Mitch, Sofia due to the loss of her sister, and Rose with her great loss of swimming and subsequent estrangement with her twin sister of which she felt she was always second best in everything she did. While not family related, Michelle felt grief at school as she was constantly berated and given the nickname of Smelly Shelly. They all came together due to the loss of their gym teacher who enjoyed taking advantage of students due to his self perceived authority. They all came together for Ellie's wedding but in doing so, there was someone watching in such a way that was meant to destroy Ellie's acting career and Sofia's successful wedding business. Who it was definitely threw me off but it all made sense once she spurted venomous thoughts. The epilogue was certainly surprising but I was happy that all found each other again in such a way that was reflective of true sisterhood.

This book took me down a rabitt hole. Twists that I never saw coming. Fantastic characters that all interacted perfect together. The ended was more than I would have imagined. Fantastic book all around!

Thanks to the author, the publisher and Netgalley for an early release of this book.

This was my first book by Stefanie London and I really enjoyed the book. It had me gripped from the first page and I had no idea what was going to happen,
Back when they were in school a group of friends make a vow and promise to never mention what happened. 12 years on they have all moved on and have taken different directions in life.
Ellie is getting married but the wedding party does not go as planned and someone is looking to ruin them all.
The story was told through different characters points of view which really added to the suspense as the story played out. There were plenty of twists and turns and the ending was excellent.
Thanks to NetGalley, Stefanie London and the publisher for an advance copy in exchange for an honest and unbiased review.

Read in 2 hours and 6 minutes.

I’m really glad that I read this book- it’s like plunging into the sea- exhilarating, intense, and a bit chilly.

The blurb didn’t lure me in but the fast paced, tense plot did- three women who covered up a traumatic event in their childhood, find that someone is sabotaging their life all these years later.

Film star Ellie is having a wedding on a remote island and wedding planner extraordinaire Sofia is at the helm to make her best friends’ event the party of the year.

Rose is always third wheeling her two friends and dealing with her own insecurity- who can she trust?

Read to escape the hot summer!

Thanks to NetGalley for this review!

It’s the wedding of the year, for all the wrong reasons… I vow to make you pay for what you did. Twelve years ago, school friends Sofia, Ellie and Rose made a vow. They promised never to talk about that fateful night. Never to tell anyone what they did. Since then, they’ve all followed very different paths but as they come together to celebrate Ellie’s destination wedding it promises to be a weekend to remember… It is meant to be the event of the season, but as things start to go wrong, they suspect someone is trying to punish them! Great read! This book had chilling suspense, murder, mystery, dark past secrets, and some crazy twists and turns! The story was very interesting! I definitely recommend reading this book! Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for sharing this book with me!

“𝗬𝗼𝘂 𝗹𝗶𝗸𝗲 𝘃𝗼𝘄𝘀, 𝗦𝗼𝗳𝗶𝗮? 𝗛𝗲𝗿𝗲’𝘀 𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝘆𝗼𝘂: 𝗜 𝘃𝗼𝘄 𝘁𝗼 𝗺𝗮𝗸𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗽𝗮𝘆 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝘄𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗱𝗶𝗱.“

𝗥𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴: 4/5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

𝗣𝘂𝗯 𝗗𝗮𝘁𝗲: 6/19/25

*Thank you @NetGalley and @AvonBooksUK for sending this book for review consideration. All opinions are my own.

𝗦𝘂𝗺𝗺𝗮𝗿𝘆: Sofia, Ellie, and Rose have a secret. They teamed up with a girl named Michelle in high school to sneak into school and change a grade on an assignment. Things went horribly wrong and they all vowed to keep it a secret. Years later, Ellie is getting married at an elaborate costal venue and her besties Sofia and Rose join her for the festivities. Suddenly, strange things start to happen, indicating someone knows about their secret... but who?

𝗥𝗲𝗮𝗱 𝗧𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗜𝗳 𝗬𝗼𝘂 𝗟𝗶𝗸𝗲:
🌊Multiple POV
🥂Nonlinear Timeline
🌊Coastal Australian Setting
🥂Whodunnit

𝗠𝘆 𝗧𝗵𝗼𝘂𝗴𝗵𝘁𝘀:
I loved the pacing of this book, I was drawn in from the start. Every chapter kept me wanting to know more... I found myself saying "just one more chapter" constantly. There wasn't too many characters or POV like some books can have. There were red herrings throughout the book, even though I suspected the culprit in the end... I still wasn't sure until it happened.
Fans of Lucinda Berry and Lucy Foley will enjoy this book.

TW: Death of a parent, sex with underage minor

#TheVow

I thought this book was amazing and I started highlighting and taking notes so I could write a review that reflected my feelings. Immediately you have a glamorous wedding and at least one giant terrible secret looming over three lifelong friends. They are back together for Ellie’s wedding, planned by Sofia, while Rose adjusts to being the only one of their trio with a baby. As someone who got engaged in college and had a baby years before most of my friends I related to Rose so much. Things just keep going more and more off the rails- there’s some animal death mentioned- and while I had some guesses on the twists, I was NEVER right. I had to google some of the Australian slang, and in a 2013 flashback Rose says “super cringe” which was NOT slang at the time in the US at least, but those are very minor things that don’t reduce an amazing thriller. I’m hooked on this author now, and I want a Swarovski crystal pen.

3.5 rounded to 4

A few of the characters were relatable. The story was good but also somewhat predictable and the ending was a bit rushed. At times I found it hard to keep focused. The multi pov was well done.

Publication date June 19th

I very much enjoyed this destination thriller, describing a wedding like no other! If you like stories of difficult brides, backstabbing bridesmaids and murder, look no further!

Ellie, Sofia, Rose, and Michelle are old schoolfriends, Their lives have taken them all in different directions but when they all meet up again at a wedding, life for them changes..all because of a secret.

This is a smart read. it is modern and filled with drama and there is a touch of glamour.

I loved this book. for me it is the perfect holiday read and I loved the dual timelines. The betrayals, and friendships are highlighted well and as the story unfolded I was hooked.. for me this was a one sit read.

The Vow is a fast paced suspense drama packed with action, twists, and surprises. It centers around three childhood friends and the fallout from an unfortunate event that occurred in their past.

Sofia, Ellie and Rose are preparing for Ellie's upcoming destination wedding. Friends since childhood, they are excited to be together for this happy occasion. Sofia, a wedding planner, is managing all the details for the happy couple. Once they have arrived at their destination, Sofia receives a strange message pertaining to something that happened in the past, that all three made a vow to forget. As the day draws closer, more shocking things keep happening. They made a vow to never speak about what happened, so who else could possibly know what happened? Is the suspect closer to them than they think?

This was a fast paced, suspenseful read that leaves you guessing til the end. It's told through the perspectives of the three main characters and in a dual time-line. This was a crazy fun read and I thoroughly enjoyed it. I highly recommend!

Thanks to Netgalley and Avon Books for the advanced copy