Kaira Rouda creates the best “love to hate” characters who you secretly root for. I’ve enjoyed all three books in her Family Secrets series and I was so delighted when I was approved for Jill Is Not Happy on NetGalley. This was such a fun cat and mouse story! If you thought Paul Strom was an unhinged psychopath, you’re in for a treat with Jack and Jill. The story is one of secrets, betrayal, and manipulation that had me turning the pages as quickly as possible.

Jill Is Not Happy was the popcorn thriller I needed right now and I really hope we see more from these characters later on! Rouda has definitely secured herself as an auto-read author for me.

Thank you NetGalley / Penzler Publishers / Scarlet for sending me an eARC in exchange for my honest review.

I love interesting and unexpected takes on thrillers, but this one just didn't work for me. It's my second book by the author and, sadly, I think her writing might not be a fit for the types of stories I like to read. However, I saw a lot of other reviewers really enjoyed this book, so I'm confident it will find its audience.

I like Kaira Rouda books and this one, as most, was fun, light and a bit psyco! Jill pretty much trapped her husband when they were in college and now that their daughter is off in the world, she's thinking he will want a divorce - which he does! He has moved on to someone who is more caring and easy than Jill -but that is not going to work for her. She plans a road trip for them which turns out to be more of a nightmare - for both of them.

Rouda's books are entertaining and always make me shake my head a little because there is an aspect of disbelief on my part. Really?? He fell for that? She pulled that off? This one did surprise me in a few spots and was a fun summer read.

This was such a wild ride. I could not put it down. I love a book that makes me talk to it while I read it. This was that book. I have very strong feelings about these characters. The twists in this book just got me. I cannot wait to read more by this author. Thank you to NetGalley and Penzler Publishers for the arc in exchange for my honest review.

I have nothing but good things to say about this book. I could not put it down, the dual POV and secrets captured my attention from the beginning. The cat and mouse game of Jack and Jill trying to stay one step ahead of the other kept me hooked. Jill, while she was not a likeable character to me, I loved her perspective. She was controlled crazy and was not afraid to play the long game but was normal to the public. The way she used secrets and manipulation you could tell she had a lot of practice. There were times both Jack and Jill had some unhinged moments which added to the chaos of their lives. Normally I don’t like open-ended endings, but this one was good. I wished it ended slightly different, but left it open for the possibility for more and I hope we get it.

Thank you @kairarouda @suzyapprovedbooktours for the gifted copy.

Jill is not happy unless she controls all around her.
I don’t think I’ve ran into a character so cunning, conniving, snd controlling in a while.
I would walk in shark infested waters to avoid Jill.
Jack is a tool and tries to outsmart her but she’s always one step,ahead.
Jill has no soul but doesn’t take a tumble.

We LOVE Kaira over at The Pulse, so naturally when we got wind of her upcoming release we were thrilled. Forever grateful to Kaira for letting us get early reads of her fantastic books.

Jack and Jill (yes, Jack and Jill) are college sweethearts who have it all. However, since their daughter has left for college, something feels off. They’re not connecting like they used to. To remedy this, Jill suggests a road trip as a chance to reconnect and get back to one another.

This is the last thing Jack wants to do. Quite frankly, his wife repulses him and he is only still with her because they’re bound by a dark secret that he wants to stay buried. However, now that his daughter is grown, he’s feeling like this is the time to make the move and he has every intention of serving Jill with divorce papers as soon as the weekend getaway is over.

Jill isn’t as dense as she seems. She is aware of Jack’s intentions, and she’s determined to fix the problem. She always gets her way. Thus begins the funnest and snarkiest game of cat and mouse a married duo has ever had.

There is one thing you can always count on with Kaira - you are going to get some seriously messed up characters and a really wild ride full of comic relief and WTF moments on your journey through her books.

Jill was not happy. Jack was not happy. Their daughter was not happy. NO ONE WAS HAPPY, except for me, the readers 😂

While there was no real *twist* per se, it was a really fun journey to get to the end, and even though there’s no twist, there is a reveal that I found quite fun…and her characters minds are so twisted that even without a plot twist, you’ll feel some type of way throughout!

Let me say this: If Jill is not happy, she will fix it, and someone will end up dead.

I flew through this dark domestic thriller! And while I may not have liked Jill, her character was one that always kept me on the edge of my seat. The story revolves around Jill’s marriage to Jack, a marriage she has meticulously planned, and she maintains a journal filled with records of some dark deeds. She always has something to hold over her husband, and she is a master manipulator. But when he steps out of line, well… Jill is not happy, and Jill must be happy no matter the cost.

I want to tell you more, but it’s so much better to go in blind and be shocked by how cold, manipulative, and ruthless Jill is.



Thank you to @suzyapprovedbooktours and @kairarouda for the #gifted ebook.

The main characters of this domestic thriller are longtime married couple Jack and Jill. Jack wants to leave Jill but Jill has a lot of dirt on him, not to mention is totally crazy and does not want to lose him - or does she? Crazy things ensue.

I must admit, marriage thrillers and books with psychopath characters are not really my thing generally, so though I didn’t love this one, I think a lot of people will. It definitely kept me turning the pages though!

Twisty, fast-paced, and totally addictive.
This one hooked me from the first page and I couldn’t put it down, I read it in one sitting. A little disturbing and dark, clever, compulsive, and exactly my kind of thriller.
If you like smart, character-driven suspense with a wicked edge, this one’s for you.

A couple on a road trip grapple with marital troubles and powerful dysfunction in Kaira Rouda’s latest psychological thriller. Her characters are intense and completely unpredictable and the story is entertaining in a dark way. For fans of Shari Lapena and Wendy Walker.

This book was wild and I loved it! I couldn't put it down, I had to know how the story was going to play out and how it was going to end. With married couple, Jack and Jill at the middle of the story, it kept me guessing! The story is told in a dual point of view, and it gave a well-rounded story along with flashbacks to past events. Kaira Rouda has gained a new reader as I will be making my way through her backlist! Thank you to Penzler Publishers for an advanced copy! All thoughts and opinions are my own!

I really enjoyed this fast-paced psychological thriller that had me at the edge of my seat until the very end. Wow this was the epitome of Oh what a tangled web we weave, absolute great read and I'm a fan of the Author. Thank you to Netgalley, Penzler Publishers and the Author for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Thanks to NetGalley and Penzler Publishers for an advanced reader copy of Jill Is Not Happy in exchange for my honest review.

Kaira Rouda books are always full of unreliable narrators and this book was no exception with crazy Jill and her brow beaten husband Jack.

Lots of promise with this story but the ending was so blah.

Thank you so much to @kairarouda @scarletsuspense & @mbc_books for my physical copy, as well as @thrillerbookloversthepulse for my E-arc! I loved this book. If Kaira writes it, I’m reading it! Jill was unhinged & kept me turning the pages. There were some complex family dynamics that made this such a bingeable thriller! It was fast paced with some seriously twisty surprises along the way. It was such a perfect psychological thriller with the most toxic marriage a reader could need. You have to turn the pages on this one!

Kaira Rouda is one of my favorite thriller authors. This book is filled of tension and has lots of twists. The characters are given such a realistic feel and makes the book even more relatable.

Kaira Rouda never disappoints. She creates incredible characters, that I can't get enough of, even while despising them. I never figure out the twists. Thanks to Netgalley for the opportunity to read this book

One of my favorite books to this day is Best Day Ever by Kaira Rouda. I loved this story so much that it’s stuck with me for quite a few years. Jill is Not Happy gave me this same feeling – the insight into a not quite right mind, kind of like watching a trainwreck. You want to look away but you just can’t!

Jill and Jack are bound by a secret forged during their college years; at first, it brings them together but as time ticks on and the story progresses, the reader see’s that all isn’t as rosy as one narrator would have you think. On a vacation away, both parties give the reader their own insight on just what went wrong in this marriage and it’s a doozy of a story. At the risk of exposing too much of the plot, I’ll stop here but I loved the sheer crazy that Kaira brought to the characters and how subtle she was in unfolding it! Peeling back layer after layer of insanity in this tricky well plotted story.
My thanks to Penzler Publishers/Scarlet for this gifted DRC and to Kaira Rouda for writing this!

This book was A LOT.

I spent the first part trying to figure Jill out.

Is she just a desperate, oblivious wife, or is she off her antique rocker?

I won’t tell you where she landed. It’s more fun that way.

I loved the multiple POVs.
I loved the flashbacks.
I loved the deliciously conniving, irredeemable characters.
I loved the ending. THE ENDING.

This is my first from this author, so I know this summer’s project will be tracking down her back catalogue.

A masterfully paced thriller that keeps the tension high and the surprises coming. The plot is intricately woven, with each twist adding new depth and urgency. The characters feel real and flawed, making their struggles all the more gripping. It’s a relentless, heart-pounding read that leaves you breathless in the best way.