Jill Is Not Happy by Kaira Rouda is a whirlwind trip through a couple's marriage. As the couple's backstory slowly comes into sight, you begin to wonder what will happen next. Definitely keeps you on the edge of your seat! 4 stars

I adore Rouda's books so went into this with high expectations and was never disappointed! Jack and Jill met in college and are now married with daughter Maggie in college. All seems wonderful--on the surface--as both are hiding deep secrets There's a fire...and a diary....Go in blind but expect to read in one sitting as you can't put it down!
Thanks to NetGalley for this ARC!

Jill is not happy, she is diabolical. Told in dual POV this really was a page turner. I couldn’t wait to find out what happened next in this cat and mouse game. While this was a lot of fun the ending just didn’t deliver. Thank you NetGalley for the ARC!

Jill is definitely a planner. It took her until her senior year in college to finally date number 8 (Jack) on her list of top ten potential husbands, and by the first date she had the wedding and perfect life planned out. Twenty one years and many shared secrets later, after Jack’s very wealthy parents died in a fire and left everything except their wine collection to charity, after their only daughter Maggie is off at school, and after Jack’s term as an Orange County town mayor ended disastrously, Jill has planned a road trip to Utah (the Mighty 5 national parks) that Jack reluctantly agrees to go on. Very reluctantly. Jill wants to have “fun;” Jack just wants to get the Utah road trip over with. Unfortunately, Jill hasn’t shared all her plans with Jack or her true definition of “fun.”

This is a toxic twisty revenge thriller told from each venomous partner’s POV. Each spouse is trying to outmaneuver the other and the suspense is in trying to figure out who will come out on top and how many nasty secrets will get revealed in the fray. It definitely kept my interest, but I despised the ending. I was invested enough to want to see some sort of “justice” occur, only to be left hanging. The writing was engaging, but this gets only 3 stars based on my total disappointment at the end. It was almost as if the author couldn’t figure out how to complete the story. If there’s a “Jill Is Still Not Happy” sequel, I’ll pass.

Literary Pet Peeve Checklist:
Green Eyes (only 2% of the real world, yet it seems like 90% of all fictional females): NO Just appropriately icy blue ones for Jill.
Horticultural Faux Pas (plants out of season or growing zones, like daffodils in autumn or bougainvillea in Alaska): NO Well, Jill is using jimsonweed (Datura) trumpets in her salad for Jack. Let’s hope she used gloves when picking it!
Myths about Utah: Hey, Jill, they do dance in Utah. Talk to the BYU competitive ballroom dance teams. Fudge with beans? Nope, not in the Ward Cookbook. Funeral potatoes, yes. The Red Rock Grill at the Zion Lodge has a full service bar, as does Bryce Canyon Lodge.

Thank you to Penzler Publishers and NetGalley for an advanced reader copy!

Jack and Jill met in college and fell in love. Time does fly, and now their daughter Maggie has flown the nest and is starting her own life. But somehow, Jill’ss plans to reinvigorate her marriage do not seem to match Jack’s plans.
There’s so much I want to say, but looking back at the book description, most of my thoughts could lead me down a hill into spoiler territory
What I can say…… don’t mess with Jill….don’t turn your back on Jill…….don’t feed her after midnight…… and by all means, keep Jill away from water😂 But seriously, she might look attractive, but under that façade lies a Dr. Jekyll/Mr. Hyde personality. What Jill wants Jill gets, no matter who gets hurt. And Jill always wants Jack…..forever. I can’t say why without giving something important away, but personally I loved the ending.
This book publishes at the beginning of June and this is exactly the kind of book that I love to read on the beach. 4.5 stars.

This was a solid 4 star book until the ending. I needed more. I wasn’t satisfied. But I love Kaira Rouda’s books so much. They are such fast, fun reads. I really liked the. Ack and forth of this book. I just needed more closure!

Thank you to NetGalley for this arc.

I was fortunate to receive an early copy of this book and I haven’t stopped thinking about it since I finished it. Such twisted fun! I was locked into this revenge thriller from page one and I just know any fan of the genre will eat this story up! Perfect for fans of White Lotus and The Perfect Couple. Kaira Rouda is a master of writing relationship dynamics that are perfect on the surface, terrifying underneath and I cannot wait to read whatever she writes next!