Wow! I know when I pick up a book by Kaira Rouda I’m not going to get much else accomplished and on a snowy Sunday, I was perfectly okay with that. Jill has Jack and she will do anything to keep him. If you like suspense with surprises around every corner, this is for you! I look forward to reading what’s next!

Jill is not happy by Kaira Rouda

Jack and Jill like the old nursery rhyme riddled with a lot of vindictiveness, especially when unknowns surface. Who shoved who down the hill and who is to blame in this book!

What a crazy popcorn thriller about a couple who has skeletons in their closet for days. As they have secrets like anyone else it’s a chess match to see who folds first.

I loved the premise of the book and the ruthlessness of the characters. When their daughter goes off to college and the two are left with resentment from the past the fangs come out.

I was not incredibly satisfied with the ending but I loved the curiousness of the summary and how the author brought it all together.

Thank you NetGalley and Penzler Publishers!

I wanted to like this story but it felt very forced and predictable. I did finish it because I wanted to know what happened.

Jill Is Not Happy
by Kaira Rouda
Pub Date: Jun 10 2025   
Thank you NetGalley and thank you Penzler Publishers for the opportunity to read this one early in exchange for a honest review.
To say Jill is not happy is an understatement, she sure isn’t happy and doesn’t want anyone else to be either. She is nuttier than a fruit cake and her poor family has had just about enough of her shenanigans! This is one twisty novel. I haven’t read too many of Kaira Rouda books but this will not be the last. At times I did feel like where is the story line going and other times I thought what did I just read! This author sure can spin a tale. 4 stars!!

I always have such a fun time with the authors books, she writes some over the top characters that you love to hate and this book introduces us to two new classic Kaira Rouda characters. Jack and Jill are playing a dangerous game of cat and mouse the entire book and I was hooked on their crazy antics. There are some secrets and surprises along the way too, overall a fun and sometimes silly popcorn read that will keep you entertained over a weekend!

This book is a wild, twisted ride—literally and figuratively. Jill and Jack’s road trip starts tense and only gets more unsettling as their secrets unravel. Jill is one of those characters you love to hate (or maybe hate to love?), and watching her manipulate every situation was both fascinating and chilling.

The pacing is sharp, the tension keeps building, and the psychological games are chef’s kiss devious. Some parts felt a bit predictable, but the execution was so entertaining that I didn’t mind. If you love domestic thrillers with unhinged characters and mind games, Jill Is Not Happy is definitely worth the read. Solid 4 stars!

Title: Jill Is Not Happy
Author: Kaira Rouda
Publisher: Penzier Publishing – Scarlet
Genre: Mystery/Thriller
Pub Date: June 10, 2025
My Rating: 3.5 Stars! Hated not to give this 4 stars as I do love this author
Pages: 256
Remember - Jack and Jill is a nursery rhyme and not a fairy tale!

If you ask Jill Tingley, she’ll tell you that she and her husband Jack met at USC their senior year and immediately became college sweethearts and are now living the dream in their charming cape cod style home in Southern California
If you ask Jack Tingley he’ll say now that their daughter Maggie is attending UC Santa Cruz, he is seriously getting ready to file for divorce.

True Jill will also admit their marriage has become complicated but she is sure the ‘get-away’
trip to Bryce Canyon, Utah is just what they need to reset.

Jack agrees to the Utah trip but would much rather do anything else.

He’s only stayed married for their daughter’s sake. But there is a shared secret- something happened in the past he wanted to keep buried. Jack has decided he is filing for divorce as soon as they return, no matter what.

Although the title is “Jill is not Happy” she certainly does her best to make everyone else unhappy. Yikes what a character!!!

This is my seventh Kaira Rouda novel ~- "The Second Mrs. Strom" was my favorite! True all were good!
I requested this knowing nothing about only that I love this author! Have to admit she did surprise me with this ending as I ended up being the one not happy!


Want to thank NetGalley and Penzier Publishing – Scarlet for granting me this early eGalley.
Publishing Release Date scheduled for June 10, 2025.

WHEW...Jill is as crazy as they come lol. I enjoyed this book so much I could not put it down! I look forward to reading more by this author. Thank you NetGalley and Scarlet for this advanced readers copy in exchange for my honest review.

Jill is not happy, Jill is psycho. I enjoyed reading this book and couldn’t put it down. However there was no grand twist at the end. There was no ending at all. It was just abruptly over.

Damn, she evil.... and I love her.

The ending is screaming for sequel and I am dying for it...

Only 4 stars because of that ending. I NEED TO KNOW WHAT HAPPENS!!!

Like other reviewers have said, Jill was not my favorite character. I did not like her but I did want to see how the story ended. The ending felt blah to me, and this isn't my favorite book that the author has written. It was a good read, but not great. Thanks to the publisher for the ARC.

OOooooo this book was good it felt very gone girl and rock, paper, scissors I loved this. I liked that we got to see both perspectives and the unreliable narrator is always amazing for a little twist.

This was a fun and fast read. I figured out the majority of the twists, so I found it pretty predictable. But it didn't matter to me because it was just so crazy and twisted, and I was happy to be along for the ride. It ended as I expected. I would have liked a bit more of a shake-up there. But I really enjoyed it overall.

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Jill isn't happy and neither am I. Usually I love a crazy FMC but this character had me rooting for the cheating husband. She took psycho to a new level with her never ending lies and disturbed mind.

What bothered me was the ending. It felt...flat? Like we're hanging on for a sequel that isn't coming. I wanted the husband to get revenge or some sort of growth for the FMC, but instead it ended stuck in the same situation as page 1.

I found the protagonist, Jill, deeply unappealing from the beginning, which made the reading experience challenging. Despite this, the story held my attention, and I was compelled to finish it. However, the ending was disappointing, and I'm curious if the author plans to continue the story in a sequel or even a full-on series.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the advance copy. All opinions are my own.

Kaira Rouda’s books are officially filed under twisty thrillers!!! Totally loved the characters - what a pair Jack and Jill were!!! It’s not what you are expecting, but I definitely enjoyed it!

Thank you NetGalley for the advanced copy in exchange for my honest review!

Jill wants to reboot her marriage with Jack by taking a road trip to national parks. Jack wants out. He feels trapped. He agrees to the road trip so prove to Jill it’s time to move forward in separate directions. Jill has other plans for Jack.
…
Kaira Rouda weaves an interesting story about a married couple whose relationship is on the verge of destruction. Jill the wife sees opportunity to save it while Jack sees opportunity to end it. As the road trip carries them further down the road Jill holds secrets hostage while Jack dreams of ways to beat Jill at her own game. Jack has always been the underdog while Jill has been the thriving hero rescuing Jack from himself.
…
Kaira Rouda surprised with me her writing voice in Jill Is Not Happy. The fear Jack felt while in close proximity with his wife Jill was immensely powerful. Everything that was shared from the notebook helped lean into that fear. This cat and mouse game of Jack and Jill was quite thrilling in a creepy way. Love is a powerful tool in a marriage and Jill has an arsenal of tools at her disposal. As for Jack he had no idea the levels Jill would go to keep him.
…
From start to finish this was a magnificent read. From the writing voice to the execution I was immersed into the world that Kara Rouda created. Bravo! To a smashing hit.

Kaira Rouda writes such good twisted characters and you know you're going to find someone crazy within the pages of her books.

In Jill Is Not Happy, Jill is the psychopath married to Jack, making his life miserable. Unfortunately for him, she has a careful record of a few things that could get him into deep trouble and she hovers this over him every chance she gets.

When she feels Jack slipping away, she launches a plan to make him stay- forever. Jill will do whatever it takes to keep her unhappy husband close.

As Jack tries to weasel out of Jill's clutches, she thwarts him at every turn, which makes for an amusing read.

Possible spoiler....

I really wanted Jack to man up and do something bold. I did not love the ending; I was thinking it would play out in a really satisfying way, but it didn't, darn!

That said, I still liked the story and will always read what this author writes. No one writes creepy characters like Kaira.

Thank you, NetGalley, Penzler Publishing and Kaira Rouda for this ARC.

Did not like Jill from the start. Don't want to give anything away, but she is so unlikeable and made this difficult for me to read. I was drawn in though and couldn't put it down. I would have given more stars but I hated the ending!! I do wonder if there will be a sequel.

Jack and Jill, college sweethearts, are now married with a college-aged daughter. Lately, Jack has envisioned a new beginning that doesn’t include Jill. Jill envisions reconnecting with her handsome husband on a road trip where they can rewrite their past in order to have a renewed future.

With a trail of deaths and crimes in their wake, both Jack and Jill have incriminating dirt on each other. Both are trying to one-up the other to get their way through scheming and plotting!

The twists and antics are jaw dropping in Kaira Rouda’s latest bingeable novel! This is a truly an entertaining and unhinged read! I enjoyed the multiple timelines and alternating perspectives! It’s hard to like any of the characters but I couldn’t peel my eyes away from them because each trick was dirtier than the previous one and I was anxious to see who prevailed!