I Knew You Were Trouble by Sandy Barker

Polygamy actually happens today!!??

The story starts with a girl being informed that her fiance has another fiance!! She is shocked of course but doesn't know what to do about it. She blames herself for being lame enough to fall for a con man but then she rewinds and start seeing all the signs that she ignored earlier. Well, she has to come up with a plan to con the con man.

It sounds similar to the Hindi bollywood movie - Ladies Vs Ricky Bahl, but the difference is this guy is playing 3 girls at once!!

📚 Story highlights the fact that how girls are so much into charming guys that they often neglect the red flags.
📚 It is an amalgamation of mystery, suspense, love and tragedy.
📚 Plot flows smoothly between finding out about the other girls, notifying them, giving them support and playing the con man.
📚 However, the frequency with which the characters are flying from country to country, it looks like they are super rich!!
📚 Beautiful insights are shared about how a person needs to be cautious about relationships, how becoming vulnerable can harm them.

A beautiful and quick read. Do give it a try!!

Kate meets Willem when he delivers bad news to her - the man she is engaged to is also engaged to Alex's sister. Soon they are working together, but as she spends more time with Willem will it be a case of wrong time, right man? A great read.

This book was a fun read, with an interesting plot. The characters were well written, and I enjoyed the main characters of williem and Kate. How they came together was so interesting. This is the fifth book in this series, but the first one I have read and it was impossible to put down.

When a stranger knocks at Kate's door on a Friday night telling her that he has something important to tell her she is immediately wary. There is no way she is going to let him into her flat, so she runs a quick google search to check if the name he has given her is legit or associated with any scams, and then when the search is clear goes to meet him at the local pub. The news that the Dutchman, Willem de Vries, gives her turns her world upside down. Her pilot fiance, Jon, is also engaged to Willem's sister Adriana, and he needs her help to get his sister to believe it. He therefore asks Kate to come to Amsterdam with him to prove that they have both been duped.

Kate had met Jon through a matchmaking agency. She had registered with two agencies. The other agency was the Ever After Agency where she met matchmaker Poppy Dean. Soon, Kate is putting together a plan to get revenge on Jon, a plan that will need Adriana and Poppy to be involved. But first, she needs to know if there are any other fiancees out there.

Willem has done a good job of investigating Jon, but Poppy has other resources at her disposal, in the form of grumpy French detective Marie. Soon, Willem and Kate are crisscrossing Europe, putting the plan in place to bring Jon back down to earth with a thud.

This is the fifth book in the Ever After series, featuring Poppy, and this one was interesting because here Poppy isn't acting as the matchmaker, even though she can quite clearly see that Kate and Willem have some serious chemistry going on! Instead, she becomes more and more involved in the plot to snare Jon in the honey trap, which could be quite awkward with her husband, Tristan.

I loved the Amsterdam setting, and the other places that are visited throughout the book too! I also definitely appreciated the Dutch hero! I have one of those myself. My husband was born and raised in South Africa, but his parents are both Dutch so he is 100% Dutch blood with a touch of South African accent, and an Australian passport! And I have one of the difficult to pronounce Dutch surnames!

I am really sad to see the end of the Happy Ever After series featuring Poppy and her friends and colleagues. It has been an enjoyable series. I am going to a readers retreat in May where Sandy Barker is one of the attending authors and I am really hoping that we will hear about what comes next! I will be reading it!

I am sharing this review with the New Release Challenge hosted by The Chocolate Lady's Book Reviews. Be sure to check out other stops on the tour shown below. Thanks to the publisher, Netgalley and Rachel's Random Resources for the review copy.

Rating 4/5

I had a fun time with this book. At the beginning I wasn't aware that it was part of a series, but simply wondered about different parts. It was as if I was supposed to already know something from the past - but now I understand.

I really laughed out loud several times, and the attraction between Willem and Kate was the highlight of the book. Other parts seemed a bit repetitive, however.

Sandy Barker’s “I Knew You Were Trouble” is a fun, witty read with great humor and a charming romance. Kate, the lead woman, is relatable and likable, and her connection with the *Thor*, Willem is both playful and heartwarming. There gradually understanding of each other is fun to read along with.

The book cleverly flips the “other woman” trope by focusing on women supporting each other, which added a refreshing layer to the story. The inclusion of dating services as a subplot was also a nice touch, giving the narrative a modern twist.

Overall, *I Knew You Were Trouble* is a delightful rom-com with strong characters and a fun, empowering message. Highly recommend for anyone looking for a light, enjoyable read.

First, thank you to NetGalley, the author, and the publisher for the arc in exchange for an honest review.
I'll start by saying when I first received this arc I didn't' realize it was book 5 in a series, however, with most romance series I've read, the books can be read separately and you may just miss a couple of Easter eggs, so I wasn't really worried.
And for the most part, I did follow the story fine without the others in the series except when it came to the second POV. I was very thrown off that the second POV wasn't the love interest of the story, but a character from a previous book. Ultimately for a romance, I definitely would have preferred it to be Willem or if the author didn't want to do that then just to keep it in the one POV because I felt like I didn't get to know him before we were supposed to be rooting for him and Kate together.
Overall, this book was fine. I feel like this book gave off more of a contemporary, John Tucker Must Die feel with a romance subplot vibe than a traditional romance feel. I did really enjoy the international settings and it made me long for some travel of my own and the characters were fun, but the structure of the book just didn't work for me and the lack of getting to really know Willem made me not as invested in the story.

Everything in this book was so shallow and unrealistic, to me.
Someone hiring TWO matchmakers, there being two matchmakers in one city. The rivalry between them. The 6 month engagement after spening less than a few weekends together? And the revenge plot. So weird. I didn't connect to anyone in the story.

Thank you to Boldwood Books and NetGalley for providing me with this ARC in exchange for an unbiased review. All opinions are my own.

I really wanted to like this, I really tried, but honestly I was kind of put off by the first “hallo” lol. The writing isn’t my cup of tea and honestly the story moved pretty slow for me. It didn’t grab my attention or make me eager to keep reading. It reads very “new author” for me and I’d like to think they’re still finding their voice and improving. The premise had me very intrigued but it definitely fell short.

Some actions didn’t feel fully justified, and it felt like there were half-hearted explanations just to keep the plot moving, without any solid logic behind them. There were also a lot of typos and mistakes, which I get are common in ARCs, but this felt like a bit too many, even for an early draft.

Unfortunately the book is not for me, but that’s not to say others wouldn’t enjoy it.

I won't be posting a public review of this until at least a month after the pub date, due to the low rating and out of respect for the author. I will edit the feedback once I've posted the reviews.

Thank you to NetGalley and Boldwood Books for an advance copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This book had a sweet and funny concept–who doesn't love romantic partners coming together via a revenge plot on a vile, cheating ex? I unfortunately had trouble connecting with the love story in this one. I found it strange that the alternate POV chapters were from the matchmaker's point of view (I didn't know it was part of a series, so that was really strange to me as. someone reading this as a standalone). I also wish the character development and romantic chemistry was a bit more fleshed out (again, I'm not sure if this is something I missed having not read the other books in this series because I was reading this as a standalone). I think other readers will enjoy this rom-com, but unfortunately I had a hard time getting into it and did not finish this book.

‘I Knew You Were Trouble’ by Sandy Barker is the fifth (and apparently final, boo!) novel in a fabulously fun series which describes the loves and laughs surrounding the Ever After Agency - London’s premier matchmakers. This book focuses on Kate, who learns early in the novel that her fiancé has another fiancée! When she follows the handsome messenger Willem to Amsterdam to tell her fiancé’s fiancée (and Willem’s sister) Adriana the shocking news, the pair begin to dream of payback. Poppy and her matchmaking colleagues get involved, and broken trust becomes revenge… and possibly a second chance at finding love!

I loved how empowering this book was, and how the women banded together rather than blaming each other. I adore the style of this series, with Poppy always having a key role, allowing us to glimpse into her idyllic marriage and joyful, if sometimes difficult, career.

The romance between Kate and Willem was slow to blossom but beautiful to witness, like a Dutch tulip, and the epilogue was perfect…

I’d definitely recommend this book, and it left me wanting more from Poppy and co. Giving this a loveable, joyful, laugh-out-loud five stars!

I received an advance Digital Review Copy of this book from the publisher Boldwood Books via NetGalley. The opinions expressed in this review are my own.

thank you to netgalley and the publisher for an early copy in return for my review!

so did i go into this one knowing full well it was book five of the ever after agency series??? yes....but hear me out...

i was slightly lost with the name drops here and there but actually, i really enjoyed it so im going to fall book into the series a bit more to learn the universe of their lives. basically, it was like reading the ending of the book before purchasing from the store...makes sense to me right?! ANYWAY

i fell in love with the fun, light-hearted moments that just made me smile. give me a romance with all the funny moments, the strong female friendships, and the references all added charm to the story and the characters i really started to develop in my mind and enjoy them!

if you're looking for a fun and fluffy read, a cheeky revenge plot and a great focus on female bonds...look no further!! and if you've ready books one two tree and four...what else are you reading if not this one???????

I didn't end up finishing this one, I had some issues with it. So I just did a promo post for the blog tour. Here are my thoughts for why I didn't finish.

I’ve read one other book by this author and did enjoy it, so I signed up for this one. While it is in a series, it should be a standalone for the most part. However, the matchmaker has part of the book in their POV, which I didn’t care for. If it is a romance, I want the two love interests’ POVs, not someone outside of that couple. So that was weird for me. Then, the attraction/leading to more between Kate and Willem seemed a bit forced or just all of a sudden without anything really leading to why they liked each other? That could be just me. I only got about a third of the way through.

I didn’t realize this was the last in the Ever After Agency series until after I finished reading… and now I’m sad! I have loved every single word that Barker has given us in this entire world, and I especially loved the unique fact that instead of doing the dual points of view of both sides of the couples throughout, she’s given us the female, and Poppy from book one. I totally adored that!

I’m really going to miss returning to see what Shenanigans Poppy gets up to next, trying to make sure her Ever After clients make the perfect match - but this last book has certainly given us a brilliant ending!

Barker brings her usual excitement and RomCom genius in I Knew You Were Trouble, with Kate teaming up with Willem, after learning her fiancé Jon is also engaged to Willem’s sister. They bring in Poppy to help get their revenge, and oh, how fun this story is! I could not put it down and laughed my head off at all of the antics. Absolutely recommend it, and a 4.5 star rating to round out this incredible series. I cannot wait to see what she brings us next!!

Thank you to NetGalley and Boldwood Books for the early copy. This is my honest feedback.

Oops, that one’s on me! I went into I Knew You Were Trouble without realizing it was book #5 in a series—so naturally, I was a little lost with all the in-universe name drops. If I had known the backstory, I think I would have enjoyed it so much more!

That said, this book still had plenty of fun, lighthearted moments that made me smile. The humor, the strong female friendships, and the clever references all added charm to the story. While the plot felt a bit disjointed at times, once the POVs settled, the pacing really found its groove! Kate and Poppy’s voices started out a little too similar for me, but as the story progressed, they each developed their own distinct perspective.

Overall, this is an entertaining, fluffy read with a fun revenge plot and a great focus on female bonds. If you're familiar with the series, I think you'll love it even more!

In I Knew You Were Trouble Kate meets Thor lookalike Willem who tells her that her fiancee is also engaged to his sister. He wants Kate to help him tell his sister the truth about her fiancee as he doesn’t think she’ll believe him if he tells her alone.

Although this book is a standalone it’s actually the 5th book in an interconnected series and I wish I’d read the previous books before reading this one as I felt like I was missing context in regards to some characters.

The other issue I had is that it’s a dual POV, however it’s not told from Kate and Willem’s perspective, which is what usually happens in a romance book, it’s Kate and another character Poppy. I honestly found that a bit weird and I’d rather have had Willem’s perspective.

The slow burn between Kate and Willem was sweet, although I’d have liked them to have had a bit more substance or character growth.

What I did love in this book were the female friendships and the secondary revenge plot, that was a lot of fun. Kate and her cousin Margot have a lovely friendship, which I also enjoyed reading about, and there was lots of witty banter.

I Knew You Were Trouble is a fun, easy read that had me entertained from beginning to end.

3.5 stars
This is a fun, fast-paced instalment of the Ever After Agency series from Sandy Barker.
It’s been good to see Poppy and the team again albeit in a slightly different role than usual. Kate’s dilemma is an interesting one and as we follow her on her journey of retribution, it was good to see her grow in confidence again.
The chemistry between Kate and Willem was lovely to read about and having been treated so poorly by Jon, it was nice to see her treated with care again.
Her friendships with Margot and then Adriana and Lucia was a nice aside to the romance with their collective plotting a fun way to gain revenge.

I found this to be a bit of a silly, enjoyable, romcom. I am not sure the title/Taylor Swift reference really works here. As the whole plot of this is multiple women falling for the same smooth talking guy. Who they didn't know was trouble (even though they did all retroactively find red flags). It just doesn't feel like it works. I still enjoyed the book and intend to read more books by Sandy Barker in the future

After writing up my review I looked at some other peoples reviews. Though I did not take this into account in my rating, I saw a number of people concerned about using the Dutch work Kanker (which means Cancer) as a swear word in place of asshole or similar. It seems that this is not appropriate here and I think the author should do better when including other languages.

I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I loved this book so much that I am reading it a second time!

This was a brilliant romantic comedy about a woman who finds out her fiancée is engaged to another woman. Even though the plot of the book is obviously not nice, the two women get to plan sweet revenge. Mix in some unexpected romance, travelling to beautiful locations and lots of humour. It also involved side stories as well that were connected to the main plot. I truly enjoyed reading this book. I give it a 5 out of 5 stars.