I really enjoyed this book! At first I thought it was ridiculous, the two main characters both deciding to hide a body which they hadn't killed - I was screaming just phone the police! But then it all came together and oh it was very cleverly written! Very good twists and although I thought something in both their pasts didn't add up, I had no idea to what extent!
Very enjoyable thriller,

This was a slow burn of a thriller that packed a punch! Author Lauren North has a great way to incorporate emotions into a fun thriller that even though it was a slow burn, it still moved at a pace that kept you hooked. It was an easy read as her writing just flowed. As for the mystery, I was shifting back and forth so much of different possibilities, different scenarios, and got that delicious serving that tied everything together.

There were some parts that I felt a little repetitive, but it was apparent what the author was trying to get to with the twists, then I didn't mind it so much. The writing was done well, the characters developed, and the overall take was fun and gripping. Even though this was a wild premise, the inner dialogue parts were quite realistic, diving into the emotional parts of it all. If you're looking for a fun relationship-type thriller, this is one to pick up.

Thank you to NetGallley, Bookouture, and the author for a copy of this. All opinions are my own.

Jake and Hannah’s pre wedding getaway to France is just the start of their nightmare!

The action starts within the first page of Lauren’s book and it doesn’t stop until its breathtaking conclusion!

Without giving any of the plot away, you will join the almost newly weds in experiencing a campaign of terror against them, where they are forced to do things that they could never have imagined doing after finding a dead body in their holiday home.

Get ready for loads of twists and turns right up until the last page! Thank you to Lauren, her publisher and NetGalley for the arc. A great holiday read.

For Better, For Worse by Lauren North kept me engaged from beginning to end, the plot was well thought out and the characters were very well written, full of intrigue and a wild plot twist. Her characters are so well fleshed out, you feel as if you can see and feel them.
The author has carefully constructed an addictive page-turner that is so intricately woven keeping the reader invested.
Lauren North is a fantastic author and For Better, For Worse is a gripping story.

My thanks to Bookouture and NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read ‘For Better, For Worse’ written by Lauren North in exchange for my honest and unbiased review.

With just fourteen days to go before their wedding, Hannah and Jake take a short break to the family farmhouse situated in Southern France but on arrival they don’t expect to find a dead body on the floor lying in pools of blood with the same knife Hannah used that morning lying beside the body and footprints made by Jake’s shoes.

‘For Better, For Worse’ is a psychological thriller with a rollercoaster of a plot that has so many twists and turns it had my head spinning trying to decide who was responsible for Hannah and Jake’s nightmares and why. As the days count down from fourteen to the day of their wedding, suspense and tension keep increasing and I’ve been kept guessing as to whether the wedding will go ahead. But then I reach the epilogue and final shocking conclusion! I’d never have guessed how it was going to end but I really enjoyed the well-deserved finale. I can’t think of a better way to end this totally addictive thriller and it's definitely the best I’ve read by this author.

Lauren North just keeps getting better and better! I devoured For Better, For Worse in one sitting - completely unable to put it down. This book will keep you guessing until its shocking conclusion. 4 stars

What would you do if all the evidence seems to point to your fiance having murdered the man you just found? Well, that's the dilemma for Hannah and Jake who only wanted a quiet weekend away and now have a real mess on their hands and they don't know why. They make some decisions you might disagree with but no spoilers from me. This has short chapters to keep you turning the pages and a good twist. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. Good travel or beach book.

4.5/5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫
Mood: 🙉🙊😳😧😈👹🔪
I really enjoyed reading this book. The chapters are the perfect length, making the reading flow smoothly and keeping the interest at all times. The plot is fascinating, full of unexpected twists that manage to keep the reader hooked until the very last page. Towards the end, the surprises are especially entertaining, adding an exciting touch that masterfully closes the story.
A highly recommended read for those who enjoy thrillers full of suspense and mystery.
Thanks so much Netgalley and Bookouture for the opportunity!

Gripping from the very beginning, full of twists and turns and a splendid ending. I couldn’t put it down. Highly recommended. Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for allowing me to read this book.

Hannah and Jake have gone for a long weekend away to a charming farmhouse in the South of France to take some time out from planning their wedding back in London. They go for a long walk and when they come back, they discover a body in the entrance way. What would you do? This is one dilemma that I'm happy I DON'T have to decide how to get out of this situation. Jake was seen arguing with the man, Hannah realises that the knife is one she had used that day and the footprints are from Jake's trainers, so all in all, they are implicated in the worse way possible. The plot was full of twists and turns with a few red herrings thrown in for good measure, and there were certain nail biting moments especially when you reach the end of the book.

Hannah and Jake are getting married in two weeks and with the wedding nerves and a recent break in at her flat, Hannah is desperate to have a few days away from all the stress, so they head to her parents farmhouse in southern France. After a day out they return to the house to find a dead body lying on the persian rug, even worse it's their neighbour, Claude who Jake was seen arguing with in the town square that very morning, There are footprints of blood made by Jake's trainers and the knife that Hannah used for breakfast lying next to him, but they know they're not responsible for this so someone must have set them up, but who and why and what should they do now...

For Better, For Worse is the latest thriller by North and I was hooked from the start. This is a fast paced, suspenseful and compelling read, with some great characters, that I couldn't wait to sink my teeth into. It's told in the present day, with some flashbacks to their pasts and it's quite evident that they both have some secrets that they don't want to be divulged, the events that follow spiral out of control until neither of them know what, or who, to believe. This book kept me second guessing throughout, when I thought that I had figured it out North came along and threw a curveball in that completely blindsided me and left me wondering where this was heading. The plot is well thought out with some great twists along the way and an explosive ending which completely floored me. Another fabulous read from one of my go to authors who never disappoints and, as always, I highly recommend her books.

I'd like to thank Bookouture and NetGalley for the auto approval, I will post my review on Goodreads now and Amazon on publication day.

Oh wow. What a corker of a story and a "what the!". Also what would you do? Surely the right thing...right? If you could home and find a dead body in your house and you knows its not you, you call the police...right. OK but this is the man your husband to be was seen arguing with....oh dear oh dear. Delicious twisty things occur. And choices are made. But whose done this? Who's doing this? And can they trust eachother?
This is such an original premise for a plot and leaves you with good mysterious thoughts around who done it and who's doing this. Oh and of course why!?

An absolutely brilliant and twisty thriller from the excellent Lauren North. A couple are preparing for their wedding and escape to France for a few days of peace and tranquillity, but when a dead body is found in their holiday home, life changes for ever. The tension is tangible, the revelations are breathtaking, and the plot twists myriad. A superb read!

Oh my this one started off with a bang and didn’t stop. I didn’t know what was happening as the twists and turns came so often! Impossible to guess and very exciting! I didn’t know who to trust: Hannah and Jake On a romantic count down to their wedding…. Or is it??

Prologue starts off intense, making you want to keep reading. But then it repeats a lot between the characters, not adding much more to the plot and becoming slow. Clever twists towards the end and leaves a bit of a cliffhanger with potential to continue to story or leave us all wondering.

I definitely didn't see the twist coming, and after a light reread, I still couldn't see the twist coming. I felt there wasn't enough foreshadowing for the final reveal, and that made it fall a little flat for me. I did really enjoy the epilogue though. That particular ending was certainly deserved.

“We're laughing as I push open the heavy farmhouse door and see the foot lying on the rug.” Wow! That’s a great opening sentence. It immediately hooked me. Hannah and Jake are counting down the days until their wedding. A romantic getaway to the south of France is something they both need before their big day. Unfortunately a dead body gets in the way of their idyllic trip. Making matters worse, it appears the soon to be newlyweds are being framed for the murder. This thriller is the perfect read during wedding season. It’s original, addictive and full of shocking twists and turns. The final twists were clever and very unpredictable. I was enthralled from start to finish. I highly recommend this twisted intriguing tale. Thank you, NetGalley and Bookouture for my copy.

For Better, For Worse is a well written, suspenseful, psychological thriller with many twists and turns. Although some of them were predictable, many were not, including the ending. I was gripped from the first chapter, and was unable to put the book down. A real page turner!

Thank you to Bookouture, NetGalley and the author for access to this eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Release: May 20, 2025
Author: Lauren North
Publisher: Bookouture

Rating: 3.5 ★ 

This one kicks off with a bang—literally. Right from the first few pages, there’s a confrontation, a death, and a very questionable decision that sets the tone for everything that follows. I was hooked.

Jake and Hannah head to France for a quiet pre-wedding getaway, but things go sideways fast. A family friend confronts them in public, tensions explode, and when they return to the house, he’s dead—right there in the hallway. What do they do? They hide the body. And that’s just the beginning.

The story unfolds in a countdown format leading up to the wedding, and I liked that structure—it added a layer of urgency. The chapters alternate between Jake and Hannah’s perspectives, and while I didn’t always find them totally likeable, their panic and confusion felt real. Add in Jake’s obsessive ex and the mystery of whether someone is setting them up, and there’s plenty of drama.

For me, the pacing dragged a bit in the middle, but just when I started to feel like it was all wrapping up a little too neatly… BAM. Twist. Then another. And another. Lauren North definitely saves the biggest punches for the end. By the epilogue, I was totally floored. Dark, twisty, and satisfying.

That said, I don’t think it’s the strongest thriller I’ve ever read—it took a little too long to really heat up—but the ending more than made up for it. If you’re into domestic thrillers with plenty of secrets, lies, and that one big “wait, WHAT?!” moment, this one’s worth the read.

Jake and Hannah thought a romantic trip to the south of France would be the perfect escape from the stress of wedding planning. But their peaceful getaway quickly spirals into a nightmare when they return to the villa and find a man’s body on the antique rug—someone Jake had argued with publicly just that morning.

The evidence is chilling. Footprints that match Jake’s shoes. A knife from the kitchen, used at breakfast, now covered in blood and Hannah’s fingerprints. It’s clear—they’ve been set up. But by who? And why?

Now they face an unthinkable decision: report the murder and risk losing everything, or cover it up and hope the truth never comes out. As fear and suspicion set in, Hannah begins to wonder—how well does she really know the man she’s about to marry?

Favorite Quote:
"love is easy when it's convenient, but when it's tested, that's when you see what you're really made of."

𝐒𝐲𝐧𝐨𝐩𝐬𝐢𝐬
Jake and his fiancée Hannah had planned a romantic escape to the south of France—a chance to unwind after the chaos of wedding planning. Sun, wine, and quiet days together. But everything changes the moment they step back into their villa.
On the antique rug lies a man’s body—the very man Jake was seen arguing with that morning in the town square. Hannah stands frozen. Footprints matching Jake’s trainers lead to the scene. A kitchen knife, the one she used at breakfast, is on the floor—stained and covered in her fingerprints.
Her vision spins as her knees give out. Jake catches her, silent. Is someone trying to frame them? If so, they’ve done it perfectly. Now they’re faced with an impossible decision: call the police and risk their lives being torn apart, or cover it up and pray it stays hidden.
And as she looks at Jake—tense, pale, and sweating—an uneasy thought takes hold: what if he’s not telling her everything?

𝐌𝐲 𝐓𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐬
This book had me hooked from the start. It’s super fast-paced and full of twists—just when I thought I had things figured out, another curveball would hit. And the twists don’t stop… they just keep coming right up to the very last page.
I loved how cleverly it was written The paranoia, the secrets, the tension between the couple and everyone around was so intense and gripping.
If you’re into psychological thrillers that mess with your head and keep you guessing the whole way through, this one’s a must. Great characters, amazing setting, and non-stop suspense. I couldn’t put it down!

Thank You @Netgalley and @Bookouture for allowing me to review this book.