You can run but you can’t hide forever.
Walker kept me on my toes with all the clues she deposited within the story. However they also came with forked roads, and I was unsure which direction had the truth.
I did like the part about the martial arts because that would be a heck of a skill to have for defense.
Maeve fought hard for her life but ultimately will it be enough??
I was also suspicious of one character because that person was always in the vicinity when stuff happened and I don’t believe in coincidences.

This book was very good. I really liked the dual narration and this kept me wanting to read on. I did feel like at times it did repeat itself but that isn’t necessarily a bad thing when reading at night. It was full of twists and turns, and full of suspense. It made me feel a little uneasy at times. Overall a great book that will keep you guessing.

They say I killed him...but only I know the truth...or do I...?

Bride-to-be Maeve lovingly toasts her husband-to-be Robert on the eve of their wedding in front of their close family and friends. Tomorrow is their big day and after three decades as a lifelong happily unmarried woman, Maeve cannot wait. Robert is the love of her life and she cannot wait to be his wife. What could go wrong?

So when Maeve goes to sleep on the eve of their wedding, she wakes in the early hours just before dawn excited at the prospect of the day ahead. What she doesn't expect is to find her beloved fiance laying dead beside her covered in blood with wounds that she, as a martial arts instructor, would know how to inflict. Maeve knows that justice is rarely just and that with the scene before her, she will be arrested for a crime she knows she did not commit. Or did she? Maeve has battled with sleepwalking all her life. Did she do this to Robert in her sleep and not know about it? Either way, she isn't responsible and in a moment of madness she hurriedly packs a few items and escapes to a remote cottage. There, she attempts to come to terms with her grief whilst trying to unpick all that had happened and who could possibly be responsible for Robert's brutal murder.

In the alternating chapters we meet Gilly who is happily married to successful dentist Callum with two beautiful children, Jake (9) and Polly (6). Whilst she is mostly a stay-at-home-mum, she also volunteers for a mental health helpline. The job is thankless and arduous at times but she comes away feeling as though she has made a difference in others' lives at times when they have needed it most. One such caller has kept her on the line for over an hour, saying nothing and only sobbing before hanging up. When the caller calls again, it's pure luck that Gilly picks up the call (which are randomly allocated) and recognises the same sobbing she endured just the day or so before. But this time the caller speaks - to thank her for being there. And in that moment Gilly knows she has made a difference to this person, whoever she may be. So when she violates procedure and insinuates when she will next be on shift at the helpline, Gilly had no idea of the chain of events that she would unleash taking us all on a wild journey through the Scottish highlands.

Two women - two different stories. How do they intersect?

Both women had a sense of hopelessness about them and yet one was doing something with her life while the other drove me mad with her inner self flagellation. I found it hard to sympathise with Maeve - apart from the fact that she was innocent and obviously being framed, so why did she flee? It only made her look guilty! But as we delved into her past and her backstory, we learnt why she did what she did, even though I thought her decision to run was stupid. However, if faced with such a prospect, I may well do the same. One never knows what one would do until they walk a mile in another's shoes. Now Gilly, I felt a whole load of sympathy for. Yes, she made a stupid decision in revealing something of herself to her caller which was not a smart move but Gilly had an air of naivete about her. Maeve does not. She is a strong woman.

The title had me a little puzzled. What exactly is the secret she is carrying? And is it enough to change the course of her life forever? Moving forward, both Maeve and Gilly wonder who they can really trust. After all, someone has surely betrayed both women. The question is - who? And what do they have in store for the women?

Two women - two vastly different lives and stories. How they connect is the biggest twist of the book - one which I easily worked out for myself as I did with the "who" behind it all (I don't think that was too hard to work out). But it didn't spoil my enjoyment of the story. As long as it's entertaining, I'm happy. In fact, I quite enjoy it when I am able to work out the twists - especially if they aren't predictable ones that leave others speechless. I don't look for the obvious but rather what isn't. Then I look for possible links that may be there or just alluded to. The major plot twist wasn't an easy guess so prepared to be shocked. The "who" wasn't hard to figure out but it is still surprising for those who don't expect it.

The ending chapters were a bit of a confused mess as the reader is thrown various pieces of information that we have to decipher which is reliable and which isn't...leaving us second guessing everything. Just who can these women really trust?

Another addictive read by Rosie Walker that is equally hard to put down.

I would like to thank #RosieWalker, #Netgalley and #Bookouture for an ARC of #TheBridesSecret in exchange for an honest review.

This review appears on my blog at https://stinathebookaholic.blogspot.com/.

This book was hands down amazing! From start to finish I absolutely loved it. I loved the fact that there was no part of this book that I felt was predictable. Every twist and turn was completely unexpected and had me on the edge of my seat. I loved Maeve and Gilly of course. I can't recommend this book enough.

Maeve wakes up to her soon to be husband murdered in bed and is running away from the law. Gilly is a stay at home mother to two kids with a loving husband. Their lives intertwine as both of their pasts come back with vengeance.

I really had no idea where this was going for the first half and then everything really ramped up in part two that had me needing to know what was going to happen! With lots of great twists that had my head turning with possibilities, this was a fun thriller with a cheeky ending. A great popcorn thriller if you’re looking for a quick read.

Maeve is supposed to be getting married today, but she awakens to her fiancé being murdered and she is holding a knife, did she do it or not?

THE BRIDE'S SECRET BY ROSIE WALKER.
Release date set for the 4th of June.
This is my 2nd or 3rd Rosie Walker book.
I found this to be gripping and twisty and I really enjoyed it.
I also love the cover for this one and it stood out to me straight away

4*

This book starts straight into the story, no slow build up.
I couldn’t put it down as I need to know what was happening, this book is so gripping and pulls you in. I really enjoyed the characters and the story line, and the twists

The first few chapters I was really unsure but then all of a sudden I was gripped. So many twists in this I couldn't put it down!

Well The Bride’s Secret certainly takes you on a thrill seeker of a ride. From the dramatic opening, to the speedy unfolding of the plot, to its thrilling conclusion this book packs in a lot. And with plenty of twists and turns thrown in for good measure, it is certain to keep you enthralled throughout. Brilliant written, I devoured the short punchy chapters in just over a day. Thank you to NetGalley, Bookouture and the author for the chance to review.

Really enjoyed this book, had some good twists throughout.
This is my first book by this author and will definitely not be the last.
Thanks Netgalley for letting me read this book for an honest review

Maeve is a bride-to-be, who falls asleep the night before her wedding and wakes up to find her fiancé has been brutally murdered. Gilly is an inconspicuous stay-at-home mum who is volunteering at a crisis call centre and receiving some very disturbing calls from someone. As we switch perspectives, we see Maeve navigate her escape, as she’s clearly been framed… right? And why are these two ladies connected?

The pacing of this was fantastic and I simply flew through it. The chapters were just the right length, the suspense built and the characters were easy to connect with and realistic. I liked the twists and the occasional red herring to push the story forward. I had no idea how this was going to land!

Thank you to Bookouture and NetGalley for this ARC; all opinions are my own.

This was an intense book. I loved it so much. There was several different twists that I honestly did not see coming. I was on the edge of my seat the entire time. The ending makes you wonder if what happened really did and how. I still have questions and wish we had answers. Overall a great thriller.

Mauve wakes up happy and excited on her wedding day. wahoo right. ermm no. because as she turns over to cuddle her groom there is something off,something stiff,cold and sticky kind of off. hes dead! and then she sees all the blood. on him. on her. on them. and shes.holding.the.knife. she does the only thing her body allows her to do and runs.
we then are taken into another womans life. she works for a suicide hotline and on shift there is one call that leaves her questioning,shaken, different. and this charges and creates a plot line that is just sooooo good. be ready because these two apart and then how they converge is just a brilliant plot.
what a fab read. for all lovers of smart thrillers and this kind of "who are they and how do they link" kind of plot premise. this is a winner.
the scene setting also needs a mention as its just done to perfect detail that you can see it in the minds eye.
great book. great book.

It’s Maeve and Robert’s wedding day, and she wakes up early that morning from excitement. As she’s planning in her head how the day will go, she leans over to cuddle Robert, and finds that he’s all wet…and stiff…and cold. Soon, she realizes the wetness is blood - they are both covered in it. While trying to figure out how this can be happening on their wedding day, she sees something on the bed. It’s a knife. Only after she threw it across the room did she realize she just put her fingers on the murder weapon. So she does the only thing she can think to do - she runs.

The second woman in this book is Gilly, wife to Callum and mother of two children. She’s a stay-at-home mom who spends her spare time volunteering for a suicide hotline. One day, she violates procedure and lets a caller know when she’ll be working next, setting off a chain of events that takes us through the Scottish countryside.

How the two women are connected is the biggest twist in the book, and I never saw it coming. As the book goes on, the twists keep coming, making this a definite page turner! The only part I didn’t care for was the epilogue, as it seemed like it was building towards a second book about these women, which I don’t find necessary. This is quite an entertaining read though, and if you like twisty-turny books, you won’t be disappointed with this one. Four stars.

(Thank you to Bookouture for inviting me on this book tour! “The Bride’s Secret” is set to be released on June 4, 2025.)

Goodness me, this was such a good book. Highly entertaining. Would definitely recommend to others, that's for sure!

An extremely tense fast paced thriller read which had me interested in the storyline from the beginning.

It was well written with good characters which kept the pace of the storyline wanting you to read more.

Thank you to Netgalley and Bookouture for this ARC which I can thoroughly recommend.

This is a captivating novel that had me on the edge of my seat from beginning to end. Packed with suspense and constant twists and turns, I was completely hooked. The tense atmosphere throughout was exactly what I love in a good thriller. The characters are well developed, and the writing is spot on. I can’t wait to recommend this book to everyone and look forward to reading more from this author. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the chance to read this fantastic thriller.

I absolutely loved this book! From start to finish I was hooked: I will definitely be recommending this book to my friends and can’t wait to read more by this author.

Tragedy strikes Maeve the night before her wedding. Years later, Gilly is a volunteer for a helpline. What connects these two women? A gripping page turner that explores the lengths people will go to, to get revenge, and to protect their loved ones. Recommended! Thanks to the author & publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review