A special thank you to NetGalley, Harlequin Canada, and Graydon House for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Rouda weaves a dark tale of marriage, betrayal, and deception in this page-turning thriller.  Readers are in the mind of narcissist Paul Strom, a handsome and successful advertising executive that is trying to have the "best day ever" with his wife—Strom is a combination of a character from "Mad Men" and Patrick Bateman from American Psycho.  Paul is confident, charming, and thinks that every woman wants him.  

The story begins with Paul and his wife, Mia, leaving for a child-free weekend up at their lake house.  He's promised her that this will be the best day ever.  The couple say this phrase several times during the drive and the reader wonders what is going on with these two.  The tension is palpable and written as such that we don't know the extent of the problem, or if in fact these two even like each other.

Paul is an incredibly unreliable narrator, so narcissistic that he cannot read social cues or navigate relationships.  He thinks that women want him, when in fact he is actually stalking them and the attention that he bestows upon these victims is stalkerish and harassing plain and simple.  The comparison to Ellis' Patrick Bateman is there, although Paul is not quite as polished, and unlike Bateman, there is no likability whatsoever.

Rouda goes out on a whimper.  There needed to be more of a psychological throw down to amp it up to another star.  All-in-all, a great read for the summer and I would definitely recommend this book.

Paul Strom has the perfect life - he is a successful advertising executive, his wife is young and beautiful, they have two healthy boys together, they live in a big house in a wealthy suburb, and they now own a lake house. In fact, Paul is taking his wife, Mia, to that very lake house for a romantic weekend, just the two of them. Paul promised Mia this would be the best day ever, but the tension in the car is palpable and things don't go the way Paul had planned.

I love the cover and appreciate it more now that I've read the book, which was great from the very first page. The writing is stunning and flawless and allows us to really get to know the characters. The story is from Paul's point of view and we can definitely tell he's a smug arsehole. We also get the feeling that there's something sinister lurking just beneath the surface. I couldn't wait to find out what was going on. There's no big twists, just little bombs dropped here and there that had me thinking 'wow' It's amazing how different Paul's mind works from Mia's and everyone else's in the story, although it focuses quite heavily on husband and wife. This was a quiet but intense read and I absolutely loved every word!

Paul and Mia, an apparently happily married couple, going to spend the weekend at their lakeside house. Leaving their 2 sons at home, they’re going to have The Best Day Ever, aren’t they?? That was the plan! Wow, this is just fab, didn’t know whether to laugh or cover my eyes as events unfolded. Paul is absolutely amazed by himself, whether at home or at work, he knows best and loses no time in asserting his superiority, if anyone dares to say otherwise. If he were chocolate then he’d eat himself. Well I loved every minute of this “day” and hope Kaira will bring him back in another book!