Before Elena Langdon's mother is lowered into her final resting place, she senses someone staring at her.  As Nicholas Madison offers his condolences to Elena, she's captivated by his handsome looks and charm.  Still grieving the death of her mother, she learns Nicholas is also grieving the death of his wife.  Soon their relationship blooms and they become inseparable.

Elena is so happy to have fallen in love with a man who's so thoughtful and attentive to her every need.  However, when she inquires about his dead wife, his personality turns frightful and grim.

The Wife Before Me is dark and disturbing.  There is nothing unique about the story line which I've read many times however, the author saturates the pages with lots of unforseen situations which kept me turning the pages for more.  At times some of the scenes were so brutal causing my body to wince.

As the story is told in different perspectives, it smoothly moves from the past to the present.  I was able to understand and get a feel of the characters as they expressed the mindset they were in at that time.

Betrayal, manipulation and lies drip on every page in The Wife Before Me by Laura Elliot.  Because the subject matter in this book is quite disturbing, I did enjoy it and look forward to reading more of Ms. Elliot's books.

Thank you Netgalley and Bookouture for an ebook ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Tamra Mitchell knew she had the perfect catch when she married the handsome and wealthy, Mike Mitchell. She loved him and her life in her eyes was perfect. Until she learns Mike has had an affair. She’ll do whatever it takes to keep her marriage and keeping secrets will come back to haunt them. How far will your loyalty go?

The Loyal Wife is a quick read. The chapters are short and development of the story flows pretty smoothly. I found the characters believable, but at times I found Tamra to be naive. 
There were many twists and turns, moments where I didn’t know who to believe and some predictable. 

An easy and quick domestic thriller to read.  

Sophie's life was at a stand still.  She adored taking care of her family, but after having her son Ben and being a stay at home mother and housewife, the excitement and adrenaline once felt from working outside the home was sorely missed.

Emma and her son Theo are newcomers to Tedbury.  When she and Sophie cross paths, a budding friendship begins . Sophie admired Emma's energy and spontaneity; traits she wished she had inside her.  But what happened in Emma's past that make her secretive?  What evil has she brought with her to Tedbury?

The Friend by Teresa Driscoll is written in chapters of the past and present.  The story's pace was strong and engaging in the beginning, however it slowly loses steam.  The "past" chapters took too long to get to the thrill of the plot and the end of the book whizzes on by.

I didn't form any connections with the characters and Sophie annoyed me with her passive attitude.

There's a good plot in The Friend, but unfortunately it took longer than I wanted to get to the point.

Thank you Netgalley and Thomas & Mercer for an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Trigger Warning:  Child Abuse and Rape

Mags enjoys the life she has in Las Vegas.  She's a bull-dog defense attorney and firmly plays by her rules.  But when she gets the news her brother, Abe has been seriously injured in a fall, she leaves for England to be by his side.  When Mags arrive at the hospital, she meets Abe's girlfriend, Jody who seems to be the only one who witnesses Abe's accident.  

Jody's account of the accident doesn't set well with Mags.  There's something that Jody isn't telling and Mags conducts her own investigation since she's not getting much help from the police.

This book started off very slow for me.  My rule for reading a slow book is if the first fifty pages of a book doesn't grab and hold my attention, I will not complete it.  I have so many other books I need read.  However, I thought I would give it another chance, set it aside and read something light and cheerful to cleanse my reading palette.  The story did pick up its pace a little after the first fifty pages, but not by much.

I had a difficult time connecting with the characters.  I didn't find Mags likable throughout most of the book, but she slowly redeems herself on the last twenty-five pages of the story.  The plot is good with gripping situations, however I felt some areas in the book needed more buildup.

If you like a dark, psychological thriller, Sarah Naughton's The Girlfriend may be the book for you.

Thank you Netgalley and Sourcebooks Landmark for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I won this book in a giveaway. Thank you!

I love psychological thrillers, so I was super excited to win this book. The storyline and characters are interesting, but the story dragged at times. It took me a while to get through this book because I kept putting the book down every time I got to a boring part. The ending had a nice twist and that made me glad that I finished it.