The Divorce by Frieda McFadden

The Divorce by Freida McFadden
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Time taken to read - 2 days

Pages - 368

Publisher - Poisened Press Pen

Source - Bought

Blurb from Goodreads

What is a happily ever after really worth?

Naomi was living the quintessential love story. Boy meets girl. They fall in love, get married, buy a dream house, start a family…

Then―he kicks her out, hires the city’s best divorce lawyers, drains their accounts, and takes up with a 20-something.

It’s a brutal end to the story. Naomi should accept defeat: move into a dingy apartment, get back into the workforce, and piece together the shattered remains of her life.

Except, why should she?

Instead, Naomi fixates on her husband’s new girlfriend. What begins as cynical curiosity soon twists into obsession―and then into something far darker. As Naomi uncovers secrets she never imagined, she realizes her own life may be in danger.

But if it keeps her perfect family intact, isn’t it worth it?

In The Divorce, #1 New York Times and internationally bestselling author Freida McFadden delivers a razor-sharp, subversive thriller where love curdles into vengeance, and survival becomes the most dangerous game of all.


My Review

Naomi and Jeremy are married, have a wee boy, Jeremy is the bread winner, Naomi gave up her career to raise their little one. When Jeremy pulls the rug right from under Naomi and turns their life upside down, a younger woman, pulling dirty tricks and Naomi has to face facts that Jeremy doesn't want her and if she doesn't accept that soon she could lose everything.

Oooft Jeremy is not a nice guy, blind sighting Naomi with divorce AND he has a new woman who of course is younger. He fights dirty and Naomi can't bring herself to believe it, it is just a phase, they belong together and noone, not some young slim beautiful woman is going to change that. As things get more desperate and Naomi starts to realise she needs to fight back things go from bad to worse to dangerous. How far would you go to save your marriage, your family especially when the walls are closing in and you have nothing.

Some really bad behaviour, bad people and very bad choices. Honestly I really hated Jeremy and Naomi I was like WHAT ARE YOU DOING NOOOOOOO. Short chapters which we love and I wanted to know where this was going because ooft. Unhinged, shocking, shady, some topics that may trigger folk, the author has put trigger warnings on her website so you can check that out prior to reading if that is something you need, 4/5 for me!

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Every Fifteen Minutes by Lisa Scottoline

Every Fifteen Minutes by Lisa Scottoline
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Time taken to read - 4 days on and off

Pages - 496

Blurb from Goodreads


Psychologist Dr Eric Parrish is unwittingly under threat.

Recently separated from his wife, Eric is learning to become a single parent to his seven-year-old daughter, and life is far from straightforward.

Now Eric has a new patient who could be a severe danger to others. And he must make a decision that will leave deadly consequences in its wake.

The clock is ticking, and someone is hell bent on destroying Eric's practice, his family, his life.

But how can you defend yourself against an enemy you don't know?

And can you ever win a game you don't even know you are playing?



My Review

Dr Eric Parrish is a psychologist, life as he knows it is about to be turned up side down. Separated from his wife but living in hope they will get back together Eric doesn't realise how bad things are about to get. He is referred a troubled young man who fantasies about hurting the object of his affection, when his beloved grandmother dies Eric worries his fantasy may become a reality. In trying to protect his patient, Eric unwittingly puts his career on the line, his freedom and his chances of keeping his daughter in his life. Things go from bad to worse as someone wants Eric to pay and what is a little murder when it means getting what you want.

I really liked the introduction to this book. The first chapter is the sociopath talking to the reader, we hear from this individual every so often through the book. It drew me in immediately, then we meet Eric and find out what is going on in his life. To be honest, for me, it took almost 200 pages before anything really started happening. It was a big focus on Eric, his relationship breakdown with his estranged wife and actions he takes to fight for his daughter and work issues he is facing. When it eventually all kicks off everything happens really fast and there are a few twists along the way. A few I didn't see coming and even questioned if I missed anything as it seemed quite out of the blue.

An intriguing read with quite a bit of relationship angst, workplace issues and of course how far a doctor will go to protect his patients confidentiality. I would certainly read this author again, 3/5 for me, thanks to Bookbridgr for sending me a copy in exchange for an honest review.

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Review - What Alice Forgot by Liane Moriarty

What Alice Forgot by Liane Moriarty
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Time taken to read - 1 day

Publisher - Penguin

Pages - 487

Blurb from Goodreads


Alice Love is twenty-nine, crazy about her husband, and pregnant with her first child.
So imagine Alice’s surprise when she comes to on the floor of a gym (a gym! She HATES the gym) and is whisked off to the hospital where she discovers the honeymoon is truly over — she’s getting divorced, , she has three kids, and she’s actually 39 years old. Alice must reconstruct the events of a lost decade, and find out whether it’s possible to reconstruct her life at the same time. She has to figure out why her sister hardly talks to her, and how is it that she’s become one of those super skinny moms with really expensive clothes. Ultimately, Alice must discover whether forgetting is a blessing or a curse, and whether it’s possible to start over.


My Review

Alice has had an accident in the gym, not that she remembers, she has fallen and hit her head. As she slowly comes back to conscientiousness she thinks about her pregnancy and if thats why her head hurts. Upon examination it becomes clear that Alice has last 10 years, the last thing she remembers is being pregnant with her first child and being 29 years old. Everyone she knows is different, in physical aspects as well as personality. People are cold towards her, she has three children she cannot remember and her husband is abrupt, rude and showing no concern when she speaks to him. What follows is Alice trying to peace together the last ten years of her life and come to terms with everything she learns.

The story kicks off straight away with the accident happening immediately. You can't help but feel frustrated a tad when reading it as you, the reader are in the same boat as Alice in that your relying on others to tell you what you don't know. Her sister has diary entries dotted throughout the book as well as online blog entries from their older fun next door neighbour whom they consider family. From these you get snippets of additional information as well as an insight into who they are.

The story evokes a few responses, my biggest one was thinking back to where I was ten years ago and how would I feel. You also feel sorry for Alice stumbling along, not knowing whats going on but watching her personal growth as she tries to fit back into a life she has no recollection of is interesting to say the least.

I couldn't put this book down, I had to know what was happening, where Alice would end up, what would she found out and does she ever get her memory back. The few last chapters were a little up and down for me but overall I thought it was a great wee read and would pursue this authors other books, 4/5 for me this time.

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Angels by Marian Keyes

Angels by Marian Keyes
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Time Taken to Read - 6 days

Blurb From Goodreadss

After catching her husband having an affair and being fired from her job, Maggie Walsh suddenly finds her perfectly organized existence has become a perfect mess. She decides, for the first time in her life, to do something daring -- and flees to her best friend, Emily, in the faraway wonderland of Los Angeles. In this mecca of tanned, beautiful bodies, unsvelte, uncool Maggie is decidedly a fish out of water. Yet, overnight, she's mixing with film folk, pitching scripts, even experimenting with sex -- and discovering that the end of a marriage is not the end of the world.

My Review

Maggie discover her husband is having an affair and as is always the way, things go from bad to worse when she is fired. Rejected, alone and upset she turns to her friend for support who happens to live in Los Angeles. Maggie leaves behind her troubles and decides to do something different and daring and embarks upon an adventure that makes her question everything she knows about herself.

I have read one of the Walsh tales before and from what I remember I really enjoyed it, this one was a mixed bag for me. Maggie was very annoying, she was a doormat in her response to her husbands betrayal, her encounters that followed after and even in some scenes with family members. You wanted to scream at her, well I did, get a back bone woman! Her character was fairly annoying and you just wanted her to do something, one of her relatives called her plain or vanilla yogurt and they had her bang to rights.

That said the book is enjoyable and very much chick lit. You follow Maggie to a strange place where everyone is thin, bleached, manicured and tanned to within an inch of their lives. We follow her journey of how she copes after finding her husband has betrayed her and now after years being safe and married she is free and single.

Some of the book is really funny, I love her family especially her mum and the fake tan part, reminded me of my mum and some of her antics. In between Maggie's outings and finding herself she slips back to the past and we slowly learn how her and Garv, her husband, got to be in the rut they ended up in.

I found some of the story slow going and a touch padded and other parts where very well done, an in between 3/5 for me. I have read this author before and I am sure I will pick her up again.

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