REVIEW: The New Wife by Sue Watson

Title: The New Wife
Author: Sue Watson
Narrator: Tamsin Kennard
Publisher: Bookouture
Publication Date: November 2021
Genre: Thriller / Mystery
Buy The Book: Amazon | BN | Audible

Description: You can never truly know what goes on behind closed doors…

My darling son, Sam, is marrying his childhood sweetheart and I couldn’t be prouder of the man he’s grown into. Walking out on his abusive father all those years ago was the best thing I ever did. And today he stands, tall and handsome, saying ‘I do’ to my dream daughter-in-law. If I hadn’t pushed them together all those years ago, he might never have found a girl as perfect as Lauren. It’s true what they say, mother always knows best.

But weeks later, Lauren is dead and police cars fill the driveway of their idyllic countryside home. As they question Sam, I sense he’s hiding something. Why won’t he look me in the eye? And who does he rush off to meet as soon as the police are gone?

Desperate, I do what every good mother would do: I let myself into Sam and Lauren’s bedroom. What I see, I will never be able to forget. My son’s beautiful new wife was hiding a dangerous secret. Can I clear my son’s name? And could my life be in danger now too?

A completely gripping, utterly twisted thriller that will leave your jaw on the floor. Perfect for fans of Gone Girl, The Wife Between Us and The Woman in the Window.

My Thoughts: What do you call a writer that authors a story that is fun, tugs on your heartstrings with all the feels and on a dime can switch to a story that holds you by the throat in a grip so tight that you are completely powerless to move or utter a sound? You call that author talented and not just talented but freaking brilliant and Sue Watson is such an author.

Her whimsical, fun and heartwarming stories are what drew me to this author in the first place, but her domestic thrillers and mysteries knock me down like an NFL linebacker and leave me wondering if I need a seatbelt for the very harrowing ride I am about to embark on.

With The New Wife, we are introduced to Georgie who has raised her son, Sam, as a single parent after leaving his abusive father. When Sam is still knee-high to a grasshopper, he meets Lauren on their first day in nursery school and for the next twenty plus years the Jackson and Moore families become the best of friends and even refer to themselves as The JackMoore’s. So, it comes as no surprise that Sam and Lauren grow up together, fall in love and get married.

The surprising part comes just a few months after the wedding, Lauren is dead, her broken and bloody body found at the foot of the stairs. It comes as no surprise that the first person to be under suspicion is Sam. The spouse is always the first suspect and I admit, I had my suspicions of him too. Another surprising part of this story is that every character in this book caused me to question their own involvement, including Sam’s mother! See what I mean about this author’s ability to draft a story that pulls you in so intensely?

When the final reveal comes, it’s not very surprising as it is more heartbreaking, especially because it didn’t have to happen that way and even with the conclusion, there really isn’t a happily ever after for anyone. My one and only issue with this book is there is a major cliffhanger thrown in at the end that I wish had been dealt with as it definitely creates more problems for the characters in this story.

I was fortunate to listen to the audiobook format and found the narration performed by Tamsin Kennard to be riveting and entertaining. The story is told from Georgie’s point of view and Ms. Kennard did a fantastic job capturing Georgie’s personality, spirit and emotions.

My Final Verdict: Overall, I highly recommend this story to fans of the author because, we love her stories and she’s a must read. If you haven’t read anything by Sue Watson yet, what are you waiting for? I also recommend this book to fans of the mystery, thriller and suspense genres who enjoy stories that are rich in character development and can shock you while entertaining you at the same time.

Disclaimer: I received a complimentary copy of The New Wife from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

REVIEW: Curves, Kisses and Chocolate Ice-Cream by Sue Watson

Title: Curves, Kisses and Chocolate Ice-Cream (The Ice-Cream Café #2)
Author: Sue Watson
Publisher: Bookouture
Publication Date: June 2017
Genre: Chick-Lit / Contemporary Romance / Women’s Fiction
Buy The Book: Amazon | BN

Description: Dani’s on a mission to get her life back on track by the end of the Summer. Running, rowing, aerobics and more, but perhaps all she needs are sweet treats and a second chance?

Twenty years ago, Dani fled Appledore with a broken-heart and a suitcase full of shattered dreams. Only now is she brave enough to put her past behind her and return for a summer selling homemade ice-cream and getting fit by doing sit-ups by the sea.

But the new-look cafe is filled with old memories of Jude, her teenage sweetheart-turned-sour. She thinks of him every time she swirls warm sauce onto a “chocolate-bockaglory” and even with the help of Chris, her gorgeous personal trainer, the urge to break her diet is everywhere she turns.

When Jude makes an appearance at the cafe on the eve of Dani’s birthday party, history threatens to repeat itself. Is Dani strong enough to say no? And is the love she’s been longing for much closer than she thinks?

My Thoughts: Book #2 in The Ice-Cream Café series by the very talented Sue Watson was just as yummy as the first book! Curves, Kisses and Chocolate Ice-Cream introduces the reader to Dani Sheridan, the new assistant manager Ella hires for the Ice-Cream Café. I found Dani to be 100% relatable and easy to empathize with. As a fellow ice-cream addict, erm…connoisseur of all things ice-cream, I completely felt for Dani and the journey she is on.

I loved being back in Appledore with the gang and getting to know Dani. One of the best things about this book, for me, is the author tells a new story instead of rehashing the same story from before. The original characters all make numerous appearances, but this story is all about Dani and her struggles with her weight and self-esteem. Her early experiences at the gym and meeting Chris had me wiping tears of laughter from my eyes and thanking the good Lord I didn’t endure the gym catastrophes Dani did, but I admired her determination and tenacity to keep moving forward.

I was mortified for her when the newspaper article comes out and though it is highly humorous, I understood how Dani felt and would have joined her on a splurge. She is so human, after all, and like the rest of us have highs and lows.

When the reader finally learns what happened to Dani that drove her away for twenty years, I just wanted to cry and hug her. I admired the strength of her character for wanting to put the past behind her and start over in a town she has always called home and ring in her fortieth birthday in style.

I also enjoyed watching Dani’s relationship with Chris blossom from professional training to friendship and hoped pretty please with a cherry on top that their friendship would bloom into more.

My Final Verdict: Overall, this book worked for me on so many levels. Characters that are easy to relate to and care about, locales that have so much charm and appeal you want to go there immediately and a story that serves up so much sweet and yummy goodness, you want to dive head-first into the story and be a part of it. I highly recommend this story to readers of the chick-lit, contemporary romance and women’s fiction genres, but also to readers who like to see good people get a break and find success.

Disclaimer: I received a complimentary copy of Curves, Kisses and Chocolate Ice-Cream from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

REVIEW: Ella's Ice-Cream Summer by Sue Watson

Title: Ella’s Ice-Cream Summer (The Ice-Cream Café #1)
Author: Sue Watson
Publisher: Bookouture
Publication Date: May 2017
Genre: Chick-Lit / Romantic Comedy / Women’s Fiction
Buy The Book: Amazon | BN

Description: Ella’s life just hit rock-bottom, but can a summer by the sea mend her broken heart? When life gives you lemons… make ice-cream!

Life hasn’t always been easy for single mum Ella, but she has just hit an all-time low; she’s jobless, loveless, very nearly homeless and, to make matters worse, now the owner of a pocket-sized pooch with a better wardrobe than her.

Packing her bags (and a bigger one for the dog), Ella sets off for the seaside town of Appledore in Devon to re-live the magical summers of her youth and claim her portion of the family ice-cream business: a clapped-out ice-cream van and a complicated mess of secrets.

There she meets gorgeous and free-spirited solicitor, Ben, who sees things differently: with a little bit of TLC he has a plan to get the van – and Ella – back up and running in no time.

Ella’s Ice-Cream Summer is a heart-warming and hilarious romance that will scoop you off your feet and prove it’s never too late for a fresh start.

My Thoughts: This story is so much fun! I want to drive a pink ice-cream van on the beach serving homemade ice-cream with a Pomeranian in designer duds along for the ride! Ella is a fantastic character that you can’t help rooting for. She is experiencing a lot of bad luck all at once with her children taking off to begin their lives when she is let go from her job and learns that her slimeball ex-husband is selling the house out from under her. Her favorite aunt, Sophia, has recently passed away and Ella wants to go to the funeral and learn more about her inheritance. Ella’s mother thinks it’s a terrible idea and has been on the outs with her sister for most of Ella’s life but won’t explain why. Frustrating, isn’t it? Luckily for Sue Watson’s readers, Ella doesn’t give up that easily.

This story made me laugh and cry and I felt immense empathy for Ella as well as irritation at her mother and her cousin for all the secrets that have kept Ella separated from her extended family. It didn’t take me long to figure out what the secrets were and once it came out and Ella finally got answers, I shed a few tears along with her.

The extended cast of supporting characters add a lot of depth and dimension to this story. As annoying as Ella’s mother was, I thought she was quite entertaining with her misunderstanding of the difference between sexting and texting and what Netflix and chill really mean. Ella’s cousin, Gina, was a very interesting character. At the first meeting, the reader is given the impression that Gina is very vain and full of herself but learn it’s a façade that she erects to protect herself. I also liked Ben immensely and hope he will make an appearance in future books as I thought he and Ella had great chemistry.

My Final Verdict: You don’t have to be a fan of ice-cream to enjoy this book, but it sure won’t hurt. The concoctions Ella creates demonstrates she has a special talent for the family ice-cream business. I highly recommend this story to fans of chick-lit, romantic comedies and women’s fiction as well as readers who are looking for something delicious to appease their sweet tooth.

Disclaimer: I received a complimentary copy of Ella’s Ice-Cream Summer from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

REVIEW: Wife Support System by Kathleen Whyman

Title: Wife Support System
Author: Kathleen Whyman
Narrator: Natalie Drew
Publisher: Saga Egmont Audio
Publication Date: March 2021
Genre: Women’s Fiction
Buy The Book: Amazon | BN | Audible

Description: We’ve got the balance all wrong. Instead of living with our partners, struggling to do everything by ourselves and only seeing each other now and then, we should do it the other way round. We should live together and see them now and then.

Erica knows her suggestion sounds extreme, but when her nanny leaves without notice, she’s extremely desperate. Polly and Louise aren’t convinced, but when circumstances force them to move into Polly’s enormous but run-down house, they have to admit that life’s much easier when the childcare and workload is shared.

At first, communal living seems like the answer to all their prayers - childcare on tap, rotas for cleaning, and someone always available to cook dinner (no more last-minute pizza delivery!). But over time, resentment starts to grow as they judge each other’s parenting styles and bicker over cleaning, cooking and whose turn it is to buy toilet rolls.

And as one woman has her head turned by a handsome colleague, one resorts to spying on her husband and another fights to keep a dark secret, they need each other more than ever. But can Polly, Louise and Erica keep their friendship and relationships strong? Or will their perfect mumtopia fall apart?

Essential reading for anyone fed up with never-ending housework/homeschooling/preparing healthy meals that their kids reject … Will have you shrieking with laughter! Fans of Why Mummy Drinks, Has Anyone Seen My Sex Life? and Beth O’Leary won’t want to miss this one!

My Thoughts: Wife Support System by new to me author Kathleen Whyman was not only relatable on so many levels to me, as a woman, but was very clever and entertaining! So many women in the world are performing a juggling act, trying to balance careers, spouses, partners, children and home. Some women appear to manage it flawlessly but come on! They are either Stepford Wives or aliens.

This story introduces us to Erica, Louise and Polly who all share a common trait of many pots on the stove and not enough hands to stir. Erica has a brilliant suggestion after her nanny abruptly quits. Why not share a house with each other and see their respective partners on the weekends? Share everything…housekeeping, the shopping and the child minding. Erica’s partner of ten years, Dan, is hardly ever there and when he is, he can’t be bothered to help. Louise is uber organized and appears to be critical of her husband, Nick. Polly is a single parent who is struggling with anxiety and could use a helping hand but is afraid of letting anyone in close enough to ask.

One house, three women and five kids. As you can expect, it’s not long before tension and resentments build and relationships begin to feel the strain.

I loved this story for many reasons. Relatable characters with real world issues, concerns and problems are a huge draw for me. Add in the entertaining aspect of humor and tears and I couldn’t look away. I liked these women but I often felt like Erica and Louise were selfish and taking advantage of Polly, especially when it came to the child minding. Polly doesn’t work outside the home and it’s her house that everyone moves into. Though it makes sense for Polly to be the primary caregiver, I started to feel a little put out on Polly’s behalf when it started to feel expected.

Erica works on a television show and for a good part of the story is more plugged into her phone and her job instead of being available for her daughter but resents it when her daughter and Polly become close.

Louise struggles with her weight and has a lot of resentment towards her sister. She takes her husband for granted and there are major trust issues for her with her husband. She also ignores her children because she is so wrapped up in her own head. She is a bit of a control freak and it shows with the numerous lists she creates.

Polly is a bit of a push-over. She is dealing with major trauma in her life, raising two children after the man she loves dies suddenly. She is living in a very large house but it is run-down and she could use some friends.

As this story goes on, we learn much more about these women that made me see them more openly with all the baggage they each are carrying. I ended up rooting for all of them to come out on top and this story did not disappoint.

Kathleen Whyman is an author I will be on the lookout for. Her ability to create characters that the reader will connect to is wonderful. This story made me laugh, cry and even shocked me. The plot flows so seamlessly that I was a little surprised that it was ending. I could easily see it continuing and myself catching up with these women over coffee or wine. I went with the audio format for this story and Natalie Drew’s narration was fantastic. She does a brilliant job of conveying multiple emotions and tones for the characters that will draw the reader into the story.

My Final Verdict: I highly recommend this story to readers who like connecting to the characters on a deep emotional level, who like stories that are relationship driven and like surprises mixed in with the laughter and tears. This story reminded me that we all have times in our lives where a little support goes a long way and we just have to be brave enough to ask for it and seize it.

Disclaimer: I received a complimentary copy of Wife Support System from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

REVIEW: The Girl in the Ice by Robert Bryndza

Title: The Girl in the Ice (Detective Erika Foster #1)
Author: Robert Bryndza
Publisher: Bookouture
Publication Date: February 2016
Genre: Mystery / Thriller
Buy The Book: Amazon | BN | Audible

Description: Her eyes are wide open. Her lips parted as if to speak. Her dead body frozen in the ice…She is not the only one.

When a young boy discovers the body of a woman beneath a thick sheet of ice in a South London park, Detective Erika Foster is called in to lead the murder investigation.

The victim, a beautiful young socialite, appeared to have the perfect life. Yet when Erika begins to dig deeper, she starts to connect the dots between the murder and the killings of three prostitutes, all found strangled, hands bound and dumped in water around London.

What dark secrets is the girl in the ice hiding?

As Erika inches closer to uncovering the truth, the killer is closing in on Erika.

The last investigation Erika led went badly wrong… resulting in the death of her husband. With her career hanging by a thread, Erika must now battle her own personal demons as well as a killer more deadly than any she’s faced before. But will she get to him before he strikes again?

My Thoughts: First of all, the gorgeous cover is what captured my notice. Major applause and thumbs-up to the talent who designed it. Secondly, like other authors, who initially are only known for their work in one genre, I thought Robert Bryndza’s work was solely in the romance genre. Having enjoyed Miss Wrong and Mr. Right, I had a lot of anticipation with this one.

The Girl in the Ice is the first installment of a multi-book series featuring a character so damaged by what life has handed her, I applauded her ability to get out of bed, much less think straight and solve a heinous murder. Erika Foster is introduced to us on her first day at the Lewisham police station. She was previously at Manchester but was on an extended leave after she was injured in the line of duty that also took the lives of five other officers, including Erika’s husband, Mark. Right away, Mr. Bryndza paints a very precise picture of the pain Erika has endured on the inside and the outside as well as the feeling that she is being drop-kicked into the deep end of the pool on her first day as lead investigator. I felt very overwhelmed for Erika and admired her tenacity and resolve, especially as she meets with resentment from a fellow officer.

The victim is the daughter of a high-ranking member of the government and Erika’s superiors try at every opportunity to keep her and her team on a very tight leash. Erika’s first meeting with the family doesn’t go well either even though both Erika and the victim’s mother are of Slovak heritage. This actually surprised me as I thought it would give Erika and the family some common ground they could connect on, but the family is less than cooperative with the investigation and wield a lot of control with the authorities.

As Erika’s investigation gets more complex, we learn that the killer is watching Erika’s movements very closely and brazenly puts themselves in very close proximity to Erika on multiple occasions. The author does an amazing job of throwing many suspects at the reader, including members of the victim’s family, ex-boyfriends, fiancé and I even began to suspect some of Erika’s associates and superiors. This made for quite a twisty novel for me, trying to figure out the identity of the killer, which took me to nearly the end of the story.

My Final Verdict: Overall, this was a very good story filled with nail-biting suspense and characters that are drawn so well that the reader can easily connect with them. I highly recommend this book and the rest of the series to readers who enjoy multi-layers of suspense and intrigue, like to be shocked at the outcome and appreciate that a talented author can cross genre lines and do so quite well.