Thank you so much for the opportunity to read this book. Unfortunately it’s not the book for me. DNF @ 18%.

Holidays are really messing with my review time, but I’m happy to say I’m still finding time to read. The problem with that is it’s been quite a while since I finished reading It’s Always the Husband, and now I need to review so I think I will keep it short and sweet.

It’s Always the Husband is a suspenseful read that kept me guessing throughout. I thought I had it all figured out a couple of times, but never actually did. The amount of twists in this one makes it a little difficult to review without giving it all away.
The story is a contemporary suspense told with dual timelines so half the story is told in the past when our trio of best friends, who are sometimes more like frenemies, met at college. This gives the story a very YA feel with so much of the narrative taking place with college kids.
Two decades ago Kate, Jenny and Aubrey were thrown together as roommates. Three girls who were completely different but built a friendship on the strength of their proximity. Friendships built in the beginning of college burn brightly and they sometimes seem to be attachments that would never have been made under different circumstances, and that is definitely the case with these three.
Aubrey worked hard to gain a scholarship to the prestigious Carlisle College after growing up on the wrong side of the tracks, and she doesn’t really want to let her new friends know about her roots. Jenny was born and bred in the New Hampshire college town and her working class family have taught her to do what needs to be done to get where she wants to be. Kate is the old money New Yorker with oodles of charisma who is at Carlisle more for the experience, and to shop for a husband.

I enjoyed the story and the twists kept me guessing but it was not what I was expecting. The blurb led me to believe this was a story about a trio of 40 year olds, and it was but it was also the story of the trio and how their friendship developed.
We meet the college freshman and share their freshman year with them before catching up with them again as 40 year olds. We see how they have grown and what they made of their lives as we spend a lot of present day time learning about the people they became.
It’s Always The Husband explores friendship, relationships and how the passage of time changes us all. Campbell has written an engaging debut that paints her as an author with great potential whose growth will be interesting to watch.

Book blurb...
It's Always the Husband…unless it's the best friend.

Kate, Aubrey and Jenny are inseparable at college – friends who promised they'd always be there for each other.

But twenty years later, their friendship is about to take a deadly turn.

Kate married the gorgeous party boy, Aubrey married up, and Jenny married the boy next door, but when one of the friends dies in shocking circumstances, will everyone assume that it's always the husband? Or could it be the best friend?

IT'S ALWAYS THE HUSBAND is the gripping debut which will keep you guessing until the very last page.

My thoughts…
Intriguing!! The plot is well thought out and cleverly woven to take you down different paths before turning you around and pushing you in another direction - still guessing.

You don't know what you’re getting with some debut novels and this one definitely does not disappoint. I was drawn into the story and felt very much a part of the landscape. I really felt for all the characters and their many challenges.

2018 is starting out with some beaut reads.

Highly recommended.

This was a really good read and had some great characters in the story. The story highlights the difference in people. There was also a surprise ending which was good, as its great when you don't see it coming.

This is a cleverly plotted murder mystery that kept me riveted from beginning to end. Jealousy, lost wealth and feelings of guilt are only some of the motives which could have led to the novel’s tragic outcome. Love-hate relationships, love triangles and inappropriate attractions abound and suggest the possibility that anyone could be the guilty party. However, as the title suggests, it’s always the husband...or is it? An engrossing read. Thanks to HQ Harper Collins and NetGalley for the ARC.

3 college roomies... 3 best friends...so many secrets!! This book was such a quick read, the story had me hooked from the very beginning. The 3 women all had their own problems and none if the very likeable.

Thank you to Netgalley and Harlequin Australia for an advance copy of this book to read and review

4* Secret and Lie Stars

This book centers on the three main female characters, Kate, Jenny and Aubrey who met at college and were roommates. I am surprised that they became fast friends considering how different from one another they were and had nothing in common with each other. The first half of the book delves into their college life, which was fraught with drama and then progresses into their adult lives. I struggled to like these three girls, as their behavior in college was wild, reckless and selfish. As they matured 20 years later they still had not changed much and were very self-centered and deceitful. Some of the secondary characters were also annoying.

This story was fraught with secrets and lies and just when you thought the mystery was wrapped up you are thrown another shock of a twist. I enjoyed this book and it was a fast paced well-written book.

Thank you Harlequin (Australia), and NetGalley for allowing me to read and review this book.