I just read The Other Woman by Sandie Jones. This is a fast-paced and readable thriller, and super impressive for a debut. I found myself completely engrossed in the book wanting to know what was going to happen. Pammie was a nightmare of a mother-in-law from the beginning! I also wanted to shake Emily numerous times. But...the more you don’t know going in, the better!

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the egalley in exchange for an honest review.

WOW, If you haven't heard about "The Other Woman" make a note now and make sure that it's at the top of your to read list. This is Sandie Jones Debut novel and it's not to be missed. Beprepared to stay up late to finish this book, it pulls you in and refuses to let go until the bitter end, and what an ending it is.

Sometimes love finds you when you least expect it., and oh boy has Emily found the man of her dreams: Adam. While she wasn't looking for a relationship, everything is working so wonderfully, then it's time to meet the family, Pammie, Adam's mother, It starts off well but too soon it is evident that Pammie will do whatever it takes to destroy their relationship. It's a love triangle like no other and the only real question is; who will be left standing at the end.

I was hooked from the beginning, wondering what truly horrible thing Pammie would dream up to cause a strain between Emily and Adam. The characters are well written, the story line pulls you in. I loved to hate Pammie, and was always surprised how each situation escalated and then couldn't wrap my brain around why he was so blind to his mother's antics. Thankfully Emily has a great support system in family and friends,and while they are only side characters they helped to bring the storyline to life. After all who hasn't run into someone that just seemed to not to like you at first blush.

The Other Woman is full of psychological suspense, twists and turns and a real shocker at the end. You'll have problems putting this one down until the very satisfyingly but shocking ending. I'm hoping that Sandie Jones has more stories to tell, while this one will be hard to beat!

Thanks to NetGalley for an Advanced Reader Copy for an honest and thoughtful review.

OMG! I didn't see it coming. The end surprised me. The whole book was a series of twisted turns.

When you pick up the book you think you know what's going to happen. The story kept me second guessing and trying to fathom what was going to happen next.

If you like psychological thrillers--READ THIS BOOK! It is well written with complex characters.

I am so glad I requested the ARC and was approved.#Netgalley #MinotaurBooks

Emily and Adam fall in love and life is wonderful until Emily meets his mother. The more Emily tries to explain what his mother, Pammie, has done the more Adam defends her. Pammie seems hell bent on ending this relationship and will lie, scheme and manipulate to get what she wants. This is one of those novels that you really can’t talk about without giving away the plot. It is a page turner and hooks you from the start. If you love psychological suspense novels this is the book for you. I didn’t see the ending coming but it was a satisfying twist. Highly recommend!

What do you do when your future mother-in-law makes it her life's mission to destroy yours? Honestly, I would've recorded that witch and exposed her to everyone ASAP. But of course this was a work of fiction so Emily spends months fighting her mother-in-law with tooth and nail to keep her man by her side. I thought the storyline was a bit too drawn out and Emily frustrated me so much because she was SO damn weak! Seriously, can't be anymore of a damsel in distress than she was but it was a fairly quick read. I was in suspense mode up to around 70% which is always a good thing for thrillers. I just felt like it was too much at the end but overall it was a 3/5 read.

The Other Woman is a twisty family thriller that throws some surprising deviations into the usual plot.

Emily loves Adam. However, she is not thrilled with his mother, Pammie. Pammie seems to be purposefully throwing roadblocks in Emily’s way. Adam’s younger brother, James, tries and fails to help. Who is the mysterious Rebecca? A former girlfriend of Adam, who Pammie still pines for?

The Other Woman follows a common mother-in-law from hell plotline for at least the first half of the book. To be honest, if I wasn’t reviewing it, I would have put it down at 25% in. But I’m very glad I didn’t. The rollercoaster conclusion alone is worth the time it takes to read the book. Overall, it is a breathtaking read that will make a great movie. 4 stars!

Thanks to the publisher, Minotaur Books, and NetGalley for an advanced copy.

The Other Woman by Sandie Jones was a book I highly recommend. It kept my interest from page 1. Emily met Adam, a wonderful man, who had the same goals in life. Love seemed to grow very quickly with Emily and she knew she wanted him as her husband. When she finally met Adam’s mother, Pammie, she was hoping that Pammie would welcome her with open arms. Instead, she did everything in her power to break Adam and Emily up so much so that she seemed to turn into a psycho. On top of all that, Adam backed his mother up completely and never believed Emily when she told him of his mother’s psychotic ways.
As the story progresses, new secrets come to light and all is explained at the end of the book. Having said that, don’t read the end first! Trust me on this!

Psychological thrillers and chick lit don’t seem to have a lot in common at first glance, but a deeper look reveals that the two genres have many overlapping features. They usually feature female protagonists, and the build from unease to discomfort to terror mimics the build from attraction to complications to true love. One aspect that the genres do not share is that psychological thrillers tend to use heavier language, with lots of details about rainy weather and many heavy interior monologues. Chick lit treads lightly in this department, glancing over details to focus on dialogue and relationships. Click on the link below to read the entire review.

Wow this book was great! The fact that this was a debut is CRAZY. This was such a good suspense, I think I was biting my nails through this whole read. It was tense, and addictive. Such a great psych thriller!!

This book gives new meaning to the term crazy mother in law. Make sure that you have at least a decent relationship with his mother or else. LOL. I loved this book from the very first page until the last and so will you. Makes me glad that I am single and don't have to deal a mother in law. Crazy, possessive, jealous or whatever. LOL. Definitely pick up this book and be prepared to be well entertained. Happy reading!

This book didn't do anything for me. I found the characters boring and lacking in everything. It read fast, I'll give it that. I could't feel for anybody in this book. That's about all I can say. I think 3 stars is generous. Thank you NetGalley for the advanced copy in exchange for an honest opinion.

The Other Woman by Sandie Jones is a creepy read. It starts off all hugs and kisses. Emily met Adam. They connected and life seemed to be moving in a positive way for them, until she meets his mother. That is when things get sketchy.

It is the insidiousness of the mother’s evil ways that register with the reader. Emily knew her complaints sounded innocuous, but they were not. Embarrassed and uncomfortable Pammie (Adam’s mother) seems to purposely “misunderstand” things and constantly has little digs and dingers. Eventually, the mother interferes with Emily’s relationship with Adam - and that is before it gets creepy. I think what makes it the creepiest is that everyone has one person (some even could be mother-in-laws) that just seems to be wrong. Every word out of their mouth is some kind of indictment on you. Pammie is her. That woman. You think.

The Other Woman by Sandie Jones was a cringeworthy read. You cringe because you know something is going to happen - you just don’t know - what. The book kept my attention and even when things were awful, I just had to find out what was going to happen next. The Other Woman by Sandie Jones was a good read!!

We've all heard horror stories of awful mothers-in-law that do all they can to destroy a relationship between their child and a would-be spouse, but none of those monsters can hold a candle to Pammie. This woman is absolutely hell-bent on destroying Emily and Adam's relationship. She is so devious, she has Emily questioning her own sanity in record time. Perhaps the only thing more frightening than Pammie's machinations is Adam's dogged protection of her no matter what. When Emily reaches out to Adam to back her up and protect her against Pammie, Adam refuses. Is Emily asking too much, wanting her boyfriend to side with her over his own mother? Emily questions herself constantly, unsure if she's being too sensitive or if Adam is being too blinded by familial ties.

When Emily realizes that Pammie is faking a cancer diagnosis, leading to a full-stop on the forward momentum of Emily and Adam's relationship, Emily decides that enough is enough. If she wants her relationship with Adam to survive, she's going to have to start playing the same kind of hard-ball that Pammie - or should she say Pamela - is.

Just as Emily is feeling stronger in her dealings with Pammie, though, her relationship with Adam struggles more and more. Until finally it becomes clear to Emily that Pammie was right about one thing all along - there's only room for two people in this dynamic. Pammie knows which two she wants it to be, and so does Emily. Which one will win?

This read was absolutely mesmerizing. Once I started, I struggled to put the book down even long enough to refill my cup of coffee. Each page inspired new questions and considerations, new hopes for the characters. I wondered if Emily would be able to hold strong against Pammie's manipulations. I wondered if Adam was really worth all the grief his mother was putting Emily through - especially after a baby gets brought into the mix! I hoped that Pammie really did have cancer (which felt awful, but I can't help but hope people aren't really capable of faking having cancer. As a cancer survivor, that is the lowest of the low for me).

I was completely taken in by each of the characters. It was so easy to keep reading and then suddenly I found myself at the end, and I was shell-shocked.

I highly recommend this books. It's a fabulous weekend read, perfect for a camping trip, a rainy day, those couple of hours before bed, or really any time at all!

This one had me in its clutches the whole way. Right up until the ending. The storyline isn't anything I haven't seen before, but Jones kept it interesting. Emily is in a relationship with Adam, who appears to be a momma's boy. Adam's mother, Pammie, is controlling and conniving to the extreme and Emily gets the brunt of it. While I did feel for Emily's circumstances, I didn't care much for our heroine. Granted, Emily has never been in this type of situation, so she struggles to deal with it all, but she comes across as whiny a lot of the time. The more I read, the more I wanted to shake some sense into her and tell her to stand up for herself. That aside, the author does an excellent job with building the tension and it is a compelling read. Some things stretch the believability scale, but I kept turning those pages to see what devious thing Pammie would do next and waiting for her to get caught up in her mess. In fact, the story was riveting and I was prepared to sing its praises, until the big twist at the end. I expected part of it - a small part of it, but I have to say I was pretty disappointed with the conclusion. I love twisty stories, but this twist made little sense to me. Too many things just didn't add up. To give details would also give spoilers, so I'll just sum it up with this was a well-plotted and gripping story that let me down in the end.

3.5 Stars* (rounded down)

When Emily meets Adam she immediately knows that she wants to snatch him up and she does exactly that. Emily however, has no idea that Adam is a mama's boy. From the get go, his mother Pammie is not a fan of Em’s and she appears to have it in for her - in the biggest way possible: by lying, tricking her and making her look as bad as possible in front of her son in hopes that he’ll break it off. The lengths this woman goes to.. talk about hella entertaining. Adam of course, doesn’t see any of it and is uber protective of dear old Pammie.

Mama always wins in a head to head, shame on you for thinking otherwise Emily.. then again a girl’s got to try, right?

“The Other Woman” by Sandie Jones is a campy entertaining mystery/suspense. It reminded me of The Girlfriend by Michelle Frances which I read last year - though I preferred this. I really enjoyed where “The Other Woman” was going, right up until the end where I felt kind of bamboozled. The ending snuck up on me - there were no bread crumbs to lead me there… and for that I was a bit frustrated. Personally, I like having an idea of where a storyline is going - that didn’t happen in this instance, which I found disappointing. Though parts of the novel were a bit unbelievable, it was an enjoyable read which I would recommend.

This was a Traveling Sister Read. Thanks Sisters.

Thank you to NetGalley, St. Martin’s Press and Sandie Jones for an ARC of this novel in exchange for an honest review.

Published on NetGalley and Goodreads on 8.19.18.

What an enticing read!! Emily thinks that Adam is the one. She is ready to settle down and they seem to fit quite well. All is going swimmingly until she meets Adam's mother Pamela. Pammie seems determined to try to make Emily look bad, and either leave her son or have Adam breakup with her. Pammie schemes, lies and manipulates situations in such ways that it makes Emily look as if she is the one with the problem! Why can't Pammie just let go of Adam? But, no matter the situation, Adam puts his mother first, fails to support Emily, and puts their relationship in jeopardy.

You will love this battle of wills, and the delicious undercutting of each woman against the other! There are some characters you love, some you hate, some you root for and some you root against. Jones saves an incredible surprise for the end.

I loved this book - it is such a fun read!!

Many thanks to NetGalley and Minotaur Books for allowing me to read a copy in exchange for an honest opinion.

4.5 Marvelously Manipulative Stars 🌟🌟🌟🌟.5

WOW! HOT damn! Another Flippin fantastic read! With an ending that left me speechless... and anyone that knows me knows how difficult that is! This is a book best gone into blind... I’d recommend reading very few reviews, but read mind of course!😉

What do you do when the “other woman“ is your significant other’s mother? And to clarify what I mean by this is your S/O is overly emotionally tied to his mother.... I mean like he drop everything to go buy her some Tylenol, if she felt a headache coming on, and he deliver it to her even though she lives an hour away and it’s two in the morning.... And even worse what if she is a controlling, manipulative, and condescending mother? Ugh just the thought of it makes me quiver, can’t even imagine! But boy oh boy did it make for a good book... I was completely invested in the story from first page to last....

Emily thinks she has met the man of her dreams... the one... her forever... and everything is going perfectly until.... she meets... Pammie *insert scary music* Pammie was a fabulous character that you loved loved loved to hate... Emily was a really relatable and likable character, all she wanted to do was find love... and then her life got turned on its head, by this crazy lady... not sure if her boyfriend Adam was worth all this angst... but sometimes we can get fixated and not see the forest for the trees...

For me this was just an entertaining compelling character study with just the perfect dose of crazy... with a stand out villain and a bit of a helpless heroine, Who eventually finds her strength! I loved every single interaction between these ladies, I was riveted! And I loved hating Pammie right along with Emily! I seriously was talking to the book throughout, I might’ve said a few choice words🤬

What a wonderful debut! Major props to Sandie Jones and I cannot wait to see what you have in store for me next! Absolutely recommend if you enjoy a good character driven thriller with a heck of an ending!

*** many thanks to St. Martin’s Press for my copy of this fab book ***

3 stars. Interesting plot. Suspenseful intrigue. Unforgettable characters.

This story follows Emily, who has met handsome and successful Adam, the man of her dreams. They fall in love and are engaged within months. Things begin to drastically change when Emily meets her future mother-in-law, Pammie. Pammie is a character I will not soon forget! I’m so glad that my mother-in-law is nothing like her!

This book is intense and will keep you flipping the pages. There were many moments I found my mouth dropping in wonder of what was going to happen next. However, there were also several times I felt the plot steered into highly implausible territory. Some of what happened was just “too much” for me to believe. Regardless of this, I still found the story entertaining and well written, just not the gripping thriller I was hoping for.

I applaud the author, Sandie Jones, for this debut. The novel had a good pace and the story flowed well. The characters were unique, although mostly unlikeable. I did have a hard time connecting to any of the characters – for me, they were entertaining, but unrealistic.

This was a Traveling Sister read. There were many varying opinions which lead to some great discussion.

A big thank you to NetGalley, St. Martin’s Press and Sandie Jones for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review!

Expected Date of Publication: August 21, 2018.

This book is definitely a page turning psychotic thriller. I'm still wrapping my head around what I just read! It was intense in so many places I just had to keep reading to find out where it was all going. I was pulled clear in and didn't expect the way the story went....at all. Even from the title of the book....I had expectations that I shouldn't have. I was so pulling for Emily, the main character. She was so in love and it seemed to be challenged at every turn. I also had so much disdain for the character of Pammie. I wanted to reach into the book and yank her out. That's a good book when the writer can bring out such strong feelings like that. I was absorbed in the story from the first word to the very last!
This is an amazing debut novel by Sandie Jones. I am anxious to read more books by her! I want to thank Netgalley for the opportunity to read this thrilling novel and thanks to Sandie Jones for writing it. I totally give this novel 5 stars plus!

I have to admit that a sinking feeling started to creep over me after the first couple of chapters. Not again, I said to myself - another of those whiny, paranoid wives/girlfriends/lovers who just can't dredge up the intestinal fortitude to extricate themselves from a situation that clearly is headed for disaster. And to a certain extent, that feeling never left (I'm just too independent and bull-headed, I guess, to identify with these types of females). Nevertheless, the intrigue - or more to the point, curiosity over what was really going on here - pretty much glued to my Kindle until the whole thing was over.

The wronged woman - not necessarily to be confused with the "other" one - is Emily Havistock. She's a successful, relatively independent woman who, a human resources conference, meets Adam Banks and (surprise!) they fall in love. Soon, Emily leaves the apartment she shares with her friend Pippa and moves in with Adam; her other friend, the very gay Seb, has a few misgivings about that situation, but he's such a close buddy that he goes along with it if only to keep an eye on Emily.

At first, Adam balks at having Emily meet his mother, but he finally relents. And it is at that meeting that seeds of doubt start planting themselves in Emily's head. Could it be that Adam is a momma's boy - and momma will do anything to keep him that way? Honestly, any fully grown woman who insists on being called "Pammie" would have raised my hackles immediately and made me run the other way fast. But not so Emily, who is intent on making Adam put her first (and that may well be her first mistake; as my late mother used to say, he's not worth the powder and lead it would take to blow him up). But hey; the show must go on.

And on it does, with encounter after encounter with the conniving Pammie, leaving Emily reeling and plotting other ways to keep her man. But at every turn, she's outsmarted; Pammie, it seems, is always one step ahead of Emily. There is little else I can say without giving away too much except that not everything is as it seems (but then the book is billed as a "psychological thriller," so that's to be expected). Despite a fast-paced, somewhat surprising ending, I really don't agree with the thriller part, but the head games really are something else. Definitely worth reading - many thanks to the publisher (via NetGalley) for the opportunity to read and review an advance copy.