What happens when you are pushed to the brink by you abusive soon to be ex husband? Phillip Rochester is controlling, abusive, and determined to make things as difficult as possible for his soon to be ex wife Imogen. He has demanded she move out of the house by the end of the month or chance losing custody of their son. Imogen has tried to be reasonable but after all the abuse and threats she is ready to snap.

Imogen does something crazy and unthinkable. . She's desperate to protect her son and to claim authority over her own life. What she didn’t plan on is pulling Phillips first ex wife and current girlfriend into the crazy situation. These three women form an unlikely bond and decide to take revenge and get their lives back.

This book was well written and the characters are great. I liked the writing style of current day and flashbacks. Great read!

A gripping thriller that really keeps you guessing until the end! It keeps you on the edge of your seat as you turn each page. I found it hard to put down and stayed up late to finish it! I really appreciated the inside view of the terror victims of domestic abuse face. An excellent read and one I'd recommens to friends.

This is one fun read! Three women are involved with Philip - his ex, his present wife and his girlfriend.

Once an a**hole, always an a**hole. And Philip could win the prize. Nasty, manipulative, abusive. Check, check, check. But Philip is a decorated police officer, so it’s not like his buddies on the force will believe he’s abusive.

The book starts with his funeral, so we know he’s a goner, and then goes back three weeks and works itself forward.

The book moves at a fast pace and it keeps you engaged. It's a rare book where you’d be ok with someone committing murder. But in this case, hell, I’d have helped.

The one big reveal was something I’d already figured out. But I didn’t see that the ending, which has to be one of the most fitting endings ever. Karma’s a b*tch, Phil...

This isn’t a deep book, but there are several phrases that just rang really true. “We tried to break down walls, build bridges, but we weren’t architects and our foundations were weak at best.”

My thanks to netgalley and Berkley Publishing for an advance copy of this book.

This is a great read! Kept me entertained the whole time. There were moments of suspense which I love!! Easy read as well.

What do you do if your estranged, wife-beating husband's behavior has escalated to a point in which he is also a menace to your son, his first wife and his current girlfriend/fiancee'? How do you proceed with a divorce settlement that is fair to both sides? How do you protect your son from his father? What would you do? Would you work with the other women in his life to put together a plan? Who do you trust? And who will ultimately get revenge? You and the other women, or your husband?

Thank you to Berkley and NetGalley for a digital ARC of this riveting thriller.

"The Exes' Revenge" by Jo Jakeman was a pleasant surprise. The book had far more to offer than I was expecting. Rather than your typical "scorned lover' tale, it had suspense and lots of intrigue. There were twists, turns, and aha moments. All in all, I can recommend this book. It's 4.25 stars.

DISCLOSURE OF MATERIAL CONNECTION: I have a material connection because I received a review copy for free from Netgalley in exchange for a fair and honest review.

Phillip is a jerk. To be completely honest, he WAS a jerk because he is dead now. His ex-wives are at his funeral, as well as his current wife. But technically she isn’t his legal wife because he and his second wife never finalized the divorce. But all in all it doesn’t matter because he cannot hurt any of them, physically or psychologically ever again. Perhaps the three women have crossed the line of good and evil just like Phillip or maybe their survival instincts just kicked in.

The Exes’ Revenge opens with the funeral, so the reader knows up front the man is dead. But the events that lead to this funeral unfurl in the coming chapters like a flag in a sweet summer breeze that turns into a hurricane.

The three wives are unlikely cohorts, but Phillip and fear bind them together in a way that can never be understood by outsiders. He manipulates them against each other until he crosses the line of no return. But will one of them turn on the other two because deep down she cannot live without him?

Ruby, his first wife has always been a mother figure to him. Even though she has been on the receiving end of his bad temper, she has always forgiven him. But how can she possibly forgive him after finding out one of his best kept secrets?

Naomi, his third wife, is young and beautiful. She is the perfect trophy wife for Phillip to drag around to parties showing off his masculinity to his friends and co-workers. He expects her to keep a perfect home. Of course if she doesn’t there are consequences. She dare not call the police – he is a cop.

Imogen, the second (and not quite divorced) wife is the only one Phillip has a child with. Alistair is young and impressionable. He is happy with Imogen and terrified of his father. How could anyone trust a man like Phillip with her child?

The three women don’t really like each other, but are thrown together because of Phillip. They soon realize that the three of them must work together to get him out of their lives forever before one or more of them dies at his hand. The closer they get, they realize he has taken something from each of them that can never be replaced. He seems to have a knack of finding their greatest vulnerabilities and then somehow look innocent when tragedy strikes. As the novel progresses, the three women find out how cruel he is and it might just be a race to kill or be killed.

Jakeman’s psychological thriller is a page tuner you don’t want to miss. The well-developed characters will pull you into their nightmare because you know them like your favorite neighbor. Pay attention to the easy to read plot because many bits and pieces that may seem irrelevant will turn up in the last chapters fully explaining the means and motives of the main characters.

This is the first book I have read by Jo Jakeman. I really enjoyed her fast-paced writing style. She brings full characters to life and puts them in a plot that twists and turns until the end. This is Jo Jakeman’s second novel. The first, Sticks and Stones, is on my list to read. I can’t get enough of this author.

Copyright © 2018 Laura Hartman

This is an interesting and exciting debut novel that tackles the dark theme of domestic abuse. The book begins with Phillip’s funeral and then counts down to the details of what happened to him. I really liked how the author used the funeral as a starting point and then elaborated on what kind of person Phillip was and why he really deserved to die. Phillip has an ex-wife, Ruby, and estranged wife, Imogen, and a new girlfriend, Naomi. The best part of the book was that these three women formed an unlikely alliance to bring Phillip down. As a police officer, it seemed impossible to report his misdeeds and have the legal system take care of it, so these three make a plan and carry it through. The characters and their actions were not believable in the least, but the book was highly entertaining. Reading it was like knowing who the winning team was going to be and cheering them on to the inevitable conclusion. I applaud the author for an original story of a realistic problem in society.

4 Stars

Divorce (and even breakups) can be nasty. If you’ve been through it, you know. Sometimes you’re not even sure you’ll survive. In this case, Phillip Rochester’s exe’s find out for themselves.

Imogen and Phillip are newly divorced. As the father of their child, Phillip makes Imogen’s life miserable and it’s about to get worse. When Naomi became the new girlfriend of Phillip Rochester, she had no idea what she was getting herself into. Ruby is Phillip’s first ex-wife. Married for a very long time, they still share a bond, which Imogen just can’t understand.

When Phillip does something heinous that threatens life, liberty and child and Imogen is forced to take matters into her own hands. Then well, you guessed it.. There’s a Face-Off. Only it’s not between John Travolta and Nic Cage. Mum’s the word here, though I will say it sure got my attention.

If you’re looking for an entertaining read, with crazy, compelling and twisted characters, look no further than “The Exe’s Revenge.” This was a very enjoyable and fun buddy read with Kaceey.

Thank you to NetGalley, Berkley Publishing Group and Jo Jakeman for an ARC of this novel in exchange for an honest review.

Published Goodreads, NetGalley and Twitter on 8.18.18.

Wow!!

If you can keep up with the timeframe and character changes, you will enjoy yourself a story full of fear and intrigue.

Imogen, Naomi, and Rudy are three very different women who had the bad luck of sharing the same man.

The thought processes of these women felt perfect, so perfect it was annoying at times because you know that’s how’s you react in that situation, but wanting to scream at them because of it.

Grab it and be sure your doors are locked and all keys accounted for!

I received an advance copy of this book from Net Galley in exchange for an honest review. What can I say about this book to convey how much I enjoyed it. I began the book in the middle of the afternoon, put it down, and then started reading again at 1:00 a.m. and finished the book at 5:00 a.m. So much for sleep. This book was fast paced and kept me guessing. Jo Jakeman did an excellent job.

The Exes' Revenge by Jo Jakeman . The ARC was sent to me for review by NetGally and the publisher.

This story begins with the funeral of Phillip whose career as a decorated police officer was everything to him.
What peple didn't know was his ugly, mentally and physically abusive and controlling private life.
Ruby, his ex-wife, Imogen, his almost ex wife and mother of his only child, and girlfriend Naomi who is engaged to Phillip all attend his funeral.
Then they begin to tell the story of their lives with him and what the three of them did together to seek the revenge they felt he deserved.
A well written story ,well developed characters A great thriller that shows how abuse effects people differently and how far some people will go to seek revenge!

A clever book written in flashbacks about the three ex’s of an abusive and manipulative man. The first ex wife - who still believes he’s incapable of cruelty - the second ex wife who harbors no such illusions - and the current girlfriend who is learning the hard way. As his life spirals out of control, the second ex is bent on getting her revenge in a very creative manner. He’s got some secrets that he holds over wife number two and she’s determined to get at the truth. Well written and a good read!

Phillip Rochester is a horrible man who loves to physically and mentally abuse the women in his life. The trouble is, he is a decorated policeman and whenever someone reports his abusive behavior, his friends at the police department will not do anything about it. The story opens at his funeral where his ex-wife Ruby, his estranged wife Imogen and his current girlfriend, Naomi are in attendance. The story is flashbacks of the women and the treatment they received from Phillip, their coming together and developing a friendship and then their revenge on him. This was a fantastic story and I really enjoyed it.

This was an odd book. It focuses on a woman who is in the midst of divorcing her husband, who has already moved on to another woman. He already has an ex wife who continues to defend him. Phillip is an abuser and a despicable character. The past, present, and future wives team up in a bizarre cooperation, which then backfires. The husband finds himself once again in dire straights, but in the end, the women prevail. I like the ending, what they do with his remains is fitting. What was difficult to fathom is that any of these women would believe anything Phillip said, especially Imogene. They were all afraid to call the police, since Phillip was on the force, however, there are other precincts, so I found that element hard to buy. A decent read, but some parts were quite unbelievable.

What first caught my eye with this one? That cover..... and of course I was thinking "ooo awesome for a bunch of women to seek revenge on their ex?" BUT this?? Yikes... NO

The premise starts out with a bang at Philip's funeral.... Three women Naomi, Imogen, and Ruby all know deep down inside that Philip Rochester got the death he deserved. Of course the author leaves the readers with a bit of bread crumbs... aching for more!!

Philip is a typical character that all readers will hate.... physically, mentally, and emotionally abusive to each of the women that were in his life. Philip lives off fear and control with a mix of domestic violence. This started out fantastic with an ex-wife Imogen wanting to seek revenge on Philip and adding 2 other previous exes to the mix. What more could you want?!

Oh god... this turned out to be a complete MESS. I felt like the author was trying way too hard for this to be an excellent story. There were certain details thrown out left and right in the story that weren't necessary and in all honestly didn't make any sense.

I REALLY wanted to like this one. I feel like I've been on a serious 2-3 star streak of books. Such a bummer!!!

This reminded me of a lifetime movie. Eh.. no not my cup of tea.

Thank you so much to Netgalley and Berkley for the advanced arc in exchange for my honest thoughts.

Expected publication date: 9/11/18
Published to GR: 8/5/18.

Thank you to Berkley publishing for sending me a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. 

This book starts off at the end - Phillip Rochester's funeral. Phillip has died (we don't know how yet) and his 3 ex-wives are there, but not in mourning. The second chapter begins with Imogen, Phillip's second wife. She is also the only one who has a child with Phillip. We learn that Phillip is abusive (trigger warning) and cheated on Imogen with a younger woman, Naomi. Naomi is Phillip's third wife. She's also being abused by him. Imogen and Naomi finally have the chance of a lifetime (Ruby, Phillips first wife, joins along too). Imogen has Phillip locked up in her basement and the chance to finally tell him off. He's got quite a few tricks up his sleeve in the meantime. Are these ladies safe? Are they going to tell him off? How did Phillip die? 

The first third of this book was quite slow. I was beginning to second guess whether this book was really a thriller or not. Reading details about Imogen's relationship with Phillip and Naomi's relationship with Phillip was a little dull. It just seemed to drag on. Once Imogen and Naomi had Phillip in the basement, things start to really pick up the pace. In fact, I had to buckle up, strap in, and get ready for the ride. I knew Phillip was a terrible person, but MAN what a twist. You think with all of the thriller/mystery books I read, I would've expected it to come. Phillip was such a convincing character, I even fell for all the lies he told! The ending was predictable, but I'll take it for the adventurous thrill the second half of the book had.

4/5 Stars

Fast paced domestic thriller with plenty of twists and turns. You know who to hate, but do you know who to trust?

I really enjoyed this book! Suspenseful, full of shocking discoveries and well, you never know what someone has up their sleeve!

I just finished the Ex’s Revenge and can’t say enough good things about it! The main character Imogene had me hooked from the very beginning. This book had many twists and turns that I wasn’t expecting and kept me reading quickly to get to the end. Thanks NetGalley for the ARC and congrats Jo Jakeman on an excellent first book. I can’t wait for more to come!