Beautiful Bad is a psychological thriller that centers around three people, Maddie, Jo and Ian. All three spend a lot of time in war torn areas of the world. Jo is Maddie’s best friend, Ian sooner or later ends up married to Maddie and they end up having a son named Charlie. The story starts with Maddie looking for a writing therapist because she has extreme anxiety issues after a fall while camping with her husband leaves her face disfigured.

The story pulls you in as you meet the characters and try and understand their relationships. It continually goes back and forth through time but isn’t difficult to follow. The plot is well designed and in the end you will never guess what’s coming. The author definitely reached her goal for what she intended.

I really enjoyed the majority of this book, but was left very disappointed with the ending. I believe the book is need the way the author intended but was not an ending I enjoyed. I was left feeling disappointed and disgusted at the end. If you are looking for a happy ending this is not the book for you. If you enjoy psychological thrillers that are well written and don’t mind an indifferent ending you will love this book.

A twisted thriller with characters who aren't what they seem. Perfect for fans of The Woman in the Window or the Girl on the Train, this psychological thriller is about a mysterious accident, murder and a crumbling marriage. A page turner for sure, recommended!

Maddie met Ian while she was a travel writer overseas visiting her friend Jo. When a camping accident leaves Maddie disfigured, it also brings up questions about what really happened and was it an accident? She is scared for her son, Charlie and herself when Ian's PTSD really starts to become evident. This is a twisted novel that keeps you on the edge of your seat.

Ahhh! This psychological thriller will have you on the edge of your seat and rethinking everything you thought was going on. Warning- you may even get a little pissed at the characters. Traumatic brain injury, PTSD, alcoholism, obsessions and love are the catalysts for this story that I could not put down until it was finished.
Ward’s characters are realistic, interesting, humorous and scary as hell. The plot is rich with multicultural details, current events, and toddler tv shows which leads through one doozy of a twisting tale. The pit of your stomach will drop out on more than one occasion and you may even shed a tear for the victim, but you’ll not get the full picture until the end.
This full bodied novel had me transfixed, and I ran through the gamut of emotions more than once. Damn, you’ve got to read this one.

Kept me interested from start to finish. A solid good read. As in many books, we see different points of view of a killing. In this case, Maddie, Ian, and the police officer. Could have edited the past a little bit but all in all I would recommend this. Will keep my eye out for more from this author.

Beautiful Bad is a psychological thriller with a sense of suspense. Right from the beginning you know that someone dies, but you don’t know who or what has happened. From there we follow 3 timelines: Maddie and Ian’s story over the years before the killing, Maddie’s point of view and sessions with a therapist the months/weeks before the killing, and Diane, a police officer’s, point of view after the call to 911 was made on the day of the killing. It is definitely a book that keeps you wondering and thinking throughout with some surprises along the way. The “present day” timeline really captured me, but honestly I thought some of the timeline about the past was a little longer than I would have liked. I did predict the main twist in the story, though there were other parts that managed to surprise me. I never really found that I loved any of the characters in the story, and by the end there were definitly ones that I hated - I think this is part of the reason that I didn’t like the book more.

I received a free ARC copy of this book through NetGalley, but my review is voluntary and not influenced by that.

I'm conflicted with this one. First half I disliked, second half I loved! I found that about 50% of the book dragged on. I know the author was building the story and creating a slower reveal to lead to the dramatic ending, but I found it slow and it lost my interest quite a bit. BUT, having said that, the last half was thrilling, entertaining and had me flying through the pages, to the point where I couldn't put it down. So, like I said, conflicting. The writing was great, the pacing not so much. I had a love/hate relationship with ALL of the characters... Except for Charlie. Each character both irritated me and charmed me. The main twist I put together pretty quickly, but it still made for an entertaining reveal.

Maddie and Joanna are best friends ever since they met in a summer program in Spain. They both end up in Eastern Europe during a time of civil unrest. They are both employed in different positions in neighboring countries. They visit each other. They both meet Ian who is Joanna’s love interest at that time. However they break up. When Maddie expresses a romantic interest in Ian. Joanna says no — stay away from him. Why? Maddie ends up going back to the United States. Eventually Joanna and Maddie have a “falling out.” PTSD Ian and Maddie do get married and have a son. When they go camping Maddie falls and ends up going to the emergence room as the cut she has needs stitches. She is asked if Ian did this to her. She says no but they don’t believe her. Maddie becomes afraid of Ian due to his paranoia and anger.

The author opens the novel with a 911 phone call that abruptly ends. The story is told by alternating Maddie’s past and present. The author doesn’t tell us what has prompted the 911 phone call until the latter part of the novel.. While reading the novel following the twists and turns ofthe plot, I was kept in suspense wondering who and/or what happened to cause a murder. The ending was not what I expected. It was definitely a surprise for me.

Thank you to NetGalley and Annie Ward for allowing me to read and review Beautiful Bad. I really enjoyed this novel and I'll be recommending it.

My Highly Caffeinated Thought: A uniquely twisted thriller with characters who are not always as they seem.

BEAUTIFUL BAD is a smart and well-plotted psychological thriller showing the duality of human nature and of all the personalities involved. Ward explores the intricacies of who a person is and what makes them become who they are.

Let’s be honest. There is not much in the psychological thriller genre that has not been done before. Many times, I can see the ending long before I read it. However, for me, it is how the author uses the tropes and their particular story which keeps me reading. Ward expertly gave me characters and a tale I wanted to learn more about.

Living in the past and the present with Maddie, Ian, and Jo was addictive. Their lives were not only complicated by circumstances and careers, but also by their emotions and bonds with each other. If that isn’t enough to make the reader keep flipping, you add to that the twists, turns, and duplicity carefully placed within these pages all leading to that ending! I was spellbound by it all.

I cannot wait to read what Annie Ward gives us next. I hope it is just as dark and twisty as BEAUTIFUL BAD!!!

Park Row and NetGalley provided me with an electronic copy of Beautiful Bad. I was under no obligation to review this book and my opinion is freely given.

Beautiful Bad is told from the perspective of an unreliable narrator, Maddie, who has suffered a head injury in a terrible accident and is trying to puzzle out what happened. As she is reflecting on her past, especially regarding the relationships between herself, her husband Ian, and her former best friend Joanna, readers are given an insider's view to Maddie's psyche. The problem is that the author takes too long to get to the heart of the story and then does not give enough background information to make the novel complete. Maddie and Ian's conjoined plot line is really just thrown together, as the progression of their relationship in its early days is put out there without much explanation. There are a few twists that are unexpected, but they did not make sense within the context of the novel. Beautiful Bad kind of reminded me of a Scooby Doo episode, where the story moves along until a quick ending wraps everything up neatly.

Beautiful Bad had a lot of potential, with a good foundation for a psychological thriller, but the author just did not take it far enough. Even unreliable narrators have to be likable and I could not form any kind of emotional connection to Maddie. It was a good, quick read, but ultimately Beautiful Bad was a missed opportunity by the author to give readers a thrilling novel.

Beautiful Bad, by Annie Ward

Short Take: A twisty domestic thriller that happens all over the world.

(*Note: I received an advance copy of this book for review.*)

Y’all, I have been STRUGGLING the last few weeks. First I got hit with a gnarly flu, and then my old, out-of-shape nerdly body decided to up the ante with a bronchitis/pneumonia combo. The absolute last freakin thing I needed was something to take my breath away, but welp, the universe had other plans.

Upon meeting Maddie and Ian, the couple at the center of Beautiful Bad, I figured I was in for a cozy little domestic thriller. You know, where Something Terrible is happening, and one half of the couple is doing the terrible thing, and the other half can’t get anyone to believe them, or maybe isn’t sure the thing is happening at all.

And in a way, I got that cookie-cutter tale. Maddie and Ian have a lovely Pottery Barn kind of life, upper middle class in Kansas City, blessed with a lovely three year old son (Charlie) and her supportive parents living nearby. Ian’s lucrative work in security takes him all over the world, allowing Maddie to focus all of her time and attention on Charlie. But of course, Things Are Not What They Appear. Maddie has been badly injured in a camping accident, but was it really an accident? As she begins exploring her memories of that night with unconventional therapist Cami J, more and more of their history, both shared and separate comes to light, and it’s simply astounding.

Things weren’t always so calm and cozy for these two, you see. They met in the former Soviet Union, during some of the most tumultuous times in recent history, while she was working as a travel writer, and he was protecting the VIP’s from the people who were willing to die to kill them.

Like, I want to go into detail about the incredible, gorgeous, horrifying, shocking depth and breadth of it all, but all I can do is make a PSHHHHH noise and finger-explosion gesture from the side of my head.

I blame the steroids. (side note: Prednisone is STRAIGHT EVIL.)

So even when the plot takes some cliched turns, there’s still something so exotic going on. Sure, you have the classic suburban dream world, but there’s also Bulgaria and Macedonia and Iraq and Greece and New York City. You have two people who might be just right for each other, but who never really fit into their own lives, or their own heads. Trauma and passion (and let me just add that there are some SERIOUS swoony scenes) are just the start. When a damaged person tries to be what they think someone else wants or needs, the results can be unpredictable. And volatile.

And oh yeah, the book opens with a murder, but who’s dead? And who killed them? And once all is revealed… is it really over?

The Nerd’s Rating: FOUR HAPPY NEURONS (and a nap. Because while I feel juuuuuuust strong enough to be cranky right now!)

I have to be careful with this review, because I don't want to give ANYTHING away about this book. ;) It's the story of a woman named Maddie who falls in love with a mysterious man named Ian. Years later, someone is killed. Who is it? And who did it?

The story is told through flashbacks and alternates between memories and the day of the murder which has just occured. We slowly get clues along the way-learning more about the characters and forming our own opinions.

But can you trust those opinions? There is a big twist in the book. And then another one soon after. You won't know who to root for--or who to believe.

I came into this novel with low expectations. I had read mixed reviews, and I am not a fan of war stories And boy, was I ever blown away!! I absolutely loved this story. From the detailed history about the characters to the crazy twist at the end, everything about this story fell together perfectly. While none of the characters were overly likeable, their stories were engaging and interesting even to someone who isn't versed about war or foreign countries.
This story revolves around PTSD, domestic relations, toxic friendships, war, motherhood and love. The ending is an unpredictable spin, making this a hard book to put down!

This was a twisted psychological thriller. Read it carefully and pick up on all of the clues. Ian comes between Maddie and Jo’s friendship. But there is something off about Ian. Told from different POV’s and timelines, the story flips around, so pay attention! Many thanks to Park Row and to NetGalley for providing me with a galley in exchange for my honest opinion.

This book started out great for me. It held my interest from the call to 911 and I looked forward to finding out what happens, but about halfway through it just started feeling like something was missing. I love books that are told from several views and different timelines. I learn a lot from those but I lost interest for a long period. To me the thriller aspect fell short. I think the author did a great job as far as descriptives and going back and forth with characters and times. I like some of the characters. There was just something that fell short. That is the only way I know to describe it.

Thank you to NetGalley for this copy in exchange for my honest review.

I give it 3.5 stars and will try this author again. I also recommend others try it for themselves. It just was not what I expected.

I appreciate that a lot of work goes into writing a book, so this review is really about my own reasons that I didn’t find this book all that enjoyable. There appear to be some higher reviews, which suggests that there are certainly others out there who did enjoy Beautiful Bad. For me, however, the story description was much better than the actual story.

I was expecting a full on mystery thriller. I don’t feel like that’s what I read. The opening scene captured my attention. From then on, the plot seemed to lose its way and became muddled. There were three timelines - 2001, 6 weeks before and present day. The 2001 timeline was probably the most interesting of the three, in which we learn the background about the MC Maddie and her life abroad. The second timeline involves Maddie, now married to Ian, with their young son, Charlie. The third timeline is the investigation of a crime.inside Maddie and Ian’s home. The timelines felt disjointed and isolated from one another. They lacked a consistent flow.

One of the biggest issues I had was that the characters weren’t developed enough so it was difficult to empathize with their thoughts and decisions. The dialogue seemed unrealistic and at times WAY OUT OF LEFT FIELD! The love story between Maddie and Ian didn’t make sense. There was nothing redeeming about Ian or their relationship that provided the reader with any logical reasons for Maddie harbouring a torch for this guy. Even Maddie and Jo’s friendship felt forced and inauthentic. Their falling out didn’t make sense to me. The one character that was most disappointing was Cami J, the therapist. I cringed every time I saw her name.

This story was missing depth and emotion. The writing didn’t lead the reader anywhere interesting, but rather took up space. We learned irrelevant details and side stories that added nothing to plot or character development.

The unfortunate part is that I believe this story could’ve been quite riveting with a more grounded and well developed plot. There were glimpses of emotion and suspense that just never took off. This is one of those books that needed more time and editing before print. It is not a book that worked for me.

Thank you to Harlequin and Park Row Books for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Beautiful Bad
by Annie Ward
Published: March 5, 2019 by Harlequin - Trade Publishing
Dates Read: April 7 – 10, 2019
Genre/Category: Psychological Thriller/Suspense / Psychological Fiction
Read For: NetGalley Free Copy

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
5 stars

Stop the presses! Psychological thrillers have a new contender!
Every author always strives to write the next best psychological thriller. We’ve been inundated with so many that the plots have become expected and outcomes predictable. As readers we almost certainly experience burnout, but we are dedicated and we keep on reading. Beautiful Bad by Annie Ward is absolutely not your typical psychological thriller, there is a different type of genius about this book that gives it a stunning brilliance.
This novel is about Maddie, a travel writer and her husband Ian, a former British soldier, now living in suburban Kansas with their son Charlie. Maddie has started attending writing therapy after a camping accident where she reveals her concerns about Ian’s PTSD, her concerns about the safety of their young son Charlie, and the couples stormy past with Maddie’s best friend Jo. The chapters alternate between past and present revolving mostly around “The Day of the Killing” when a frenzied 911 call brings the police to the site of a horrible crime at their home.
This novel was so different than what I expected, it was so brilliantly written with such a unique backstory. You usually go into these books expecting your typical relationship issues, something along the lines of a chic-lit novel except with murder and suspense. I was about a quarter of the way in and the story line was so intriguing, I really had no idea what was going to happen or where things were going but I was 100% absorbed and I wasn’t stopping.
As you continue through the book you get just enough from each timeline to keep you immersed. The writing regarding Maddie’s anxiety is depicted so well and the psychologist sessions (talking about what Maddie is anxious is about, the psychologists reactions) I found to be quite believable. There is a lot of information about Maddie, Jo and Ian’s travels and Ian’s military experience. There was an abundance of information here that had to take a lot of research on behalf of the author. I know nothing about these topics to say whether or not they were accurate, but the information was plausible and made the story line all the more captivating.
All of a sudden BAM. This novel turns into an old Batman & Robin action scene. You get hit so hard…. WHAM, SPLAT, POW, one after the other with all the Ian/Jo baggage that you actually need to pause for a second. So here we are, with 10% of the book left, and I think I have it all figured out. I got this, I really got this. (At this point I am also thrilled because I finally got the “Bunny Boiler” file connection). Then in swoops Batman with one final hit….ZONK….. and you end up with one of the most delicious endings I have ever read in a long time. And no, I did not have this at all, not one bit. This is one of those times where I am happy to admit defeat.
I am usually extremely stingy with 5 stars, but this book is truly deserving. It had all the characteristics that are important: well written, character development, excellent story line, and definitely left me with a lot of feelings and emotions after I finished. But it’s the uniqueness of the backstory and the infuriatingly magnificent ending that is what carried it over the finish line for me. I highly recommend reading this book.

Thank you to NetGalley and Park Row for the free copy of this book for a honest and non biased review.

I simply couldn't get into this book AT ALL. I'm so tired of people touting all-new thrillers as the “new Gone Girl” to suck readers in, and then the writing is sub-par with twists that make no sense. Look, there was only ONE Gone Girl. Stop trying to write new Gone Girls and do something more original since all the books that came after Gone Girl wasn't in the same writing category at all.

There are three main characters, and the story of Beautiful Bad is told in alternating chapters using all three voices. The premise; starting on page one with a call to the police, and blood everywhere, should have set up the story well. The story jumps back and forth in time and setting. Each chapter is labeled with the timeframe, however I still found the storyline hard to follow. I was expecting a domestic thriller, and this story was more one of psychological suspense. If PTSD and personal issues related to war and trauma interest you, Beautiful Bad has that focus. The characters are interesting, I found them difficult to relate to, I think because of the narrative style. I just didnt feel that I ever got a full picture of any one character. I think Annie Ward's writing style just didnt fit me.
I received my copy through NetGalley under no obligation.