Excerpt:
“Don’t you think it’s about time you told her the truth? For her own sake?”
“No. The truth is very overrated, “ he replied without a flicker.
I stared at him disbelievingly. “You can’t say that-the truth is everything!”
“No, it’s not. People distort the truth all the time.

Nick.
Natasha
The ex wife, Jen (who won’t go away!)

Who is telling the truth? Who is distorting it?

And, who is Anna? (You will find out in part two-no peeking!) I was surprised...

But, despite a FAST start, the book started to drag on at the 60% point, and I was wanting to skim ahead and be done. 😴

Still, if you love psychological thrillers with MANY twists and turns, this may be the book for you, even though it was not the book for ME.. I won’t say more...go in blind..

Thank You to Netgalley, Bookouture, and the author for the ARC I received in exchange for a candid review!

This book will be available on June, 5, 2018!

Thank you to Netgalley, the author and the Publisher, Bookouture for this review copy given in exchange for an honest review. Also thank you to Noelle from Bookouture for organising the Blog Tour.

I just had to read this book! I’d read the author’s previous book, The Good Sister, and loved it so just knew this one was going to be good! Now, it’s going to be really difficult to review this without giving any major plot spoilers, but I’ll give it a go! Natasha and Nick have a comfortable life – a lovely house, plenty of money and a beautiful daughter. Unfortunately for Natasha, Nick’s ex-wife Jen is still on the scene and she won’t leave them alone. One day, Natasha returns home to find that Nick and her daughter Emily have disappeared. In desperation she seeks help from Nick’s ex, Jen, but can she really trust her?

The book begins in a hospital room, but you don’t get to find out what that is all about until much later in the book. Each chapter is mainly written from the point of view of three women – Natasha, Jen and Anna. The timescales of each chapter also jump around to be told from the past and then the present.

Natasha is Nick’s second wife. He met her after her knocked her off her bike. He was still married then, but had a bit of a casual thing with her and she ended up pregnant. Nick had always wanted a child, and this was something he hadn’t managed with his first wife Jen. Because of how Natasha and Nick met and him leaving his first wife, Natasha isn’t very popular within Nick’s family – in fact none of them really talk to her.

Jen is Nick’s first wife. You don’t get to find out much about their background until later, but you do find out quite early that following her divorce from Nick they have remained on fairly good terms. Nick’s family have known Jen for years and she is very much in favour with them.

Anna – well, if you want to know who Anna is you’ll need to read the book as I’m not going to tell you! As you read Anna’s part of the story, you know she is involved somewhere along the lines, but you don’t get to find out how or why until much later into the book.

The book is one major rollercoaster of a story! It goes up and down and twists and turns. It’s chilling but captivating all in one go. Whilst I was hooked into this book right from the beginning, I initially wondered where it was all going to go. Obviously the ex-wife plays a big part (the title of the book is a bit of a giveaway!) but I just couldn’t work out how! When I did finally get to the reveal, well I think it was safe to say my gob was well and truly smacked! But, that’s not all either….just when you thought it was all over, it gave you a little bit more! This book is definitely one that you need to read right to the last word!

This was a fantastic book, which I have no hesitation in recommending! The plot was intense, the tension was electrifying and the writing was brilliant! You have to read this book!

This book was good!! I really liked it. Trigger warning: people die in a car crash...or do they?

The book alternates between Anna, Natasha, and Jennifer. My only complaint about this is that all sections are written in first person, and their "voices" are very similar; you really have to pay attention to whose section you're reading. For that reason only, the book gets 4.5 stars (rounded down to 4). All in all a solid story; a round of applause to Jess Ryder, whose books I will definitely be looking for.

I would like to thank Bookouture and NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read ‘The Ex-Wife’ written by Jess Ryder in exchange for my honest and unbiased review.
When Nick knocks Natasha off her bike he romances her until she falls in love with him. Nick is overjoyed when she becomes pregnant with Emily and they marry. Natasha’s only problems are Nick’s ex-wife Jen who is constantly turning up at their home and his family, especially sister Hayley, who blame her for breaking up his marriage to Jen. When Natasha returns home one day she discovers Nick has packed his belongs and gone, taking Emily with him. Jen offers to help her get Emily back but can she be trusted?
This is an amazing thriller, gripping, suspenseful, with a complex and well-written plot. The tension increases with each twist and turn and becomes increasingly chilling. I was hooked from page one and once I’d started reading I couldn’t put it down, needing to know what was going to happen next. The final twist at the end left me open-mouthed with surprise. This novel is compulsive reading and I can highly recommend it.

I enjoyed the twists in this book, but overall I thought the story moved a little slowly. Good read though. Thanks to NetGalley for the advanced ebook copy.

This was a book which totally confused me for a while, even more so at the end of part one. There are so many twists and turns throughout it will keep you gripped and trying to figure out exactly what is going on. Just when I thought I had it all figured out the author threw yet another twist in to confuse me even more.

I definite read for fans of psychological thrillers. Many thanks to Bookouture and Netgalley for providing a copy.

This is the first book I have read from this author and it won't be the last, loved every minute and wanted it to carry on.

I found with Jess' writing she got you involved straight away and it turned out to be a gripping page turner and an excellent psychological thriller that kept me engrossed throughout and kept me guessing until the end.

I look forward to reading more from Jess Ryder in the future.

This began as the new younger wife and the older cast off first wife. But nothing was as it seemed. I enjoyed all the twists and turns and still it left the door open for a follow up. I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I did not predict how this book proceeded and I did immediately search for other stories by this author. Thanks to Netgalley!

Sisters, wives, mother-in-laws, lots of female drama and suspense in this summer’s new books! I sense a trend here. The Ex-Wife by Jess Ryder is yet another book you need to read. I am happy to see so many thrillers/suspense/page turners coming out. These compelling reads will have you slipping into another world all summer!

From the beginning, the reader has a sense that something bad is going to happen/has happened. How do authors create such tension? Please tell me.

Some books, like this one, just seem creepy from the first sentence and you know the book is going to be good.

Check it out:

Newly married Natasha has the perfect house, a loving husband and a beautiful little girl called Emily. She’d have it all if it wasn’t for Jen, her husband’s ex-wife who just won’t leave them alone …

Then Natasha returns home one day to find her husband and Emily gone without trace. Desperate to get her daughter back, Natasha will do anything even if it means accepting an offer of help from Jen. But can she trust her? And do either of them really know the man they married?

Im almost done with this book and its very good. I think it gets better and better the further you get into the story.

This book is out on June 5th!

‘The Ex-Wife’ by Jess Ryder published by Bookouture on June 5th

I, wrongly, presumed this would be fairly standard fayre of an ex-wife and her jealousy etc at the new wife and well we know where it goes from there.....however what this book is is a very clever but chilling novel about just how far an ex and indeed a current wife will go to get and keep what they want!!
It was an intense read and COULD have been complicated but wasn’t as the author kept the reader well informed throughout, its hard to explain but not once did I think ‘now who is this?’’And is it past or present?’as so often you can find yourself doing with psychological thrillers, the story is told so well that you are ‘there’ with the right character at the right time throughout the whole book
Its a thrilling book, dark and brooding and is one of the books where half way through theres a massive shock ( lets not say twist as I know it irritates some review readers😃) and this shock then carries on with other mini and major shocks right till the end page
A clever, involved and dramatic story that drew me in and kept me there
LOVED IT 10/10 5 stars

The Ex-Wife is a book you that will definitely keep you guessing.

Natasha has it all. A new husband, Nick and daughter, Emily. However, Nick has an ex-wife, Jennifer.
Nick cheated on Jen, thus causing a divorce. However, Jen keeps popping up out of nowhere.

One day Natasha comes home and all of Emily’s and Nick’s things gone. In a series of twists and turns you would never expect. This book is impossible to put down.

Thank you Netgalley for the ARC. I will be reading more by this author.

WOW how to even begin, looking for a psychological thriller that will blow your mind!!! Natasha fell in love with Nicky after he accidentally knocked her off her bike, Nicky who was already married began an affair, when Natasha fell pregnant, Nicky filed for divorce from Jen, Natasha & Nicky together with their adorable daughter Emily seemed like such a happy devoted family, then BAM Natasha's life is turned upside down when she finds Nicky is having an affair with his ex-wife Jen, with her life falling apart, she was adamant she would leave Nicky but needed to keep custody of their daughter, with that she set about organizing a plan to leave with Emily.... then the tables turn when she goes to pick Emily up from the daycare to find Nicky hadn't actually dropped her off, WHAT IS GOING ON, her head is spinning, she doesn't know who to believe, she turns to Jen, Nicky's ex-wife for help, is she friend or foe, she appears to be on her side but who can she trust!!! This book was explosive, what a page turner, just had to keep reading to get to the how, why etc, I had presumed to think I knew who the character "Anna" was but end of Part 1 shocked me to the core, this is a very well written and thought out plot with so many twists and turns, lies, truth, fact from fiction, it sets your mind in turmoil trying to keep up, would highly recommend it.

Thank you to Netgalley and Bookouture for an advanced copy in exchange for my honest opinion and a big thank you to Jess Ryder for blowing my mind.

I was initially attracted to this book because of the cover, but it was the first three chapters that had me hooked. The Ex-wife is an excellent thriller; the story is well told, there are A LOT of things you don't see coming, and everything that happens is realistic. I could not consume the words fast enough, the end of every chapter had me wanting more!

This was my first Jess Ryder book and it won't be my last! I am now a fan! What a fantastic read this was. So many twists, it kept you guessing. Are Nick and Jen over? Are they? Jen keeps coming into the picture. Such history there. No surely they are over, Nick has a perfect marriage and a sweet little girl. The ending was brilliant. I loved how it ended. I was completely floored. Being completely floored by the twists and turns, especially the ending, makes a perfect thriller in my book!

Thank you netgalley and Bookouture for the read for my honest review. I greatly appreciate it!

Natasha is happily married to Nick with a beaufitul daughter named Emily. The only thing starting to stand in the way is Nick’s ex-wife Jennifer. Jen is starting to come back into Nick’s life, and you find out that truly began when Nick and Natasha had their baby. You see, Nick had an affair with Natasha, got pregnant, and divorced Jen to be with her. The thing is, Nick and Emily show up missing one day and Natasha is desperate to find out what happened to them. Was it Jen? Was it Nick? Was it Nick’s family who despise Natasha from ruining a perfect marriage? Was it someone else completely?

There were surely a ton of twists in this novel! Not too many, not too little. My favorite!! I am not a huge fan of multiple point of view reads, but this one was different because it had a past and present viewpoint which was something I could easily follow. I was confused about the plot at first, but it quickly picked up around chapter 4 and just went nuts from there. I caught on to the story, but still couldn’t manage to predict the ending. WHEW! It’s prettttty crazy! Even if you read one of the last chapters, you still wouldn’t manage to get the whole picture of what really happened. Every detail in this is crucial and it blows your mind! If you like Girl on the Train, you will surely enjoy this. I would totally read this one again.

5/5 Stars

The Ex-Wife
Jess Ryder
Available: June 5. 2018

Thank you to NetGalley.com for the opportunity to read an Advanced Reader Copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinion.
What I loved: I loved the idea of an ex-wife who was so deeply ingrained into their family life that the mere presence of her caused friction in a marriage. The little changes along the story line and then the last chapter were also so explosive!
What I didn’t love: I’m torn between the sympathy generated for Anna and the lack of viewpoint from the true monster of the book who remains quite until the end. Maybe I’m jaded..maybe I’m expecting a home run for every book but I would have loved more psychological torture for Natasha, more understanding as to why, just a wee bit more.

What I learned: To paraphrase Nene from the Real Housewifes of Atlanta, “Stop spreading your legs for married men.”
Overall Grade: B

www.FluffSmutandMurder.com

Wow this is a stonker of a book. Gripped me from the very first page and even made my bath water go cold in a desperate attempt to finish it. Fantastic characters and a plot that takes hold and doesn’t let go . This is going in my top reads for 2018!

Natasha The Wife, Jen the Ex Wife and the little girl Emily caught up in the middle.
Rich, successful businessman Nick has everything money can buy but the one thing missing in his life is a child of his own and he’ll go to any lengths to get this.
This book is twisty and turny and in parts you just don’t know what to believe and , for me, there were a couple of gasp out loud moments.
I did feel that the ending was slightly rushed but at the same time i think this will be one of the big Psychological thrillers of the Summer

I read and enjoyed The Good Sister, so I knew this book would be full of twists. But I didn't know how full of twists it would be. I really enjoyed this book - it bounced from past to present, spreading the story across two narratives. All the characters were engaging and unreliable - there were definite points where I didn't know who to trust.

This book is tricky to review without spoilers, but it is brilliantly written and the twisty plot is compelling.

Jen is Nick's ex-wife. Nick is married to Natasha, now - they have a daughter, Emily. Jen repeatedly shows up where Nick is at - even at his house! She calls Nick often and is close to his family. Actually, while Nick was married to Jen, Natasha was "the other woman". Nick divorced Jen when Natasha became pregnant. Well, he never did quite leave her. Sam, Nick's chauffer teaches Natasha how to drive. A parallel story begins with Anna and I asked myself how this will all fit together. Although Anna seems very shy, she eventually boards with Chris, whom she calls a Christian guy. Anna seems to know Sam? Natasha finds a lawyer to get Emily back from her husband who somehow kidnapped the child. The lawyer is too expensive. Jen says she will help get the baby back, but that the best way to get Emily away from Nick is to abduct her. Supposedly Jen and Natasha join forces to do this. But what is Jen REALLY up to??? Yep, Jen double-crosses Natasha and helps Nick to once again escape with Emily. Natasha managed to hit Nick repeatedly with an oar - almost to death? or dead? You find yourself forced to read on to find out the answer to many questions; What happens with Nick? How is Sam involved? Jen and Chris - do they get together? And where is Emily? Wow! The twists and turns are brilliant! This is a 5 star winner! Many thanks to Bookkouture and NetGallery for this opportunity!