🖤 NEW COVER PUB DAY 🖤
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This book was one of my first Bookstagram buddy read and book discussions and I am so happy I took part. I loved digging into this one and hearing everyone’s opinions. I also surprised everyone with some thoughtful questions myself. This is still a book I love discussing and with the new DARK cover I’m digging the new vibes! Thanks to @berkleypub for my gifted copy.
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PREVIOUS REVIEW: “I have been stuck with this book inside my head the past few days unable to even write a review...
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My Lovely Wife is a thriller unlike any other thriller you have read before. It is an easy read, formatted with short chapters only a few pages long, which I like because I was able to always find time to squeeze in a short chapter or two.
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However, it is the main characters who have me contemplating my rating and still unable to give one. I didn’t like either of the main characters, for different reasons, and am unable to share without spoilers. One seemed to lack any real backbone, afraid to ask questions that needed to be asked, living in this limbo fantasyland between his altered reality and actual reality as a father and husband. The other, well you just have to read to see... 🔪

Is this book worth reading? Definitely! But, I think I would like someone to discuss it with, because that ending... 😱.... it left me with questions. I am still baffled and lacking answers. Am I the only one?!?! 🤷‍♀️
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If you for some reason have never heard of this book. It is like a mashup of Mr. and Mrs. Smith meets Dexter. Here is the synopsis:
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“Our love story is simple. I met a gorgeous woman. We fell in love. We had kids. We moved to the suburbs. We told each other our biggest dreams, and our darkest secrets. And then we got bored.
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We look like a normal couple. We're your neighbors, the parents of your kid's friend, the acquaintances you keep meaning to get dinner with.
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We all have our secrets to keeping a marriage alive.
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Ours just happens to be getting away with murder.”
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#bookstagram #bibliophile #bookshelf #bookclub #bookworm #bookblog #bookcommunity #booking #booksofinstagram #booklove #bookstack #booknerd #goodreads #shelfie

Thank you Berkley Pub for the gifted copy and chance to participate in the book tour.

I've wanted to read this since it came out so I was super pumped when asked to be on the book tour for the paperback release. I had heard it was twisty and a well done thriller.

Twisty and well done are accurate descriptions.

I spent the first 2/3 of the book waiting for the big bombshell. A story about a couple that like to kidnap and murder people together? Something is bound to happen to throw this all off. And damn was I right.

Obviously I don't want to say too much because spoilers totally ruin thrillers. I will say that parts were a bit predictable, and other parts I didn't see coming. There is one thing that bothered me though - and that is the daughter. For the entire book you hear about how much anxiety she has because of the girls going missing etc, and she needs therapy and all that...and then the ending happens....and I just can't believe that girl is able to function afterwards.

Anyway, a well done and fun thriller that will keep you wondering how it's all going to play out!

My Lovely Wife, the debut novel from Samantha Downing, is uniquely compelling exploration of a marital relationship.

By all outward appearances, they seem perfectly average. A normal family unit. The story is told by the husband, a tennis instructor at a country club. He and his striking wife, Millicent, have been married for 15 years. She is a realtor and they have two children, Rory 14, and Jenna, 13. They support their children's school and sports activities, and have the occasional dinner with their friends, including his best friend, Andy Preston, and his wife, Trista, who takes tennis lessons at the club. But they are anything but normal, especially on "date night."

Downing weaves a tale about dark compulsions and the consequences of acting upon them. As the story opens, the body of a murdered young woman, Lindsay, has been found and the case is dominating the headlines. The news is shocking for several reasons. The body was never supposed to be found. But, more importantly, Lindsay supposedly died more than a year ago. Yet it is being reported that she was only dead for a few weeks before her body was discovered. That raises a plethora of questions about what has actually been going on for more than a year. And provides the first inkling that perhaps Millicent may not be trustworthy.

So begins a game of cat and mouse in which the stakes could not be higher. Eighteen years ago, Owen allegedly murdered nine women. But he was released from custody because the police failed to have the warrant signed by a judge before collecting critical evidence -- a DNA sample. He disappeared, but became known as the "local monster, boogeyman, serial killer. Eventually he became a myth, too large for life." So they set in motion a plan to make the public and police believe that Owen Riley, the Woodview Killer, has returned. It seems like the perfect distraction until it all goes wrong.

As the search for the killer proceeds, Downing ramps up the pace of the story. They failed to anticipate the ramifications of their subterfuge, and the fallout from their scheme is swift, far-reaching, and devastating. No one in their lives remains unscathed.

The unnamed narrator is wholly unreliable. Downing keeps readers guessing whether he is a loving husband who has been pulled into the dark psyche of his wife and goes along with her behavior for the sake of the marriage and children or if his nature is as malignant as Millicent's. Which of them is the true mastermind behind their actions? Downing injects shocking plot twists and revelations, and an action-packed race to a jaw-dropping conclusion.

Downing invokes extreme emotional reactions from readers. She deftly includes comedic moments, providing momentary relief from the story's unrelenting tension, but just as cleverly breaks readers' hearts. My Lovely Wife is a clever, inventive, and engrossing character study from a promising new writer of psychological thrillers.

This book was such a fun read!

What I Loved-

The Concept: Husband and Wife Serial Killers! Think- the best crime show you have ever watched but better because you get a peek inside the killers head.

The Characters: as I stated above they’re killers 😂. You’re not supposed to like them but technically I didn’t hate them. I was fascinated.

The Twists- I did not see them coming.

The Writing- I could not put this book down. The writing was fantastic. I’m currently reading Samantha Downing’s newest book He Started it- same thing. I cannot stop and I won’t stop. Well, at least until the book ends and then I have no choice 😂.

I highly recommend this book to other readers. Samantha Downing is now an official auto buy author and I will read everything she writes.

Thank you so much to Berkley Pub for my gifted copy of this book.

I was instantly hooked when I started reading My Lovely Wife, and weirdly enough, excited for the twisted and despicable journey that I was about to embark on throughout the rest of the book. The stage was set in just the first few pages, the narrator showing a side of himself no one else sees...at this point I couldn’t imagine setting this book down.

Without revealing too much about the plot - things progress rather quickly and I was 100% on board this crazy train. I didn’t really know what was going to happen. I had some ideas.. but anything was possible and I was ready!

It was very interesting to read all about this very “perfect” family and what made them tick. Their jobs, routines, even their arguments all made the story that much more fascinating.

However, this star duo of the story has been compared to Mr. & Mrs. Smith more than a few times so I was expecting some serious ACTION to round the corner at any given minute.. ...any... minute. Instead there was quite a lull for me.. it felt more like a peculiar monologue where at times I was certain I was reading a dairy, a food journal even. “Dear Diary, today I ate a hotdog”.

Then, BAM, we’re back to ferociously turning the pages to keep up with the craziness of this family and I’m thanking my stars that those few extra wordy chapters were DEFINITELY worth it.

It’s twisty, dark, and addictive & I am glad that I read it! (3.5-4)

Thank you to Berkley for providing me with a copy in exchange for my review.

My lovely wife was the first book I bought when I decided to run a bookstagram and start reviewing. I was excited to read it, although I’m a mood reader and the time never felt quite right. With the paperback release just yesterday, the the time was now, and WOW, what an excellent book.

My Lovely Wife is the story of an upper middle class suburban Husband and Wife. Millicent and her husband (the unnamed narrator of the story) live a tightly scheduled, hectic life. Millicent keeps the family in check, she seems to rule over it with an iron fist. But everything isn’t white picket fences and gated community here, this husband and wife duo have secrets.

I really enjoyed this book. I saw a blurb mentioning it was like dexter meets mr. and Mrs. smith, but I’ve got to say, that’s really selling this book short. Downing weaves both present and past together in this story to always keep the carrot dangling in front of you. Just one more page turns into just one more chapter. Just when you think you’re going to put the book down, a twist comes up and you have to know more. This happened to me a few times. Every time I thought I knew exactly what happened, it turned out I didn’t, and I loved the book that much more for it.

The book is done in 1st person narrative, through the husbands eye. We never learn his name, only his Alias. Through this, we slowly see how cold Millicent is. Everything seems very matter of fact with the family. There is a lot more going on than meets the eye here, and that’s really all I’m willing to say about the plot.

The writing in here is nicely done, especially for a debut novel. I enjoyed the way it wrapped up, although towards the end of the book it did seem to come on a bit fast. It feels like if Downing wanted, she could make a sequel, but personally I hope that she doesn’t, the book ended in a way that left me satisfied.

My Lovely Wife is an excellent thriller with enough twists and turns to keep you guessing, while at the same time always giving you that one more chapter feeling. Samantha Downing is an excellent writer and I can’t wait for what comes next

WOW. 5 stars.

Wow is the only word that comes to mind. It's been 3 days and I'm still thinking about this book.

At one point I actually said "WHAT" out loud, which wouldn't have been a problem, except that I was sneaking a chapter in during work and my coworkers heard me.

What I loved about this book, besides the entire story, are the short chapters. They only took about 5 minutes each to read and it made me fly through the book. I was hooked from page one. For a while it felt like more questions were being raised than answered, which also made reading it a breeze.

The writing was just amazing. I was seriously hooked from the first page and I felt like there were more questions being raised than answered, which made me just want to read faster.

I'd recommend this to everyone and anyone as long as you like thrillers. I can see it being dark and disturbing if you never read them. This book is like if Dexter wasn't just one guy, but a couple.

A serial killer story told from the perspective of the killer's husband, who is aware of her proclivities. There were a lot of twists and turns and I enjoyed this book, I would have loved to get in her head and understand things from the perspective of the serial killer. I had been worried it would be graphic and violent and difficult to read, but it was not.

This is how a suspense thriller is done. 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻

Flawed characters that are mentally unhinged to a chilling degree. This is perfection. A game of cat and mouse with a murderous duo. A woman who didn’t snap, she was born a monster. 😈 Characters you love to hate. So so good.

Each time I read a suspense book with a heroine who has snapped, I am inevitably left 🤨. There is a theme within this genre where the female leads are man obsessed raving b*tches driven crazy by their need to keep their man. 🤯 Women are not as a whole this basic and authors need a new recipe. Well I found it in this lovely bit of disturbing escapism. This was my second reading and I enjoyed it every single bit as well as the first reading last year.

A huge thanks to Berkley, Samantha Downing and NetGalley for the copy of this wildly thrilling, page-turner.

This book was so very good and kept me wanting to know what happened. The characters, storyline and plot and even the small details, that nobody would think about were carefully crafted.

What do you do for fun in your marriage? How do you keep the flame alive? Would you even think of killing, just for fun? The intensity and brains of this book are just there. I’ve never read any book like this and I quite enjoyed it!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ a definite must read!

I greatly enjoyed this thriller. While I can’t say anything really surprised me, or there was a huge twist I didn’t see coming, I do appreciate how it seemed to stand on its own and have an original storyline.

Not all we see is necessarily what meets the eye when it comes to a couple with two young kids. They live in the suburbs but have recently gotten bored with their lives. What happens when there are young women who go missing in their area? Things are not as they seem.

Again, no huge twist that shocked me but I was interested every step of the way!

Very different take on a serial killer. What if it's actually two people? Two people who live a very normal suburban life, complete with two children who do completely normal things. What if this couple kills as a couples date night? What would happen if they turned on each other?

Straightforward read with a big twist towards the end. It was a slow build for me and didn't really get my interest until 5 chapters in, but then I was hooked.

This is another thriller; it’s described in the blurb as “Dexter meets Mr. and Mrs. Smith”, which is not that accurate but gives the reader an idea of what they are in for. I should have paid a little more attention to the “Dexter” part because I’m not into reading things from a serial killer’s perspective, and this book squicked me out at times. It was really a mixed bag because the twists did keep me reading, but the subject matter was distasteful. I also found myself pondering fairly big plot holes.

The unnamed narrator and his wife Millicent are a perfect suburban couple – good jobs, nice house, two kids (a boy and a girl). They’re also burgeoning serial killers, an avocation they just kind of fell into (or so the narrator thinks). His main interest is the sense of excitement and togetherness that kidnapping women with his wife gives him. It’s clear from the beginning that Millicent is more of a go-getter in the field, so to speak. In fact, there are some pretty big hints telegraphed by the narrator (though he himself seems oblivious, perhaps due to a combination of deliberate ignorance and dimness) that Millicent is not exactly what she seems.

I didn’t quite see the twist at the end coming, at least not specifically – I had a general idea that the family that slays together doesn’t necessarily stay together. But in general I have really mixed feelings about this book. On the plus side: very readable – I read it in a couple of days, which is quick for slow-reader me, and found myself eager to pick it up a number of times. So in that sense, it was very entertaining. I’m still thinking about it days later, which is unusual for a book read quickly that really wasn’t that deep. But this (to get to the minus side) is both because of how disturbing I found the story, and because there were some plot holes that I’m not sure if I’m being picky to be bugged by.

Whenever I don’t have deep experience in a genre, I wonder if things that bothered me are just examples of the way things are in that genre. For instance, if someone was new to romance, and was like, “what’s with all the mental lusting?”, I’d be like, yeah, that bugs me too, but that’s just how a lot of romances are; it’s pretty common. With mysteries/thrillers/suspense, I’m beginning to think plot holes are my “mental lusting.” I mean, even Gone Girl, which I hold up as the book that really got me into this genre, and which I think was really well done – even that book has aspects it’s better not to think about too deeply. Could the villain really have gotten away with everything they did in that book? I know there were reasons the police didn’t pursue it, but it still seemed unlikely to me.

It’s similar with My Lovely Wife in the end; I’m not sure that I believe the police would not be able to make a case that they apparently don’t make (I’m trying not to be too spoilerish here). There are other points where I just don’t understand the logic of the characters. But they’re serial killers, so maybe I’m not supposed to? The narrator is such a cipher – he seems like a normal guy and sometimes evinces discomfort at what they’re doing but not nearly enough given the nature of the crimes. I couldn’t figure out if he was just sort of shallow/dumb, and thus didn’t feel the enormity of the crimes, or if we were supposed to be surprised at the depravity beneath the surface. The latter didn’t really make sense given his actions, though.

I’m not really sure how to grade this book given my ambivalence about everything about it. I’m going to go with my gut instinct and give it a B-.

Samantha Downing’s very impressive, dark, twisted and suspenseful psychological thriller debut novel is not one to be missed! I loved every second of this book. Very entertaining. My Lovely Wife is told from the husbands POV, about himself, his wife Millicent, their two teenage kids Rory & Jenna and their typical (or not so typical) suburban family. I won’t go into detail as it’s best to go into a book like this blindly.

A complex, suspenseful plot with tension so thick that it felt palpable. Wonderful characters with depth and substance. I was immediately drawn in and held captive from beginning to end.

#MyLovelyWife #NetGalley

My Lovely Wife
I hated the book, and yet couldn't put it down. The characters were all hideous, the perfect family unit. A husband and wife, two children, a san and daughter living in a suburban dream. The story kind of slow in the beginning, well everything was ordinary real life daily stuff for a while. Things didn’t stay normal very long, things got weirder and weirder as these characters developed their tastes. I thought I knew, I did, till the end then I suffered whiplash. Holy Shiitake what a story.
Thank you to the publishers for honoring me with a copy of this book for an honest review

I loved this book! I couldn't put it down! Just when I thought I had it figured out, I found out I didn't! Who is manipulating who? If you like psychological thrillers, then this book is for you!

On the surface our narrator and his wife Millicent live a disciplined and orderly life with their two teen-age children. We know, however, that that something sinister is going on. What secrets are the parents keeping from each other? Will this bizarre agreement between a married couple help or hurt their relationship. Will murder spice up this marriage?

My Lovely Wife was WOW! Hooked me from the beginning and I did not want to it put down! This was one of my favorites for the year! If you like thriller/suspense novels...this is the best one I have read in awhile! It had such a unique twist on the normal suspense/thriller genre. Excellent! Recommend this book to everyone. Posted on Instagram @carolinehoppereads, goodreads, and Amazon

After reading this one I still can’t believe it was a debut novel. It was so hard to put down, because each chapter ended with me needing more. This author is ridiculously talented and I will be impatiently awaiting their next novel.

I loved the idea of a husband and wife murderer duo. I absolutely hated the fact that I loved the main characters. I felt like I was on a roller coaster ride because of the double life they were leading. They seemed like the perfect couple and parents, but I guess everyone has their own secrets. I also enjoyed the family elements and seeing into the main characters home lives as well as work lives.

It was so dark and twisted, I would love to see it as a made for TV movie or Netflix series. The fact that I didn’t see the twists coming and was completely caught off guard really made it unforgettable. The twist at the end got me so hard, I was enraged but loved it. If you need a good mystery/thriller look no further.