The perfect illustration of “if something feels too good to be true it probably is” and “always trust your gut” This thrilling drama was well-paced, plotted and kept me on my toes. An overall entertaining read with ultimately a satisfying ending (which I won’t spoil!) Worth a read, recommend!

The Women by S.E.Lynes is more of a women's fiction than a domestic thriller. A little slow at the start it has some twists which overall made an ok read for me .

I would like to thank Bookouture & NetGalley for providing an ARC of this book in exchange for my honest and fair review.

Sometimes young women, who come from a broken family, don’t have a lot of self-esteem. I can understand why. They often had to have a job in order to be able to pay for college or any extra’s and they did not have much left to go out and learn about the world. When they suddenly are being noticed by an older, sophisticated gentleman, they cannot believe their luck. How can someone like him be interested in in someone like her?

That’s what Sam is wondering too, but she is not going to ask any questions. She is going to enjoy every minute of his attention and she is eager to soak up everything he can teach her.

She also does not complain about his rules. He has been around a few years longer than she has and of course he knows best, doesn’t he?

Little by little Sam starts to realise her life is not the fairy tale she thought it was. Peter has always been the one to take the lead. Maybe it’s time to return the favour and do something for him so he can sit back and relax…

It’s crazy that you sometimes don’t see what is happening with you. It’s only when you take a step back and look at your life, the scales are falling from your eyes.

I really enjoyed this book. A lot of people are really good, but a lot of them are bad too. They might not hurt you physically, but they can hurt you mentally which is as bad or maybe even worse. Wounds that are visible are usually taken more in consideration. Maybe people think that something they can’t see is not really there? People who went through the same things, are your best allies.  5 stars

Thank you

This was within my 2019 favourites. Absolutely loved this, brilliant writing, kept me gripped throughout and didn’t see the end coming.

So gripping and chilling! From the beginning you will be wondering if things are as good as they seem, and then....well, I cant say or it will spoil it - but give this a read!

This is the first book I've read by SE Lynes and it's fantastic! I coudn't put it down - great plot and such realistic characters and dialogue. Highly recommended.

It's a decent read, it is, but I found myself questioning the main character's choices, constantly, to the point that I couldn't really get into the storyline. I enjoy reading this author, but this book was just okay to me.

I have read many books with this trope so reading this was pretty dull and managed to get 50% of the way through before deciding to let this one go

I mean.. you just KNOW that Peter is the worst man ever even at the start - and you really want to shake some sense into Samantha.. but haven't we all been drawn into something we shouldn't have? That's the real premise here, with some heavy twists and turns along the way, not knowing the real depth of Peter's evil doings until we get further along. Manipulative men and twisty tales - do recommend.

Thank you to the publisher for providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Twisty and chilling and gripping, everything this author does is brilliant. Really enjoyed this book!

Thank you Netgalley for the opportunity to preview The Women. This is a late review as the book is almost a year old.
I will give this a 3 rating - it's a good book, but the main character's choices were ones that made me say to myself - WHY, WHY,
I think this is a great author, but the book was just ok for me.

My second book by SE Lynes. The Women was interesting and the cover was beautiful. I was sucked in right away and couldn’t wait to finish so i could know the truth.

Another brilliant read from S E Lynes. A story of naivety, trust, betrayal and the repercussions from all three. The characterisation is brilliant, I hated, but felt pity for the main male character, Professor Peter Bridges. Samantha Frayn was a vulnerable young woman and I rooted for her to get some backbone.

I loved this book and felt it hard to put down.

A huge Thank You to The author, The publisher and Netgalley for providing the e-arc in exchange for a unbiased review of these works

not as dark as the authors other works but just as good, this read is packed full of tension and suspense!

Samantha is bowled over by the attention of dashing university lecturer, Peter. She can't believe that he has chosen her above all of the prettier, more confident girls. He's mature and sophisticated and she's quickly taken in by his charm. But Samantha is not the only girl to be swept off her feet by Peter and when his other women enter her life, she discovers that he's not all he seems.
It's a tale that has been told many times but "The Women" is a captivating read with endearing characters.

A nice read! It’s when Sam starts receiving anonymous poems and stories that she starts wondering if Peter is truly the sauve, sophisticated gentleman Sam thought he was...Everything had happened so suddenly. One day, she was a young girl with an exciting future. The next day, she had moved in with an older man and had his baby. Who was Peter really?
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the arc.

Another killer read by a talented author. Even though the story was upsetting, its part of our normal lives and told well. Good solid read, can't wait for some more.

I absolutely LOVE SE Lynes books – she is an author who manages to take a theme or topic and add so much depth to the characters and story line that the reader becomes immersed in the story almost immediately and that added layer brings such realism that it’s so easy to forget this is a work of fiction and these characters are not real.

Samantha Frayn is our main protagonist. A young, inexperienced and gullible university student with hardly any confidence or self worth who meets the enigmatic, handsome, suave and highly respected Professor at a university party one night and is instantly drawn into his world and flattered by his attention. Within a matter of time she finds herself living with him and alienating herself from her friends and family.

The blurb above describes the story perfectly and there isn’t much more I can add except to say that I started reading this the day I arrived in Rome on holiday and absolutely loved the fact that the opening chapter is based in Rome which gave me an added layer of authenticity whilst reading about Samantha and Peter on honeymoon in the same city I was visiting.

The Women is, at times, an uncomfortable and unsettling story especially watching Samantha being “groomed” by this older and charismatic professor and when she starts to receive these anonymous notes causing her to question the father of her child and the man she lives with, the reader is taken on a journey with an underlying feeling of dread.

Once again SE Lynes has written an original, clever and totally addictive thriller which I thoroughly recommend.

I would firstly like to thank Netgalley and the publishers for allowing me the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

While the read definitely gripped me in and did keep my interest from start to finish, unfortunately, for me, there was just a bit too many unrealistic elements to the story and the main character. Her actions were very questionable.

The premise of the story were still very intriguing regardless so this one is worth a read, but it isn't this author's best.

EXCERPT: He knows she's seen the scarf. he is offering up his alibi before she challenges him so that his innocence is beyond doubt.

Clever, she thinks. Very clever.

But she is no slouch on the brains front either. She turns over, kisses him on his lying mouth.

ABOUT THIS BOOK: The night she moves in with Peter, she’s so happy, so exhilarated, so in love. Later, she will remember a much smaller feeling, a tiny one percent in her gut. And she will remember pushing that feeling aside…

Samantha Frayn doesn’t know why Peter Bridges picks her – a nobody with bitten fingernails and a troubled childhood behind her – but she falls quickly. He’s older, charming, likes fine wine and French films, and his beautiful home has real art on its walls.

Peter transforms Samantha’s life in an instant. He sees the better version of herself – the one she’s always wanted to be. It’s only normal that there’s a little friction, when she moves in, over domestic matters like where things are kept, or the proper times to eat, sleep and shower. She’s lucky to be with someone who can help her find a new job, move on from childish friends, and speak with greater sophistication.

But as Samantha notices, more and more, Peter’s temper, she starts to wonder if there might be consequences to breaking the rules of the world he has so quickly built around her.

And then she receives an anonymous note that makes her ask: is she the first woman to feel trapped by Peter? Is she being paranoid, manipulated, or could she be in danger?

You can tell the truth about your life, but someone needs to be listening. Someone needs to trust you. And someone needs to save you from the man you thought you loved.

MY THOUGHTS: Clever, I think. Very clever. Even a little sly Ms. Lynes...and a trifle wicked. Not at all predictable. Secrets, lies, bluffs and double bluffs, it is so easy to lose track of who is telling the truth, if anyone is!

The story starts slowly, but having read everything this author has previously written, I knew that something surprising would be coming. The unrelenting pace in the second half of the book more than makes up for the meandering of the first half. This is not a criticism, because that is just the way it is, a necessity to set the scene for what is to come. And the denouement? - delicious. Absolutely delicious.

Read in one sitting.

*****

THE AUTHOR: S E Lynes is the Amazon best selling author of psychological thrillers, VALENTINA, MOTHER, THE PACT and THE PROPOSAL.
After graduating from Leeds University, Susie lived in London before moving to Aberdeen where she worked as a producer at the BBC before moving with her husband, Paul, and two young children to Rome.
In Rome, she began to write, snatching time where she could. After the birth of her third child and upon her return to the UK, she gained an MA in Creative Writing from Kingston University.
She now combines writing, mentoring and lecturing. She has also published two children's books in Italy.

#The Women #NetGalley

DISCLOSURE: Thank you to Bookouture via NetGalley for providing a digital ARC of The Women by S E Lynes for review. All opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own personal opinions.

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