I was looking forward reading the latest book by Lucy Dawson as I've loved all her other books I have read by her. So when Don't Ever Tell came out I had to read it. Sadly this book did not grab me like her other books. It was a very slow beginning and I did not get into it until I was half way through it. I found it a struggle to finish it.

"But behind closed doors, the marriage is breaking, and Charlotte’s husband Tris doesn’t even know how much. He has no idea what Charlotte has planned for him, who she has found, why she has hired someone to pretend to be her. But he doesn’t have long to wait to find out."

Thank you to NetGalley, Bookouture and Lucy Dawson for a free advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

DON'T EVER TELL is my second Lucy Dawson book and I must say it was a disappointment after reading THE DAUGHTER, which I loved! I am not sure where to begin with this book because it was just so average, without much excitement at all.

The story is about Charlotte and Mia, told from both their perspectives in alternating chapters throughout. A domestic drama of sorts, the pace is somewhat slow for over half of the book - which in my opinion, is just far too slow. How can you have your readers on the edge of their seats if you are putting them to sleep? I normally devour books within 2 days...this one took me 4...and even that was a struggle.

Charlotte and Tris appear to have the perfect marriage but looks can be deceiving. A writer of domestic thrillers and having to manage the house, the kids and trying to find time to write is taking a toll on Charlotte while Tris commutes to London to do "real work", as he so kindly puts it. Charlotte is struggling to find the time to write as the kids and Tris demand more from her as she rushes to meet deadlines and hold on to her marriage.

When Charlotte first met Mia, it was at a book signing in Edinburgh, and she was startled to see how much she looked like her younger self...twenty years ago. They exchanged a few words, she signed her book and that was that. Until a year later.

Mia is an aspiring actress trying to make her mark in the world. She has struggled with relationships since her fiance and best friend ran off together. She sees a therapist who unfortunately takes ill and refers her to one of her colleagues. Her name is Florence, and she is Charlotte's sister. But Mia doesn't know that, as she pours her heart out to Florence, telling her about her new boyfriend Seth and showing her a photo of them together.

It is at a family celebration, Charlotte is confronted with some shocking news which then sets in motion a course of events that snowballs out of control that even Charlotte cannot control.

So when Charlotte seeks out Mia with a proposition that will change both their lives forever she has no doubt the young woman will accept. It will give the young actress the career boost she needs and Charlotte herself stands to benefit as well.

The proposition? Mia just needs to pass off a book Charlotte has written as her own...and she stands to make a tidy sum as a debut.

The question is - why did Charlotte choose Mia? Is it because of the resemblance? Or is there a different darker reason? Just what is Charlotte hiding?

One thing is for sure, when Charlotte sought out Mia, neither woman could know just how far Charlotte's plan would spiral.

DON'T EVER TELL is not what it appears. It's not at all really like the description says. Mia doesn't have to "pretend" to be Charlotte as we are lead to believe - that would entail her stepping into Charlotte's shoes as wife and mother and everything else, and that just wouldn't work. Her "pretense", such as it is, is just her passing off a novel Charlotte has written as her own for publication. That is not pretending to be Charlotte because it has Mia's name on the cover. So I think that was quite misleading.

While premise for this book sounded like an intriguing idea, I just don't think it hit the mark. It was not edge-of-your-seat. It was not exciting. And it was definitely not fast paced. (Not that a book has to be fast paced to be exciting). I've read many slow burn starts, but this one just took too long to explode...and even then, it didn't. The reveals, when they came, were not mind blowing or shocking. In fact, despite never actually saying so, I made one of the links very early on which was only confirmed when a character's full name was disclosed. Then it made sense. The other was quite clever, I admit.

However, the execution of reveals were a little convoluted I felt, and didn't flow. The reader would be left wondering at the end of Mia's chapter, only to pick up in Charlotte's next in a completely different place and you're left wondering "What...?" Even when it did pick up where the previous chapter left off, it felt as if it was just thrown in as a "by the way". It made for confusing reading that didn't flow as neatly as it could have.

The climax, which began in the Prologue, that took us through to the ultimate ending wasn't really edge-of-your-seat stuff. And in the end, the reader is left with questions as to what actually happened on "that night". There was no surprise, no shock, no real twist - just a lot of unanswered questions.

While I do love dual narrative stories and that between Charlotte and Mia, I did find the way it was delivered was both convoluted and confusing at times.

Honestly, I felt DON'T EVER TELL could have been executed a lot better than it was, particularly as Dawson's previous books have been of a far greater calibre.

While I personally wasn't thrilled with this book, don't let my own opinions deter you from checking it out. It may surprise you - you may enjoy it as others have.

I would like to thank #LucyDawson, #NetGalley and #Bookouture for an ARC of #DontEverTell in exchange for an honest review.

I love Lucy Dawson’s books- she has a way of enticing her readers into her books and leaving you captivated, this book was no exception with the twists and turns that unexpectedly hit me, I throughly enjoyed this one! Thank you to netgalley for my copy.

Charlotte and Tris are married, she is an author and he is in marketing. Their marriage isn’t what it used to be. Charlotte meets Mia, an actress, at a book convention and ends up asking her to be the face to a book she has written. Upon the news breaking, Mia ends up in danger but can Charlotte help her?

I have previously struggled with Lucy’s books, for some unknown reason I just can’t seem to get into them but with this one I was absorbed from the first page! Think I need to try reading her previous ones again! Thank you to netgalley and the publishers for this arc in exchange for my honest review.

I found this story a little confusing, trying to decipher the character telling her viewpoint. A marriage struggling, lots of deceit and an affair with a look alike. This was just too far out for me. I usually enjoy this author so I was disappointed.

Charlotte has a great family and the perfect job, writing mystery thrillers. But beyond the facade, things aren’t so perfect. Her husband, Tris, belittles her profession, and rarely helps with the kids. She and her sister are still reeling by the unexplained eight year absence of their father. And Charlotte’s novels aren’t receiving the attention they deserve. So when Mia steps into her life, Charlotte sees a perfect opportunity.

But Mia is vulnerable, a struggling actress with a bad breakup in her past. Under Charlotte’s tutelage her world changes forever.

This is a riveting novel with some interesting twists and turns. I admit, I wanted all the loose ends nicely tied up, and that didn’t quite happen here. But it was certainly an engaging read!

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC.

My goodness this was scarily real and relatable I just Couldn’t stop reading. If you seriously only read one book the rest of the year, do yourself and favour and make it this one! It really is a story of you don’t know what goes on behind closed doors. Charlotte appears to have the perfect life, a loving husband, two gorgeous children, a job that she loves albeit struggling with the balance of it, the nice house and car. Life couldn’t be better, or could it? Under the surface, Charlotte and Tris’ marriage is struggling , it’s just a rough patch, isn’t it?

Charlotte – under pressure but rational??
Charlotte truly loves working from home. She’s a good writer but struggling juggling family life and her professional life – squeezing in time to write in between cooking teas, school runs and illness. Tris, is often working away from home, could he do more to ease her strain? Does he do more to cause strain? Absolutely.

One day at a book signing in Edinburgh, Charlotte is a approached by a young fan who hauntingly looks like a younger Charlotte. It is so striking that it stops Charlotte in her tracks…Apparently it hasn’t gone unnoticed by her husband either. The young fan called Mia is a struggling actress , struggling to make ends meet and has a disturbed past. She’s vulnerable and haunted.

The two women’s paths cross again when Charlotte’s sister, Flo reveals a secret about her husband, she really didn’t see coming. Charlotte turns up at a performance Mia is starring in and gives her a proposition she really can’t turn down. This reveals Charlotte’s darker side and her tenacity for her end game.

Mia is caught in the crossfire
Mia is the character I felt more empathy for. She had come out the other side after some extremely dark moments in her life. She worked to get herself into a healthy place and yet, the events that transpired in this book could have quite easily unravelled all her hard work. She was definitively a vulnerable character that in the end got played by them both.

Nothing breaks like a heart.

Plot – blown out the park
I haven’t read anything by Lucy Dawson before but by god this won’t be the last book I pick up from her. Outstanding, Psychological thriller at it’s best! This was by far the best take on the revenge thriller that I have come across so far. The plot is dark and twisted and executed oh so amazingly well! The main character was unreliable and darkly motivated herself and although you could surmise the way the plot was developing the ending was a surprise and it blew me away. Bravo Lucy Dawson, Bravo.

5 Stars
This Book was provided to me in exchange for an honest review. Thanks Netgalley and Bookouture.

Don't Ever Tell by Lucy Dawson is a gripping thriller you won't be able to put down.

It tells a story of Charlotte, mother, wife, writer whose marriage is on the rocks but the husband is blissfully unaware. It also tells a story of young actress Mia who is Charlotte's look alike from twenty years ago. Mia is a troubled young woman who happens to seek professional help from Charlotte's sister.
Charlotte make an offer to Mia that will change everything forever.

Several characters, but all connected in the most unbelievable way. It shows that almost nothing is as it seems from the outside. So many troubled relationships.
Many twists and turns keep readers constantly engaged.
It is also told from the perspective of two main characters so we can nicely follow the story and see how the same situation is differently perceived by them.
While reading this book I constantly had that uneasy feeling that something horrible is just about to happen. It didn't disappoint.

Don't Ever Tell is a gripping psychology thriller with a vicious sting in the tail.
Lucy Dawson's story of a woman who's seemingly perfect life unravels around her is exceptional. Right to the end you cannot determine the fact from the fiction and you are constantly questioning everything that you think you already know.
Well written and easy to read with a shocking twist at the end.
I received this book from Netgalley and the publisher in return for an honest review.

Charlotte and Tris seem to have the perfect marriage, but they are going through around patch. She's an author who's struggling to meet deadlines with two young children to look after. Tris often works away from home. She first meets Mia at a book signing and Charlotte is minded of her younger self, she even thinks Mia looks like she did. Mia is a struggling actress and Charlotte bumps into her again a year later. Charlotte asks Mia to pretend that she wrote one for Charlottes books. She promises that they will share the money they make from the book. But things are not all that it seems.

This story is told from Charlotte and Mia's point of view. There is the usual red herrings but some of them are not obvious until nearer the end of the book. It's not the greatest plot line that I have read recently but it's addictive just the same. The pace is a bit slow but we needed it that way for the slow reveal of the plot unfolding. Another great read from the author.

I would like to thank NetGalley, Bookouture and the author Lucy Dawson for my ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Wowsers. Hooked on this one from chapter one. Loved it, the twists and turns. I thought I had guessed the plot. But didn’t see that one coming.

Charlotte is an author, wife, and mother of two beautiful kids. Her life looks like a dream. Handsome and successful husband, a job she loves and wonderful house. Everything is going well until one of her book tours in Edinburgh where she met Mia, the girl that looks almost like her in her twenties. After few years Mia appears in her life again as she is a client of her sister. The day when she found out the truth about her it completely changes her life.

Mia is a young actress who tries her best in show business world, which can be more complicated as we think it is. She tries hard to expend her career even if people are coming to her life and complicate everything. As her job brings a lot of stress to her life and also the fact that she was adopted leads her to attend therapy.

Paths of these two women cross each other when Charlotte appears on one of the performances of Mia's and offer her a very valuable deal which can help her career. She didn't know that both of them were connected and all of this is just a game.

As I started reading this book I couldn't put down not even because of the story but the writing style of the author. At the beginning of the book, nothing special happens but it's written so well that you just keep reading as long as you can. The story itself is unique, unpredictable and shocking. I read the last 100 pages on one breath without any breaks and distractions. Each piece of the story I didn't notice before, made the whole sense of the events that happened. Everything that happened was so perfectly planned and connected that no one would imagine that it will end like this.

I wasn't a fan of Charlotte, I felt like she is completely broken inside. Her thoughts and behavior made me wonder what pushes her to it. I had a few alternatives of the moment that completely changed her and any of them was true. However, Mia, in my opinion, was the victim of the revenge plan. She didn't do anything wrong. She was leaving her own life, trying to reach her dream job and be loved by her family and boyfriend. She didn't deserve to be a part of it. Honestly, I'd never guess the ending of this book and I'm glad I didn't. It made this book even more worth reading because of it.

"Nothing breaks like a heart"

I would like to thank NetGalley, Lucy Dawson and the publisher for the advanced reader copy of this book. It was a perfect read for the after exams days when you just want to lay down and forget about the world.

4,5 Stars

This books starts as a domestic drama but during the last half it develops into a very dark and unexpected story. I got totally absorbed while reading it although it is slow paced. Somehow the author dragged me completely into her dark tale of revenge.

Charlotte and Tris are living a normal family life with their two kids. But you can see that the marriage is struggling. Charlotte is at first a person you can connect to. She has to care for their children while her husband is working long hours and often away for days. She herself is a writer, already published several books. Charlotte feels that her demands for her job and her efforts for the family are not appreciated by Tris. Both Charlotte and Tris characters are very well worked out with all their flaws. As the story goes on we learn that Charlotte has a darker side. I was not sure where the story was heading to and that kept me guessing.

I really enjoyed the book. I was totally sucked in and I think it was because of the writing. I became totally absorbed by the story and I got shivers by all the dark implications you get towards the end. This was my second book from Lucy Dawson and definitely not my last.

I’d like to thank Bookouture and NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read ‘Don’t Ever Tell’ by Lucy Dawson in exchange for my honest and unbiased review.

Charlotte is an author attending a book festival in Edinburgh when she first notices Mia Justice, an up-and-coming actress who looks like a younger version of herself. Charlotte and Tris have been married for eleven years but they’re growing apart, and when her sister Flo tells her a secret about Tris he doesn’t realise what Charlotte has devised for him.

‘Don’t Ever Tell’ is a brilliantly written psychological thriller with a gripping plot that had me in its grasp, unable to put it down until I’d reached the end. The tension kept increasing with each twist and turn, becoming more and more shocking as I continued reading. The plot was sinister and unnerving until the final turn of events was reached and all the loose ends tied up. This novel is compulsive reading and one of those books I’d recommend you don’t miss.

Lucy Dawson never fails to deliver! I am a big fan of her books and this one had me reading late into the night to find out what was going to happen next. Absolutely brilliant - easily 5 stars from me. And can we talk about that cover - gorgeous!!! if you like psychological thrillers then you need to pick up a Lucy Dawson book and get reading - you will not be able to put it down.

As for the plot of this one I am not going to go into too much detail as to do so would be to give too much away. And you don't want it to be spoiled believe me. I am just going to say that nothing is what is seems and nobody can be trusted. Charlotte's life looks perfect from the outside but inside it is falling apart. What lengths would you go to fix it? You won't believe where this story goes!!

Thanks to Bookouture and Netgalley for my advanced copy of this book to read. All opinions are my own and are in no way biased.

Nothing much happens in the first half of this book and I did not start enjoying it until the second half. Charlotte is an author and is married to Tris, a businessman and it seems as if their marriage is in trouble. They have 2 young children thrown into the mix. Charlotte has a sister, Florence and they seem to argue and cry a lot. I enjoyed the second half of the book so I would give this book 3.5 stars. Thank you NetGalley and Bookouture for the ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you Bookouture and Net Galley for a copy of this wonderful book. It was a great plot, I really enjoyed it, a very fast read. I felt for both of the main characters, It was well written in that it kept me not wanting to put it down.

DON’T EVER TELL by Lucy Dawson is a book that caught my eye on NetGalley as I’ve been craving more and more thrillers of late. The book follows Charlotte, a wife and mother of two who works from home as a thriller writer. On one level she seems to have her life all sorted out, but behind the scenes her marriage is struggling and Charlotte is struggling to balance out her work and family life.

Charlotte’s husband Tris is clearly not fully invested in the marriage and Charlotte is ready to put her thriller writer’s mind to work against him. Charlotte’s narrative is interwoven with that of Mia, a woman who meets Charlotte in a chance encounter at a book festival, but will soon wind up drawn into Charlotte’s world.

The prologue opens the book with a traumatic scene and I found my attention was immediately gripped by the story which kept me wondering throughout the book what exactly was going on. The characters are well drawn out, each with their own flaws and their own secrets to keep.

This was a very well done thriller and definitely kept me guessing until the end. I thought I had started to see where the narrative was going, but the author threw in some extra twists that I in no way expected. This definitely was the perfect book to satisfy my thriller cravings!

If you are a fan of thrillers, I suggest you add DON’T EVER TELL by Lucy Dawson to your summer TBR! I will definitely be seeking out more from @lucydawsonbooks.

DON’T EVER TELL by Lucy Dawson is scheduled for release on 6/25/2019. Thank you @netgalley and @bookouture for the advance copy ebook to read and review!

Thank you to NetGalley for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

The story is told from multiple POV. The main characters Charlotte and Tris a married couple and Mia Tris or Seth as she knew him, girlfriend. The story mainly follows Charlotte's request for revenue on Tris for his affair with Mia and failing there marriage. She is an author and stole Tris' book and asked Mia an up and coming. actress to pretend she wrote the book to enrage Tris into thinking she stole it from him. I didn't really find this book as interesting as I had hoped reading the synopsis the plot was odd and I lost interest and I was confused by what actually happened in the end to Tris.

I really enjoyed this one guys! It was exciting, addictive and had elements of moments pulling at my heart strings as well as being shocked and appalled!! It follows Charlotte on her quest to destroy her husband....for reasons that you think are clear but aren't! I totally thought I had this all wrapped up but nope 🤣 I loved the characters and the storyline, I finished this one over 2 days and was hooked. Well worth a read when it comes out on 25th June!