Really enjoyed this book. If your a fan of big little lies you’ll love it. Full of twists & turns, amazing characters...a must read.

I've seen a few reviews comparing this to Big Little Lies, and I must admit there are definite similarities. A group of women, a mysterious newcomer, questions over paternity... ringing any bells?

Personally, I didn't like the novel of Big Little Lies, I must preferred the programme. As such, I definitely found this novel better than big little lies, but I can understand that to some people it may suffer in comparison.

I found it really engaging, it kept my interest well and I read it in all of 6 hours. Yes there were some sections that I preferred to others, but that isn't to say that I disliked any of it, more than I just had some areas I found more interesting.

There were so many layers to the drama and secrets, I honestly couldn't put it down. I would say its the perfect beach book, except it might stop you going out that night!

This book and I got off on the wrong foot from the beginning--the story is set in the Hamptons but it is written by a Brit. It put me off-I know I am picky.. Write what you know, right? Anyway, after that the story evolves in my opinion into a bad version of Big, Little, Lies. Unlikeable characters and a few bizarre twists did not make this book that redeemable to me. I would recommend to women who dont have alot of experience reading well written thrillers. I apologize to the author, I just don't agree with all the other readers reviews.

Thank you to NetGalley and publisher for a chance to read and review

Wow! What a head spinner! Twists galore. Just when you think you have it figured out you are thrown in another direction. Set in the glamorous, wealthy Hamptons the story follows three friends. A young pregnant girl arrives in town and this affects each woman in different ways. Secrets hidden by lots of characters. I loved the clever way of describing the 'lover' which has you madly guessing who this is with the clever clues and red herrings. A fabulous read.

Now this one I did not want to put down at all.
I was delighted to have gotten the chance to read Nicola's book "The Scandal".
My first time reading this author's work too.
A story about three friends living a life of luxury in the Hampton's.
You have to wonder how good are they as friends which I did often
Marisa (Ris to her friends) has it all, the rich, good looking husband, the nice house, the money. She should of course be happy but She isn't...
Claire the police officer married to the lovely Dane. They have fertility troubles which Claire struggles to cope with.
Something for me felt off with her husband though and I just couldn't put my finger on it throughout the novel.
Beautiful Elly with a successful career and such beauty.
Why oh why is she not happy in herself?
Why does she feel the need to sleep with other people's husbands?
You do wonder throughout the story why she feels so bad about herself. What has happened to make her so insecure?
What could have happened to her to let people treat her so badly.
On paper they seem to have it all, certainly to a person like Jodie but dig a little deeper and you can see quite quickly how unhappy they all are.
How could one young pregnant girl coming to the Hampton's leave such devastation in her wake though...
Thoroughly enjoyed Nicola's characters, each completely different in their own right..
A fast paced, engrossing story line, dark and incredibly gripping..
You just won't want to put it down at all
Well worth taking the time for this one...

Thank you NetGalley and Bookouture for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

The story is told from the perspective of 3 friends - Marisa, Claire and Elly who are all holding back secrets from each other.

The arrival of a young pregnant girl named Jodi throws all their lives into a tailspin. The father of the baby might be someone that they all know. Knowing this could cost one or all of them everything .

Oh My God! A brilliant twist will leave this psychological thriller at the top of your 2019 reads! Warning... don't attempt this book unless you have time to devour it! Better yet, just make time to devour it. Yes, it's that worth it.
I love the opening scene of this book. It has everything a beach read should: a rich Hamptonite woman, a bunch of girlfriends enjoying a bottle of wine while spilling their inner most secrets to each other and ABOUT each other! The story quickly becomes unputtdownable as the characters have layers and layers of drama filled lives and that's before you even meet Jodi!!!!
After Jodi comes into picture, (first 20%), an added layer of omg will have you reading like crazy! First and foremost, why is she there and who is the father of that baby? Everyone in this crazy drama has a past that is begging to surface! 
Readers, you'll love this one! Highly recommend!! Another Bookouture success!

Three women Marisa, Claire and Elly. Three friends. All of them have secrets not just from each other but also from their husbands or partners.

Marisa is unhappily married to Avery a narcissistic plastic surgeon who flirts with every attractive woman he sees and takes his wife Marisa or Ris as she is called by her friends for granted. She is lonely since her twin daughters have gone off to university in LA feeling empty nest syndrome. She wants to help her friends in any way she can and is there for them. So when a young woman Jody turns up at Marisa’s house she feels she has to help her. Jody reminds her of herself when she was younger.

Claire is desperate to have a baby with her husband Dane but it’s not happening she is so insecure terrified she is going to lose her husband who she loves deeply but is hiding secrets from him that she fears will end her marriage. Is it Claire’s fault that she isn’t able to conceive a child? What secrets is she hiding? And does Dane have secrets from Claire as well?

Elly no longer trusts men after finding out her now ex husband was already married and had 3 children with his other wife, living a double life. But who is her lover and who is she going to hurt most when the wife finds out which she will as Elly is going to tell her herself when the time is right.

There are so many secrets between the women and their husbands in this book you will think you have guessed it and then the story goes in a different direction and you have to rethink.

This is a very well written book which just keeps you guessing. The story is told through the three different female characters perspectives. I enjoyed reading it although it’s slightly different to my usual reading. I’m not sure that any of the women are really very likeable. Marisa is probably the more genuine in ways that she just wants to help people but I feel this is because she is so lonely in an unhappy marriage but she enjoys the money and security that that marriage brings.

I did stay up until 4 in the morning to finish this though so that goes to show how good it is I just had to know the answers and the twist at the end which I had actually guessed a couple of chapters before the end. If you haven’t read anything by Nicola Marsh and you like a psychological thriller then this is a good place to start.

Thank you to #netgalley #Bookouture #NicolaMarsh for letting me have an ARC of this book all opinions are mine and honest.

3.5- I really wanted to like this book, and I did. Most of the time I can overlook a lot to really enjoy a story. A few little things undid this book for me. I had a hard time reconciling the friendship of these three very, very different women in the Hamptons. An office worker and a cop hanging out at a socialite's mansion just seemed a bit far fetched for me. With that as the basis I was skeptical from the beginning. Then the action happens. As the synopsis suggests, a pregnant girl comes to town and all hell breaks loose. Again, I like the premise, but the reader needs to take some pretty big leaps of logic to buy into what happens. If you can let a little reality go, this book is a page turner. It's summer and I just had too much time to pick apart the discrepancies. Thank you to Netgalley/Bookouture for the ARC of The Scandal.

I picked up THE SCANDAL by Nicola Marsh at 8pm and it never left my hand until I read the last line - it is that good!!!

Three very different women from different backgrounds have formed a friendship which they all rely on in different ways. Marisa is the epitome of the classy, sophisticated wealthy wife and mother, who volunteers all the time and has the perfect marriage - or does she? Claire loves her husband with all of her heart and enjoys her career as a cop. But infertility is breaking her heart and there is something that she is hiding from Dane who has never lied to her - or has he? And then there is Elly who is fierce, strong, and doesn't need anyone, or so the other ladies think.

​When a young, pregnant girl called Jodi arrives in their town, Marisa is first to offer her help and soon the other women follow suit but Jodi came here to find her unborn baby's dad, and it is someone very close to home to the ladies. As secrets, lies, betrayals, and horrifying truths come to the surface, it is safe to say that nobody's lives will ever be the same, and a danger is lurking that nobody could ever imagine because someone will kill to prevent a scandal.

Be prepared to be suspicious of everyone as you read this book. The characters are all very contrasting and as I got to know each of these women in turn, it became very clear that you can never judge a book by its cover and there was a noticeable building up of tension that really got under my skin the more that I read. It is the kind of drama that gets under your skin and makes you angry at the injustice of it all and even at the end THE SCANDAL still managed to surprise me after all of the revelations!

THE SCANDAL by Nicola Marsh is a gripping story that completely ensnared my attention and I highly recommend it!!

What a fabulous book. I couldn't put it down.
My first by this author and I’ll be seeking out more for sure.
A tale of three friends and their families. So many secrets, and lies.
At Ris’s home in the Hamptons the author paints a beautiful picture of the glamorous world in which she entertains the clients of her successful husband.
Claire, a police officer, has her own worries. And Elly, beautiful and a successful career.
The background of each of the three friends is delved into and it’s not all rosy. Far from it. Their lives are woven together in ways I wasn’t expecting. Just when I thought I knew something it was twisted in another direction.
Thanks to Bookouture and NetGalley for the review copy in which I give my honest opinion.

I love a good thriller that involves secrets, friendship, scandal, privilege and this one had it all. And it was great in some places, but left me wanting more in other aspects. I did enjoy it, but I didn’t really feel any connection to the plot or characters. It was a good mindless beach read.

* I received a copy of this from netgalley in exchange for my review. 3/5

I really enjoyed this book. It reminded me of Big Little Lies in a way. I definitely wasn't expecting it to be as good but I was wrong. This book keeps you guessing until the end. Great book.

Thank you Netgalley, the author and publisher for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

EXCERPT: have you ever done something so terrible, so horrific, that it haunts you?A vile memory that clogs your throat and blurs your mind and sits like a heavy weight in your gut?

I have.

The memory of what I've recently done disturbs me. Every waking minute, every sleeping one too. The nightmares are bad; the kind that linger after I jolt awake, hands trembling, my breathing ragged and harsh in the silence.

ABOUT THIS BOOK: My life is like one of those cheap snow globes my twins collected when they were younger. Shiny and pretty on the outside, blurred beyond recognition when shaken.

Ever since her twin girls left home, Marisa has felt there’s something missing from her life. Her sprawling mansion is no longer filled with laughter and chaos, and she’s desperate to feel needed... and to be distracted from the secret she’s been hiding from her husband for all these years.

Coffee with her best friends might be the only thing holding Marisa together. But Claire and Elly have their own secrets. Like why Claire hasn’t been to work in weeks, or why Elly won’t tell anyone who’s buying her flowers.

When Jodi, a pregnant young girl, turns up at Marisa’s doorstep, Marisa is quick to come to her aid. She sees herself in Jodi and she knows how devoting yourself to looking after others can take up all your time in the most marvellous way.

But Jodi’s arrival quickly pushes everyone’s lies to the surface. The father of her unborn child is someone the women know very well, and Marisa starts to wonder if her obsession with helping Jodi might come at a devastating price…

MY THOUGHTS: I have very mixed feelings about this book. I really enjoyed the first half, where my suspicions were all over the place, accusing first one husband then another, and I really thought I was onto a winner. But after that, it all started to get very convoluted and faintly ridiculous.

There is not a lot of depth to the characters, which is a great pity, because they could do with some. The men were all stereotyped into sleazy, unreliable characters, and the women? - they were also fairly stereotyped - the brittle bitch out for revenge, the career woman, the rich woman devoting her life to charitable causes....

I did like their 'garden' club, although their 'meetings' all seemed a bit rushed, and not the nice relaxed gossip session I envisaged.....'Not the kind where Claire, Elly and I weed or prune or plant. It's more the kind of club that takes place in a garden; with wine and cheese.' Of course, there is a gardener to do the gardens....

And I love the cover!...though I don't think any of the characters did anything so mundane as have a cuppa!

I almost felt like I was reading a different book in the second half, it was so disappointing. This is a book that could have been much better than it was. It has a lot of potential. It is a book of two halves. The first is a gripping emotional page turner, unfortunately the second half spirals out of control.

***

THE AUTHOR: USA TODAY bestselling and award-winning author Nicola Marsh writes feel-good fiction…with a twist.

She has published 70 books and sold over 8 million copies worldwide.

She currently writes domestic suspense novels for Hachette UK's Bookouture, rural romance for Harper Collins Australia's Mira imprint, and contemporary romance for Harlequin Dare.

She's a Waldenbooks, Bookscan and Barnes & Noble bestseller, a 2013 RBY and National Readers' Choice Award winner, and a multiple finalist for awards including the Romantic Times Reviewers' Choice Award, HOLT Medallion, Booksellers' Best, Golden Quill, Laurel Wreath, More than Magic and has won several CataRomance Reviewers' Choice Awards.

She loves chatting on social media!

DISCLOSURE: Thank you to Bookouture via Netgalley for providing a digital ARC of The Scandal by Nicola Marsh. All opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own personal opinions.

For an explanation of my rating system, please refer to my Goodreads.com profile page or the 'about' page on my webpage, sandysbookaday.wordpress.com

This, and other reviews, are also posted on Twitter, Amazon, Goodreads.com and my webpage
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I was little apprehensive about this book to start, the story line seemed to be pretty generic. I am so glad i was wrong. This book started out with some great introductions to the characters, whom were all very well developed and easy to connect with. The story is told from each friends view point and fits together seamlessly. The story follows 3 friends whose lives are intertwined and whom all have their own secrets. When a girl connected to the 3 friends is murdered, one of the friends (who is a Police Officer) must look very closely at her best friends and their significant others. It seems everyone has a possible motive. In this tangled web of deceit it is impossible to tell who is hiding what and who is deranged enough to be the killer. This book was a rush start to finish. The style reminds me of Liane Moriartys Big Little Lies. I loved this book, it was flawless and held my attention till the last page. Highly Suspenseful and the end will have you on the edge of your seat.

The Scandal by Nicola Marsh was an emotional story full of surprises at every turn! Three friends who seem perfect on the outside, Marisa, Elly and Claire are in for surprises! Secrets and lies will no longer stay buried. When a pregnant woman enters their lives, she has her own secrets and lives will be changed. The Scandal by Nicola Marsh touches some very emotional issues and will leave you stunned and wanting to see how it all ends.

Happy reading!

The Scandal, by Nicola Marsh, is a perfect summer read to add to your beach bag. Marissa (Ris to her friends) appears to have the perfect life in an exclusive Hamptons neighborhood. Her friends, Claire and Elly, attend monthly parties in her garden and form an interesting trio. A social worker to her core, Ris takes an interest in a young pregnant woman with close ties to everyone that lead to devastating consequences.

A little slow in the beginning the story quickly gains speed as everyone has explosive secrets they are desperate to keep. A few quirks along the way-you can tell the writer is British and trying to write in an American voice-it does not take away from the story.

The Scandal started out strong and moved along very quickly, and then halfway through the book slowed down a bit. This book had lots of twists and turns and I liked the ending. Thank you NetGalley for the advanced copy.

Started and finished this book in the same day. Each chapter is told from a different character, which helps develop each character throughly. Very entertaining quick to read book.
Thanks to net galley for the arc in exchange for an honest review.

This is a thrilling story of twisted friendships resulting in lies,betrayals and murder. Add to the mix unstable marriages. Easy to read with many twists and turns along the way. I recommend this book even though at times all the characters are so unlike able. Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read this book for an honest review.