The Marriage Trap by Sheryl Browne is a domestic drama with the unraveling of a marriage at its core. This is a twisty and delightfully devious read that will propel you quickly through the pages.

Karla and Jason have been married for twelve years, have two lovely children, and are relatively content but for one nagging problem. Karla's father has never liked Jason, and has been intent on dissolving the couple's union from the very start. When Jason finally decides to pack his bags, Karla is horrified. What has prompted this hasty departure from a marriage that has always been sound? And how well do we really know those closest to us, and the secrets that they keep?

This is a gripping read that kept me fully engaged throughout. There are more than a few surprises along the way.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Bookouture for this ARC.

(Also posted on my GR account!)

My question while I was reading the book was: what's the story on the blurb's got to do with the one I'm reading?

The blurb promised a scorned wife revenge, but I got nothing?

Instead, I got a family drama so twisted that I didn't bother to keep up. Karla was... uninteresting, the multiple (but weird) povs were just.. didn't work well.

In short, no. Thank you, but no.

The description of this book intrigued me; The Marriage Trap is also an exciting title. Unfortunately, I made it almost halfway through before deciding to abandon it. I found the story to be very slow and repetitive. There is too much emphasis on Karla wanting her husband to borrow money from her father to save his struggling business. Her husband Jason hates his father-in-law and the feeling is mutual. There is a lot of potential with the storyline, characters, and adequate drama but again, I was surprised and disappointed with the lack of progression.

Thank you for the opportunity to read and review.

Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! Beyond amazing I enjoyed this book so very much. The characters and storyline were fantastic. The ending I did not see coming Could not put down nor did I want to.

This book had potential with the twists and turns in the story. The problem for the reader is the story kept rehashing already established points regarding the characters and their involvement. Thus, making the reader feel like the story was in a constant holding pattern. Then there is the abbreviated ending after putting the reader through all that. Very disappointing !

The story starts off with us meeting Karla and her husband Jason as Jason is leaving the marital home and turning his back on his marriage. We then go back three months and are taken through everything that leads up to the present day.

Obviously there is lots I wanted to know about why Jason had made the decision to leave Karla. There is also a back story to do with Karla's past which instantly had my interest piqued. Her own family sadly arn't a great family unit with her father being a highly horrible person that I despised as soon as we first meet him. I liked Diane, her mum and wondered how she could live with this man for so long.

This is a story packed full of secrets and lies and oh my goodness when they start to unravel, I was very much in my element enjoying every single one of them. Obviously not so great for certain characters but for the reader, it makes for a very entertaining read.

The Marriage Trap is a gripping psychological thriller that will have you glued to it's pages. The author steers the reader in one direction to only veer you off in a totally different one making sure that she has your attention at all times. There are a fair few twists that definitely kept me on my toes and more importantly, that I didn't always see coming. Proper jaw dropping stuff. A thrilling, compelling, page turner of a read.

Wow, another fantastic book from Sheryl, I loved every word on every page and I just loved the way she writes. It held my interest throughout and all the characters were interesting in their own way.

This is a brilliantly addictive psychological thriller, full of twists and turns and it kept me on the edge of my seat throughout with a satisfactory, exciting ending.

I can recommend this book and all Sheryl's previous books, all worthy of five stars.

Thank you to Netgalley and Bookouture for giving me the opportunity to read this brilliant book.

If domestic psychological thrillers make your palms sweat and your heart pound in the best way possible, then you will want to get a copy of The Marriage Trap by Sheryl Browne. This will have you clearing your schedule so you can read this in a single afternoon. What could be better on a summer day than a good book? Then again, every day is a good day for reading!

Here’s the synopsis:

Karla watches silently as Jason hurriedly packs his belongings into a suitcase. She knows that her stillness is unnerving him as she watches his every move from the doorway of their bedroom.

Clothes are screwed up and packed into the case, along with a watch she bought him for his last birthday and his precious laptop. He takes everything from his bedside table. Everything except the framed wedding photo, which now stands alone. Karla strains to see the smiling faces in the photo. If only she knew then what she knows now.

‘I’ve fallen in love with someone else,’ he’d said to her, just moments earlier. The brutality of those words hit Karla hard and she struggled to breathe as she took in each word in turn.

You may think you know what Karla will do next. But you’ll be wrong. Because Karla isn’t who you think she is. Only she knows what’s about to happen. And you will never see it coming.

This is a smartly written story with twists in it, a great plot which features the themes of love, loss, secrets and of course marriage.

Pre-order the book here, only $2.99 on Kindle!

This novel was a refreshing look inside a marriage that is collapsing from the inside out due to secrets and lies. There were very few likable characters, but that never bothers me because I love a good flawed character! The father-in-law is wonderfully despicable as he's a philanderer, a misogynist, a bully...(let's face it; he could be in the news anywhere)! Told from multiple perspectives, the book takes you through the many layers of deceit and mis-information that permeate a marriage and shows us a side of social media and dating apps that are freakishly real (though a little far-fetched) and make me glad I'm not into that scene! Great twists that had me gasping at the end too. I will definitely read more of Browne as she knows how to craft a thriller!

Karla and Jason have been married for 12-years and have two kids together. Jason’s business is in serious turmoil and is on the edge of bankruptcy. Karla’s father, Robert, is extremely wealthy, willing to give Jason a business loan. But no good deed comes without a cost. And what is Robert’s caveat?

Robert has been hiding a secret that he reveals in order to blackmail Jason. He doesn’t think Jason is right for his little girl and he is willing to do whatever it takes to tear them apart. When Jason learns the truth, he can’t bear to stay with Karla—it’s tearing their already rocky marriage apart.

This family is full of lies and secrets. And not everyone will make it out alive.

The Marriage Trap is Sheryl Browne’s latest thriller release. I haven’t read this author before and unfortunately, this book was a miss for me. I can see why others have enjoyed it—it’s twisty and full of tasty drama. But after the initial shocker, I could see the secondary twist from ten miles away. I didn’t love the writing style and never felt invested in the characters or the plotline. I’d be willing to give this author another try in the future! 2.5/5 stars.

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

Omg, I feel like I just got off a roller coaster! It started off at a nice pace and then slowly rolled up rolled up and then plunged downward for a THRILL of an ending. Just when I thought I knew what was going on, it was nowhere near what I thought was going to happen! What a fantastic read. This author is someone to watch out for. I have not read a book by Sheryl Browne before but I am definitely going to keep an eye out for her. I totally recommend her to lovers of psychological thrillers.

I would like to thank the author/publisher/Netgalley for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for a fair and honest review.

The premise of this book sounded very interesting, but the execution was lacking. There were secrets in the marriage but we were only given the tiniest of hints that these might exist, while the majority of the book was just a thoroughly depressing description of a marriage disintegrating rapidly over the course of a few months. It was a very slow, tedious read. The denouement offered some illumination of the secrets, but even that was poorly and abruptly executed. Very sad that this was so disappointing, after investing the time to read through all the depressing bits to get to the end.

I went into this book a little blind, not really reading the description beforehand. I absolutely loved this thriller! I read this one in a single day while on vacation at the beach, and it did not disappoint.

How well do you really know your spouse? That was the main question in this story that had many twists and turns. Jason and Karla have been married for several years and have two children. Jason has been facing financial struggles with owning his own business and Karla’s father seems to always overstep his boundaries offering help.

Even with the great writing style, I thought this one started a tad slow but definitely had me turning pages quickly after I got past the slow start. I did figure out much of the ending, which is the only reason I didn’t give it a five star rating.

You won’t regret this great thriller! Due out July 30th so snag yourself a copy! Thanks to Bookouture and NetGalley for the early copy in exchange for an honest review.

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
This one was perfectly written with excellent introduction to characters then followed through with some crazy psycho-stop-your-breathing-madness! My heart was pounding for most of the pages and the twists shook me like a box of popping candy! Everything in this book was necessary and mind blowing and I didn't want it to end but the finale was truly encoe worthy! What the hell was that?!! Amazing!!!

Thank you to Netgalley, the author and the publisher for my free ARC in exchange for my honest review.
Posted on goodreads as well: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2889496009

An enjoyable if slightly far fetched read. The characters were very unlikeable and the 'twist' wasn't really a shock - I had guessed it pretty early on.

The story was there but for me I found it a bit slow & repetitive. Karla annoyed me too. I did guess pretty much a big part of it but we’re a few twists along the way. For me it could have been better as the actual story is amazing.

I enjoyed this book. A little far-fetched at times, but the storyline kept me hooked. I felt so sorry for Karla at times, although I did find some of the plot predictable, still a good enjoyable read.

Absolutely fantastic had me gripped!!! Loved it! Can't wait for more from.this author. Storyline was great, characters were easy to.connect with

Thank you for the advanced copy

The Marriage Trap is a great psychological thriller, it had great twists that had me hooked, a really enjoyable read.

Karla loves Jason. Jason loves Karla. They’ve been together for years, they know each other inside out. They have a life together. They have kids together. They have a mortgage together. And yet he leaves her.....
This story is told from four differing but overlapping perspectives; Karla, Jason, Robert and Diana. And you will feel a whole range of emotions for each of these characters as their worlds unravel. You will hold your breath, you will shed a tear, you will shout in sheer frustration but you will race through every single page!