Some Days Are Dark

This is a great read!

The narrative moves along so swiftly that you get a lot of information about the situation and a good grasp of the main character. We also know the crime straight away. I absolutely loved this because we got a full picture without ruining any of the twists or any anticipation of what's upcoming.

I also loved how Frank was introduced and then hearing the backstory of their life.
By 6% in I already felt like I know so much about the main character...which is actually quite rare and made me enjoy the book so much. Then on top of that it's interesting and exceptionally well written.

Early on I recognised that I loved the way Miranda Smith wrote and the way events unfolded here was so refreshing and interesting...I love having the information there!

Yet somehow there was still so much to discover! I can honestly say every development that happened and as aspects of each character, especially Olivia's was revealed...I loved it more and more.

Olivia was such an intriguing anti hero and unreliable narrator and watching the story unfold was very enjoyable.

Unfortunately did not enjoy the ending...with all the additional information throughout the book to end the way it did was quite jarring.

However as a whole this was a fantastically well written, interesting mystery that I enjoyed very much. I definitely will be reading more by this author.

Thanks to the publisher & Netgalley for an advance reader copy in exchange for an honest review.

This is a great thriller from a new author for me.
Olivia was accused of murdering her husband but when a man is charged she thinks it’s all over.
That is until new evidence comes to light that he’s innocent and he’s released.
The spotlight is back on Olivia and she’s struggling to cope. She takes pills to help get her through the day and her dependency on them gets worse.
She then meets Brock who is a blogger interested in writing a book about the murder of Dane and the resulting wrongful charge, but Olivia is not sure if she can trust him.
He persuades her that he believes she didn’t kill Dane and wants to help her find the real killer.
New information comes to light and soon Olivia‘s life is in danger as well.
This is a gripping read that had me hooked from the first few pages.
Thanks to Bookouture and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book.

3.5 stars rounded up to 4

livia returns home to find her husband had been murdered. He'd been shot. Olivia isn't what you'd call unhappy about the situation. Olivia is the prime suspect. But then someone admits to killing Dane. But the man gets acquitted and Olivia is the prime suspect again.

The story is told in the before and after the murder. Olivia is addicted to pain medication after being involved in a car accident. That was how she met her second husband, Dane. Thenstory covers alcohol and drug abuse and domestic violence. Olivia isn't a very likable character. There's a few twists to this tale. The pace is steady. Quite a good debut novel.

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

My first novel by this author and it’s magnificent! Told in my favorite style of ‘before’ and after’ we follow Olivia as her husband has been murdered, (she is secretly pleased) and guess who the main suspect is in this wild ride? I I really began to adore Olivia as the story unfolds and I could read another book on just her day to day life. Meanwhile, this is a really fun, twisty novel and I am so glad I read it - you will be too!

This is the first book which I have read by this author. The book initially drew me in with it’s stunning front cover – the night and day images matching the premise of the book perfectly. Told from the perspectives of ‘Before’ and ‘After’, we follow Olivia’s story. In the ‘Before’ story, Olivia was married to Frank and mum to son, Jake. Following a bad car accident, Olivia not only finds herself addicted to painkillers but to bad-boy Dane, who begins feeding her addictive habit. In the ‘After’ story, Olivia has married Dane and is prime suspect in his murder. She finds it hard to lead a normal life to look after Jake, and her ex-husband Frank is constantly disapproving of her choice of lifestyle. When Olivia says she’s glad her husband died, this begs the question of what happened and who really killed him?

For me, this book initially was a bit of a slow burner. The author did a great job however, of building up the tension and suspense as the story moved on and chapter by chapter, the book picked up speed. Told from Olivia’s viewpoint, the story switches from past to present effortlessly, showing us how Olivia becomes what she is today. Olivia is a really interesting character. She’s not overly likeable, but has a hypnotic draw to her that makes you wonder what she’s going to do next. She did drive me to distraction with some of her lifestyle choices, and really didn’t help herself at all at times. The only good thing about her was the kind of person she was when with her son, Jake as she could be a good mother when the other distractions weren’t around. With the majority of her friends and family leaving her following Dane’s murder, she only has one person looking out for her and helping her to work out who really killed him.

The book twisted and turned as the story moved on. Filled with lies, secrets, murder and completely unlikeable characters, this story turned into quite a ‘whodunnit’ by the time you reach the end of the book! It had me sitting on the edge of my seat in trying to work out who the murderer was and was completely knocked off of it when it was revealed. This author is definitely one to be keeping an eye open for and I would love to read more by her. Would definitely recommend!

I really enjoyed this book. It has all the classic thriller elements, drugs,relationships, murder, twists. Perfect.The story travels back and forth, before and after the murder of Dane, Olivia's second husband. Olivia was the main suspect, but.someone else was convicted and later released. The focus returns to Olivia. She must solve the murder to clear her name. Who killed him? Frank, her first husband, a drug dealer, a neighbor? Read and find out. Thank you #netgalley #mirandasmith for the opportunity to read this for an honest review.

3.5 stars on this one.
Olivia has the life that most people dream of but after a bad car accident leaves her with a long recovery she has a hard time adjusting over the coming months.
A few bad decisions later and her entire world has changed. While she initially feels like it's for the better, she realizes fairly soon that all is not as great as it seems. When her new husband dies suddenly and she's the prime suspect the hardest part is barely getting to see her son. Although it was her choice to leave her family for Dane she finds she was wrong about many things.
Alternating between past and present we learn how Olivia ended up in her current situation and how hard she fights for the chance to set things right.

In the 'Before' Olivia is married to Frank, they have an adorable son Jake and everything is perfect. Until Olivia has a car accident which leaves her addicted to painkillers.
In the 'After' Olivia is the number one suspect to murdered husband Dane. The story is told from her perspective so it's a given that she didn't do it. So who did?

There is not a lot more I can say about the context of either part without giving too much away. Which would be grossly unfair to the author as this is a pretty brilliant murder mystery. The story is written in alternating chapters between the 'Before' and 'After' and has one of the best opening lines to a story I have ever read.
"I was happy my husband died, but I couldn’t admit it, otherwise people might think I killed him."
I was hooked from the first, and that does not happen to me often, even in books I fall in love with. I got the twists a few lines above where they were revealed which was great because they were well hidden and I got to feel clever for figuring it out in the nick of time.

I have done a bit of a Goodreads search on the author and this appears to be her fiction debut, and it is expertly written. The plot is engaging and well-paced with no dull moments whatsoever. The characters are brilliantly developed with both flaws and redeeming qualities.

I received a free, pre-release copy of #SomeDaysAreDark by #MirandaSmith from #NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Some Days are Dark has a fab cover and a great opening line. 3.5 ⭐️
Olivia is the main character in this thriller. Olivia is married to Dane but he has been murdered and she is the number one suspect. The book goes into Olivia’s life with her first husband and how she met Dane and married him and how her relationship with her son suffered from this. Olivia is definitely a character not to be liked as she makes some stupid choices and left me pulling my hair out.
The writing style of this book was one I like and I enjoyed that, the book itself was rather long winded at times and was a little predictive. If the book hadn’t been drawn out so much the ending would have had a better impact as I thought it was a really good ending it was just jaded by the length.
I would like to thank Netgalley and Bookouture for this ARC I received in exchange for an honest review.

WOW~ I thought I had the ending at the story, but to my surprise, the twist in the story was not what I had expected. This story is about a wife, Olivia, who had found the perfect husband, child, home and life when truly she felt suffocated from thinking she wasn’t good enough in her new life. Everything started to change and ended up finding Dane, who she left her family for. Dane, the bad-boy she thought she needed in her life to make herself feel wanted and feel like who she truly is without putting a facade. Life truly isn’t what you think it is when Dane is found dead and Olivia becomes the main suspect of his murder.

Without trying to give the spoiler away, Miranda Smith did such a great job writing the characters to life. There were just the right amount of characters in the book that had meaning- had a purpose in the story. I was able to visualize the events as they were unfolding and this kept me wanting to keep me turning the page to figure out- who really killed Dane?

I give this book 4.5 stars (rounded to 5). It would have been a perfect 5, but for me, which has nothing to do with the story, Olivia’s character was portrayed as someone who didn’t feel good about themself, who needed affirmation from other people to feel like she mattered in life., and I’m just not into characters like that. But don’t get me wrong- this story could very much be 5 stars- as it portrays why Olivia is the way she is- and how things turned out. The ending was perfect~ gave a little bit more in the epilogue to keep you going before it completely closed out. Definitely a must read! I would love to read more books by Miranda Smith.

Thank you Netgalley & Bookouture for allowing me to read this wonderful piece!

I went into this book with no real expectations as I hadn't heard much about it and it's a new author.

I thought the premise was excellent and I really enjoy a whodunit. In this case I didn't guess the twists and the author did a good job of concealing just enough information from the reader without going down the unreliable narrator route which I'm not keen on. I liked the before and after format and thought the balance between backstory and current events was just right.

My issue is that I was never excited to pick the book up again. The plot was interesting but I think maybe I didn't care quite enough how it all worked out because the lead character Olivia wasn't in the least bit likeable. She was very selfish and I don't feel like we ever truly got to know the real her. One of the other characters hit the nail on the head when he says that she seems to have many different acts depending on who she is interacting with.

The ending was at least satisfying and I'm glad I persevered with the book as I did enjoy it. It wouldn't be top of my recommendation list but I did like it.

A little bit of a slow burner and Olivia drove me crazy with her questionable choices, But overall good story. Thank you publisher and netgalley for this arc in exchange of an honest review.

(2.5 stars)
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First off I want to thank @netgalley, @bookouture & Miranda Smith for my advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.
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The premise to this book sounded so interested, but gosh did it fall flat. I was bored throughout most of the book, it never picked up.
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Olivia was a pretty annoying and dislikeable character. She makes the stupidest of decisions. I felt no attachment to any other characters. The whole development of the plot was extremely slow, nothing was happening and it was entirely predictable. It could've been such a promising book, but it definitely fell flat for me.
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If you're a fan of slower paced novels you might enjoy this one.

Disclaimer: I have been sent a copy of this book for review purposes. This has not influenced or affected my opinions in any way in this review.

This book has one of the BEST opening lines I have ever read – “I was happy my husband died but I couldn’t admit it, otherwise people might resume saying I killed him”. The main character, Olivia, gave me so many emotions. I both liked her (due to the instant connection I felt to her) and despised some of her choices at the same time. The intertwining of both the past and the present – the before and the after – makes this book even more enjoyable. Both the before and the after are working towards the pivotal point in the novel and the resolution. I literally could not put this down. The ending is one I didn’t see coming. I had no idea it would turn out and be resolved this way. I would highly, highly recommend this novel to anyone who enjoys a gripping thriller or crime thrillers in general.

*5 stars*

Wow I loved this book, there was good plot's liked the character's ans love the cover.. I think the title fit's very well with the story!
I received this copy from netgalley

This story closely follows a character named Olivia, and the timeline of before and after the death of her husband. To be honest, this one did take me a little while to get into. I throughly enjoyed reading the “before” parts of the story, but found myself somewhat less entertained reading the “after” parts.

The pros:
-I have a real love/hate thing for Olivia. At times she drove me insane with some of the choices that she made, but it’s understandable that not each character in every book is going to be likeable.
-It kept me guessing. I truly had no idea what happened to Olivia’s husband and that’s what ultimately made me refuse to DNF this one.

The cons:
-Olivia. Again, some of her choices made me roll my eyes so many times.
-This was a somewhat slow book. Up until about 3/4 of the way, I highly thought of DNF’ing this one. Luckily, it started picking up around this mark.
-Long chapters! I don’t know why, but at times this makes it hard for me to commit entirely to a book.
-I wouldn’t classify this story as a “thriller”. You most likely won’t get the racing heart, shortness of breath type of anxiety(my favorite) from reading this one. In my opinion, It’s more fiction with a side of mystery.

I would recommend this one to those who may be just starting out reading books in the mystery genre, and also to fans of the slower burn domestic type thriller books.

Well written psychological thriller.

What caught my interest, besides the cover, was that line "I was happy my husband died, but I couldn’t admit it, otherwise people might think I killed him."

I was into it from the start. The first chapter was amazing. The spouse is always the first suspect, especially if you told people you're happy your husband is dead...

To be honest, I really loved the start of the story then found the before/after parts a bit confusing, yet interesting to understand the storyline development.

It was fast paced at first then I felt some chapters were a bit unnecessary, it didn't add to the story.

That being said, I liked it a lot, it was different, it was dark, it was well done. I give it 3.5 stars.

Thank you to NetGalley and Bookouture for the ARC of this book. This is my honest review. All opinions are my own.

A dark thriller that is well written but I did think parts were dragged out too long. There is no doubt that Miranda can write a great thriller though.

Some Days Are Dark by Miranda Smith opens with a line that is deliciously ominous, whetting the appetite for what is to come . For me, however, the chapters that follow fail to further ignite the initial spark of excitement. From the very outset, I struggled to connect with Olivia, and I did not feel fully engaged or invested in her struggles as the plot progressed.

When Olivia leaves her husband Frank to take up with Dane Miller, she does so knowing that she will have less time with her young son, Jake. When Dane is murdered, Olivia becomes the prime suspect and, fearing the gossip surrounding the crime, becomes almost a recluse, and increasingly more dependent on the pills which have become a part of her daily routine.

This is a well-paced and thoughtfully conceived thriller that does manage to surprise. I am sure that this one will hit the spot for many but, unfortunately for me, it fell a bit flat.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Bookouture for this ARC.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Bookouture for the arc in exchange for my review.

Everyone is talking about the first line in this book and I totally get why.
Olivia has been married twice and her second husband is killed in their home. Olivia was "happy her husband died but she couldn't admit it". Of course as in most situations, she is the number one suspect until someone else confesses. But did this guy really kill him?

Not going to lie, I couldn't stand Olivia which is weird considering how much I liked the book. Its rare to like a book but not really like its main character. I felt bad for her but just can't bring myself to say I liked her.
The story is told in two time periods, before the murder and after the murder. As with most thrillers, there are some great twist and turns in it and I couldn't put it down!