Two weeks until the wedding and the groom disappears and the other woman is discovered. Even with the discovery of the other woman, the groom is still missing and it becomes a back and forth of who to believe and who is guilty and exactly they're guilty of.

The main plot was interesting enough with the groom going missing and finding out that he was essentially gaslighting his fiance. However, it was all the other stuff that kind of threw me for a loop and made the story a lot less believable. The backstory regarding Kimberley and Charlie was kind of a bummer because it took the story in a direction I didn't want it to go. The stuff with the herbs was a huge leap because no sane police officer would put much stock into the meaning of plants in a garden.

Overall, the general plot was a good idea, but I wasn't crazy about the execution and I think the background/logic for the crime actually took away from the original good plot of the story (man dupes fiance two weeks before wedding and she finds out he's living a double life).

Thank you so much to Netgalley for this book. I did enjoy it and read through it quickly. I didn't like that the plot felt rush and I never fully got into it. I did like the premise and all of the twists and turns. I was hoping for more shocking moments but it was more of a drama.

I really enjoyed the book. I look forward to reading another book by this author. This is an author I had never read before, but I will look for other books she might write in the future.

thanks to Netgalley for the loan of this book.
Two weeks before her wedding, Amy is approached by a stranger warning her she is in danger. The same night her fiance, Matt doesnt come home. She reports him missing, but unbeknown to her another woman also reports him missing. As the story unfolds Amy discovers the identity of the other woman and realises she is someone from the past she'd rather forgot.
What secrets does this other woman hold? Why is she insisting that Matt was leaving Amy to be with her? And why has she suddenly re-appeared in Amy's life??

I enjoyed this book. It was easy to read and I liked the style of writing. That said, it didn't grip me and make me want to rush to finish it to discover the ending. I also didn't like the characters very much. I felt Amy was weak, Matt was twisted and the other woman psychotic. I didnt have any feelings for any of them really, which I feel is important when reading a book.

Overall, a decent read, maybe one to take on holiday to pass a few hours away.

Plenty of twists and turns with this one. I made the most of a sunny day and didn’t put it down, had me gripped, a definite page turner. Would recommend

Absolutely loved this book. So well written with a fast changing plot. This book will have you guessing all the way through..

Superb psychological thriller. I just had to read the whole book once I started as I needed to know the outcome. Wonderful twists and turns in the plotline and characters that I could feel empathy towards. Great holiday reading.

Strap yourself in, the plot of this book is like triple concentrate! Probably should have used a car pun there, instead. *ahem* The plot of this book is a hundred miles an hour! It covers 3 generations of family, murders, suicides, affairs, mysterious disappearances, a bit of witchcraft… There’s intertwining plots, double lives and even name changes, and you’d think that would make it difficult to follow, but it really didn’t! It was addictive! I stayed up until 2am dying to know what would happen next.

Amy is engaged to a charming, if not slightly controlling, handsome man named Matt. But when they’re just two weeks from their wedding day, Matt mysteriously disappears and doesn’t return home from work. When Amy reports him missing to the police the next day, she discovers another woman, claiming to be his girlfriend, has already done the same.

It really is an enjoyable rollercoaster of a book. It has some unexpected elements that I really enjoyed learning about too, such as the power of certain herbs and the meaning behind different flowers.

But, if I’m being picky (which is my prerogative, of course), the plot was so busy that it often felt rushed in places, in a very noticeable way. A good example is when Amy goes to bed the first night Matt is missing and it’s suddenly like “Waking up the next morning…”, I felt like it would have been much more believable to describe how awful going to bed alone was, and how she was too sick with worry to get any sleep. I’d be roaming the woods with a torch!

I also struggled to find a favourite quote, because the plot was so punchy that I feel it lacked descriptive depth (sorry!). Still, here is one I notably highlighted:

‘You can’t take love. Like the soft summer breeze, it has to be given.”

The Vow is out on October 15th, and it will definitely take over your day!

This is the story of Amy and Matt and how just before their wedding he mysteriously disappears.
The novel is told from different perspectives, in both the current and the past revealing half truths and lies.
Initially I really enjoyed this novel but then something just went wrong for me. The characters lost their believability, the story became bizarre and lost its appeal. I was really disappointed as it held so much promise.

Thank you to Netgalley for my copy of this novel

I really enjoyed this book and will give it a huge thumbs up. With a great story line and excellent main characters - I would highly recommend this book.

Could not put this book down, it really hooked me in. I really enjoyed the switching of characters and trying to figure out who the "other woman" was. In fact, I became a detective, trying to deduce and investigate the ‘case’. I loved the style of writing. Would definitely recommend this book.

When Amy's fiancé Matt disappears two weeks before their wedding, she knows something is wrong. After reporting him missing, a couple of days later the police tell Amy that another woman also reported Matt missing - apparently he'd been leading a double life and was planning on leaving her. As details about Amy and Matt's relationship are revealed, and his many lies come to light, Amy begins questioning her own sanity and her past begins to haunt her.

This was a slow paced suspense novel that definitely did a really good job at building up the story, and keeping me clued into what was going to happen next and as always, I was suspecting everyone at one stage or another. There was a good bit of foreshadowing at the start of this novel which I don't always like but I didn't mind it too much in this case.

Debbie Howells is really good at building up a sense of place in her novels and in this case, it was definitely Amy's house and her garden where she grew her flowers and herbs for her job as a herbologist. I felt like I had a really good picture of the amazing garden full of kinds of flowers and it was a beautiful setting - even if the storyline was turning dark.

There wasn't any big shock moments for me in this book to be honest. The closest was possibly the bouquet of flowers with the bag of blood, which was just a really nice touch and just the horror of imagining receiving something like that, gah!

I think the explanation and look into emotionally manipulative, controlling relationships was important in this book, and the particular emphasis on gaslighting and the examples given by Amy's daughter Jess. It's something that I think could help readers recognise it in their own lives if they have experienced it.

Fiona's storyline for me felt a little bit disappointing in the end - I don't think her character was very drawn out and she felt very one-dimensional. I would have liked to have seen a bit more about what happened to her in the end, but it felt like the story just hit a dead end.

There was also some times in the police investigation I felt the line of questioning seemed really strange and speculative, and not particularly realistic. Like the police knowing the symbolism of the flowers in the garden and thinking they meant something - when the woman's job was to grow flowers and herbs.

Overall, I enjoyed this. Not as creepy as The Death of Her but still quite good.

Amy and Matt have spent months planning their wedding and writing their own special wedding vows, but just 2 weeks before the big day Matt disappears!
Frantic with worry Amy reports Matt's disappearance to the police, but within hours the police receive a missing persons report with a matching description from a female called Fiona. Could it be the same person? Has Matt been leading a double life?
The suspense starts from the off! The narrative switches between Amy and Fiona with interspersed chapters from an unknown dating back to 1996. The chapters are short, and the story rolls along at a steady pace.
I really enjoyed the many twists in this story, I thought I was on the right track, then I didn't, then I did.
A really well thought out plot, and a thoroughly enjoyable read.
Thank you to Netgalley, Avon books, and Debbie Howells for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review. I will definitely be on the look out for future books by this author.

What a page turner this proved to be! An eclectic ensemble of characters who created a thought provoking pschological suspense until the climax. I did feel the ending was somewhat rushed, but there were plenty of red herrings thrown into the mix along the way, to the conclusion. I wasn't surprised by some of the reveals, but changed my mind a few times regarding the guilty party. Overall, I would recommend this novel and thank both Netgalley and Avon Books UK for this early reader's copy.

After a slow start I was debating on putting this down until a later date but I continued and I'm so pleased I did as once the story picked up I was hooked. The main character is unlikeable but there are other likeable characters in the story. I had lots of different theories as to who did it and didn't see the ending so for that I give it 4 stars. Thanks to netgalley for the advanced copy.

Great read!

You are guessing until the very end. I will admit that while I missed some of the twists coming the ending was a little expected. Still a fantastic book!

Amazing!!

The whole story was so clever and throughout I felt anxious and hooked! I loved how it all weaved together bit by bit!

The characters we’re very likeable and I liked how throughout there’d be subtle doubts, where you’d question if the main character.

I’m so thankful to have read this book! Thank you NetGalley and Avon books! I will definitely be recommending :)

From page one I was gripped! It’s a long time since I’ve read a book that keeps you guessing at what’s coming next who is in the frame and why? Loved how the back stories from the characters evolved through the book. Will definitely suggest as light reading to my psychology students as a break from text books! Explores some good themes here and how it’s easy to become entrapped in Toxic relationships, well done!

Amy, a herbalist, and Matt, have been together for couple of years and they will be marrying in a fortnight. But, in the meantime, Matt disappears. Will the wedding ever happen?

The first half of the book moves with a really slow pace, but it all changes in the second half of the book. Howels presents Matt as disappeared. Amy is beside herself.
Then, another woman comes on the scene, whom Matt has been having an affair with, in the meantime, and was 'planning' to leave Amy for.

Lots of unsolved mysteries, some of them as old as 23 years. Revenge at the heart of all.
Heart-thumping, gripping thriller, I had to read it in one breath.

Thanks @Netgalley and @avon_books for letting me read this novel. Well worth my time!

I really enjoyed this book

Every time I thought I knew what was happening, a new twist dropped in and threw my thought process completely. Which meant that I kept turning the pages and found myself in a race to the end and left me not really wanting to trust anyone.
Hard to believe this is a debut, I'd like to see what this author does next, I'm sure she'll go from strength to strength.