Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for allowing me to read this book.

When Amy's fiance goes missing two weeks before their wedding, her life is thrown into chaos. Little does she know that Matt's disappearance would upend her life.

A story of betrayals, lies, and a haunted past make up this novel. It has shades of Gone Girl in it, but it's very much its own story. It's hard to know who to trust in this novel, but the characters are well written and the narrative moves smoothly through all the twists and turns without ever becoming so wild that it's unbelievable.

Enjoyed this one. Started off with everything being perfect 2 weeks before a wedding and before you know it, there’s a missing partner and it all starts to go horribly wrong! Lots of twists and turns to keep you guessing. And enough in the story to make you suspect anyone. Really good read. Worth adding to the to read pile. Thank you for letting me review this book.

I’d seen so much talk about The Vow on Twitter, so I decided I definitely needed to check it out for myself – as soon as I hear that there’s a new thriller, I’m all over it. And this did not disappoint. The novel jumps between different perspectives – Amy, Fiona (who both claim they are in a serious relationship with Matt, who is missing), Jess (Amy’s daughter), and a mystery narration. Each perspective offers a unique insight into the plot. The best way I can describe it is as different puzzle pieces which eventually all slot together.

The most gripping, and at times frustrating, part of the book, is how there are no hints given as to who is innocent and who is guilty. I kept changing my mind, and it wasn’t until the last few chapters that everything is revealed. I really enjoyed that element of being kept in the dark, it made me feel a lot more involved with the story and characters.

Speaking of characters, they were really well presented and described. Especially Matt – he was really easy to hate, especially when we learn more about his gaslighting and almost psychotic tendencies.

At times, the tense used/the flashbacks included in chapters were slightly confusing, so I think my only criticism is that it could have been made a bit clearer as to when characters were reflecting on the past or speaking about the present.

Overall, I think this is a really strong thriller novel and it had me gripped throughout, I think I read it in about 2 days! Although I wouldn’t say that it’s the best advocate for marriage…

Thanks to NetGalley and Avon Books for providing me with an early copy in exchange for a review!

Debbie Howells certainly knows how to create a suspenseful tale. Amy finds herself at the centre of a missing-person’s case when her fiancée disappears. Is she responsible? Or is the “other woman” in Matt’s life to blame? An enjoyable thriller with many twists and turns!

Tense chilling from opening scenes.The best type of thriller it kept me guessing from beginning to end.An author to follow a book I highly recommend.#thevow#netgalkey

Two weeks before her wedding, a stranger stops Amy in the street and warns her she’s in danger. Then that night, Matt, her fiancé, doesn’t come home. Desperate, Amy calls the police – but when Matt fails to emerge, she’s forced to call off her wedding day. Then another man is reported missing, by a woman called Fiona – a man meeting Matt’s description, who was about to leave his fiancée for her. He was supposed to be moving in with her – but instead, he’s vanished. Amy refuses to believe Fiona’s lover can be her Matt – but photos prove otherwise, and it soon becomes clear that Matt has been leading a double life. As the police dig deeper, two conflicting, yet equally plausible stories emerge from two women who allegedly have never met.

This is an okay read exploring Amy's relationship with Matt and the truth about them slowly unravels. Part one focuses on Amy telling the story of their relationship and her struggle with accepting the possibility he might have duped her. Then in part two, the truth starts to emerge as we realise all the characters are holding secrets and none of them are being honest about their connection to Matt or how he really behaved.

All of this should have made for a thrilling, intense read but something did not quite translate and I was not hooked or addicted to the read. Howells builds this atmosphere that does not really go anywhere. What could have been a dangerous situation just ends and I was left disappointed by the reveal.

The characters are good and I enjoyed getting to know Amy and Fiona in particular. From early on we know there is more going on than first appears and it was interesting trying to work out what the truth would be. Some of the twists are more obvious than others but none of them are very shocking or electrifying.

'The Vow' is okay but that is the problem, all of this is just okay and there needed to be something extra to really bring some intensity and adrenaline to the read.

Thank you to NetGalley and Avon Books UK for an advance copy.

Complex and twisted thriller with no clear motive for a long time. Good,strong female characters,especially the daughter.

A real page turner. It kept my interest from the first page to the last, and kept you guessing. I liked the way the book was written from the point of view of the main protagonists. It added a different dimension to what you thought you believed had happened. I understand this is a new writer. It is well written. The people are well defined and believable. I can't wait until her next book. Well done.

This was a pretty darn good thriller with a heck of a lot of twists, turns, thrill and suspense. Amy and Matt are 2 weeks away from their wedding and Amy is warned in the street by a stranger that she is in danger. Matt appears to have disappeared! She learns Matt is hiding some secrets, but she has some of her own as well. The story is told in Amy and Jess' (her daughter) point of view.

What I liked? Strong main characters. Twists and surprises galore.

What I didn't like? Seems to be following same thriller/suspense recipe of other novels. A tad bit predictable in some parts

Overall, I enjoyed it.

Thanks to Netgalley, the author and publisher for ARC in exchange for an honest review
Available: 10/1/2020

Everything was perfect. And then her fiance disappeared…

Two weeks before her wedding, a stranger stops Amy in the street and warns her she’s in danger. Then that night, Matt, her fiancé, doesn’t come home. Desperate, Amy calls the police – but when Matt fails to emerge, she’s forced to call off her wedding day.

Then another man is reported missing, by a woman called Fiona – a man meeting Matt’s description, who was about to leave his fiancée for her. He was supposed to be moving in with her – but instead, he’s vanished.

Amy refuses to believe Fiona’s lover can be her Matt – but photos prove otherwise, and it soon becomes clear that Matt has been leading a double life. As the police dig deeper, two conflicting, yet equally plausible stories emerge from two women who allegedly have never met.

The story is told from 3 different points of view - Amy, her daughter Jess and Fiona. Initially, you can't help but feel sorry for Amy and what she is going through, but as more and more is revealed about their relationship, you can't believe that she really thought that Matt was so wonderful she wanted to marry him. Talk about fooling yourself!! Amy is a likeable character even though she has "victim" written all over her. Jess loves her mother very much and even though she is not "taken" with Matt she tries to support Amy and be happy for her. Fiona is the "other woman" and an attorney who doesn't come across as a real likeable person. While she is smart and tough, she also gets hood-winked, but you don't ever feel very sorry for her.

I very much enjoyed this book although some elements were somewhat contrived and a little far-fetched. Definitely kept my interest and made me want to finish it to find out how it all came together.

Thank you to NetGalley for giving me an advance copy of this book for my honest review.

Thank you Netgalley for the ARC
When her fiancé, Matt, disappears two weeks before the wedding, Amy is worried. A stranger had warned her that she may be in danger.
Amy reports a missing persons and soon she finds out that she is not the only one who has done so. Another woman who claims that Matt was leaving Amy for her, has also reported Matt missing and she has more proof than Amy that she is telling the truth. What does she have against Amy? Who is telling the truth?
The story is told in turns by Amy, her daughter Jess, the other woman Fiona and another voice from their past. Fast paced and a delightful read

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
The Vow
Debbie Howells
Publication date 10/2/20

Amy is getting married, she’s counting down the days until she marries the love of her life. Out of the blue Matt disappears just two weeks before the wedding. Distraught and heartbroken Amy reaches out to the police, another woman also reported Matt missing as well. Is Matt leading a double life? This is a well written psychological suspense thriller, I enjoyed the twists and the turns, and many of my suspicions were wrong….. I enjoyed the storyline and the characters, this was the perfect book to escape reality with! Thank you so much to NetGalley and Avon Books for an advanced readers’ copy for an exchange on an honest review.


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The Vow by Debbie Howells is a scintillatingly secretive and dark novel swathed in questions, accusations and the need for answers.

In this novel, readers are introduced to Amy Reid, soon-to-be Amy Roche. With the wedding of her dreams just a couple of weeks away, her life is coming together in the most fairy-tale-esque way, and she couldn’t be happier. But isn’t it strange, how absolutely perfect something can appear to be on the surface, when beneath, that is most certainly not the case? Once-divorced, Amy already knows what it’s like to have her heart broken, to be let down in the most life-shattering of ways. Having come away from her first marriage, Amy and her daughter, Jess, who is at Uni, have managed to leave their past behind, and are ready to begin again, albeit with a new man in their lives. But in the space of just 24 hours, everything changes for Amy, and her soon-to-be husband, completely vanishes.

From the get-go, the mystery behind Matt’s disappearance was ultimately what kept me turning the pages, but further down the road, it became clear that there was much more to this novel than the disappearance of a soon-to-be married man. Peppered with snippets from the past, I was constantly kept on my toes, wondering who, what, where and why. I had so many questions, much like Amy, and as the plot progressed, I found myself becoming more and more impatient to have them answered. Once the police become involved, the story takes a much darker turn than I had anticipated, and it dragged me down even further, on -edge to find out where the author would take me next.

Being taken back to the past before being dropped back into the present day is something I adore when reading, and it’s even more sneaky and delicious when it happens within a premise like this. It’s sort of cheating, in a way. The reader gets glimpses of what happened before, and slowly, oh-so-slowly, you can try (emphasis on the word ‘try’) to slot the pieces of the past into whatever is happening in the present, unfolding story. It’s a fantastic way to deliver hints to the reader, and really fleshes out the backbone of the story, giving it a little bit more weight and realism. These flashbacks really got the cogs in my mind turning as I tried to put two and two together. I don’t want to give too much away, but there is so much more to discover within this book than simply what is set before you on the page.

The characters were believable and I enjoyed getting to know each of them. Jess, Amy’s daughter, was a particular favourite of mine. She seemed determined and tenacious and very driven whenever it came to her mother, and I found her to be one of the characters who stood out most to me long after I’d finished the book. Amy, a herbalist, was interesting and I found her to have a lot more layers to her than I’d originally thought. I was rooting for her, and when the plot takes a drastic turn for her much later on, I couldn’t believe what was happening. I really wanted some good to come her way, because I honestly felt that she deserved it. As for Matt, I felt like I knew enough about him to put together a good picture of what he was like. The sort of man women would do well to stay away from. Although not present throughout the novel, Howells did a great job of still managing to make him come to life on the page. There were a handful of others characters too, who really made the story take shape, like Mrs Guthrie and WPC Page, all playing a role in the search for Matt, no matter how big or small.

Overall, The Vow by Debbie Howells was a brilliant novel, with all of those key qualities that ensure a reader sticks with it. I thoroughly enjoyed the journey I was taken on while reading this book, and I would recommend it to any readers out there who love a good mystery/psychological thriller, emphasising the importance of trust and honesty in a relationship, because it doesn’t matter how well you think you know the person you love, sometimes you just don’t know them well enough.

The Book Babe is giving The Vow by Debbie Howells a rating of four out of five. I’d like to thank Avon Books and NetGalley for providing me with an advanced reading copy of this book.

Devoured this book, really enjoyed the switching of characters and trying to figure out who the "other woman" was. Great style of writing

Amy and Matt are getting married. It should be one of the brides most memorable times of her life. And it will be but not because of the wedding. Matt has disappeared. And when Amy reports him missing it comes to light that Matt was living a double life. He has a girlfriend named Fiona who has also reported him missing. So what happened to Matt? Told in different POV's this story was engaging enough to keep me turning the pages. We get to know Matt from three perspectives. I was curious to know if something foul had befallen our groom or if he staged his own disappearance. Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for the ARC.

I enjoyed this book which provided a good amount of intrigue and intensity. The plot is a little predictable in part but there's enough to keep you guessing and turning the pages.
All in all a good page-turner and definitely worth a read.

Many thanks to Netgalley and Publishers Avon UK for this ARC for my opinion and review.

This is a fabulous read of intrigue and suspense. Was there or wasn't there a murder?

The reader is taken into the everyday lives of Amy and Jess, mother and daughter. Amy is divorced and through this experience, although there is no description of the divorce, the reader will see that it has left her uncertain of herself and insecure. Had the author included the former husband and divorce details the read would have become bogged down, by not doing so the read concentrates on the main characters and moves quickly. Amy has followed on from her grandmother's vocation and is a practicing herbalist which she has been able to build up into a rewarding business.

There is excitement in the household with the pending marriage between Amy and the fabulous Matt who has moved into the home already. Everything appears to be on track even with a few nerves and supposed anomalies on Amy's behalf. That is, until the day she receives a message from Matt that he will be late home as he has an appointment with a client. When he fails to return home Amy, naturally worried, phones his work only to discover that there was no such appointment.

From here on the book is hard to put down with the intrigue and suspense that follows.

Amy's childhood was traumatised with the death of her sister and in order to cope with this and events surrounding the death and events that followed, Amy has blocked them all out and by reinventing herself has been able to move on with her life. However with the disappearance of Matt, her past begins to unravel, the mystery of the ownership of their home, the stranger that warns her, the woman from her past, reaching the point where she is taken into custody by the Police.

Great thriller, everything comes together very well. The story kept my attention and I found I couldn’t put the book down. There are plenty of twists and turns in this novel.

Thank you for the Arc copy of The Vow. This is a book of twists and turns and I found it relatively easy to read. I did find parts where a bit drawn out and my concentration wandered a little but it did keep my interest enough to want to find out what happened to Amy and her fiance. All in a all a good read

I thought this book was just okay. I felt it was slightly convoluted and I love a good story with lots of character and detail but some of it was just useless. Zoe, what was the use of her? I found I got sidetracked counting all the commas this author used, which shows me I wasn't terribly interested in the story. It was a good bit of twist at the end though so I will give it that. Also, the author had me convinced that other characters (ie. Zoe) were sinister so well done there too.