When I first read the title of this book i was so excited, it sounded so mysterious and unpredictable. And while this book did keep me guessing until the very end, it didn't keep my interest at all.
The thing that got me the most about this book was the main character, I found her so whiny and irritating. She had been through a trauma but it seemed like she wanted everyone else's lives to stop because of what had happened to her, and she didn't care about what was happening to anyone else.

Also at the end of almost every chapter there would be a cliffhanger, which would make me want to keep reading, then at the start of the next chapter things would just carry on as if nothing ever happened. Which left me feeling really deflated each time.
The idea of this book was good, and as I said I never would have predicted the ending, however it just didn't tick any boxes for me.

Poop. This author has been a hit or miss for me. Unfortunately this one was a miss. A little too cliche and me not liking the main character.

Samantha Hayes does it again!

I absolutely loved 'Date Night' by her and was expecting the same suspense from "THE HAPPY COUPLE". Gladly, it didn't disappoint at all.

The twists and revelations until the last moment just blew my mind. Although the initial part of the story felt a little tricky(is the word I guess) and that may be due to the fact that I wasn't really fond of Jo up until a certain point.

But as the slowly proceeds I just couldn't stop reading and ofcourse I STARTED PREDICTING, and some of my guesses fit the puzzle but as usual Hayes stole the limelight with the perfect TWIST.

LOVED IT!

The Happy Couple started off really well for me. I enjoyed getting to know the characters & their backstories but the end somewhat fizzled out. I liked following Jo's quest for the truth about her husband. I also enjoyed the small twists along the way that made the story interesting. However, it got predictable & frankly I've seen many a book end in a similar way. So while I enjoyed the journey, I wasn't too happy with the destination.

Jo & Will Carter lived a happy life with Jo a professional seamstress & Will an aspiring artist. When Will suddenly disappears one day Jo is left distraught with no idea where Will is or why he's gone. As months pass Jo finds it increasingly difficult to process the fact her beloved husband might never return. Constantly pressured by family & friends to 'move on' Jo reluctantly decides to take up house sitting to take a break from her house, & her routine, both filled with Will's memories. While browsing through one of the apps connecting the sitters with the hosts, Jo finds Will's picture smiling back at her from a picture on a fireplace. Shocked, Jo decides she needs to find out why Will's picture is in a stranger's house & why. Jo knows following that path will lead to her heartbreaking but for closure, she knows she must uncover her deepest memories.

I liked the characters in this book especially Jo. I liked her journey through the course of finding why her husband disappeared. The plot was intriguing & I really loved how the other characters were defined. The only gripe I have is how the book ended. I was expecting a mind-blowing twist at the end- but the twist fell short of the wow factor for me.

Thank you NetGalley, Bookouture & Samantha Hayes for an arc!

I had a bit of a difficult time getting into this at first, I found it a bit slow. But eventually, it picked up and I couldn't put it down. Hayes has a really good writing style, and I can't wait t pick up what she writes next.

I am a big fan of this author and always excited when I see she has a new book coming soon! I was very happy to get a chance to read this one, and found it to be, as expected, engaging from start to finish!

Wow, wow, wow another gripping novel by the amazing Samantha Hayes. I’ve read many books by her and absolutely loved them all. I knew I had to read this one once I saw the blurb and cover. This is an author you don’t want to miss out on.

This book was about a woman trying to come to terms about her missing husband. Did he leave her? Did something happen to him? Is he still alive? Did he leave her for someone else? These are the questions she wants answered but will she like finding out the answers on who her husband truly was.

I just want to start off by saying that I loved this book. At first I didn’t really care for Jo and did not feel bad for her at all. Her husband was missing and I felt she was very weak and disillusioned about the whole situation. By the end of the book she grew on me and finally she opened her eyes and saw the light. She was able to see who her husband really was and that he was hiding many secrets from her. I also have to say that I knew there was a reason why I didn’t trust or like her best friend. She was hiding the biggest secret of all and was not a true friend. I also liked the plot of the story. I love the missing husband concept as it makes me wonder what secrets are they hiding that marriage. This book was really fast paced and I was not bored at all. Each chapter brought in new information and clues to where the husband might be and what he was up to. The ending did have quite a few shockers so have a defibrillator handy as your heart may not be able to take it.

Between the plot, characters and all the twists in this book it made it an easy and fast read. I would definitely recommend it and happily give it 5 Hearts❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

I loved this book. I have never read anything by Samantha Hayes before but will keep an eye but for her now. I was hook right from the first page. Thank you, NetGalley for allowing me to review it. Recommended.

Jo and Will are perfect together until the day he walked out and did not return.

This story is full of hidden secrets that will keep you guessing till near the end. Every little twist messed with my head.

The author draws out each character and like marmite, I either loved them or loathed them!

The reason I gave this book four stars instead of 5 is because the ending did not sit right with me, after what had gone before.

3 stars! ⭐️⭐️⭐️

While I really loved Samantha Hayes last book, Date Night, this one was just way too slow for my liking and did not “wow” me at all. I had such high hopes!

When I first saw this book on NetGalley, I knew I had to have it. I was super excited to start it. The premise sounds awesome: Jo’s husband - Will - has been missing for a year. Her best friend suggests that she “get back out there” and start dating or find a hobby, like housesitting. As much as she hesitates to jump on board with the idea, Jo finally caves and begins looking for houses online. Eventually, she finds a house that interests her. Here’s the kicker...she sees a picture of her missing husband in a frame on the mantle in the background of one of the photos. Why is there a picture of her missing husband on this woman’s mantle? Of course, she gets her application submitted immediately because she must start investigating as soon as possible! What does not sound awesome about that? Unfortunately, it sounds a lot better than it actually is.

Overall, the book was just okay for me. There were a couple of decent twists, but nothing like I was expecting. I rolled my eyes a few times, and got tired of Jo constantly seeing her missing husband everywhere she went when he wasn’t really there.

Even though I didn’t love this one, I look forward to her next book!

Thank you to NetGalley, Bookouture and Samantha Hayes for the advanced copy to read and review.

I found this book very slow paced at the start, it eventually kicked up around the middle and the ending had a great climax. Good style of writing.

The Happy Couple is about a woman, Jo, determined to find out what happened to her missing husband, when he suddenly disappeared over a year ago. Jo is lost in her hopes and expectations, believing that one day, Will, her husband will return. Finding Will has become her whole life's purpose... the book deals with her quest to find him.

Samantha Hayes depicts a tortured character haunted by the disappearance of her husband and her struggle to carry on with her personal and family life. The author takes us into a mysterious but complex story.

I think the pace was too slow for the better part of the book. There were too many inner dialogues, streams of consciousness and unnecessary conversations that regularly interrupted the ongoing story. It was a bit confusing, however the plot was intriguing enough to make me continue reading.

Firstly a big thank you to Bookouture for accepting my netgalley request. This is a author i see a lot of praise for within the book blogging community .

This is a incredible thriller thats very twisty and unpredictable .

You think you know the direction its going and no… changes course.

I whizzed through this completely captivated and intrigued to discover the truth.

Addictive writing and perfect escapism!

Highly recommended if you are a fan of psychological thrillers that keep you guesing and on the edge of your seat.

Jo’s husband, Will, a teacher and actor, has been missing for a year now. Jo’s co-owns a sewing shop called Sew Perfect. This is where she met Will when she was repairing his costume for a show.

The pain of missing Will has worn Jo down and her best friend, Louise, wants her to take a holiday and suggests house sitting. While searching pictures of properties, she comes across one that shows a picture of Will on the mantlepiece. Determined to check this out, she applies to housesit and is approved.

When she arrives, the picture is no longer on the mantlepiece. Jo finds walking the dog to be therapeutic for her. A neighbor man is quite friendly and encourages her to get out to the local pub for quiz night. But, what happened to the photo and why does she feel like she sees Will standing in the same room she is in? Is she hallucinating? In addition, why does she continue to have strange dreams that she can’t figure out? Just when you think you’ve figured it all out, you find that you are totally wrong.

This book started to irritate me at times and I wanted to give Jo a swift kick and ask her how stupid she could have been to get involved with Will in the first place. But when we finally approach the ending of the book, it all rushes into place where it all makes sense. While it is an unusual plot, I can’t help but wish the book had not been as long.

Copy provided by NetGalley in exchange for a fair and honest review.

I was given this book by NetGalley for an honest review -
A drive with her husband one night leaves a nightmare hanging on her each day - afraid someone will find out.
And then her husband is gone. A friend tells her she need to get away for a bit -house sit or such. She gets on the internet checking and unbelievably finds housesit with her husband picture hanging on the wall? What is going on ?
She decides to do this and what she doesn't discover. What an intriguing read!

An intriguing thriller with a superabundant climax.

For nearly a year Jo has been losing her mind and obsessing about her husband. Will Carter, drama teacher/actor has been missing for almost a year now and each time Jo’s phone rings she thinks she could be a step closer to knowing where he is.
They were trying to have a baby and now he’s vanished from her life.

Jo’s pregnant best friend Louise convinces Jo to take a holiday break but because Jo cant afford a regular holiday she makes the decision to holiday at a house-sit near the South Coast. There were lovely photos of the place on the website and what appeared to be photos of her missing husband Will on the living room mantelpiece there…….

The Happy Couple was defiantly a page-turner. I was left restless trying to unlock the mystery in the plot which I thought took too long to start coming together and falling into place but when it does wham bam there’s a lot going on!






I wish to thank Netgalley & Bookouture for a providing me with an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review

I loved the premise of the book but unfortunately, it fell a little flat. I really didn't like the fact that the main character was "seeing" someone that wasn't really there. There were some other pretty unbelievable aspects to the book that I will not spoil for others. The ending was pretty silly too. This was a pretty fast read though and I loved the creepy cover!

SO many questions that I needed the answers to. Samantha Hayes captured my attention in the first chapter and had me furiously turning the pages. Jo’s husband Will has been missing for over a year. Jo does not think he is dead or he left her for another woman, but she will not have closure until she finds out what has happened. Unable to MoveOn Jo Bestie Louise suggests she gets a job as a housesitter and takes a little bit of a vacation. When Jo is searching the housesitting website she runs across the unexplainable, pictures of her husband Will on a fireplace mantle in a home she’s never seen before. Of course Jo applies and gets the house sitting job and that’s where things start going sideways and get very strange. What followed was a pretty wild somewhat unbelievable ride.

This was an interesting book. I was seriously all in, totally invested, needed to know what in the world was going on. There were some fairly unbelievable things that happened and I was OK with that. But then at the end things got a little frantic (for lack of a better word) and it just didn’t work for me. A good story that had me completely hooked, but perhaps with a little too much of a twist.

This book in emojis 🖼 🐶 🐱 🔑 🏡

*** Big thank you to Bookouture for my gifted copy of this book. All opinions are my own. ***

Jo’s Husband is gone, completely vanished. Her best friend urge’s her to try something different now, after all it’s been a year. House sitting seems like the perfect answer. Until she checks out the website and finds a home with pictures of her missing husband displayed on the fireplace. She decides to apply to house sit and once she arrives she will find out more then she ever expected to.
I found the beginning a bit hard to get into but near the last third of the book it really picked up and I was very interested in finding out what was going on. I felt for Jo because of what she was going threw for sure. Over all it’s was a good read.
Thank you to Netgalley and Bookouture for a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own.
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️
Available Now!

Jo thought that she had found the perfect partner. They just seemed to 'fit'. He was an actor & teacher, she was a seamstress. They were trying for a baby. Life was good- until Will disappeared. She went through all the usual channels but no-one seemed to take her seriously. Now nearly a year on she is still seeing him/hearing him/longing for him. Her best friend suggests she takes a holiday away. As she is short of money Louise suggests house sitting. Jo isn't convinced- but when looking through the website she suddenly spots pictures on someone's mantelpiece- is this finally a clue to Will's whereabouts?

This was a real page turner. I must admit Jo annoyed me & I did find some of the story far fetched but I couldn't stop reading till I found out what was actually going on.. Thanks to Netgalley & the publisher for letting me red this book.