Member Reviews

Hoooooooooooooly cow!

This book is dark, twisted, and compulsive.

Part forensics cat and mouse game, part Basic Instinct and part Quentin Tarrantino nuts, I devoured it!

Amanda, Ms. Robson if you prefer, I am sure you are a wonderful person but I am a teensy bit afraid of you.

Thank you to AVON for sending me a widget in exchange for an honest review.

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Emma, a well off dentist who seems content with a quiet life, was enjoying a slow weekend with her boyfriend Alastair when Thomas and Jade move in the house next door to hers.
The moment Jade lays eyes on Emma, all she sees is a 'stereotype': blonde, fashionable, and a very potential candidate for her husband's wandering eye. She decides she will keep a closer eye on Emma. Jade decides that if he cheats on her with Emma, she will make them both pay.

Then all hell breaks loose.

Amanda Robson takes you on a journey in this psychological thriller where no one is truly innocent.

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Thanks to Avon for the opportunity to read and review this book. A bit of a crazy read although quite enjoyable. Murder on her mind is the theme and every way imaginable how to get away with it. When Jude becomes suspicious that her husband Tomas has fallen for his dentist she decides he must pay the ultimate price. The beautiful Emma , completely innocent has her own secrets. She doesn't trust men after her own husband and father showed violent tendencies. Becoming embroiled in martial problems is the last thing she wants. Jude is dangerous but is Emma all she appears. The book got a bit farcical but kept my interest. A fun read.

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This book took me by surprise. It kept me interested throughout the story and I needed to see what was going to happen. I truly enjoyed the pacing of the story and the well-written characters. I would recommend this story to all.

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FABULOUS! Thrilling and unpredictable. I really enjoyed this book. Plenty of twists and turns. The formatting did not sit brilliantly on my kindle which made it difficult to instantly see which character was speaking. However, this did not detract from the brilliant plot. Highly recommended.
Thanks to the author, publisher and NetGalley for an advance copy in return for an honest review.

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Jade and Tomas have moved into a new house and invite Emma and her boyfriend, Alastair, over for drinks. Jade lays it out to Emma that Tomas has a wandering eye and soon has it in her head that he is cheating in her with Emma.
What follows is a twisted, tragic, bitter story and it’s brilliant!
Admittedly I found it very jumpy at the start as the chapters from each POV was literally a few sentences then I soon got into it.
Thank you to netgalley and the publishers for this arc in exchange for my honest review.

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A friendly dinner to welcome a new couple to the neighbourhood acts as the catalyst for twisting tale of murders where there's only one seemingly innocent party amongst the multiple deaths. Brilliantly written story that kept me hooked all the way through.

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Having not read anything by this author before, I wasn't sure what to expect. The plot is excellent. The characters interactions are intriguing and twists keep you turning the pages. When Jade and Tomas move next door to Emma and Alistair, they try to make friends with their neighbours but some people just aren't destined to be friends. A complicated relationship leads to deaths but who is to blame and why.

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Wow - what a wild ride! Right from the beginning, the story takes off, and it just keeps speeding along. I had a bit of confusion at first with trying to keep the characters straight, but soon that was no problem, and the change of narrator every few pages, kept the book moving. All in all, another great thriller book!

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Really good read. Would recommend to friends and family. I could sympathise with characters (important for any fiction novel!) and looked forward to picking it up and reading the next few chapters! Interesting plot line and a good ending. Will look out for more novels by the author. Thank you.

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Thanks to Netgalley and Avon Books UK for the ARC.
3.5 stars.
Having enjoyed other books by this author I was excited to read this one.
What an absolutely bonkers, ridiculous, crazy, fun story this was. The story dives right in from the first page and doesn't hang around.
With no likeable characters, it still kept me reading. Not my favourite by this author but if you're looking for some ridiculous fun this is the one.

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'My Darling' is a domestic thriller, engrossing from the very beginning.

Emma and Alastair seem like a happy couple (not married), together yet living in their own space. Their life seems sorted until another couple move next to Emma's house (and someone gets murdered).

It seemed pretty fast faced (as I like when I am reading a thriller). And you (the reader) know who's the killer (plus why n how?) still it keeps you curious and interested. You think oh it's about chasing the one n saving the other.

But no. A few more chapters and you realize that it's not just about chasing the one and saving the other. It's so wicked and unpredictable. Every character seems unreliable.

Just one thing that distracted me was points of view. The story has been told from three points of view : Alastair, Emma and Jade (the neighbour) and it has been told in first person+second person. Now, I find second person narrative quite fascinating, especially in short stories or maybe a part in a novel, but here, everyone is telling the story in second person, repeatedly mentioning the name of the person they are talking about (so that the readers don't get confused). It seems odd and absolutely unnecessary. Certain chapters are too short (one page long) and again, unnecessary.

Also, while I understand it's an uncorrected version, sometimes you don't know who is talking. The other character's pov starts without any pause, paragraph/name change.

Nevertheless, it was a gripping read and I really enjoyed reading it.

Thank you, Netgalley for the ARC.

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Thank you to NetGalley and Avon Books UK for the arc of My Darling written by Amanda Robson.

This ends up following two couples, which ends up having a love triangle in ways with fantasies and dreams as well as a lot of paranoia. Then there are the dark secrets, lies, and even murder should i add....... This is told within
Multiple POV's and even short snappy gripping chapters in which has you hooked and drawn in because of this

I rate this 4 stars as I thoroughly enjoyed the way in which Amanda Robsons writes and structures her work in which is including have lots of short chapters instead of very long chapters in which sometimes can drag on and this doesn't in one sitting i finish 50 percent i finished this within 1 whole day

definitely recommend
4 stars⭐⭐⭐⭐

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Thank you to the publisher and netgalley for the opportunity to read this book. I loved the multiple POV. Very hard to put down. It had me hooked from the first chapter. Great storyline and great characters. Brilliant well worth 5stars.

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This is the second book I have read by this author and I thoroughly enjoyed it. In fact, I read it all in one day. I just had to know what was going to happen. There is a small twist in the middle of the story, that I definitely didn’t see coming. It just kind of, sneaks up on you. The story is based around two couples, out of which, three of them end up dead. I would definitely recommend this author and I plan to read the other books she has written.

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his book is CRAZY.

Twisty.

I don’t even know how to gather my thoughts enough to write about it other than to say I loved it. If you like your books full of suspense and darkness, this is for you!

My Darling by Amanda Robson is a book you should go into not knowing much, it will shock you and leave you thinking, “WHAT DID I READ?”

Synopsis:

A new couple moves in next door.
And nothing will ever be the same again…

I watched you move in and thought we might be friends. I saw you watching from the window – and knew I’d have to keep you away from my husband.

I started to trust you. Confide in you. I started to mistrust you. Suspect you. I was confused when I blacked out after an evening at your place. Was I really that drunk?

I came up with a plan. A plan to make you both pay . . .

I’m glad I have never had neighbors like the ones in this book. The characters are tricky and cunning.

Really, don’t take my word for it, read it yourself!

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Wow this book is a bit of a mind twist. Honestly I kept flirting between liking the characters to hating them and no one came out of this one as very likeable by the end but I loved it!!!

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Well written story. Kept me engaged the entire time. A page turner for sure! Looking forward to reading more books by this author!

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What a roller coaster emotions!

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Rating: 5 out of 5.

Jade and Tomas move to a new house in search of a new beginning. Their next door neighbours, Emma and Alistair seem like a lovely couple, until Emma gets a bit too close to Tomas…

Some books get to you in a way that others don’t. I wouldn’t be able to explain why I liked My Darling so much but I did -I actually read it twice!

My Darling may seem, at first, like a usual psychological thriller. You are introduced to two couples who live nearby, Jade and Tomas, and Emma and Alistair. Jade is suspicious that Emma is having an affair with her husband and she does what every other woman would do under her circumstances… or does she?

The characters are strangely relatable. A lot of novels have what I like to refer to as uni-dimensional characters. You know who the killer is from the beginning, and you know why they did it. Not with My Darling. You get to know why Jade feels the way she does, and why Alistair is so protective of Emma. Tomas is not exactly the husband of the year, and poor Emma is someone you want to root for until that happens. And then nothing makes sense but it does in a strange way -these people are certified insane!

When Tomas’ body appears, it’s no secret who has done it and why. At least that’s what you think. Maybe the why isn’t that clear. Maybe the who will get away with it and someone else will take the fall. Maybe you think you had figured this out but you had no idea.

What really got me is the style of delivery. Each chapter is told from the point of view of one of the characters talking to the other. This feels as if they were speaking directly to you. If the story wasn’t creepy enough, reading someone refer directly to you is terrifying!

If that doesn’t sound scary enough, wait until you read the mysterious memories from an anonymous source. They are intense, disturbing, and just when you think you know which character they belong to… there comes the twist!

The ending, ah yes, that satisfying ending that we are all rooting for is genius. I really can’t say much more than that without spoiling the book!

My Darling was a fantastic read, I am actually considering reading it for a third time, and will definitely be reading more books by Amanda Robson.

Disclosure: I would like to thank Avon Books UK for an advanced copy of My Darling by Amanda Robson. This is my honest review.

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My Darling
by Amanda Robson
Avon Books UK
Avon
General Fiction (Adult) | Mystery & Thrillers
Pub Date 24 Aug 2020 | Archive Date Not set

Thanks to NetGalley and Avon Books for this ARC. I have not read Amanda Robson before and I think I have been missing out. I thoroughly enjoyed this book! Great read. Kept me guessing.
5 star

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