A good, well written book from this author but to be honest I didn't enjoy it as much as her previous ones.

I found it hard to get into the story line, I wasn't keen on the characters and it didn't really keep me on the edge of my seat but these are my personal feelings and overall it was a good read.

Thank you to Netgalley and Bookouture for giving me the opportunity to read this book.

Becca and Dean have a wonderful life with their daughter Mia, until they don’t. Once you peel back the covers of their marriage you see that Dean spends a lot of time with his business and in turn with his business associate and Mia is overwhelmed with her sick father, 3 year old daughter and working part time. Then Mia starts getting sick and no one knows why. Out of the blue the Australian surfer who breaks Becca’s heart years ago reaches out to her on Twitter and Becca starts wondering “What if?” As things go from bad to worse, Becca doesn’t know who to believe or who to trust. It brings to mind, how well do you really know the people closest to you? The twist, when it comes, catches you by surprise!

Many thanks to Netgalley, Bookouture and Rona Halsall for providing this copy in exchange for an unbiased review.

Nothing seems worse than a sick child especially when you can't figure out what is wrong. What makes it worse is Becca is a nurse and should be able to figure it out, but can't. While everyone tells her to relax that kids get sick all the time when they are little, but she just can't get her mind to do that. When Becca's whole world starts to come crashing down that is when the truth finally starts to come out!

Becca is a mom of a 3 year old, Mia with her husband Dean. Her father lives nearby with her sister. Her first love from years ago contacts her on social media. Suddenly Mia starts to become ill at random. Becca eventually believes that Mia is being poisoned. But by who?? Social Services thinks it's her. But is it? Lots of twists and turns in this one. The "culprit" could be so many people. Many of the characters are not very likable people but I think that just added to the mystery.

Many thanks to netgalley Bookouture and Rona Halsall for an enjoyable read.

The Ex Boyfriend certainly has some unlikeable characters and a family that is flawed to say the least.

Becca finds her ex boyfriend on Social media and the memories come flooding back. Her past comes back to haunt her in more ways than one

But Becca has a busy life, a husband who is never home and a 3 year old who suddenly keeps getting ill for no reason and the doctor's are suspicious of Becca.

She has her dad who lives with her sister and that's not going well.

Becca just makes the worst decisions but you know she loves her daughter beyond anything.

The author slowly draws you in and then throws some subtle twists at you to keep those pages turning.

Thanks to NetGalley and Bookouture for giving me the opportunity to read The Ex Boyfriend.

'The Ex-Boyfriend' was a real mixed bag for me, so it's quite tricky to review. It's my first book by the author, so I had no idea what to expect, although I was very intrigued by the mysterious nature of the synopsis, and the dark and twisted story I assumed would be at the heart of the novel.

However, I found the execution a bit underwhelming. I think part of the issue was that none of the characters are very likeable, which is something I always struggle with as it makes it hard for me to really engage with whats going on - when I don't like the cast, it makes picking the book up a chore, and my attention span really suffers. Secondly, the plot itself was limited - yes, the writing was good and relatively engaging, but there's only so many places a story like this can go, and after a while it felt like filler designed to drag the story out a bit more.

The ending was... intriguing. Looking back, it was quite obvious, and I did consider this person a few times, but then I considered everyone in the book a potential suspect too! One big strength was the epilogue, which summed everything up really nicely and got rid of all of those loose threads. So yeah, altogether it was ok, but for me it was just too slow to be of interest.

Disclaimer - I was fortunate enough to receive an advance reading copy of this book from the publisher in conjunction with NetGalley. This has not affected my review in any way, and all opinions are my own.

Another 5 stars to Rona from me. I have read and loved every single story that this great author has penned. The Ex Boyfriend is a slow burner that builds up to a brilliantly twisted climax.

The focal point of this thriller is Becca and how her emotions are stirred up when her ex-boyfriend Connor is back on the scene after contacting her on social media. He seems to want to know EVERYTHING about her life. She is married now, with a three-year-old daughter, Mia - however, things take a sudden turn for the worse when this child is potentially being poisoned after falling ill. Becca is on the emotional turmoil of a journey while trying to figure out who could have done this. With only a small circle of friends, suspicions start to play on her mind.

I had mixed views with the characters in this book, I actually hated all of them, but I enjoyed hating them too. This isn't a flaw and reminds us that characters with issues will have certain traits. It's what drives them to make the decisions they make and the actions that will leave you shocked!

The majority of the book is gripping with characters filled with psychological issues that keep you guessing until the very end. Another great read if you enjoy suspenseful, twisted thrillers.

Thank you to the author, Bookouture, and netgalley - I wish Rona all the best success with another fantastic read.

Thank you Net Galley and Bookouture for an early copy of The Ex-Boyfriend. I am Always excited to read a new Rona Halsall book, this was a Good one!!! A bit slow in the beginning but worth sticking with it. Characters were interesting, All in All another good one by this author.

Hmmmm... Mixed emotions about this book. On one hand, I still have whiplash from all the twists and turns (I changed my mind about who the perpetrator was at least a dozen times!) on the other hand, I really didn’t like any of the characters very much at all...

All in all, an enjoyable rollercoaster of a read and a good insight into Fabricated or Induced Illness (or Munchausen by Proxy as it was previously known).

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for the ARC.

This is a very well written book. The story is not that strong, but the author certainly makes the most of the possibilities it offers.

Becca and Dean have been married a few years and have a daughter Mia. Dean is very focused on his work leaving much of the job of caring for Mia to Becca. She thankfully has a reliable house help in Ruth. After many years, Becca’s ex-boyfriend Connor, with whom she was very close while in Australia suddenly messages her on Twitter. As the exchange grows, Becca is forced to admit to herself that her feelings for Connor are still strong. She is however determined to stay committed to her marriage.

Mia falls ill a few times and while it appears to a routine viral infection initially, the suspicion grows that it may be a case of poisoning. There are not too many people who can do this though and the suspicion falls on Becca herself. There are some incidents in the past which she was cleared of, but raise suspicion in the light of recent events, coupled with her near hysterical behavior. Becca is determined to get to the bottom of this and finds it odd that all this coincides with Connor getting reconnected with her. As the stress grows and Becca is forbidden from being with Mia till she is cleared, she has to lean on her father Frank and sister Kate for support. She also learns that there are some events in the past she has not known about which might be influencing what is happening now.

While the writing is great, there is only so much this story can offer. As a result, the ending seems fairly tame. The behaviour of Becca’s character is intermittently quite silly, but it is entirely plausible, nevertheless. I did like the epilogue which covers the decisions Becca makes for her future, and the book finishes well.

My rating: 3.25 / 5.

The Ex-Boyfriend introduces us to a married mom, Becca, whose life seems to spiral out of control when her daughter has a string of illnesses that seem suspiciously like she is being poisoned. I enjoyed the pace of this book, and the fact that it kept me coming up with new theories throughout! The family was dysfunctional and I found all of the characters rather unlikable and superficial. I did really enjoy the light it sheds on factitious disorder, in particular the many false accusations that happen and how devastating that can be to anyone involved.

Special thanks to Bookouture and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for my review!

Thank you to Netgalley for giving me this Arc for an unbiased review

I am a lover of thrillers, and I've read my fair share of slow starting ones but I just could not get passed Chapter 6.

I was intrigued by the story line but as you start the book it moves incredibly slow. I had hope that by chapter 3 something would happen but even by chapter 6 Becca is waiting for a reply from Connor.

Hopefully if you choose to read it you get farther than me and enjoy it .

A suspenseful novel that keeps you reading and wanting to know more. I enjoyed the book, the story intrigued me right from the beginning. It was easy to ‘visualise’ as the plot unfolded.
A great read for thriller fans.

My thanks to Netgalley for my copy of The Ex-Boyfriend. I enjoyed this book and although I didn't really like Becca I was soon caught up in her dramas.

The characters were all quite believable although the only one I thought was likeable was Connor, the rest were pretty unpleasant. There were twists and turns aplenty, making it difficult but not impossible to work out who it was that had it in for Becca .

Becca's fears and frustrations were palpable but the background behind a couple of the characters that was not shared within the family was a little unbelievable. This really was a book of ups and downs and I don't mean within the plot. Nevertheless, it was a good read all in all.

Becca has a 3 year old daughter called Mia with her husband, Dean. Someone is poisoning Mia and Becca is doing everything in her power to find out who. Who in her small circle could be doing such an awful thing to a small child?

When Becca receives a tweet from her first love, Connor, she decides to respond. With the problems in her marriage, Becca might have opened up a big can of worms!

This is an excellent psychological thriller. It is one of those books that moves fast and leaves you not wanting to put it down. Plenty of twists to keep you guessing to who has done what! Lots of secrets in the family to make this a dark and thrilling read.

My thanks to NetGalley, Bookouture and Rona Halsall for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I have mixed feeling about this book. The plot itself was terrific, most of the characters were well done but not as well developed as they could have been.
The story follows Becca who has an incident in her path regarding her mental health. Now her daughter is sick and poisoning is suspected. The blame is later squarely at Beccas feet. But things are not always as open shut as they seem to be.
I found this story a little drawn out and a little predictable but overall it was a decent read I would rate 3.5

Becca is having a hard time juggling being a nurse, a mom, and a wife. Now she may have to help with her father's care. Her sister is wanting to do other things instead of being a live in companion for her father. That puts his care on Becca's shoulders. It is only fair, her sister has been caring for their father since the death of their mother. She can't expect too much help from her husband. She rarely sees him. He is occupied with work and is gone sometimes for days at a time.
Things will work themselves out. Family is always there for each other. Even a dysfunctional one.
Great storyline and characters.

I received a copy of this from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Clearly, I am in the minority here for not liking this book. I was expecting a completely different book after reading the blurb.

I found the characters completely unlikable, the plot thin at best, pretty unbelievable actually. And possible SPOILER the book had very little to do with actual title.

Overall, not enjoyable. I rolled my eyes a lot.

That ending!!!!!!!!!!
"The Ex Boyfriend" By Rona Halsall follows Becca, a busy mum to Mia and wife to husband Dean. Becca is juggling part time nursing work, with trying to see more of her dad Frank, whilst trying to help relieve her sister Kate of the caring duties for her father! Which is harder for her now she lives half hour away in another village.
It's all going on in her life..... now on top of all that, her old love of her life Conner is back in touch- messaging her via Twitter, which then stirs up all sorts of questions and feelings inside Becca. The storyline takes many turns, more than usual with a Rona Halsall Physcological Thriller, and I did at times feel it wasn't moving quite quick enough.
Just when we think we've caught the plot twist everything changes and the story continues..... I couldn't of loved the epilogue anymore, it was full of emotion and highlights the "factitious disorder" mentioned throughout the storyline, which I'd never even heard of up until this book. I was really happy for Becca come the final page, and was overcome with a swarm of happiness and love for her, it really did tie up the storyline very well and taught the important lesson of forgiveness, love and moving on.

Wow!!! The Ex-Boyfriend by Rona Halsall is a gripping psychological thriller. It grabs you from the very first page and keeps you guessing throughout. Mia is the 3 year old daughter of Becca and Dean and has fallen ill. Then Connor (Becca’s ex-boyfriend) pops back into the picture - at a time when Becca is most vulnerable. She begins remembering better times with Connor as she remembers past memories. Who can Becca trust? Excellent book.