I’m not sure how I feel about this one still. I liked it while I was reading it but I found it very forgettable. I did really like the characters and the story line.

This is my first Kaira Rouda book and I really do not think it will be my last. She really wrote a great story in this latest book! I absolutely loved it! If you have not read a book by her, you don't know what you are missing! She is fantastic at writing that character that you love to hate! Well hey Tish...that would be you girlfriend!

John and Kate are a perfect couple...married for a long time..they have built an empire together with their highly successful business...Along comes Tish...20 years younger with her mind set on her boss John..

Tish is definitely a hot mess and I don't think there is anyone else who can represent this term more than she.
Her snarky inner voice that we are privy to..it literally had me laughing out loud! It started out with a bang and didn't let up!

As John, Kate and Tish all continue to work together, well it is awkward...things got a little crazy..who will win this cat and mouse game? A wild and fun ride..you will want to see for yourself! Get in the story, you will not be disappointed.

An overall good story and good book. I didn’t find anything to be out of the blue, I found most of the twists and revelations to be predictable but I enjoyed it regardless.

Hard to pick sides when it came to the original and the next wife…

Great book , twisty , read in one sitting could not put down , book I will be recommending to all my book friends, 5 stars from me definitely.

4-stars!
Kate and John were happily married with a successful business until Tish came into their lives – Tish starts to work as John exec assistant and slowly takes over his life and before Kate can realize what was happening in the office where she and her husband were working together John announces that he wants a divorce and wants to marry Tish.
Kate becomes a wreck as John marries Tish, but Tish seems to be controlling every aspect of John’s life and he doesn’t seem to be liking what he got himself into. He is thinking of making some changes, but as life takes unexpected turns Tish and Kate have to figure out their futures
This was an absolutely stunning and suspenseful book. Thank you netgalley, Kaira Rouda, Thomas & Mercer for approving the ARC

I love Kaira Rouda’s books! This is another good one with the author’s trademark unlikeable characters. We have John, the husband, Kate, the ex wife, Tish, the home wrecker and new wife, and Ashlyn the daughter. Mix all of these characters together and conflict happens. It is amazing how devious these narcissistic people can be. There are twists and turns throughout in this psychological thriller. This book has loads of suspense and of course characters you dislike.That is all I will say as I hate to give away too much with thrillers. This is definitely a Kaira Rouda book and is a perfect summer read.

I have really enjoyed some of Kaira Rouda's prior novels, but this one did not work for me at all. Hopefully her next one is a better fit for me.

This was my first Kaira Rouda novel. I was intrigued by the plot but think the writing and storyline just didn't do it justice. I didn't really care for the characters and felt they were all poorly written. I kept reading this just to see if it would get better but it was just disappointing unfortunately. It was predictable and there weren't really many twists and turns. I didn't really feel much suspense either. It was just OK. Thankfully it was a short book so I didn't have to waste too much time reading it.

DNF - Did not finish. I did not connect with the writing style or plot and will not be finishing this title. Thank you, NetGalley and Publisher for the early copy!

To my own surprise, this was a fairly enjoyable read. The characters were horrible and I hated them, but I guess that's the point. Decent.

Kaira Rouda has done it again, a great addition to her work.
If you haven't read anything by Rouda start with this one, with characters you will just love to hate, I was on the edge of my seat waiting to see what happens next.
Highly recommend. A perfect summer read with twists, surprises and laugh out loud moments.

4 solid stars! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Kaira Rouda does it again!

If you’re a fan of this author, you already know what’s up!

John and Kate have a perfect life. They’ve been married for quite sometime and have built a very successful business together. That is until little Miss Tish comes along. She’s two decades younger than her boss, but that’s not going to stop her from getting her clutches into him!

When John ultimately leaves Kate for Tish, they all continue to work together. This is when the fun starts! Once these wives start going head to head you can’t help but stay up all night reading. Which wife will be victorious?

Kaira Rouda has a knack for creating the most God awful characters you love to hate. This book is no exception. I can’t wait for her next book of seedy characters!

Thank you to Netgalley, Thomas & Mercer and Kaira Rouda for my advanced copy.

Having heard Kaira was such a great author, I decided to try this one. I think I set my expectations too high. i found some of the characters to be a bit frustrating which affected my rating.

John Nelson has had two wives. His first wife, Kate, is the mother of his daughter and his partner in their successful business that just went public. His second wife, Tish, is barely older than his daughter. She was his executive assistant before he fell in love with her. Now he isn't sure he made the right decision, and after they announce the IPO they rush off to their mountain home in Colorado. John has one thing on his mind, but Tish has something else in mind for their getaway. Neither one of them got what they wanted that weekend. And now Tish and Kate are left to deal with the aftermath. What comes next will give the War of the Roses a whole new meaning.


I have not read a book that left me feeling "wow" in quite some time. The Next Wife fell short, too. The book is told from alternating perspectives. The author was trying to pit the Mrs. Nelsons against each other and from the reader's perspective and neither one of them was left looking very good. Even Ashlyn, the daughter, seemed like a spoiled brat. There was one little surprise at the end of the book, but it validated my belief that none of them were good people. CLICK HERE FOR SPOILERS


Bottom Line - This week between Christmas & New Year's Day has been a blur of Christmas movies and catching up on books I missed out on this year. While The Next Wife didn't hook me like I had hoped it would, it was still a decent way of spending an afternoon.



Details:

The Next Wife by Kaira Rouda
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Pages: 312
Publisher: Thomas & Mercer
Publication Date: 5/1/2021
Buy it Here!

Bestselling author Kaira Rouda is known for her tightly plotted, emotionally astute takes on domestic suspense, most notably BEST DAY EVER and THE FAVORITE DAUGHTER. In THE NEXT WIFE, once again she tackles the ins and outs, highs and lows of marriage --- and what happens when a new wife comes along to replace the old.

John and Kate Nelson were once the ultimate power couple. Gorgeous, brilliant and hopelessly in love, they rose from meager beginnings by starting EventCo, which offers online invitations, party supplies and concert tickets all in one. As one of Ohio’s most loved and respected companies, EventCo is an all-American success story based in an all-American city situated right in America’s heartland. To top it all off, John and Kate had the ultimate love story and perfect family: a brilliant woman, a handsome, well-connected man, and their only daughter, Ashlyn. Or at least they were the perfect family...until Tish came along.

When we meet John, Kate and Tish, EventCo is going public for the first time, and the IPO is expected to make the owners and employees wealthy beyond belief. But all is not well among EventCo’s higher-ups. Three years ago, John left his wife and daughter to marry his assistant, Tish, and though the three have managed to make things work, it is hard to ignore the divide between the two families, especially with so much to celebrate. Tish is the young, sexy, glamorous wife of one of the hottest --- literally and figuratively --- CEOs in Ohio, but Kate is the woman who took John from regular guy to corporate leader, and she holds a special place in his heart and company. The IPO milestone is the result of many late nights and difficult decisions, and Tish can’t help but notice how the preparation has pushed John and Kate together far more frequently than she’d like. But don’t worry, she has a plan.

Only a few hours after the company goes public, Tish whisks John away on a romantic weekend to Telluride, where he proposed. She’s certain that their little walk down memory lane will remind him who his real wife is, but she makes a few missteps. First, she pulls John away from EventCo during a major weekend. Second, she forces him to cancel a special dinner with Ashlyn, now a college student who has been interning at the family company. Tensions are high as the two revisit some of their most romantic memories, but Tish can tell she’s losing John to his first wife, and she’s anything but a quitter.

After a few too many special margaritas, John suffers a cardiac attack and never wakes up, leaving Tish co-president of EventCo and Kate and Ashlyn scrambling for answers. If the term “gold digger” is running through your mind, you’re certainly not alone, but Rouda has far more surprises up her sleeve than a simple femme fatale. As Tish and Kate butt heads during one of the most precarious times in EventCo’s history, each wife, along with Ashlyn, must fight to figure out what John really wanted for his company’s future --- and how far the other woman in his life would go to twist the truth.

Rouda thrives on domestic suspense. She is a keen analyst of the nuances of marriage, motherhood and blended families, and she is able to deftly twist each of these layered, complicated issues into something utterly shocking. THE NEXT WIFE is trademark Kaira Rouda with its deliciously devilish women and inherently ignorant men, but this might be one of her most villainous novels yet. Tish and Kate have so much to lose and to gain from John’s death, and they more can hold their own when it comes to vocal sparring, twisted legal moves and a few devious pranks. Just as she did in THE PERFECT DAUGHTER, Rouda shows us what it looks like when a power-hungry woman starts to crack, and the result is utterly riveting. (One of my favorite devices of hers is when a character is backed into a corner and delivers what she believes is a perfectly snide comeback, only to find out that she is yelling, frantic and hysterical.)

Ashlyn is such a central figure in John, Kate and Tish’s lives --- and carries the weight of the plot more than once --- yet she never felt fully formed. Rouda is more than capable of fleshing out her supporting characters, so this was a bit of a disappointment. I also would have liked to have seen more of Kate’s life as a mother through Ashlyn’s eyes. But worry not, there’s plenty to explore in the characters of Tish and Kate.

Full of midlife crises, conniving wives and corporate warfare, THE NEXT WIFE is yet another unputdownable thriller from Kaira Rouda.

Deliciously juicy and darkly funny. I loved the multiple narratives—they really served perfectly as character development. Add in a great twist at the end, and The Next Wife is a terrific read! Would be a great book club choice or beach read, as well.

This was a great read made all the better by the different narratives we got from the characters and what was going on. I have to give it 3 stars however because it started feeling a little rushed and that the story needed a few more chapters to unfold properly

I weren't a fan of the ending but it was brilliant and unexpected.

I will definitely buy other books by the author

It's not often a thriller is LOL funny, but Kaira's always are, and she never disappoints. The Next Wife is twisty and surprising - the perfect summer read.

This chilling thriller was so realistic and haunting! I was so invested in this story and didn't want it to end. It was a very quick read for me! The story and ending was very well executed! I loved it!

This was a fun and easy read! I did figure out the twist which was a bummer! I did love the sense of humor. It’s not common to be able to laugh in a thriller. I also loved the multiple perspectives. I love the little tidbits you get from the different characters and their thoughts. I just wish there was a little more thrill and less drama-lifetime movie type. But still a solid read