The Next Wife was a creepy read. We all know people that are willing to go far for "love". This story involves a few of those people. It was funny because there were some realities to it. This was a great, suspenseful read and I will be recommending it. Now, I need to find more of Rouda's work. Well done!

I read this ARC for an honest review
All thoughts and opinions are mine

Not my usual genre - this absolutely terrified me !! In a good way !!
Twists and turns throughout - thoroughly unpredictable - kept me on the edge of my seat, unable to put down

This is the type of book that scares the crap out of any wife that thinks about cheating on her husband or divorcing him.,. If you have this crazy ass woman as your ‘next wife’ you are in trouble.
Or is the first wife the one you need to worry about to always look out for? To try and bring her man back? Both woman have an agenda and now the poor hubby is dead with a fortune hanging in the balance.,.
Loved every minute of this book.

Tish is the second wife of successful John, a start-up founder whose company just went public. Kate, his ex-wife, is the co-founder, their daughter, Ashlyn, is planning to take over the family business one day.

But Tish is realizing her marriage may be falling apart and Kate is making a play to get her ex-husband back. Which wife will come out the victor?

This one started off so strongly, I was hooked and flipping pages and then…it just stopped holding my attention. I’m not sure what else to say about it, but there it is.

Thanks to Thomas & Mercer for my free review copy. All opinions are my own.

The book description sounded like my kind of book but I just couldnt get into it. I tried, but sadly this one isnt for me

I didn’t love this. In fact, I really struggled to get through this. I didn’t connect with any of the characters and really didn’t care what happened to them. There were no twists or turns and the storyline was not very exciting.

Thank you to NetGalley and Thomas & Mercer for the advanced digital copy of this book. All opinions in this review are my own.

I am very to partial to any books by Kaira Rouda and once again this was no exception. Great story with a strong plot that held my attention all the way through. Loved the characters, they very much enhanced the story as I enjoyed reading about them, their personalities and response to the situation they are in. am very much looking forward to the next offering. Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for allowing me to read and review this book. Another five star read.

The Next Wife
Kaira Rouda
Publication date
⭐️⭐️⭐️
3.5 stars

Filled with suspense and twist this domestic thriller was a quick read but for me the characters weren’t developed enough nor wear they very likeable. With that said it was still an enjoyable read. Kate looks like she has it all- great husband, awesome job beautiful daughter until she finds her husband leaving her for a much younger version of herself. Now Tish has it all - but does she really? Filled with twists this page turner will be an easy pool or beach read.

This review will be posted on my Goodreads, Amazon and Barnes and Noble.

Goodreads
https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/12409011-donna-beiderman

Thank you to NetGalley for an early copy of this book for my honest review.

Thank you NetGalley and Thomas & Mercer for this ARC to read!
This is the first book I’ve read by Kaira Rouda. I was hooked on the jealously, complicated relationships and twists and turns in this psychological thriller. Loved the craziness between Kate and Tish. Usually I pick up clues as to what will happen in the end, but this book sure had me guessing! I had no idea what was coming! Could not put this one down and will have to read Kaira’s other two books now! Highly recommend - definitely a good summer read!

"The Next Wife" has the makings of a great book but sadly does not follow through. It reads like a strong first draft of a story, but that's about it. The dialogue and internal monologue is unnatural and clunky. The story was compelling, but overall it was really repetitive. The red herrings were just herrings, sitting in plain sight.

The three narrator style is good and kept me engaged and reading but then I got to the end. If Ithought things were repetitive before it was even worse. The very last twist at the end wasn't so much of a twist as a head scratcher because (without giving away spoilers) it didn't fit the character that was drawn in the slightest.

I'm giving it three stars because the bones are there and it did keep me engaged.

First, Kaira Rouda gave us Paul. Then, she gave us Jane. In The Next Wife, she introduces us to Kate and Tish, the first and second wives of Columbus, Ohio CEO John Nelson. John is celebrating the IPO of the company he and Kate built, and Tish is determined to keep the celebration going by whisking John away for the weekend. Tish has chosen to ignore the cracks that are forming in their marriage, and she's convinced that some time away is just what they need to reignite their spark. But the weekend doesn't quite go as planned -- and that's just the beginning of the ride on this crazy train.

Kaira Rouda has a real knack for writing nasty characters that you love to hate, and I think Tish is a solid follow-up to Rouda's previous lovable sociopaths, Paul and Jane. The Next Wife is a totally binge-worthy book, one that I read in just a few sittings, and it's pure fun. And as a central Ohio girl myself, it gave me a dorky thrill to read a book set in my town, complete with references to real places.

If I'm being honest, three stars is probably a generous rating for this one, because, like the titular character herself, The Next Wife has some issues. This is definitely the weakest of the three Rouda books I've read, and that's a really distant third. The characters are one-dimensional, there is no atmosphere, the dialogue is stilted. The writing has a churned-out, amateur feel to it, and the ending is entirely predictable if you're paying the slightest bit of attention. But despite all of that, I really did have fun immersing myself in the hot mess of this book for a while. This may have been a bit of a miss for me overall, but I could still find the Rouda trademarks I loved in her previous books in there somewhere. I'm hoping her next one is better.

Thank you to NetGalley and Thomas & Mercer for my copy in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you NetGalley, author Kaira Rouda, and Thomas & Mercer for giving me a free arc of this book in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
4 stars
Would the real Mrs. Nelson please stand up!
This book is told from the povs of Kate Nelson, the ex-wife and co-founder of a successful company. Tish, the current wife of John Nelson and former secretary and Ashlyn, the daughter of John and Kate Nelson. This story will draw you into a twisted game of car and mouse. Many of the characters are out for themselves and are willing to step on others to get what they want. This story is full of nonstop action and suspense that will keep you reading until the very end. The story line was very predictable until the very end. The ending was picture perfect and had me clapping and laughing at the sheer cleverness, The plotting and pacing was well done. The author was able to give out the information needed without too much information dumping. I felt sorry for Ashlyn who seemed to be willing to do anything to seek out the true behind her father's death, which causes her to be put in danger. This was my first book by author Kaira Rouda and it will not be my last. I would recommend this book to those who are fans of domestic psychological thrillers.

I had high hopes for this book. I almost did not finish it. The characters were unlikable and the plot was pretty easy to figure out.

The beginning has a strong open.
It was an ok read. Interesting characters. First time I've tried this author and while this book isn't going to be one that I think about often I would definitely try this author again.

I received a free ARC of The Next Wife from NetGalley for my honest review.

This was a crazy read about a woman, her husband and "his" family. It was told from multiple perspectives which made it interesting.

It's a juicy and dramatic twisty domestic mystery thriller.

I gave this 4 stars.

#TheNextWife
#NetGalley

Kate and John Nelson were the perfect couple—they had a happy marriage, a teen daughter, and a successful company that they built from the ground up. That was, until John shocked everyone by leaving Kate for his much-younger assistant, Tish. Tish is more than half John's age, closer to their daughter Ashlyn's age, whom Tish had previously formed a friendship with. After three years of marriage, Tish thinks she has it all, the rich husband, a huge house, and luxurious vacations, clothing, and jewellery. But all isn't as it seems to Tish when she begins to suspect that John is cheating on her with Kate. Tish thinks her best laid plans leave her one step ahead of John and Kate and their backstabbing—but is she right? It's hard to know what each woman will do in the name of love and revenge.

This was a quick, enjoyable read. All of the characters were vile and unlikeable, which makes for a great story. There are many shocking moments that drew me into the plot. I enjoyed the multiple narrators, which helped bring the story together. I ended up guessing the twist that happened at the end, but it didn't make the text any less enjoyable. I'm looking forward to reading more of Rouda's work. Thanks to NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this title.

The opening sentence hooked me, "Despite popular notions to the contrary, it isn't easy being the next wife." I found this book to be somewhat entertaining given the actions of Tish (the next wife), Kate (the first wife), Ashlyn (the daughter), and John (the now-dead husband a day after their company's IPO). There were definitely twists and surprises along the way, but often the storyline's timelines did not match up and all seemed a bit forced/rushed.

Thank you to Thomas & Mercer and NetGallery for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Tish has risen from the proverbial ashes of her troubled youth and snagged the life of her dreams. She's married to a wealthy older man and has everything she ever wanted... Except his attention. Lately, John's been stressed and distracted. He blames the impending IPO of his company, which he shares with his ex-wife Katie, but Tish is suspicious that there's more to their present-day relationship than business. When John dies suddenly (and suspiciously) and a new will appears, Katie and Tish are immediately at odds. In their fight for what they each believe they're entitled to, they'll each do what it takes to get what they want... No matter the cost.

Frankly, it took everything in me not to DNF this book. From the beginning, it felt poorly written - Sort of like a first draft attempt by someone with a fledgling interest in writing a book. The writing was incredibly distracting and made it hard to really sink my teeth into the plot. Additionally, the characters were extremely unlikable - I wasn't rooting for a single one of them. It was obvious to me from the first mention of homeopathic medication provided by Katie that she was working against John, but it feels as thought the moment when her daughter visits the doctor that allegedly provided them is glazed over.

Altogether, this felt like a halfhearted attempt at a thriller and I definitely don't intend to pick up anything else by this author in the future. I honestly can't believe it has a 3.79 rating on Goodreads.

The Next Wife is an engaging read. The twists and turns are well written and flow through the plot without a hitch. It is good to see a story told from many perspectives when relationships are broken and being mended, especially from the kids angle when there are children involved. This is definitely worth a read. Thoroughly enjoyed.

Actual rating 3.5*

This is my second Rouda's book, and since I wasn't a huge fan of Best Day ever, I was a bit reluctant about this one.
It turned out to be pretty decent book, with a crappy ending unfortunately (and that's why no 4* from me).
I enjoyed that all the characters were sort of grey and you couldn't trust anyone. I enjoyed the intrigue, the powerplay. It was so well executed and well written.
Unfortunately the ending ruins everything and it left me with sort of WTF face.