Oh my so very good. Very angsty which I love. I found it to be a nail biter. Definitely a reread in the future. Great, smooth storyline.

The Next Wife is a cleverly written story of the two Mrs. Nelsons. Author Kaira Rouda has a serious talent for writing the dark sides of people. There are red herrings and twists and turns all round and you won't find out what really happened until the very end! Read in one day!

Many thanks to NetGalley and Thomas & Mercer for this ARC!

The Next Wife - Kaira Rouda

John and Kate were a loving couple, heading up their successful EventCo business, parents to college age daughter Ashlyn. That was before Tish.

Tish is 'The Next Wife' just four years older than his daughter.

I had seen some good reviews and it's billed as a psychological thriller so I was keen to read it.

The chapters are divided between the four main characters, until John's untimely sudden death, and then it's an acrimonious battle of wits and wills (in both senses) between the ex-wife Kate and the next wife Tish.

For a psychological thriller with four characters I found the characters flat and one-dimensional and there is no real distinction between the voices of their chapters. The plotting is simple, and not very much happens.

It gives me no pleasure to leave a bad review. I thought it picked up a bit in the middle and was mildly interested to say if the ending could save it, but alas, for me it didn't.

Thanks to Netgalley and Thomas & Mercer

Thanks to NetGalley for giving me an ARC for reading this book and trust me for an honest review.

This is the first book I have read from the author, it's a standalone so there is no need on having read others to get to know the story a thing I appreciate on thrillers. The writing style is very fluent, there isn't many descriptions or filler scenes that slow the plot so that is appreciated, adn we get to see different points of view which if done wisely gives more depth to the plot.

I gave it only 3 stars because I was expecting more, I thought we would see something much darker and twisted, but as the pages went by it turned out to be quite simple, and I didn't like the fate of one of the main characters as I found it almost comical and quite anticlimatic.

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This is a great way to escape for a few hours with some very unlikeable characters and a storyline that moves like a chess match.
Kate and her husband built up a successful company together from scratch. From the outside, they had everything-a successful company, a beautiful and smart daughter, a happy marriage and then along came Tish and that all changed. Kate has to deal with the changes whether she likes it or not when John and Tish get together and Tish tries to become the “new and improved Kate”
There were times that this dragged a little for me and there were some parts that were kind of repetitive, but the ending, although somewhat predictable if you’re a thriller fan, still made up for it.
Thanks to Thomas & Mercer and Netgalley for this EArc in exchange for my review.

Imagine building a successful business with your husband. All the long hours, no money, valuable time spent away from your daughter, and now finally the payoff, the IPO launch of EventCo. All the key employees are celebrating with you, all stock owners and all set to be rewarded for believing in the company. Look there's John and Kate, the cofounders, their daughter Ashley, and a younger woman Tish who might be Kate twenty years ago. Sisters? I think not, she is John's second wife.
But what happened to Team John and Kate? Well, John decided the grass was greener in his executive assistant's office rather than in his wife's office or even at their house. Kate still maintains her role in the company they built, though she is not a happy camper by any stretch of the imagination.
Tish is well, Tish. Young and hungry and very happy to have John and his money all to herself. If only she could make Kate and Ashley disappear, her life would be perfect. But, she does console herself with the fact that she is the new Mrs. Nelson, so technically, she won.
John starts to rethink the decision he made regarding Tish, but before he can do anything about it, a tragedy occurs. Kate and Tish will go head to head to be sure they each get what they are entitled to, and that means the other woman will be left empty-handed. Kate was a woman scorned, determined to hold onto EventCo, while Tish was just as determined to hang on to the wealthy life she felt she deserved.
The Next Wife may be considered a popcorn thriller or a good beach read. Whatever you call it, it was a fast-paced ride on the cray cray train. I saw most of the events coming but was still glued to the pages as I couldn't wait to see which Mrs. Nelson would emerge victoriously. 3.5 stars.

This was such a quick read. It was hard to put down. There's lots of twists and turns throughout the book, especially at the end. It was super good and I love d it!

So disappointing.

This is my third book by Rouda and I have to say the magic is wearing off. Her first book, Best Day Ever, I gave 4 stars. Her second book, The Favorite Daughter, I gave 3 stars. I think even 2 stars may be too generous for The Next Wife.

I hated every single character in this book. They exhausted me as did the repetition. The entire book is the same discussions over and over and over again. The writing seemed juvenile, the storyline was completely absurd, and the ending did nothing to redeem this. To be honest, I'm not so sure I'll be grabbing Rouda's next offering. Next! 2 stars!

Thank you to NetGalley and Thomas & Mercer for my copy.

Thank you to Netgalley and Thomas & Mercer for the digital ARC in exchange for my honest review.

WHOA. This is my first book from Kaira Rouda and wow, was it good. It certainly started as a slow burn. I had a lot of questions, was constantly wondering where was this going to go and all of a sudden, BAM. I never saw the end coming.

I wish there was a bit more story involving Ashlyn, and her relationship with her parents - just a little more backstory, but otherwise this was fantastic and definitely one I'll be recommending to all of my fellow thriller lovers!

This was.......not great.

Tish is the second wife of a CEO. The CEO still works with his first wife. The company goes public and then the CEO dies.

What's left is the struggle for power and the struggle for the truth....how did John die?

The story, itself, is kind of obvous. The writing is....subpar? That's super mean, I know, but there is no...feeling behind any character. It's all very matter of fact.

Eh.

Thanks to netGalley and the publishers for the opportunity to read and review this book.

John and Kate Nelson created EventCo 15 years ago and now the company has become prominent and well-respected having processed one billion dollars in sales just last month. They sell party supplies, invitations, and concert tickets. John and Kate have a daughter, Ashlyn, 21.

Several years ago, John hired Tish as his executive assistant. Before long, John and Tish began having an affair. Then John divorced Kate and married Tish. It was through Kate’s hard work and determination that EventCo has now gone public. She is not going to let this twit undo all of her hard work.

Tish is young, greedy, and insecure. She is determined to be at the office with John while treating Kate with her “in your face” attitude. John wants Tish to stay at home but she won’t. She is beginning to weary him. He has been working very hard for the offering of their IPO and Tish insists on them taking a weekend to their home in Telluride. To appease her, John agrees. John has high blood pressure and the high altitude of Telluride is not good for his health. Oh, but this weekend does not go well and disaster strikes.

Oh, wow! What a story! The author’s perfect descriptions of the characters is fabulous. Kate is solid and strong. Ashlyn is also a determined young lady. Ah, but Tish is a total narcissist. She has no conscious and all she wants is money and attention. The ending had me snickering in glee. Do not miss this book because it is just brilliant! My kind of read. I loved it!

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

Every single character in this book is unlikeable. I’ve never wanted to unread a book the way I do this one.

3.5 It took me a while to get into this because I've read many very similar books. I wouldn't exactly call it a thriller. I thought it was good, but I predicted the "twist" at the end from the very beginning. I don't think besides said twist, it was all that amazing. It was good, but not amazing. I thought the writer put it together and I would label it a fun beach read. The plot is basically a man who co-owns a company with his wife, leaves her for his much younger assistant. He and the first wife get divorced. When we enter the story the new wife and himself are on a retreat together, but he is planning to leave her to get back with the first wife, and then the main event happens. The daughter is loosely involved in the story as well and the new wife's uncle and mother....

Thank you so much to #Netgalley #Kairarouda #thomasandmercer for this advanced reader's copy for an honest review.

A perfect marriage when a new assistant half the age of Kate and John is 51 became the next Mrs. Trish takes him off for a romantic getaway and dies. Now the company that was Kate’s brainchild half was left to Trish. Kate won’t lose any more, this is her child’s legacy.
While Trish wanting to better her self from the life she had before. Good interesting twist to read of how it will end up.
Given ARC by Net Galley and Thomas Mercer for my voluntary review and my honest opinion

The title does gives away a little about the story. John is a typical middle-aged male that left his wife for his assistant. Tish is four years older than John's daughter, Ashlyn. I find that Tish and Ashlyn's voices are the same. It's a voice of immaturity. Tish's character is all over the place. She wants to be evil and at the same time wants everyone to love her. Yet, she's nowhere near being a psychopath. Kate's character is annoying. She's not exactly the go-get-it co-founder of a major company. Her character wants to go in the direction of woe is me, but never really get there. The tension building for Tish's background was great; however, the reveal was a letdown. I had a higher expectation of this story, especially since it was written by Kaira Rouda. Her other books were amazing. This book was mediocre at best.

Thank you to Thomas & Mercer and NetGalley for letting me read this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

✨Book Review: The Next Wife by Kaira Rouda✨

📖: Kate and John have the perfect life, a beautiful daughter, and a huge company. Until Tish comes in and steals John away. Then, after a big company transition, something big changes everything. Trish thinks she has won. Kate thinks she has. So who really comes out on top? And is anyone really who they say they are?

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫: Woah! This one has been all over IG and I had to have it. I could NOT put it down! It’s such a great story of revenge and petty jealousy all wrapped up with a pretty bow. I loved how Rouda developed each character and how each chapter was a different person’s voice. The flow was perfect and I never felt like I was missing something while putting the pieces together. I was very pleasantly surprised. 4.5 stars!

Really enjoyed this story. Not familiar with the author but needed a new book and I'm so glad I'll choose this. Great story, twists, and ending. Will definitely look into other books from this author!

Kate Nelson’s life is a cliche. Her successful husband has left her and their daughter for Tish, a woman half Kate’s age. Now Tish is the new Mrs. Nelson, but things aren’t quite as rosy as she’d expected. Kate is refusing to relinquish her role in her ex-husband’s life and then there’s the very real fear of John (appropriate name) cheating again; that’s how she hooked up with him after all. Tish decides to whisk John away for a romantic holiday to keep his mind, and his hands, occupied. But no one will walk away from this ugly triangle unscathed. A good plot line helps to distract from the fact that none of the characters in this book are likable.

What a delicious tale of revenge this was..!!! An intense tug-of-war match between the two wives, this book was fairly predictable, but utterly unputdownable.

51-year old John Nelson and his young wife, Tish are vacationing in Telluride when he drops dead of a heart-attack. His first wife Kate and daughter Ashlyn are flabbergasted when they find out that in his last will, John left ownership of half of his company, Eventco, that was Kate's brainchild, to Tish. Tish has already taken away enough from their lives and now it's upto Kate to ensure that she doesn't take any more.

I admire the author for making me root for both her protagonists, however unlikeable they may be. Kate, as the wronged ex-wife, was strong, proud, and ruthless in protecting her daughter and her legacy. Though she has been blindsided, she channels her anger productively. Tish, the 26-year old new wife from the wrong side of the tracks, may not be book-smart like Kate, but what she lacks in sophistication, she makes up with her scrappy personality. Her delusions of grandeur are laughable to say the least, but her tenacity to better her life,no matter the setbacks she has faced, is admirable.

Though the mystery in the novel was a no-brainer, what appealed to me the most, was that the ladies weren't fighting over a man, but for power. The twists were obvious, nevertheless it was entertaining to see who got the better of the other - like watching an intense ping-pong match. The ending was exceptionally good.

Overall, a well-written and gripping novel.
Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for providing a digital copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Woah! This is great kind of crazy show I honestly admired! It never bores you! You just pop out your eyes and let your jaw drop at each second one of the characters do something shocking! When we reach the end we think everything is so obvious from the beginning. But the conclusion of the story says otherwise which earned additional star from me! I let out long laugh and I’m still grinning like Cheshire Cat ( actually my husband thinks I’m looking more like Garfield because of too much lasagna consumption! Who cares! )

Did you seethe with anger anytime you read narration parts of Tish and hate her with every fiber of your being like me! My goodness, this narcissistic, obsessive, irritating, selfish, gold digger, man eater is truly nightmarish other woman you curse the day she was born!

There are four narrators of the story. Kate Nelson- original wife, founder of EventCo., an ambitious, creative entrepreneur, skillful business woman, stylish, sophisticated but unfortunately focusing on her work prevented her realize her husband is snapped by 25 years younger version of her.

Second narrator is the next wife Tish, a Southern belle, manipulator, ambitious, power thirsty, cunning, luring her boss to divorce his wife, making plans to take over the company’s control. She’s always a few steps ahead from the baggages a.k.a. ex wife Kate and their 21 years old daughter Ashlyn.

Third narrator is Ashlyn who feels betrayed after her father left her mother for a woman only a few years older than her: the very same woman acted like her friend and she shared her secrets, her family problems with her. How could she be so fool!

Fourth narrator is John, in 51, co founder of EventCo, suffering from heart condition, falls for the charms of her executive assistant Tish, leaving his wife but as soon as he spends more time with his precious wife, he realizes he made a huge mistake. His princess wife is obsessed, controlling, jealous, snooping around his texts, forbidding him to contact with his ex out of work hours! You dig your own grave, John, you don’t still think we’re gonna pity on us, do you?

As the company’s IPO launch turns into big success and John shares the credits with his ex wife and daughter at the stage, dear Tish seethes with jealousy and five million ways to carve the eyes out of Kate, she forms her plan to take her husband dearest away from the crowd for a romantic getaway where he proposed her to rekindle their romance because she starts to feel something is off with him. She already catches him text to his ex wife, taking with her behind her back!

Tish planned everything. She’ll save her marriage. She always thinks it through. But when things get out of control and their innocent weekend getaway turns into a nightmare, will she find a way to fix everything for her own benefit?

This is fast, tricky, entertaining, great popcorn, binge worthy reading I highly recommend!

Especially the ending was so much satisfying! I still laugh aloud! It resembles villanelle laugh but who cares! Revenge is a dish best served cold!

Special thanks to NetGalley and Thomas&Mercer for sharing this digital reviewer copy with me in exchange my honest opinions.