What I Loved

Such a Good Wife is a story about a perfect wife and mother. She cares for her mother-in-law, who is bedridden and living with them, and her two children, one of which who is a special needs child. Melanie Hale is such a good wife, or is she? Even good wives have secrets.

My favorite part of the story was about 80% into it when the story changed from being a slow-burn, fairly predictable psychological thriller tale to unique and fascinating. The story twisted and turned and then twisted back on itself until I couldn't turn the pages fast enough to find out what would happen next. I loved that drastic change of pace in the storytelling.

The character development is exceptional, with every slight nuance explored, and every emotion conveyed with expert precision. The life of being a stay-at-home mom means a life of caretaking – of putting others' needs ahead of your own. It's not an easy life, and it means giving up on your dreams if they don't work within the role. Everything Mel is going through is portrayed so realistically, and that, perhaps, is the scariest aspect of all.

Characters

Melanie Hale's need to break out of her life, though never acknowledged or admitted to by her, is genuine and present in her flawed but honest portrayal. As she struggles through wants, desires, and figuring out what is most important to her in life, the reader shares her pain and joys as the development is just that precise.

To Read or Not to Read
If you are looking for a slow-burn domestic thriller with exceptional character development, Such a Good Wife is the perfect choice for your summer book stack.

The Review

A truly fantastic and engaging thriller! The author does a great job of fleshing out these characters early on, especially protagonist Melanie Hale. The author immediately sets up the narrative with Mel’s discovery of Luke’s body, and the horror of the moment quickly is underscored by the reality of the lies that she had begun to live with. Yet atop the background of her home life and showing the moments that led to her affair, the author has done an amazing job of layering the background with shocks and suspense that makes the murder itself only one of the shocks this novel holds in store.

What really stood out to me was the writing itself. The author does a phenomenal job of not only setting the tone and suspense a novel like this deserves but balances both the reality of having an affair with the more cinematic imagery that the writing invokes. So much of this novel felt like it could become the next Gone Girl, and Mel’s evolution over the course of this novel will keep readers hooked.

The Verdict

A brilliant, thought-provoking, and heart-pounding thriller, author Seraphina Nova Glass’s “Such a Good Wife” is a must-read novel of 2021! The twists and turns the narrative takes throughout this book are a wild ride, and the twist that Mel’s character takes towards the book’s final act will keep readers breathless as they eagerly await this book’s finale. If you haven’t yet, be sure to grab your copy today!

Such a Good Wife was an interesting and riveting tale of betrayal, murder, abuse and blackmail.

The story hooked the reader from the beginning. While reading l had a difficult time wrapping my mind around the title. The heroine, Melanie, did not strike me as a good wife. She cheated and lied to cover up her cheating. However, at the end I saw how well the title tied in with the Melanie’s actions.


Delivered solely from Melanie’s POV, the reader was privy to her inner turmoil regarding her actions. Initially, I found it difficult to cultivate a feeling of empathy for her. I kept wondering why would she cheat? Married to a wonderful husband and had two beautiful children. I get that she may have been overwhelmed with caring for a child on the autism spectrum and her mother-in-law who suffers from dementia. However, this did not excuse her actions. She herself didn’t even know why she did it.

Collin, her husband, was a sweetheart. He supported her in every way possible. He encouraged her to join a writing club to get her creative juices flowing. Guess it wasn’t enough.

As the story progressed, she pushed my sympathy button and honestly I kept wondering how she would pull herself out of the mess she place herself in. In the end I was like, OMG, you are one brave woman. I am not sure I would have the guts to do what she did. It goes to show when your back is against the wall, you will do all in your power to protect those you love. It is at this point the reader saw the extent of her loyalty. Is she really Such A Good Wife? Well, I will let you draw your own conclusions.

The secondary characters added to the suspense of the story. They all had motive. It was just a matter of figuring out who. I had a suspect in mind, although there were a few times where I questioned my theory.

The characters featured all had their flaws, which had to the authenticity of the story. The story may not have moved at a fast pace, but it proved difficult to put down. Glass too the reader on intense ride. 

To conclude, Such A Good Wife was an unputdownable read. If you enjoy a good slow burn domestic suspense that will have you glued to the pages, this would be a great addition to your reading list.

Wow! This story is very suspensefully told. Melanie wanted to be an author, but when her and her husband found out that their son was autistic she decided to stay home to care for him, instead of finishing her education. Now Mel is feeling a little closed in and her husband suggests that she take some time for herself. She has never really connected with her neighbors and joins a book reading group in the neighborhood. She gets there and discovers that the wives aren't reading and discussing books at all. That is just an excuse to get together for gossip and Mel really doesn't fit in at all. Mel joins a local writers group instead, thinking now that the children are in school, she will have time to begin writing. There she meets Luke, a published Romance author, and her life takes a complete turn. She begins an affair, and although she feels guilty she doesn't stop immediately. When Luke is murdered Mel's life is completely out of her control. What will she do to keep her family together and fix what she has done?
I have never wanted a murderer to get away with their crime as much as I did in this story.

Thank you to Netgalley and Harlequin for the opportunity to read this e-ARC.

This was a suspense novel simmering with domestic tension and secrets. I really loved the atmosphere, filled with bad choices and lies. I found the main character had depth and emotion. The drama was balanced with the mundanity of everyday life; mother to a stroppy teen, an autistic child and carer to an ailing mother-in-law. I could feel how heavy the load was, and I could the feel the regret at her choices.

That being said, overall I preferred the subtle domestic suspense for the first half of the book. This aspect really shone for me and I couldn’t put it down. As it went on, it became more investigative, almost like a different book and I just lost the thrill and tension.

Book review: Such a Good Wife
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (5/5!)

Thank you Netgalley, Harlequin Trade Publishing & Graydon House for an e-ARC of this book that pubs on August 10th!

What's it about?
This book starts with a dead body and then goes back to the beginning, when main character Melanie begins an affair with an author, Luke after a weekly book club meeting. When Mel finds that dead body of Luke later, she not only needs to hide her affair from her family, but how far will she go to protect herself, her family and avoid becoming implicated in his murder?

Wow! This book was mindblowing and absolutely not what I expected. It would be easy to read this in one sitting, so reader beware. If you love a domestic thriller with unexpected twists (and bad decisions), plus maybe a little steammmmy romance, then this one is for you. Highly recommended!

If the title and blurb don't give it away, Melanie, the main character in Such a Good Wife is not quite as perfect as she pretends to be. Granted, I'm still trying to figure out how she had the time or energy to have an affair with all of her responsibilities, but this is fiction, so I fell back on some suspension of disbelief and just enjoyed the read. And this is where I'll throw out there that I really didn't like Melanie. Being unhappy in her life doesn't excuse her actions, and I didn't feel much sympathy for her - as it turns out, I didn't have to. The circumstances she finds herself in creates a tense atmosphere and a steadily rising tension. The whodunit was easy enough to suss out, but that didn't spoil the story for me. I was still just as interested to see how everything would play out and how Seraphina Nova Glass would wrap it all up. So, yes, there were definitely things about Melanie that I didn't like, but I don't think we're supposed to. Like her or not, I was still glued to the pages, and this one made for a suspenseful weekend read.

This is an engrossing domestic suspense novel. I enjoyed the first book I read by Glass last year, and this one is just as imaginative.

I do not generally care for cheating in a book, and in this one I barely tolerated it, but since I knew from the beginning that it wasn't going to turn out well, I just went with it. I could honestly empathize a bit with Mel--trying to be a wife, mother to a teen daughter and special needs son, daughter-in-law to her husband's aging invalid mother who lives with them, and loses herself in the process. That helped me to care about her and what happened to her, no matter how much I disapproved of some of her choices. The daughter's teen angst is written SO well, as is the cattiness of the neighborhood ladies. My only issue is that a few of those threads, especially with the book club friends, could have been juicy elements to the story but they are mentioned and then not explored further.

As I said above, this is more of a domestic suspense than a true mystery. There are a couple of decent twists, but overall it's fairly straightforward. It's a bit of a slow burn, because there's not a great deal of action, however the characters (for the most part) don't do outlandish unrealistic things like in most books I've read lately, so it was a refreshing change. It also shows that an author can write a compelling novel without armchair detectives and eye-rolling moments (except the cheating, I will always roll my eyes at that) and still keep the reader entertained and invested.

Overall this is a great summer suspense novel sure to entertain.

"Such a Good Wife" starts off about such a good wife who handles a son on the spectrum, a mother-in-law with dementia, and a teenage daughter. She has a great husband who is very helpful around the house, in dealing with the son's issues and encouraging her to go to a writing group.

The author makes transition between times and places much better than the previous author I read. I certainly noticed and appreciated this. I do not understand why and how the mother-in-law with dementia was inserted as a character in the book, other than to show how busy and overwhelmed the main character is. She often leaves the mother-in-law alone in the house for hours.

Things start to happen, beginning with an affair. Oh yes, the prologue opens with a dead man, so you know someone dies. Three-and-a-half stars. Thanks to Netgalley.

Melanie Hale is overwhelmed. The mother of a young son on the autism spectrum and primary caretaker for her husband’s mother who has Alzheimer’s, she is in serious need of some time for herself. Her husband urges her to join a writers group at the local bookstore in order to have something to relieve her depression and meet new people. The story really takes off when Melanie meets Luke Ellison, a bestselling author who is also a member of the group and finds herself flirting with him. The attraction is mutual and soon they begin having an affair. When Melanie starts to feel guilty about betraying the husband who loves her, she goes to Luke’s home to break up with him where she finds him dead. She flees and soon finds herself being blackmailed by someone who saw her at the scene. Now a suspect in a murder case, Melanie shows that she’s so much stronger than she first appears as she makes her way through the plot’s twists and turns. If you like reading domestic thrillers with both well-developed characters and a great plot, you will enjoy Such a Good Wife.

This is the first book I have read by this author.

The synopsis intrigued me especially since I have been reading nothing but psychological thrillers. The Prologue had me hooked, but then it felt like it was a slow burn for quite a few chapters. However, the author's writing style captivated me. I felt that I could actually feel the fear and panic of the main character, Melanie. This technique had me turning the pages as fast as I could read them.

Even though I figured out the plot and who the killer was, and it being a bit slow, I would read more books by this author because it was an enjoyable and entertaining read.

Title: Such a Good Wife
Author: Seraphina Nova Glass
Genre: Thriller
Rating: 3.5 out of 5

Melanie Hale is a devoted mother to her two children, a diligent caregiver to her ailing mother-in-law and a trusted neighbor in their wealthy Louisiana community. Above all, she's a loving partner to her wonderful husband, Collin.

Then there are the parts of herself that Mel keeps hidden. She's exhausted, worried and unfulfilled. So much so that one night, after a writers' group meeting, Mel begins an affair with a successful local author named Luke. Suddenly she's transformed into a role she doesn't recognize--a woman who deceives with unseemly ease. A woman who might be capable of just about anything.

When Mel finds Luke's dead body in his lavish rented house, she realizes just how high the stakes have become. Not only does she have to keep her affair a secret in order to preserve her marriage, but she desperately needs to avoid being implicated in Luke's death. But who would want to kill him? Who else in her life is keeping secrets? And most terrifying of all, how far will they--and she--go to keep those secrets hidden?

This wasn’t a bad read, but I thought Mel’s sudden impulse and resulting affair with Luke was totally out of-character and without provocation---not to mention her senseless visit to his house when she finds him dead…and she somehow thinks she’s going to get away without anyone knowing she was there.

Everyone has secrets, of course, but Mel—and Collin---are hiding some big ones. With Mel, it’s almost like she has two separate personalities: the devoted wife and mother and the devious woman willing to do anything or tell any lie to satisfy her own impulses. I think that, despite the solid writing, the characters just didn’t make sense to me and I didn’t care for them at all.

Seraphina Nova Glass has traveled all over the world. Such a Good Wife is her newest novel.

(Galley courtesy of Harlequin/Graydon House in exchange for an honest review.)

(Blog link live 8/6).

Melanie Hale is a devoted mom of two and wife. She willingly left her career to care for her husband’s sick mother and their son Bennett, who is on the spectrum. She loves her family but one day she joined a local writing group and met an author and falls into a whirlwind affair. Besides the affair, Melanie makes a lot of other terrible, rash decisions that completely baffled me. The ending was pretty shocking, but I felt like I was missing something about Claire, Melanie’s sick mother in law. I kept waiting for something big involving her to happen but nothing ever panned out and her character seemed pointless to me.

Overall this was slow moving but full of drama and lies and it did keep me guessing until the end. I also really loved sweet Bennett.

Thank you to Graydon House for my copy and letting me take part in the blog tour!

Seraphina Nova Glass' latest thriller novel, Such a Good Wife, is a read that will have you on the edge of your seat. It asks the question; do we ever honestly know someone?

Melanie Hale is a proud mother of two and very happily married. Even while taking care of her sick MIL, she feels content with her life. That's what she keeps telling the world – and herself. Perhaps if she says it enough times, she'll believe herself.

She might have been able to believe that lie had she not finally found something that made her feel alive again. Or rather, someone. But that interaction is going to throw her entire life into upheaval, leaving her scrambling to protect her marriage – and herself.

"I could tell from the eerie, lifeless stare and gloss over his eyes that he was dead."

Such a Good Wife is a novel that is seemingly upfront about the twists it has in store – and that is how it succeeds in surprising its readers. This novel was somehow everything and nothing like what I expected, though it was certainly quite the thriller.

I would argue that Such a Good Wife fits perfectly between a domestic thriller and a psychological thriller. It has a little bit of both, in just the right proportions. The way the story unfolds certainly doesn't hurt, especially as tension builds.

Personally, I love a thriller that starts the story off by hinting at the conclusion. It makes it more fun to try and pick apart the tale and find all of the clues hidden inside. Such a Good Wife did not disappoint on either front; I am happy to report.

The thing I loved the most about Such a Good Wife had to be all of the surprises that were in store. I sincerely didn't see them coming, and that is so refreshing (is that a sign that I've been reading too many thrillers lately? I can't tell).

It's hard being a good wife, and after finding herself unfulfilled Melanie embarks on an affair that makes her life exceptionally complicated. After finding her lover's body in his rented house, she's forced to try to compartmentalize a seriously dangerous situation while trying to keep her marriage and family intact. The book was entertaining, but I just kept founding myself going "NO, MELANIE, OMG DON'T!"

Melanie has it all. So why does she jeopardize her entire life and family stability for a ragin affair with a local author? Out of boredom, out of a sense of adventure? I just shook my head with the duplicitous actions of Mel and the consequences that rained down on her when her lover times up dead. As I read farther more secrets and lies came out. I felt sorry for a couple of the characters, but Mel was not one of them. There are clever parts to the plot. This novel is a great reminder about what can happen when deceit, lust, and lack of common sense prevails.

Melanie Hale's life was fulfilling for the most part. Happily married with two children, with her mother-in-law lives with them. She loves her husband. Her life. But, something was missing. That is all on the outside. Inside, Melanie is filled with doubts, uncertainty and has a strong feeling of missing out on something. There are stressful things in her life. Melanie's son is on the spectrum and her mother-in-law as dementia.

One thing Melanie dreamed of was being a writer. Upon her husband's suggestion, she takes the opportunity to attend a writers' group meeting and that is where she meets a local author named Luke. Mel begins an affair with Luke. However, she soon becomes filled with guilt. She goes to his home to tell him that it is over, only to discover his dead body. What is she to do? Then it becomes apparent that someone knew of Melanie's affair with Luke, thus putting her in more than one precarious position.

How can Melanie balance keeping her marriage intact, all while not being connected with Luke's death? This tension-filled book delivers a story of a woman filled with flaws, but it was so very easy to empathize with Melanie, whether due to her home life, or to the situation that has started taking over her life, beyond Luke's death, to the point of blackmail. From the beginning to the thrilling conclusion, Such a Good Wife was impossible to put down.

Many thanks to Graydon Huse and to NetGalley for this ARC for review. This is my honest opinion.

Mel Hale considers herself an average stay at home mother and wife. She has two great children, one of which has special needs (which I believe she does a wonderful job taking care of). The amount of love Mel and her husband have towards their children is absolutely wonderful to see. Mel and her husband work well together and he seems like an overall good guy. Feeling like she could use some variety in her life, and feeling bad that she gave up her career to care for their children, her husband picks up a pamphlet one day at a bookstore advertising a free writing group that meets weekly. Wanting to please her husband, and feeling disappointed after the fake book club she went to with the neighborhood ladies, Mel agrees to go. This simple decision changes her life forever. While at a meeting one night, a guest author gives a reading from a steamy romance book he had recently published. This chance encounter would soon spiral out of control. Her life soon becomes a tangled net of lies and lust. Along the way, she discovers something about a well known citizen in her town. All of these people soon get tangled in each other's lies, deceits and secrets. Soon, Mel's life starts to unravel. Luke, the author, is discovered dead. Not wanting her husband to find out about the affair, she tries to keep herself distant from the death, but every time she tries to fix it so she does no appear involved, she simply digs herself a bigger hole.
This was an entertaining and quick read. It was a simple "who did it?" There is a lot of character growth in the story without losing who the character truly is. I recommend this story for people who like quick reads but ones that are also no too complicated.

I like this book more than I thought I would. I can totally relate with Mel's life. Like the main character, I live in the suburbs, have 2 kids, and one of them requires some extra attention, which is the reason I decided to become a stay at home mom. I would definitely be interested in joining a book club or a writer's support group. But our similarities end here. And that's where the story gets interesting. In one of the outings she ends up meeting a cool writer that turns her life upside down. Such a good wife - in terms of appearance - becomes a bad wife. But then things spin once again and she finds herself entangled in the middle of a crime investigation. The book is captivating and makes you want to keep reading - it's full of twists and turns.

Betrayal, deceit, secrets and murder: what a delicious recipe for a domestic suspense thriller, right?

And it was—for the most part. I was really enjoying this book and looked forward to promoting it on Goodreads & Instagram…until I read the ending and my entire opinion changed.

This is a difficult review to write and while I appreciate the author’s writing and storytelling overall, I need to address the ending.

…and I’ll do so carefully so as not to spoil it for other readers (I’m also marking this review as a potential spoiler)…As a domestic abuse and sexual assault survivor I cannot—and absolutely will not—support the ending of this book. It’s shameful and a complete slap in the face to victims of sexual assault and everything the #MeToo movement set out to accomplish.

I have never once called out a content/trigger warning in my reviews, but I simply can’t overlook this one…

⚠️ Sexual assault/rape/false accusations of rape

Thank you to NetGalley and Graydon House Books for the gifted eARC.