I love a book with twisty family secrets. This was enjoyable and I would read more from Sally Hepworth.

I thought I knew how it's going to end or at least where it was going but that ending!

Each character is so imperfect that things keep being revealed. Especially the ex-wife who is suffering from Alzheimer's her story reveals very interesting details. Her comments were very curious. 

I'm totally enthralled and was reading it on my whole way down to Anaheim from the 

Bay Area. I'm now wondering if they were gaslighting eachother or if I was gaslit lol. 

Rating ⭐⭐⭐💫

Thank you stmartinspress and netgalley for the e-ARC for my honest and voluntary review.

Sally Hepworth writes some of my favorite books this was another book that I flew through in a day. Great story and made for great conversation. Definitely will recommend to everyone I know.

Really enjoyed it! An addictive, compulsive read with very likeable characters and an interesting story that combines many issues

Sally Hepworth does it again.

What a great slow burn domestic thriller.
The chapters ended in such a way that made me want to pick the book back up and keep reading, plus I’m just a fan of short chapters to begin with anyway.

The story starts with the wedding day of 60-year old Steven who is marrying a woman the same age as his two daughters. Something happens at the wedding, someone gets hurt and we don’t know who or how…and then the story starts to unfold.

I found it to be very intriguing. Each character had their own backstory and their own issues going on, so they all felt fully developed to me, and I always love a story where the female characters are pinned against each other no matter the conflict at hand, but maybe the females banning together here ending up being a bad thing…(if you know you know)

My one issue was the ending, and it wasn’t that it wasn’t written well. I’m just being selfish where I wanted more of a bang. More of an impact. Needed more of an answering than an open end. It actually left me feeling…sad? So maybe it did it’s job after all.


Anyway, definitely recommend this book. Wish I could do half stars, it would be 4.5 stars for but rated it 4 here. Thank you NetGalley for my the ARC in exchange for my honest review!

If you think you've read every angle on dysfunctional family, you obviously haven't read -- or listen to -- Sally Hepworth's "The Younger Wife." What a fascinating read! I don't want to give away the plot. It's so tangled and interwoven as grown-up children Tully and Rachel try to cope with their dad's upcoming second marriage. Mother Pam is in a nursing home, her mind slipping more each day as dementia takes hold. Dad Stephen Aston wants to marry his interior designer Heather even though he's not divorced yet.

As the story unfolds, each character has their own story, their own perspective on the past and the present. The quirky and colorful characters are sad, funny and complicated -- all at the same time. Past affairs, crimes and violence can't remain secret for long as each character begins to face past -- and present -- circumstances. Food addiction, shoplifting, overspending, alcoholism, domestic violence -- all have a place in this emotional novel.

Its presentation as an audiobook with a British narrator is a plus, adding flavor to the nuances and subtleties of a dry English sense of humor. Some say the novel has no true ending, that too much is left to interpretation. What I say is that it imitates life. Aren't all, families, even imaginary ones like the Ashtons, a matter of perspective?

Sally Hepworth has such a way with words. I found myself fully engrossed with this family and their lives. I loved the character building and getting to know each of them through all their issues and what made them tick. I loved the twist in this one and the strength of this women. I typically feel that her writing is more literary fiction and character driven but i always feel so connected to the characters that i can’t help but turn the pages.

This covers an array or triggers but so delicately. I was able to get ahold of the finished version with the updated ending and I’m glad the ending was changed.

I love Sally Hepworth books, domestic suspense at its best. Her books are subtle, making you think about what is going on. Always drama bubbling beneath the surface until it’s revealed in the end.

This drew me in from the beginning…a wedding scene, not very happy bridesmaids, an ex wife with Alzheimer’s and then a bloody mess! The author delves into the messy life of the Aston family. Stephen, successful heart surgeon that everyone loves and admires. Daughters Tully and Rachel, hiding secrets of their own and trying to figure things out. Pamela, the older wife, can only remember snippets of her past life, and those around her aren’t sure she remembers those correctly. The younger wife, Heather, is she what everyone believes she is or just looking for love and to be loved?

Story unravels slowly, but it kept my attention. I must admit I was disappointed with the ending…left me hanging and shaking my head. Not at all the ending I usually expect from Ms. Hepworth. Then, thanks to social media, I learned of an alternate ending to my early ARC. That was a game changer for me. By adding one paragraph, the book became what I expected and hoped for. If I hadn’t accidentally found this out, my rating would have been different.

Thanks to Ms. Hepworth, St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for this ARC. Opinion is mine alone.

Last year I read The Good Sister by Sally Hepworth and I was blown away by her addictive writing style and twisty domestic suspense and I couldn’t wait to read her newest book, The Younger Wife. With that being said, unfortunately, The Younger Wife did not live up for me.

The story idea is intriguing and the first few chapters did hook me, but as the story progressed there was just TOO much going on. Each character had major issues and most of it was not explored deeply enough for me. I did really enjoy Heather’s character ARC the most and wish there would have been more of her and less of Tully.

I think the biggest issue I had was with the ending. I am all for an open ending that is not black & white and leaves some room for interpretation, but I feel like it has to be done well. In my opinion, the ending in The Younger Wife was not done very well because it was a little underwhelming and even a little confusing.

What The Younger Wife did have going for it was short chapters, characters that you love to hate, and a really good audiobook experience! I do plan to read more of her books in the future though!

Read if you like:
-Books set in Austraila
-Domestic suspense
-Family drama
-Ending that is open to interpretation

Thank you so much @stmartinspress and @netgalley for the gifted copies and @macmillan.audio for the ALC!

I love Sally Hepworth's books and this one did not disappoint! The way she details a dysfunctional family that leaves you uncertain as to who or what to believe, the various points of view, and the delightful feeling of satisfaction knowing just read an amazing book all make this story one you don't want to miss. The narrators did a fantastic job on the audiobook and I couldn't stop listening. Make sure you have a nice chunk of time when starting this one!

This is the kind of book that will keep you hooked. Hepworth manages to keep you wanting to read as the story unfolds just so you get to the end. There is also a solid slow burn which I love. All in all another good one by Hepworth.

Sally Hepworth is giving two books for the price of one with The Younger Wife. It starts as a domestic drama and builds into a real Suspense.
The book showcases the many messed up ways women hold on to trauma. Rachel, Tully, and Heather are all fully fleshed characters and each perspective is great reading.
I enjoyed the comic relief of Rachel and Darcy's romance. I would read a whole novel just about the two!
With A fun twist into a vague ending, this read can be downed into one sitting. 4.5 stars

I finished an ARC of this book yesterday and to be honest, I’m still trying to process how I feel about it. While this was a good story overall and Sally Hepworth is no doubt a talented writer (I’ve read other books she’s written and liked them all well enough), I will be honest in saying that I wasn’t particularly enamored with this one after I finished it. For one, I didn’t like the ending, and two, the way some of the female characters in the story were portrayed (especially in relation to the male characters) bothered me more than I expected. Also, plot-wise, there was way too much ambiguity throughout the story in my opinion (yes, I know this is a thriller and in a sense, some ambiguity is expected, but still…) — this annoyed me a bit because I felt like I had to suspend disbelief way too many times (especially with Tully’s and Heather’s story arcs) — not only that though, some parts of the story actually didn’t make sense, (including the ending). When I finished reading this book, my first reaction was to scratch my head and try to parse what exactly I had just read. My second reaction was an urge to go back and re-download the ARC because I thought, perhaps, I was missing a few pages at the end somewhere, because the ending of the book frustrated me. My third reaction was a curiosity to read through reviews to see 1) what other readers’ reactions were, and 2) whether I was the only one who didn’t really “get” the story. And this is where my entire reading experience with this book veered off into something I had never encountered before.

As I was reading reviews, I came across various comments that mentioned about the finished copy of the book actually having a very different ending from the ARC version. Given that I wasn’t keen on the story’s ending (in the version I had read), I was curious, so naturally, I hunted down a finished copy of the book so I could read the “new” ending. As it turns out, it wasn’t just the ending that changed — majority of the last chapter (the one right before the epilogue) had changed as well. Now of course, I’ve read enough ARCs to understand that changes between the advance and finished copies are common…but the thing is, these changes were actually QUITE significant— to the point that it took the story in an ENTIRELY different direction. In fact, in my opinion, it wouldn’t be a stretch to say that those changes, even though only to the last chapter and the epilogue (at least I think that was it, as I didn’t re-read the entire book), turned this into a completely different story from what I had originally read.

While I have to admit that the changes did make the entire story more believable (not to mention the parts that didn’t make sense earlier actually made sense now), the overall experience itself (reading the ARC, then finding out that the finished copy had significant changes and subsequently having to hunt down a finished copy to read the changes) unfortunately left a bad taste in my mouth. In a way, I felt cheated, but more upsetting was that I felt like I had wasted my time reading an ARC when I could’ve just read the finished copy (this is exacerbated by the fact that I already don’t have much time to read due to work and life obligations, plus I have a mile-high TBR that I’m trying to get through). Perhaps I’m overreacting and I wouldn’t fault anyone for saying that, but for a reader like me, who views the reading experience as being just as important as the contents of the book being read, this type of thing affects me more than it probably should.

Having said all that, I decided to rate this one based on my initial reaction to it, which is that I thought the premise had a lot of potential and Rachel’s story arc especially kept me engaged and absorbed in the story, but overall the way things went down with the plot, (and the ending) left much to be desired. So I ended up rating this 3 stars based on the ARC (of course, if I had read only the finished copy in its entirety, my rating would most likely be different).

Lastly, I will say that I am very obviously the outlier with this one so definitely check out other reviews as well. And if you do decide to pick this one up, might be better off reading the finished copy rather than an ARC, as it will likely impact the way you react to the story.

Received ARC from St. Martin’s Press via NetGalley.

I immediately was into this book. I loved how all of the characters were not what they appeared to be at first. The pace of the story was great. I still am undecided on whether I liked the ending. But it did have me rethinking everything!!!

This one was definitely a slower burn and unfortunately it didn’t pay off for me. I felt that it was more of a mystery/family drama than a thriller and the end just didn’t wow me. It had a few parts that had me wanting to know more and on my toes but overall it fell a bit flat. I have heard great things about Hepworth’s other books though so I will still be giving those a try! Thank you NetGalley for the review copy.

Sadly, this one was just a “meh” for me. I absolutely adored Hepworth’s other books, so I expected this one to be more of the same- slow burn thrills and chills with some mental twistyness. “The Younger Wife” is more of a messed up family drama with psychological abuse and gaslighting of female characters tossed in. Maybe I would have enjoyed it more if my expectations had been different from the onset. The characters are very well developed and Hepworth’s writing is seamless. The story just didn’t do it for me this time around.

Thank you to St Martin’s Press and Netgalley for providing me with an ARC of this book in exchange for my fair and honest review.

As the story opens Stephen Aston, a sixtyish physician, is marrying Heather, a thirtyish interior designer. Stephen's daughters Rachel and Tully - both older than their future stepmother - are the bridesmaids and Stephen's ex-wife Pam - who Stephen divorced to marry Heather - is a guest at the wedding. You might think 'What can go wrong?' Well, something does. Blood flows, an ambulance is called, and the remainder of the book details the year leading up to the nuptials.

*****

Stephen and Heather meet when the interior designer is hired to re-do Stephen and Pam's home. Heather, who grew up in a dysfunctional family, is struck by Stephen's kindness and solicitude to his wife Pam- who's already suffering from dementia. By the time Stephen places Pam in a nursing home Heather is in love with the older man, and the pair embark on a romantic relationship.

Stephen introduces his daughters Rachel and Tully to his new girlfriend, and announces that he and Heather plan to get married.....as soon as he divorces his wife Pam. This puts Rachel and Tully on the horns of a dilemma. They blanch at the idea of their mother being 'abandoned' but they want their father to be happy. So the sisters try to befriend Heather, and this - as well as pressures in their personal lives - exacerbate their personal struggles.

The story is told from the rotating points of view of Heather, Tully, and Rachel, each of whose secrets are slowly revealed.

Rachel is a professional baker who, though shapely and beautiful, hasn't had a relationship since she was sixteen. Moreover, Rachel is a stress-eater who gobbles food to ease her nerves, and will eat until she's sick to alleviate her anxiety.

Tully is a married mother of two small boys. She's also a compulsive thief. To relieve her almost constant tension, Tully has been stealing things - clothes, candles, jewelry, flashlights, knick-knacks, etc. - since she was a pre-teen. Moreover, Tully and her husband have serious financial problems and the once wealthy couple must downgrade their luxurious lifestyle. To add to their troubles, the couple's toddler son Miles is showing signs of kiddie angst.

Heather uses alcohol to cope with the stress in her life and - though she seems to truly love Stephen - part of the attraction was certainly Stephen's wealth and position in society. Unfortunately Heather's background didn't prepare her to fit in with the smart set, and she struggles to socialize with some of Stephen's friends.

As the story unfolds, suspicions arise that one of the characters is an accomplished deceiver who's been fooling people for a long time. The other protagonists try to determine the truth or falsehood of this conjecture, and - by the end - they discover the truth.

Though the premise of the story - older man marries younger woman - has been addressed many times in literature (and real life), the story has interesting twists. Fans of domestic dramas would probably enjoy the novel.

Thanks to Netgalley, Sally Hepworth, and St. Martin's Press for a copy of the book.

Stephen, a renowned surgeon, is getting married to his interior designer, Heather. But first, he divorces his wife, who has dementia and is living in a care facility. His daughters, Tully and Rachel, who are both older than Heather, are (not surprisingly) unhappy with his decision. Certainly, this is a recipe for family tensions as the story unfolds from the perspective of these three women.

There’s a lot going on in Sally Hepworth’s latest book. Both daughters are battling demons and Heather is guarding a family secret. Meanwhile, Stephen may or may not be the person everyone thinks he is. It has been tagged a mystery but, for me, it was more of a family drama with a mix of a psychological thriller.

The characters in The Younger Wife are varied and interesting, although their cluelessness was somewhat frustrating. The fact that Stephen chose to divorce his impaired wife in order to remarry is a little off-putting and right away the red flags were waving. But, the author keeps her readers guessing until nearly the very end.

The Younger Wife wasn’t one of my favorite books by Ms Hepworth, but it was an entertaining and easy read. I’m looking forward to her next endeavor

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing a copy of this book for review.

I'm a long-time fan of Sally Hepworth, my favorite of hers being The Mother-in-law, so I was very excited to get this book to review. Overall, I enjoyed the journey, and the unraveling of family secrets drew me in from the very beginning. I do have to say that the end left me feeling slightly less than thrilled, but when I try to think of another way that it could have ended, I'm at a loss.

We follow a family that looks perfect on the outside, but behind closed doors has a lot to struggle with. Mainly following the perspective of two grown daughters, each with emotional baggage of their own, the story revolves around their mother who is spiraling with dementia, and their father who has fallen in love with the much younger decorator who was hired to redo their house. As much as they'd like to dislike the new girlfriend, they are distracted by the fact that evidence keeps surfacing that their father is not who he seems. Packed full of narrators that might not be reliable, the reader really has to decide who to trust!

Thanks to St. Martin's Press for an advanced copy of The Younger Wife.

I've always enjoyed the fascinating family dynamics in Sally Hepworth books and The Younger Wife takes them to the next level. I don't think of her books as thrillers as some do.

I liked the different points of view and seeing the story unfold.