I liked many parts of the story- loved each daughter, Tully & Rachel's story & I liked learning more about Heather & her background, the younger wife.

The domestic violence part left me scratching my head-I want to know more about how this went on for so long, how did Fiona come in to this & get away from it all?

And what made the perfect man tick?

The ending left me a little bit disappointed, too quickly tied up....

This was my second book I have read by this author & I will certainly read more of her books in the future.


But- I still liked the book, kept me interested

The Younger Wife pulls you in from the beginning. A mystery person is at a wedding. Handsome groom at front. His two adult daughters are bridesmaids. Ex-wife is a guest at the wedding. Bride, younger than the daughters, enters.

The story kept me captivated throughout. Loved all the characters and their quirkiness. The only issue I had was the obscure ending which was also a little unbelievable.

Thank you to NetGalley, St. Martin's Press and Sally Hepworth for a copy of "The Younger Wife" in exchange of an honest review.

I love how easy it is to read Hepworth's writing without it being over simplified. The Younger Wife is everything I love about domestic thrillers neatly wrapped into one book. The twists were believable yet not easy to guess. This book is eerie in the way that the twists could happen in real life. I'm looking forward to what Hepworth writes next!

Sally Hepworth knows how to write about family drama. I don't consider this book to be a thriller in the way that it's marketed - for me, this is a good old fashioned melodrama. Lots of varying points of view, but Sally knows how to write excellent characters. So long as they are male.

I've mentioned this in past reviews but why do female writers always flaw female characters to the point that every single woman in this book has some sort of mental health issue. The men, however are seemingly perfect. Why?

The ending didn't work for me either. Especially the epilogue.

I loved The Mother In Law and will continue to give Sally Hepworth books a try, even if this one did not work for me, others may love it.

Thank you @stmartinspress, @netgalley, and Sally Hepworth for the digital arc of the novel, The Younger Wife.

A domestic thriller, the premise of the novel drew me in immediately. The story tells the tale of Stephen Ashton (the doctor father), Pamela (his wife who has advanced dimentia), and their daughters, Natalia (Tully), and Rachel (a rape victim-survivor). Having heard so many raving reviews of Hepworth’s novel last year, The Mother-In-Law I was curious about this novel and had to get my hands on it.

The theme of the novel is intriguing - Stephen is getting married to a younger woman, Heather who has a dark history of her own, and is his daughter’s age. Overall, I thought the story was engaging and explored flawed characters especially the two daughters. However, there were threads in the story that I wish had been further developed. The story in some ways reminded me of the popular Netflix show, the Maid, which is also based on another memoir about how class and privilege does not equate to happiness. Likewise, the characters may all be upper classes, money and finances does come at the center of the novel, but I think that point could have been developed more as it would have drawn out more complexities in the characters. Instead, that point is resolved quite easily.

I actually found Pamela’s characterization heartbreaking. Her representation spoke to how families are affected by advanced dementia, and how our society treats them. While she did not necessarily suffer from a social death, she wasn’t that far from it either as she faced the stigmatization of the fatal disease.

I did enjoy the novel, overall, and would recommend it if you enjoy the genre of domestic thrillers.

Thoughts
Sally Hepworth is one of those authors I will always read. The twists are always on point, and the jaw dropping reveals make you question everything you just read. I’m still questioning what I read in those last few pages!

There is a lot going on in this book, but thankfully the alternating chapters between sisters Tully and Rachel and their dad's fiancé Heather helped clear up some questions, but not all. There are also a few chapters that take place at the wedding but we don’t know who the narrator is which was very suspenseful. When that person was revealed I wanted to know more about them because it felt like their name had a bigger impact than the person itself.

If you’re a Hepworth fan you won’t want to miss out on this one! Who is an auto read author for you?

I really love this author. She writes in an easy style that's precise but never boring. The characters in this book are varied and fascinating, each with their own secrets and problems. I felt so sorry for Pam being cast aside by Stephen for a new and younger wife - - but I have a bit of sympathy for Stephen too having a wife who doesn't even know him anymore. The daughters have their own dramas and it's interesting to see how those scenarios play out.

Since the book started with the wedding and some sort of catastrophe, I was on pins and needles throughout waiting to find out what had happened!! The truth was shocking and sad - - - but the final reveal was heartbreaking and left the real truth uncertain and unknown.

Another excellent book by Sally Hepworth!

Spotted at Costco! Possible Spoilers Ahead!
The Younger Wife by Sally Hepworth
💐💐 💐

Family drama collides at the wedding of Dr. Stephen Aston and his new, younger bride, Heather. Secrets unveil and motives are exposed as the Aston family’s darkest secrets are exposed. A study in family dynamics and what happens behind closed doors, this story had a ton of potential that, unfortunately, fell flat in the end.

Possible Spoilers:
It is important to note that the ending is different in the ARC. I believe the rewrite addresses some of the issues I had. I enjoyed the writing and wit of this book. I love Sally Hepworth's writing style. The pacing of the book is fantastic. Hard to put down.

Unfortunately, it fell apart in the last twenty percent. Of course, as in real life, there are times that a book doesn't end with the "bad guy" losing. I would have been fine with that ending if it weren't for the gaslighting the female characters endured in the end. Their character development throughout the book showed them overcoming their abusers. In the end, their insights were the same, if not worse than the beginning of the book. Where the characters ended did not add up. It also seemed that there had been hints throughout the entire book as to who committed the crime against Rachel. Huge hints! Yet, that wasn't resolved.

My first book from Sally Hepworth was The Mother-in-Law and until now that had remained my favorite title from her. I might have a new favorite because I absolutely devoured The Younger Wife in just a couple of sittings. Thank you to NetGalley for my digital and audio copy of this title for review. On a side note, Sally Hepworth was the first author to follow me on bookstagram and I was over the moon to say the least!

Synopsis:

Rachel and Tully’s parents have been married for several decades. Their mum had developed an advanced stage of altzheimers and had to be moved into a care facility for her safety. It was very difficult on the entire family, but what made things worse is when their father started seeing the young interior designer that had been hired to decorate the family home. Tully is the oldest daughter and is married to a successful lawyer with two small children. Rachel is the youngest daughter, and has a successful baking company but has no romantic interest in her life..

The young interior designer, Heather, who is younger than Tully or Rachel, comes from a troubling family and brings a lot of baggage to the new relationship. During the courtship between Heather and Stephen ( Tully and Rachel’s father) many family secrets are revealed concerning the daughters, Stephen and their mum. It all comes to a crescendo during Heather and Stephen’s wedding.

What I liked:
The story is told through multiple POV; Tully, Rachel, and Heather
Most of the characters had issues they needed to work through showing that “people are not all bad or all good”
My favorite character was Rachel and I loved seeing her transformation throughout the book.
I loved the author’s note where Hepworth describes how she got the idea for the story.

First and foremost, a character named Tully meant I had to have this book as that is my precious dog's name!!!!! But secondly, I have been a huge fan of Sally Hepworth for a while and I was really excited to secure an early copy of her newest.

This was a really captivating read and I loved the different POVs. As I always do with Hepworth's reads, I flew through this one in just a day and a half. My favorite part of this book was the constant unknown of what was ACTUALLY going on. And I know ambiguous endings aren't for everyone but I didn't mind this one at all.

Hepworth is the queen of family dramas and I really enjoyed this one. Be sure to check it out if you've liked her previous books.

The Younger Wife AUDIO by Sally Hepworth is vintage Hepworth as she uncovers the story bit by bit and the culmination is always unexpected and difficult to predict. Each chapter focuses on the viewpoint of a different person, who then lends a little of their own perspective and maybe a grain of a hint toward the larger story. Sometimes there is no hint. It makes it fun to listen to (or to read), as one is never sure where the story is going. Stephen Ashton is a successive heart surgeon, with a wife and two grown daughters. His wife has recently been placed in a nursing home with advanced Alzheimer's and all three of them visit her daily. Sometimes she knows, them; sometimes not. Sometimes she is coherent; at other times she says and does the most outrageous things. Heather is the interior decorator hired to redo Stephen's home: originally in the style his wife favored, and then switched to Stephen's style when he became obvious his wife would never live there. Then, one day Stephen announces to his daughters that he and Heather are engaged. When one of them points out that he is still married to their mother, she responds by obtaining the necessary divorce. Both of his daughters have problems of heir own, which they are dealing with as well as they are able.

Hepworth's style is perfect for writing a thriller. Pertinent things are uncovered layer by layer. It is obvious something is going to happen, but it is difficult to know what or when. Part of the narration is done by Stephen's first wife, someone the daughters and the fiancée had no knowledge of for most of the book. She is a bystander. This turns out to be a classic tale of something often kept behind closed doors. The secret is pretty much secret, until someone ends up dead. A shock for it is several chapters before we discover that has happened, as we wait with other observers for the outcome.

The book is narrated by an ensemble cast made up of Barrie Kreinik, Caroline Lee, Jessica Douglas-Henry, and Zoe Carides. The direction and melding of the voices is flawless. The excellent narration made he audio version even better.

I was invited to listen to a free audio of The Younger Wife by Macmillan Audio, through Netgalley. All thoughts and opinions are mine. #netgalley #macmillanaudio #sallyhepworth #theyoungerwife

Total binge-worthy read told from the perspective of four of the women in Stephen Aston's life. On the surface, they all look to have put together lives, but we learn that each woman is fighting their own personal battles. Through vulnerability and courage, they get to know each other and form new bonds.

The chapters in this book are fairly short and we were given just enough information in each one that I kept saying 'just one more, just one more'. I could not read fast enough as I had to know how it ended. I do not want to give away any of the details of this book. I found it to be cleverly written and I was waffling back and forth right along with all of the women in this book.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review. This book was a joy to read!

I consider Sally Hepworth one of the queens of domestic suspense, so I was excited to listen to her newest entry into the genre, 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐘𝐎𝐔𝐍𝐆𝐄𝐑 𝗪𝐈𝐅𝐄. Before I get to anything else, I want to acknowledge the narration of Barrie Kreinik, Caroline Lee, Jessica Douglas-Henry and Zoe Carides. They were excellent! ⁣
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Now to the book: Exactly as the title tells us there is a younger wife, Heather, about to be wed to the father of Rachel and Tully, both slightly older than Heather. The three women alternate telling the story that for me was more of a family drama without a lot of suspense. I guessed where the story was headed almost immediately, but never bought into the way it was covered. Or, perhaps I should say the way it wasn’t covered. The “secret” was largely swept under the rug and not highlighted in a way that evoked the emotion it should have. I know I’m being cagey here…trying not to give anything away, but it was a serious subject that was largely ignored. That bothered me.⁣
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The women were interesting, their backstories strong, keeping me engaged throughout, but in the end 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘠𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘳 𝘞𝘪𝘧𝘦 was a disappointment. I need a little more suspense and a lot more depth in my domestic suspense. ⁣2.5 stars

Thanks to @macmillanaudio and @netgalley for an ALC of #theyoungerwife and to @stmartinspress for an ARC of #theyoungerwife.

4.75 STARS

Synopsis: Stephen Aston - a man everyone loves and admires - a heart surgeon, a loving father of two daughters, and a devoted husband. The mother of his children, his current wife, has been battling Alzheimer's for 3 years now, and he has fallen in love with someone else, a much younger woman. As they are about to be married, everyone is on edge, and everyone's true impulses and secrets are starting to come out.

After reading (and loving) two of Sally Hepworth's books, I can confidently say she is an AMAZING story teller. This book is told mainly by three characters - the two daughters, and the new, younger wife. At first, I wasn't sure I really liked any of them. By the end of the book, I LOVED all three.

While I am not comparing this book to Verity by Colleen Hoover at all (they are quite different) - the ENDING of this book left me with similar feelings the ending of Verity did. I have a feeling I will be thinking about this ending for a while. I am not sure what I believe, but it was GREAT.

I can't wait to read more of this author's work! If you like suspenseful, family drama - I would definitely recommend!

You can find my review on Goodreads here: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4486026257

You can also be on the lookout for my review on my instagram page @mollyreadsthrillers

Interesting Family drama build up with low mystery appeal.
Good premise, not my fave by author but still remains a go to author for me - enjoy her writing style.

As this engaging domestic suspense novel begins, an unknown narrator is observing the wedding of Stephen Aston and Heather. After they are declared husband and wife, the event is disrupted. There are screams. Is someone sick? Injured? Dead? We are taken back in time to when successful, sixty-three-year-old cardiac surgeon Stephen Aston shocks daughters Tilly and Rachel with his announcement that he plans to marry his young girlfriend, Heather. In addition to the huge age difference, there’s a larger issue. Stephen is already married to Pamela, the girls’ mother, who is suffering from dementia and is living in a healthcare facility. Heather, who is younger than both sisters, had met Stephen and Pamela when she was hired as their interior designer. Stephen plans to divorce Pamela and move on and wants his daughters to bond with Heather. As the story progresses and we learn more about each person, it is clear that there are huge cracks in what had appeared to be such a nice, normal family. A wife and mother of two, Tully’s life is falling apart. Rachel is forced to confront her difficult past. Heather may not have landed the perfect catch as she suspects that Stephen has another side to him that he’s kept hidden.

I was thoroughly engrossed in Sally Hepworth's fast-paced story which shows that people are not always who they appear to be. Or perhaps they are. And with potentially unreliable storytelling, you’ll be kept guessing. When the secret of the wedding is revealed, I was happy I went along for the ride. There are parts of the book that will make for some lively discussions so I would expect Book Clubs to embrace The Younger Wife.

The Younger Wife by Sally Hepworth is a domestic suspense novel. The story in The Younger Wife is one that is told by changing the point of view between the characters. It’s also a novel that gives you an event that will happen in the prologue then goes back to a previous time to work it’s way forward to that event.

Stephen and Pam Aston have had a long and loving marriage and are the parents of two wonderful daughters, Tully and Rachel. Tully and Rachel are now grown and have always believed their parents would be together forever but Pam is now in a care home battling dementia.

Stephen has met another woman, Heather, and has broken the news to his daughters that he plans to marry Heather and move on with his life without Pam. Tully and Rachel both have different ways of dealing with the news but together they plan on learning all the secrets of their parents past after finding some clues in their mother’s things.

The Younger Wife is actually the fourth book by author Sally Hepworth I’ve read and I finished this one thinking, yep she’s done it again!! Picking this one up I was immediately pulled into the character’s world and didn’t want to put the book down again until I finished. Of course what always wins me over with this author besides her solid writing is her way of twisting the story until the very end for that final oh boy moment. Definitely a fan and will be back to this author again.

I received an advance copy from the publisher via NetGalley.

This book hit me very hard! I had to give myself space after reading it before writing this review. I was sucked into the characters and couldn't predict where the story was going. I felt like it was actually happening! I strongly recommend this book-any book that stays on my mind for so long is something special!

Thank you to Net Galley for the E-ARC in exchange for an honest review
I wanted to like this book more because I love Sally Hepworth's other novels and found this one just as well written as her others, but I just didn't. I found it to be too confusing at times and too predictable at others. The characters for the most part held my interest mostly Rachel and Heather, but I think it should have been cut down to only one POV because I didn't feel any of the stories got the proper time to shine.

Rachel most of all I want to hear so much about her journey and life but it felt rushed by the end and just not satisfying to read.

But I don't think its a terrible boo by any means as I said it is well written and I do believe it could be a good little mystery for someone, just not for me

Wow, this book has so much going on, yet it was all tied together in quite an unexpected way. It is a highly character driven book with some pretty fantastic characters. There are so many psychological issues and intricate relationships going on that keep the story interesting and compelling. These are relatable real life people with real life problems, but with some punch added to make the story more colorful and intriguing. The major theme throughout is family. Intricate relationships, scandals, affairs, marriage, divorce. Unsaid feelings, resentments, hostility, secrets. Kleptomania, Alzheimer’s, gaslighting, abuse. This is a great book to dissect and discuss, there are so many layers and interpretations, perfect for a book club. Captivating read!