Thank you to NetGalley for this audio ARC. I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

I was surprised by how much I enjoyed this. This story was full of twists and turns that kept me hooked throughout. From the get go I knew there was something off about Edward and boy oh boy was I right! We saw Lily trying to navigate every new piece of information she gets regarding her new husband and it was interesting to see how she coped with it all. I liked that Lily was not a fragile flower and that she used her logic and intellect to uncover the truth. This paired with her use of common sense made her a great lead character. However, there were some areas of how she dealt with things during her investigating that I didn't like. The character dynamics in this was very good, especially the intense encounters with Edwards daughters.

Overall an enjoyable read that was well paced and easy to follow.

This story was twisty, suspenseful, heartbreaking and heartwarming.. I would definitely read more from this author.

This was not my favorite. It’s a storyline that has been grossly overdone. The story starts with woman murdering her husband and then calling the police. Was it murder or self-defense?

The twists and turns through out keep you guessing right to the end. The story is complicated,and one is faced with many different angles. not highly recommended by me felt like it was missing something. The author has a great writing style though very captivating.

I listened to the audiobook of the Second Marriage and I enjoyed it thoroughly. The narrator’s accent is perfect and adds intrigue and suspense to the story. Creepy and spellbinding, I was on the edge of my seat for most of the book!

This book was incredible! It was perfectly twisty, turny, and suspenseful. The narrator was great for the book.

WOW! This was a fantastic domestic thriller. Although in the end, it wasn't entirely shocking, the book was written in such a way that kept the pages turning. I devoured this book in a couple of days, and all the tension of a great domestic thriller was there.

Lilly takes on the position as a nanny/teacher for 8 year old Noah, who is a young boy who appears to be something of a recluse. His father, Edward, advises Lilly that Noah suffered greatly when his mother died and that it is a part of their past that neither like to discuss. Soon, Edward and Lilly fall in love and get married, and once Lilly is part of the family, it becomes clear to her that there is much more to the story. But will Lilly discover the secrets of the past before it is too late?

This book had just enough interesting characters to keep you guessing, although there isn't too much of a surprise there. However, this book is full of domestic tension and suspense. I would recommend this book for fans of B.A. Paris and Lucy Foley.

I listened to this book on audio and the narrator was fantastic. I will be on the lookout for more books by this author!

Special thank you to Netgalley and Bookoutre for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

4 stars! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

This is my first book by Jess Ryder and I really enjoyed it on audio. The narrator did a great job capturing the main character's personality and I flew through it. I sometimes found myself confused on then and now, dual timelines, given the audio but quickly caught back on when this happened.

This one is interesting and will keep you on your toes!

OMG where do I start….First of all I hang my head in shame when I say this, but I actually listened to this last year. Yes it has taken me a while to write a review due to work commitments. But this book is that good it has stayed with me….I bloody loved it says me who doesn’t really do domestic thrillers!

I have read one other book by the author and the sample I listened to really intrigued me so I thought I would give it a whirl. What I didn’t expect was to be utterly blow away by the story and the narrator telling it. Right from the start when we meet Edward I could feel something wasn’t right but what I had no idea! I was totally hooked by this story telling wanting to know what was Edward trying to make his son Noah forget.

I loved the relationship between Lily and Noah the more we get to know them the closer they got and the mystery gets deeper. I felt like I was in this with Lily. I cant begin to describe the tension and anxiety i felt listening to this. OMG and not forgetting the ending….Sweet Jesus I was on tender hooks.

The Second Marriage is brilliant from start to finish and never a dull moment. Incredible story telling which I would give 10 stars I loved it that much!

Thank you to Bookouture for a copy, all thoughts are my own and not biased in anyway.

I absolutely loved this book. It kept me on the edge of my seat right through to the end. Every time I thought I knew where it was headed, something new happened to send me in a different direction.

While the basic concept of an older man rushing into marriage with a new younger wife with questions sitting in the background over the mysterious previous wife seems to be a fairly common trend at the moment, this book is a good example of this theme done right.

Too often this kind of book presents us with the naive and/or whiney younger wife who has just been too dumb to see obvious signs in front of her. Instead, this book gives us Lily - a woman who is smart, independent and resourceful. She hasn't married Edward because she needs his money, or because she needs to escape a former life/lifestlye - she has married a man that she genuinely loves and believes she knows.

The slow and steady dawning of the realisation that maybe she doesn't really know this man that she married the way she thought she did is both heartbreaking and believable.

Believable because it's not one sudden thing that triggers it all but, rather, a gradual build up of individual occurrences that lead her down this path. Heartbreaking because we get to bear witness to Lily's journey as she uncovers secrets and needs to make decisions about whether or not she can continue to love and accept her husband knowing what she now does, and can she really trust him or are there still more secrets she has yet to uncover. Who is her husband, really?

Full of twists and turns and unexpected reveals, this book is a 'must read' for fans of suspense and drama.

I received an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I listened to the Bolinda Audio version of this book and found the narrator well suited to tell the story.

Am I glad I read it - absolutely, I loved it
Was it a waste of my time - not at all
Would I sit down and read it all over again - absolutely
Would I read more by this author based on this book - yes (few more books in my TBR pile first, but then I fully intend tracking down more by Jess Ryder).

WOW what a great listen ! Was nothing like I was expecting at all ! Lots of twists and turns and gripping from the first chapter and an ending that had you on the edge of your seat ! Highly recommended!

The narrator was very good in that she made it an easy listen and brought the characters to life

WoW!!! The Second Marriage by Jess Ryder Narrated by Rosamund Hine was Excellent!!! I loved it from Start to finish it was brilliant. I Ioved the plot and its twists and turns throughout. All the characters were good and fitted in well into this storyline, especially as it had me guessing till the end! Then Bang!! I didn't see that happening! Brilliant! I loved it.

Big Thank you to NetGalley and especially to Bookouture for the much appreciated arc in return for an honest review.

What a page turner!
Recommended for anyone who is wanting an escape for the day.
Lily, although entering the marriage to the charming Edward quite naively, and takes on the responsibility of family, adapts quite resourcefully to the situation as secrets unfold.
There is nothing really deep here, it is a tried and true tale, charming & wealthy widower meets governess, a domestic thriller, and one's suspicions are quickly aroused, but the tale is told in a fresh way and I found myself continuing to find chores around the house so i could keep listening.
Narration is also well done.

3.5*
Second marriages…. How well, (if at all) do you know the family you’re preparing to marry into? What secrets lie beneath the surface, ready to be revealed?

Lily has been home schooling Edward’s nine year-old son Noah. During which time, Edward and Lily have grown close, quickly deciding to make it official and marry. As might be expected, not everyone is thrilled about this Union.

Shortly after the wedding Lily begins questioning everything about Edward’s first wife. Silently she asks herself what exactly she’s gotten herself in to.
An engaging domestic thriller I really enjoyed. Some great unexpected twists along the way that truly surprised me.

I listened to the audio version and the narrator did a fantastic job with Lily!

Thank you to NetGalley and Bookouture Audio

A perfect marriage. You are entering a family where something happened to the old wife. Yet when her young son starts to tell you she is still alive, that does not match up with what everyone else is saying. Is he being frauded? Or is someone lying to you. And are you safe? I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

This book took hold of me from page one and never let go until the bitter end. The story was fairly original and kept me entertained throughout the pages. I highly recommended it to my readers on the blog.

I really enjoyed this thriller! It was riveting from the beginning and there were a bunch of twists, even right up till the ending, I had no idea where it was going to end up. I really liked Noah and I felt so bad for this poor little boy who only wanted to be reunited with his dead (?) mother. Full of unlikable characters except Noah! This was my first Jess Ryder/Jan Page novel but it won't be my last.

When Lily Baxendale quits her job as a primary school teacher, the last job she would think she’d land is the role of a new stepmother. After being hired to privately homeschool Noah Morgan, his father, Edward, pops the question to make Lily officially part of the family. But why is Noah so secluded and why are there no physical reminders of his real birth mother?

This one was so addicting! I could not stop listening to it as both the eerie plot and slow buildup really kept you hooked and always asking questions. It’s the perfect audiobook when you don’t know what you’re in the mood for, but you want to be distracted and taken along a wild domestic ride. Even if it’s labeled as a thriller, there are so many parts to this one that even non-thriller fans would love; such as the romantic storyline, female friendships, and finally finding out the truth after feeling like there was no hope.

The narrator was absolutely fantastic. I would listen to anything she narrates! Highly recommend this audiobook.

This is a twisty psychological thriller that had me hooked. I was never sure what or who to believe. The narrator did a great job.

I enjoyed this thriller by Jess Ryder. It’s my first by the author and I will be checking out more of her work. Slow in places but pacy in others. I enjoyed the narrator of the story and I did look forward to listening to more of the story. Fairly predictable, but most thrillers are. I liked Noah’s character and wanted to smack Lily at times! Overall, a good read and I recommend to those who like a thriller. Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for the advanced copy.