This book was compulsively readable and kept me hooked with all the drama, what a domestic thriller! With it's twists and turns it kept me guessing. I liked the alternating chapters of Avery and Marissa. The demise of Mathew I honestly didn't see coming! That was a surprise to me. Overall, this book was so entertaining to me. I'd recommend it to anyone that enjoys thrillers... It seems like it would be a good pick to be made into a movie! Maybe a Netflix production is in the works?

The narrator was pleasant to my ears as well. I would seek her out for other audiobooks I thought she did a great job! 👍🏼

Thank you to Netgalley and publishers for the advanced e-arc in exchange for my honest review.

📖 Book Review 📚
The Golden Couple
By: Greer Hendricks & Sarah Pekkanen
⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️/5

Oh wow. I needed a minute after finishing this audiobook to process. It’s a roller coaster my friends. Holy cow. This is another one of those books where everyone is lying, and behind every truth there is another slew of lies. Who can you trust? Who’s intentions are good and who’s are nefarious? There are red herrings abound here, reminiscent of classic whodunnit’s.

Avery gives me major Kinsey Millhone vibes. I just love her and I am going to hold out hope for another book featuring her. Or better yet, a series. This was a binge worthy listen, I started it this morning and basically couldn’t put it down.

Swipe ➡️ to read the publishers summary.

I was excited to read this book when I heard it was a BOTM pick, and was even more excited to receive an ALC copy. Thank you so much to the authors @greerhendricks & @sarahpekkanen @macmillan.audio and @stmartinspress for the advanced copy of this book.

It was very entertaining and definitely a page-turner. If you like psychological thrillers, this is a good one! I found this just as enjoyable as the other novels by this writing duo - the novel is what you expect from them (lots of twists and tense scenes!).

This book was archived before I had time to read it, so I am not able to give accurate feedback. Thank you for the opportunity, sorry I was unable to get to it in time.

My 5⭐️ read drought is over!!! It’s been awhile since I’ve had a solid 5⭐️ read and I’m so happy I finally have one again!

This is my first book by this duo and I’m sure I’ll be reading more of their books! I like that the main plot is introduced within the first 3 chapters because I have zero attention span and I need fast paced thrillers.

Basically, the main characters are a husband/ wife power couple seeking the advice of a non traditional therapist/ consultant to help fix their marriage ruined by infidelity.

I love the dual POV and the carefully dissected analysis of the couple’s relationship. I also love love the pacing. I can’t stop reading this as soon as I started so I’m thankful I got the audiobook copy so I could keep listening to it while I drive or take care of my adult responsibilities (like laundry🙄)

This book just keeps you on your toes and it keeps you guessing about what will happen next. I usually like guessing the ending of thrillers but the way that this story is told, kind of distracts you from that which means - yes, it’s very unpredictable and after 75% of the book, I started developing trust issues because I feel like every one could be the villain. 😂

I love the buildup of the suspense right before the ending reveal as well.

Do I recommend? YES!

Masterful storytelling by Greer Hendricks and Sarah Pekkanen. Therapist Avery Chambers takes on new clients in Marissa and Matthew. The story is gripping and intense, with several twists and turns, leading up to a surprising ending. All is not what it seems. This was my first book by these authors, and I'll definitely be looking for more from them in the future.

The perfect couple has a chink in its armor. Matthew and Marissa have reached out to an unconventional therapist to help them get back on track after Marissa had an affair. Avery's methods make for more than life reflection by the couple: they have to engage in uncomfortable ways to get their marriage back on track. The path to reconciliation seems straight forward until the “other man” turns out to have a past history with the couple. With this discovery a long buried secret arises that turns their reunion into a nightmare.
Avery, the therapist, has her own problems running parallel within the story. She is receiving physical and emotional threats after her patient, a whistle blower from a major company, confided in her in therapy. Now that company wants Avery to divulge who it was but her professional principals of non disclosure prevents that and puts her in harms’ way.
An exciting psychological thriller with quality narration.

Avery Chambers is a psychologist who has decided to take a not so traditional approach to treating her clients. Unfortunately, she has lost her license. Since losing her license, however, she is even in more demand.

Marissa and Matthew, the perfect couple have just begun counseling with Avery. The golden couple seem to have everything. A beautiful home, lots of money and a wonderful son, Bennett. Avery offers a ten-session program that she swears can fix any problem. Can she fix Marissa and Matthew's problem, or has she bitten off more than she can chew? So many twists and turns in this book and it kept me guessing until the very end! (less)

★★★★★ (5 Stars)
"They don't look like a couple in trouble, but appearances are often misleading."

As someone who took a step back from thrillers for a while so I could find my enjoyment for the genre again, this book roped me in so well and hit every mark for what I like.

In The Golden Couple we follow two different people: Avery Chambers and Marissa Bishop. Avery is a therapist who has recently lost her license due to her non-traditional and somewhat controversial methods. Despite this, her methods work, which is why she takes her 10 sessions guideline and carries on privately. One day, a woman named Marissa calls, wanting to bring her husband Mathew along to work out some marriage issues. The marriage issues mentioned are regarding infidelity, but could there possibly be more going on behind the perfect façade of the couple? After all, they appear golden even to Avery, but she still has her doubts. Could there still be even more darker secrets still hidden?

The story takes you through the issues within the Bishop's relationship along with Avery's personal life. I had such a hard time pausing this story as it was so gripping. There were so many twists and turns, puzzles and questions to figure out, and you never really knew if you could trust any of the characters. The pacing of this story was great, and the way that the plot unraveled was masterful and put you on the edge of your seat. It was so fascinating being able to delve deeper into why people cheat, what personal struggles they are dealing with, and also what therapists go through while having to sort out so many other lives.


pros:
These. Characters. Oh. My. Word. They were incredible, absolutely incredible. Every single character, from the main to the side ones, even to Romeo the dog, all contributed to the story. They all fit into the flow and helped drive the plot forward. There was no character that was an odd on out from the group; they all had a part to play, whether minor or major, and each had their own unique quality. I was able to remember the different names so well as each individual stood out as their own, none seemed the same.

Avery rescuing Romeo was one of the sweetest parts of this book. It was such a nice addition to the story, and I loved how it developed not only Avery but side characters as well.

THE. PLOT. TWIST. Did I see it coming? No, not until a couple minutes before it happened. Should I have seen it coming? I did have a sneaking suspicion, but I always doubt every single character, so I didn't fully trust my assumption. However, even with the slight assumption I made, I came nowhere close to guessing the entirety of the twist. If anyone did, props to you, because it was so well-developed and hidden that you'd think yourself crazy for predicting correctly. I just can't believe how genius that was. I hope to someday write a twist that jaw-dropping, because that takes some serious writing talent. This story really makes you think (which I absolutely love when books do this), and it keeps you trying to guess several different truths throughout the entirety of the novel.

Marin Ireland is my absolute favorite narrator of all time. I try to listen to any book that she has narrated, which is how I stumbled across this novel originally. Her voice fit Avery's so perfectly, and there's no other narrator I'd want for her. She does such an excellent job doing other voices as well, and her style is so incredible. I'd never heard of the other narrator before, Karissa Vacker, but she was so amazing as well. With two women narrators, I worried with how similar they would send, but they were completely different. The pitches of their voices are distinct and not like the others, which made it feel like these two characters were really talking to me, sharing their thoughts.

I also thought that the music at the start and end of the audiobook was a nice addition.

To contribute to the narrators both adding such a unique touch to their characters, the writing style also made these characters not sound the same. I've read a few books where, even though there are two different POVs, the characters feel like the same person, but that's definitely not the case here. I'm actually not sure how Greer Hendricks and Sarah Pekkanen split the writing, and maybe one writes Avery and the other writes Marisa, but even so, I appreciated how different they were as characters.

I also loved the ending. Endings can honestly make or break a story for me, and I loved the way it wrapped up. There were no loose ends, and it ended in an open enough way that you know the characters stories aren't over, but you can part of the great things ahead of them.


cons:
I honestly can't think of any cons. Normally when I rate books five stars, there are a few issues that I ignore since I loved the story so much, but I really can't think of problems I had with this novel.


I would 100% recommend this book. I normally read cutesy YA or NA contemporary romances, and I couldn't get enough of this story. So, even if thriller isn't your regular genre, I still wholeheartedly recommend getting this book as soon as you can, especially the audio version.

I'll definitely reread (or should I say relisten) to this book at some point. I already miss the characters and even the places so much.

Trigger Warnings (TW): profanity, infidelity, murder, death, and gun violence

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for sharing this story with me in exchange for an honest review.

Review posted to Instagram (@a.bookish.plant.lover) and Goodreads (goodreads.com/abookishplantlover)
Note: Review has now been published to Amazon (account is ABookishPlantLover)

Thank you to @macmillanaudio and @netgalley for an advanced audio copy of The Golden Couple in exchange for my honest review!
💍 Synopsis: Marissa & Matthew seem to have the perfect life, that is until Marissa cheats. Hoping to salvage their marriage, Marissa convinces her husband to go to counseling. She chooses Avery as their therapist… Avery who recently lost her license due to her unconventional methods of treating her patients.
💍 Thoughts: The Golden Couple started off really strong! I was immediately hooked - who doesn’t love that! The book is told through the alternating viewpoints of Marissa (wife) and Avery (therapist) and for me that was a win. It was definitely different than the alternating husband/wife narratives we usually see in domestic thrillers! I loved how things started out feeling like they were all over the place but slowly began to weave themselves together. The Golden Couple kept me interested the entire time I listened to it… although if I’m honest, I felt a little underwhelmed by the ending and I’m left feeling like this one will be pretty forgettable for me.
I often feel this way about the ending of thrillers though!
Overall though, I’m giving it ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ because it hooked me from the start and kept me intrigued until the end!

*I was granted an audio ARC of The Golden Couple from St. Martin's Press and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.*

I have read every single book written by Greer Hendricks and Sarah Pekkanen as co-authors. I've been anxiously awaiting the release of The Golden Couple, and was very pleased to be granted an audio ARC edition for review. I love the back and forth style between characters and the way the authors keep you guessing until the end. This book was no different.

I need to add here - I love the use of 2 narrators for the 2 different characters "telling" the story - this was the first audio book I'd listened too that had more than one narrator.

We start with Avery Chambers, maverick therapist, who lost her license to practice but still works with people and couples as a counselor with unusual methods. I immediately think that Avery is going to be the problem - she's acting as a therapist without a valid license, after all. The tone of voice Avery's narrator used was absolutely perfect. She sounds bored, very detached from the people she's with and situations she's a part of.

Avery meets the Bishops - Marissa and Matthew - after Marissa hires her to help them work through marital issues - except Matthew isn't aware there are any marital issues between them. Marissa drops a bomb on Matthew in their first visit - the first of 10 sessions with Avery, each with a specific theme/goal in mind.

The chapters alternate between Avery and Marissa, with Avery's chapters being told in the first person while Marissa's are told in the third person.

As the book progresses, many things start to happen in the Bishops' lives that seem to be separate from Marissa's confession at their first session. At the same time, things are happening in Avery's life and she's become very watchful and distrustful of those around her. Avery's world collides with the Bishops' world when she shows up at their house for an impromptu session one night and finds a man she'd once dated there, a man she's recently become very distrustful of, who turns out to be an old friend of Matthew's.

There's so much more - glimpses into Avery's past with her late-husband, Marissa's overly helpful assistant Polly, Matthew's non-existent relationship with his father, the way Marissa and Matthew's son Bennett seems to be a little bit afraid of his father, past clients of Avery's that pop up and cause trouble, Matthew's ex from college who inserts herself into his life a little too much, Marissa's memories of her best friend that had been murdered at 15. Typing it out like that makes it seem like it would be too much, but Greer and Sarah write so well together and it all flows so seamlessly.

As always, I was kept guessing through the entire book, trying to figure out who the true antagonist was. The reveal was well written, leaving me in as much disbelief as Marissa. The very end of the book felt a little forced, but everything ended up pretty well tied up in the end. My only lingering question - why was Marissa's friend murdered? We know who did it in the end - although it's not necessary to know for the book to be tied up.

I gave this book 5 stars on Goodreads and Literal. Will definitely be buying a physical copy of my own and recommending it to anyone who loves a book that keeps them guessing until the end.

I loved this book! I found myself getting "lost" in the book and realizing an hour had passed. I love these authors and their ability to write a quality thriller is not lost on me. I think that everyone needs to read or listen to this book.

I think the author made a good choice having two separate perspectives it definitely kept the story going without dragging on. Did a great job making you love and then hate the who did.

This is the first book by Hendrick and Pekkanen I have read and I can see why others love them so much. They create engaging stories with twists and turns you can see coming,

I first want to start off with what I loved. The narration for this audiobook is one the best I have ever heard. Karissa Vacker (Marissa) and Marin Ireland (Avery) infuse so much into their character that you are surprised they are not acting this out in a TV show. Ireland brings the perfect psychologist seriousness, exhaustion, and cautiousness to a therapist who has gone a little too outside the box in the past and has odd methods but truly means well. Vacker brings the perfect housewife, but also guilty and vulnerable energy to Marissa who has more secrets on the surface than she may show. This book is such a two hander that having these two actors drive the story adds so much.

What I didn't love as much is the actual story. I was engaged at first but found some of the twists to be a bit predictable. Some of the story dig drag a bit towards the middle and end.

Overall, I found this to be an fun but not unique story. I can definitely see people falling in love with this story. I actually would prefer the audiobook to the actual book as I think it adds an extra layer to the story.

Overall I would give it 3.5 stars. Thanks to NetGalley and MacMillian Audio for my early review copy for an honest review.

I've read every book published by this author duo and I have to say that THE GOLDEN COUPLE is my new favorite. This one was full of unreliable characters that kept me guessing until the end. I definitely recommend this one.

“Time is a chameleon. It’s ever changing, cannily adapting to circumstances. It stretches out some tiny moments for an eternity. Then it shifts course and swallows up whole days, years even, as if they never existed.”

Marissa and Mathew Bishop seem to have it all, the “golden couple” if you will…but then Marissa is unfaithful. She decides to seek out Avery for help, an infamous therapist in the Washington DC area who doesn’t actually have her license anymore. This was definitely a slow burn mystery, there’s a lot of build up but it pays off in the end. At the beginning I was hesitant because I don’t necessarily love the sketchy therapist trope thrillers tend to use, but I grew to like Avery pretty quickly. I also appreciate that it was very honest about her not actually having her license and was open about how unconventional her practice was. There’s a few side characters that are purposefully annoying but they get good character arcs, and everything was happening for a reason! I didn’t guess the ending entirely, so bonus points for that.

I’ve rated it 4⭐️s - I really liked it! Broken into 3 parts, you get some good twists and the writing was great. The end tie in to Avery’s pharmaceutical story was interesting, but honestly I don’t think my feelings on the book would’ve changed much if that storyline was left out 🤷🏻‍♀️

I actually ended up listening to the audio of this one (dual narration, including my favorite @marinireland) from @netgalley and I reallllly enjoyed it! Highly recommend this format. Thanks, @macmillan.audio!

⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️
Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan audio for the early listen! Wow what a story! I loved it. The authors did again! Amazing at crafting stories and story tellers! They (authors) and the narrator will draw you into this mystery/psychological thriller. Many times I waited with bated breath (cheesy I know but wow) to see what would happen next. Loved all the characters.
The ending was amazing but feels like there could be more, maybe? 🤔
Will definitely recommend this book!

🄱🄾🄾🄺 🅁🄴🅅🄸🄴🅆 & 🄵🄻🄰🅂🄷 🄶🄸🅅🄴🄰🅆🄰🅈

𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝑮𝒐𝒍𝒅𝒆𝒏 𝑪𝒐𝒖𝒑𝒍𝒆
𝙱𝚢: Greer Hendricks & Sarah Pekkanen
𝙶𝚎𝚗𝚛𝚎: Mystery, Thriller, Suspense
𝙿𝚞𝚋𝚕𝚒𝚜𝚑𝚎𝚛: @stmartinspress @macmillian
𝙿𝚞𝚋𝚕𝚒𝚜𝚑𝚎𝚍 𝙾𝚗: March 8th 2022
@𝚐𝚘𝚘𝚍𝚛𝚎𝚊𝚍𝚜 𝚂𝚌𝚘𝚛𝚎: 4.07
𝙼𝚢 𝚂𝚌𝚘𝚛𝚎: 👫👫👫👫👫 / 5 Couples

I am not going to post the synopsis because this book has been all over Bookstagram. If you've been living under a rock and don't know what it's about, please go to @goodreads to see.

A few thank you's: Thank you @netgalley for gifting me the audio version of this book. Thank you @stmartinspress for gifting me a finished copy of the book. I myself owned a copy I purchased from BOTM (Book of the month club). As you can see in the post photo, I will be holding a FLASH GIVEAWAY in my stories for anyone that would like to enter and WIN my BOTM copy. I will be keeping my @stmartinspress copy.

Ⓜⓨ Ⓣⓗⓞⓤⓖⓗⓣⓢ

I've said it once and I'll say it again I just love these amazing two ladies and their duo team. They are great writers separately but together they really know how to create something thrilling!

I absoutely loved 𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝑮𝒐𝒍𝒅𝒆𝒏 𝑪𝒐𝒖𝒑𝒍𝒆! I will it admit my favorite is still "𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝑾𝒊𝒇𝒆 𝑩𝒆𝒕𝒘𝒆𝒆𝒏 𝑼𝒔" Nothing has come between that one just yet. Ha-ha. But all in all, I do highly recommend both of these! Oh, can I can't forget to mention that I still need to read their book "𝑨𝒏 𝑨𝒏𝒐𝒏𝒚𝒎𝒐𝒖𝒔 𝑮𝒊𝒓𝒍" I believe that is their debut novel together and I have heard from many people that, that one is their favorites soooo I am going to read that one next month! I have waited too long and it needs to end.

Okay, more on this new & thrilling read. 𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝑮𝒐𝒍𝒅𝒆𝒏 𝑪𝒐𝒖𝒑𝒍𝒆 is engrossing, the characters are well developed, multi layered and easy to relate. However, I did find Polly's character a little annoying at times. LOL. But within these pages and this story I never knew WHO could be trusted, or WHO was manipulating WHO, and I loved it! I couldn’t wait to pick this up every chance that I could.

𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝑮𝒐𝒍𝒅𝒆𝒏 𝑪𝒐𝒖𝒑𝒍𝒆 came out March 8th 2022 So, what are you doing? Go get it now!

This is the first book from this author duo that I've listened to and it won't be the last!  Although I do not read many mysteries I do enjoy a good one occasionally and Hendricks/Pekkanen's work had me twisting and turning along with the plot. 

The narration by Karissa Vacker & Marin Ireland had me hooked instantly.  Their soothing voices led me along as I learned of the secrets, adultery, and lies of Marissa and Matthew, our Golden Couple, Avery Chambers - a much different kind of therapist than any that I've encountered, and several other characters.  The narration was easily followed as the different characters spoke and new chapters began. 

All in all The Golden Couple was intriguing and I found myself listening into the early morning hours because I couldn't wait to find out what happened next.  An enjoyable audiobook and I'm onto finding other books by these two authors. 

Thank you to NetGalley, Macmillan Audio, and the authors for allowing me this ARC audio to enjoy and review.

When I read the premise of The Golden Couple, I honestly wasn't that intrigued. But I should've known a novel written by Greer Hendricks and Sarah Pekkanen would capture my attention from chapter 1 and take me on a wild and twisty ride! I read this in a weekend and it was the perfect palate cleanser between more serious/literary novels.

The plot features Marissa and Matthew Bishop, an attractive successful husband and wife (the titular Golden Couple) and Avery Chambers, a controversial therapist who agrees to use her unorthodox methods to fix their marriage. I was so interested to learn the backstories of these characters and get glimpses of Avery's other patients.

In addition to unraveling the issues in the Bishop relationship, intriguing storylines involve Marissa's employee, a Bishop family friend, and Avery's obsession with her personal safety. Red herrings abound, and I was so curious to see if/how these threads would braid together. Just keep in mind, as with other Hendricks/Pekkanen stories, nothing is as it appears.

Reading this via audiobook narrated by Karissa Vacker and Marin Ireland, primarily on a solo road trip, was perfect to make the miles fly by. It felt like Avery and Marissa were my passengers, telling me more and more about their lives, both the public and very private.

Many thanks to St. Martin's Press, Macmillan Audio, Libro.fm, and NetGalley for the review copies of this domestic thriller.