I have a new favorite Sally Hepworth book. This book drew me in from the start. With four different points of view, you really got to know and understand each of the main characters. When father, Stephen announces to his two grown daughters, Tully and Rachel, that he is marrying a much younger woman the daughters have thoughts of their own. We learn quickly that this family has some deep dark secrets they want no one to know, and the family drama will draw you in and won't let you go until the very last page.

I wouldn’t say this one was super eventful, but it was a good story nonetheless. A slower start, but definitely picked up speed towards the middle before finishing with an intense ending.

Based on the title, I was expecting more about the new (younger) wife, so I was a little surprised that the story didn’t seem to focus on her. At least not as much as I thought it would.

This is a twisty family story. Each woman in the Aston family has her own dark side that filters the way she interacts with the world--from kleptomania, eating disorders, dementia, sexual trauma, gaslighting, and emotional and physical abuse. The narrative thread weaves the three unreliable points of view together while relating the year leading up to the wedding scene.

I liked that the women are strong characters. I liked that the mental disorders are depicted thoughtfully. I liked that the sisters, Rachel and Tully have a strained relationship that builds into a tight bond. I liked the relationship between the sisters and the young wife, Heather.

Thank you NetGalley and MacMillan Audio for allowing me to rate and review this title.

This book was just ok. Not a lot of character development. None of the characters left an impression. The first half of the book kept my attention, I couldn’t put it down! The second half dragged and it just kept getting worse. Hated the ending. The ending was really bad and left me saying “that’s it?”

Great audio narrator, writing style, and characters. I like unreliable narrators but this one just didn’t do it for me. The book was just okay in my opinion.

The audio of The Younger Wife was very well done. The narrators did a great job in keeping me enthralled with the story. Loved it!

Thank you so much to NetGalley, Macmillian Audio, and the author for an advance listener’s audiobook of the Younger Wife in exchange for an honest review. I listened on my iPhone from 3/15/22-3/19/22.

Domestic suspense isn’t normally my go-to genre, but I am very glad I gave this book an opportunity due to it being a highly anticipated release. I personally thought it was entertaining and both well written and well narrated, once you get used to the Australian theme, of course. I am fairly new to audiobooks, and I was really surprised at how quickly 11ish hours flew by!

I appreciated how the story was told from multiple viewpoints and different voices/narrators of the present, and future, Aston women. The in-depth character development was excellent. All of the characters had both similar and dissimilar struggles which in the end bonded them. I could see how the slow build-up could be thought of as boring and futile to some readers, especially when consuming in physical print as opposed to the audiobook. However, it is so important to the plot and crux of the story if you stick with it. I did not see the ending coming and it did leave me hanging a little bit with some questions, which I believe some of the best stories tend to do. Those are the ones that stick with you.

I would rate this book 3.5/5 stars. I enjoyed most parts and would recommend to others.

Thank you again for the opportunity to read and review!

I really enjoyed The Younger Wife by Sally Hepworth! I think Hepworth does a fantastic job of writing family dramas. I enjoyed the characters and thought they were very likeable. The narrators of the audiobook did a really good job and I think they helped keep me immersed in the story.
*This book has a scheduled release date of April 5th, 2022.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a copy of this audiobook in exchange for an honest review.

This book is definitely a slow burn, psychological thriller and I'm not complaining! I did have a bit of an issue getting into it, but I love all the other books by this author and didn't end ho disappointed. Deeply satisfied comes to mind. Definitely recommend!

Read this if…you like controversial endings and are a fan of Liane Moriarty.

The book opens with an unknown narrator who is attending a wedding. During the ceremony, someone in the wedding party is attacked, but it’s not immediately clear how serious the injury is or who is responsible. Then we flash back a year and get to see the events leading up to the wedding from the perspectives of two sisters and the woman who is marrying their father. The sisters, Rachel and Tully, are less than enthusiastic when their father announces he’ll be marrying Heather, a woman young enough to be his daughter. However, he is still married to their mother, who lives in assisted living and suffers from dementia. Their father’s engagement, along with some strange comments from their mother, leads the sisters to start digging into their father’s past to uncover his true identity.

This book really reminded me of Big Little Lies! I enjoyed the story and the female characters, especially Rachel and Tully. All three women struggle with an addiction of some kind (alcohol, food, and kleptomania) and it was very interesting to see how trauma can manifest itself differently in people. I didn’t love the ending, but it didn’t ruin the book for me. I understand what the author was trying to do and it would make a great discussion for a book club. I listened to this one and the narrator was fantastic!

A big thank you to Netgalley, the author, and Macmillan Audio for an ALC in exchange for my honest review.

The Younger Wife isn't what you'd think it would be. Yes, there is a dad who is marrying someone younger than even his grown daughters, but she's not the wicked stepmother by a long shot. And this family is not as perfect as you'd imagine. On the surface, it seems like Rachel and Tully have it all. But they're mother has been diagnosed with early onset Alzheimers and has been placed in care. Meanwhile, their dad has decided to divorce their mother to marry the interior designer. Rachel is eating her feelings from past trauma, Tully is a kleptomaniac and Heather (the interior designer) is fighting her own demons. And what about the groom-to-be? Stephen Aston appears to be perfect. A heart surgeon that everyone loves, but is he who everyone is convinced he is?

*Special thanks to Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for an arc of this novel.*

I should start by saying I enjoyed this book. I was a little overwhelmed at first trying to figure out the characters and their traits, but it was easy to follow along fairly quickly. I loved the development of them all into their own intricacies. I enjoyed watching them all unfold, change, and grow. I didn't feel like there was a great, strong plot. It did start with an issue at the wedding so there was an undertone of a storyline, but I don't feel like I remembered it halfway through. I was so focused on learning and following the characters that I forgot why we knew them. However, I was not a fan of the ending. I wish that it would have ended before the final chapter. I feel like I found myself with a ton of questions at the end. #TheYoungerWife #NetGalley

The Younger Wife will take you on a ride, that is interesting from page one. While this listener was able to figure out a portion of the ending before we got there, it made it no less of an excellent book, and there were still surprises to be had.

In this day and age, everyone knows that things are not consistent with the way they look on the outside. This book gives you such a view of what the outside picture is supposed to look like, and a realistic picture of what is actually happening on the inside with each of the characters. Some you see the inside from their own point of view, and some you see from the point of view of those around that character. Regardless of how it is displayed, it is shown in vivid color and you can see a cause and effect of how one character acts and subsequently what occurs in the lives and minds of those they touch with that behavior. (I would love to be clearer here, but I do not want to give a spoiler in my review.) Sally Hepworth creates rich, interesting characters for the reader and her pictures of their mental health ring very true for this therapist/reviewer. The narration was top notch, allowing the listener to have a clear picture of who is speaking, and brings the reader on an adventure through the voices. I am a stickler for how the narration is done, so this is high praise.

If you like Liane Moriarty and JP Delaney, you will love Sally Hepworth's The Younger Wife.

Thank you to Netgalley and Macmillian Audio for the opportunity to listen to this audio galley in exchange for my honest review.

This was so good, I didn't want to put it down. It had me guessing some of the pieces the whole time. However, the one MC Heather was painful. It did get a little frustrating how moronic she was.

I can't wait to read the next Sally Hepworth book. Her books never seem to disappoint me.

Thanks Netgalley and publisher for the digital copy in exchange for my honest review!

This book was a good read and turned out much better than I expected from the beginning. The characters all worked well together in the story and the plot was entertaining.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for a copy to honestly review.

A billed mystery/thriller which is more family psychological drama. The story is well narrated by a cast that makes the different POV s clear. This one was not a favorite of mine, though.

FANTASTIC audiobook, and I cannot emphasize this enough. All narrators were amazing and really made the characters come to life. Each of them had such a unique voice and listeners will have no problem differentiating between characters. To be honest, I felt like it was a bit difficult to get into the print version of this book, but man, the audiobook hooked me hard. I was even late to work this morning because I couldn't turn off the book and go inside!

3.5 stars rounded up!

I am obsessed with Hepworth’s storytelling. She sucked me in and I could not stop reading. I think this is the first book in a while I’ve read in three days or less! I haven’t been in a full blown slump, but reading hasn’t been a top choice throughout the last few days but this one got me hooked.

I will say, this was not my favorite Hepworth book. Yes, it absolutely sucked me in and I’m a sucker for multiple POVs within stories, but there was something kind of icky about this book that I’m not sure I can explain too well.

Content warnings: domestic abuse, Alzheimer’s, rape, gaslighting, miscarriage, infidelity

This story had a lot of dark storylines. So dark to where I had trouble with a few spots. Now don’t get me wrong, I’ve read very dark books no issues, but there was something so realistic for me I had trouble. I think depending on what mood readers are in will determine if they can or can’t handle the content.

Do I think this is a quick read thriller? Absolutely. But I do want readers to research the content warnings before diving in.

Big thank you to St. Martin’s Press for the ARC and Macmillan audio for the ALC!

I really like that this story was told from three womens point of views. ⁣
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Heather is marrying Rachel and Tullys father Steven, she’s younger than the girls, and their mother is in a nursing home with early onset dementia and still technically married to their dad. He files for divorce without their mum really knowing to marry Heather.⁣
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There are a lot of things going on; kleptomania, emotional abuse, physical abuse, a history of rape, anxiety in a child, eating disorders and delusions. ⁣
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Most of the characters are unreliable due to past triggers. They lead you to believe one thing but then sometimes say things that make you second guess the character.⁣
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This is a family drama, that consists of quite a bit of lying and gaslighting and you’re left as a reader feeling like you were gaslit and unsure of the wedding. ⁣

I received an e-copy and audiobook and really enjoyed the narration. It truly brought out the different personalities of the sisters and Heather.
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Thank you @stmartinspress for an ARC for my honest review. ⁣
3.5/4⭐️

**Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillian Audio for sending me this ARC in exchange for an honest review**

I don't really know what to say about this book, or honestly how to review it. The novel deals with some very serious topics including rape, eating disorders, domestic violence, gaslighting, and anxiety just to name a few, so please be aware of those trigger warnings. The story is told from 3 characters' POV- Heather, Rachel, and Tully. None of which I particularly liked or connected with. I was expecting a thriller but this is more of a domestic drama. Overall, it's a meh book that I didn't love or even really like and wouldn't recommend.