The Younger Wife starts out with an incredible prologue: it’s Heather and Stephen’s wedding day, and on what should be a happy occasion, a young woman lets out a scream and her white pantsuit is covered in blood.

This book is a domestic suspense novel filled with family drama. Heather, our book’s younger wife, is younger than Stephen’s daughters, but she’s in love. Stephen’s daughters, Tully and Rachel, definitely aren’t sure about welcoming Heather into the family. Probably because Stephen is still married to Pam, although she has advanced dementia and is in a care facility. The daughters have their own coping mechanisms to deal with the news of the upcoming nuptials (as well as the other hard parts of life): Tully is a kleptomaniac and Rachel bakes and eats. But something happens at the wedding, and we get to start a year earlier and work our way up to the wedding to see what’s really going on.

Discovering what happened past and present in this quirky family was fun. There really is so much drama and the family members have a whole slew of issues. I loved the storyline with the hot water bottle and thought it was fun that it was connected back to the dedication at the beginning. The full-cast narration was great, and I switched back and forth between audio and the physical book. Barrie Kreinik, Caroline Lee, Jessica Douglas-Henry, and Zoe Carides did a wonderful job voicing this story.

There are lots of trigger warnings in this book, so be sure to look them up before starting. Thanks to St. Martin's Press for the advance copy of this book and to Macmillan Audio for the ALC!

The Younger Wife is the third book I’ve read from Sally Hepworth. Sally’s books seem to be a mixed bag for me. The Younger Wife explores strained familial relationships, social class, gaslighting, and finding the truth. Overall, this was an entertaining read. I liked the various POVs and the writing style. The middle dragged a bit, but it was interesting to see how the ending came together. Also the author connected a scene in the book to something that happened to her in real life which was pretty cool. I’d recommend reading this if you loved her other books. This was 3.5 stars for me.

Thank you St. Martin’s Press for the advanced copy

I’ve read a few books by Sally Hepworth and this is by far my favorite. I went in blind and based off the title, I expected a domestic/psychological thriller with an overused trope because let’s be honest- domestic thrillers are such a specific category of book that there are only so many plots that you can explore to fit this mold. My preconceived notions were wrong though because refreshingly, this was a book unlike any other I have read. I thought very early on that I knew what direction things were going to take- again based off the title-but was pleasantly surprised midway through to learn that may not be the case. Midway through it became clear what direction things were going to take so it got dinged a star because even though it wasn’t initially what I thought. It was still predictable. I still rate it 4 stars though because overall the predictability didn’t diminish my desire to keep reading the book or listening in this case.

Hepworth did a masterful job of developing the characters for this book. I was deeply fond of each character and felt like they were relatable and likable in spite of their flaws. I wanted to know what happened for them and wanted everything to work out for them. Tally and Rachel and Heather are characters I want more of. I didn’t gravitate to one’s POV more than another’s and found I enjoyed them equally. I loved the POV shift between the many different characters and it flowed together seamlessly and relevantly which kept the pace at a perfect tempo for this book. Thank you NetGalley and MacMillan Audio for allowing me to rate and review this title. I thoroughly enjoyed it.

This was my second Sally Hepworth book, and I am definitely a fan!
Her ability to develop characters that draw an emotional response from me is pure bliss.
I highly enjoyed the tidbits of reveals from each character; giving up just enough that I know they are damaged, but still want the whole story.
I wasn't a big fan of the ending, but that has more to do with me than the actual writing.
Make sure you read the author's notes at the end, very interesting how this book came about.
Much love to NetGalley & Macmillan Audio for my DRC.

I didn't expect this book to go in the direction it did but I was happy when I realized where it was going. I loved the complex dynamics between the two daughters and the woman coming in to marry their father, it was very nuanced and not over the top. Heather was my favorite because I assumed she would be someone to hate but she was not painted in that particular light. I really liked all 3 women having their own complicated lives and then those being woven together in one complex issue.

This book was quite an interesting ride! I love how well developed the characters are, and the way the author explored emotional intelligence in each of them. The plot features a unique twist on the “younger wife” trope that will keep you intrigued & wondering where it’s going. My ARC was the audiobook version & the narration was incredibly well done. If you’re into suspenseful family dramas, this one doesn’t disappoint!

I seem to have the same issue with this book as a lot of other people….I enjoyed it overall until the end. Sally Hepworth’s books are more like dramas with thriller aspects. In this one we’re following two sisters when their dad gets engaged to a woman their age while he’s still married to his wife with dementia. It switches POVs between these 3 women as we uncover the drama in their lives. I was overall underwhelmed with the ending because it was pretty much what I thought the entire time and it’s been done before. But that wasn’t even my issue with the book my issue was that this book has a heavy subject matter of domestic violence that really did not portray women well and did not sit right with me. Proceed with caution and I sure as hell hope they changed the ending a bit for the final copy.

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for providing me an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I worried that I'd be disappointed at the ending because of a few other reviews I'd read. Thankfully, that didn't happen!
The daughters, Tully and Rachel, and the soon-to-be young bride to their father, Heather, are three women with big issues, but they are also women I'd want as friends. I loved their heart and vulnerability, and how they slowly deal with said "issues."
Even though you pretty much know things aren't going to turn out well at the wedding for someone in the family (it's the opening scene) you aren't sure who it is until near the end.
I liked the ending, it was fulfilling enough that I didn't rip the earbud from my ear (I listened to this on audiobook) and instead breathed a sigh of relief that I enjoyed the ending.
I read The Good Sister by this author and I really enjoyed both books!
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me a copy of this entertaining story.

I wanted to truly love this book... I was over the moon with Ms. Hepworth's The Good Sister and The Mother-In-Law... so when I had the opportunity to read The Younger Wife, I dropped everything.

I give the book 3 stars because it held my interest... The story was told from three points of view, Heather the new wife, and then Rachel and Tully, the two stepdaughters of Heather (all three of whom are from the same generation).

I love family dramas and unlikeable characters... but I feel like these characters were supposed to be likable and I didn't like them. I liked Heather the best... Rachel and Darcy's relationship felt very stiff and fake, which was a shame because I feel like that could have been a high point of the book.

I am still looking forward to Sally Hepworth's future family dramas. I feel like based on how much I enjoyed her prior books, this is a one-off for me. Here's to Ms. Hepworth's next book...!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this audio book.
This book was full of twists and turns. The multiple points of view was a great way to frame the story and it was great to see bits of the story through different perspectives. All of the women were suspects from the onset and their development was very well done.
The narrators for this book were great and it was nice that there was one for each woman’s perspective.

The heart wants what it wants, and Heather's heart wants Stephen. Heather and Stephen had an unusual courtship. But after they confessed to mutual feelings, their relationship quickly led to the walk down an aisle. As Heather's life began to change, together with a "happy ending" she began to experience a very strange change in herself.

The story is told by three characters, Heather, the younger fiance, and two sisters Tully and Rachel. All three are suffering from childhood traumas, and all three are dealing with their struggles on their own. I liked the fact that the novel was told from three different points of view, each, focusing on Stephen from a different direction. I give this novel four stars for its great plot, wonderful background on three characters. The twist was not shocking, but I've enjoyed it as the evil personage met the rightful punishment. This book is a fast, enjoyable, and easy read, without major suspense. Thank you, NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for a free and advanced copy of the novel.

Sally Hepworth continues to give great suspenseful thrillers, and linking complicated family characters. This book links generations of women and the past that carries them into their adult lives. What makes them operate the way they do? Their vices come from somewhere- and readers are taken through that journey as two sisters dissect the relationship their father had with their mother and now their dad's new fiancé. The audiobook format is so wonderful. Caroline Lee is an absolute delight to listen to in novels. She's been so integral to many books I've listened to from several Australian authors, and can't wait to hear more from her.

The story had me captivated and I really looked forward to knowing what was going on. But in the end, I felt like I had entered a crazy house of mirrors and I'm supposed to pick out the truth myself? I'm not good at such open, pick your own truth kind of non resolutions and that's where I ended up being disappointed in the story. It's fun to wonder and guess and suspect but I don't consider if fun to never find out if my suspicions are correct. Still the journey to get to the end of the story was very engrossing, I just wish I knew where I was at the end.

For the first half of the story, I took a lot of things at face value, but couldn't help side eyeing how the two sisters could hide their secrets so well. How did their parents not know important matters in their daughters' lives. Each girl has some fuzzy and disturbing memories about both parents and eventually I realized we have a book-ful of unreliable narrators. What is true and what is not true?

AUDIO BOOK REVIEW
The Younger Wife by: Sally Hepworth
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Publication Day: April 5, 2022
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Synopsis: Stephen Aston is getting married again. The only problem is, he's still married to his first wife, even though she is in a care facility for dementia. But he'll take care of that easily, by divorcing her—even if his adult daughters protest.

Tully and Rachel Aston look upon Heather as nothing but an interloper. Heather is the same age as Rachel and even younger than Tully. Clearly she's a golddigger and after their father's money. Heather has secrets that she's keeping close, and reasons of her own for wanting to marry Stephen.

With their mother unable to speak for herself, Tully and Rachel are determined to get to the truth about their family's secrets, the new wife closing in, and who their father really is. But will getting to the truth unleash the most dangerous impulses...in all of them?
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Review: This was my first Sally Hepworth book and I was quite impressed. I really enjoyed this audiobook. I felt engaged with each storyline as it switched from chapter to chapter. It was very easy to follow and definitely a quick listen. Overall, the story line was good. Not super complex, but I was okay with it. Don’t go into thinking that this is a thriller, it is more of a slow burn family drama. Quick, fun, and some good twists. I will for sure be checking out more books by this author. I’ve heard some good things about The Good Sister and The Mother-in-Law.
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Recommend: Wouldn’t classify this as a MUST READ, but if domestic family drama is your thing, then this is the book for you! I really liked the narrator for this audiobook too. Very well narrated.

I really enjoyed the audiobook of The Younger Wife! I really liked all of the narrators and I enjoyed the multiple perspectives of Heather, Rachel, Talie and the unknown woman. There were so many details in Rachel, Heather, and Talie's story lines. I was constantly questioning with Heather if Steven was abusive or if Heather was slowly losing her mind. Talie's story line and her kleptomania and Rachel's eating disorder all made it seem like there was something about their family/personal life they hadn't considered.

I'm not sure this had the same twist as I typically expect from a Sally Hepworth book, but I still enjoyed it. I will always read any new releases from Hepworth.

This is another captivating family drama from Sally Hepworth! Sisters Rachel and Tully are stunned when their father announces his engagement to Heather, a woman younger than they are, especially because their mother is still alive and married to their father. But, it turns out that is the tip of the iceberg of problems for this family. Each sister is affected by different anxieties, and their issues are exasperated by the progressing relationship of their father and his fiancée, and their mother’s dementia, among other family problems. The action moves between their father’s wedding and the events of the year that preceded it. As the three women wrestle with the challenges of their lives, both as individuals and as part of this family, they often wonder if they will ever learn the truth. The audiobook is narrated by three wonderful voices, giving each women her own distinctive character, and the story deftly unfolds, as you also wonder if the truth can ever be known. An engaging and highly recommended book; thanks to NetGalley for the opportunity to review it!

This was just an okay read for me. I really enjoyed the characters, Tully and Rachel were amazing and complex characters. But the storyline kind of fell flat. I didn’t love the did he/didn’t he aspect and found it predictable and ended up getting bored by the end.

I think when you have a book that includes domestic violence, or even the possibility of it, it is a very slippery slope and must be handled with care. And I'm not sure this one took enough care.

We have Stephen and Pamela - a long married, seemingly happy couple with two adult daughters, Rachel and Tully. Pamela has dementia and as it progresses, she needs constant care and is put in a facility where that care can be received.

Enter Rachel, Stephen and Pamela's interior designer who becomes much more to Stephen, much to the dismay of his children.

I did love that it was told from three points of view (Rachel, Tully & Heather) and the way each of them perceived things was different. Each of the women had their own issues they were dealing with, most of them not known by the others. I alternated reaching and listening and felt both versions were well done.

I did enjoy much of the storyline and hearing it from the various perspectives. I love a family with lots of drama, lies, and secrets and this family did not disappoint.

The ending, however, left me wanting ... well wanting it to be a different ending. And that is where this fell short for me.

Many thanks to NetGalley, McMillan Audio and St. Martin's Press for an ARC in exchange for an honest review!

This was my first Sally Hepworth book and I was very pleased. I listened to this via audiobook on NetGalley. Audiobooks are really hit or miss for me as I struggle with focusing and if the voice and story aren’t intriguing, I lose interest. Neither of those were an issue here! The story is narrated by Barrie Kreinik, Caroline Lee, Jessica Douglas-Henry and Zoe Carides. The back and forth between the voices really kept me focused and really made it easy to listen to. The voice suited the characters and really took on each role. I will say, I didn’t expect the story to go as it did. I pride myself of trying to figure it out and being correct most of the time but this ending truly shocked me! Which made me like it that much more! Each character has such great, in depth stories of their own that played into the plot so well. I was invested from the beginning. Highly recommend for a good, twisty, shocking read/listen

This is the second book by Sally Hepworth that I’ve read, and I of course thought this one was very good as well! This book was a very suspenseful family drama with so many components from each character. Told in the POV of three women, the future stepmother Heather, and the two daughters, Tully and Rachel, it was great to be able to see what was happening behind the scenes for each character. I’m a sucker for a story with multiple viewpoints! Each character has secrets to hide, and, in the end, all the secrets come out in the very explosive ending! I knew the plot was building up to something good, but the ending shocked me.

I listened to this as an audio book and loved that each POV was told by a different narrator. An excellent performance from Barrie Kreinik, Caroline Lee, Jessica Douglas-Henry, and Zoe Carides.

A big thank you to NetGalley, Macmillon Audio, and Sally Hepworth for allowing me to listen to this ARC in exchange for my honest review.