When their Dad announces his marriage to Heather, Tully and Rachel are shocked. Not only is Heather younger than them, but their parents are still married.

I thought this book was extremely engaging and the characters were interesting. I liked some parts of the plot, but just didn’t like the main twist. At all.

I’m still giving the book 4 stars (rounding up from 3.5). The narrators were fantastic and it was an enjoyable listen even if the plot let me down.

Thank you to #NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC audiobook!

I received a complimentary audiobook ALC for THE YOUNGER WIFE by Sally Hepworth – thank you to Macmillan Audio and Netgalley!

Rating: 3.5 / 5
Publication Date: 4/5/2022
THE YOUNGER WIFE follows a family in a difficult situation. Tully and Rachel’s father announces that he’s getting married. Problem is, he’s still currently married to their mother who is in a care facility for dementia. While they understand that their mother isn’t really present in the marriage anymore, the idea of their father divorcing her in order to marry Heather, someone close to their age, is a big shock. When one of them finds a hot water bottle filled with cash and an obscure name they don’t recognize, it raises a lot of questions. With their mother unable to provide answers, they must try to seek out the truth about the skeletons in the family closet themselves.

Sally Hepworth does a great job of writing really complicated family relationships and this book is no different. There are a lot of serious issues in this book including domestic violence, fertility issues, mental health issues, and more. We hear from both daughters and the younger wife in alternating chapters and each is full of secrets and complications in their life. At times it feels almost like there is a bit too much going on.

I enjoyed this book overall, though the ending I think is going to be very polarizing. I honestly am not sure if I liked it even after taking some time to think about it before writing a review. When the subject matter is as serious as it is here, I am not sure that the final twist at the end sat well with me. This isn’t a book I’d recommend to someone who really wants a neat ending.

Overall this was an entertaining read which kept me questioning what was happening. I would classify this mostly as a family drama over a thriller in my mind.

THE YOUNGER WIFE is out on 4/5/2022!

The Younger Wife is Sally Hepworth's latest slow burn domestic family drama. It's not a thriller so don't go in thinking that it is or you might be disappointed. Its told from the point of view of sisters Tulley and Rachel and their dad's new younger wife to be Heather. as well as an unknown person in attendance at the wedding in the beginning of the book. I liked getting to know the characters - even with their flaws and secrets. The narrators did an amazing job bringing them to life. I especially love Caroline Lee's portrayal of Tully -(she's the only one whose voice I was familiar with) she is a favorite narrator.- so I don't know for sure who exactly voiced the other characters. I'm not exactly sure how I feel about the ending but I' am glad that the water bottle mystery is explained. Thank you to Macmillan audio and Netgalley for an advanced copy of the audiobook in exchange for my honest review.

The Younger Wife is second novel I’ve read by Sally Hepworth and I hate to say that I’m in the minority on my opinion for this one. I was expecting a thriller but I’d classify this as a domestic drama: An older, wealthy man is engaged to a woman young enough to be his daughter (she’s actually younger than one of his daughters) but here’s the catch: his current wife is in a nursing home for dementia.

The plot of this novel didn’t feel original to me which is why I didn’t quite connect with it. It seems that so many thrillers these days have unreliable female characters but the men are perfect, successful, and handsome…The Younger Wife unfortunately fell into that category. While this novel didn’t check the boxes for me, I’ll still pick up Hepworth’s future novels.

I did enjoy the narrator for the audiobook, they did an excellent job differentiating between the characters’ voices.

Thank you to Macmillan Audio for the advanced copy of this audiobook in exchange for an honest review.

Sally Hepworth is now an auto-buy author for me! I have enjoyed her other books and this will make my list of favorites. The Younger Wife drew me in and before I knew it, I couldn't put it down. This domestic thriller features the women in Stephen's life... his new wife, his daughters, his ex-wife, and another good surprise. The audiobook for The Younger Wife has a great narrator with great delivery. Whether you read the physical book, e-book, or audiobook, read it now!

The Younger Wife
Sally Hepworth
@sallyhepworth
𝑷𝒖𝒃 𝑫𝒂𝒕𝒆: 4/5/22

Stephen Ashton is trying to get married again but there’s one issue, he’s still married. His current wife is unable to speak and Stephen has to figure out a way for her to allow him to divorce her. Except their daughters Tully and Rachel are weary of their fathers new fiancé Heather. With their mother in her current state, the daughters believe that Heather is just out for Stephen’s money. They are determined to find out the secrets of their new soon to be stepmother but that’s not without finding their family’s secrets first.

This was an ARC audio and although the POV was in 4 different peoples perspective, it was hard to keep track with what was going on. The book digs into some big family issues, and without giving it away, turns from a thriller to a character based mystery. I wasn’t crazy about the ending. I felt like it happened way too fast with a slower burn from the first third of the book. I didn’t love it, but I also didn’t hate it either. It was “meh” for me.

I loved this book. This is the best narrator EVER in an audiobook. With each character, it didn't even sound like the same person. She had a way of helping me connect with the characters on a deeper level.

I am obsessed with this story. There is so much drama. Throughout the entire story, I fell for every red herring. But even after the ending, I am not even sure what to believe! I loved how unsure I felt the whole way. I listened to this entire book in not even two days, I could not put it down. There was so much intrigue. The pacing was quick, short chapters that each ended with a plot twist of sort keeping me turning pages.

Each character brought a different feeling. Tully was annoying. Rachel felt comforting. Heather felt unreliable. This is my first Hepworth but she writes the kinda thrillers for me and I can't wait to read her entire backlist. I loved the addition of an epilogue because it made you think and wonder "did they get it right?"

About the Book
Stephen is a beloved heart surgeon with an ailing wife, 2 grown daughters, and a new fiancée. He plans to divorce his ailing wife, Pam, and marry Heather, who is younger than his daughters. The two daughters, Rachel and Tully, are unsure what to make of Heather and are wary of her true intentions. With an ailing mother who can’t remember anything, and a new young fiancée, Rachel and Tully start to unravel secrets about their mother’s past. But everyone is hiding a secret, secrets that cover up the perfection of their family and what others believe. Secrets that now threaten to come out and ruin all their relationships.
My Thoughts:
4 Hearts
I enjoyed this audiobook. I felt engaged with the story each time I listened. Watching the characters deal with their own personal strife while also trying to have a relationship with each other painted a picture of how our own inner demons and trauma affect our relationships with others. Overall, this was a good story.
Thanks to Macmillan Audio from St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for an advanced copy of this book in return for an honest review.
Favorite Quotes:
“Being Tully’s sister required a very specific skill set. You had to be an animated conversationalist (Tully was easily bored) but also a calming influence. You had to be fully invested in whatever she was talking about but be prepared for the fact that Tully would lose interest five minutes later. You had to love her with your whole heart but do so from arm’s length. Getting close to her was like trying to get close to a helicopter—you always ended up windswept and breathless…and occasionally you lost your head.”

This is the first Sally Hepworth novel I have read, and I was not disappointed. I do not typically read “thrillers, but this was more of a mystery, so I was incredibly happy I decided to read this book!
Written in “backwards style” meaning the start of the book is the ending and we go back in time to see how the events unfold. Many times, this style of writing makes me confused, but it was quite easy to follow the story. I read the book and listened to the audio, and I enjoyed the narration.
The story begins with a wedding and unfolds from multiple POV. Not everything is at seems in the perfect lives of Rachel, Tulley, Pam and Heather. Each and everyone of them has been carrying around a secret their entire lives. All signs point to one person as the cause of these secrets, but are we sure? The sign of a good mystery/thriller has you guessing until the end. You need to read this one and draw your own conclusions about the ending.
Thank you to Net Galley and St. Martin’s Press for my eArc and audio copy of The Younger Wife. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

This is classified as a thriller, but I would consider it more of a character-driven domestic drama. It starts off at a wedding in the present when something happens. You don't really know what it is yet. Most of the book details everything leading up to the wedding with little flashes to the present to give you little bits of information at a time.

This is told from 4 POVs, with a different narrator for each one. The audio format for this was great and I enjoyed that aspect of it. The main characters are all well-developed and I was invested in each of their lives. There was a small timeline issue with Darcy that bothered me though. If you've read it I'd love to know if anyone else felt the same. The author delves into issues of rape, domestic abuse and gaslighting in a sensitive and, I feel, realistic way. That is, until the end.

The ending ruined this book for me. I can't say why exactly without spoilers. I will say that it felt rushed and out of character for most of the people in this book.

I've bounced my star rating all over for this one. The first 90% was 4 stars for me. The last 10% I hated. The audio was great though and saved this from a lower rating than what I would have settled on if I had just read it.

Thank you to @netgalley @stmartinspress and @macmillan.audio for this gifted copy in exchange for an honest review!

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the chance to review this book early! 3.5 stars.
I really enjoy these books of domestic drama where you're trying to figure out who you can trust and what exactly is going on. This book is about a man named Stephen and his new girlfriend Heather. Stephen's wife is in a care facility for dementia and he's ready to date again. Heather is younger than both of his daughters which creates some tension, but Heather works hard to befriend the girls. One of the girls is a mom who suffers from kleptomania. The other is a baker who has some unresolved trauma. Everyone in this story, including the mom who suffers from dementia, has secrets and you're not exactly sure who you can trust, if anyone. I liked this book and was entertained by it. I didn't love the way the baker's story was handled. She uses food as her only coping strategy to overcome trauma from the past and her curvaceous body is almost fetishized at points. I loved watching her open up and start to work on herself. I really liked all of the character growth in here and watching it all unravel. The end was a little ambiguous and definitely not the best I've ever read, but if you like domestic dramas, I'd say give this one a shot!

SPOILERS AHEAD: The whole book there is suspicion that the dad is abusive. In the end, at the wedding, he grabs the ex wife and the daughter with kleptomania kills him, but its reported as an accident in which he fell and hit his head. We never know for sure if he was abusive or if it was all imagination, but I think we can assume he was.

4 stars

Fun, quick, and with a few good twists at the end. I did enjoy this one; I’m generally a fan of well-written domestic suspense novels, and this fits into that genre well. In some ways, it reminded me of a few Liane Moriarty (and similar) books, and only a small part of that was because of the Australian setting. It had a good mix of interesting characters, and the alternating perspectives worked well for the story. The ending ultimately wasn’t a huge shock, and although there were some sad moments, I was satisfied with the conclusion. It was another one I’d been hanging onto for quite a while and am glad I was able to read now.

When heart surgeon, Stephen Aston meets interior designer, Heather, he decides to divorce Pam, his older wife suffering from Alzheimer’s. Daughters Tully and Rachel wonder if Heather is after their father for his money, but as they dig deeper darker secrets are revealed and everything comes to a head at the wedding. Once again Hepworth takes us on a ride worth taking. Narrated by four distinct voices (Caroline Lee being my all time favorite narrator) this book was one that was very difficult to stop listening to!

I don't read all that many mysteries, but I liked this book. We had lots of character development with the women in the book. The book starts with an event and a "uh-oh" moment and then takes us back in time and what leads to that moment. It's full of complications and twisted moments in the lives of the two sisters, their mother (who has dementia) and the young woman who is soon to be married to the girls' father, Stephen. Questions arise constantly about the relationships of the individual women with Stephen. What is really happening?

Apparently lots of people had issues with the ending. I thought it was pretty clear cut what happened. I'm not sure where the confusion and dislike comes from. I was surprised by the ending, but it did work for me.

I listened to the audio version of this book. The four narrators were great for this story. The voices were very distinct.

Thanks to Macmillan Audio and NetGalley for the gifted copy. All thoughts are my own.

Solid 4 star mystery/thriller. Each main character was interesting and complex. I loved how the story unfolded little by little. The narrators were amazing and each one has a very distinct voice so you always knew who was talking.

Huge thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this advanced audio copy. #netgalley

I listened to this audiobook and thought the narrator did a great job. This is my second or third book by this author and as with the others I thought it was just ok. There were a lot of triggers with domestic violence and various kinds of addiction food, shopping, alcohol and what the heck was that ending?!

Sisters Rachel and Tully are dumbfounded and appalled to learn that their sixty something year old father Stephen is going to marry a woman their age. That’s throws them for a loop on it’s own, however there just one problem; Stephen is still married to their mother who is suffering from dementia!

Each character suffers from their own inner demons and we see how it all plays out on the pages of this book.

Thank you to Netgalley and Macmillan Audio for this arc in exchange for my honest review.

Interesting, face paced story with well thought out, interesting characters. Lots of secrets and lies are revealed from start to finish.

I was given an eARC of this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

The audio narration wasn’t my very fav. Wasn’t bad either, it was just ok. Just not my fav narrators I’ve listened to but on a personal preference level, there wasn’t anything wrong with the narrator.

Let me also say, I loved Sally Hepworth’s book The Good Sister. I rated that one 5/5. I hate writing not so flattering reviews. Unfortunately this one fell flat for me, rounding up my 2.5 to a 3/5 because I do feel like Sally Hepworth is a good writer…I just feel there were so many missed opportunities or greatness in this book. This one just didn’t do it for me.

There was a lot of potential and all sorts of things that just weren’t capitalized upon.

For instance, Rachel’s dark secret. She held it close to her without telling a soul for YEARS. However she eventually tells those who become closest to her and that’s it. Nothing really happens with this big secret. For this particular secret…it’s a big deal and prob could’ve been either more focused on in the story or just cut entirely because it literally has no importance when it comes to the plot.

Was Stephen a bad husband/parented? Was there abuse!l? Were the characters delusional? Who knows!?

Fiona Arthur…her character really didn’t end up being that important for the trajectory of the story. Another missed opportunity.

Does Heather (the younger wife) have a dark secret for why she is with an older man? Is she a gold digger!? Nope, nothing much there either. She has a secret but again, it’s not anything major.

Tully has some serious issues with kleptomania that sorta starts developing into something good for the story…when Tully and Heather bond a bit during a therapeutic scene returning items that were stolen. This helped with forging a bond between the daughter and soon to be step mother.

I did think it was cool that in her acknowledgments she talks about her inspiration for the book…the premise was good nu just needed more and had expectations that were super high after reading The Good Sister.

I didn’t hate the book but was unsatisfied. I’d absolutely read another book by Sally Hepworth again…but this one was a “miss” for me.

Sally Hepworth never disappoints! I listened to this every possible free minute I had. The narrators were fantastic and really brought out the best in the story.
Great plot with vibrant characters, and the plot was something that truly made me think. I haven't encountered this kind of (spoiler alert) abuse before and I found it fascinating that the victims actually doubted whether or not they were even being abused.
Sally always weaves a delicious tale that's equally fun and heart wrenching. She can do no wrong. I look forward to reading every book she writes.

After Tully and Rachel's mom is diagnosed with dementia and ultimately institutionalized, they find themselves rather shocked when their dad introduces them to his new fiancé', Heather. But wait, their father is still married and Heather is younger than they are.

The story is told primarily from the perspective of each (Tully Rachel and Heather).

Everyone has their own issues and secrets from the past that can unravel the lives they have crafted for themselves.

The girls father, Stephen, is somehow portrayed at the love of his wife, Pamela's life, the perfect father and the consummate professional. Yet, somehow, he seems to have missed a very big red flag during one of his daughter's teen year.

Slowly, the story begins to unfold. There are memories that may not be of events that actually happened, or happened the way they were remembered, there is a fair share of gaslighting – or is there?

Following the narrative, I at several points that I had it figured out, only to question myself a chapter later.

I listened to this on audio. Here is what I loved.

Caroline Lee as she portrays Tully. I know anytime I hear her voice, we are going to have a quirky character. She brings Tully's imperfections out in a perfect, guileless, charming way.

Darcy – I could have used some more of him. I liked the way he interacted with Rachel. I liked the peek into his backstory.

The fact that as the story went on, the characters became both more and less reliable in the telling, just like real people.


What I didn't like:

The end.... or lack of a real end.
Some of the extra characters – I didn't see the point in some of them.
Pamela – she just confused me over all, which may have been the intent.
The whole Sonny and loss event – not sure why that was necessary
and HOW did the parents miss what was going on with their daughter?

3.5 stars rounded to 4 because I liked the narration and the way the story flowed around a very flawed family.