Sally Hepworth does it again! This book was one I had been saving to enjoy closer to the US pub date, knowing I'd be interviewing Sally.
After LOVING both THE GOOD SISTER and THE MOTHER-IN-LAW, I am happy to say THE YOUNGER WIFE did not disappoint! I have an ARC copy of this book as well, so once immersed I incorporated the audiobook so that I could continue to follow this story as I drove to work, did my laundry, etc. I abandoned an audiobook I was already in the middle of temporarily- because as usual Hepworth's writing had me absolutely hooked.
I found myself equally interested in Tully, Rachel, and Heather (the younger wife.) It was twisty, humorous, and laid out in the way a thriller should be-- lots of little crumbs from the jump that make a reader's desire to know what happens an undeniable drive.
If I had any criticism of this totally enjoyable book, it would be that I could have used even a little more at the end-- maybe a prologue chapter in the voice of each character? I'd have loved to hear Tully and Rachel really dig through the newly unearthed childhood memories they share, in light of the revelations surrounding their father.
I truly enjoy reading her book, the brief chapters, the alternating narrators, so I didn't feel I "needed" the audio of this one as I often do. However I generally love having a voice in my mind and love the indulgence of being able to bounce back and forth (thanks NetGalley!)
But, on this one I really really disliked the voice of Rachel She sounded sedated or drunk.- and that didn't feel right to me at all, and brought the pacing of the book to a screeching halt when compared to the rest.

A slow burn book centered around three characters and a wedding . I really loved this narrator. This sounds silly but the way she said “Rachel” nearly every single time made me smile- her voice acting was incredible.

I thought the ending was well-done but didn’t love the “is he or isn’t he a bad man” for the majority of the text.

A can of worms bursts open when Tully & Rachel's father brings home a new fiancée their own age in this family mystery. Very concerning things come to light as each of the girls tries to make peace with the younger wife while navigating their own struggles. Told in alternating perspectives from Tully, Rachel, The Younger Wife, and an observer, this one will keep you guessing!

I absolutely loved everything about this book. Every single one of the characters seemed so real and so relatable. The story was well woven and expertly told, the narration was awesome. I will absolutely, highly recommend this!

“𝘗𝘦𝘳𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘴𝘵 𝘱𝘦𝘰𝘱𝘭𝘦 𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘨𝘰𝘰𝘥 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺 𝘣𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘣𝘢𝘥.”

𝐎𝐕𝐄𝐑𝐕𝐈𝐄𝐖: tully and rachel find out their father is divorcing their mother who suffers from dimentia so that he can marry a woman half his age.

𝐓𝐇𝐎𝐔𝐆𝐇𝐓𝐒: sally hepworth is great at writing a family drama. the book had my attention right at the prologue and the secrets that unfold are great. i also loved hearing from multiple perspectives (the two daughters and the new wife). i like how we got to really learn the women’s internal struggles. however, i think that for the level/severity of struggles they had going on there wasn’t enough time dedicated to each. i needed to know more. i also wasn’t a huge fan of the open ended ending. however, the one thing that really knocked my rating down on this book was the way the author tackled the issues of rape, domestic violence, eating disorders, and kleptomania. i just felt like there was a very “these women are too dramatic” type vibe that i wasn’t there for at all.

𝐑𝐀𝐓𝐈𝐍𝐆: it was just okay!

thank you so much to sally hepworth, macmillan audio, and netgalley for an alc of this book in exchange for an honest review!

Thank you Netgalley and Macmillan Audio for this advance listener copy in exchange for my honest review.

Wow! This book was fantastic. I breezed through it in one sitting. I've never read anything by Sally Hepworth, but I most certainly will now.

This is the story of two sisters, Rachel and Tully, their parents and their dad's new wife. I won't divulge any other details because it's best to go into this one not knowing much. After reading the synopsis, this book ended up being so different than I expected. I loved the characters. They all felt real. The struggles with anxiety the sisters felt and the gaslighting that was done to them was authentic. This book left some unanswered questions, but it was still a fulfilling ending.

I'm giving this a very enthusiastic 4.5 stars. The narrator for Tully and the narrator for Heather were great, but I did not like the narrator for Rachel or the wedding narrator. The voices were awful. But, I would still recommend the audiobook.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I do love some family drama, and this is packed with that. Then you have a little sprinkle of a murder to balance it all out. What fun!

The narrator was great, she made it easy to distinguish between each character. She also told the story in such a way that you could paint the picture in your mind.

I love Sally's writing style and am always looking forward to her next book.

"Putting on a good show was all dad cared about"

Stephen Aston, a successful surgeon, is getting married to a woman, Heather, who is younger than his daughters. Rachel and Tully, his daughters, are not very impressed with this. Plus, there is the fact that their father is still married to their mother, Pam, who is diagnosed with Alzheimer's Disease. Stephen did not win any brownie points with me.

When Rachel goes through her mother's belongings, she finds a hot water bottle. It brings back fond memories. She decides to use it as her mother did, but she can't, because it is filled with money. Why was their mother hiding money in a hot water bottle? Why has she been saying how horrible and sadistic their father is?

All have their own issues. All have their secrets.

The day of the wedding, many are shocked to see Pam there. The woman Stephen divorced to marry his much younger fiancée. What a wonderful man (insert gagging noises here). When there is a thud and the request for a doctor, guests know something has horribly wrong.

The book is told through Heather, Tully and Rachel's POV. The book goes back and forth between the wedding and days leading up to and before the wedding.

Another solid read by Hepworth. I thoroughly this family drama. I was lucky enough to have the book and the audiobook. I enjoyed the narrator and being able to have both to enjoy this work.

Thank you to St. Martin's Press, Macmillan Audio, and NetGalley who provided me with a copy of this book and audiobook in exchange for an honest review. All the thoughts and opinions are my own.

I've never read any Sally Hepworth books before but I always see them recommended. I really liked this and her writing style, it reminded me a lot of Liane Moriarity. This was a fun and easy read. I loved that the chapters were told from different characters perspectives and each character had their own storyline and good character development. It was definitely a page turner, I wanted to know what would happen but also loved the journey to get there.

There was one small throw away line towards the beginning of the book that mentioned something about every since Covid-19. So many newer books have made mention of Covid or quarantine. I personally am not ready for books to mention it yet, it feels too soon considering we aren't on the other side yet. It was so small but felt unnecessary, but that's my own personal pet peeve at the moment!

I'm looking forward to reading more of her books, don't know what took me so long!

And Sally Hepworth does it again! This is my third book by this author, and I have to tell you I love her character development and twisty, family drama that is always included in her plots. I loved this book, and I especially enjoyed the sisters, Tully and Rachel. I would highly recommend this book along with others such as The Mother-In-Law and The Good Sister. I specifically enjoyed the audiobook because the narration was well done and easy to follow,

This is a tough book to review. I did end up enjoying listening to it, but was not fond of one of the narrators and am still distressed about how it finally ended, leaving open questions about one of the main aspects of the plot and making the female characters appear weak in their certainty of abuse when domestic violence is a serious problem and topic to get right.

I put everything on pause to listen to this. I love Sally Hepworth’s stories and this one is just as great. She makes fantastic twisty thrillers that keep me guessing till the end. The narrators are perfect for this reading and brought it together perfectly. I highly recommend for any thriller fan.

I have loved Sally Hepworths previous books so was thrilled to dive into this one. Her writing is the perfect level of suspense for me- an entertaining combo of family drama, mystery and intrigue. She keeps you turning the pages while also giving you the details I often long for in the "thriller" genre.

I especially enjoyed how she incorporated so much into this one- romance, addiction, parenting struggles, aging parents, and more. While I did see the ending of this one coming, that didn't stop me from fully enjoying my reading experience.

I listened to this book via audio and I throughly enjoyed the cast of narrators that helped bring this story to life.

Sally Hepworth's books never disappoint and are quickly becoming my go-to "get back into reading" recommendation, and I highly suggest adding this one to your 2022 TBR list!

Thank you to St. Martin's Press and Macmillan Audio for my gifted copies. .

Another addictive psychological thriller from Sally Hepworth, who is fast becoming one of my favorite writers in this domestic suspense/psychological thriller genre. You may think you know who your parents really are, but the truth is that no one really knows what goes on behind closed doors. Every single person in this family is hiding something - but for different reasons. Highly recommend reading/listening to it. I listened to the audiobook and feel that all the narrators did a great job!

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the arc.

The plot was interesting and kept me wanting to know more. However, I wish the ending of the book was less ambiguous and gave the women a bigger "win" rather than leaving the reader still wondering what really happened.

Sisters Tully and Rachel are shocked when their dad announces he’s getting remarried to a woman half his age when he’s still married to their mother. Sally Hepworth is great at family drama and immediately hooks you in with this one. Told in alternating perspectives, we learn of secrets each character is hiding and troubling pasts they are still navigating.

I didn’t love the characters and wish we got more development from them since they each experienced their own traumas. I also was disappointed by the ending. Overall it’s a quick read and I especially appreciated the audiobook narrated by a full cast, but didn’t love how it felt like it perpetuates unreliable/ delusional women stereotypes. Thanks St. Martin’s Press for my copy in exchange for an honest review.

Sally really knows how to write family dynamics/domestic disputes. However, this was probably my least favorite of her books. It started strong and slowly went down to the point that the ending kind of ruined it for me.
Tully and Rachel are shocked when their father decides to divorce their dementia riddled mother and marry a woman that is younger than they are. Yes, he’s a wealthy, fit doctor, but they can’t figure out why this young woman would want to marry their much older father.
The story is told from the various women's POV, and some chapters are quite a challenge to read. And that’s what Sally does best. Digging into the different backstory of the characters and what brought them to the point they are at in their lives now. Like Tully, who is a kleptomaniac who is married to a barrister, but nothing calms her anxiety like stealing silly stuff she doesn’t need and has the money to pay for.
Rachel, on the other hand, eats her feelings. Relatable much?! Rachel has some trauma from her teen years that no one knows about until she lets her new employee into her world and he helps to heal and deal with it.
Heather has a drinking problem that stems from her abusive father and rough childhood. She’s risen from poverty and made something of herself somewhat man’s yet she can’t put the past behind her.
Together these women all love the same man, and all their struggles come to light as the wedding draws closer, because they come to realize that the man they all love isn’t as perfect as they once thought.
I did enjoy the audiobook for this story as it did add to my enjoyment. The characters were well played and differentiated.

Thanks to St. Martins Press and NetGalley for this audiobook arc in exchange for my review.

Despite an ending that is sure to be controversial, The Younger Wife is destined to be another popular family drama/domestic school suspense from Aussie author Sally Hepworth.
Thirty-something sisters Rachel and Tully are dismayed when they meet Heather, the much younger girlfriend of their cardiologist father, Steven. The relationship is even more appalling as their father is still married to their beloved mother Pam, in a nursing home with advanced dementia. But despite their misgivings, Steven quickly arranges to divorce Pam, and wed Heather.
The sisters are struggling with their own issues. Despite being a knockout, baker Rachel has not dated since she was a teenager. High-strung Tully has it all from the outside...a kind lawyer husband, two adorable boys, and a dream house. But like her sister, she is dealing with deep seated issues.
The younger wife herself, Heather, of course has her own secrets. I give the author credit for not making Heather the stereotype gold-digging younger woman.
No spoilers here, but The Second Wive deals with some pretty heavy issues: domestic abuse, rape, addiction.
The audiobook was well narrated by a several actresses, and I found myself looking for reasons to extend my listening time.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the advanced copy of The Younger Wive in exchange for my review.

At the end of this book, there is an author’s note, and Sally Hepworth thanks her publishing partners for sticking with her even through her bad books…well I sure haven’t found one of those yet! This book was fantastic! Full of twists and turns, but also building some beautiful characters with backstories and growth journeys, this is an amazing book!

This story is told from the perspective of three women: Tully, Rachel, and Heather. Rachel and Tully are sisters. Their mom has dementia, and their dad has just announced that he’s divorcing their mom to marry Heather, a woman who could be Rachel and Tully’s sister.

Rachel and Tully obviously have some concerns and are quite upset by the news. On top of this new revelation, Rachel and Tully each have their own secrets that they are struggling with. I really enjoyed their storylines. It was wonderful to see their personal journeys, and it made this story fascinating.

Overall, I thought this book was fantastic! The stories of the three main women were amazing, and the overarching plot drove this to be a page-turning story!

There are some trigger warnings that I feel are important to share for this one. They could be spoilers, so skip if you don’t want to know…
Spousal abuse, forced miscarriage, rape, eating disorder, kleptomania, dementia

Thank you for this book in exchange for my honest review.

I quit this book early on because of the author’s reference to people who aren’t skinny about three percent in — “fat, slothful, lazy and ugly.”

I’m glad I did my research because after skimming several other reviews on Good Reads, I discovered that apparently, Sally Hepworth goes on to demean bigger AND progressive AND abused women throughout this book. Ugh.

Any book and any author who refers to people who aren’t a size 8 and below as the things I mentioned above or who belittles plus sized women or who condones domestic violence and patriarchal abuse is not worth my time or a good review. Please consider changing the language mentioned in this mini book response and skillful readers, bloggers and reviewers like myself may consider reading this book again.

I listened to this book in one day. It was very easy to get wrapped up in the characters and their stories. I loved the feminism vibes with the women joining together to stand up for one another. Also great spotlight on the ease of someone to gaslight an individual. Would recommend!