Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC of <i>A Small Affair</i> in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

<h4 style="margin-top: 84px;">The Gist</h4>

Flora Collins' novel <i>A Small Affair"</i> aims to be a psychological thriller, but ultimately falls short of delivering a compelling and engaging narrative. Despite its promising premise, the book is plagued by several issues that detract from its potential impact.

<h4>The Details</h4>

While the premise holds promise, the execution is disappointing. The pacing is uneven. The story drags in many parts, making it difficult to stay engaged. Key revelations and twists feel forced and lack the element of surprise necessary for a successful thriller.

One of the major weaknesses of the novel is the shallow character development. Vera, the protagonist, is difficult to sympathize with due to her inconsistent and often inexplicable behavior. Her motivations are not well-articulated, and her character arc feels unearned and artificial. Instead of coming across as complex and multi-dimensional, she appears as a stereotypical ambitious professional without much depth.

Collins' writing style is another area where the book falters. The prose is often overwrought and filled with clichés, detracting from the suspense and atmosphere the author tries to build. Descriptive passages are overly detailed to the point of tedium, while dialogue feels stilted and unnatural. The lack of a distinct and engaging narrative voice makes it challenging to stay invested in the story.

<h4>The Verdict</h4>

Overall, <i>A Small Affair</i> by Flora Collins is a novel that had the potential to be a gripping psychological thriller but fails to deliver on multiple fronts. With its uneven pacing, shallow character development, and clichéd themes, the book struggles to maintain the reader's interest.

A great work of suspense, attention-grabbing and thoroughly engrossing. I look forward to more from this author.

Lies, deception, sex, and scandal. I binged the audio and it kept me interested to the end. Had I paid closer attention I probably would've figured things out a little quicker, but it read like a juicy tv show and I love mindlessly letting it unravel.

A slow burn but truly unputdownable. I loved this book and couldn't read their stories fast enough. 5 stars!

I forced myself to read this one. I would have enjoyed it more if it weren't for the fact that I hated every character in the book. That is why I am giving it 2 stars.

I can't recommend it.

A Small Affair" by Flora Collins is an interesting read but it did not captivate my attention. The continuous flashbacks in the story made the overall narrative feel a bit slow-paced. While the synopsis of the book is intriguing, the story itself was just average for me. However, it's important to note that personal preferences vary, and what may not have held my attention might still appeal to others.

Thank you Netgalley & HTP Books for an eARC of A Small Affair by Flora Collins!

This was a juicy read that I absolutey flew through. Vera's life is going swell - That is, until her wealthy ex-lover is found dead - Along with his wife that she thought he was estranged from. A year later, she's trying to reenter the world but everyone sees scandal when they look at her. She begins learning more about her ex-lover, his life, his wife, and uncovers a lot more than she bargained for.

Based on the synopsis, I didn't think this one was going to get as interesting and juicy as it did! The web that is weaved (and unweaved) is an intricate one with many secrets. I can't wait to see what else Collins comes up with.

Unfortunately, I really did not like the characters and I didn't love the past chapters. I also felt like the ending was just doing a lot and I started skimming. Unfortunately, I don't think that this book was truly for me.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review!

A Small Affair is a phenomenal thriller from start to finish. Filled to the brim with twists and a captivating plot, this one is sure to keep readers hooked. The characters are well-developed. The story is incredibly fast-paced. This is one not to be missed! Highly recommended! Be sure to check out A Small Affair asap.

A dark and twisty thriller , this was a fun take on the drawbacks of dating apps. Slow burning and full of secrets, I enjoyed reading this one and peeling back the layers on a rather complex web of lies.

This novel sounded like something I would enjoy, but I had a hard time resonating with the main character and the writing.

My first read from Flora Collins by definitely not my last! I would describe A Small Affair as deliciously devious - one of my favorite types of thrillers!

Somehow, I totally missed the fact that Flora Collins was the same author who wrote Nanny Dearest (which I loved btw), so now I'm even more excited that I read A Small Affair! This was another solid story for me, and I loved how it ended up shocking me. There are a decent amount of character viewpoints and at times I did get a little confused about who was who, but I was mostly able to keep up and they definitely kept things interesting. None of them were likable for me, but I still enjoyed reading from their perspectives, and I *usually* don’t need to like the characters to still like a book. The story was a slow burn for me and while I wouldn’t say a lot is happening throughout, at the same time it was plenty to keep things going and keep me fully interested. I seem to be in the minority with my thoughts on pacing, but whatever the case just know this is a really quick read!

A Small Affair was really good on audio and fully narrated by the talented Teri Schnaubelt. I thought she did a great job, but since there are as many viewpoints as there are it really would have benefited from a full cast. While I can’t say I DON’T recommend the audiobook, I do think it might be best to read as opposed to listening just to make it easier to keep the characters all straight. That probably would have helped a bit with my confusion, but hey, there’s always note-taking too! There is a ton of drama that happens in this story, and I loved the way the book was broken into parts. This is basically a trainwreck in terms of the depths of deception and rage that occurs, but I just could not look away. I love storylines packed with secrets and lies, and this is definitely one of them. Be prepared to be shook by the twist at the end and make sure you are ok with reading about detestable characters, and you should be just fine.

This one kept me guessing! Multiple story lines are unfolding as you read…There are loads of unlikeable characters…Odilie, Page, Tom and Vera herself are a few. I kept asking myself where is this story going? How is all of this going to tie together?
Vera is beautiful, confident, and nothing stands in her way. When she meets Tom on a dating app, she has no idea that he is married. But then, when Tom and his wife, Odilie, are found dead in their home, Vera is immediately blamed and judged in the public eye for their deaths. Everything she has worked for is gone in an instant. As her wounds heal, she begins to realize there is a lot about Tom that she didn’t know. She takes her journalist friend Quinn on a quest for answers. This is a good one!

This is a cleverly written book. The flashbacks got a bit redundant but the characters are unlikeably likable. A seemingly weak female lead character gets stronger as the book progresses and "Faces the music" so to speak.

This book was full of twists and turns that had me hooked to see what would happen next. I enjoyed this one.

I was so excited to read this new book by Flora Collins. It kept me on the edge of my seat wanting to know what happened and I finished it in a day!

New to me author, Ms. Collin generates many emotions in me for this wicked suspense story. Let me first state that I went into this story cold. I didn't read the blurb. This was sent to me for a review and I for some reason thought it was a romance. This is not a romance, in spite of the title. This is a deranged suspense tale where a woman's name is dragged through the mud.

This story started slow for me. I didn't particularly like Vera. She is definitely not someone I would want as a friend. She is not a woman who wants to help lift other women up. She will be the one to sabotage you to get her way. I've met several of these people - men and women alike. I don't like them and I'd sooner watch them fall off a cliff than offer a helping hand. There is nothing likeable about this character which made the book start at around a 2 star for me. It was painful to slosh through the first few chapters because I couldn't care less how Vera was treated. In some ways, I empathize with the people she's wronged because it definitely feels like Karma hit her hard.

As the story unfolds, we learn exactly what happens to Vera and I am no longer amused. I don't exactly feel sorry for Vera, but how she's vilified is not right at all. This witch hunt that she is experiencing is overboard. Sure, her way of treating people probably didn't help and probably allowed people to pile on her. But at the heart of it, her past actions shouldn't have bearing on her current situation. The other characters in this story are just as deplorable and I can't say there is anyone in here except for Quinn, the token gay best friend, that I liked. This story is a sad and an all too real representation of society today. I think we are doomed.

In addition to the horrible characters, this book is BDSM hostile which is a touchy subject for me. This book plays into the bad stereotypes of what vanillas think of BDSM and throws in some swinging sex as part of this BDSM lifestyle. Whilst BDSM is not used as a term in this book, the descriptions and insinuations are negative and eye rolling for me. Did they really need this piece in the book? Questionable. As a plot device I think it was needed a little bit to make the story work. It is a pivotal piece of information that suddenly helps Vera makes sense of it all. Que more eye rolling from me.

With all these points that I didn't like, how did I still rate it a 4 star? Because the writing is well done. The character creation is layered and infusing various characters with malicious envy without a heavy hand. This book is built on the premise that people do not have good intentions. People are selfish, arrogant, and ready to stab anyone in the back to get what they believe they deserve. Ms. Collins does an excellent job of describing and showing the malevolent mindset through continuous acts of entitlement. I am impressed with how accurately she captures the loudest parts of society with their nonstop demands of "I deserve it!" Through poor parenting to using so called friends, this is a story filled with pettiness and shallowness. Tying this all back to how Vera gets cancelled is wonderfully done. The ending caught me off guard and I liked it. I didn't expect a happily ever after and I'm not sure Vera deserves it.

Recommended to readers who love drama, mean girls, vicious characters, and psycho situations.

The story moves along swiftly, in directions you never anticipate. All the characters feel so real you can't stop thinking about them. The vivid, and often funny, observations about people and places make this snappy psychological thriller extra pleasurable.
The imaginative, original plot is like nothing you've ever experienced before. This books's got style, substance, wit, passion and so much more.
Please, Flora Collins, write another book soon!

The idea of what happens to the other woman when her lover and his wife end up dead is a good one. However, the story veers off to other conspiracies and subplots that get carried away. It would have been a better book, in my opinion, if the author would have kept to the original premise. The characters were well drawn and the life of the filthy rich was presented realistically. This is an author to watch.

Copy provided by the Publisher and NetGalley