A bit lengthy in some of the descriptions and I hated how some parts felt a bit cheesy. Overall it wasn’t awful but I would have appreciated a bigger twist!

But for everyone who has a mother in law, you might relate this one to yours. I was definitely disgusted by some of her actions 😂

Thank you to NetGalley for this arc!

3.5 stars for Karen King's 'The Mother-in-Law' It was a pleasantly, addictive read that kept me hooked from the very first page. I read and finished it in 24 hours as shocking bombshells kept being dropped.

There was so much happening all the time and I couldn't put the book down. Dana's relationship with Sam blossomed very quickly, followed by the arrival of their wedding. Sam's family was very much suspicious and it was made quite obvious that they did not want their son marrying Dana for reasons of their own. And that's when strange things started surfacing in their home, leaving us wondering who wanted to hurt Dana. Or was she just being paranoid?

Unfortunately, I found all of the characters annoying. They were all the same with little to no personality. I would've preferred to see Dana stand up for herself and show some bravery and boldness against her in-laws. She was described as quite shallow and small. She questioned situations only to go back to accepting everything as it was, when in fact everything was suspicious and wrong. And as for Sam, the man who loves her and who proposed to her so fast, he did not show a lot of that trust and love, in fact he showed quite the opposite multiple times. I also thought the same for Dana's best friend, Lynne. How no one stood up for Dana or believed her was beyond me.

All in all, it was a fast paced, compelling read with a great plot and story line. I just wish it was more intense and packed with adrenaline like a psychological suspenseful novel should serve.

Oh my, I have to say it; yes, I can identify with the Mother-in-Law attitude! My husband is the oldest, the best, the perfect son; I understand; believe me, I still have to deal with it. However, I am not this twenty-five-year-old pushover; good grief, the story is believable, except for Dana; who is this patient, this forgiving, this stupid? Sam is your typical spoiled male child, do anything, have anything, but don't talk about my mother! I almost gave up on the story; I was getting fed up with miss goody two shoes; I am glad I hung in there for the twisted finale! Although I questioned the apparent red herring. Worth the read,
I recommend. Thank you, #Netgalley #TheMotherInLaw

Dana hasn’t been dealt an easy hand in life – or love. So when a chance encounter introduces her to handsome, wealthy and kind Sam and their whirlwind romance leads to a proposal, things seem too good to be true. Are they?

Thirty-five-year-old Sam has never left home. He lives in a suite within the spacious home of his father and his doting, overprotective mother. Circumstances force Dana to move in with her new in-laws in the lead-up to the wedding, but tensions grow as a series of accidents occur. Is Dana being paranoid? Or does her mother-in-law reject the idea of another woman coming between her and her precious son?

This was a quick read and there were a fair amount of events that could cause Dana to doubt how she was reacting to situations, and a slow ratcheting up of tensions between her and her fiancé as strange events begin to occur. I also enjoyed Dana’s frustrations at her inability to intervene as her mother-in-law takes over all aspects of wedding planning, almost as if the bride-to-be didn’t exist, and Dana’s growing ability to finally stand up for herself.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for my copy - all thoughts are my own.

The Mother-in-Law - Karen King

Thanks a mil to Bookouture, Netgalley and the author Karen King for approving my request and giving me the opportunity to read an ARC of this book prior to its publication date 29th July 2022 in exchange for an honest review.

This was a really light, engaging read.

It was difficult to put it down and I spent a lovely Saturday reading it...even though I had 101 other jobs I should have completed ...they got pushed back until tomorrow so I could devour this book and I don't feel a bit guilty for it LOL.

I thought it was pretty obvious throughout who the villain was but the ending was a for sure twist...I didn't really see that coming.

Overall, a quick, fun easy read and defo one I'd recommend of you're not looking for anything too taxing.

3🌟

The Mother-in-Law by Karen King In the light the amount of accidents and verbal abuse that Dana experienced, it was somewhat unbelievable that she would stay in the same house as her future in laws. Her fiance, Sam, was not all that supportive or even loving toward Dana. Repetitive at times, the ending was rushed and not much depth to the characters. Interesting conclusion. Okay read.

Thank you to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for the opportunity to preview the book.

Loved this book and couldn't put it down. Dana enters into a whirlwind romance with Sam and when he proposes so thinks his family are ok with it. When things begin to happen on a regular basis she is not that sure. Sam's mum is possessive but would she go to any length to put a stop to their marriage.
Once you begin you will want to finish it.

Oh this book is such a page turner. I was completely hooked from the very first moment I picked it up. It has many twists and turns, many uh no, no she didn't moments, lots of shout out loud moments, many twist and turns and absolutely gripping.

I thought I knew where this storyline was going, but I was wrong! Engrossing storyline and the plot keeps you guessing. Highly recommended.

⭐️⭐️

When Dana meets Sam, it’s love at first sight. They quickly decide they want to start their lives together and plan to get married only 7 months after they’ve met. Since Sam still lives with his parents, they need to find their dream home. Just a couple weeks before their wedding, the house catches fire and causes them to have to move in with Sam’s parents. Dana is not very happy about having to live with them, but she’s grateful for their generosity…until accidents start happening to Dana that make her question whether or not they are coincidental. Her mother-in-law Evelyn is obsessive over her son…would she do anything to make sure they didn’t end up together?? She’s barging into their room unannounced, making Dana look incompetent, and causing tiffs between Dana and Sam. Dana tries to convince herself that she is just imagining things, but is she? And just how far will Evelyn go to make sure that Sam stays close to her forever?

My thoughts:
Realllllyyyyy wanted to love this one. I thought it had great potential with the storyline. I just didn’t connect with any of the characters and every single one of the characters drove me CRAZY.

I’m also just really not a fan of the trope where we make women look weak and stupid. I mean there were soooo many red flags that Dana should have caught on to. Like…he’s 35 and still lives with his parents and you still continued on with the relationship??? He sided with his mom every time something went wrong???

It was hard to even feel sorry for the main character because every time she was about to stand up for herself she would end up reminding herself that she’s in love…so who cares what happens?!?!

I didn’t even really find it suspenseful by the end because of how frustrating everyone was. It was fast paced and I read it in one day, so I enjoyed that!

This is just my opinion though, and if you like psychological suspense that has frustrating characters, you might enjoy this! It just wasn’t for me 😁

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC!

I enjoyed reading this one so much i couldn’t put it down. The characters were intriguing, the plot was great and the style of writing was perfect. It’s full of twists throughout that keep you guessing and the ending was unexpected. I have read this authors other books and have loved them all, can’t wait for the next one to come out.
I would recommend this to anyone who enjoys reading this genre,
Thank you netgalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for a honest review.

Thanks to Netgalley for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review!

So this book was...not great. It was at least really fast, which is about the only thing going for it. The writing style was incredibly simplistic, and the characters felt shallow and two-dimensional - I felt like the author was just telling me about these characters' traits instead of giving them actual depth. The twists were predictable despite that (which aren't necessarily bad, but alongside everything else it just felt like another thing that made me go "why am I reading this?"). Everything felt wrapped up rather quickly and it ultimately just wasn't very fun to read.

The Mother-in-Law in Karen King’s latest psychological thriller is to die for, due in bookstores at the end of July. You know the type: Sam Corbett loves Dana Wynters, but he loved his mother Evelyn first. Evelyn, “a dragon in a twinset and pearls,” is not going to let him go, insisting that the engaged couple stay on in the Corbett manor house, and by the way, murder is not out of the question.

Dana thinks Sam is the perfect man, but his mother leaves a lot to be desired. Not only does Evelyn try to control everything about the wedding, but also she seems to be doing everything she can to stop it: suggesting another woman is more suited for Sam, making Dana feel as though she could never be part of the family, and accusing her of stealing valuable ruby earrings. But will she really kill Dana? Well, the book does open with a wedding-cake-cutting scene, and a bite of the cake that has nuts in it, sending Dana into anaphylactic shock.

A series of accidents, all happening to Dana, before the wedding leaves her torn and confused about what is going on. Is her future mother-in-law really so devious and calculating as to murder Dana rather than lose Sam? The number of times Dana keeps ending up in the hospital prior to the wedding as well as on the wedding day itself is enough to cause her to fear Evelyn.

Then Dana hears a row between Evelyn and her husband Harold, and a long-held secret about Sam’s birth is overheard. Dana is not the only one looking into the secret: the housekeeper Ruby is as well as she is trying to determine what really happened in her own life 35 years ago. The story all comes together with champagne, wedding cake, and a murderer revealed.

Karen King writes books about “the light and dark of relationships.” She is working on two psychological thrillers as well as a romance. Born in Birmingham, England, she now lives in Spain with her husband.

My review will be posted on Goodreads starting June 7, 2020.

I would like to thank Bookouture and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC in return for an objective review.

I felt rather let down by this book. It certainly wasn’t the thrilling psychological novel it claimed! The characters were all very sketchily painted and descriptively shallow. It was all rather convenient, too many coincidences just to make the plot move along quickly. The main character and her husband to be had no personality; there needed to be more detail. What did they like to eat, clothes styling – the sort of detail that makes you want to feel empathy with the characters. It was competently written and the story chugged along nicely, but there was something missing in terms of suspense. There just wasn’t any. Every twist seemed to be signposted and some of the events just weren’t explained adequately – the cake incident at the beginning was unlikely – that does not happen.
It was an ok read for a day on the beach, but it didn’t take much for me to be distracted from it. I probably wouldn’t have finished it if I hadn’t been on holiday.

The story was okay. Dana wasn't a very enjoyable character and. Sam wasn't worth all the trouble in my opinion, but eh.

The outcome of the story was a little predictable but it's hard to surprise me anymore.

The Mother-in-Law
by Karen King
Thanks to #netgalley and Karen King for the advance copy of The Mother-in Law.
Sadly I did not enjoy the book as much as I expected. Dana was so boring and always had her mind on money, money, money. I became so bored and it was long-winded with too much of the same.

Thanks to #netgalley and Karen King for the chance to read this rollercoaster of a book!

After a whirlwind romance, Dana accepts Sam's proposal and they decide to get married as soon as possible.
Sam is everything she wants in a husband - wealthy, successful, and he adores her!
After moving in with Sam and his parents, Dana looks forward to finally being part of this perfect family; but all is not as idyllic as it first seems.
After overhearing an argument between Sam's parents, Dana learns a dark secret and then is beset by accidents and disasters. Someone is determined to break up her relationship, and will go to any lengths to get rid of her.
Be prepared for twists and turns and suspecting any and all of the main characters in this story, which is a real page turner.

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/61047314-the-mother-in-law

Dana meets Sam and they instantly fall.in love it's not long before they are engaged to be married but there's just one problem getting in the way, the mother-in-law!
This was a good easy read lots of interesting little twists along the way. Dana the main character did get on my nerves a bit she was just so unsure of her self and I would of liked to see her stick up for herself a bit more.
Thanks to #netgalley for this ARC.

This was an ok read for me , I enjoyed it but just couldn't find myself really caring about the characters or the outcome . Dana meets Sam , its a whirlwind romance and all is good until she meets his parents , they are perfectly nice on the surface but soon things start occuring , accidents , things being stolen and all point to Dana though she knows that something isn't right with her soon to be Mother in Law , it felt repetative and I wanted to scream at Dana just to grow a back bone . I enjoyed Karen Kings previous book much more than this , I was a little disappointed

Overall, I liked this book and found it to be an easy & fast-paced book. There were a few aspects that I found to be a bit predictable but I still enjoyed reading it and appreciate the opportunity to receive this ARC.