I loved this novel of love, secrets, and betrayals. Dana and Sam meet on the street by chance and quickly fall in love. Sam doesn't waste any time and soon the couple is engaged to be wed. When Sam's parents enter the picture, the mysteries pile up. This fun novel has many twists and turns and I couldn't put it down!

A beautiful English manor house plays a role in this thriller. I love a book where I want to reach in and tell the main character to watch out! Karen King did an excellent job of creating the perfect love story/mystery.

Thank you to the author, NetGalley, and the publisher for the ARC.

Thank you for the chance to read this book, but sorry to say it wasn't for me. Given it two stars for the premise - who doesn't love a dark, difficult mother-in-law story? But I gave up within the first chapter because the narration style was really basic and made me cringe a bit. So much telling rather than showing, I couldn't picture the characters, nor believe in their emotions.

psychological suspense novel that will make you never want to meet your future in laws. Plus this is a book that will make you second guess everyone , and will make you feel like everyone is out to get you right from the start as well make you wounder if what is happening really happening or if its all in Dana's mind. There was a few things I didn't like but just a few and they was how it kind of felt like Sam would make excuses for his mother .

If you enjoy a slightly predictable tale this is the book for you.
I struggled to finish this, the main character was annoying and really wound me up.
Sorry to leave such a negative review but i can only say what i found.

My thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for an early copy.

I found this very easy to read. it has you gripped right from the first page. keeps you wanting to know more. Makes you realise that people are not always how they seem to be. Very good storyline. Believable what desperation can drive people to do. Unexpected twists to keep you guessing. This is a new author to me and i definately will be interested in her other work.

Gripping and fast paced with twists and unpredictability and it kept me on the edge of my seat all the way through. An incredible read.

This book gripped me from the first few pages. Dana meets Sam in a romantic and unexpected meet-cute, with a whirlwind romance. When Sam proposes, Dana is elated but soon starts to believe that her soon-to-be mother in law is trying to sabotage the wedding and her relationship.

From start to finish this was a page turner that I read in 24 hours. For fans of Sandie Jones and other domestic thrillers, this is highly recommended.

Thanks to NetGalley and BookOutre for sharing an eARC with me.

This was an exciting and thrilling ride! Pay attention to details or you will miss something big. I became paranoid and wanted to accuse everyone. I even became suspicious of the husband to be Sam, and the best friend Lynne. I had not read anything by this author before. I enjoyed this book and could not put it down! I went to Amazon and started following Karen King. I also purchased all the other titles of hers I could find because this book was so good!

✨Book review✨
The Mother In Law
By Karen King

I so badly wanted to love this book! It had all the ingredients for a great, suspense thriller, and unfortunately all that was served up was a a bunch of annoying incidents, which could easily have been avoided if the main character had a backbone, and simply spoke up for herself!

I found it super frustrating as a reader, that Dana let her in-laws walk all over her, didn’t stand her ground about the events happening to her to her husband, or even have the guts to just get up and leave.
I understand that if she did that there would be no story, but honestly, that may have been better.
I felt the storyline was repetitive, mundane, and just unbelievable that any person would stay in such an environment.

This book drops July 29th, so you can check it out and form your own opinion 😊

Rating:⭐️⭐️⭐️/5

QOTD: Do you get along with your In-Laws?

Thanks to @netgalley and @bookouture for the copy of this E-ARC in exchange for my honest review.

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This ARC was provided to me via Kindle, Bookouture and by #NetGalley. Opinions expressed are completely my own.

Whilst predictable, a thrilling and suspenseful read I didn’t want to put down.

Dana has fallen in love with Sam it was love at first sight and he’s perfect but when their dream home falls through just before their wedding they decide to move into sam’s parents house and Sam tells Dana that his mother Evelyn is the sweetest but Dana isn’t so sure and finds Evelyn obsessively protective of Sam like wanting to know where he is all the time to bursting into their room to wake him up just likes he a small child and Evelyn doesn’t like Dana being alone with Sam but soon Dana starts having all sorts of accidents that she thinks are the cause of her mother in law Evelyn or is someone else responsible
Truly enjoyed couldn’t put it down with great characters and plenty of twists and turns throughout totally recommend
Thank You NetGalley and Bookouture
I just reviewed The Mother-in-Law by Karen King. #TheMotherinLaw #NetGalley

I am on holiday and I read this in a day - but it was extremely predictable yet unbelievable at the same time! When Dana meets Sam it is a whirlwind romance! She finds it strange that he still lives with his parents, but after meeting them they seem to be lovely (if not a bit overbearing) but then poor Dana keeps having terrible things happen to her, causing all sorts of near death experiences and then there is Tamra -‘old friend or ex girlfriend? She seems pretty set on taking over the wedding plans!
I didn’t like it / I found the plot very similar to many other domestic thrillers and it was so far fetched I couldn’t even enjoy it for the drama! A very generous 3 stars!

Oh my goodness, I felt sorry for poor Dana. What a situation to be in! This likeable character had me rooting for her from the start. After the bang of the prologue, my heart was in my mouth.

The writing was slick, taking me from chapter to chapter without noticing how much time I had my head buried in this story. Absolutely gripping. The heart pounding moments and shocks were aplenty. The manor house - what can I say? It was beautifully described but the tone was well set so I had these moments where I felt Dana should be peering over her shoulder. No rest for the thriller reader - hehe.

If you crave skin tingling psychological thrillers that will keep you reading into the night, then ‘The Mother-in-Law’ simply has to go to the top of your reading pile!

I really struggled to finish this one. I'm not prudish or over sensitive but gaslighting (and that's essentially what the main theme of this book is) shouldn't be the only thing holding a book plot together.

In my personal opinion, I think this book needs a clear and direct trigger warning due to the sheer intensity of events.

I think the characters where clever and mostly well developed, their personalities and motivations were believable and fitted well for the story line, although (without spoilers) I think the sub plots were laid a little too thick and started to dispel the realism that was crafted so carefully at the start.

The conclusion and general wrapping up of all of the sub-plots leaves a lot to be desired. So much time and care was taken to lay the groundwork, traditional subterfuge, fake-out endings, all the things we've come to love in the thriller genre, but somehow the end feels rushed to me. It takes more than 2/3rd's of the book to build up to the big reveals and it's over in less than 10 pages.

I want to love this book, all the ideas are there but the pacing was all off for me.

Despite my feelings about 'The Mother In Law', I do look forward to reading more from Karen King and watching her grow and develop in thriller writing.

A very enjoyable read. Recommend this book for all those who have "difficult" MIL's. The ending was a total shock-not the resolution I was anticipating, but I love surprises! Would love to read more by Ms. King. Thank you for this chance to put her on my to-read list.

The one thing that stood out for me while reading this was King's writing - it was very simple and elegant (no use of unnecessary flowery language etc) and it was quite descriptive and visual, which was a treat because I was able to imagine every single thing in my mind, just like a movie.

With regards to the characters, I do wish they had been a bit more fleshed out. Dana was an interesting character, if at times a bit meek and blind to red flags. Surprisingly, the character that annoyed me the most was not the titular mother-in-law but Sam, the groom. He seemed like such a pushover, and devoid of any thoughts of his own.

The storyline was interesting, but a bit predictable. I saw the twist at the ending coming but I felt it was the right ending and tied things up neatly.

All in all, this was a fun read! I'd recommend picking it up when you're in a slump.

I very much enjoyed reading this book. It has a very strong start, after chapter three it gets a bit slow but about in the middle of the book it picks up again and it keeps your interest all the way through the end. Good end with unexpected surprises. I would definitely recommend it and Karen Kings other book "The stranger in my bed" is in my want to read list.

3.5 stars rounded up to 4. The Mother-In-Law by Karen King is a twisty story that is easy to binge. The MIL trope seems to be very popular with psychological thrillers right now, so while I enjoyed this book it didn't stand out to me from the others (that I've also enjoyed). There are some great twists in here though that I wasn't expecting! It seemed like the end of each chapter ended with - I should've known something was going to go wrong, or I shouldn't have trusted that person - So at times it was easy to see where this was going. Quick, bingeable read!

I was so intrigued by the description of this book, and it didn’t disappoint. There are twists and turns, and a few surprises that keep you guessing.

4 stars – mostly because I became so frustrated with Dana, the bride to be. She seems hopelessly naive at times. Sam, her fiancé, was equally annoying. He believed his mother over her and seemed to always manipulate Dana (for example, moving into his parent’s house)…I was very frustrated with both of them.

Thanks to NetGalley and Bookouture for the advance reader copy. Look for The Mother In Law July 29, 2022.

Be prepared for the mother-in-law of all mothers-in-law...amazing story. This novel is written in a linear fashion, my favorite...no crudeness or language to avoid. the characters are likable...some not so much. The protagonist falls in love...moves in with the in-laws. What ensues is intrigue/mystery...Who is trying to harm her? Why? Who then is trying to kill her? Why? Are families so dysfunctional? There are so many red herrings in this book that the ending is difficult to discern...but it does happen...some of my guesses were correct...others not...this author is talented in writing a cannot put down novel. I enjoy her books...Cannot wait for another one. This book was sent to me from Netgalley for review...glad they did...