Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for my copy of this book.

Sam randomly bumps into his ex Naomi on the beach. Surprisingly she is pushing a buggy with little Tommy in it. Sam is shocked by Tommy’s resemblance to him but doesn’t like to ask the obvious question. He later meets up with Naomi on the pretence of returning her record. She, after an initial denial, admits that Tommy is his son.

From this moment on Sam is a devoted father. He does everything he can to support his ex and son. His grandmother, Joyce, has her doubts. She doesn’t trust Naomi. But she appears to have changed and having a child has ‘softened’ her. Quickly the new family are making plans for the future.

Meanwhile interspersed are chapters where we read a letter Naomi is writing to Sam explaining her feelings of abandonment when he left her at the start of the pandemic.

This was a good story. I read it quickly as it was an easy but engaging read. There is a twist in the tale with an unexpected ending.

I did not want The Ex by S E Lynes to end. This superb novel explores narcissism and the devastating reach of a character who weaves their own story and believes every word.
Told from 3 points of view, we are constantly trying to gauge whose version of events is true.
We want to believe kindhearted, gentle Sam, but did he do what Naomi accuses him of?
We don’t want to believe manipulative Naomi, but is she the real victim?
We are encouraged to believe love-sick Melissa, but are her motives really pure?
Reading this book is like travelling in a speeding car around country roads, exhilarating, unsettling and full of twists and turns.
On top of a great plot with fully fleshed, relatable characters, The Ex is (like all of Lynes’ novels) beautifully written. Within pages, we are in Lyme Regis, the setting expertly laid out for us with honed scenes which I can see with perfect clarity.
S E Lynes has done it again. A solid five stars from me! Highly recommend!

Breathtaking book. It starts with that slightly uneasy but you don’t know why feeling and builds you right up to feeling overwhelmingly queasy because you’re watching something unbelievably awful about to happen but can’t do anything about it….
The characters are expertly constructed and the author draws on that really relatable feeling of bumping into an ex and wondering if you should try again when really, deep down you know you shouldn’t.
The vulnerabilities of a man and the uncertainty of not entirely ever being sure you don’t have unknown children out there again are expertly (and terrifyingly) portrayed. Definitely food for thought in this book, a fantastic and enjoyable story but I don’t think I’ll ever dare trust anyone ever again!

Sam runs into his ex-girlfriend, Naomi, a year after they broke up and she has a baby named Tommy with her. Sam asks if the baby is his and Naomi quickly says no the baby belongs to a friend. She changes her story in the next few days and tells Sam that it is his baby. Sam is overcome with love for both the baby and Naomi. Their previous relationship was very unhealthy for both parties but now with a baby, Sam believes that she has changed. As Naomi and Sam rekindle their romance, it doesn’t take long for them to get married. Sam’s grandmother Joyce and his best friend have never approved of Naomi and are very suspicious of her motives.

The end of the book was full of surprises but the beginning of the book was hard to follow. The story was told by several narrators. I love psychological thrillers, but his was just really hard to get into.

Only SE Lynes can take a situation as ordinary as bumping into your ex-partner and turn it into a stomach-churning thriller.

From the beginning of the novel, my sympathy was with Sam Moore: a gentle, kind hardworking man who is left in turmoil when he sees his ex – Naomi – with a baby boy who looks an awful lot like him. But the skill with which the author unfurls the story through different narrators means that you are never sure who to believe and who to trust. Every character has the potential to be read in different ways as each of them presents their own behaviour as acceptable and understandable. Lynes takes you down one path and then drops enough crumbs that you find your mind contemplating another direction.

As I’ve come to expect from an SE Lynes novel, the prose is sublime. In particular, the descriptions of Lyme Regis are so evocative that it become a character in its own right. At no point does the beautiful writing distract from the plot, however, and every chapter finishes on a line which made me want to read ‘just one more’.

In fact, if I could have read The Ex in one sitting, I would have done, because there was not one moment in which I wanted to put it down. If you like your books twisty and beautifully written, The Ex is the book for you.

This was quite a gripping read. Read it in a few days, a well written psychological suspense with a good slow build up. I was drawn into the lives of the characters and found myself really invested in them and what happened to them. I look forward to reading more from this author.

This book had many twist and turns and kept me up way after my bedtime a few nights. A great new thriller that you won't regret reading!

This was a solid, well written book. The characterisations were excellent, all the characters felt fully fleshed out and you felt as if you kind of knew them. Unfortunately, nothing much happed in the first half of the book. The second half was more interesting but also very predictable. You could see it all coming a mile away.

Sam Moore, all round nice guy and landscape gardener sees his ex girlfriend, Naomi, walking along the beach with a child in a pram about a year after they broke up. Well he walked out on her. She later makes it sound as if it was him being cruel and leaving her in the lurch but she had really been doing Sam’s head in. It seemed he couldn’t get anything right. That’s the classic playbook of the manipulator!

He wonders about the child. They meet again for coffee and she tells him Tommy is his son. The timing works and the child does sort of resemble him. Sam is excited about being a father and he and Naomi gradually rekindle their relationship. Of course, thanks to Naomi’s letters to Sam that she never posted but put in the glovebox of his grandmother’s car, you know that this does not end well.

As I said earlier, it was a well written story but it is far from unique and I guess I expected a bit more. There were no jaw dropping moments as the twists were easily predicted and the ending was also par for the course. It could be a nice beach read or a light diversion for those who want uncomplicated entertainment. Many thanks to Netgalley and Bookouture for the much appreciated arc which I reviewed voluntarily and honestly.

This was an interesting one, about a quarter of the way through I knew what was going to happen so was very predictable.

I liked the way it was set in the times of when COVID first began.

Not quite a page turner for me but shows that people can withstand immense pain and letdowns and get through it with the help of the right people.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.

This book is told from three points of view. Miranda, Sam and Naomi.
At the start of lockdown 2020. Sam is at his lowest ebb. Unhappy in his relationship with Naomi he contemplates taking his own life. However, he ends up moving in with his Gran. The woman who brought him up. Living with her Sam begins to heal and take charge of his life.
Then one day at the beach he spots Naomi. She is with a child. Suddenly his world is in turmoil. Is the little boy Tommy, his. He makes arrangements to meet up with Naomi and she appears to be a changed woman.
Can Sam forget the past and create a new life with Naomi and Tommy.
This is a fast paced book. However, the ending was a wrapped up a little to quick for me. However, on the whole a good read.
Many thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the opportunity to see an ARC

Sam and Naomi were living together but having a few problems so, when Covid lockdown began, Sam took the opportunity to leave Naomi and move in with his grandmother. She lived alone in a large property so it made sense for Sam to live there.

Some months later, Sam spots Naomi in town but she’s pushing a buggy containing a baby. He does a quick calculation and realises that the little boy could well be his, but Naomi tells him that she’s just babysitting for a friend.

A gripping psychological thriller, told from three POVs – Sam’s, Naomi’s, and Sam’s friend/boss, Miranda.

Thank you to NetGalley and Bookouture for an advance reader copy in return for an honest review.

This is another fabulous page turner by SE Lynes. I devoured it in one sitting. There’s lots going on in this book and plenty of twists and turns. It’s one that I’d certainly recommend.

The Ex
by S. E. Lynes

Thanks, NetGalley, Bookouture, and S. E. Lynes for an ARC to review. I really thought the ending just felt...as if was a be continued book. I did like the story, all in all. It was a bit I would not recommend it, but, it was just a bit confusing.

This one was a major page turner for me! I was sucked in from the very start and I had difficulty putting it down to handle my daily responsibilities. This one can be a bit triggering for anyone who has been in a mentally abusive relationship with a narcissist. It was absolutely wild to read the events through Sam’s POV and then get snippets of Naomi’s inner thoughts along the way to tie actions and words together and realize either how wrong you were as a reader and/or how wrong Sam’s ideas or thoughts were or weren’t.

I loved that there was three different narrators/perspectives to give a more rounded out understanding of the events.

I had to drop to 4 stars because the ending felt flat to me. There was so much build up and then the ending was just... meh. There was decent closure in some aspects but not enough in others.

All in all, I really enjoyed reading this though and I’m interested in reading more from this author!

When Sam decides to leave his girlfriend Naomi as lockdown begins he knows his made the right choice he needs to get his life back.He doesn't expect to see her again but one day their paths cross and she's not alone she's pushing a pram with a baby inside..She says it's not his but his heart tells him otherwise.
Things start to take off again between them but can things be ok second time around because remember there's a thin line between love and hate.
I found the story slow at the beginning but I'm glad a stuck with it because it ended up being a good read.
Thanks to Netgalley and Bookouture for the ARC.

Lockdown 2020 and Sam leaves his partner Naomi to move in with his lonely Grandmother who Is rattling around alone in her big house. This couple haven't been getting on for a while and Sam sees a chance to escape, at least for a while.

Firstly, I liked how the author incorporated the Covid pandemic and its impact in to the story. Some authors have shied away from this and I know some readers don't want to read about it. It was definitely fitting for this book and picked up on the sombre mood around lockdown and the subsequent opening back up.
I found the book very easy to get in to and the author set the scene really well from.the perspective of Sam's friend and business partner Miranda.
Post lockdown, Sam and Naomi meet up and decide to give things another go. Sam is especially keen after he sees Naomi with a baby in a pram that belongs to her friend but looks strikingly like him.
What follows is a story full of twists and turns with one major revelation towards the end of the book.
I loved kind, sensitive Sam who was perhaps a little naive and hated Naomi, a woman scorned and out for revenge.
I am a fan of S E Lynes and have read all her books and have to day this is my favourite one to date.

I have become a real fan of SE Lynes and the first book I read was on NetGalley The Baby Shower. Since then I have purchased quite a few of her Books and was so excited to get another book to review on Netgalley.

I must say this book was a slow burner and took me a while to get fully gripped but once the book started unfolding I was at full pace and each page got turned quicker and quicker.
So if you reading this review and you are struggling to trust me to keep going the book gets so much better.

The story is full of some great twists and some sad moments that almost make you not want to read on at that moment. I was taken on a ride of emotions from sadness to anger to justice and more.

I can't wait to read the next book, I will say this is not my favorite book from the author but I still really enjoyed it nonetheless.

I was hooked from the very beginning! This book is full of twists and turns and you will not be disappointed. You may be disappointed when the story ends but it is well worth your time. This was my first book by this author and I am blown away!

I really liked the plot of this book and I found it to be something that I'm not used to reading and seeing done one hundred times so it was quite refreshing. However one thing that I didn't like about this book was there was so many different points of view changes and they were very muddled so it made it hard for the reader to keep track of who was talking and what was going on with each character. Not only did this make it hard it also took me out of the story a lot which I didn't like. I wanted to enjoy this book however I found it to be very slow moving and very confusing at times. The story is all about a man named Sam who runs into his ex girlfriend. He is surprised when he sees that she has a child with her. He questions her on it and she reveals that she is looking after her friends baby so he doesn't have to worry. It isn't to long after however that it is revealed that the child is hers and she is claiming that Sam is the father. I found myself putting this book down a lot and having to force myself to pick it back up again which was unexpected. The best part about this book was the ending I loved how it all came full circle and I loved how twisted our main character was. There were parts that I saw coming but others that I was so shocked it really threw me for a loop. I loved how our main character Naomi was written. She was so dark and conniving it was crazy to think that people can actually be that cruel. There were parts I loved however there were long parts that I felt just dragged on. I think this is one book that
I might have to reread in order to fully grasp what is happening.

Secrets May Out…
A slow burn suspense in this tale of twisted human relationships. Told effectively by way of a three way narrative, the reader learns the backstory of Sam and of a baby that may, or may not, be his. As the tale progresses, tensions mount and secrets may well out. Keenly observed with a menacing undercurrent and with well crafted characters.