Member Reviews
Thank you to the author, publisher, narrator and Net Galley for providing a free e-audio version of this title in exchange for my review.
I think I expected too much from this book. It was ok, it was a quick listen. But I wanted something with more substance. I've had this problem with others by this author, I just don't think she's writing the type of book I really want to read or listen to. Overall, it was ok. But didnt' feel like a psychological thriller to me.
2 stars for 'it was ok'
The Millionaire's Wife is written with two timelines, ten years apart. One is Anna, a woman living in the UK. who meets a young man who is charming but fly by night. Anna, of course, loves him and decides to move in and live with this young man.Quickly Anna learns that her life is not the dream she thought it would be. The two struggle with money and the young man would prefer get rich quick schemes to working. As if that wasn't bad enough, Anna becomes pregnant.
The second timeline is written in present day, Anna is happily married to a nice, very rich man, but there are secrets that threaten to ruin Anna's carefully created life..
This book was a fast, fun read and I recommend it!
Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher and author for providing me with an ARC audio for my honest review.
What a book to have the honour to listen to.
There were so many twists and turns to this story, with likeable and unlikeable characters.
Anna has her world turned upside down when she receives a photograph from her ex-boyfriend, "did he really go through with it and what's going to happen next......" A story to make you hold your breath!
Wow! Brilliant I loved it!
Thank you to Bookouture Audio, Netgalley and the author for an ARC in return for an honest review
๐ฆ๐๐ฎ๐ฟ ๐ฟ๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐ป๐ด: โ
โ
โ
โ โ (3/5)
๐ฅ๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐ฌ๐ข๐จ ๐๐๐๐:
โฑ๏ธ Dual timelines/POV
๐คฏ Out there twists and turns
๐ฉ Truly two-faced, unlikeable characters
โจ A super easy engaging audiobook you can have on in the background
๐คซ Plenty of secrets
๐ ๐ฌ ๐ง๐๐ข๐จ๐๐๐ง๐ฆ:
Pacy, gripping, and disturbing, this was a plot full to the brim with crazy twists and drama. With dual perspectives and timelines, we follow Anna both in the present, married to Will, and in the past as a teen, with her first love Finn. This was a super easy listen, narrated by Katie Villa, who read this brilliantly and added to the plot's suspense.ย ย
If you can suspend belief, and enjoy this for the thriller it is, then the twists are great. Out there, but great - this stars one of those twists which makes you sit and think back to the first chapter and go 'oooooh.. that makes sense now'. I formed no emotional attachment or even interest particularly to any of the characters, but with plenty of secrets to be gripped by, this was definitely a quick, fun listen.
๐๐๐๐ฃ๐ ๐ฎ๐ค๐ช ๐ฉ๐ค ๐ฉ๐๐ ๐ฅ๐ช๐๐ก๐๐จ๐๐๐ง, ๐๐ช๐ฉ๐๐ค๐ง + ๐๐๐ฉ๐๐๐ก๐ก๐๐ฎ ๐๐ค๐ง ๐๐ฃ ๐๐ผ๐๐พ, ๐๐ฃ ๐ง๐๐ฉ๐ช๐ง๐ฃ ๐๐ค๐ง ๐๐ฃ ๐๐ค๐ฃ๐๐จ๐ฉ ๐ง๐๐ซ๐๐๐ฌ. ๐ผ๐ก๐ก ๐ฉ๐๐ค๐ช๐๐๐ฉ๐จ ๐๐ฃ๐ ๐ค๐ฅ๐๐ฃ๐๐ค๐ฃ๐จ ๐๐ง๐ ๐ข๐ฎ ๐ค๐ฌ๐ฃ. ๐๐๐๐จ ๐ง๐๐ซ๐๐๐ฌ ๐๐๐จ ๐๐๐๐ฃ ๐ฅ๐ช๐๐ก๐๐จ๐๐๐ ๐ฉ๐ค @๐ง๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ค๐ค๐ ๐๐๐ง๐ก (๐๐) ๐๐ฃ๐ ๐๐ค๐ค๐๐ง๐๐๐๐จ, ๐๐ฃ๐ ๐ฌ๐๐ก๐ก ๐๐ ๐ฅ๐ช๐๐ก๐๐จ๐๐๐ ๐ฉ๐ค ๐ผ๐ข๐๐ฏ๐ค๐ฃ ๐ค๐ฃ ๐ฅ๐ช๐๐ก๐๐๐๐ฉ๐๐ค๐ฃ ๐๐๐ฎ.
Description ๐
Anna Blackwell receives an email from an unknown sender with a photograph attached and when she opens it, her world is turned upside down. The photograph is of a dead woman. Anna doesnโt know who she is but she knows who killed her.
Does this mean that Anna is next? In order to protect herself, her husband and her family, Anna knows that she needs to come clean about her past but doing so will put her marriage at risk. She doesnโt know who to turn to at this point and as everything starts to unravel around her, she realises that sheโs not the only one who has been keeping secrets.
General Thoughts ๐ค
After having read quite a complex, heavy book, this thriller was a breath of fresh air for me. I thought it was great entertainment and I was able to fully allow myself to get lost within the story and the characters. There were some good twists and turns thrown in that I admit, took me by surprise and I really enjoyed the drama of Annaโs relationships.
Characters ๐ซ๐ญ๐ฌ
I quite liked Anna throughout the majority of the book and I found myself empathising with her quite a lot. She had made some poor decisions in her youth that had lead to not the best start of her adult life, however she had managed to move on, put it all behind her and make a life for herself. But then when her secret bombshell dropped, my opinion of her did shift. She had kept a pretty big secret and Iโm not sure that if I were Will, Iโd have been able to forgive her.
To be completely honest, the characters in this story werenโt that deep. I didnโt particularly love or hate any of them and I donโt feel like I really got to know an awful lot about their inner workings, but I was still more than happy to be swept along with their drama.
Writing Style โ๏ธ
This is the first book that I have read by this author and I did enjoy her writing style. This book was exactly what it says on the tin, thrilling, suspenseful and mysterious. Iโve seen some mixed reviews online and most of the negative ones seem to be from readers who have read a lot of other work by Shalini Boland. If anything this has made me want to read more of her books because I enjoyed The Millionaireโs Wife.
The timeline jumped between past and present and as always, I thoroughly enjoyed this structure. I also listened to the audiobook which seems to be a winner in comparison to the book if you look at other reviews. The narrator did a fabulous job of carrying the story along and keeping me engaged.
Conclusion and Scoring ๐
I really enjoyed this book and it jumped to the top of my TBR list at the exact right time. It was what I would describe as a popcorn thriller; it was fun, dramatic, easy to get lost in and felt a bit like a guilty pleasure. Iโd definitely recommend the audiobook as I thought that it was great to listen to and kept me very entertained. If youโre looking for a binge worthy thriller that you donโt have to think too hard about to enjoy, then this is a book for you.
Color me thrilled!! I loved this book! I was hooked throughout and I loved that there were no loose ends when I finished! It was everything I was looking for in a mystery thriller. Just loved every bit of it. My first Boland book and definitely not my last!
#audiobook
I enjoyed listening to this thriller as an audiobook.
It opens with the violent death of a woman in Barbados, mown down by a speed boat. In the upmarket enclave of Westbourne, Bournemouth, Anna is living with her husband Will and they have a good and prosperous lifestyle. They cement their family life with the purchase of a new dog and all seems rosy until Anna receives a text with the bloody image of a dead woman. She soon understands who the woman killed in Barbados is and she knows that her well-buried past is coming to haunt her.
Annaโs early years were spent by the sea. Her Swedish parents were in the UK for some years and so Anna went to school. and she and another student, Sian, become firm friends and hung out together. Anna also catches the eye of Fin, the most desired boy in the school, and after they leave school, they decide to move in together, even though her grades would facilitate a move to a top university. But she is smitten, and her parents can make no inroads, she is determined to invest in the relationship. They work in minimum wage jobs and struggle to make ends meet, and the relationship is becoming hard to manage. Finally, when Fin brings home a bargain wetsuit from his place of work, Anna finds herself coming to the end of her tether and it is at that point it becomes clearer that Fin has quite a short fuse. They soon have to move out from their lodging and things go from bad to worse until Anna calls it a day.
So how did Anna go from destitution to living a luxury lifestyle? She is certainly harbouring some potentially life changing secrets in her background and soon her hand is forced to reveal them.
I enjoyed listening to this novel, it had a good sense of pace. It is well set out and easy to follow, which can be tricky when there are two timelines. Perhaps the ending was a little long winded, followed by the final denouement which seems like a bit of an add-on but ties up all the potential flapping ends.
In TripFiction terms, setting isnโt particularly strong.
๐ง The Millionaireโs Wife by Shalini Boland
๐ต๐ป Can you ever really know the ones you love? After seeing a news report about the death of a woman on the other side of the world, Anna Blackwell realizes that her past has caught up with her. That her greatest fear is about to come true. That itโs her turn next. Uncover a web of lies and deceit in this chilling, twisty suspense thriller.
๐ฉ๐ปโ๐ป This book is a great middle of the road English thriller. While it didnโt blow me away, the storytelling and pacing were enough to keep me reading.
A solid domestic suspense, The Millionaireโs Wife is a great choice for a speedy summer read or winter day by the fire.
I had received an audiobook ARC but I think for this novel, the physical copy may be a bit better to get truly invested in the characters. I look forward to picking up a physical copy to continue my reading. Thank you netgalley & the publisher for the ARC, in exchange for an honest review.
Classic Boland! Grabbed me from the start and was difficult to put down!
After a shocking opening, we meet Anna. Happily married and celebrating her husbands birthday when she gets a text that leaves her cold. Is the past that she had been trying so hard to forget about finally caught up with her?
This was a definite page turner that needs a little suspension if belief with some of the characters actions, but enjoyable all the same!
Thank you to NetGalley and Bookouture Audio for an advanced audio copy in exchange for an honest review.
Anna Blackwell is happily married to a wealthy husband that she adores. One night while out celebrating his birthday she receives a message from an unknown sender, it has a picture attached of a dead woman with the note, your turn next. In an instant, her long buried past comes full force back into her life. Can she protect her family and the secrets she has been keeping or is she really part of the long ago pact that is coming to fruition?
I really enjoyed this mystery thriller from Shalini Boland, it is full of twists and plot turns that makes you question who to believe. While I'm not sure ALL of her secrets needed to be kept from her new husband the suspense was good and you could see the predicaments that Anna found herself in. The pace of the story is good along with a few surprises. I would recommend this book. I had the audio version read by Katie Villa who did an excellent job and kept the story flowing smoothly.
This was a juicy twisty story that had me second guessing myself almost to the end. As always Boland fills the story with a naive MC who makes terrible life decisions. This story follows Anna as a teenager with flash forward to her adult life. Slowly the pieces come together as her past rushes to meet her future.
A must read for fans of Shalini Boland. Quick becoming one of my favorite author's for psychological thrillers and quick nail biting reads.
Thank you to NetGalley and Bookouture Audio for a copy of this audiobook in exchange for an honest review.
Absolutely loved this. Fast paced, brilliant narration and plot. Just love this author and would highly recommend this to anyone.
I loved this audiobook!
I very rarely listen to audio versions, however had to request this one as Shalini Boland is one of my favourite authors and I havenโt read this book.
The characters developed well and were intriguing and the plot was unique.
Iโd strongly recommend this to anyone. What a great book!
This was my first book by the author and it won't be my last. I was still on the edge of my seat the whole time to find out what was going to happen next! The story flicks between present day and to the past at different stages of Anna meeting Fin and their relationship together. Shalini's story telling kept me engaged the whole time.
This was SO GOOD! I loved it. It is packed with all the twists and turns, moments that will leave you on the edge of your seat. I don't even know how I can summarize this book without giving it away. The narrator did a wonderful job and helped me to really get sucked in and lost in this story.
Just know that this book is worth the read. You won't regret picking this book up for your next read.
The Millionaireโs Wife
By Shalini Boland
Review and Rating: 3 โญ๏ธ
The Millionaireโs Wife is a fast paced psychological thriller with many twists and turns! It is basically about Anna Blackwell who is now married to Will, her perfect, wealthy, in the dark, husband. The timeline bounce back and forth between now and earlier when a young Anna, just graduating school, was in love with Finn, her first love.
I have decided not to get into the plot in this review because no one wants spoilers, and boy, are there a bunch of those!
However, I felt like it was all very implausible, you may really have to willingly suspend disbelief with this one, as I did.
The narrator did a great job and the audiobook version was good.
I want to thank NetGalley and Bookouture Audio for providing me with a copy of the audiobook.
#TheMillionairesWife #NetGalley
An amazing thriller!
Just how well do you know the ones you love? Do they keep secrets and if they do, how far would you go to keep them safe?
This thriller makes you question those people you surround yourself with and trust and love. Crazy plans that get out of hand and jealousy that ruins our relationships. I enjoyed the twists and turns that are scattered through this book and just when I thought it was over there was more. I canโt wait to read another one of her books.
I absolutely love the luxury of having a novel read to me whilst working... So subsequently I am an avid "listener" and have an audible book on the background most days (which sometimes drives my family nuts LOL!!!).
The Millionaire's wife narrated by Katie Villa is really enjoyable and well delivered.
The storyline leads itself to be listened to as there are not many characters to keep track on. In my opinion, "complex" books are not suitable for Audible experiences...
The storylines contains a dual-time frame and the whole point is to take you on a mystery solving experience giving the reader/listener clues from the past as well as from the present.
The journey through the book was very pleasant, thrilling at times with a wicked twists along the way. Really good indeed....
Superbly paced and gripping thriller by Shalini Boland. This was a light and binge-worthy audiobook listen. Set along two dual timelines, we meet Anna and her handsome surfer boyfriend in their teens and follow the turbulence and angst of those days. This is juxtaposed with 10 years later when Anna receives a chilling text of a murdered woman with the words: " Your turn next". There are some great surprises and twists in the plot that add to the suspense. The audiobook is clearly narrated in a Britiish accent intonation well the action, anxiety and fear. A quick and entertaining listen perfect for Autumn. #themillionaireswife #shaliniboland #netgalley #psychologicalthriller #thriller #audiobook #bookouture