The book started off like a general suspense book about a woman who has a hard time forgiving her husband for an affair he had for a few months some time ago. She has decided to stay together with him since they have children. In the beginning it feels like most other books like this, but it quite quickly gets better and more interesting.

She has started a wild water swimming club on social media, and the group of women she is swimming with weekly decides to go to a very remote and basic cottage in Scotland for a week. One of the women happens to be her husband's lover, and not an ex-lover.

A very enjoyable read that would have been five starts, but for some reason I do not understand the secret lover is given away in the beginning of the book. I hoped it was a red herring that would be explained later, but sadly that was not the case. Otherwise it was an interesting read that I could not put down.

Sophie needs a break from her cheating husband and her pretty much solo parenting. She joins her swimming group for a week away at a very secluded cottage in Scotland. As she is on her way she finds out that her husband was (is?) cheating with one of the women in the group and he fears the woman has targeted Sophie. Likewise, Sophie is angry and wants to confront the woman, but doesn't know which one she is. At this point the book seems to lag while we follow Sophie as she tries to determine which woman it is as well as wondering about some noises outside the cabin. For awhile it seems like the book doesn't know where to go and page filler events are thrown into the story. When the book finally gets back to the resolution it feels very unlikely. I could hear my inner editor asking "Are you sure that's where you want to take the story?"

A quick read. Good tension. Didn't connect with any of the characters really, but it was easy to follow their journey. Some neat twists, but nothing too shocking. Lovely landscape, good sense of place.

Thank you to Netgalley for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I enjoyed this book, the idea of swimming in icy water for some reason appeals to me. So good for mental well-being and the body in general. I would join Sophie's group of swimmers.

Who could Sophie's husbands secret lover be? I was hooked throughout trying to decide who the culprit was.
A well-written psychological thriller and a recommended read.

Sophie's husband cheated on her, but she continues their marriage for their two boys' sake, but it is proving more difficult than she first expected. So to escape her thoughts and claim a little me time, Sophie starts a wild swimming group with five strangers, or so she thought. But a shocking confession by her husband Ryan as she is driving to Scotland for a girls' wild swimming' getaway stuns Sophie, and the implications and potential danger begin to hit home.

This is a fast-paced book that kept me engaged from start to finish. The plot is constructed very well, there were some twists and turns that you expected along the way, but the real villain was a huge surprise.

As a side note, you will either like Sophie or feel frustrated by her; however, this doesn't deflect from the plot or your enjoyment. I highly recommend this book.

I love a thriller about a vacation gone wrong. "My Husband's Lover" is that and more. I love the chapters from the swimmer. I also learned two things, 1) never vacation with people you don't know, and 2) power banks are your friend. Keep your phone charged! Thanks for the advance review copy.

What starts off as a plan for a group of swimming friends to go on a detox retreat to Scotland to recharge and do some swimming in the loch, ends up as a tale of lies and secrets.

This is a story full of unlikeable characters all out for themselves. Even Sophie who we should feel some empathy for given what a scumbag her husband is, is hard to connect with and later in the book you find out just how devious she is...which explains the feelings of a lack of empathy towards her.

As the blurb suggests, one of the women on the trip has been having an affair with Sophie's husband Ryan. Sophie and the readers are left in the dark as to who it is until a bit later on in the book, but the reasons why the affair happened are revealed sooner as a side plot emerges.

Everything was neatly tied up at the end,.

Thanks to netgalley for the opportunity to review this book, this is my honest opinion.

This is a typical, average thriller. The beginning was interesting but it took too long for anything to happen and the secrets and lies, when revealed, were not that thrilling or surprising. The location was nicely depicted but the long treks to the beach and the car were glossed over as though it was just down the road. Also, to carry enough supplies for five people for a week, including lots of wine, needs a supermarket van, not a couple of carrier bags, surely? And I think Sophie should have died of hypothermia several times! Not at all believable.

My Husband’s Lover by Jess Ryder

When Sophie’s husband, Ryan confessed to her he has slept with someone else Sophie was devastated, depressed and needed something to take her mind off her problem so she started a swimming club. Many ladies joined but did not stay very long but Fern, Keira, Ariel, Elise and Grace have stayed committed to their weekly dips in freezing cold water. The four girls soon become Sophie’s closest friends and they decide to go away for one week on a remote swimming holiday. They pick a cottage in Scotland in the middle of nowhere with no electricity, no running water and no phone connection to the outside world. The cabin is so remote after they park the car, they have to track for one-and-a-half-hours over steep but beautiful terrain.

As they take the long drive to the remote cabin Ryan calls Sophie and confesses that, one of the four girls going on holiday is the girl he has slept with, which completely ruins the holiday for Sophie, now Sophie does not know what to do, three girls are genuine and one is a crazy conniving imposter, but which one of the four girls is she?

This book was suspenseful and after 50% I was eager to find out how it will end but at times, I did find it was a slow read especially the first half of the book

I would like to thank Net Galley and Bookouture for a copy of this ebook in exchange for an honest review

My Husband's Lover will keep you reading until the end.

Lots of twist and turns. Just when you think you are getting all the details, another twist drops.

Really enjoyed "My Husband's Lover".

Thanks to #NetGalley and #Bookouture for the opportunity to read this book.

Sophie heads off for a break with other members of her swimming group to a remote - very remote - house in the wilds of Scotland. But things take a very different, and possibly dangerous, turn when she realises that one of the four other women - but which? - is the person who's been having an affair with her husband...

Jess Ryder's books are always a good read and this was no exception. The wild swimming theme is very on trend (we just called it swimming outdoors in my day) and this aspect of the story was well described and atmospheric, as is the isolation of the house they stay in - so much so that you can't drive there but instead have to park in a lay-by and walk for an hour and a half. I love a bit of rural isolation but I'm not sure I'd go that far.

I didn't find Sophie a hugely engaging protagonist - she seemed a bit pathetic to be honest. Ryan is very clearly a dead loss as a husband, having previously been a dead loss as a boyfriend, and it's anybody's guess why Sophie stuck with him for so many years. He was definitely in need of kicking into touch.

I also had a bit of difficulty clearly differentiating the other members of the swimming group - I knew Ariel and Keira but could never remember which was which out of Elise and Grace.

Although none of the characters were particularly relatable and I did guess a couple - though not all - the twists, it was a good read which did keep my interest throughout.

★★★★ 3.5 stars (rounded up)

I am excited to be taking part in the #BooksOnTour #BlogTour for Jess Ryder's atmospheric thriller MY HUSBAND'S LOVER.

A wife. A mistress. A week away with no escape…

What a tense and atmospheric read this was! And what better setting than the remote Scottish Highlands. No electricity, no phone signal, no WiFi, no running water, a compost toilet...they call it ecotourism; I call it roughing it in dangerous territory. I've read too many thrillers to find THAT in any way relaxing. No way would you get me there without some form of civilisation nearby. What if there was an emergency? As these women soon found out...

The story builds slowly as we meet Sophie and Ryan in the midst of marital difficulties. The fact that Sophie has let it smoulder without even a hint of forgiveness tells me that their marriage is in trouble. Still reeling from a New Year revelation that he'd been having an affair, which he said was more like a fling, Sophie is furious with her husband for his betrayal. But as you get to know the couple and their story, I'm a bit baffled as to why she is even surprised! The fact that she kind of rumbled him into a relationship and even admitted to her friends they lived together for two years before she managed to drag him up the aisle. That speaks to me that Ryan went along reluctantly...and his behaviour kind of confirmed that. So again, I'm wondering, why Sophie was even surprised by his revelation?

Anyway, in light of his betrayal and after months of marriage counselling, there was no real sign of progress but still they soldiered on for the sake of their two sons. But still Sophie felt betrayed. I get it, I do; I would too in her situation. So she decides she needs something for her...to lose herself in, or maybe to find herself. And so she creates Sophie's Swimmers - a group of women who brave the icy waters of wild swimming.

What is wild swimming? It's basically, to all intents and purposes, swimming in natural pools of water - be it a bend in a river, an open lake or even the sea. It is far more dangerous than the confined spaces of a man-made swimming pool. There are no lifeguards, the waters are invigoratingly cold and if in a river or open sea, there are currents and tides to contend with.

For Sophie, wild swimming is an escape. To make her forget. And together with five other regulars - Fern, Keira, Elise, Grace and Ariel - they meet weekly at a local lake to brave the cold waters. One day, the women are tossing about ideas of a wild swimming trip together somewhere and Fern discovers the perfect place in the Scottish Highlands in a remote cottage with no electricity, running water, WiFi or mobile phone signal, surrounded by lochs in which they can swim. The women jump on board the idea and the getaway is booked. But Fern pulls out at the last minute, leaving the other women to go on without her...and leaving Sophie as the only driver of the group.

It's a seven or so hour drive to the layby in which they leave the car for the 90 minute hike through a single file trail to their remote cabin far away from any kind if civilisation. They are barely into the trip when Sophie gets an urgent call from Ryan. The woman he had an affair with is part of Sophie's group and she has been stalking her for the best part of six months. She asks who but he refuses to tell her. He begs her to turn around and come home but she ignores his pleas. She will just have to uncover her husband's mistress for herself.

However, if she thought this was to be a relaxing week away, then she was very much mistaken. Sophie's problems are only just beginning...

I loved the remote setting in the Scottish Highlands. It made for an incredibly atmospheric thriller, directing the plot with twists, red herrings and tension that was palpable throughout. Although it began as a slow build, it held my attention enough until it picked up its pace and then I was turning the pages at the rate of knots to uncover the who and the why. I had a couple of suspects but leant towards one predominantly which turned out to be correct. But not before ticking off one or two others.

The story unfolds through the third person POV of Sophie and that of the interspersed chapters of the person we know only as "The Swimmer". From those chapters, I nit-picked for any clue to narrow down my suspect pool. But then when they were revealed, it felt a little like an anti-climax and the rest of the ending just sort of petered out. Don't get me wrong, it is still a great read. It just lacked the jaw-dropping twist at the end.

Overall, MY HUSBAND'S LOVER is an entertaining psychological thriller with the tension, the sense of claustrophia and the whole atmosphere that will have you gasping for breath.

I would like to thank #Jess Ryder, #NetGalley and for an ARC of #MyHusbandsLover in exchange for an honest review.

This review appears on my blog at https://stinathebookaholic.blogspot.com/.

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

Sophie’s life is a bit of a disaster. Her husband has been having an affair and they are currently doing to counselling.

Sophie turns to wild swimming as a way to have ‘me time’. Along with 4 others, Fern, Ariel, Elise and Grace, they form a tight knit group who swim together regularly.

Fern suggests a week away in Scotland to experience a change of scenery for swims and also a digital detox. Of course they all agree. Fern drops out at the last minute but the rest of the group head off. Ryan rings at the last minute and tells Sophie that the affair was with one of the group, but refused to name names. Who was it?

The story is told mainly from Sophie’s POV. However there is chapters form ‘the swimmer’ sprinkled in. She is clearly Ryan’s mistress, but what are her plans?

This was a great wee page turner. With twists until the end. Worth a read!

Another fantastic author whose books I will always read is Jess Ryder. Her newest book is called My Husband’s Lover. If you enjoy suspense that is full of twists and keeps the tension tight along with excellent writing, this is the book for you. What would you do if you were Sophie? She is about to go on a trip and learns one of the women going is having an affair with her husband. She’s not sure which one but she will certainly find out.

Synopsis:

A wife. A mistress. A week away with no escape…

As my girlfriends and I sip wine and share secrets in the flickering candlelight of our remote Scottish hideaway, we all agree we need this break. Every morning we will swim in icy cold lochs and hike to remote beaches and each night we will sip wine and share stories, cozy beside the log burner. It will be a break none of us will ever forget.

But behind my warm smile, there is ice in my heart. One of my friends is my husband’s lover, and it’s only a matter of time before I discover which one. She thinks she has me fooled, but she’s not the only one with secrets.

I don’t let my smile slip, but as I get closer to the truth, it becomes very clear that in these remote Scottish hills, far from help, someone is going to pay for their lies with their life…

WOW! What a book, don’t miss it! Out on October 14.

I liked this novel but I felt it needed more character development to move the story forward. It took my longer than normal to finish as I wasn’t drawn back to it sadly.

I’d like to thank Bookouture and NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read ‘My Husband’s Lover’ by Jess Ryder in exchange for my honest and unbiased review.

Sophie is driving to Scotland with her group of friends who are part of Sophie’s Swimmers. She’s looking forward to a week of wild swimming but also identifying her husband Ryan’s lover who he’s told her is one of her group. They’re staying at Condie’s Retreat, a two hour walk from where they’ve left their hire car, and where there’s no electricity, running water, phone reception or neighbours. But secrets and lies are about to be revealed as Sophie gets closer to the truth.

‘My Husband’s Lover’ is a thoroughly enjoyable thriller that has drama, suspense and twists and turns. I was gripped from page one, gradually reducing the number of suspects the further I read until I’d narrower it to two. The characters were interesting with more than one keeping secrets, but I wanted Sophie to be tougher especially with her weak husband Ryan. The story kept me involved from start to finish and although the conclusion was slightly disappointing I can recommend it as a novel that’s well worth reading.

2.5 stars. I’ve read a couple of this authors other books and enjoyed them so was keen read this. Unfortunately I struggled with this one. I found it quite boring and I really disliked the main character Sophie and couldn’t relate to her. It picked up towards the end and overall it was an okay thriller

*ignores chores to finish this book*

Imagine going on a break away with your best friends who you believe have always had your back, but you find out that your husband is having an affair with one of them, what lengths will you go to for revenge?

This deserves five shiny stars! I read this in a day, as mentioned above my other priorities went out of the window so I could finish the book, I was desperate to find out what happens next. I loved every moment and was sad when it finished.

A big thank you to netgalley for a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

This was a interesting, twisty, messed up ride.

Lots of drama, twists, suspense and a definite recommend

Thanks Netgalley and Bookouture

All thoughts and opinions are my own and aren't influenced by anyone else

A domestic thriller about a wife finding out that her husband is cheating on her with a “friend”. Although it is a usual trope, I liked the whole whodunnit plot that kept me turning the page. As soon as I found out who it was, my jaw dropped. I actually liked her! Even I felt betrayed!!!

The other twist I really didn’t care for although I had an inkling, I just didn’t appreciate how it all went down. The ending fell a bit flat, I feel like it could’ve ended a bit sooner. Some chapters I felt were unnecessary. Nonetheless I enjoyed it. It was a nice quick read for me.

I read The Second Marriage and I hated Edward, now we have Ryan who is an even more pathetic husband / human being. Are the men always so spineless and pathetic in Jess Ryder novels?

Out on October 14, 2022! Be sure to grab a copy if you’re into domestic thrillers.

Disclaimer: I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily. Thanks so much Bookouture