From my blog: Always With a Book

I am a bit late to the Robyn Harding party, though I have read a couple of her books and really enjoyed them. Of course as soon as I heard about this one, I grabbed the ALC of it and devoured it! Let me just say…the hype for this one is real!!!

This was such a twisty, crazy psychological thriller that is definitely one you will not be able to put down once you start. I loved that this one starts off a bit slow to lull you into a false sense of security and then basically rips the rug out from under your feet as the twists start coming left and right!

I don’t even want to say much more for fear of spoilers, and because I think going into this one blind is really the best way to go, so I’ll just say that this is a fast-paced, smartly plotted story and will have you questioning everything and everyone. I loved it and it just might be my new favorite Robyn Harding book!

This is definitely the perfect book to add to your summer reading list if you love addictive, highly entertaining, binge-worthy reads. Now I am determined to read the rest of Robyn’s backlist before her next one comes out!


Audio thoughts: This was excellent on audio and I loved that there were two narrators. I loved that there were two narrators. It really made the alternating parts stand out.

God I love Robyn Harding. She was one of the very first authors I posted about when I started my instagram account, and she really never disappoints. This one follows Lee, a woman devastated by the pandemic’s toll on her restaurant who winds up homeless trying to escape her past. While sleeping on a remote beach she hears a woman attempting to end her life. After saving her she finds herself pulled into a grand conspiracy, and the complicated/messy life of the woman she rescued. This book is SO twisty turny! Harding always has great pacing and I was such a fool to doubt her. I was worried too much was happening all at the front half of the book, but no the second half was just as gripping. I really loved both of the central women- Lee and Hazel- and although they are different people they both have an inherent strength to them that I really loved and gravitated towards. This is a fantastic thriller that I couldn’t put down and I couldn’t recommend more.

I'm sharing my review on my instagram @boozehoundbookclub on the pub date!

Thank you to @netgalley @grandcentralpub @hachettebooks for my advance copy! I love Robyn Harding and all of her previous work so I knew this would be a winner.

I was literally hooked from the first page and could not put it down! It is told in two parts and POVs, Lee and Hazel. The heart of the story is really about friendship and the bonds of it. However, this is most definitely a psychological thriller (my fav) and it is twisty!

I don’t want to give too much away so I am going to keep this pretty brief. Just know that this is edge of your seat suspenseful, the chapters are short and quick and it is thoroughly engaging. This is your perfect summer thriller!

Robyn Harding is one of those authors whose books I will always read even if I don’t know the plot. She is a fantastic writer and her books are consistently four and five stars. When I opened The Drowning Woman, I knew I was going to love it and I did. Losing myself in a great story is my favorite thing to do and I read this one quickly. I HIGHLY recommend every book she writes!

Synopsis:

Lee Gulliver never thought she’d find herself living on the streets—no one ever does—but when her restaurant fails, and she falls deeper into debt, she leaves her old life behind with nothing but her clothes and her Toyota Corolla. In Seattle, she parks in a secluded spot by the beach to lay low and plan her next move—until early one morning, she sees a sobbing woman throw herself into the ocean. Lee hauls the woman back to the surface, but instead of appreciation, she is met with fury. The drowning woman, Hazel, tells her that she wanted to die, that she’s trapped in a toxic, abusive marriage, that she’s a prisoner in her own home. Lee has thwarted her one chance to escape her life.

Out of options, Hazel retreats to her gilded cage, and Lee thinks she’s seen the last of her, until her unexpected return the next morning. Bonded by disparate but difficult circumstances, the women soon strike up a close and unlikely friendship. And then one day, Hazel makes a shocking request: she wants Lee to help her disappear. It’ll be easy, Hazel assures her, but Lee soon learns that nothing is as it seems, and that Hazel may not be the friend Lee thought she was.



Out on June 13, don’t miss it. This got five big Goodreads stars from me!

In The Drowning Woman, we follow Lee and Harper. Lee is homeless living in her car and working at a restaurant trying to stay afloat, when she rescues Harper from drowning a strange friendship emerges.

The first chapter was really intriguing as we meet this woman Lee who is living in her car under an overpass, having run from a dangerous man. Her life changes when she meets Harper after Lee saves her from drowning.

This story is fast-paced and full of twists and turns, some of which I could see coming, and some that were surprising. But I really couldn't connect with either Lee or Harper, Lee jumps into bed with the first man who is nice to her thinking of herself in love with him even though she never got his last name which I thought didn't make any sense for someone with her background to do. And things didn't get any better from there. I didn't feel like any decisions made sense for either woman and the different POVs ended up rehashing the same things which was annoying. Honestly even with all the issues I had I probably would have given this 3 stars if not for how disappointed I was with the ending.

So I wasn’t sure how much to expect from this book, but I was riveted from the first page to the very last! The twists just keep coming throughout, and I was so attached to both the MCs, I didn’t want the book to end. If you’re a fan of domestic thrillers, do yourself a favor and check this one out next week!

Thanks to Netgalley and Grand Central Pub for the gifted eARC in exchange for my honest review!

This is bound to be the thriller of the summer - tightly written, twisty with an ending I didn't see coming. Highly recommend!

Lee Gulliver has lost it all. Her New York City restaurant, her family and her reputation. She is now penniless, homeless and living in her car in Seattle. While sitting on the beach, she saves a drowning woman. But the woman, Hazel, did not want to be saved. While living a life of luxury, she is trapped in an abusive marriage. The two women eventually find a common bond and vow to help one another. But at a time when Lee and Hazel need to be able to trust one another, neither can. And a twisty tale of lies and deception begins.

The Drowning Woman by Robyn Harding is a highly effective thriller. It requires some suspension of disbelief, which was ok with me, as the reader is rewarded with a tense rollercoaster ride. This is one of the first books I've read where a main character's unfortunate situation, in Lee's case, a failed restaurant, was a direct result of the pandemic. It made some of her subsequently foolish decisions believable. I enjoyed Harding's fast-paced writing style, which was appreciated as I couldn't put this book down.

4.25 stars.

This is an excellent, well-crafted story with lots of jaw-dropping surprises. I love it when, as I’m reading, I think “what about ____?” and then my question is answered in a way that makes sense. I really enjoyed this one a lot. Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

WOWOWOOW now THAT'S a thriller. I was hooked from the beginning and finished this one in less than 24 hours. Highly recommend to thriller fans.

Two women in dire straits come together to save each other. It should be a great story of bonding and female empowerment, except no one is as they appear. Lots of twists and surprises and lots of action. But, the flow of the story seemed uneven and there were a lot of bits and pieces that were either completely unbelievable or were unresolved. At times I wanted to shake both women for the poor choices they made. Some things appeared so obvious, but of course we are reading a story and they theoretically didn't realize they were starring in a thriller, right?

This one was a wild and twisty ride for sure!

Lee is down on her luck. Covid happened and she lost her restaurant, but still owes money to an investor who isn't happy. She also made a horrible mistake which has caused her sister to shut her out. She's on the run. She has no one to turn to. She's curently living in her car and waiting tables at a hole in the wall diner.

She parks her car random places to feel safe. She finds a secluded area in a nicer neighborhood and sleeps there. She awakens to what she belives is crying, heads toward the beach and pulls a woman fromn the water who appeared to be drowning.

Hazel, the drowning woma, has a lot of secrets. She befriends Lee and helps her, and wants Lee to help her as well. But is she what she appears to be?

Lee gets entanged in a psychological mess that she can't find her way out of. It ends in murder, with Lee on the run. Hazel is dealing with her own issues.

There were twists and turns that kept me on my toes until the end!

Many thanks to NetGalley and Grand Central Publishing for an ARC and a physical copy in exchange for my honest review, and to Thriller Book Lovers Promo for allowing me to take part in this tour!

A fun popcorn thriller with plenty of twists and turns, The Drowning Woman is a quick, binge-able book that I didn’t want to put down! This book left me feeling a wide array of emotions, but mostly anger towards the treatment of the MCs.

I went in completely blind, and I’m really glad I did! I had no expectations and just let the story take me wherever it wanted. I highly recommend this book!

Thank you NetGalley and Grand Central Publishing for the advanced copy in exchange for an honest review! Our June 13!

I’m here to tell you to read this book!!! this thriller was EXCELLENT. I flew through it in a day and truly couldn’t put it down. it’s everything I look for: short chapters | two POVs | unpredictable plot twists… it had me on the edge of my seat and I’m pretty sure I was short of breath at some
points 😅 if you haven’t read a Robyn Harding thriller you’re missing OUT.

thank you Grand Central for my gifted copy of THE DROWNING WOMAN!

This was such a good, dark, twisty thriller. I didn’t see the twists coming and it kept me guessing. A perfect thriller for summer!

Thank you to NetGalley, Robyn Harding and Grand Central Publishing for the free e-book in exchange for an honest review.

Harding can do no wrong in my eyes. I thoroughly enjoyed this one and the twists, as always, impeccable. I read this quickly because there is just something so incredibly bingeable about Harding work.

What a head spinning thriller!! The Drowning Woman is a topsy turvy kick you in the butt novel. When Lee Gulliver saves a woman from drowning herself in the sea and the woman is everything but thankful. She was trying to escape her abusive marriage and jumping into the ocean was her way out. An unexpected friendship develops between the two woman and the plotting begins.

I loved it. I ignored everything yesterday so I could just read. Lol. Finished in a day. While the novel isn't not going to win any major literary awards and there were some issues with the plot ... but it was a wild ride, and I was all in. I give it 5 stars. If a book can make me stay off my phone for multiple hours straight... then it deserves a 5-star rating. 🙂 So many twists to the story I had to keep reading just to see what would happen. This is my first by Robyn Harding but her entire backlist will be added to by TBR immediately.

Thank you to the netgalley and publisher for providing me with an advanced digital copy to read and review honestly. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Wow! I was hooked right from the beginning as I tried to find the connections and betrayal between Lee, Hazel, Benjamin, and Jesse.
As Lee and Hazel form a unique friendship, they soon discover they are both women who need to start a new life. As they help each other, it quickly seems like one of them are not completely honest.
Highly recommended. I didn’t want to put it down.

*I received an advanced reader’s copy of this book from NetGalley and Grand Central Publishing in exchange for my honest review.

I loved this book by Robyn Harding and definitely am going to check out her backlist. Lee and Hazel's different perspectives made the novel fly by and I couldn't put it down!

Appearances are sometimes just that ... 🌊👩

Special thanks to @rhardingwriter @thrillerbookloverspromotions and @grandcentralpub for this ARC!

👉🏼 Swipe for synopsis

MY REVIEW ::
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I LOVED this book! 🥰🥰🥰
It is set in present time, reflecting peoples current post covid struggles with jobs and relationships. You get so invested in Lee's storyline and how she can get out of her current situation with the help 🆘️ of Hazel and this guy she's been "seeing."
THEN 💥 TWIST
& 💥 TWIST & 💥 TWIST
And holy crap my mind was like 😳😱 there's no way this will end well at all ......
The pieces start to come together like a puzzle 🧩
& 💥
(Well, I can't spoil the ending.... you'll have to read it for yourself!!!)
😉🙃😂

ℙ𝕌𝔹 𝔻𝔸𝕋𝔼 is June 13, 2023

MARK YOUR CALENDARS 📅

QOTD ❓️⁉️ would you put your life on the line for a stranger, just to have a guaranteed happily ever after?

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