The Drowning Woman is an incredibly fast paced read with short, snappy chapters and edge-or-your-seat suspense. While the plot is well and truly over the top, a few things were introduced that were never addressed again or sorted to completion, Lee loses everything during COVID and ends up penniless and living out of her car. One day, she sees Hazel fling herself into the ocean but instead of gratitude for being saved, Hazel is furious and was trying to escape her abusive relationship. Oddly, they form a strange friendship but nothing is as it seems and you won't see the twists coming!

Special thanks to Grand Central Publishing and NetGalley for this e-arc.*

Thank you to Netgalley for an ARC of this novel. I loved it! Such a perfect beach read, I couldn’t put this one down.
This is the story of Lee, a restaurant owner who lost it all during the pandemic, and Hazel, a wealthy but very unhappy woman. These two form an unlikely friendship when Lee pulls Hazel from the frigid water, saving her from a suicide attempt. We then dive into just what led Hazel to want to take her own life, and the twists and turns of this friendship.

This was a really great, fast-paced thriller and I definitely recommend it.

A homeless woman and an abused wealthy woman cross paths. A very twisted plot in this one with many great surprises. Obviously no one is who you think they are. The wealthy woman convinces the homeless one to help her escape her husband who is into slave/master scenarios- when someone unexpected is murdered it looks like the homeless woman is being set up! A great page turner

Great story with lots of twists and turns. I was second guessing things the whole time! I loved the mystery and trying to figure out if anyone was really telling the truth.

The Drowning Woman by @ pub date 6/13/23 gripped me right from the start and I personally think it’s worth all the hype and is now one of my faves by her. Writing, pacing, characters, everything totally worked for me. This clever and twisty thriller is sure to keep you on the edge of your seat. My only gripe is towards the end it became a bit rushed and felt chaotic but in no way ruined the overall reading experience. 4.5⭐️

4.5 stars

Thank you to Thriller Book Promotions, Grand Central Publishing and Netgalley for my #gifted copy.

This is my second Robyn Harding book and it won’t be my last! She’s now an auto buy author for me! The Drowning Women is so twisty, it made it so hard to put down. We start off with Lee who is down on her luck living in her car, and she sees a women drowning or so she thinks. This chance meeting between Lee and Hazel forever changes the path of their lives. Is it for the better or worst? You try to figure it all out, what everyone’s motives are but it had me all over the place!

This book was SO GOOD! I read it in ONE DAY! I was hooked from the very beginning.

I loved the short chapters. And the perspective from both women.

The only thing I didn’t love was how the ending dragged on a little. There was a lot of talk about Hazels mom and it was sweet but seemed unnecessary. I wanted the juicy stuff!

Overall, I really liked this book and would recommend!

The drowning woman was my first Robyn Harding book, which did not disappoint. The book was fast-paced, had exciting characters, and had a twisted plot. I found myself bouncing back and forth between distrusting Hazel and Lee at various points in the book, and Harding would scoop in and turn the story so that I didn’t know what to believe. I also thoroughly enjoyed the sadistic evil lawyer character as it has been done before, but not like this! I will gladly recommend The drowning woman to anyone in the mood for a fun, twisted, and quick read!

Lee has found herself homeless after the pandemic destroys her dreams of owning her restaurant. She sleeps on a beach as she plans her next move. Until she rescues a woman from drowning. The woman, Hazel, tells her she’s a slave in her own home, as they become friends.

Another fast paced and exciting thriller for your summer vacation! I couldn’t put this one down. It has two memorable female characters, both in their own miserable circumstances. There’s twists galore and evil men. You love to root for the good gals and hope they make it out.

“What did I think of the homeless before I became one of them? Not much, is the short answer.”

The Drowning Woman comes out 6/13.

Lee, down on her luck and living in her car meets Hazel, a rich woman in an abusive marriage with a sick man. Throw in a convicted felon who is involved with both women and the story takes off. Another fantastic story by this author! 4.5 stars.

I was really not expecting the ending in this book. I thoroughly enjoyed the entire novel. The characters are well-written, the scenery is described beautifully, and the story is pretty believable. I was sort of hoping for a sequel.

This was a lot of fun! I went in completely blind, so I wasn't sure what to expect just based on the cover. I thought this was a really smartly done domestic thriller. It kept my attention the entire time and kept me wondering what was going to happen next. I loved that it was split between the two POV's because the way it all came together with them was so well done. The story was very easy to follow and I was never sure who to root for.

This was a good one! My jaw hit the floor more than once and I had no idea what was going on for a majority of the book!

I loved the formatting. There are two narrators - Lee, a woman who has fallen on hard times and is now living in her car and Hazel, a wealthy woman who is trying to escape her abusive husband. The novel was told in four parts between the two women - each part alternated a narrator. This was a unique format because for some of the parts, the storyline overlapped we just learned the other viewpoints. Normally, I wouldn’t think this would work but Harding executed it flawlessly.

I didn’t trust anyone. It was so hard to know if we had reliable narrators or not, what if anything from their back stories was relevant to the current plot, or how anything fit together. It was so fun!

The chapters were quick which makes putting this book down super hard! Honestly it was too bad I had to adult or I probably could have binged this over a nice weekend!

There aren’t many books that really surprise me but this definitely did. Where it started and where it ended up were not at all what I was expecting!

This is definitely one I’ll be using as a go to recommendation. If it’s not on your list, add it immediately!

Thank you to Grand Central Publishing, Thriller Book Lovers Promotions, and the author for this stellar read.

What a story! It was suspenseful and thrilling, and I couldn’t read it fast enough. I can’t even imagine what it would be like to have to live in my car. Lee went from having it all to having nothing including friends and family. When Hazel came around I thought she was going to change Lee’s life for the better, but everything was not as it seemed in Hardings latest book.

I started second guessing what was really happening until I got to a certain point in the book! I can’t wait for you to read this next hit by Robyn Harding when it comes out. Be sure to make room in your day, because once you start reading it will be hard to stop

Another 5 star read for Robyn Harding! One of our MC, Lee, lost everything when her restaurant went under during the pandemic. She went from living the high life, to living in her car. Lee meets, Hazel, another woman living in her own personal nightmare. Hazel is living in her own nightmare, despite her social status. Despite the difference in social standings, Lee and Hazel become friends.

I really enjoyed this book. Harding is one of my go to authors when it comes to recommendations on books. There were many twists and turns that kept me from putting the book down!

When her restaurant business falls on hard times, Lee Guilliver is left with a massive pile of debt. She leaves with just a few possessions, surviving by waitressing and living in her car. One morning, parked at the beach, she sees a woman walking into the ocean, screaming and apparently trying to drown herself. Lee dives in to save her, but the woman, Hazel, is not happy with her. She tells Lee about her abusive husband and impossible situation she is living in. With no one else to turn to, the women strike up an unlikely friendship and think maybe they can help each other.

What an amazing thriller! The pacing was perfect, and the characters well developed. Told in alternating points of view, you could feel Lee and Hazel’s desperation in their respective situations. I loved their unlikely friendship and how they came to look out for each other. And the twists in this book were SO well done! Without giving spoilers, one of them I thought I was able to predict but when it actually unfolded, I was blown away. This is easily one of those books you could binge-read and I found myself saying “just a few more pages” quite often. This was my first Robyn Harding book but it won’t be my last!

Thank you to Netgalley, Robyn Harding and Grand Central Publishing for the ARC! “The Drowning Woman” releases June 13th.

This review will be shared to my instagram blog (@books_by_the_bottle) shortly :)

4.25-4.5⭐️

My first read by this author.
Lee finds herself homeless living in her car after her restaurant failed during the pandemic. The problem is she owed a gangster money, and he wants it back, so she had to run.
In her new location she saves Hazel one night when she tries to kill herself. Hazel confesses to being in an abusive relationship, and wants Lee’s help to disappear.

The book immediately grabbed my interest. There’s lots of twists and turns as the book progresses right up to the very end.

I really liked Lee, so I was behind her struggle, she’s strong, independent in some ways, but needy for love. Life is tough but she’s still able to try and help someone else.

It’s got a good pace with plenty going on so I really enjoyed it, and recommend it.

Lee was running her own restaurant and doing well until Covid lockdowns hit and she never recovered. Now she is homeless and living in her car and working for cash in a dumpy diner. One morning she hears a woman crying on the beach and then a splash and when Lee goes to check, she realizes that the woman is trying to drown herself. Lee saves her, and the woman is furious because she didn’t want to be saved, but the two soon become friends. Lee is drawn to Hazel and her complex life and soon finds herself agreeing to help Hazel escape. Except there’s so much more to the story. Nothing and no one is as it seems and I couldn’t stop turning pages to see what was going to happen next.
This is super fast paced and there are twists in abundance, this is the definition of a summer popcorn thriller. Perfect beach read.
Thanks to Grand Central Publishing and NetGalley for this eArc in exchange for my review.

From the opening chapters there was promise of a story that would have you on the edge of your seat and unable to see the twists coming. And while there were both of those things at different points in the story, there was also feeling to comfortable with strangers, weary woman avoiding obvious red flags and some actions/events that were a bit to much of a reach for me. The handful of books I've read by this author have averaged a three star rating, and her latest one falls in that same category. The Drowning Woman has an average rating higher than my personal one, and if it sounds intriguing to you, I think it's worth giving it a try when it's out in June!
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Thank you NetGalley and Grand Central Publishing for the advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.

Robyn Harding is one of my go-to thriller writers and I was so excited to get an eARC of her upcoming release, THE DROWNING WOMAN.

Robyn excels at interesting characters being put in the oddest scenarios. TDW starts off strong and feels incredibly fast paced with her use of short chapters. I had a harder time connecting with the main character, Lee, at first even with all of my empathy for her. I found myself feeling frustrated with her decisions while understanding why she was making them.

Then the first twist happens and I find now I am unable to put this book down. Switching to Hazel’s perspective was genius. The double perspective is perfect for this story and being inside both Lee’s and Hazel’s heads just makes the story that more compelling.

Normally I don’t want the second POV to hash out everything I’ve already read, but it was so necessary for this story. Knowing what’s happening from both angles just had me reading more and more. And I was so excited to return to Lee and see what happened next. Because this story is bonkers in the best way and I just had to know everything.

I also normally don’t like epilogues but I was so happy to see one at the end of this book!

Perfect for fans of fast-paced thrillers, dual POVs, and twists and turns all throughout.