An original, well-written and compelling psychological thriller. Very easy to read despite several POVs and flash backs. A strong female lead is placed in a very difficult situation with interesting and disturbing topics handled with skill by the author. The plot keeps you turning the pages in suspense, with some great twists at the end. First time I have read this author but will definitely read her previous books. Recommended.

Thanks to NetGalley UK, the author and the publisher.

Another excellent book from this author very different from her usual books but it was certainly a fast paced, very twisty thriller which kept me on the edge of my seat all the way.

Not what I was expecting from the title. great well described characters and not a very nice subject to write about but Samantha Hayes did it justice.

What about the ending? just brilliant, everything brought together with a mind blowing ending which I had to read very carefully to grasp it all.

Thank you to Netgalley and Bookouture for this great ARC which I have no hesitation in recommending.

“The Engagement” is a thriller by Samantha Hayes, an author whose books I’ve read before. This book has the most interesting premise - a man the main character knows is engaged to her daughter. There book is told mainly in three people’s POV - Hannah (the main character), Molly (a friend of Hannah), and Belle (Hannah’s daughter). Hannah’s stories are both past and present, Molly’s POV is past, and Belle’s POV is present. There’s a lot of past build-up, giving the history of Hannah, Molly, and Belle’s fiancé. I felt, sometimes, that the past stories dragged a tiny bit (there’s a lot of detail about the relationship between Hannah and Molly), but it did add background information. I don’t quite know why Hannah couldn’t tell her partner about her past - I’m not sure he would’ve broken up with her, but that’s my take. Belle and present Hannah’s stories had a bit of build-up and the last few chapters flew with information. I did see part of the twist early on, but it didn’t dampen my enjoyment of the book overall, and I did like the final extra twist at the end. There are some trigger warnings (grooming, human trafficking, drug use), but overall I felt that Ms. Hayes did a good job portraying those things.

The Engagement is a tale as old as time. It's a story about a mom of a teen daughter engaged to a creepy old sinister man. What could go wrong?!

Seriously, this book rocks. It is unrealistic with characters that are naive but your heart rate will be up, and the pages will be turned quickly. The multiple perspectives and timelines bounce around but meld together perfectly. I also LOVE the cover. The cover fits the book's themes so well. Thanks for the advance review copy.

This is my first read by this author and is definitely not going to be my last. This is hanna's story, a happily married woman with two daughters, when they throw a birthday surprise party for the oldest daughter, belle, she comes with a shocking surprise for everyone, she's engaged to a mysterious man twice her age and the worst of all this is a man from Hanna's past, a past that she wants to run away from.
This is a very well written thriller, the vibe was very ominous and it keep me on my toes, it has dual timelines and it deals with very hard topics, so beware of the trigger warnings. I'm not going to say much else because it's better to come blind to this story. And that twist in the epilogue had me SHOOK.
Thank you Netgalley and Bookouture for the ARC.

What a dark and twisted tale which I could not put down and not work out how it was going to play out. When your daughter returns home from travelling just before her 18th birthday she brings with her a fiancé who is old enough to be her father but the issue is he is not who he says he is and you know him and the truth about your life before your marriage is about to come crumbling down as this guy is there because you owe him and if he has to hurt your daughter to get what he wants he will. This is a great read.

Hannah is devastated when her daughter Belle gets engaged to on her eighteenth birthday to a man old enough to be her father. Hannah knows this man from years ago and will stop at nothing to get him away from her family.
I enjoyed parts of this book but found it predictable and slow in parts.
Thank you to NetGalley and Bookouture for my e-copy in exchange for an honest review.

I think this might be my 3rd book I have read from this author and it did not disappoint.

It keeps you on edge of your seat to the very end. I raced through it with all the twist and turns you will definitely want to do the same.

It is a thriller about a young daughter who gets engaged to a older man who seems to be a lot closer to her family than she realises fantastic thriller. Would recommend this to everyone who lives a book that keeps you on the edge.

Got to say the research into sex workers makes the book believable, not in what they do physically that was not gone into in vast detail but what they suffer emotionally and how this affects their current life….and future life, if and when they have one, the author has approached the subject sympathetically ( as is right ) and done a sterling job of bringing out empathy from the reader for the characters ( well some of them )
The psychological thriller aspects are more than amply catered for for any lover of secrets, lies, sordid pasts and unexpected happenings, this coupled together with a robust ending and flowing story made this a good, very good, thought provoking read

18-year-old Belle returns home from a trip to France with a shocking surprise for her family – she’s brought along her new fiancé! She’s engaged to a man her parents have never met and he’s more than twice her age! Any parent would be concerned, but Belle’s mom Hannah is horrified to realize that Jack is a nightmare from her past come back to haunt her. Hannah has always taken great pains to conceal her tragic past, but she’ll stop at nothing to prevent history from repeating itself.

This slow burn thriller has everything I love in a psychological suspense novel: dual timelines, multiple POVs, and sinister characters. It’s terrifying to think that this dark and gritty storyline is happening in our world every day, and the author does a stellar job of conveying the horrific conditions in the brothel. Although I guessed what I thought was the main twist, I should have realized that the talented Ms. Hayes had one last surprise up her sleeve with a real OMG of an epilogue!

Many thanks to NetGalley and Bookouture for providing me an advance copy of this book.

It has been a while since I had the pleasure of reading one of this author's books. I cannot tell you the title anymore I am afraid, but I guess when you read a lot it is normal. The brain can only save a certain amount of details. What I do remember though is how I feel before starting a new story (exited) and after having finished one (still exited and satisfied). :)

I love jewelry and weddings. I don't need to tell you how I fell in love with the cover. :) The engagement is a fact. Will we be able to attend the wedding too? That is for you to find out. My lips are sealed. :)

A daughter bringing home her fiance. It happens every day. Often parents are happy and fall in love with their future son in law too, but sometimes you would rather die than letting him touch your little girl. 

This is what happens to Hannah, Rob and their daughter Belle. Hannah knows this man and she knows what he is capable of. There is not a lot she can do. Children, you know how they are. When you forbid something, they will do the exact opposite. And after all, Belle is 18 and feels like she can do whatever she likes. And she likes her fiance a lot. So Hannah has to handle this with care. 

And then you think everything is said and done. After all there is only the epilogue left to read... My oh my ...

Great story, but I knew it beforehand. After all the author has never let me down. 5 stars

Thank you

Belle meets her ideal man. They have a whirlwind romance and it doesn't matter that Jack is more than double her age, she loves him.
He asks her to marry him, and the engagement is announced at her surprise 18th birthday party, and it is the first time her parents have met him.
Hannah, Belle's mother, takes one look at Jack and realises that he is a nightmare from her troubled past, and she is determined that her daughter will not marry this evil man. He could ruin her perfect life and perfect family if the marriage takes place.

A great psychological novel by Samantha Hayes, very engaging, but also very predictable. I guessed the twists and turns, but was surprised at the very end, the last twist.

Very enjoyable, and, while the plot was predictable, I would recommend this book.

Thanks to the publishers and Netgalley for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

requested this book after seeing the blurb. The premise was original and interesting: A mother is introduced to her daughters fiancé, and realizes she knows who he ist She knows he is a dangerous and terrible man, but she can’t tell her family.

The book had its strength and weaknesses. I decided on three stars as a way of balancing it out. First what I liked: The last chapters really hit the mark. I NEEDED to read on, the suspense was killing me. The twist was also a big and positive surprise that made completely sense, and the author masterfully disguised it until it suddenly became very clear. What I didn’t like was how slowly the book developed. The past was so painstakingly described that I felt my eyelids droop from boredom. The author could have gotten to the action much faster. We didn’t need all the details. The now was slightly more exciting, but here too I found myself wishing more would happen and for some reason I wasn’t too invested. The characters felt a bit bland and didn’t stand out for me.

Thanks to netgally and bookatoure for the arc

The Engagement
5 ⭐️

Wow! What a great jaw dropping twist! I was literally in the edge of my seat biting my nails off! I just kept turning and turning the pages I just needed to know what happed! I originally requested this on NetGalley because the cover looked so interesting & yup sure is! A definite must read when it released in Jan 2023
Twist after twist after twist!
I love the multiple pov from now and then. So easy to follow it was like watching a movie! I literally have to take a break after this 📕 to take it all in! Talk about a book hangover 😵!
Hannah thought she had escaped her passed until he proposed to her daughter! Such a good psychological thriller I will definitely be reading more about from this author.

Author: Samantha Hayes
Genre: Psychological Thriller with jaw dropping twist!
Release date: January 10, 2023
Trigger warning: sex trafficking mentioned

This was amazing. We have a boring middle aged, middle class couple just being boring, and then we have their teen daughter rebelling in an extreme and scary way. She comes home with a creepy old guy and announces she is intending to marry him. Her parents have their own completely separate reasons for wanting to put a stop to this, in addition to him being an old creepy man.
Little details are revealed as the story goes on.
What would you do to protect your daughter?
The end was absolute gold.

Grabbed me from the first pages kept me reading late into the night.Samantha Hayes never fails to engage me surprise me with twists and turns.#netgalley #bookouture

Great read. Something a bit different.
I found it a little slow to start with but soon became engrossed and the ending was something of a surprise.

My thanks to netgalley and the publisher for my copy.
The Engagement is a solid 4 stars.

Hannah has a perfect life and a perfect family until her daughter Belle shows up at her eighteenth birthday party with a fiancé who threatens to shatter that perfection by exposing the secrets our protagonist has hidden so well.
A novel that does not leave you indifferent with its well defined characters, special mention for Belle who really behaves like a spoiled eighteen year old girl, which often drove me out of my mind.
In summary, Samantha Hayes gives us a novel like the ones we are used to, intense, absorbing, with a good pace and with good characters and unexpected twists and turns.

Wow

Every parent's worst nightmare comes to life in this thrilling novel full of twists and turns. You want to reach into the pages and shake some sense into Belle. You want to scream at Hannah to tell her family the truth about her past!

It is a bone-chilling realization that these things do happen. Young women are groomed and traded, human trafficking destroys families. I started realizing about halfway through what the main plot twist would be but did not expect the ending whatsoever. You finally think that Hannah is free of the past, but is she really? Will she ever be?

Stayed up well into the night to finish this read. A sure sign of an excellent ride.

Belle is on holiday in France supposedly on a language programme and has suddenly announced that she is engaged. Her family are rather surprised as this has obviously been a whirlwind romance for marriage to be so soon on the horizon. When she arrives with Jack no-one is more surprised than her mother Hannah who recognises her new fiance. Hannah has a secret, one she has not told even her husband Rob about her past. Jack clearly has an agenda and both Hannah and Belle look like they are part of it. Can Hannah and Rob persuade Belle that Jack isn't a good idea and can Hannah keep her secret?

Oh wow! What a premise and how cleverly executed. This reeled me in and very much kept the pages turning. This is the second book by this author I’ve had the pleasure of reading and would highly recommend her if you like a cliff hanging book. I liked Hannah. Belle came across as the rather naive young woman which is probably true of many of her peers which worked very well. The ending left me reeling, wow! I'm stunned. If you like a book to pick you up, throw you around and then add in a few spins for good measure this could be one for you! A brilliantly, clever read.
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