So interesting right from the start! I thought I had it all figured out but I didn't and that twist came out of nowhere. I feel like some details, like the reasons behind doing what he did could have been explained more because while I understand the backstory, I didn't real see what the motivations were, besides wanting the farm.

Happily Married is a book with a great twist that I did not see coming at all and did wonder if I’d read the first part of the book all wrong !!
Jake and Natalie are childhood sweethearts, married and with a young daughter making a living on the farm that was owned by Natalie’s parents life should be good but it’s not. Struggling to make ends meet they decide to rent a room out. Kara is the one they pick, a young beautiful woman who their daughter likes immediately. Jake hasn’t touched Natalie for months and she suspects he’s having an affair could it be with Kara, they were very close when she came back one night and they were sharing a bottle of wine? Things come to a head and Kara leaves but Natalie doesn’t realise how important she is when she does leave.
This was a great thriller, the twist was immense, the characters were all well formed, some I liked others I didn’t. I have read other books by Victoria Jenkins but I think this could be my favourite.
I would like to thank Netgalley and Bookouture for this ARC I received in exchange for an honest review

Happily Married is a twisty, gripping thriller that I thoroughly enjoyed. Marriages can hide the darkest secrets and in this book that’s certainly the case. A beautifully written thriller that I couldn’t put down. 5 stars

This is a twisted thriller with quite the turn I didn’t expect! I’ve read several thrillers by #VictoriaJenkins and she shows how to pack a punch!

Thank you, Victoria Jenkins, Bookouture, & netgalley for my copy! All opinions are my own.

Thank you Victoria Jenkins, Bookouture, and NetGalley for my e-ARC in en change for an honest review.

My husband is keeping secrets. I'm watching his every move...
I’m not going to lie when I was reading the first few chapters I was confused but the more I read it went from confused to figuring it out on what was really happening….except I didn’t. This book took me on so many twist and turns and I loved it! I couldn’t put this book down I needed to know the ended and when I did finish…I craved more of it! I could not stop recommending this book. Victoria, you did it with this book and it is one my new favorites.

Happily Married by Victoria Jenkins was completely addictive psychological thriller and with a jaw-dropping twist, that will have you hooked from the beginning till the end! Victoria is one of the best authors out there if you love this type of books, she author never disappoints.

My husband is keeping secrets. I’m watching his every move….......

Jake and Natalie are childhood sweethearts. Jakes is dependable and with a smile that melts her heart, he is the perfect husband and father to their beautiful little daughter Elsie. Nearly every married couple has money troubles and juggling bills etc but they love each other. They will workout their money troubles. The only way Natalie can see to help with them, is to get a lodger. But, she needs to persuade Jake to let a stranger share their beautiful family home! Natalie can not settle and starts to panic as the bills etc are mounting up. But she has to put this idea out to Jake........They have No choice

Natalie is so relieved that Kara their new lodger is so sweet, playing endless games of hide and seek with Elsie and settling into our home.
However, things start to change when she catches Jake and Kara sitting close together on the sofa one evening, they jump apart when she walks into the room. Jake looks so guilty and promises it’s nothing…Nothing is going on between them!

Natalie starts to watch every move Jake is making as she does not believe him.....She knows what she saw! Natalie searches Kara's room and Jakes things to find clues.......They are going to slip up sometime!

She need to confront him again, but she knows confronting him again will just make Jake annoyed and it may tear their marriage apart further.
Natalie will do anything to protect their daughter and keep them all together as a family.


WoW what another superb book!

Happily Married was a fantastic read for your summer holidays, sitting by the pool or even in your garden. I highly recommend it. I loved it!.

Big Thank you to Bookouture via Netgalley for providing a digital ARC of Happily Married by Victoria Jenkins for review.

From lies to secrets to gaslighting, this latest book by Victoria Jenkins caught me by surprise more than once. With pressure to keep their bills paid, Jake and Natalie decide to take on a boarder. They are running a farm and are struggling to make ends meet. They both agree to rent a room to a woman named Kara, an IT worker, but it doesn’t take long for Natalie to have regrets.

Suspicious of Kara from almost the very start, Natalie begins having unusual issues, not the least of which lands her in the hospital. These problems extend to her young daughter, thus raising red flags.

To say that this book has twists is an understatement. Victoria Jenkins led me down a twisty little trail, leaving me shocked and breathless. Oh, read this book to the very end, because the Acknowledgment pulls this wonderful story together with a tight little bow.

Many thanks to Bookouture and to NetGalley for this ARC for review. This is my honest opinion.

Natalie is living on her family farm with her childhood sweetheart, now husband, Jake, and their daughter, but money issues mean they have to rent a room, and soon Kara is living with them. But is Kara truly all she seems?

This was a fast-paced novel, told through alternating chapters, I found this confusing at first, however, I think this was to add to the atmosphere and the narrative.
Jenkins writes chapters with page turns which will keep the reader going, there was a twist I didn’t see coming and it had me up late to find out what happens next.

Victoria Jenkins returns following THE MIDWIFE with her latest complex and twisty psychological thriller, HAPPILY MARRIED —A marriage under fire, where nothing or no one is as they appear.

Natalie and Jake were childhood sweethearts, having been together since they were fourteen. Now two decades later, they live on Natalie's family dairy farm.

However, things are financially tense due to issues with the ice cream business, the pandemic, and animal problems.

The dairy farm is a full-time job, and they also have Tyler, an old family friend, who helps with the business and farm. The vet is there often to deal with the livestock.

Due to the ice cream business and financial problems, Natalie takes on a job at the local pub. She also mentions that they should take in a lodger for extra income.

So she places an ad for a woman lodger. Since they are on a farm in the country, it will take someone working from home who does not need social interaction since they are in the middle of nowhere.

They also have a young daughter, Elsie, who seems sick and attends nursery school. The couple's marriage is tense, and they are not bonding. Something is going on with Jake.

In response to the ad, a beautiful young single red-head, Kara, applies. She says she works in IT and can work from home. (but is this the truth)?

Natalie thinks she will work out fine as a boarder, but Jake seems uncomfortable.

Soon Kara moves in, and Natalie thinks something is happening between Kara and Jake. They seem too friendly, drinking wine when she walks in from work.

In the meantime, there is an unreliable narrator. We do not know the identity, but someone is gaslighting Natalie, making her look like an unfit mother and making her think she is crazy.

She has been on pills after her parent's death and worries about her family and their future. Someone is trying to sabotage her but who?

Can she trust Kara? Natalie discovers some alarming evidence and then receives a USB with a video that changes everything she thought was her life.

A dangerous twisty game of cat and mouse. Your loyalties are back and forth like a tennis match. The novel starts out as a slow burn until we reach the last half. You think the novel will go one way and then takes an unexpected turn.

Then things are fast-paced and propulsive; the suspense is INTENSE all the way to the satisfying conclusion. The past is unraveled with shocking revelations and surprises.

HAPPILY MARRIED is complex and multi-layered. Trust no one! You can say, UNRELIABLE NARRATOR!

Jenkins cleverly crafts a multi-layered plot keeping readers guessing and in the dark until the identity of the master manipulator is revealed with flashbacks of the past.

A captivating domestic suspense in a game of obsession, greed, deception, and a web of secrets and lies. An emotionally charged thriller that’s packed with twists and intrigue. Then when you think things are wrapped up, BAM, another jaw-dropping twist.

An impressive twisty domestic suspense. For fans of Freida McFadden, Kimberly Belle, Daniel Hurst, KL Slater, Miranka Rijks, and Emily Shiner!

Thanks to #Bookouture for a gifted e-ARC via #NetGalley for review purposes.

Due to my tight business schedule, I also purchased the audiobook, which I thoroughly enjoyed, narrated by Katie Villa, for an engaging listening experience. Highly recommend the audiobook.

Blog review posted @
JuditihDCollins.com
@JudithDCollins | #JDCMustReadBooks
Pub Date: May 11, 2023
My Rating: 4 Stars
May 2023 Must-Read Books

Secrets...but whose? Happily Married leaves the question of just who is happy. To ease their money woes, a seeminly happy couple rents a room to a young single woman. Sounds like a story line you've read before, but that is where the similarities end. When starting the book, I expected a story like many I'd read before, but oh no, Victoria Jenkins kicked this story up a few notches and threw a few surprises our way. When the last chapter comes up, you won't believe who is left standing!

Happily Married by Victoria Jenkins is a gripping psychological thriller that will keep readers on the edge of their seats.

The story revolves around a couple, Jake and his childhood sweetheart, who are struggling to make ends meet. To ease their financial burden, they take in a lodger, Kara, who seems to be a perfect fit for their family. However, when the wife catches Jake and Kara sitting too close for comfort, she becomes suspicious and starts to dig deeper. As she uncovers more about her husband's secrets, she realizes that the situation is much worse than she had initially thought.
The book is a fast-paced page-turner that hooks readers from the very first page. The plot is filled with unexpected twists and turns that keep the reader guessing until the very end. The characters are well-developed, and their perspectives are presented in a way that makes them feel real and relatable.

Overall, Happily Married is a must-read for fans of psychological thrillers like Gone Girl and The Girl on the Train.

BOOKWORMS REVIEW:
Family of 3,Natalie,husband Jake and daughter Elsie live on her family farm. Things are already strained between the couple and when a disease almost wipes their herd of cows out money troubles adds to their woes. Natalie decides they need income and she takes in a lodger,Kara. Things are going well,Kara has settled in well and they're glad of the money. One day Natalie walks in on a very dodgy looking situation between her husband and lodger where they jump apart suddenly. Of course her suspicions are on high alert now.
Told in dual POVs I did find that a little confusing at times if I'm being honest,and I had to jump back chapters to see who I was reading as. Aside from that there's a wonderful twist and plenty going on to keep you glued.
When there's secrets,betrayal and badness galore you're in for a read!
With thanks to Bookouture NetGalley and @victoriajenkins for this arc in exchange for my review.
Bookworms Rating: 📒📒📒📒

3.5 stars. I’ve never read anything by this author before but liked the sound of this book. I felt the story was a bit slow but then there was a great twist I didn’t see coming that turned this book around. I will look out for more by this author.

Wow! My first Victoria Jenkins book but definitely won’t be my last! I was hooked from the very beginning and stayed totally invested in it. So many secrets, lies and deception. Lots of twists and tension. Great characters. Fabulous read.
Thank you NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this book

The thing I love about psychological thrillers is you never know what to expect. I could hardly put this down. It’s incredible. I thought I had things pretty well figured out with the characters, then it hits you…………. A totally unexpected character change. Did I really have the character’s psyche figured out? I think not! I had to go back and reread some of this to connect the characters behavior in the past with the present. Totally unexpected ending. WOW! I just didn’t see this coming. I just love books like this that keep me on my toes.
I was given a complimentary copy of this book.
All opinions expressed are my own.

Happily Married fast paced twisty page HAPPILY fast paced addictive story.

I found the multiple perspectives confusing at times but that's my only issue.

Overall its A fast paced rollercoaster where you trust noone. A definite recommend

Thanks Netgalley and publisher for allowing me to read this arc

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

Happy publication date 5/11/2023.
Holy banana pants ! What do we have here, a new author to me that I need to check other work out there , because this book / story sold me completely. Talk about psychological domestic thriller ! Short chapters intense enough to keep you hooked to keep reading , you cannot put this one down without knowing the reveals . Plus half way through the book is a major plot twists , I bet you won’t see it coming . It will make you rethink all you’ve read until then and second half of the book takes the story is whole another direction , but it does not feel disconnected from what you read until then , but instead made me think how I couldn’t guess any of it ! With little over 200 pages this book packs a punch .
It’s a 4.5 / 5 star ⭐️ read for me .
Thanks Netgalley , Bookoture and author Victoria Jenkins for providing me an ARC copy .
Don’t miss reading this one !

A husband with a secret...a wife dying to tell...

All the recent books of late of brides and weddings and being happily married...I'm sensing a theme here. But then, not all seem to be all that happy, do they? Even when they think they are. But when a couple's marriage is on the verge of breaking point, even the slightest push can set all sorts in motion. Which is exactly what happened here.

HAPPILY MARRIED is really anything but. It's a book that is difficult to review without inadvertently revealing something and it makes you question everything you thought you knew.

Natalie and Jake were childhood sweethearts, having been together since they were fourteen years old. Now almost two decades on, they live on Natalie's family's dairy farm trying to make a living and only just scraping by. The pandemic hit them hard, then their cattle fell ill and money they make is barely putting food on the table let alone making a decent living. Farming is a 24/7 job and sometimes Natalie has to wonder if it is all worth it. So she has the idea to let their spare room out to a lodger, to help make ends meet, but Jake is reluctant. But then...what choice do they have?

Enter Kara. A young vivacious woman who works in IT remotely since it became "a thing". But she's also attractive and Natalie isn't imagining things when she knows Jake has noticed too. And when she comes home one evening to find them sitting a little close together, sharing a bottle of wine and a few laughs, suspicion fills her soul. They jump apart a little too quickly, a look of guilt on their faces. Jake promises me it's nothing...but I'm not so sure.

She's not imagining it. Jake has been distant with her for months. He flinches whenever she touches him. He won't look her in the eye; refuses to talk to her. What is she to think?

And then strange things start happening. Natalie faints and ends up in hospital. Their 3 year old daughter Elsie collapses from sheer tiredness that is not normal. Natalie begins to misplace things, forget things and imagine things. She has been under enormous amounts of stress of late...Is she really starting to lose her grip with reality?

This was one very cleverly plotted tale. Just when you think you know whats going on, along comes a killer twist that turns everything on its head and you're left going - "what the...? what did I just read?" It will make you stop where you are, flick back a few pages or chapters to re-read them to see if you read it correctly. Well, I sure didn't see THAT coming! But once that was made known, the rest easily fell into place for me. After that twist, Jenkins couldn't shock me again. I figured the rest of it out easily enough.

HAPPILY MARRIED is a fast paced addictive page turner that is easily devoured in one sitting, which I pretty much did. The style is simple and easy to follow, the chapters short and snappy and just the way I like them. The multiple perspectives can be confusing at times and many have stated they believe it would have been helpful it each narrative was identified, including me...but there was a reason for that. But it easily enough identified with Natalie in the third person and Jake's "bit on on the side" in the first person.

Victoria Jenkins has really found her niche in the psychological thriller genre after her successful King and Lane police procedural series. I have enjoyed many of her standalone thrillers and this one is no exception.

Overall, HAPPILY MARRIED is a compelling fast paced thriller where none of the narrators appear reliable and you can trust no one.

I would like to thank #VictoriaJenkins, #Netgalley and #Bookouture for an ARC of #HappilyMarried in exchange for an honest review.

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

WOW what a book, i loved it, twists turns, ive got no nails left and there were (i didnt see that coming) highley recommend if your looking to get your teeth into a new book. Fantastic

Happily Married is another great read by Victoria Jenkins. It kept me guessing all the way through with its many twists and turns and the suspense kept building with every turn of the page.

Thank you to NetGalley and Bookouture for my ARC.