Sorry, but this one wasn't for me. Thanks to Netgalley for an ARC in exchange for my honest opinion

Thanks to the author, publisher and Netgalley for the ARC.

This is a painful book to read, and an excellent description of domestic abuse. It is heartbreaking that it is based on a true story.

One of the most difficult things about domestic abuse is fighting one's (natural?) tendency to think along the lines of why is she putting up with this? why doesn't she get out? The impulse is to blame the victim. But of course that's all very well to say when you are simply an observer. The reality is so much more complex.

Abusers are very talented at tapping into the victim's psyche to find their vulnerabilities. And one cannot underestimate how cleverly manipulative they can be. I suspect that even minor gaslighting can play havoc with people's judgement, and consistent, serious gaslighting can throw people's judgement and innate common sense right out the window. I have a family member whose partner has alienated him completely from his family and friends, and I have seen with my own eyes how an otherwise sensible, nice guy has been totally manipulated with tactics that seem transparent to observers but that he doesn't seem to see through. I have also seen how impossible it has been to pull him out of it, as every attempt just causes her to pull him further under her control. All this to say that abusive relationships are extremely complex and defy simple solutions.

This book [further] fueled my rage against a system where domestic physical abusers are allowed to get away with it so easily. The law does not protect victims, and far too many people (mostly women) are destroyed or murdered by their domestic partner before their abuser is stopped. As soon as there is the slightest sign of physical abuse, the onus should be on the abuser to prove there is no abuse, rather than on the victim to prove the abuse.

this is a topic that needs to be talked about, written about, made into documentaries and films -- and even taught in schools. As long as we keep it a shameful secret, the abusers will continue to abuse. So I give this book 5 stars in the hope that I contribute to encouraging more people to read it.

Check TW: domestic violence, gaslighting, death, coercive control, etc.

This was a real page turner. I found it to be extremely fast-paced and gripping. The fact that it’s based on a true story is truly heart-breaking.

The Perfect Husband deals with very sensitive subject matter which at times was tremendously hard to read. The fact that a spouse can change so drastically overnight is so baffling to me.

Thank you to Danielle Ramsey, Boldwood Books, and NetGalley for a copy of this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

4.25⭐

If you love domestic thriller you should definitely read this.
This book is addictive, Gripping and full of Suspense... a page-turner. But bare in mind it's not for the faint of Heart.

TW
Gasligting
Physical abuse
Mental abuse
Torture
Rape
Death of a pet

This book captured the essence of an abusive relationship.

Sophie's new husband Jay suddenly turns evil immediately after they exchanged vows.
The man she had fallen in love with wasn’t the man she married, And that was just the start of things to come. Quickly things escalated. He isolated her from family and friends, and with no one to turn to, he began to control every part of my life. As we know the power of isolation and the role it plays in perpetuating the abuse.

This is heartbreaking. It's based on a true story so I don't want to be Intensitive but I feel Sophie was utterly stupid and pathetic in some ways (its easier to say whatever until you find yourself in such situations) though I empathize with her.

Looking at where she came from... from a very loving family/home at least from the little we read about her parents, so why?
I became more and more exasperated with her inability to stand up for herself.

She should have left the same night of the wedding. But what does she do? She still stays, she still stays omg with him and spinelessly tolerates all the awful things... they were pretty awful throughout the book.

Sophie’s thoughts were important to the story though it rather became annoying sometimes.

This gut wrenching book brought out all the feels in me, it was worse when I found out after reading that it's based on a true story. It's so sad.

This story will hold your interest, till the very end.I love the ending, it was quite unexpected and it really satisfied me that Jay got what he deserved, though it took longer than it should have.

###
Domestic abuse, also called "domestic violence" or "intimate partner violence", can be defined as a pattern of behavior in any relationship that is used to gain or maintain power and control over an intimate partner. Abuse is physical, sexual, emotional, economic or psychological actions or threats of actions that influence another person.

Anyone can be a victim of domestic violence, regardless of age, race, gender, sexual orientation, faith or class.
If you know someone going through this, always be there to lend a helping hand regardless.

Thank you NetGalley & Boldwood Books for this ARC.
The Perfect Husband is out now.

Thanks to Netgalley, the author and the publisher for allowing me to read this ARC.
This is my first title by this author and will read more in the future.
Will recommend this to anyone looking for a thriller.
I requested this book as i was drawn in by the cover and thought it looked interesting.
I found this book to be Dark, disturbing and claustrophobic.
Twists that you don't see coming, What a great roller-coaster ride of a thriller
Thanks again for allowing me to read this ARC in exchange for an honest review.


**** TRIGGER WARNING****
book contains abuse

So scary. It really shows that Domestic abuse can happen to anyone. Even strong capable people can be lulled into a false sense of security with a partner they think they can trust, someone they think loves them but things can change pretty fast and before you know it, things have taken a sinister turn. This is what happened here….what was supposed to be the perfect wedding day ended up with a broken wrist and a distraught bride in A&E. The sweet guy who she had married had hurt her and she could not fathom if she was losing her mind of if he is a monster in disguise. This book is so well written. You’ll be wondering why she’s not telling her family & friends straight away but that’s the thing about abusers, they have a way of making it seem like things happened a different way and the victim thinks they’re losing their mind. This book had me gripped!! It is so well written. A must read!

TRIGGER WARNING: this book contains sustained emotional and physical domestic abuse including rape
Jay adores Sophie. She is certain of this. But on their wedding night, just eight months after meeting, he breaks her wrist and calls her vile names. He blames her drinking for the incident but more abuse and violence follow. Can Sophie escape her 'perfect' husband...?
The Perfect Husband is a psychological thriller about a woman who is terrorised by her husband.
Sophie has met and married Jay on the rebound. Her family try to put her off but she is determined to move on. On the wedding night Jay transforms into someone she doesn't recognise and it soon becomes clear that this isn't a one-off incident. The threats and abuse are relentless as Sophie is gradually isolated from her friends and family, and has no means to escape her violent husband.
This book is impossible to enjoy as such. However, it was utterly absorbing. The book is written from Sophie's first person perspective. I felt that I was right there in the situation alongside Sophie, confused and heartbroken by the terrible change in Jay, scared for her safety and the future.
The personal approach to the very sensitive subject of domestic abuse is very successful in engaging the reader. I was desperate for Sophie to escape but could understand why she didn't. The actions of her mother and sister surprised me as they took things at face value and abandoned her so I didn't find this very credible. There was a big twist at the end which I kind of expected but it was written well.
The Perfect Husband is a dark thriller but not for the faint hearted.

After reading the description of The Perfect Husband I was really looking forward to reading the book. Unfortunately it was just too disturbing a subject matter for me to enjoy. It was still a page turner which I finished but it just wasn't for me.

Thank you to NetGalley and Boldwood Books for my ARC.

I received an arc copy of this book from Net Galley in exchange for my honest opinion of it. I could not finish this book. I find it way too far fetched that a person can change completely overnight. It was just too hard to believe and the adult language was a little overwhelming.

If you can't trust your own husband, can you actually trust anyone? It's always so easy for people on the outside to say "walk away", but for many sadly it's not always that simple.

This started at a hundred miles an hour and kept pace throughout. As much as I enjoyed the book, the story does contain a lot of triggers which were a little unsettling...coercive control, gaslighting, narcissistic behaviour and domestic violence.

The content is dark, intense and sadly real for many. My heart went out to Sophie, specially when she found herself in hospital on her wedding night. Her character deserved so much more than the abuse Jay heaped on her.

☎️ If you are in an emergency call 999

☎️ Contact the National Domestic Abuse Helpline. You can call us, for free and in confidence, 24-hours a day 0808 2000 247

Many thanks to Rachel's Random Resources for my tour spot.

Book description sounded good but in my opinion it didnt live up to it. Sorry but this one wasn't for me

Sophie and Jay Bradley have just gotten married. However, her wedding night and celebration has been halted because Sophie is in the ER with a broken wrist. Jay has always been loving to her but as soon as they exchanged vows, he turned into a man she does not know.

Sophie is a romance novelist and Jay is a musician but currently out of work. She had been with Ben for 11 years until one day he broke off their engagement. Shortly after, she met Jay and fell in love.

As I got further into this book, I became more and more exasperated with Sophie’s inability to stand up for herself. Any other person would have done so. Thus, this book totally irked me. If a woman is duped in a book, I can believe it, but to be so completely stupid is more than I can stand. In addition, I am a huge cat lover so don’t harm an animal in a book. This book got to the point that it simply insulted my intelligence. Nope. Not for me. A huge disappointment. Don’t waste your time.

Copy provided by NetGalley in exchange for a fair and honest review.

This book was a fast read. I didn't see the little twist coming, that really made the book. I personally didn't like any of the characters, at first I found it hard to believe....but then thought back to a few people I know and realized this could be about them. Kudos!
Thanks to netgally, the publisher and author for the chance to read this advanced copy.

It’s the night of her wedding when Sophie is in hospital with a broken wrist. But soon it won’t just be her wrist that is broken but her marriage and her spirit.
Jay controls every part of her life, he humiliates her, manipulates her and gaslights her, but how will she escape?

This book was an intense read and had my heart pounding!
This is a novel about physical and mental domestic abuse which can be quite heavy, and I found myself feeling nervous for the main character. But this shows the impact of this author and how their writing style and narrative can keep the reader invested.

The Perfect Husband is a chilling and at times heart stopping read. We know from the blurb this book deals with domestic violence both physically and mentally, so I’m not giving away any spoilers. This book chilled me to the core at times and I just kept wanting to shout ‘run and get out of there’ as I was reading. That however is easier said,than done for anyone who,has ever suffered the horror of domestic abuse. The antagonist really gave me the creeps and the further I progressed through the story the more I detested this despicable creature. We see how easy it is for someone to become trapped in a violent relationship and not being able to escape. Yes it’s easy to say just walk out but this book really brought home that it’s not always that easy. My heart goes out to anyone , female or male who have even been or are in this kind of situation. This is a hard hitting and at times uncomfortable read but also a brilliant one. 5⭐️

I couldn’t put this book down. As a CPTSD survivor, it was like reading a story that is familiar. I wanted the outcome that happened because it was closure. I thought the book was well written. The main character seemed truly convinced she was going crazy. It was authentic. Down to being locked out of the hotel room.

This is the first book I have read by Danielle Ramsay and it won't be my last.

I found The Perfect Husband to be well-written with plenty of twists and turns to keep you reading until the end.

Domestic abuse is always a hard one to not only read but to write and I think Danielle did a great job in writing this story.

I will definitely be keeping an eye out for more from Danielle

Sophie has just married Jay whom she has only known for 8 months. A whirlwind of a romance or perhaps a rebound from her previous fiancé Ben whom she had known for many years. Sophie and Jay are now at the hospital after Sophie fell and broke her wrist- something she is saying Jay did but he’s telling everyone that she fell after too much champagne. He’s changed- he’s taken her phone off her and has become an angry, controlling monster- something she’s not seen before. What’s made him change and is Sophie safe? In sickness and in health, till death do us part……..

I found myself very quickly invested in this- the reader is taken to the sudden insecurity and realisation of Sophie early on, but I got a feeling that there was so much more to come. It's a story of domestic abuse both physically and mentally. I then found myself turning the pages long after lights out and even then my mind was working to try and work out if Sophie would be safe. A read that most certainly put me on the edge of my seat and even that slight feeling of nervousness- to me the skill of a brilliant author who knows just how to use those magical 26 letters. A cleverly written rollercoaster of a read.

#blogtour (amazon posted- misfits farm)

I started on this book but I am not sure if I just wasn't in the right headspace or what exactly. I couldn't get into it and eventually figured it was time for me to move on.

Inspired by a true story, Danielle Ramsay's latest gripping domestic suspense thriller, THE PERFECT HUSBAND —a woman is trapped, caught up in an abusive marriage—a terrifying emotional tale of survival.

Sophie thought she had met the one: the perfect older husband, Jay.

Within the past year, her father had died, followed by Ben breaking off their engagement and Jay entering her life. She had sold her flat in London and bought an overly-priced cottage overlooking the ocean in Cornwall. She was newly married, but had she married the wrong person?

However, on her wedding night, she is at the hospital with a broken wrist at the hand of her new husband, Jay. A man who had spent eight months adoring her, blinding her with his love. He was supposed to be her soulmate, her best friend—the wedding on the Cornish beach.

Now he is her worst enemy. What happened to the man she married and fell in love with? A husband of eight hours has turned into a MONSTER.

How will she ESCAPE?

Her wedding to Jay was the antithesis of the wedding Ben, her ex, and she had planned. Jay controlled it all. An older musician out of work. What does she see in him?

Were there warnings that she ignored?

She ran away from Ben and the memories to Cornwall, and then there was Jay. What was Jay running from? She recalled Tom's words, "How well do you know him?"

Jay controls every part of Sophie's life, goes through her phone, monitors everything she does, manipulates and humiliates her, all typical of an abuser—jealousy, gaslighting and isolating her from her family and chipping away her self-esteem.

The plan was Jay would make money from his music. Sophie would have countless bestsellers and film deals. And children. That had been the plan.

From before the wedding, and after the wedding, Barbados and after.

Sophie thinks of herself as a feminist. She is financially independent, successful, clever, and attractive, so how could she have ended up with someone like this?

Jay manipulates, physically, and mentally assaults and abuses her. Till death do us part. Will he let her go? She feels she is losing herself and her mind. Now she is a shadow of her former self.

Now her mom and sister are cut out of her life due to Jay. She has no one. He is stealing her money, and she had been naive. He had purposely isolated her, leaving her at his mercy. Now he is raping and drugging her. Her life has turned into a horror nightmare.

She is grateful she is still on the pill and would not have children with his man. She must get away from him. She needs a plan. He says he will kill and torture her if she considers leaving him. Then her cat.

"I have learned over the years that when one's mind is made up, this diminishes fear; knowing what must be done does away with fear." —Rosa Parks

If the authorities do not see her husband as a threat, how can they protect her? She refuses to be one in three women killed weekly by a man in the UK.

As with all abusers, he makes himself look like the good guy and her the irritating, hysterical woman—deranged and delusional, spitefully making a drama out of a minor domestic.

Now that Jay has lost the image of the perfect husband, friend, and neighbor, he is even more dangerous. What else does he have to lose?
When will he come for her?

However, now Sophie also has nothing else to lose. Will she find the courage to escape this psychopath, this nightmare—survive and get revenge? Outsmart him?

"The most dangerous thing of any society is the man who has nothing to lose." —James Baldwin

Emotionally compelling, a cautionary tale of revenge and betrayal, THE PERFECT HUSBAND will haunt you long after you race through the pages. I loved all the remarkable quotes.

The author does a fantastic job with the highly-charged topics of domestic suspense, fears, and anxiety with compassion and delves deep into the devious mind of the psychopath and the victim. As usual, he has done this before.

Often difficult to read, as I have experienced this kind of relationship firsthand with my first marriage. Fortunately, I finally escaped. Sadly, often nothing can be done to protect the victims until someone is seriously injured or dead—too late.

Thanks to the author for this story and her work with domestic violence, which I highly support. I think it would have been helpful to include an author's note and resources for victims of domestic abuse like other authors have done.

"A man attaches himself to a woman—not to enjoy her, but to enjoy himself."—Simone de Beauvoir

If you enjoyed THE PERFECT HUSBAND, I highly recommend reading Kimberly Belle's My Darling Husband, The Marriage Lie, Stranger in the Lake, and especially Dear Wife. Also, check out Lisa Gardner's The Perfect Husband.

My first book by the author, and I look forward to reading more.

Thank you to #Boldwood and #NetGalley for an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Blog review posted @
JudithDCollins.com
@JudithDCollins | #JDCMustReadBooks
My Rating: 4 Stars
Pub Date: May 26, 2023
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