While this book ultimately had an interesting (ish) premise, it is poorly executed, horribly developed, and a waste of time.

It is truly just the cautionary tale of an abusive man with a Scooby Doo twist that was so predictable it became unpredictable. While many claim this to be a credit to the thriller genre, I fundamentally disagree. Though I was not a fan, thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

SPOILERS AHEAD:
This book follows a thirty-something British woman living in New York City. While at a women’s march, she is trampled by a crowd and subsequently saved by a handsome stranger. They have a one-night stand it becomes clear quickly that he is an abusive stalker—bombarding the FMC with text messages, showing up at her work, and so on. She breaks contact only to discover she is pregnant. She decided to tell her abusive ex-lover because she wanted the baby to have a father—throughout the pregnancy he proves to be just as mercurial and abusive as he was after they first met. He colludes with his overbearing mother to control the FMC, hits her best friend with a car, ensures that she is fired from her job, and unknown to the FMC is the person who breaks into her home, installs spyware on her computer, the whole nine yards. At the child’s birth he demands that the child be named after him and has a fit when he is not. He and his mother end up kidnapping the child and absconding to Greece, where the FMC and a detective eventually track them down to—the exhausted grandmother orchestrates and exchange of the baby with the mother, only for Ethan to crash and end up fighting with the FMC, ending with her pushing Ethan to his death. We flash forward to the child and mother living happily in England, when suddenly the child goes up to an old man on the street. Seemingly nothing, the mother and child go home—only to discover the old man is actually Ethan! Surprise, he never died! It becomes a whole hostage situation and such but ultimately ends positively.

Truly, a bad book to its core.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for allowing me to read a copy of this arc. Wow! A five star for me! Imagine meeting a "nice guy" on a whim and going on a date with him. You sleep with him once. You realize he is controlling, so you cut it off. But you're pregnant!! What a whirlwind the main character went through during this story. I love it and will continue reading books by this author.

Geez I think this book raised my heart rate more than any cardio exercise I could have done. Very intense! Ethan may be one of the worst book characters I’ve ever come across. This was my first book by this author and I enjoyed her writing style. She does an excellent job writing characters so you can relate and hate as she intended. Very well done. This book kept me reading way past bed time!

Thank you to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for the advance reader copy. This is my honest review.

The Nice Guy by Sarah A. Denzil and S.L. Harker
Publication: May 30th, 2023
Publisher: Victory Editing NetGalley Co-op

Thank you to NetGalley and the author for providing me with an eARC.

If you are looking for a true page turner that will keep you guessing till the very end, this is your book. From page one I was drawn into Laura’s story. After Laura’s divorce she moves to New York and meet’s the perfect guy. Charming, rich, and handsome, Ethan is almost too good to be true. Just as Laura finds out that he is too good to be true with red flags showing right after their first official date.

After breaking things off with Ethan, Laura finds herself pregnant. She experienced multiple miscarriages so this baby is truly a miracle. Thankfully Laura is able to carry her son and he’s born a beautiful and healthy baby. Laura tries to keep Ethan in their life and co-parent their son together. Until Ethan and his mother decide to kidnap Laura’s son.

Just when you think you figured out the story, the plot changes and it keeps you guessing again.
How far will Ethan go with abduction of their child? What will Laura do to get her child back?

This is a psychological thriller that will keep you guessing until the very last page. A great read!

This story explores the tumultuous relationship between Laura and a guy she met, who seemed so perfect, at first. It was gripping and suspenseful and had many unexpected plot twists. I liked this book!
Thanks to Victory Editing Netgalley co op, and the author for this arc book in exchange for an honest review!

🌟 🌟 🌟 🌟 🌟 🌟 🌟🌟🌟🌟
This book! OMG What a thrilling, gripping storyline. I LOVED everything about it!
From the very first page I was was completely hooked and read deep into the night because I needed to know how it ended.
Sarah and SL.Harker did a fantastic job with character development , creating unease and suspense that keep you turning the pages .

Thank you to Sarah A.Denzil, SL Harker and Netgally for allowing me to read this ARC before the May 30th publication date.

Laura has a one night stand but the guy seems like a perfect gentleman… until he isn’t. When Laura finds out she’s pregnant, she tries to make coparenting work, despite his controlling ways.

This is certainly an exciting read and I flew through it in hours. You feel so bad for the main character and so angry for the situation she is in! There’s lots of exciting moments and it’s not quite over until you turn the last page. There are some moments that were far-fetched to me but I was willing to forgive in the interest of drama!

The Nice Guy comes out 5/30.

Thank you to the publishers and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Well this was one heck of a binge read and I finished it in one sitting. Reading it felt like I was watching a movie.
It was fast paced, suspenseful and infuriating. It's not a spoiler but my god, the male character in this book is NOT a nice guy (putting it politely).
Thriller fans, this is a must read for the spring!

Wow, this book is intense! My heart is still pounding. From the very first chapter, The Nice Guy, by Sarah A. Denzil and S.L. Harker, had me hooked. It felt like I was watching a movie as I read through the twists and turns of Laura's story.

Laura thought she'd found a nice guy in Ethan, but as their relationship progressed, it became clear that he was anything but. The authors did an amazing job of portraying Ethan as a controlling sociopath, and I was legitimately scared for Laura's life and the safety of her baby.

The theme of the "nice guy" is so relevant in today's society, and this book really made me wonder how many other people are out there like Ethan. It's a chilling thought.

Overall, I'd give The Nice Guy 4 stars. It's a great thriller for anyone who's looking for something to really get their heart racing. Highly recommended!

I was hooked on this immediately. Who wouldn't fall for a rich guy who saves you from being trampled, buys you shoes, and makes you breakfast?
I am married and I'd fall for the guy too!
This book made me reevaluate my taste in men too, Yikes, Loved it so much. I think every woman I know has had a few dates with men who think they're nice but they actually terrible. Anyway, that's just the beginning. I don't want to ruin anything but just know this is weird and twisty and also realistic.
I was absorbed.

Thank you to NetGalley and the author for my Arc of this book. It was decent if somewhat predictable mystery That mother though. Nuts. . It did have one really good twist . I'd never read either author before and I enjoyed this book enough to certainly check out more of their work in the future.

If anyone asks me who my favorite author is, Sarah Denzil always comes to mind, so I was thrilled to receive an advanced copy. As someone who is currently pregnant and dealing with a narcissistic ex, this book was hard for me to read. The author does such an amazing job of making the plot and characters feel so real. This book was intense (in a great way!) and full of twists I never saw coming. The ending was perfect and I was sad when the book was over. Like all Sarah Denzil books, I will be telling everyone to read this!

NetGalley Review -- my rating 2/5 stars

The Nice Guy by Sarah A. Denzil and SL Harker was interesting to say the least.

Laura is at a women's rally and almost gets trampled but is saved by...you guessed it...the nice guy. They end up having a connection and a one night stand. When she gives him a chance and goes on a first date, he proves to be quite rude and a little possessive.

What could go wrong?

This book was a wild ride but I cannot say it was a great ride at all. It captured me right off the rip and held promise but then started to really just jump around. I didn't feel any sort of connection with the FMC and her relationship with "the nice guy" was simply not believable. It seemed as though these authors attempted to cover a bigger timeline rather than creating a captivating story.

It was a quick read but I found myself laughing at serious bits rather than seeing this as the thriller it was meant to be.

Big thanks to Victory Editing for the ARC! This book is out May 30th!

#theniceguy #netgalley

when the nice guy turns out to be.. well not so nice 😅 when Laura becomes pregnant after her one night stand she expected a lot but not this. Soon his true nature emerges and Ethan is not as nice as he seemed. he is a real psycho. it's a fast paced book it will hold you in a chokehold and you tell yourself just one more chapter and then I'll go to sleep. well it was a short night 🤣 it reads away easily!

The story and premise were really intriguing to me. I think the cover really helped to draw me in as well. I feel the execution needed to be better. It was slow to read and much of the book seemed very repetitive. There were parts of the book that I really enjoyed but overall, it could be better. I also feel like it really drug on for far too long. It could have ended after the incident in Greece and I probably would have enjoyed it more.

I enjoyed this one, although it was not exactly what I thought it was going to be! From the summary of the book I would not have predicted where this story was going to go. In the beginning I liked Laura a lot, she was strong and independent and she was picking up on ALL the red flags that this guy was putting down. This left me thinking... how is this going to go if she knows that he's horrible?? Unfortunately this did have a trope quite early on in it that I personally don't like, and that I know many many other people on Bookstagram do not like too. But I gave it a chance and kept going, and it was a good story.

Ethan was CRAZY. That's not a spoiler, as you can tell from the summary that he is not going to turn out to be a 'nice guy'. His mood swings were intense and the MC constantly described him as 'Jekyll and Hyde' which I definitely agree with. I liked Jessa, Laura's best friend. It was good that she had a friend because she had moved to New York from England and didn't have many friends or any family.

I can't really say too much about this book without accidentally giving the whole plot away. This had a lot less action and creepiness than I was expecting, and the weird things that started happening to Laura were very clearly Ethan, but she never really found any evidence or anything to show that until later on. I was expecting this to be like the MC thinks this guy is perfect but weird things start happening and then she realises it was him all along. This was not exactly like I thought it would be, but in the end it was still a story of a strong woman. This was very much a domestic thriller, so if you like that sort of thriller I would definitely recommend this.

Thank you to NetGalley and Victory Editing for providing me with the ARC!

I wasn’t quite sure what to expect from this novel, but WOW.
Earlier this year, I had the pleasure of receiving an ARC of The Stranger In Our House by Sarah A. Denzil from NetGalley, and I was blown away by the writing style and originality of the story. So, when I saw The Nice Guy on NetGalley, I had to request it.
The authors of this book did such a fantastic job of depicting manipulation and emotional abuse. I can’t remember the last book that made me so angry to the point I had to put it down and take a few deep breaths. This book made me do that. A lot.
I loved Laura’s character, and all of her flaws made her even more loveable. I’ve already seen other reviews calling her character “stupid” and that her decisions made readers angry. Let’s get something straight about this book: if your anger is directed at Laura and not Ethan (and the media), you’ve missed the entire point of this book. Laura’s character is thoughtful, caring, and selfless - her entire focus is on her child and what she thinks is best for their wellbeing. She wants to be able to give her child something that she never had: a relationship with their father. Is Ethan the best option? No. Is he the child’s father, regardless? Yes. This story is an extremely emotional journey of Laura coming to the realization that maybe not having the father present is better than having a manipulative, psychotic father present.
I’ve also seen reviews saying it’s “extreme” and “unrealistic.” So, here’s a question for you to end on: Just because the plotline/story of a book is extreme, does that make the general idea of it (in this case, a woman in a position of being manipulated, emotionally abused, and taken advantage of) unrealistic? Maybe, just maybe, the book is extreme on purpose to make you frustrated and take action against injustice within society.

I wanted to like this book but I unfortunately did not. I found the characters to be unlikeable. Ethan’s controlling behavior was awful and just gave me anxiety the whole time I was reading the book. I’m a big fan of thrillers but I just had a hard time with this one and didn’t find it enjoyable to read. Thank you NetGalley, Sarah and Victory Editing for the ARC!

I have read 15 previous books by Sarah A Denzil and enjoyed them all so was delighted to explore thanks to NetGalley how her collaboration with SL Harker would work. We soon discover that The Nice Guy really is not that nice and the book takes us through a cleverly constructed plot that begs the reader not to put the book down. Having enjoyed Sarah A Denzil books for a while I have to say that the collaboration with SL Harker has produced perhaps an even more enjoyable read than I perhaps anticipated with it s setting mainly in America but with English characters included I guess it adds to the appeal both sides of the channel I thoroughly recommend this book.

This was my first book by Sarah Denzil. I was very intrigued by the cover itself, as well as the plot synopsis. However, I did not connect with any of the characters in this. I also found that the BFFs comments were very immature and annoying. I wanted to love this one but unfortunately I didn’t.