I really enjoyed reading this book! Followed all the tropes of a crime and mystery novel and was a great sunlounger read!

Thanks for letting me read a ARC in exchange for an honest review

Mary’s husband has been going through a hard time and so when a chance
Of attending a retreat comes up Mary backs her husband and his wanting to
attend. In all honesty Mary is hoping her husband comes back a new person.
When her husband does return he is transformed, confident at first Mary is pleased.
Soon though he displays other not so great traits such as aggression which leaves
Mary struggling with this version of her husband.
Lots of intrigue in this story, well paced thriller.

The idea was interesting, Mary and Brent had a difficult period in their marriage, therefore, Brent goes on a health retreat for one month of no contact. Upon return, he seems a changed man and the plot thickens.

However, Mary and Brent are rather one-dimensional characters with no learning curve and the plot became too obvious. This is for readers who want an easy read with a not-too-complicated plot.

This was a great thriller! It was captivating and had me hooked from the beginning. I saw the twist coming from fairly early on, but the journey it took to get there was unexpected! The ending was truly thrilling, it's a good sign when I start reading faster just because I'm so excited to see what happens next!

2.5
Figured out a major part of this early on. Didn't care for any of the characters and story was very repetitive. This would have been much better dropping about 20 pages of the repetitive (Mary suspects, Brent seduces her, sex and then all is good). Struck me as a bit secret because a good f**k always sidetracked Mary. Thanks to Netgalley for the opportunity to read this book

The New Husband by Brian O'Rourke.
Mary always dreamed of a perfect husband. Now she’s got one. When Mary's husband Brent returns from a month-long wellness retreat, he seems like a totally different person.
I really enjoyed this book. A gripping read. I had my theory about Brent but I didn't expect that. I did like Mary and Mrs Ryers. Especially Ryers observation. 5*.

I thought I’m gonna just like this book but turned out it’s the best thriller I read this year so far!
Literally couldn’t put this down.

Was reading everywhere - in the car, restaurants, elevator, etc etc. JUST. COULDN’T. STOP.
Finished in one day.

The plot was catching and the twists were amazing! I figured out the main twist only in the second half of the book and it was exposed soon anyways.

Also, I like Mary so much! She is acting logically and speaks aloud about her feelings. When she refused to do something she was continuously asked to do I started to admire her even more ❤️
Yep, she didn’t see the main twist coming but let’s be honest - who ever will? 🙈 I don’t know what I do if my husband will go to some retreat and comes back acting all weird.

The ending was great! Such a good closure.

Perfect page-turner. Already recommended it to everyone who like thrillers 🤣 Also if you are in the reading slump this book will drag you out of it!

Thank you NetGalley for opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

Mary and Brent are a married couple who, perhaps because of the challenges they each face - Mary has a physical illness, Brent suffers from occasional depression - have seen the flame between them begin to fade.
One day, Brent decides to attend a farm retreat where he will be given a series of tools to improve himself emotionally and physically. Although the retreat is expensive, Mary decides to use part of her inheritance to pay for it and support him.
A month later, a new husband arrives at the house where Mary has lived all her life.
How profound are these changes Brent has experienced that he never talks about? Why does even his neighbor notice the differences in this new husband? While she was close to Brent, he no longer wants to have contact with her.

My impressions
Brian O'Rourke is a new author to me, and I must admit that he made a wonderful first impression.
This story felt so well told that there were times when I had to step away from the Kindle because it was so intense.
I resented Mary's blindness to the clues that were right there. Or I ached for Brent's past because I can relate to it.
The story is told between past and present, in Mary's and Brent's voices, it's a very well-constructed story, and while some clues were "obvious", I found that allowed for a very enjoyable immersive reading experience.
Some titles hide the clues so much that I'm just trying to figure out what's going to happen. I experienced that with Mary and Brent, and the ending was better than I could have ever imagined.
All in all, I recommend Brian O’Rourke's New Husband, and any other work he writes will be on my TBR.

Thank you net gallery and publisher for my arc. The story centres on the return of brett from a month long retreat. He is a different person but is all that it seems?
I loved this told from multiple pov with lots of twists. It was a real page turner i was compelled to read on. I did gueese the twist but rhe ending was brilliant.
A five-star read

I loved this book. Mary is excited to get her marriage back on track after her husband goes to a month long wellness retreat. He comes home and has changed in many ways, mostly for the better. As the story unravels, you are sucked in to Mary's world and you need to know all the secrets! I liked the dual pov's and timelines and I was surprised by the twists. This is a must read. Thank you to Netgalley and Inkubator the publisher for the free arc in exchange for this review.

My goodness what a story!! It had me on the edge of my seat. It was like a trainwreck that I couldn't look away from. My first read by Brian O'Rourke but definitely not my last. Thank you for the opportunity to read this book!

When Mary's husband Brent returns from a month-long wellness retreat, he seems like a totally different person. Before he went away, Brent was anxious, depressed, and in danger of losing his job. Now, he's decisive, optimistic, and full of energy. He also has big plans to start his own business.... big plans that required lots of capital. As Mary spends more time around her husband, she begins to realise just how much he's changed in every little way. Is the man she's living with really the same person she married? And who is the guy in the grey SUV who keeps following her? Does he know something sinister about her husband?

Filled with twists and suspense, this well written thriller held my attention throughout. There are so many secrets and lies in this gripping read. I had to keep reading to find out why Brent had changed so much after staying a month at a retreat to try and help his depression. The story is told in the past and present-day format. It's not long before things change. This was a most enjoyable read. I loved the twist at the end.

I would like to thank #NetGalley #InkubatorBooks and the author #BrianORourke for my ARC of #TheNewHusband in exchange for an honest review.

First time reading this author and wow! I started this book and finished it in 24 hours. It is one of those books you don't want to put down to find out what is going to happen next.

A real page turner! I couldn’t stop turning the pages of this one and read it within a day. A great psychological thriller.

Lol I'm quite sure like most the editing error of knocking someone out with chlorophyll will definitely be a highlight fro this book lol!

I wanted to like it. I liked the premise. But the execution of it was quite slow and the characters were deeply stupid. In reality this story would never have been possible because noone can be as stupid and weak as Mary was but maybe love trully is blind. And as for Brent...... well...... the less aid the better lol.

It's a really quick read and it certainly passed the time. It's all a bit flat though and lacking character dimension or and real twists. The ending is a bit better but not by much.

The writing style was good and I did like the premise but...... it just didn't give me everything I'd hoped for

Thank you to netgalley for this book. This was an exciting read with lots of twists and turns. Brian has a great writing style which makes this a different book which sucks you in from the start and keeps you compelled.

Wow! I had no idea what the heck was happening in this book until the plot twist smacked me in the face! Two words...."Evil Family". If people out there truly treat their family like this, man on man! I think this is a great book for reading on an airplane, the beach, or anywhere you want to lose your thoughts. It sucks you in from page one, and keeps on hitting! 5 stars!

This was an interesting concept but neither the writing style of the characters really excited me. The story centers on Brent and Mary who have been married for 10 years and are going through a rough patch when Brent gets a chance to attend a life-changing 30-day retreat. When he returns, he seems like a new man, but won’t say much about what happened at the retreat and seems to have different motivations than before he left.

The characters were rather one-dimensional and there was so much talk about how “fit” and attractive people were. This seemed very shallow and drove me crazy. Also, Mary didn’t notice obvious things that should’ve caused her to be suspicious. Speaking of obvious things, at one point, chlorophyll was used to knock someone out when I believe chloroform is what the author was going for. I figured out the twist early but was still interested to see how it would all play out.

Overall, interesting idea but the writing style and characters just didn’t make it stand out for me. Thanks to Netgalley for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Brent and Mary have been married for a number of years and are a quiet and unassuming couple. She works as a data analyst and he deals with coding. Brent came from a dysfunctional family and his parents and brother verbally, physically, and emotionally abused him. Consequently, Brent suffers from terrible depression and low self-esteem. Even when his brother dies, he refuses to attend the memorial service. When the opportunity comes up for him to attend a wellness retreat filled with meditation, counselling, and farm labour, they dig into their savings and Brent leaves for a month where contact with Mary is not allowed in any form.

When the month is up, Brent comes back but is a changed man. He is full of energy, his body looks amazing, and he wants to go all out to start a new business. Initially, Mary is thrilled with the change, but as time goes by and his behaviour becomes more and more erratic and he refuses to speak about the retreat, she becomes suspicious of him. Is the new Brent just too much?

I figured out the ending quite early on but still wanted to see how it would all tie together. The story was an interesting idea but the execution felt somewhat forced. To have the reader believe that Mary picked up on so many things but did nothing about it was odd. Brent’s behaviour was ludicrous and his physical change rapid, yet Mary believed that the changes could have happened at a retreat in thirty days. The fact that Brent was so focused on one thing should have been a big clue to Mary, but I guess when you love someone, you want to believe them.

As for the stalker and the PI. Really, Mary? For someone who watched Netflix, she needed to brush up on her police procedures.

So while I enjoyed the story and the fact that it was a quick read, one thing struck me as strange. In one section, a character places a rag over the mouth of another and knocks them out with chlorophyll. Now I am no biologist and perhaps chlorophyll has properties I’m unaware of, but should that not be chloroform? The staple of crime tv shows?

It wrapped up a little too neatly for me, but an interesting idea, nonetheless.

Thanks to NetGalley for the opportunity to review the book.

Read this if you like:
selfcare & mindfulness
untrustworthy MCs
dual POV & timeline
troubled childhood
twin brother

This book seemed very promising but unfortunately it was all a bit to slow for me, it wasn’t the psychological thriller with the shocking twist it promised it would be for me. There was a lot of mystery and shady vibes throughout the whole storyline but I missed action and suspense.

The dual POV and dual timelines keeps you motivated to keep reading because it releases some more information in bits and pieces, but regrettably the story held no surprises for me. It was all a bit obvious from the beginning. Mostly all of the characters were questionable and Mary is the perfect example of love makes blind. She’s so naive that it’s unbelievable most of the time.

The common thread in the story is depression, also not a very elevating subject which gives the whole story a bit of a pessimistic feeling and not super motivating to keep on reading.

Eventually at the end it surprised me with some tension and action what I had long hoped for earlier in the story. This part elevates the story for me enough so as not to be left with a bad feeling after finishing this book.

Not exactly my cup of tea but maybe it could be yours if you like slow going domestic suspense.

Thank you @netgalley & @inkubatorbooks for this ARC.