**Trigger Warning** Divorce, Family Trauma, Child Manipulation

To start, I feel like I need to justify my 4 star rating. Ellie Monago did a fabulous job writing this book and to be quite honest, despite the feelings that it made me feel and past trauma it brought up for me, I still felt the need to keep reading and find out what was going to happen next. I teetered between a 3 and 4 star rating, only because of the personal feelings it brought up for me. Ultimately, you’ll see that I went with 4 stars due to how great the writing is.

Monago writes an incredibly accurate and heartbreaking story about divorce and a child lost in the middle.

This was a great read following a whole set of awful people. You will hate them all and feel angry with all of them. The end is wonderful

This book focuses on some fairly unlikable adults living very privileged lives fighting over a similarly unlikable child that neither of them really have time for. In doing so, they get nastier, egged on by unlikable legal advisers. There were times the nastiness nearly made me stop listening but the fact that i carried on until the end suggests there was something to it that kept me engaged enough to want to know how it finished. I was glad I finished it but more so that I didn't need to listen to them any longer!

Thank you to the publishers, author and NetGalley for the free copy of this audio book.

Quick, engaging read with an interesting ending. I enjoyed listening. The narrators did a good job.

It takes some real talent to take a basic premise that has been done multiple times and then somehow still make it unique and make it stand out head an shoulders above the rest! I'll definitely be looking out for the authors back catalogue and future releases!!

Lola in the Middle

Madeline asks Greg for a divorce because she wants to be free to be her own person. Greg doesn't want the divorce but he agrees to Madeline's demands and moves out. They agree to the terms Madeline sets that it will be an easy divorce and that they will share custody of their daughter Lola.

It appears to be an amicable divorce until it isn't. When the lawyers come in it turns a bit ugly, but when Greg finds out Madeline has a boyfriend it becomes really ugly.

The fight is on and Lola is stuck in the middle. Two self indulgent parents thinking more of themselves and their fight than Lola.

It was an engaging book at times, although a bit repetitive at times. I did enjoy listening to the audio book. The narrator's did a fantastic job, their voices were pleasant and easy to listen to.

Thanks to Ellie Monago for writing the story, to Davis Brooks and Sarah Borges for their great narration, to Bookouture for publishing it and to NetGalley for allowing me to listen to and review and audio copy of the book.

I had a hard time reading this book at times because I went through a really bad divorce. I would say that this is very real when it comes to dealing with a narcissistic ex-husband.

if you like a real life story then this would be the one. I went ahead and finish the book only to see what happened at the very end.

For me this book dragged out a bit and I found it very slow. Unfortunately I struggled to finish this one.

Not really a thriller, this book is about a wealthy couple going through divorce in California. They have a daughter, Lola who is caught up in the middle. This whole story made me sad and annoyed. The couple are so privileged and yet both feel hard done by and take things to extremes. Greg makes a good statement at one point....'Too many people focus on what they don't have, rather than what they do.'. This is an apt commentary on this story. Yes, I know that life can be like this but in listening to their tale, I found that I disliked both adults and had no desire for either of them to win out. The book has a better ending but I really don't need to spend my spare time on a pretend relationship battle. The book is basically just that with the odd revelation thrown in. to add interest.

This Audio book shows how 2 parents can turn on each other when one wants a divorce
When Madeleine the wife asks for a divorce, she wanted things to be nice and straightforward everything was going to be split 50/50 including the care of their daughter Lola.

Greg initially agrees to this but is determined to win Madelaine back and does everything in his power to delay the divorce and then things start to get bitter and twisted . This book is told from Lola and Greg's point of view and the narrators did a great job.
Eventually the bitterness and self pity started to grate on me as it felt it was drawing the book out luckily the ending saved it for me or it would have been a 3 stars not 4


Thank you NetGalley and Bookouture Audio for this copy

Divorce is never easy, even when both want out. When it is only one that wants out and there is a child involved, things can and often do go wonky. The level of wonkiness can be anything from simple snarkiness to parental alienation to full on felonious behavior and everything in between. So how did a couple that said the right things and wanted to be the best parents for their child get to the insane place they did? Through the creative and dark mind of this author. I wouldn’t necessarily call it a thriller, but a very dark psychological drama. The levels of ick is stupefying, insidious and stupefying. So much for caring about the impact on Lola. A compelling, dark and truly sad story that left me wanting someone to come in an rescue Lola. I wouldn’t recommend listening to when walking the dog alone late at night! Seriously creeped me out. Really good narration added to the listening experience.

Thank you to NetGalley and Bookouture for the advanced copy of this book.

The author described Madeline as controlling and entitled where as Greg lacks some self confidence. The most important character was their child who we see as a victim of divorce.

This book highlights the reality of divorce with a twist.

The ending has a twist, but the back and forth between characters, much as divorce is, was drawn out. I am not sure I would claim this book as a thriller. I found it to drag for most of the book.

I enjoyed the narration of characters.

The Custody Battle
By Ellie Monago

Thank you to NetGalley and Bookouture for the advanced copy of this audiobook!

When parents get separated they always want to do what is best for the children. Which is true for this story, in the beginning. It’s not until all of the damage has been done that they both realize how detrimental they both have been to their daughter Lola.

I did enjoy listening to this story, that narrators were terrific.
Thank you again for the advanced copy.

"The Custody Battle" is a captivating novel, and I must say that it drew me in from the very first pages. The characters of Madeline and Greg are well-crafted, with Madeline coming across as controlling and entitled, while Greg is portrayed as a follower with little self-confidence. However, as the story unfolds, we see Greg begin to find his voice and assert himself. While I didn't necessarily care for either character, I appreciated how the author highlighted the darker and more dangerous aspects of divorce.

The author does an excellent job of focusing on the couple's child, who is the true victim of the divorce. It is heart-wrenching to see how the parents' toxic behavior affects her life. Neither Madeline nor Greg acts in a manner befitting of responsible adults, and by the end of the novel, their hatred consumes them both.

The ending is both interesting and poignant, with a final twist that ties everything together. Overall, I found this book to be a thought-provoking and emotionally charged read. Special thanks to NetGalley for providing me with an advanced copy of this novel.

**please note due to low rating I will not be leaving a public review for this book as I have not paid for it.**

Narrated by Davis Brooks, Sarah Borges ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Story by Ellie Monago ⭐⭐

Yikes! I don't know where to start with this story.
When psychologist ask people to stop weaponising therapy talk, they were referring to Maddie. Man she was doing my head in. Both these characters were super unlikable so by the time the end came I really didn't care of the result.

This certainly was NOT a thriller. It was a boring family drama at best and if I had purchased this through Audible as a thriller I absolutely would have returned it.

This was quite the page turner - I couldn't put it down! I was really intrigued by the characters and the game of back and forth between them. I wasn't sure how it would end but was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed the ending and how satisfied I was by it. I thought the characters were really relatable and the story itself felt very natural and true to real life and how messy things can get. This was very intriguing and I never found myself losing any interest. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Going through a difficult divorce, this book is a POV which follows Greg and Madeline whilst they navigate newly divorced life.

Initially, I would like to say I listened to this as an audiobook, and I really did not like the narrators, they sounded very robotic and monotone which made listening quite difficult.

In terms of characterisation I did not like the characters or find any connection with them. I found Madeline to be really irritating, as well as Greg who was quite shallow.

The back and forth between both characters was quite draining, and I feel the book didn’t make me want to keep listening.

Thank you to Net galley and Bookouture for giving me this ALC for my honest feedback and review.

I listened to The Custody Battle written by Ellie Monago and narrated by Davis Brooks and Sarah Borges.

Madeline and Greg are divorcing and Madeleine wants to make sure everything is civil for their daughter Lola’s sake.

Greg does not want a divorce and is dragging his feet. He pushes off the separation until he decides to convince Lola to turn on her mother, Madeleine.

There are several parties in play and many lives are on the line.

The book was so-so.

2.5 ⭐️⭐️ rounded to 3.

Thank you to NetGalley and Bookouture Audio for the advanced listen in exchange for my honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Madeline has decided it is time to divorce her husband Greg. She has it all planned out even down to a list of lawyers for him to contact. Greg is heartbroken and wants Madeline back and is doing everything is his power to slow down the divorce. They start out wanting to do what is best for their 10 year old Lola, but things quickly turn hostile. Secrets are revealed and lies and deceit happen from both sides. Unfortunately Lola becomes a pawn by both parents.

I enjoyed the audio book and it was quick listen that kept my attention but the story got a little too crazy and unbelievable in parts. I am still not sure how I feel about the ending. The dual POV was well done.

Thanks to #NetGalley for the ARC.

3.5 stars

I wouldn’t really call this book a domestic suspense/thriller. It was certainly dramatic, but rather than tense of surprising, it really just seemed to be an ongoing argument between two people who were both, objectively speaking, pretty terrible; maybe he was worse than she was in some ways, but they were both kind of awful. I found it hard to really feel for anyone other than their daughter. I did find the ultimate conclusion to the book pretty satisfying (if a little bit unrealistic/unbelievable), but other than that, I didn’t really love this one.