I do enjoy Cole Baxter's books & have read quite a few. Unfortunately, I wasn't a fan of this one.. the characters were annoying & I couldn't wait to finish it! It won't stop me from reading any other of his books though!

💔🎉🔪 Cole Baxter’s The Anniversary is a masterclass in psychological thrillers, delivering a story that will keep you on the edge of your seat from start to finish. This novel is a gripping tale of love, betrayal, and shocking twists that will leave you breathless.

🌹✨ A Romantic Evening Turned Tragic
The story begins with an idyllic anniversary dinner, a celebration of five years of marriage between the protagonist and her beloved husband, Tom. The candlelit dinner is a testament to their love and the journey they’ve shared. However, the romantic evening quickly descends into a nightmare when the night ends in a fatal accident.

🚑💔 A Shocking Awakening
Waking up in a hospital bed under blinding white lights, the protagonist is disoriented and terrified. She hears the devastating news: there has been an accident, and someone is dead. Her heart stops when she hears Tom's voice, accusing her of being the one behind the wheel. The revelation that she has supposedly killed someone is a horrifying twist that leaves her reeling.

🕵️‍♀️🖤 Betrayal and Deception
As the protagonist grapples with the accusation, she is adamant that she wasn't driving the car—Tom was. The realization that the love of her life has betrayed her on their anniversary is a gut-wrenching blow. The once-handsome and clever man she trusted has turned into a stranger, leaving her to question everything she thought she knew about him and their marriage.

🔄❓ Unraveling the Truth
Determined to uncover the truth, the protagonist embarks on a journey filled with suspense and danger. Baxter weaves a tale of psychological manipulation and deceit, where nothing is as it seems. The layers of lies and secrets peel back to reveal a jaw-dropping twist that you won’t see coming.

🌟 Final Thoughts
The Anniversary is a brilliantly crafted psychological thriller that will keep you guessing until the very end. Cole Baxter’s storytelling is addictive, drawing readers into a world where love and betrayal collide in the most unexpected ways.

📖💔🔄 If you’re a fan of suspenseful thrillers with complex characters and mind-blowing twists, this book is a must-read. Get ready for a rollercoaster ride of emotions and prepare to be utterly captivated by The Anniversary.

It was okay, nothing particularly special, I struggled with it a little due to repetitiveness. I enjoy my thrillers a little more heated and well done!

Unfortunately this wasnt the book for me. I didnt feel a connection to the characters. It was unrealistic at times and also repetitive.

So the premise of the story was great but the dialogue was so repetitive and the protagonist was unbelievably naive.

On the night of their anniversary, Catherine and her husband Tom are involved in a car accident that results in the death of a young woman. Tom was driving but he insists ñCatherine was driving under the influence and caused the accident. A police investigation is conducted but no one believes in Catherine’s innocence. Tom is a hot shot lawyer and has the police in his pockets. Catherine must find evidence before Tom takes her life.

I was very into this book at the beginning, but it really just started to drag very quickly. I personally wouldn’t recommend this book. The story is just so unbelievable, it wasn’t for me.

This book seemed to drag on and was very hard to believe. I pretty much skimmed from the middle of it until the end just to see what the ending was. The story was just too far out there and unbelievable.

My first read by this author. I found the book fast paced and entertaining, but a bit unbelievable and far fetched in places. However it did keep me interested to see how it all came together.
Thanks to Netgalley for the opportunity to read this ARC

This just didn't click for me. It's one of those books you can breeze through pretty quickly, but somehow it still manages to feel like it's dragging. The story just seemed a bit too out there to be believable. An example, when she wakes up from the car accident and the cops thought she was driving, although the bruises were on the wrong side... and the cops were shocked that they didn't think of that. Normally, I do like psychological, domestic thrillers.. this just missed the mark a little for me though. It is a quick read and does pick up towards the ends with some action packed scenes, so definitely worth giving it a try if you like psychological thrillers.

This book started off well but from about 50% in just went downhill and very far fetched. Sorry this one isnt for me

This was a quick thriller read, I very much enjoyed! There’s so much going on you just don’t know what’ll happen next!

Unfortunately The Anniversary just wasn't for me. It was all a little to predictable for me and I didn't engage with the characters.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for my ARC.

This book left a lot to be desired. The story had potential to be good, but the execution was off. The book droned on and on and didn't really have much to tell. The amount of facts presented versus the amount of background noise was off--there was so much unnecessary wording and beating around the bush to get to the point that it bothered me to the point of leaving this low of a score. The characters were also not noteworthy or anything to root for. I actually found the main character Catherine to be a bit annoying at times. Things that she would do didn't seem relatable or believable and that left me not connecting with this book like I had hoped.

The tale of small town corruption was intriguing and genuinely interesting--however I feel it could have been done a lot better than Baxter did. I feel like too much attention was given to other parts of the story that distracted from this part. Jessica's character was not believable at all--people in real life do not act like that and just show up out of nowhere and help someone and not want credit. I didn't find much that she did in the story would actually happen in real life and therefore disliked the entire character. The only character I feel that was done well was Tom because he was so malicious.

All in all it was a decent story---just needed to be executed a lot better.

I’ve enjoyed all the books I’ve read by Cole Baxter. Probably the main reason I got into thriller books. His book The Anniversary doesn’t disappoint either. Filled with so many secrets and lies it keeps you wondering what the next form of deceit may come forth.

Catherine got married to Tom at a very young age and looked up to him as such an incredible man and husband. Her views of him quickly shift after they are in a horrific car accident where someone dies and she over hears him blaming her for the accident when she wasn’t driving. As time goes on the webs of deceit her husband has caused not just for her but their whole town unfolds and helps her see her marriage for what it was, which was an arrangement that benefited Tom and put her into an isolated shell. Will she be able to escape his lies or will she become just another one of his victims?

I have read a few of this author's books and I won't be stopping any time soon. I really enjoyed reading this book, while wanting to scream at the characters for what they were doing (or not doing). It was a really enjoyable read.

Thanks to Netgalley and Bookouture for access to this arc in exchange for my honest review.

I felt like I was watching a movie throughout this book that’s much more than a wife betrayed by her husband. The more it unraveled, there was so much more than poor Catherine could’ve imagined. The events that transpire are unreal. This is a gripping domestic suspense with jaw-dropping twists.

Thank you, Cole Baxter, Bookouture, Bookouture audio & netgalley for my ecopy & #audiobook! All opinions are my own.

I absolutely loved this book! I thought it was just so so good. It kept getting better and better. It was so delicious.

It’s Catherine and her husband Tom’s fifth wedding anniversary. To celebrate, he’s taken her to a posh restaurant for a romantic dinner, an extravagance he never bestows on her despite his wealth. As usual, he’s planned every aspect of their evening, making all her choices for her including the dress she’s wearing, what she’ll eat, and even what she’ll drink. Tom’s a man who demands absolute control, especially when it comes to his wife. Yet, as he plies her with terms of endearment and expensive champagne, Catherine senses something off about him. She can’t help but be suspicious.

Even though their night has been magical, their marriage has been anything but. Thinking that maybe he’s cheating on her again, she checks his phone when he steps away from the table. However, who he is texting is the least of the secrets her husband is keeping. On the way home that night, Tom’s erratic driving causes a high-speed collision and the death of a woman in the other car. As the paramedics tend to Catherine, she hears her husband tell the police she’d been the one behind the wheel instead of him. Tom says she’d been drinking, and she caused the death of the woman. Catherine knows he’s lying. But why? What is he hiding?

Fast moving, gripping, and completely unsettling, “The Anniversary” by Cole Baxter is a domestic thriller that explores the terrifying progression of abuse within a marriage. Accurately replicating both physical and psychological abuse, it can be difficult to read at times if you’ve ever been through something similar. Tom’s gaslighting of Catherine is all too realistic. Even though she recognizes his lies, he still manipulates her into second-guessing herself and questioning her memories — to the point that it could cost her her life. In the world of psychological thrillers where nothing is as it seems to be, it’s easy for the reader to be gaslit by Tom too. He repeats his lies so much and so consistently that it’s easy to doubt Catherine’s version of the truth. At least for a little while

“The Anniversary” by Cole Baxter is action-packed and loaded with suspense. Tom’s the monster you expect to jump out from around a corner when he’s not in a scene with Catherine. He’s the psychotic abuser who you wish that you could save Catherine from (either physically or psychologically) whenever he is. This isn’t the twisty, shocking thriller you’re used to. This is a heart-in-your-throat, white-knuckled-at-times story with a heroine you’ll think about for a while after you finish the book. As for Tom? You won’t believe what he’s hiding or all the lies he’s told… and why.

It started off strong and at a steady pace moving from past and present timelines. Catherine’s backstory wasn’t long coming together and it gave a real insight into events in the present day. I was really engaged for the first half of the listen but it went downhill for the second half to the point of unbelievable and just to far fetched and I found it hard to stay engaged. Cole really knows how to write completely despicable characters and Tom is right up there for me. It started strong but unfortunately didn’t keep up the momentum and went too far off course.

Thanks to Netgalley and Bookouture for the opportunity to listen to and review #TheAnniversary

The Anniversary just didn't hit the mark for me. I love psychological thrillers that seem like one thing and then pull the rug from under me. That's what I hoped for the deeper I got into this book, but was left so disappointed. It was too predictable and too illogical at the same time. It felt more like reading a soap opera rather than a well-written psychological thriller. I just kept thinking "well, that wouldn't happen" and it took me out of the reading.

Now I can enjoy books with illogical storylines when they're marketed like that or when I'm used to it with the author. I also need the illogical storylines to throw me for a loop or to keep me entertained. With The Anniversary, I was just left frustrated. If it wasn't for reviewing the book, it would have been a DNF.