Lies, manipulation and secrets. It's all there in The Broken Marriage, and from the prologue I thought I was in for a great psychological read. Unfortunately that didn't happen. I couldn't connect with any of the characters and I felt the story in parts didn't seem believable. I also have to agree with several other reviewers that the title felt misleading. I did struggle at first but was determined to finish, hoping the story might pick up. There were moments, but all in all I wouldn't say this was a page turner or a story that gripped.
My thanks to Storm Publishing, the author and Netgalley for an ARC of The Broken Marriage in exchange for an honest review.

The broken marriage is about three people that knew each other years ago, Rachel, Matt and Hannah. Hannah appears on Rachel and Matts doorstep after not seeing each other in years, she is deeply traumatized about events that happened when they all shared a house.

It’s a slow starter for me, but interesting plot line. I didn’t like young Rachel’s character, but the older one was ok. She was selfish, a bully who believed everything she said. Hannah has loads of issues and she tries to find closure in them.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for a copy.

received an advance copy of this book from NetGalley in an exchange for an honest review!

While overall I enjoyed this book, there definitely were a few triggers. R@pe, and child loss were the two biggest ones. Once you get past those triggers, it was enjoyable and a fast paced read.

There were points of this book that were totally mind blowing, including the huge twist. I feel like the way it flipped from past to present was a little confusing and not quite as seamless as it could have been. The main character Hannah was a bit dodgy, and unlikeable in how she even described herself. There were a few other characters that felt unnecessary.

Overall it was pretty good, and I would recommend it as a psychological thriller.

“Hold on to that moment, the voice in her head says. Hold on to what being alive really felt like, if only for the minutest fleeting second; you know what really living and really loving felt like.”

Red wooden hearts…
Fear…
Betrayal…
Deceit…
Lies…

Twist after twist in this book. Absolute page-turner, that has you not knowing which way to look, what to think, or who to believe. A book about betrayal, deceit, fears, lies, and just how complicated relationships can truly be. Can you really trust those you've known for so long? Is everything as it appears on the surface?

Thank you to NetGalley and Storm Publishing for this ARC!

I wanted to review an author I haven't read before in a genre that I love. Elena Wilkes did a great job writing this book, but it was not catching me, there were many twists where I was waiting to "what is about to happen here" but then I was let down because it would continue and nothing serious happened. I wanted to give this book an amazing 4-5 stars but I've got to be honest and give it a 3.5.

Slow and confusing. It was super hard to get into this book. The characters were very hard to connect and invest in, It was a DNF for me. I only made it 26% through the book. Thank you Storm Publishing for the opportunity to give this book a try. It just wasn’t for me.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for allowing me to read this arc. I loved the plot of this book for a domestic thriller, however, it was kind of slow going and I didn't really understand what was going on for awhile. I couldn't connect to the characters.

Synopsis/Thanks:
To the outside, Rachel and Matt have the perfect marriage. College sweethearts still just as in love as they were seventeen years ago when they first met. Looks can be deceiving, though, and when their college friend Hannah shows up looking to come clean about some secrets of her own and gets snowed in at their house, the cracks already running through the foundation of Rachel and Matt's relationship begin to rise to the surface. Thank you to Elena Wilkes, Storm Publishing, and NetGalley for an advanced reader copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

My Thoughts:
I thoroughly enjoyed this book. Right from the start, you could tell that something strange was going on beneath the surface of these friendships. I was suspicious of everyone in this book right from the get go. I knew there were more secrets that would come to light as the course of the book went on. I was sympathetic to Hannah and what she was dealing with internally, but I kept going back and forth on whether or not I found her to be a reliable narrator. Her obsession with her friendship with Rachel was at times sad to me and at other times downright creepy. The intensity and complexity of the friendships in this book really sent me back to my younger days. The concept of being so desperate to be liked and to make friends in a new environment like college is so relatable.

The last 10-15% of this book was a WILD ride. I was not prepared at all for that twist at the end, and it really caught me off guard. Every character in this book has secrets that they are desperate to not get out, but they can only hold them down for so long. The ending of this book is purposely a little ambiguous, but I really liked that. Sometimes I don't enjoy an ambiguous ending, but I felt like this one really fit with the book as a whole. I definitely recommend this book to all thriller fans!

First I want to thank NetGalley, Storm Publishing and Elena Wilkes for my ARC of The Broken Marriage.

This one was a wild ride! I could not put it down! It has me guessing right till the end. The twists and turns just kept coming and the end literally made me gasp! I never saw it coming. The story was well developed and relatively easy to follow. There were some parts where it was jumping to past and present that made me have to go reread a few sentences to make sure I understood what was going on. The characters were well developed and had me second guessing a few of them. Overall I really enjoyed this book and can’t wait to read more from Elena Wilkes.

This one was so good! Rachel and Matt are the perfect couple with a gorgeous home and successful lives. When Hannah, a mutual friend from their past, randomly shows up on their doorstep 17 years later, the cracks of their perfect life become visible. There is drama, lies, and so so many secrets! I definitely recommend this one. Thank you so much to NetGalley and publisher for this fun ARC!

I DNF this book at 20%. I wasn't feeling an attachment to the characters with their manipulation and treatment of each other.

Thank you NetGalley, Storm Publishing, and Elana Wilkes for the arc in exchange for an honest review.

I want to start my review by mentioning that I truly believe that there is a book for everyone, including those who haven’t yet realized they enjoy reading, I also believe that you shouldn’t decide what to read solely based on someone else’s opinion. After all, if we all like the exact same book there wouldn’t be a need for so many!

Unfortunately, I am not a fan of this book. It was very slow, the title didn’t match the plot, and it didn’t flow well. Some of the twists and turns were shocking, but several made me roll my eyes or sigh.

It is supposed to be about a broken marriage and secrets the spouses have, but the main focus of the book was not about their relationship,

If this wouldn’t have been an ARC that I agreed to review, I would have DNF (and I never DNF!) I do believe that this author has potential, but it needs to be polished,

I love a good domestic thriller, and this one had the potential to be one.
I finished it and did enjoy it, but almost didn’t continue with it .
I see that other reviews say the same thing that it takes a while to really understand and get into this one. So if you can make it through the halfway point, you’re good to go.
I would definitely give this author another
chance as I see a lot of potential in their writing style.

Thankyou to author Elena Wilkes, Storm Publishing and Netgalley for the opportunity to read this book.
Charlene 📚🤗🌸. @lastnownext

This started a little slow in my opinion, but the pace got faster as the plot progressed. The characters were written so some weren't easy to like , while others made you sympathise with them. It was told in two timelines, which I'm not a great fan of, but it was necessary to the plot. I didn't guess the reveal towards the ending either! I won't spoil the shock!

I was really excited to read this book based off the description and the cover. I love a twisty domestic thriller! This book was definitely full of twists, and for that reason I couldn’t put it down.

However, I found it to be confusing and going in a lot of different directions. It was a bit hard to follow and All the characters were very unlikable which isn’t my favorite thing. Overall I think this book wasn’t for me, but the twists were good. Thank you Netgalley and Storm publishing for the ARC!

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC! I enjoyed this read overall. I did not grasp a true understanding of what was happening until about halfway through. I had trouble following Hannah's (main character) pov to grasp the set-up and pieces of the storyline. However, Hannah did not fully know everything as well from that dreadful college night. I was equally confused as Hannah or more. I appreciate the themes of friendships, real-life college dangers/situations, friendship drama, and among others. I was getting sort of annoyed with the behaviors between Hannah, Rachel, and Alison. It was giving catty, ownership, and constant pity. The ending brought it all together! Great twist with the accomplice. Hannad had some BOSS MOVES here and there that she handled with confidence, despite her internal conflict. Honestly, the TRUE MAIN CHARACTER goes to MATT! WOW!

I recommend reading it for sure. I would give it a 3.5 stars out of 5.
3.5 due to the confusion, hard grasp of what the problem was, and Hannah's plan of action. Halfway through I finally understood what was the issue and how the characters were involved in different ways.

This was the first by the author!

I found this book a slow burn and was very confusing at time and it definitely was not a thriller for me because of how confusing it was

The way the writing is going back and forth was so confusing and sometimes I wasnt sure whose POV it was. There was a lot going on and I felt that sometimes it didnt keep my attention and wasn't the best i have read. I was looking forward to reading this but i still don't understand what i read.

At times felt rushed and i was so looking forward to this book. It was just ok for me but i would give the author another try with another novel.

Thanks NetGalley for letting me read and review.

I had a really hard time getting into this book. The first chapter grabbed me and then it slowed down way too much. The characters were not very likable and were hard to read about. The writing overall was good, the plot was just too slow for my liking.

I would .Ike to thank NetGalley and Storm Publishing for the opportunity to read an ARC of The Broken Marriage by Elena Wilkes. I preface my review by sharing that I have great respect for all published authors; it takes extreme talent to write and secure publishing for their work. Unfortunately I did not enjoy this book at all. I found no redeeming characteristics in any of the characters, nor did I like the storyline. Suffice to share I am unable to recommend this book, however if you read it I thoroughly hope you enjoy it. I'm giving it 2 stars in recognition of the author’s efforts and commitment.

I have mixed feelings about this book. I found it very fast paced but very confusing at times. It just wasn’t very thriller-y for me.

The different timelines and going back and forth was a little too much at times. I wanted more of the here and now. The why Hannah came back.

It was a thriller about relationships between friends. There was a lot going on and a lot to unpack and I felt it was skimmed over a lot of the time.

I felt that I didn’t really get what was going on until the last 15% of the book. It didn’t hold my attention and it definitely didn’t have me on the edge of my seat and I’m gutted about it because I was looking forward to reading it.

It’s a very complex situation for Hannah, Rachel and her husband Matt. There’s definitely more than originally meets the eye but the 3 of them together is bad news.

I did want more from the book, dig a little deeper into their relationship but apart from that, it was an enjoyable read.

Thank you to Netgalley, Storm Publishing and the author for allowing me this copy.