The writing felt immature and wasn't at all what I was expecting. I had really high hopes, but couldn't get into it. I DNF'd about 25 pages in.

This book reminded me of a Freida McFadden novel. It was gripping enough to keep my attention and easy to read. The only reason for giving it only three stars is the writing just didn’t feel very polished to me. There was quite a bit of repeating that felt off. Other than that, I would say if you typically like FM books to give this one a try.

In "The Second Mrs. Strom," Kaira Rouda delves into the intricacies of relationships and the secrets that can destroy them. The story takes readers into a tense environment where the thirst for revenge turns into an all-consuming obsession.

I was unaware that 'The Second Mrs. Strom' was the sequel to 'The Best Day Ever,' which I hadn't read. Nonetheless, I had no difficulty following the story, as it functioned well as a standalone.

Paul and Cecilia are in Paris, celebrating their first wedding anniversary. Their union blossomed from a whirlwind romance that began when they met at the funeral of Esther, the elderly woman Paul dated for over a year. Paul inherited a fortune from her, and now he and Cecilia are reveling in the luxuries afforded by the inheritance.

While reading, I realized that Paul was a narcissist. Their marriage appeared to be fine in the initial stages, but then his true nature emerged. He tried to isolate Cecelia from the outside world, not wanting her to work or make friends. It was satisfying to discover that Cecelia was more perceptive than she appeared. Unknown to him, his wife was equally manipulative, enabling her to outwit him.

The tension between the two characters had me eagerly flipping the pages; I was keen to discover which manipulator would come out on top. The author skillfully interlaced numerous twists in the story, one of which revealed the profound extent of Cecelia's cunning.

Readers who enjoy stories that feature characters whose moral compass has gone awry will appreciate Paul and Cecelia. Secrets, lies and mind games were the themes that drove the story.

Overall, I found "The Second Mrs. Strom" to be an engaging read. So much so, that I am planning to read "The Best Day Ever" next.

I thought this book was devilishly devious.
Paul belonged back in the 19th century with his archaic attitudes about and wife and family.
He was a lowlife moocher con artist.
Who met his match with wifey #2. I knew what was happening to Paul in Paris and couldn’t believe he couldn’t see it.
I knew immediately who Susan was and also who Cecilia was early on.
I actually was laughing at the end book because both Paul and Cecilia were so absurd and outrageous they deserved one another.

Brilliant. Absolutely gripping and thoroughly compelling. This wonderful read had me turning the pages late into the night wanting to know more. An assured, well written, wonderful tale.

Our favorite narcissist you love to hate is back!

Paul Strom has planned the perfect one year anniversary celebration in Paris for his second wife Cecilia. Paul is rich, successful, controlling and believes he is superior to everyone. Cecilia is the wife of Paul's dreams. She is young, beautiful and seemingly in love with him. He has planned their last night in Paris to be the best night ever. But will it? It seems Cecilia has her own plans. Has Paul met his match?

THE SECOND MRS STORM is the sequel to THE BEST DAY EVER. I recommend reading it first to get the full background of Paul to fully understand him. Paul and Cecilia each have their secrets and evil plans for their last night in Paris. I was on the edge of my seat as this cat and mouse game played out to see which one wins. The story is revealed at a steady pace in both Paul's and Cecilia's POV. I loved the diary entries that are scattered throughout the book and somehow was not surprised by who wrote the diary entries. I highly recommend THE SECOND MRS STROM.

Thank you Kaira Rouda, Netgalley, Bookouter, and thrillerbookloverthepulse for the gifted ebook and this is my honest review.

Rouda is probably queen of writing about rich people behaving badly and this book is about just that. I didn’t realize going in that this is book two of Family Secrets but it was able to be read as a standalone so that's always a bonus..

Paul and Cecelia were two highly unlikable characters, which is just what you want in this type of book. It’s better to not have anyone to root for and just enjoy the absurdities, lol. The twists were dropped in periodically throughout the book which made this so fun. If you’re looking for a quick thriller with characters you love to hate, I'm thinking this or basically anything from Rouda would fit the bill.

The Second Mrs Strom is utter perfection, filled with morally reprehensible characters, drama, tension and fantastic twists, all set against a Parisian background for that little extra flair.

Best Day Ever is one of my all time favourite books, so I was SO EXCITED when @kairarouda decided to bring back Paul Strom for another whirl. Paul is the absolute WORST, but you find yourself totally hooked to see what kind of bad behaviour he’s going to get away with - and you are sort of rooting for him? What does that say about me?!

This time he’s celebrating his one year anniversary with his new wife, in Paris. Except his new wife might not be the compliant, catering, beautiful dream girl he thought she was. She might have secrets that rival his own.

No spoilers for this because you absolutely must just go in blind and expect the worst from Paul. What I will say is this is just as fun a read as Best Day, and maybe more so because Cecilia is no shrinking violet. I adore the cat and mouse gameplay in this book and I legitimately devoured this dying to see who would come out on top.

This is a genuine can’t-miss for thriller lovers, especially if you like me, adored Paul as a character. It’s exactly the right kind of easy, entertaining and twisting plot that is so entirely satisfying and makes for an ideal end of summer read.

Many thanks to @bookouture for the copy and inviting me on this book tour. And @kairarouda thank you DO MUCH for bringing Paul back to be a summer reading highlight.

Book Review:

I will never NOT sign up for any book by @kairarouda & I’m so glad I feel that way because this one did not disappoint.

When this was offered to our group @thrillerbookloversthepulse , I jumped on it.

This one is actually a sequel to her book Best Day Ever but it can absolutely be read as a standalone. I do recommend reading the first one though. I think you’ll have a better understanding of the characters & the drama ☕️

Paul & Cecelia decide to spend their first anniversary in beautiful, romantic Paris. Paul has everything planned out, per usual. He likes things to go his way at all times & he’s used to getting what he wants. But sly Cecelia has other plans!!

Has Paul finally met his match or will this time in Paris be the Best Day Ever?!?

This was an incredible domestic thriller & I need at least one of Kaira’s series to be film adapted. The Beneath the Surface duo or this one. Or both…I mean…they’re great!

@kairarouda -from one Southern California girlie to another-please keep writing!! I devour your books. & thank you for always being so kind! You gifted my book club paperback copies of Beneath the Surface & now giving us Pulse lovers this ARC & Under the Palms! Thank you thank you!!! 🫶🏼🫶🏼

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
5/5 stars

Wow, just wow. This might be Kaira Rouda’s best book yet! ( and I’ve liked them all!) Holy smokes I read the book in less than 24 hours and now I have a book hangover! I met Kaira years ago at a book event and have been “ running” into her ever since! Recently I saw her at Thrillerfest in New York and then we ended up on the same flight home. Now I wish I had the book on that flight so I could’ve discussed all the goodness with her! I loved all casual drops of jaw dropping secrets you didn’t see coming, it was truely gripping from beginning to end!

Cecilia had a ruff childhood and never really felt wanted, but now that she’s met Paul everything will be amazing. Paul has recently inherited a fortune and now that they’re married it’s her fortune too. Paul adores her will give her whatever she wants, but what Paul wants might be asking too much. Paul isn’t aware of all the secrets Cecilia is keeping but he has plenty of secrets up his sleeve.
The two go on a romantic anniversary trip to Paris that is anything but romantic. Problems at home follow them abroad and they both packed their own agendas. How can they both keep up the charade of the happy couple when they’re anything but happy?
Secrets will be revealed, the past will collide with the present, and lives will be on the line.

Evil meets his match in this Parisian set page-turner! Best Day Ever is my favorite Kaira Rouda thriller and I was so happy to see that Paul Strom had crawled out of a gutter to star in another book. Thank you!! I can't what to see where Cecilia goes next!

This is an intense psychological thriller that is unputdownable and a page turner.

Paul and Cecelia are celebrating their first year wedding anniversary in Paris. Paul suspect that Cecelia is having an affair while Cecelia is having something in her mind. Both are gold diggers and both would do anything to get the inheritance of a lady who had passed away recently, even if it involves murdering one of them.

I didn't know this was a sequel but then I read this book as a standalone. Paul and Cecelia are typical gold-diggers each greedy with their own agenda. The writing was great, intense and the atmosphere created by the author in the book is also very intense. This was a page turning thriller, unputdownable full of twists and turns and some drama involved in the story. Overall, reading this whole story will make you feel like you are watching an action paced thriller movie.

This book is a five star read for me.

Many thanks to Netgalley and Bookouture for the ARC. Thank you Bookouture for making me a part of the blog tour. The review is based on my honest opinion only.

This book kept me turning pages all night. Intriguing characters whose characteristics are peeled back like the proverbial onion. I couldn't decide if I liked the characters of Paul and Cecilia, but it made for a good twisty book. I don't want to say too much and spoil the story other readers. Just make sure you have some time to read to the very end! I want to thank the Publisher, Ms Rouda and NetGalley for the ARC. My review is voluntary and all opinions are my own.

I am disappointed that I didn’t realize until the end of this book that this wasn’t Mr. Storm’s first book. I’m curious what was told in that first book and I definitely will need to be checking it out. This is one of those books where you can’t find any characters you can truly like, but while I hated them they were well written and even better voiced in the audiobook. The narrators did an excellent job and I listened until about 80% despite having the kindle as well because I liked the way they were reading it so much better than my internal voice. I will admit I called some twists coming but some others I had gotten wrong. The mystery was good and I can’t be sad about the ending at all. Some people truly do get exactly what they deserve. Paul and Cecelia are in Paris, it’s their last day and Paul is determined it will be romantic. The perspective changes between the two of them and the time frame, giving some background. As the two go through their final day in Paris the reader realizes that they both have secrets and watching what happens as those secrets start to come to the surface was quite entertaining.

🌟🌟🌟🌟
Thank you Bookouture for inviting me to be part of the Books on Tour for “The Second Mrs. Strom” by Kaira Rouda.
I went into this book blind and I’m glad I did. This is the sequel to the book “Best Day Ever”. Now I have to go back and read the first one.
Paul Strom is on his honeymoon with his second wife in Paris. He’s a narcissist who always expects things to work out his way. I love the dual narrative with Paul and Cecelia. It was great trying to figure out her story. What a roller coaster of a ride!
Will there be another book? I sure do hope so! Many thanks to the author, Bookouture and NetGalley for a complimentary copy of the book. The opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own.
#TheSecondMrsStrom #KairaRouda #NetGalley #Bookouture #BooksOnTour #BookLove #Bookstagram #NewBook #ILoveBooks

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for gifting me this book for free in exchange for my review! All opinions are my own.

This book was just ok in my opinion. If anything I was sort of expecting it to be quite similar to The Mrs. Parrish books by Liv Constantine. This book wasn't horrible, it just left me slightly dissapointed. With that being said, I would still read more books by Kaira Rouda in the future.


Many Thanks again to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with this book in exchange for my honest review.

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3/5 stars. Paul is back with another new wife trying to have another best day ever, this time in Paris. Paul’s behavior was predictable as he followed the same narcissistic ways as the first book. It was easy to predict the ending following his thought process. The sister was a nice twist, I didn’t see that coming.

I hadn’t read the previous book with Paul in it, Best Day Ever, before reading The Second Mrs. Strom, but it wasn’t too hard to see the sociopath, or whatever the proper medical term would be, hiding not too successfully in there; he’s just not right. I laughed at how he loved to describe himself: “Paul Randolph Strom, PRS: almost a person. Just missing a couple of things.” But then, maybe Cecilia’s just not right, either, just missing a couple of things, too. Cold, calculating, scheming and plotting from the start. Nothing that happened when they first met was happenstance or coincidental or serendipity. Cecilia had revenge on her mind and a plan in place for how to get it – and end up with the lifestyle she’s always wanted. She may not be as mentally unstable as Paul, but she’s no innocent. So we start the story with two distinctly unlikeable people, and it only gets worse as the story progresses. What’s supposed to be a joyous first anniversary celebration is clearly going to be anything but.

Author Kaira Rouda makes Paul a delightfully repulsive character. He wants what he wants when he wants it and expects everyone to fall in line. He really does see life in only one way and feels justified in his behavior and superiority. You can almost, for a teeny, tiny second, feel sorry for him; his childhood was horrendous and obviously shaped him. But any sympathy is short-lived. It’s almost the same with Cecilia. Her life hasn’t been easy for far, either. Her childhood was hard and there’s nothing wrong with aspiring for a better life – except when your path to that better life is grasping, conniving, lying.

Rouda does an amazing job of dragging us along with Paul and Cecilia’s anniversary celebration. It’s cat and mouse all the way. Apparent early on that neither of them has the other’s best interest at heart, and it becomes a game of wondering who will get there first, and changing allegiance from one to the other and who you want to see win this deadly game.

The Second Mrs. Strom moves along at breakneck speed, darkly humorous, edgy, suspenseful and keeps you on the edge of your seat beginning to end. The dinner at the Eiffel Tower was priceless. A unique book that keeps you riveted. Thanks to Bookouture Publishing for providing an advance copy of The Second Mrs. Strom via NetGalley. I voluntarily leave this review; all opinions are my own.

I have read several books by this author. This was was my favorite of hers I think. I really liked all of the characters. I also thought that the pacing was really good as well.

The Second Mrs. Strom by Kaira Rouda is the sequel to the excellent novel, Best Day Ever. Going into it, I didn’t know this was a sequel and kept thinking how this book was so similar to Best Day Ever. Well, it makes sense now!

This is as good as the first book, with the dreadful Paul and his second wife. If you have read the first book, which I highly recommend, this may not be as shocking, but it's still a great read with twists and turns along the way.

I don’t want the perfect marriage. I want revenge…

If you had met me a year ago, you wouldn’t have noticed me. A beautiful woman, but a struggling nobody in a tiny apartment, invisible…

Meeting Paul changed that.

And now here I am in Paris, after a whirlwind courtship and a stunning beach proposal. I smile at my handsome husband, my eyes shining in the candlelight, my huge diamond ring sparkling on the starched white tablecloth. Other women look at me in envy. They see a couple completely in love.

They’re wrong.

Despite this incredible luxury vacation, my husband and I can’t escape our problems. I can’t get over what he did with that woman just after our wedding, and my bright smile can’t hide the hardness in my heart.

I wonder if Paul knows the truth. That our first meeting, when we fell in love, wasn’t the coincidence he thinks it was. That what I want from him has nothing to do with his money.

And now that he’s wronged me, I’ll stop at nothing to get it…