4.5/5 (rounded up)

This was such a fun listen. Paul is absolutely nuts! This story follow Paul, and his second wife Cecelia for their one year anniversary. Paul takes Cecelia to Paris to celebrate, and while there, Cecelia isn’t acting like herself, and Paul can’t stand it. I definitely recommend it.

What a great story, bringing more of Paul to us. This one was full of drama and twists. It was a great read. I follow Kaira on social media and also in the Killer Author Club. I always recommend her books. Thanks for the advance copy.

Thank you to @thrillerbookloversthepulse @Netgalley for the #gifted copy.

Guess who's back, Guess who's back, Guess who's back.....

Oh wait, not shady, but Paul!! Yes, people Paul is backkkkk! Boy, have I missed Paul. I was so excited to get to read this book. If you haven't read the prequel, the Best Day Ever, you must go read it. (And no it isn't necessary, but I promise Paul will become the person you love to hate)

Paul recently inherited a fortune. He and his new wife, Cecilia travelled to Paris to celebrate their one year anniversary. Is it love at first sight or was this love of money?? As with all Rouda's books, I was captivated from the start and quickly plowed through this book. It was full the usual vindictiveness we expect from Paul and the twists and turns we love. Don't miss it!

Thank you, NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book early. It always makes me happy when I get to read and review books before they get released to the public.

This one took me for a ride! It was a slower thriller but, the story came together so nicely! It was perfection. The ending surprised me the most. To the honest, the whole book surprised me and I loved every word of it.

Overall, solid thriller and so glad I read it.

Thank you to Kiara Rouda, Netgalley, Bookouture and Bookouture Audio for the ARC/ALC.

“There really is such little space between love and hate, life and death…”

When my friends at the Pulse were raving about this book, and I saw it had a prequel (called “The Best Day Ever”), I did the only reasonable thing and read both books! And I am SO glad I did, Kiara Rouda NEVER disappoints with her books. While “The Second Mrs. Strom” can be read as a standalone, I think it’s more fun to read the first book beforehand (possibly back-to-back like I did!) In this book, Paul Strom is still up to usual ways, now rich after an elderly friend passed away and left him her fortune. But this time, he may have met his match in Cecilia - the beautiful, smart young woman he quickly marries. With a fast pace and characters that you love to hate, “The Second Mrs. Strom” was a fun ride. Without giving any spoilers, I am SO hopeful that there will be another installment because I need more!

“The Second Mrs. Strom” releases August 16, 2024. This review will be shared to my instagram blog (@books_by_the_bottle) shortly :)

When I first started reading this book I wasn’t aware it was a sequel to a previous book called ‘First Day Ever’. Now as I am a little bit OCD (well in truth a massive bit) I had to stop reading and download the first book to read first. The first book gives us the opportunity to first meet Paul Strom. However I will say you can absolutely read The Second Mrs Strom as a standalone read.

My first thought after finishing this book was what an utterly despicable and appalling person Paul Strom was. I actually think my blood pressure rose a few notches as I was reading . Now I’m one of these strange people who love awful characters in books, think of the author Liz Nugent and her books , that’s he sort of characters I mean. And Paul Strom is up there with those characters.
This was a fast paced and twisty read with untrustworthy characters and it difficult to know who you can actually trust. From the very start I was gripped by the story and by the end I needed a lie down after all the drama. Kaira Rouda has yet again written a superb read packed full of suspense and tension .

Paul Strom is back!!! The whiplash I got from this book 😅 there were quite a few twists and I didn’t see all of them coming AT ALL. While this is a sequel to Best Day Ever, you can absolutely read this as a standalone as many important details from the previous book are mentioned.

I really enjoyed "The Second Mrs Strom". It kept me guessing until the end and was a quick moving book. I also loved the continuation of Paul's character from "Best Day Ever." I highly recommend this book, especially if you liked "Best Day Ever".

The Second Mrs Strom is the sequel to Best Day Ever, which was published in 2017 - before unreliable narrators and toxic marriages completely took over the crime fiction market. If you have read that one you’ll have an idea what to expect here, which means there will be few surprises, so for once I think this could be a sequel that works best if you haven’t read the first book and so know nothing about the main character. As for me, I enjoyed it but felt it was all too obvious what was going on - but at the same time as being outrageously far fetched.

Five years on from the end of his first marriage, Paul Strom has landed on his feet - he’s inherited a fortune from his elderly former companion and swiftly moved on to a much younger bride, the beautiful Cecilia. Now they are in Paris to celebrate their first anniversary and he’s determined that their last night there will be the Best Night Ever…

This is mostly told from Paul’s first person present perspective as the world’s second most malignant narcissist brags about his perfect life, and his plan to bring his newly rebellious perfect wife back into line by getting her with child. If only he didn’t feel so sick from all that rich French food… We also hear from Cecilia as she recounts her side of things and the truth of their whirlwind romance is revealed. I felt it was not believable given their respective histories that neither would know what the other was up to - I don’t want to spoil things by saying more.

It was amusing reading this while the eyes of the world are on Paris, and it was fun to revisit the various famous locations with Paul and Cecilia as they bicker their way through their supposedly romantic holiday. It’s unfortunate that the author didn’t consult a bilingual beta reader though, as there are lots of small but irritating mistakes with the French language, names etc
The ending was pretty well signed-posted and as with the last book, leaves things open for a third instalment. 3.5 rounded down for the present tense.
Thanks to NetGalley and Bookouture for the ARC. The Second Mrs Strom Is published on August 16th.

The author keeps your guessing through entire book on who is going to kill who at the end. I love how she built up your annoyance with the characters. Paul is not as bright as he thinks he is. What irony he loves mystery/thriller books. Great read!

Our favorite character we love to loathe is back. YEP, Paul is back and in prime form.

I heard great things about book 1, Best Day Ever, so I read it before jumping into this book, although it's not necessary. You really get to know Paul in The Second Mrs Strom but I did like having more of his back story.

The ending was great and is a nice set up for another book ❤️

If you loved Best Day Ever this one is sure to be a winner. If you didn't read it but love a good character you love to hate, don't miss your chance to grab this one.

Kaira Rouda's books never disappoint. I always fly through them in a matter of one to two days. This book was no exception. I kept trying to guess the twists and was sometimes surprised. Even when I would guess them correctly, they way she got to the reveal kept me invested in the story.

If you like reading a story about horrible, vindictive, narcissistic people then this is the novel for you.

Paul Strom has married again. But now he's the rich one after his stint at being a boy toy has ended with his paramour's death. Cecilia is everything he wants after his disastrous first marriage and the loss of his two sons (see first book). She is young and beautiful and will help him take Hollywood by storm. Unfortunately, he doesn't really know her very well at all. And she has her own ideas about what this marriage is going to do for her.

This was just too much nastiness for me. Both Paul and Cecilia are such hideous people that I could barely get through this though others might like this kind of psychological drama. At first, I was drawn in and hoped that perhaps the whole plot would turn out different than expected, but, alas, it was predictable and thus I just read the twisty mess to get to the epilogue. I was not happy with the conclusion either. Definitely read Best Day Ever first before you tackle this one if you really think you need more.

I was able to listen to the audiobook while following along with the e-book, both provided by the publisher. I really wanted to like this one, but I do not like this type of trope where bad people get away with so much evil behavior. I liked the voice of the male narrator, but the female's voice was like nails on a chalkboard and got on my nerves with the breathy high-pitched sound.

This book is an intense rollercoaster ride of twists. I did not read the first book and I do not think it is necessary to read it before this one. Kaira Rouda explains the background a bit, when you come to something that happened in the first. Paul is one unlikable narcissist. He is a waste of space and air as far as I am concerned. But he makes for one fantastic, horrible character. He is smooth, handsome, and now he is beyond filthy rich. How did he get the money, ahhhh you will have to read to find out.

Paul and his beautiful bride of one year are celebrating in Paris. Paul is irritated beyond words. Things are not going his way and Cecelia is changing his plans. You know something is going to happen. He is going to blow a gasket many times on this trip. What is going to happen and why is the best part of it all. I am not giving any more clues and ruin the ride for you.

This was a highly addictive read, that I tore through in a day. It leaves you wanting to find out the entire story in one gulp. I do wish the last thirty pages were trimmed a bit. But I honestly have no complaints, besides having to fit in the first book sometime soon. I need to know more details about Paul before Cecelia came along. Because boy he has met his match now! Thank you to Karia Rouda, Bookouture, and Thriller Book Lovers the Pulse for my gifted copy.

Paul Strom is back with a new wife and enjoying their year anniversary in Paris. Paul is just as egotistical as ever, and I was here for it. I loved that in this book we got his perspective as well as his second wife, Cecelia’s. It was nice to see that Paul might have met his match with her! This book was fast-paced and well-crafted, and I loved trying to piece everything together.

Thank you Bookouture and NetGalley for an advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.

I didn’t realize until I finished the book that this one actually is the sequel to THE BEST DAY EVER, published in 2017. However, it can be read as a stand-alone.

PAUL and his wife CECILIA are celebrating their first wedding anniversary in Paris. Paul has planned for the perfect evening, but nothing on this trip has gone as he had hoped! Rather than focusing on her husband, Cecilia keeps talking on her phone and making extravagant purchases. Not that Paul should mind, as he has recently inherited a large fortune!

Meanwhile, Cecilia has her own ideas about how the evening should unfold and she has a few surprises up her sleeve.

The story is told through the alternating perspectives of Paul and Cecilia. I did have my suspicions about how this one would turn out, and I was correct. But there were a few surprises along the way, and this was an entertaining read. I highly recommend going into this one blind!

Read this if you enjoy:
🍎domestic thrillers
🍎husband/wife drama
🍎unlikeable characters

This one comes highly recommended by my friends @thrillerbookloversthepulse!Thank you @netgalley and @kairariuda for my advanced copy.

This is the second book and it was really good! I really enjoyed the first one and was hoping this one would be just as good and it is! Definitely worth a read!

This is the perfect example of a popcorn thrilller where the story is highly entertaining, full of outrageous characters, keeps you guessing, and is hard to put down. However, I was not exactly crazy for this one. While I didn't read the first book and didn't know Mr. Strom beforehand, I found the entire dialogue to be stilted and a little too unbelievable, unless maybe it were set in the early 1900s. This felt just a little too over the top. I personally enjoy a descriptive, in-depth, thought-provoking story, and while I do enjoy a McFadden book here and there, the story has to really pull me in and maintain a somewhat realistic dialogue and plot. There were a few inconsistencies that I chose to overlook as I do in all ARCs in hopes that they will be corrected in the finalized version. Overall, this was just... okay. three stars.

Thank you, Netgalley and Bookouture, for this ARC.

The Second Mrs. Storm
By Kaira Rouda

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫 4.5/5 stars

This is my first book by Kiara Rouda absolutely not be my last. The twist and turns that Kiara throws that you will knock your socks off.

A fun fact about me is that I do not typically read synopsis of the books I read. So I went into this one completely blind, and let me tell ya, I’m so glad that I did.

This one is multi layered, and dual point of view perspective. While reading, I kept asking myself, who’s good and who’s bad here. Paul and Cecilia these two seemed as if they had met their match… In more ways than one. They’re both characters you will ultimately not like and love to hate them. It was a wild ride that I was fully submersed in.

Suspense lovers don’t miss out on this one! It releases August 16, 2024, so make sure you pre-order it.

Paul Strom, inherits a fortune after the death of his "companion" Esther. At her funeral he meets the beautiful Cecelia, it was love at first sight. After a whirlwind romance, they get married before moving to California.

Paul decides to whisk Cecelia away for a romantic getaway to Paris to celebrate their first anniversary. The romantic trip very quickly turns sour.

This was an interesting read with timelines and POVs flipping back and forth, which is found a little confusing at times. I didn't find the storyline particularly surprising and predicted most of what was going on fairly early in the book. It was still and enjoyable read.

Thank you to Netgalley and Bookouture for allowing me to read this ARC in exchange for an honest review.