The author does such a great job incorporating toxic marriages, egocentric characters and unreliable narrators into an entertaining read.

Goodreads says I read The Best Day Ever which is the start for the main character, even though it isn't listed as part of the series, but I don't remember reading it. So needless to say it isn't a requirement to follow this story.

I really loved hating these characters. It was so entertaining. I think a lot of the suspense and where it was headed was easily guessed, but I still delighted in listening to Paul tell us how great and deserving he is. If you are a stickler for two feet in the real world, then this book might not be for you, but if you are a fan of over the top characters, then this will be right up your alley.

I loved this was set in Paris and the couple made their way all around the city as they celebrated their one year anniversary.

Quite often I am flipping back and forth from the book and audio or maybe doing an immersive read, but this one was pure audiobook for me. And I think that was the best choice. Nick Landrum and Laurence Bouvard do such a good job voicing Paul's ego and Cecelia's response. It definitely made it more interesting.





Nick Landrum, Laurence Bouvard

Wow, this was so gripping and suspenseful that I was actually surprised when it ended so abruptly. My only complaint is that this wasn't longer because I wasn't ready to let go of these characters. The game of cat and mouse that the two main characters were playing was so entertaining and has me fully immersed in this. I wasn't sure who, if either of them, could be trusted and was anxiously waiting for it all to come to a head. The way the story was presented was pretty unique but a bit all over the place. I didn't mind it though because it kept me thinking throughout. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

When I first delved into this book, it immediately brought to mind another novel I had read a few years back. At first, I feared it might be another unoriginal story, but I was proven wrong.

While the beginning was a bit slow for me, it truly captured my attention around two-thirds of the way in. From that point on, I found myself racing through the pages at lightning speed. The novel took me on an exhilarating journey with numerous unexpected plot twists and outcomes that kept me on the edge of my seat. The characters were so well-crafted, and the ending was completely fascinating. I don't want to spoil any details because every little aspect is crucial in this outstanding thriller.

I'm extremely grateful to NetGalley for providing me with a complimentary advanced copy of this book.

Kaira Rouda is an instant-read author for me. I was thrilled to see she had a new book - AND there’s a sequel coming! This first book in her new series, Family Secrets, is The Second Mrs Strom, a psychological thriller that had me hooked from the start. The chapters alternate with Paul & Cecilia’s side of events, in the present and in the past. This is a couple I just wasn’t sure about & they kept it interesting along the entire ride!

Narrators Nick Landrum & Laurence Bouvard were excellent.

Thank you, Kaira Rouda, bookouture, bookouture audio, & netgalley, for my gifted copy. All opinions are my own.

Thank you to Negalley and the publisher for this ALC. I didn't not get to listen to it in time before it expired. Once I actually read this I'll update my review.

Mr Strom has been busy. After a questionable relationship with a wealthy elderly woman leaves him the sole heir to her estate, the second Mrs. Strom crazily catches his eye. Now in Paris, she is breaking all his rules. And there could be a child no one knew about...
We all know I love angry women - this one does not disappoint.

I've read a few books by Kaira Rouda now, and I enjoyed this one just as much as the others I have read. Her thrillers are fun and twisty, definitely giving you a fun ride along the way! I love that this story was set in Paris. This story has characters you'll love to hate, in a really good way. After finishing this story, I read a few reviews and realized that this is actually a sequel to another book by the author, Best Day Ever. Although I haven't read the first book, I don't think it's totally necessary to read before diving into this book. I'll have to check out Best Day Ever now!

This was a great audio. Multiple narrators elevated the story to next level. Both narrators were smooth and transitioned the short chapters well. The speed was a tad slow for me and I sled it up to 1.75x. Even at that speed both narrators were still clear and easy to understand.

The Second Mrs Strom is a domestic thriller. Rich people behaving badly with dark skeletons in their closet. Several turns during the story led me down all kinds of dark paths! Definitely recommend. For fans of Freida McFadden, Liv Constantine, you'll enjoy this story,

Thank you @netgalley and @bookouture for a copy of this title. All my opinions are my own.

4.5 stars rounded up. The Second Mrs. Strom is a sequel of sorts, but you don't have to have read Best Day Ever to enjoy this book. Paul Strom married Cecelia after a whirlwind courtship. They met at Esther's funeral, the woman who left her fortune to her companion, Paul. It is now their one year anniversary and they are celebrating in Paris. To the public they are a beautiful, happy couple, but in private, they are not happy. Who is Cecilia and did she set out to meet Paul for her own reasons? Paul may have loved Cecilia, but he has changed. He wants her home, barefoot and pregnant, as well as having a mistress on the side. Will their marriage end sooner rather than later?

I am not usually a fan of unlikable characters, but both Paul and Cecilia are exactly that. However, I still enjoyed this book and couldn't wait to get to the end to see what was going to happen. As we learned more about Paul, I began to think he was a psychopath, Cecilia was a liar and had lots of secrets. The book is well-plotted and written in such a way that the suspense was increased as the story progressed and there was a sense of impending doom and tragedy. There were many twists along the way, ones that kept me guessing along with my surprise at what happened. With unlikable characters, secrets, lies, little or no morals, and lots of mind games, I read and/or listened with interest. This was a book to go into cold, as well as to sit back and just enjoy the drama. I did a read/listen and enjoyed both formats. Nick Landrum and Laurence Bouvard do an amazing job with the narration. As the story is from dual POVs, the choice of narrators is perfect. If you enjoy an entertaining psychological thriller, then I recommend The Second Mrs. Strom. I enjoyed this one so much, I am going to read or listen to Best Day Ever to find out about Paul's life before Cecilia.

Thank you to Bookouture for the copies to review.

First of all, if you can do audiobooks, I highly recommend you listen to this one. Paul is BACK with a new wife and the audio absolutely encapsulated him and brought him straight back to me, and it was so much fun listening to him just like in Best Day Ever. Second, did I mention Paul is BACK? I don’t want to spoil anything but he is one of my favorite villains, in one of my favorite thrillers, and I do think he has met his match in this sequel. Kaira Rouda is a favorite thriller author of mine and she has outdone herself here. I highly recommend this book (you will benefit from reading the first book FYI, although this can be read as a standalone) and I cannot wait to read the third book in this fabulous series.

This books had a some fun moments. Gave me some smiles. I enjoyed the deception and back and forth jabs. It was a little predictable. I was hoping for a bigger twist and more ah ha moments. Still entertaining. I enjoyed the opportunity to read it here and get to know these devious characters.

I listened to this as an audiobook; I enjoyed this. It felt slightly predictable and I definitely did not love Paul, the lead male character, but I did kinda enjoy Cecelia, the lead female character. Paul is pretty despicable in nature and I found myself oftentimes rolling my eyes at his narrations. Cecelia is annoying in her own way but the determination to take what she felt she deserved was a bit impressive though sorta diabolical at the same time. The narrator/POV does shift in this, so I think it was beneficial to listen to this, but this should be easy to follow if read in print or e-book. Despite some of the predictability, I did find myself interested in hearing more. I did find out just before writing this that this book is the second of two in a series, I’m assuming at least, so perhaps I’ll go and read the first book now that I’m aware of its existence (it’s called Best Day Ever).

ʀᴇᴀᴅ ᴛʜɪꜱ ɪꜰ ʏᴏᴜ ᴇɴᴊᴏʏ: Qᴜɪᴄᴋ ʀᴇᴀᴅꜱ • ᴘꜱʏᴄʜᴏʟᴏɢɪᴄᴀʟ ᴛʜʀɪʟʟᴇʀꜱ • ᴘʟᴏᴛ ᴛᴡɪꜱᴛꜱ • ɢᴏᴏᴅ ᴘʟᴏᴛꜱ • ꜱᴜꜱᴘᴇɴꜱᴇꜰᴜʟ ʀᴇᴀᴅꜱ •

Ｍｉｎｉ Ｒｅｖｉｅｗ

💭: I really enjoyed this one on audio and felt the voices were pleasant. I’ve listened to books before where I had a hard time getting through them due to the narrator.

This was a quick read and I found myself engaged.

I’d recommend reading the author’s Best Day Ever prior to reading this one. However, this can be read as standalone!

The Second Mrs Strom by Kaira Rouda

When you are in Paris with your husband and things don’t go as planned or did they?


So this is a follow on from another book and I didn’t know that…. I kinda feel like it would have been nice to have read it first but I also feel like I didn’t already know all about Paul so I was a lot more surprised by what was going on!
Paul is a sociopath. Grade A level abuser. The dynamic between him and his new wife was odd! He thought he had her ‘managed’ but being in Paris he is realizing that maybe he doesn’t have her as controlled as he thought. He is wrong footed a lot and he has something planned but so does she!
It wasn’t massively twisty and less so for anyone who has read book one but it was decently paced and entertaining. It was good. I really enjoyed it and now I’m waiting to read book one.. fingers crossed it comes fast haha!
4 stars

This novel has a great sociopathic character who you sort of love to hate. He met his match in Cecilia. I have to admit, I didn't realize this was a second book with the main character, Paul. Even missing the first book, it was a complete novel and worked well as a standalone.

3/5 stars

Thank you Bookouture Audio for the advanced listening copy!

First off... apparently this book is a sequel?? I had no idea, so that could be part of the problem lol! Based on other reviews I read, I think I would have enjoyed this one way more had I read the first one. Secondly, Paul was INSUFFERABLE. I mean, I get that that's his character but listening to his portion of the audio was truly painful.

Other than that, this book was okay! There were some pretty shocking twists and it was definitely a fast-paced, intriguing story. Pretty middle of the pack overall and not going to stand out in a year from now, but I didn't mind the listen overall! I'd read more by this author for sure. I think the potential was there, it was just these characters that I struggled with!

SYNOPSIS -- Cecelia and Paul are in Paris celebrating what should be a very romantic first anniversary. Unfortunately, Paul hasn't been feeling well, and, with his desperate need for control, that just won't do. As these two try to navigate the trip, they're forced to contend with the fact that their marriage may not be quite as fated as it first appeared to be. You see, these two both have secrets, and something tells me they're all going to come to light in Paris.

I have read other books by this author. I always love the writing and I find it to be rather interesting. This was no exception. I found this book to be intriguing. Will be picking up more from this author.

"The Second Mrs. Strom" by Kaira Rouda is a psychological thriller that’ll likely hook you, even if you didn’t read the first book, Best Day Ever—which I didn’t! But don’t worry, you can still follow along just fine.

This is one twisted tale of love, lies and revenge.

The story centers on Paul and Cecelia, a married couple celebrating their one-year anniversary in Paris. But don’t be fooled by the glamorous setting—this relationship is far from picture-perfect. Cecelia may seem like the doting wife, but she’s got secrets of her own. And Paul? Well, he’s as narcissistic and manipulative as they come. Their marriage is more of a battleground than a love story, with both characters plotting and scheming.

The book is told through rotating chapters from Paul and Cecelia’s perspectives, which adds to the suspense as you try to figure out who’s playing who. Paul’s misogynistic, controlling behavior is on full display, while Cecelia seems like she’s had enough and has a plan of her own. Neither of them is likable, which, I’ll admit, threw me off at first, but once I embraced the fact that these two are meant to be unhinged, I was all in. Their constant bickering and underhanded tactics make for a wild, twisted ride. Especially when you realize Cecelia’s motives are deeper than just a bad marriage.

The audiobook, narrated by Nick Landrum and Laurence Bouvard, really highlights the two characters’ distinct voices. That said, the narration didn’t completely sell me—there were moments when the back-and-forth timeline made things a bit confusing to follow.

Overall, The Second Mrs. Strom is a well-crafted thriller where you’re not rooting for either character—you’re just watching them spiral deeper into their own mess. If you like thrillers with dark, twisted characters, you’ll enjoy this one.

Special thanks to Bookouture Audio for the advanced listener copy via the NetGalley app!

Another good one from Rouda!! This one kept you guessing trying to figure out what these two were up to you know they both have something nefarious going on but you are never sure what or if you are wrong about one or the other! I enjoyed the dual povs and the flashbacks, neither of these 2 are at all likeable but that's half the fun is you can't root for either one!


Nick Landrum narrated the Paul Strom chapters and i liked his narration but I have to say the times he was narrating the thoughts inside in head it reminded me of the Whistler, that is not a bad thing but my mind kept thinking how much he sounds like the Whistler. Laurence Bouvard narrated the female chapters she did a very good job.


Highly recommend this one!

I received this audiobook from the publisher Bookouture Audio and NetGalley for a fair and honest review.

The Second Mrs. Strom written by Kaira Rouda reminds me of a no-rules edition of MMA. All the characters in the book are vile, and everyone is scheming against each other to enact revenge.

While I typically enjoy thrillers, The Second Mrs. Strom felt too predictable and one-dimensional. The book fell flat for me, with no one really to root for (who was our protagonist, anyhow?!) and no real plot twists or layered plot lines.

Most of the novel occurs in Paris, France, while Cecilia (Mrs. Strom #2) and Paul (Mr. Strom) celebrate their first wedding anniversary. Over this week-long trip, we witness two people pursuing the Parisian tourist areas. What's clear from the get-go is that both Cecil has and Paul essentially despise each other.

Paul, a control freak and sociopath, already has a mistress back at home, and he's also a con artist who makes women believe he loves them in an effort to extort them for children, money, attention, and more. Meanwhile, Cecilia is no wonderful human either. She is materialistic, calculating, and vengeful. Both Cecilia and Paul will go as far as to kill to meet their life-long goals.

While I read this book quickly, I didn't feel compelled to return to my Kindle after a reading break. I won't be continuing with this series, but there are undoubtedly readers out there who will enjoy this read and series.

Bookouture, Kaira Rouda, and NetGalley provided an ARC of The Second Mrs. Strom, and I thank them all for the opportunity to review it.