What a fantastic book! The characters are likable and engaging from the beginning. You knew something was coming from early on but the what proved to be far more complex and layered than imagined. When it turns you are ready for it and it only accelerates the desire to read more. The ending is compelling about what can be done with healing and forgiveness. Solid four stars. I will recommend.
⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️
Thank you to the publisher, Net Galley, and the author for the advance copy in exchange for an honest review.

Book: First Wife’s Shadow
Author: Adele Parks
Publisher: Harlequin Trade Publishing
Pub Date: March 18, 2025

It's a very fast easy read once you get past the first few chapters. The pace was slow in the beginning and I was a bit nervous this was going to fall too strong on the romance side but it picked up when Emma became more suspicious. The story has all the ingredients of a suspenseful read but it was somewhat predictable. It's a decent book - good but not great. I have read quite a bit by this author - Lies, Lies, Lies; Just My Luck; One Last Secret which I most recently gave five stars; I Invited Her In and Two Dead Wives which was a complete bomb for me. I guess this author is just a mixed bag when it comes to my taste.

Thank you Harlequin Trade Publishing and NetGalley for this sneak peak! Publication date is March 18, 2025.

Successful and rich Emma meets Matthew a recent windowed and sparks fly. Emma doesn’t care that Matthew doesn’t have money or that she hasn’t been able to meet any of his family and friends. Emma ignores the concerns of her friends that maybe things are moving too fast and invites Matthew into all aspects of her life. Soon the shadow of Matthew’s first wife starts to hang all over their new life together and Emma starts to experience strange occurrences at work and home. Who can Emma trust when she starts even questioning herself?

Adele Parks is always an automatic read for me. Although you might think you know this thriller trope there is much more to this story and the ending feels good. This domestic thriller keeps you wondering what is really going on and are people who do bad things really bad people?

When successful CEO Emma meets Matthew, her world is turned upside down. But as their relationship blossoms, she can’t help but obsess over Becky, his deceased first wife. Obsession turns into paranoia, leaving Emma questioning everything—even herself.

This domestic thriller had me hooked from the start with its steady pace and well-placed twists. I loved that I didn’t have to wait until the very end for the surprises—there were plenty along the way, and most of them completely got me!

I really liked Emma and had such fun trying to guess what Matthew was up to. The alternating POVs worked so well, giving just the right amount of insight into the characters without feeling overwhelming. One of the things I enjoyed most was how my opinions on certain characters kept shifting. It was fun to dislike them at first, only to later change my mind and decide I actually loved them!

The story had plenty of drama, secrets, and suspense to keep things entertaining, but it never felt over-the-top. The pacing was just right—not too fast, not too slow—and the way the tension built throughout made it hard to put down. And the ending? So fun and satisfying!

If you love domestic thrillers with unpredictable twists, morally gray characters, and plenty of juicy shenanigans, this one is definitely worth picking up.

Thanks to Netgalley and Harlequin Audio for access to this audiobook ARC in exchange for my honest review.

This domestic psychological thriller is so twisted! It’s hard to talk about without spoilers. There were a lot of twists I did not see coming. The first half of book was a good read, but once you hit the halfway mark, twists really start coming. The twists were random, mind trickery, and fascinating. I absolutely loved the ending; I would not have seen this relationship happening at all. Great read!

Emma takes a chance on younger man and widower Matthew. But she is constantly living in the shadow of his first wife.

This book was so twisty! Here's what I liked:

The twists: The first part of this book was a little slow, but it was needed to really set up this story. So much is going on that you don't realize until it all starts coming to a head. The twits just keep on coming the entire time.

The character: I liked Emma and Matthew but the side characters are what made this for me. In particular, I really liked Emma's friends. They were the true definition of friendship. They helped round out the story.

All in all, this was a really good and twisty thriller!

Thank you to the author and publisher for the gifted copy!

First Wife's Shadow is another great book by Adele Parks! This is a great thriller that will keep you guessing (and reading) until the very last page! Loved it!

Thank you Harlequin Trade Publishing/MIRA and NetGalley for an early copy of First Wife’s Shadow. WOW!!!!! Honestly who thinks of these plots? That Sunday dinner was horribly awkward and made me anxious. Of course I did figure out the main part but then all the twists that came, my head was spinning! Very Great Read!!! Heidi was my favorite character, we all need a friend like her. Thank you again. LOVED IT!!!

This is the first book I've read by Adele Parks and I found it very suspenseful and the characters were well developed. The ending was not what the reader would expect, but well worth the wait. I rated this only 3 stars because there were times the story got bogged down with too much description and I ending up skimming many pages waiting for the story to continue - otherwise it's a good read. Thanks for the advanced copy.

"First Wife’s Shadow" starts off at a leisurely pace in its first half, but a shocking twist midway through completely altered my perspective. From that point on, I found it impossible to put the book down. The characters, Emma and Matthew, were intricately developed, leading me to feel a mix of frustration and empathy towards Matthew, often questioning Emma's choices with thoughts like, "What are you doing, Emma?" The escalating interpersonal drama between them intensified until the explosive conclusion. Be sure to add this title to your reading list!

Really enjoyed the ride! New relationship ghost from the past, are these red flags? Has the tension builds, you keep reading to see how everything is gonna unfold! And enjoyable read! Thank you to the author, the publisher, and NetGalley for this opportunity!

I was very excited to receive an ARC of Adele Park's newest book. I am a huge fan of her books. This one did not disappoint. Emma feels like she is in the shadow of Matthew's first wife. Her friends see a lot of red flags with Matthew but Emma is too desperate to want a husband and ignores them. as time goes on she starts to feel as if someone is watching her. Is it Matthew or his first wife's ghost or something else?

Buckle up for this wild ride! It was like getting whiplash multiple times. Just when I thought I had things figured out...BAM! I actually didn't. The first part starts off a little slow with detailing the relationship between Emma and Matthew. But once that first reveal happens, things go full speed ahead. A very enjoyable psychological thriller!

Thanks to NetGalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing | MIRA for a digital ARC in exchange for my honest review.

A tangled web of secrets, deceit and revenge!
Emma has pretty much given up on love, she watches her friends live the life she dreams of with husbands and children . Her marriage is her job she’s the wealthy independent CEO, this despite her troubled childhood. One day while at a conference she’s to speak at she meets the handsome Matthew whose recently widowed, after a night of talking and opening up to each other, Emma finds herself falling for him. Things move quickly , she’s not willing to pass up this chance on love. But her two best friends see many red flag. They believe Matthew isn’t at all what he presents himself to be, and they have lots of questions. Emma begins to with feeling second best to Matthew’s deceased wife , but when she starts to feel that she is being watched and also experiences odd occurrences especially when object begin disappearing or even breaking. Emma wonders is she being haunted by the memory of Matthew’s first wife or is there a more sinister force behind this one who wants her dead??

I enjoyed Adele Parks new thriller. There were good twists and turns and the characters were well thought out! It flowed well and was hard to put down

This took a little while to get into, but once it picked up it was hard to put down! Matthew was both captivating yet suspicious at the same time, leading to lots of fun twists along the way! While it was easy to see where some of the twists were going and I think we could have done without the slow burn in the beginning, it was an enjoyable and quick thriller to get you out of a reading slump. Thanks for the ARC!

First Wife's Shadow started off a little slow for me but I enjoyed the plot and twists in this book. Thank you NetGalley and MIRA for this advanced readers copy in exchange for my honest review.

This is my first time reading this author and I will say I did enjoy this book. I liked the way this book was as if you were peeling back an onion, just a little more information as you continue to read and more layers and layers to uncover. This was another fast read, and I would recommend if you were looking for something quick and witty, while also delivering some good twits along the way. Thanks NetGalley.

I’d rate this 3.5 stars. I really enjoyed the premise of the book and the use of different perspectives. While the final twist was fairly predictable, the others were intriguing. The writing was engaging, making it a quick and enjoyable read.

I’ve read quite a few different books where the wife is deceased and the main character is the new wife. I was interested to see how the story lead up and if the ending would be different from the previous books I have read with the same premise. I thought this book was pretty good. It wasn’t the best book I have read, but it was definitely entertaining.