I love Freida McFadden, she is just amazing at throwing a twist into her stories that manages to throw you for a loop - even when you're expecting it! I thought this book was another fun, intriguing McFadden novel, however, I was pulled out of the story a little bit by the male narrator. It may have been that he was leaning into the teenage voice a bit too much, but I felt a little jarred every time it switched to his perspective. Otherwise, this was another hit - and I loved the roller coaster ride I was put on!

I was so convinced this was a Freida book that I had all figured out… I was so so wrong! (Like always 😂)

Tom is the perfect boyfriend. Sure he has dark secrets and a creepy best friend “slug”. Slug is super creepy, one of the kids you would want to stay away from. And Tom wants to know how the human body works… he can see your blood moving through your body. Well okay maybe not see, but he thinks he can. Tom has been in love with Daisy his whole life. Daisy has her own issues, she is the daughter of the town sheriff.

Tom has a whole new life where he has left behind the dark secrets of his adolescence…or has he?!?! He starts a new relationship with Sydney and while he does seem to be perfect he doesn’t really want to intertwine his life with hers. He doesn’t want to meet Syd’s friends. Gretchen is Sydney’s best friend and wants to double date with her boyfriend Randy and Syd and Tom. Things take a MAJOR twist when Tom meets Syd’s friends.

In typical Freida fashion I love this book!

If Freida drops a new book, it’s guaranteed that I will read it! Freida McFadden has a nack for throwing curve balls out of nowhere that throw the reader for a loop. The Boyfriend is a thriller that captures the reader from the first chapter.
Sydney is a single woman living on her own in a New York apartment. After many failed dating attempts, she finally meets a man that sweeps her off her feet. He’s handsome, charming, and is a doctor in a local hospital. When one of Sydney’s close friends who lives in the same apartment complex is murdered, the primary suspect seems more and more like her new dreamy boyfriend. Is she his next victim?
This book kept me guessing all the way through! Just when I thought I had it, I found that I was so wrong! This story is told in a dual point of view between two timelines. Victoria Connolly and Adam Blanford narrated this audiobook. It was adequately paced and there was clear delineation between timelines and character point of views.
Thank you Dreamscape Select, NetGalley, and Freida McFadden for allowing me the opportunity to listen to this audiobook and provide my honest feedback.

Well I got impatient and bought this one one Audible and listened to it yesterday! Then last night seen it on my NetGalley shelf!
So I'll give my review either way! I LOVED the twist in this one, just like any other Freida McFadden book! I cannot think of anyone as dumbbbbb as Sydney but I wont say more on that. I really liked the time jumps seeing them as teenagers but I did feel like the teenager voices were a little more immature for the age. Overall I had a good time & it has a killer twist! 3.5!

Publisher's summary
She's looking for the perfect man. He's looking for the perfect victim.
Sydney Shaw, like every single woman in New York, has terrible luck with dating. She’s seen it all: men who lie in their dating profile, men who stick her with the dinner bill, and worst of all, men who can't shut up about their mothers. But finally, she hits the jackpot.
Her new boyfriend is utterly perfect. He's charming, handsome, and works as a doctor at a local hospital. Sydney is swept off her feet.
Then the brutal murder of a young woman—the latest in a string of deaths across the coast—confounds police. The primary suspect? A mystery man who dates his victims before he kills them.
Sydney should feel safe. After all, she is dating the guy of her dreams. But she can’t shake her own suspicions that the perfect man may not be as perfect as he seems. Because someone is watching her every move, and if she doesn’t get to the truth, she’ll be the killer’s next victim...

Thanks to NetGalley & Hollywood Upstairs Press

The Boyfriend
By: Freida McFadden
Narrated by: Victoria Connolly, Adam Blanford
Length: 9 hrs and 13 mins
Unabridged Audiobook
Release date: 10-01-24
Language: English
Publisher: Hollywood Upstairs Press

Sydney is 34 years old and not in a serious relationship much to her mothers disappointment. She is on the dating app for people in NYC and has been on many interesting dates, the latest being with a man named Kevin who turns out to be way more than she bargained for, and not in a good way. When she meets Tom there is automatic electricity and she knows he feels it too. Could he be her perfect match? All the while we are learning the story of Sydney and Tom, we are also learning the story of Tom's past, which is super shady. Is Sydney safe in her new relationship or will she fall victim to her new beau?

I didn't mind the narrators of this book. I liked the female better than the male...he seemed more unhinged than I thought he should. Tom might be unhinged on the inside, but I didn't picture him like that on the outside. Freida is still the master of twists. I thought I had read enough of her books to be able to figure out what was coming and once again I was wrong! Always a good read!

To THINK I had this one figured out…SMH. I should’ve known better with a Frieda book! I was shocked to say the least, I was not expecting it and my jaw hit my lap when I read the words!

Another great book Frieda, well done 👍 👏🏼

Frieda McFadden always delivers incredibly entertaining stories which often feature some wildly bizarre characters. But not since The Coworker has any of her characters struck as so twisted, in such a fun and yet disturbing way.

Sydney is single. Not for lack of trying, but finding a decent man in NYC isn’t easy. After a particularly bad date she ends up being ’rescued’ by a handsome stranger. Unfortunately she never got his name and she can’t track him down. Then one of her close friends is brutally murdered and Sydney falls down a rabbit hole trying to figure out who it can be. Is it possible she knows the killer? Is it possible she is dating the killer?

The story is told in dual timelines; present day with Sydney and the past with Tom telling his story. Those flashback scenes were so delightfully twisted and hinted at so many red herrings. This was a wild story with so many twists and turns that every time I was certain I had it figure out McFadden would throw in a new wrinkle to ruin my theory. Victoria Connolly and Adam Blanford both do an excellent job with their narration. I’d like to thank Dreamscape Select | Hollywood Upstairs Press and NetGalley for the opportunity to listen to an advanced copy of the audio version of Frieda McFadden’s The Boyfriend.

https://www.amazon.com/review/R3811H6F5BT3UC/ref=pe_1098610_137716200_SRTC0204BT_cm_rv_eml_rv0_rv

Freida keeps you guessing in this thriller!
The story, set in New York, alternates between Then and Now. Some of the characters are kinda creepy. The story seems to drag on a little too long when, all of a sudden, BAM!! ….A jaw dropping twist!
I thought I’d figured it out but turns out I didn’t see that coming!
Not my favourite Freida McFadden book but the twists certainly make iThe Boyfriend worth the read.
I think that I might’ve enjoyed reading the book more, rather than listening to the audiobook. The narration is well paced and easy to listen to but I didn’t particularly like either of the narrators voices.
Thank You to NetGalley and Dreamscape Select for the opportunity to listen to an audiobook version of this ARC.

Loved this one , I have read a lot of Freida’s books and this one moved up to my favorite of hers . As always , I try the whole book to read the characters and the small details to guess the ending, but as always Freida is the queen of twist , I never have it right and that’s what keeps me coming back for more . I love the suspense.

I definitely want to give this one 4.5 stars! Loved the story line, loved the flow of the chapters. I didn't love the male narrator. But the female was phenomenal! Overall, another well written McFadden book!

While I have previously considered myself somewhat a Frieda McFadden Skeptic, I had a lot of fun with this novel! Some great twists, improved writing, and a concise length made this very enjoyable. I will read more McFadden in the future!

WOW. I am a big believer in going into mystery/thriller titles blind and this one is no exception.

Freida! I loved this! I thought I had this entire book figured out, but boy did I have the rug ripped out from under me! The dual POV/timeline was done exceptionally well. I was never confused on where or who I was with. I thought I had the killer figured out from the beginning and NEVER in a million years did I guess who it would be. The conclusion she leaves to draw about characters from the past and who they are in the current timeline is incredible, it's all part of the twist!

Well done! Can't wait to continue to read everything Freida McFadden writes! I literally consumed this entire book in one sitting.

Thank you, NetGalley, Freida McFadden and Dreamscape Select for this ALC in exchange for my honest review.

I really liked this book. I got hooked right away and finished it in a day. Right when I thought I was ahead of where Frieda thought I’d be I got got again. Always a Jake fan! Loved the twists and my jaw literally dropped multiple times as I was listening working out at the gym.

Thank you to NetGalley and Dreamscape Select for a copy of the audiobook. All opinions are my own.

Thanks NetGalley! I love Frieda and her twists and turns. Who’s who and what when???? Each character I liked and then I suspected then I was wrong and around and around we go where Frieda takes us nobody knows! Thanks what a great listen on my recent road trip.

I don’t know how I feel about this one… I think this is a personal thing but I’m in a reading slump and I thought that listening to this book would help. For the most part, it did.
In terms of criticisms, I found the second act to be too slow before ramping up towards the end. I found the twists to be good, but I do hope McFadden doesn’t push herself to publish a book or two each year. Therefore her works become too oversaturated and more focused on quantity than on quality
I also thought it was witty and quite funny, which I found it refreshing.

I will start out by saying that I am a HUGE Freida fan, so when I was granted access to the audiobook of The Boyfriend, I was beyond thrilled. First impressions of the narrators were not great. They kind of grew on me, but man I just kept thinking agh I can't listen to this annoying voice for hours on end. Once I got further into the story, the voices didn't bother me as much. As far as Freida books go, this wasn't my favorite. It kept me intrigued, but there were only so many ways it could turn out, so it just felt really predictable to me. One of my very favorite things about reading Freida is the big twist that comes at the end, and this one just fell flat for me. Did I still enjoy the book? Yes. For sure. Was it one of my favorites? Not so much. But I would still recommend you read it if you are a Freida fan for sure!

I’ve said it before, I’m sure I will say it again, Frieda writes junk thrillers.
Yes, they keep you turning pages.
Yes, they have crazy turns.
Yes, they are absolutely ridiculous.
No, they aren’t literary works of art.
No, they aren’t the books I think about after the fact.
No, they aren’t always realistic.
Basically I have this weird thing with her. I keep reading her books wondering if maybe she will take my breath away and it just doesn’t happen.
The Boyfriend is no exception. This books is good, but I saw the ending coming from a mile away.
Maybe if you’re new to her writing and new to thrillers this will knock your socks off, but it just didn’t hit for me. 3⭐️
Thank you netgalley for the AAC!

This is not my favorite Freida book. But, it is still good. She always has some great twists and turns. However, the turns are getting a bit predictable. So, yes, I saw this coming but I did enjoy the ride getting there!

Sydney has not had much luck in her dating life, until recently. She absolutely has found her dream guy. But, when there is a murder in her building and she discovers there are more…she starts to have her suspicions.

Freida is excellent at creating more than one suspect. Not only that, she fills her novels with lots of suspense and intrigue. And believe you me…this one is full of both!

The narrators, Victoria Connolly and Adam Blanford, are excellent. I love a good tag team.

Need a twisted tale…THIS IS IT! Grab your copy today.

I received this novel from the publisher for a honest review.

Freida McFadden never disappoints! The Boyfriend is a chilling, creepy thriller with countless twists throughout. I was instantly intrigued and continued to be invested as the puzzle pieces came together. The alternating timeline and different POVs added to the suspense as the tension increased. Every time I thought I knew where the story was going, I was shocked as it went in a direction that was completely unpredictable. The narration added a layer of intensity to this macabre, spine-tingling thriller. Thank you, NetGalley and Dreamscape Select for my audiobook.

Story is told in ‘Present Day’ and ‘Before’ timelines from POV of Sydney Shaw and Tom Brewer. She is searching for the perfect man while he is searching for the perfect victim.

The Prologue starts off with ‘Then’ and gives us a good idea of what we are in for.

Present Day- Sydney Shaw is a thirty-four year- old single accountant living alone in a New York apartment. She spends her evenings swiping through an on-line dating app. She knows men who lie on their dating profile including using a photo from twenty years ago. Additionally some guys expect more out of a date even when even she pays for half the dinner bill. In fact, such a date happened. Sydney paid half the dinner bill when she only had a salad. He just would not take ‘no’ for an answer but she was rescued by a man who saw what was happening and yells he is going to call the police The looser guy leaves and Sydney gets a better look at her rescuer and is shocked with how good looking he is as thinks he is like winning the dating-app jackpot without using the app.
She hasn’t see him for months and once again he comes to her rescue when she gets a nose bleed. She is a bleeder and the nose bleed just won’t stop. He tells her he is a doctor and takes care of the situation – one thing leads to another and they start to date.

Before – As a teenager Tom has a weird best friend called ‘Slug’ as a little kid Slug would eat insects- he especially likes ant. Tom is in love with Daisy only has terrible fantasies about slitting her throat. When two girls go missing and turned up dead, Tom and Slug are suspects.

Present Day – Sydney is dating a doctor name Tom; and Randy guy who is the Super in her building is creepy – Hmmm

Don’t laugh when I describe this audiobook as unputdownable!
Freida does not disappoint. In addition to “The Boyfriend” being a great psychological thriller; Ms. McFadden’s humor comes through.
I was sooo sure I had this figured out – LOL – ‘That Freida fooled me !! Again!

I call myself a Freida McFadden fan and this is at perhaps my sixteenth story and I certainly am looking forward to her next psychological thriller!!

Want to thank NetGalley and Dreamscape Select-Hollywood Upstairs Press for granting me the pleasure of reading this awesome thriller.
Publishing Release Date scheduled for October 1, 2024