I quite liked reading the book, I didn't want to put it down the whole way through. But then I found the ending to be quite anti climactic. There was no crazy jaw dropping twist, it was just such a casual ending.

A well written fun thriller- however it got too out of touch with reality for me. And as much as I enjoyed it - I also was super ready for it to be over. The mystery surrounding the missing first wife kind of felt overdone. Again, when I finished I thought “DANG!” And realized as annoyed as I was I actually did like and enjoy the book.. and the author has this fun, flowy and super interesting way of keeping you engaged. Enjoyable, worth read and definitely worth the recommendation!

This story is told from Ramona’s present and Natasha’s past. I was confused at first by this, but once I got into the story more, it was easy to go back and forth.

Natasha goes back and forth frequently explaining her trials over her relationships. I understood these points she was making and how it made her confused, but I feel like it wasn’t necessary to continue to do that so often.

Overall, this story is a quick mystery read. I enjoyed the twist at the end of the story and my thoughts about Allison ended up being accurate.

I want to thank NetGalley and Celestial Bear Publishing for the advanced copy.

When you can finish an ARC from an author you have yet to read a book from in just 2 days because you couldn't put it down, that speaks volumes on the writing and storyline. The turns and twists, the plot twist was not expected, at all! I was intrigued throughout the book, the characters were believable and I truly enjoyed reading this. I didn't want it to end but wanted to desperately keep reading to find out what happens.

There were times you were rooting for specific characters throughout the book and other times where I truly disliked them but in a necessary way to the story. Excited to have chosen this as an ARC.

this had a great psychological thriller element that I was hoping for. The characters were everything that I was looking for and was on the edge of my seat from start to finish for them. It had that element that I was wanting and enjoyed how everything worked together. Winter K. Willis wrote this well and has a great style for the psychological thriller.

I chose 4 stars bc when I finished the book I felt that "this deserves it "The writing, plot twist, and the plot In general are amazing INCREDIBLE, I highly recommend this book but I moved one star bc I was in a reading slump bc of my uni so if I read it in free days maybe I go to put 5 stars without thinking, and I want to thank the author bc writing Things like that.

Ramona plays second fiddle to Bradley’s ex-wife, Natasha, who went missing twelve years ago. No matter how hard Ramona tries to be the perfect wife and mother to Bradley and his teenage daughter, Allison, they can’t let go of the past. No matter how hard she tries to be a good mother to Allison, she always says or does the wrong thing, and Allison pushes her further away.

The day two police officers show up at their home to tell them they discovered remains of a woman believed to be Bradley’s Ex-Wife Natasha, they bring in Bradley for questioning and from there everything spirals out of control. Family secrets and betrayal reveal themselves in astonishing ways.

The Perfect Ex-Wife is told from Natasha and Ramona’s points of view, and it certainly is a page turner from the start. This story touches on a few themes such as alcoholism, depression, adultery, obsession, erratic behavior, neglect, self-serving behavior and devastating consequences for one’s actions. I have to say obsession and desperation drives the plot of this story and the author brilliantly portrays these actions.

What fascinates me about psychological thrillers is exploration of what is reality or what is perceived to be reality in the minds of the characters. Perception is tricky when it comes to the human mind and how we see and experience the world around us and how we perceive other people’s speech, actions and motives. Our perception could easily be distorted, which may lead to serious and devastating consequences for oneself and others when acted upon. I thought a lot about this while reading this story which leads to the unreliable narrator. The characters’ credibility in the story becomes compromised by the ill choices they make due to their perception of reality and their own selfish wants. We see this abundantly with the characters in this story and it leaves you guessing what is true and what is false. The lines quickly blur as the story progresses and before you know it, things take a drastic turn to events.

What a thrilling and suspenseful story.

Stephanie

This book was great, very engaging. It really kept you intrigued and interested in wanting to know what happened. It was really hard to put down. Great book by a great author can't wait for the next one

This started out strong but I didn't really like the twist. This is a story that flips between present-day and the past, and the current wife, and the ex-wife who is missing and her remains are discovered. You learn more about her back story and then ultimately the intersection of the current wife and the ex. This is a quick-read thriller.
Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for access to this eARC.

Ramona wants a perfect life, a perfect husband and a perfect family, but it takes a bit of work and as Bradley is not perfect husband material and the fact that he has a perfect ex wife Ramona struggles.

I really enjoyed this book. I must admit it did get a little iffy towards the end but It has a super twist.

A good read ..

In their picture-perfect home and neighborhood, Ramona thought she'd finally found the life she always dreamed of. But one thing, she’s living in the shadow of her husband’s missing ex-wife, Natasha for the last 10+ years. No matter how hard she tries, her husband and step-daughter can not let go of the past.

The story is told in Ramona's present and Natasha's past. A surprising ending that made me say “wow, I didn’t see that coming.”

Thank you to Netgalley and Celestial Bear Publishing for the advanced copy.

The Perfect Ex-Wife is a first read by this author for me. I really enjoyed this book and will be checking out more from this author. That being said, the characters were all so unlikable. There's Ramona, weak and desperate to be loved, married to Bradley who at times seems like a bully and at other times seems like an incompetent child. Then there's Natasha, Bradley's first and perfect (but is she teally?) wife who is so desperately gullible she believes all the lies our next character David, a narcissist, feeds her.

The story is told in Ramona's present and Natasha's past. It is well written and is a fast read. Despite the unlikableness of all the characters it is an entertaining story with a surprising ending.

Thanks to Netgalley and Celestial Bear Publishing for the advanced copy

The storyline gripped me from the start.
Enough twists and turns to keep me reading.
Sadly further down the line i just lost interest and found the whole story getting ridiculous.
My thanks to netgalley and the publisher for my copy.

Thank you to Netgallery and the publisher for this ARC. The publication date is 2nd Dec. This story makes you really question your family and the secrets they keep!

The story alternates between Ramona and Natasha which I enjoyed the different perspectives.

I found the plot to be intriguing, suspenseful and gripping a perfect book for psychological thriller readers alike!

I didn’t like Bradley as a character at all and the twist oh my god I gasped I’m still thinking about it, it was mind blowing!

I’d highly recommend this book!

🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟stars

Thank you NetGalley and Celestial Bear Publishing for an early copy of The Perfect Ex-Wife. I did like the stories going back and forth, especially Natasha’s story which was intriguing. The writing was a bit juvenile, but it kept my interest. Both women characters were whacked, their flaws were wide open and I could see it in each chapter. I couldn’t figure out if I liked Bradley or not and I still don’t know. It was a fast read which I liked.

MY GOODNESS. I loved this book, and it is one of the few 5 stars I've given this year. It kept me interested from the beginning and the TWIST.
Ramona was the most annoying woman throughout the book, but she was 100% believable as just the over-the-top loving wife/step mom so I can't even complain about that.
Highly recommend this!
Thank you to NetGalley and Celestial Bear publishing for this ARC ebook for my honest review.

2.5 stars rounded up to 3. This is a new to me author. The blurb sounded good so I thought I'd give this a try. This was not a thriller. It was more of a mystery and drama. The POV and timeline shift between Ramona present and Natasha past. Ramona is currently married to Bradley. Ramona has always wanted the perfect life. Perfect home, perfect husband, perfect marriage. Allison is Bradley's daughter from his first marriage to Natasha. Ramona tries everything to get Allison to like her. The issue is Natasha. Natasha disappeared 12 years ago and was presumed dead. Bradley then married Ramona. However, she never lived up to perfect Natasha. She is constantly competing with the ghost of the ex wife for love, attention, and Bradley and Allison still have the master bedroom in the house just as it was left when Natasha disappeared. Bradley frequently, in conversation, calls Natasha the love of his life. I thought at first I was going to like this book. About half way through I couldn't wait to be finished reading it. Ramona's behavior is totally over the top with her need to get Allison and Bradley to love her. Frankly, it was annoying. I mean, if he's still in love with his missing wife, why stay with him?

The book was well written. However, by 75 percent it took a really crazy turn and I really just couldn't suspend reality that much. The characters were all very unlikable. Not only that, they were unrelatable. I really wish Goodreads had a half point rating system.

Thank you to Netgalley and Victory Editing for the ARC. I greatly appreciate it. I do not recommend this book.

I really did like this book to start with. It was intriguing, suspenseful and grabbed my attention.
However, I found Ramona's behaviour a little over the top.
The book is written from Ramona's POV in the present, and Natalie's POV in the past.

Like I said, I enjoyed the book to start with, but the ending was unbelievable.

3/5 stars from me

Thanks to Netgalley and Celestial Bear Publishing for the opportunity to read this book.

This needs to be a Netflix series, like yesterday!! It was so good! It drew me in from chapter one, and I could not put it down! Well done Winter K. Willis. I'd love to meet for coffee to talk about your next book, because I can't wait! Thanks for the fantastic read.

I really enjoyed this book. It seemed to have a lot of twist and turns. However, I was disappointed with how it all came together, and you can. Not only with the content of the final twist, but would be lack of buildup laying the ground for that risk to occur. Thank you at Gal, the author and publisher For this opportunity. I look forward to reading more of these authors books in the future!