THEY HAD IT COMING BY NIKKI SMITH.
Release date set for the 22nd of May 2025.
This is a gorgeous cover for this book.
Two couples, four people who all have something to hide.
Liked the destination and the story for this one.
Thank you to the publisher and netgalley for an early copy of this book. My first time reading this author.

They had it coming? They most certainly did. What a bunch of toxic, nasty people.. Sophie and Jude fly out to Bali for a few months after their house is burgled. They stay with their friends Layla and Nate who have settled there but there are dangerous undercurrents there as they strive to hide their secrets from each other.

What i liked about this book. I liked that consideration was given to the terrible effects that tourism has on local economies in developing countries. I also thought the setting was very well described.

What I wasn't so sure about. It's probably an age thing but I can't be bothered now with stories that go into drugs and drink in great detail All I can think about when I read about characters downing bottles of vodka is 'But what about the hangover?' Not for me, thanks.

But overall an enjoyable book which I think will be very popular as a holiday read. Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for the ARC.

They Had It Coming is a fast paced, psychological thriller with many twist and turns. I was gripped from the beginning and couldn’t put the book down. I finished reading it in under 2 days. As someone who has travelled to Bali, it was nice to revisit some familiar areas in the book. A definite holiday read, not to be missed!

Thank you to NetGalley, the author and Penguin for access to this eARC in exchange for an honest review.

They had it coming is the perfect title for this complex tale of two couples who seem to be the best of friends but are hiding a lot of secrets. Twists the whole way through with lots of suspense building but sometimes I got confused as there were lots of plot points all working at the same time. A great read but not my favourite of @nikkismith_author - I highly recommend Look What You Made Me Do.

✨4 stars✨

This was such a twisty thriller, perfect for the summer time!

We follow four friends, husband and wife Jude and Sarah alongside Nate and Layla, who are also in a relationship, while they are in Bali. Each one of them are hiding secrets so it was really fun to see how the author managed to weave them all together.

I’ll be honest, I found some parts slower and a bit harder to get through but the author always ended a chapter with a slight reveal that made it so that I just had to keep reading! The way is all weaved together an we find out connections in the past alongside of the characters had me shocked.

That being said I enjoyed this book! The blurb said for fans of Lucy Clarke which is why I picked this book up and I would agree. I cannot wait to read more from this author in the future!

I received an ARC from the publishers via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you!

A gripping read with lots of twists. Relationships between the characters are complex and nothing is as it seems. Thank you @netgalley for the opportunity to read this book.

An incredibly well titled book! It was difficult to keep up with who had done what to whom/was doing what to whom but it just keeps you reading to find out more. An easy book to get lost in with lots of twists and turns you don’t see coming, with a final end twist that takes your breath away. Another Nikki Smith masterpiece

Thank you to Netgalley the author and publishers for an arc in exchange for an honest review

I liked the different setting in this book and it felt different to a lot I’ve read recently but it was still slightly predictable in parts. That may be as I’ve read so many psych thrillers recently though.

#TheyHadItComing #NetGalley
Keep your friends close and your enemies closer . . .Nate and Layla, Jude and Sophie. They've been a four for as long as they can remember: fancy dinners, dancing 'til dawn . . . Even living and working together.
So when Nate and Layla suddenly quit their lives and move to Bali, with its white sands and exotic beach clubs, Jude and Sophie are their first visitors. Anything to escape their life in London. But as the two couples reunite, cracks begin to show. Which is hardly surprising; they've been lying to each other for years. And now, it's time for revenge.
I didn't like the way it ended.
I don't want to talk about this book. Just read it.
Thanks to NetGalley and Penguin General UK for giving me an advance copy.

Nate and Jude where best friends until Nate decides to leave the company, they both worked at and decides to live in Bail with his wife Layla. Many people moved about but can work online from the beautiful island.
Jude leaves with his wife Sophie until one day they come home to find out they have been burgled. After that, event they decide to take a few months break and head to Bali to see Nate and Layla and see the Villa that they are building out there.
But when the foursome gets together, the tension soon rises and soon secrets are revealed about what happened years previously. That all is not what it seems.
This has quite a slow pace but, and interesting read, nevertheless. I liked the setting of Bali, and the beautiful scenery and relaxed atmosphere described in the story, and this will be a great beach read to take on holiday. The four characters are all complex and not likable but or trustworthy, but it adds to the story and there wasn’t much going on until the second half of it. It wasn’t clear what was relevance to the chapters that were going back in time until about the last quarter of the book and the ending wasn’t what I was expecting. 3.5 stars from me.

Nikki's best book yet.

Jude and Sophie are visiting Nate and Layla on the beautiful island of Bali. Steeped in tradition but being taken over by monied foreigners.

As the book picks up pace you will learn of the past problems each character has had to deal with. Our boys have plenty to account for!
The scene outside the club will make your heart leap out of your chest.

Gorgeous detail about the island and it's beauty, along with culture.

Amazingly, this is my first Nikki Smith book, but I've heard such rave reviews for it, and her.

I am not a hot holiday kind of person. I'm more of a wrap up in several layers whilst exploring Lapland in the snow (that would be my dream) kind of holiday. And yet if you take away all the thriller elements, Nikki has made the idea of living, or at least holidaying, in Bali sound really lovely.

I like the four main characters - Layla and Nate, and Sophie and Jude; there are some similarities, as there often is in friendship groups, but they're clearly their own people and their own couples, and they work well individually and as a whole. None of them are 100% good and none are 100% bad. They are flawed and just very real.

I love this dysfunctional element she's created. Friendships at any age and of any length are never straightforward. Everyone has arguments and disagreements and secrets. But the love binds them together. And I think Nikki has captured that. There are clearly issues within the couples and between the couples, which shows they are not perfect. It's in this glamorous location, and it could have been quite an unbelievable glamorous story, but she's added all the darker elements that reality brings.

Nikki has cleverly weaved the storylines together, dropping clues and hints throughout, whetting the appetite of the reader. There's so many layers, from stuff happening now, in the recent past, and further past. It's all mixed together and never feels like too much. You think you've figured something out and then something else happens and it completely throws everything up in the air.

I read it in less than a day, it was so addictive. This may have been my first Nikki Smith book but it definitely won't be the last.

I think the best thing about this book for me was the fact in was set in Bali , the story not so good . I have a read book by this author in the past but I’m afraid this one wasn’t for me . The characters weren’t likeable but maybe they weren’t supposed to be , maybe I should say they weren’t interesting. The story had a few secrets that half way through I wasnt too interested to find out . I did persevere to the end and I didn’t guess the ending but it was still a bit of a let down . The whole book didn’t gel very well for me . I would only give this 3 stars and wouldn’t recommend I’m afraid.

Told from the viewpoints of 2 couples Nate & Layla, Jude & Sophie. Wow secrets & lies galore. I loved both couples, even if all four of them are a little twisted, some more than others! This is a fast paced book with lots of twists & turns, secrets & lies and I loved every word of it ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

With many thanks to Netgalley for this free arc and I am leaving this unbiased review voluntarily

Nikki Smith is an auto author for me all day long. Short, solid chapters move the pace along nicely and the characters are very well developed giving the story a lot of depth. The author’s ability to play the secrets and lies game is exceptional as she reels the reader in and keeps you in suspense. Well written with a great descriptive narrative of Bali, it flows effortlessly with the chapters told from different POV. The secrets, once revealed keep coming resulting in some great twists. Definitely one for reading on the beach!

Thank you to Netgalley for allowing me to read this book in return for an honest review. I really enjoyed this very intriguing thriller that had me hooked from the start. It was fast paced with lots of mystery and surprising twists. The four main characters were all complex individuals with their own unique elements adding to the story. A great mystery thriller that I would definitely recommend.

I really enjoyed Nikki Smiths first book. Her writing draws you in and the book was perfect for the sunlounger on holiday by the pool. Nothing too taxing, but exciting and twisty.
The second book I got really annoyed with. The writing was quite scatty, and the final crunch came when she dropped a huge blatent plug - for her OWN book!! If it wasn’t on my kindle I’d have thrown it at the wall.
Benefit of the doubt. Book 3. Pacey - check. Decent characters - check. Intriguing - check. Blantent clanger of a plug for book #2? Oh yes. CHECK.
I’m sorry I can’t take that from my books, and although I was enjoying this one, I won’t be reading this author again for this reason. It’s just cheesy and rude.
2 stars for promise only.

They Had It Coming by Nikki Smith ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
A destination thriller set in Bali. Told from a number of viewpoints, you don’t know who to trust and wonder what’s going on. Compelling reading. The book comes to a twisty satisfying close. Centered around 2 couples, Nate & Layla, Jude & Sophie. I really enjoyed this book. Thank you to Netgalley & Penguin for an advance copy. Publication Date 15 May 2025.

For now it’s a 3 ⭐️.

I couldn’t get on with the characters, they all felt very unlikeable. However, I think I’m just not in the mood for it. So I’m planning to pick this back up over the summer as this does feel like it’ll be a good summer read.

I did like the story and the writing style, but for now it’s going to be a reread :)

There was seemingly a lot going on in this story. Two couples, four friends each, with something to hide.

Spending all of their time together soon begins to unravel each of them and their secrets and lies get closer and closer to the surface.

I didn't like any of the four main characters but I put that down to good writing as I don't think you're supposed to like them! They are four very unlikable people and you definitely get that vibe.

Written from different points of view plus one historical element, this is a style I enjoy, especially as it is written in short sharp chapters.

I also loved the Bali setting, I could just picture the gorgeous villa and surrounding areas ❤️

Unfortunately for me, this story just didn't gel. There was a lot of 'i have a secret, they have a secret' throughout the majority of the book without much given away. I know that sometimes this kind of tension building can be the making of a book but it just didn't work for me with this one.

When secrets were finally revealed I just didn't find them all that amazing and the wrapping up of all the individual stories didn't seem to come together well for me.

However, this is only my humble opinion! Nikki is a great writer and I thoroughly enjoyed both The Guests and The Beach Party (this was a 5🌟 read for me!)