I didn't end up finishing this one, I had some issues with it. So I just did a promo post for the blog tour. Here are my thoughts for why I didn't finish.

I’ve read one other book by this author and did enjoy it, so I signed up for this one. While it is in a series, it should be a standalone for the most part. However, the matchmaker has part of the book in their POV, which I didn’t care for. If it is a romance, I want the two love interests’ POVs, not someone outside of that couple. So that was weird for me. Then, the attraction/leading to more between Kate and Willem seemed a bit forced or just all of a sudden without anything really leading to why they liked each other? That could be just me. I only got about a third of the way through.

I didn’t realize this was the last in the Ever After Agency series until after I finished reading… and now I’m sad! I have loved every single word that Barker has given us in this entire world, and I especially loved the unique fact that instead of doing the dual points of view of both sides of the couples throughout, she’s given us the female, and Poppy from book one. I totally adored that!

I’m really going to miss returning to see what Shenanigans Poppy gets up to next, trying to make sure her Ever After clients make the perfect match - but this last book has certainly given us a brilliant ending!

Barker brings her usual excitement and RomCom genius in I Knew You Were Trouble, with Kate teaming up with Willem, after learning her fiancé Jon is also engaged to Willem’s sister. They bring in Poppy to help get their revenge, and oh, how fun this story is! I could not put it down and laughed my head off at all of the antics. Absolutely recommend it, and a 4.5 star rating to round out this incredible series. I cannot wait to see what she brings us next!!

Thank you to NetGalley and Boldwood Books for the early copy. This is my honest feedback.

Oops, that one’s on me! I went into I Knew You Were Trouble without realizing it was book #5 in a series—so naturally, I was a little lost with all the in-universe name drops. If I had known the backstory, I think I would have enjoyed it so much more!

That said, this book still had plenty of fun, lighthearted moments that made me smile. The humor, the strong female friendships, and the clever references all added charm to the story. While the plot felt a bit disjointed at times, once the POVs settled, the pacing really found its groove! Kate and Poppy’s voices started out a little too similar for me, but as the story progressed, they each developed their own distinct perspective.

Overall, this is an entertaining, fluffy read with a fun revenge plot and a great focus on female bonds. If you're familiar with the series, I think you'll love it even more!

In I Knew You Were Trouble Kate meets Thor lookalike Willem who tells her that her fiancee is also engaged to his sister. He wants Kate to help him tell his sister the truth about her fiancee as he doesn’t think she’ll believe him if he tells her alone.

Although this book is a standalone it’s actually the 5th book in an interconnected series and I wish I’d read the previous books before reading this one as I felt like I was missing context in regards to some characters.

The other issue I had is that it’s a dual POV, however it’s not told from Kate and Willem’s perspective, which is what usually happens in a romance book, it’s Kate and another character Poppy. I honestly found that a bit weird and I’d rather have had Willem’s perspective.

The slow burn between Kate and Willem was sweet, although I’d have liked them to have had a bit more substance or character growth.

What I did love in this book were the female friendships and the secondary revenge plot, that was a lot of fun. Kate and her cousin Margot have a lovely friendship, which I also enjoyed reading about, and there was lots of witty banter.

I Knew You Were Trouble is a fun, easy read that had me entertained from beginning to end.

3.5 stars
This is a fun, fast-paced instalment of the Ever After Agency series from Sandy Barker.
It’s been good to see Poppy and the team again albeit in a slightly different role than usual. Kate’s dilemma is an interesting one and as we follow her on her journey of retribution, it was good to see her grow in confidence again.
The chemistry between Kate and Willem was lovely to read about and having been treated so poorly by Jon, it was nice to see her treated with care again.
Her friendships with Margot and then Adriana and Lucia was a nice aside to the romance with their collective plotting a fun way to gain revenge.

I found this to be a bit of a silly, enjoyable, romcom. I am not sure the title/Taylor Swift reference really works here. As the whole plot of this is multiple women falling for the same smooth talking guy. Who they didn't know was trouble (even though they did all retroactively find red flags). It just doesn't feel like it works. I still enjoyed the book and intend to read more books by Sandy Barker in the future

After writing up my review I looked at some other peoples reviews. Though I did not take this into account in my rating, I saw a number of people concerned about using the Dutch work Kanker (which means Cancer) as a swear word in place of asshole or similar. It seems that this is not appropriate here and I think the author should do better when including other languages.

I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I loved this book so much that I am reading it a second time!

This was a brilliant romantic comedy about a woman who finds out her fiancée is engaged to another woman. Even though the plot of the book is obviously not nice, the two women get to plan sweet revenge. Mix in some unexpected romance, travelling to beautiful locations and lots of humour. It also involved side stories as well that were connected to the main plot. I truly enjoyed reading this book. I give it a 5 out of 5 stars.

I thought this was a cute book but it demanded a level of suspension of belief that I normally don't go in for. Nice light-hearted read though, as long as you don't take it so seriously

Thank you to NetGalley and the Publisher for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Im Sorry i cannot give an accurate review of this book as i couldnt get past the first 20%- i thought it was a stand alone but i was a bit confused in parts. The writing style i couldnt get to grips with and i just couldnt get engaged with the story. I will try again at some point x
Thank you for giving me the chance.

A great addition to this fun series with plenty of drama
And a deceitful con-man meeting karma!
When a stranger visits Kate Whitaker with shocking news
She didn't expect revenge to be part of her views!

Willem has come to inform her of his sister's romance
And to see if they've the same fiancé by any chance.
He's armed with evidence she can't dispute
As the red flags grow, this she can't refute.

Revenge may be a dish that's best served cold
But Kate has never before been so bold.
With the help of a matchmaker and others, too,
The route to revenge will help them all through.

A fun read with devious plans to be made
And strategies developed with roles to be played.
Such a fun addition to the agency where
It seems protecting true love is definitely their care!

With unexpected attractions growing all the way through
There's more than one romance and so much to do.
The Ever After Agency and their team are all there
Though revenge isn't usually something they'd dare!

I really enjoyed this brilliant read
And hope it is one that you also need.
For my copy of this book I say a huge thank you
As I share with you this, my honest review.

I Knew You Were Trouble by Sandy Barker

I received an advance review copy for free thanks to Rachel's Random Resources and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Blurb

Don’t get mad. Get even.

Kate Whitaker has always believed in love, but when a stranger named Willem shows up on her doorstep, the news he has to share isn’t as exciting as his god-like looks might suggest. He’s come to tell her that Kate’s fiancé is also engaged to his sister.

Kate doesn't know how she didn’t see the red Jon’s work as an airline pilot having him flying around the globe, the postponed dates, the huge rock of an engagement ring that isn’t her style at all.

Overcome with fury – and entranced by the Nordic god’s piercing blue eyes and quiet allure – Kate agrees to accompany Willem to his hometown of Amsterdam to help break the news to his sister. Yet what begins as a simple gesture of support soon twists into a deliciously devious plan to get back at Jon.

Kate is drawn into a world of retribution, revenge and – unexpectedly – romance. Because sometimes the best way to get over someone is to get under someone else…

My Opinion

I have been enjoying this series so I went into I Knew You Were Trouble without knowing what the book was about – this was such a fun read. I Knew You Were Trouble is the fifth book in the series but it can easily be read as a standalone. From the opening chapters I was hooked. A fun, quick read with some well-written characters. This is a great addition to the series.

Rating 4/5

I really wanted to love this book - the title, cover and blurb really caught my eye and attention.

However I found the plot line to be far too thin and not believable - given the subject matter, of discovering your fiancee has another fiancee.. I also found the dialogue to be too childlike an unrealistic too. As hard as I tried to persist with it, I stopped reading at 20%.

Perhaps if I had read earlier books in the series I might have persisted further.. however this writing style was not for me - as much as I am an avid romance reader.

Thank you to Sandy Baker, Boldwood Books & NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for the honest review.

I was so excited to go back and see what the crew at the Ever After Agency were up to and this story did not disappoint. This was another light and breezy rom com with loads of witty banter and entertaining scenarios that keep the story progressing at a fast pace. And the setting-oh my stars! I love that it took place in Amsterdam! It felt so immersive and made me want to go there even more than i already did.
This is book 5 of the series and I've read all of them, which I believe added to my enjoyment of this one because I was familiar with the backstory of the characters, but there's also some new ones that are introduced so you may be able to read this as a standalone as well.
All in all, this is just another example of why @sandybarkerauthor is one of my go to authors when I need an escape read.

Thanks to Boldwood Books, NetGalley and Rachel’s Random Resources for my gifted copy in exchange for my review

Thank you to Boldwood Books and NetGalley for the advanced reader copy of I Knew You Were Trouble by Sandy Barker.

This is the fifth book in a series, but it’s marketed as a standalone. However, I found the first half a bit confusing because so many characters were introduced at once. It made me wonder if they had been established in previous books. If I hadn’t received this ARC, I probably would have started with book one to get more context before diving into this installment.

Once I got past the initial confusion, the book was an easy read. That said, I felt like there was too much happening, and some key details I wanted were missing. There were several time jumps that I wish hadn’t been there. For example, the premise of a group of women getting revenge on a man who played them could have been the main focus, rather than that storyline plus a romance squeezed in.

Speaking of the romance, the relationship between Kate and Willem felt forced, lacking the natural build-up I enjoy in a budding love story. I would have liked to see more development between them instead of it feeling rushed.

Overall, while the book had an interesting premise, the execution left me wanting more.

Thank you to Boldwood Books for the free copy of this book in exchange for a review!

I Knew You Were Trouble follows the duel POV of Kate & Poppy. Kate finds out that her fiancé is living multiple lives and is dating or engaged to multiple women.

I’ll start with the things I liked. I liked the premise of the plot. Multiple women trying to stick it to the loser of a man. This was a good story where women came together, trusted what they were saying, and worked together to get back at him.

Unfortunately there were many things I didn’t like.
1. The fact that all of these women were ok with dating a flaky man who wasn’t around for weeks at a time? I don’t care how “charming” he is. How do you get to know someone enough to get engaged when you’ve barely spent any time with him? Especially when he apparently was as lame as a bag of rocks and not good in bed.
2. How are these people just up and booking flights every weekend? In this economy????
3. When trying to plan revenge it was so lame to me that they chose to try to get him to donate a large sum to charity. And also that he was SOOOOO against the arts. It was just so stupidly specific. He literally could just use that to his advantage and say he donates to that to make him look better.
4. The fact that a match making agency would get so involved in the revenge of this man is not realistic.

This one was not for me. It was still a fast and easy read I just found myself rolling my eyes a lot.

This book soared behind all of my expectations.
First, I wanted impatiently for most of the book for Jon the Con (love the name!) to get what he deserved. I think he got off too lightly.
Second, I was ready to climb all over Thor I mean Willem the instant he was introduced. I mean, come on, a tall blonde Dutch hottie so supportive and protective?!
Thirdly, I think Margot stole a lot of the scenes away from Kate, which was fine with me because I thought she was hilarious!

Thank you Sandy Barker and Boldwood Books to allow me to read this ARC via NetGalley in return for an honest review.
I'm rating this book 3⭐.
Firstly, while I originally was interested in reading this book for the Taylor Swift reference in the title, it is a little deceiving as the "trouble" is not the mmc that the fmc is interested in.
I did enjoy the connection between all the women seeking revenge on Jon.
Lastly, while I do enjoy the dual-POV, I prefer them to be individual chapters, it was confusing as the perspective changed halfway through a chapter.
Would recommend for a funny and entertaining read if you can overlook that, though !

John Tucker Must Die Vibes, but with adult, in Europe!

I loved this book! This story started with a bang and just kept getting better. The plot thickened and the characters were quirky and I just couldn't put it down! Sometimes the slow burn was a little too slow for me, but that's probably a me problem. It gave me friendship, revenge, and love all in one story! I couldn't ask for more.

Thank you @netgalley and @boldwoodbooks
for this fabulous advanced reader copy of #Iknewyouweretrouble

I absolutely love Sandy Barkers novels and the Happy Ever After Agency has been a blast!
Kate believes in love and after getting engaged looking forward to her HEA until a tall, dark stranger, Willem, comes knocking on her door to inform her that her fiancé is also his sister’s fiancé too!
The fabulous settings of London ,Amsterdam and Verona, sisterhoods sticking together and plotting revenge on the two timing, lying @#$%!
Enemies to allies to lovers and slow burn tropes.