The Wife Between Us
by Greer Hendricks, and Sarah Pekkanen
Blurb:
A novel of suspense that explores the complexities of marriage and the dangerous truths we ignore in the name of love.
When you read this book, you will make many assumptions.
You will assume you are reading about a jealous wife and her obsession with her replacement.
You will assume you are reading about a woman about to enter a new marriage with the man she loves.
You will assume the first wife was a disaster and that the husband was well rid of her.
You will assume you know the motives, the history, the anatomy of the relationships.
Assume nothing.
Discover the next blockbuster novel of suspense, and get ready for the read of your life.
My Thoughts:
Vanessa has problems. Now that she’s divorced from Richard, she can’t stand the fact that Richard has moved on. Not only is he his usual thriving self, but now he’s getting married to someone new–someone young and beautiful. It just so happens that this new woman reminds Vanessa of someone she used to be.
What is it about Richard? Was he a perfect husband? Is he truly a knight in shining armor? Was Vanessa a psycho and mentally unstable wife? Who’s to blame for the marriage ending and what role do the others have in this story?
I went in to this book super excited after reading multiple rave reviews about it from friends on Goodreads. It seemed like everyone was loving it, so I went straight to NetGalley and put in my request. After I started reading it, I didn’t want to put it down. I thought for sure I knew where the story was going. It felt slow to me, but I hung on until nearly halfway through when the first major twist was introduced. I was shocked! I was so very surprised and befuddled thinking that I’d skipped something or that I was lost. It seemed unique and interesting, but as time went on, I became disentranced and my mind began to wonder away from the story. The characters became confusing to me and the plot felt all over the place. It was like I wanted to get to the ending to see how things would unfold, but there simply wasn’t anything going on to captivate me. At times, I felt like there was too much information and in other places, simply not enough. I didn’t feel like it was horribly predictable as there were plenty of twists and a strange reveal at the end, but even with all the crazy twists, this just ended up being an okay read for me and it just didn’t feel like a thriller.
I did still enjoy it and feel like this is going to be a favorite for many people! I will still recommend this because I know many will love it. The title, cover, and blurb fit the story perfectly!
Thanks to Netgalley for this ARC of The Wife Between Us.
3 stars
Find this book on Amazon and Goodreads
- 352 pages
- Publisher: St. Martin’s Press (January 9, 2018)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 1250130921
- ISBN-13: 978-1250130921
About the Authors:
Greer Hendricks
Greer Hendricks spent over two decades as an editor. Her writing has been published in The New York Times and Publishers Weekly. The Wife Between Us is her first novel. –Goodreads
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Sarah Pekkanen
“Fans of Jennifer Weiner and Emily Giffin will strongly appreciate this rising star in women’s fiction.” – Library Journal.
Internationally bestselling author Sarah Pekkanen’s newest book is THE PERFECT NEIGHBORS. She is also the co-author of the upcoming THE WIFE BETWEEN US (out in January 2018).
Her prior novels are: THINGS YOU WON’T SAY, CATCHING AIR, THE BEST OF US, THE OPPOSITE OF ME, SKIPPING A BEAT, and THESE GIRLS.
Sarah’s linked free short estories, published by Simon&Schuster exclusively for ereaders, are titled “All is Bright,” and “Love, Accidentally.”
Sarah is the mother of three young boys, which explains why she writes part of her novels at Chuck E. Cheese. Sarah penned her first book, Miscellaneous Tales and Poems, at the age of 10. When publishers failed to jump upon this literary masterpiece (hey, all the poems rhymed!) Sarah followed up by sending them a sternly-worded letter on Raggedy Ann stationery. Sarah still has that letter, and carries it to New York every time she has meetings with her publisher, as a reminder that dreams do come true. –Goodreads
Her website is www.sarahpekkanen.com and please find her on Facebook Instagram and Twitter @sarahpekkanen!
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It’s annoying when reading and the mind gets distracted! That’s happening to me at the moment, I’m currently reading The Nest by Cynthia D’Aprix Sweeney and during the last chapter I realised in the midst of it I’d planned my dinner and had no idea what I’d just read! Dinner was sorted though! 😳😂
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Haha! 🤣 Exactly! For me, when I start thinking of grocery lists and other things to do, it’s obviously not a book for me. I’m going to check out that book though. ❤😁🎄 Thanks for sharing. 😊
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Great review Mischenko!
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Thank you, Holly. 😊
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I’m sorry this wasn’t for you Mischenko. Awesome review though!☺️
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Thank you, Kim! ❤
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So glad I’m not the only one who was a bit disappointed.
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It’s good to know that someone else feels the same. I was a little worried! 😆 It’s just that so many friends raved about it. We are all different though and can’t love them all. ❤
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Useful to read a review different from many of the others. Still debating whether or not to try this one.
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I say try it because the majority seem to love it. A thriller to me has to captivate and this just never did. I did still enjoy it though. ❤😊
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Good to know 😄 thanks
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Thanks for being honest about your feelings! I hate when I feel like I’m the only one who didn’t like a book that everyone else obsesses over. Great review!
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Me too! It makes me think I’m weird or something, haha. 🤣💕 Thank you!
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Very honest review. I’ve seen this one and wondered about it but now, after reading your review, I think I will skip it. 🙂
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I hope you don’t skip it because of my review. You may really enjoy it! ❤🎄 Thanks!
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I love your reviews and this one is one of your best this year. Honest, accurate and in-depth. Well done!
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Aww, thanks so much. I really appreciate that. ❤
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Great review. I find there are times my expectations are so high after reading reviews, I am disappointed. You are right, everyone does not have the same reaction to a book. Better luck with your next read.
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Thanks, Carla. ❤🎄🤗
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It’s such a bummer when a book you really want to live up simply doesn’t. I’ve been seeing great reviews on this one too but for some reason haven’t requested it.
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Thanks, Ann Marie. I went for it so fast after reading reviews, buts it’s okay, I’m still glad I read it. You can’t love them all. ❤😁 I hope you enjoy it if you read it.
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Sorry you didn’t enjoy it as much as you thought you would. Don’t you hate that, having such high expectations of a book and then having it let you down? Nothing more disappointing than that, except maybe anticipation of a long, hot bath and having the water not be hot enough. 🙂
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Yeah, it’s no fun for sure. I had to finish it though and I’m still glad I read it.
I totally want to go take a hot bath now. It’s freezing here! 😁🤣❤
Thanks, Vanessa. Hope you have a wonderful day.
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Hmmm I’ve seen mention of this book in a few places, and I’ll admit your review had its own twist, you set us up to think you really liked it! But too bad it fell apart at the end.
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Yeah, hope my review isn’t confusing. I thought I was going to love this one and went in with high expectations. You might like it though! You never know. We are all so different. ❤😁🎄
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Yes very true!
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O M Goodness Mischenko, I feel EXACTLY the same way about this book!! I’m trying to finish it, but left off of it to read something else for now. Since I’m nearly done I’ll go back and read to the end, but I just couldn’t stay invested in it. I kept getting distracted and feeling like I just wanted it to end so I could find out what happened already. Sheesh. I can’t believe how accurately you portrayed my thoughts on it. Thx so much for your review.
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Wow, that actually makes me feel better! I felt distracted as well, but mainly it was just an ‘okay’ read. I was still able to follow along, but wow. It just wasn’t what I expected after reading so many rave reviews. Sorry it wasn’t a winner for you either. Happy reading and enjoy your next! 🙂 ❤
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Great review! I’m sure setting up big twists is hard, especially in a book like this that seems (I would guess) to follow a shorter list of characters. Obviously the characters need to do some surprising things, but their actions need to remain semi-consistent with who the characters are, or else it runs the risk of becoming disingenuous and throwing the whole story.
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Thank you, Chauncey! True, there weren’t many characters, but there were some unique twists. Unfortunately, it just wasn’t enough to keep me interested. Many others loved it and I’m sure it’s going to be a popular book in 2018! ❤
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Yep! Nothing wrong with that! 🙂
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Fantastic Review and very fair!💖📚😄
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Thank you, Dani!! ❤
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You’re welcome!😊
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Thanks for your review. I was really looking forward to reading this book but now have mixed feelings over whether it’s worth purchasing x
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Thank you for checking out my review. I would still try it! I don’t want to deter anyone from reading it. ❤ Good luck!
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