User Reviews
Rating: really liked it
Thank you so much for taking a chance on a new author! If you enjoyed The Perfect Marriage, I’d be super grateful if you’d leave a review as it helps so much.
The Perfect Marriage was a book I wrote on nights and weekends while working full-time and doing freelance writing on the side. I never in a million years thought this book would change my entire life, but it did, and it's something I'm eternally grateful for. So, thank you to my readers for your endless support!
My newest thriller ‘One of Us is Dead’ is ‘Big Little Lies’ meets ‘The Real Housewives’ and it’s available now. A southern salon owner gets entangled in the lives of her elite, wealthy clients, and when one of them ends up dead, it’s only her and her accumulation of town gossip that can help the police solve the murder.
I love meeting and connecting, so feel free to get in touch with me on my social media pages. I’ve also set up a private discussion group on FB called The Perfect Marriage Discussion Group where I've answered all the most frequently asked questions.
Once again, thank you!
Rating: really liked it
Ew.
This is a 100% big nope from me.
From the gratuitous bad language (does every single character need to use the f-word twice in every sentence? Does the main character need to whisper "bitch" every time she walks past another woman?) to the wooden characters to the stomach turning conclusion, there's just nothing about this book that I can say that I liked.
I read this book because I had seen so many people say that it was amazing and had so many twists. Those people must not read the same thrillers or as many of them as I do because this one was just bad on many levels. Don't get me started on the author's lack of legal and police investigation authenticity, it is laughable. So. Many. Plot. Holes.
Another book that I'm glad I read on KU and didn't actually purchase. I'd recommend giving this one a big pass. I'm heading out to take an antacid so that I can get try to get this sick feeling out of the pit of my stomach.
Rating: really liked it
**Spoilers**
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A first-person unreliable narrator for a story that made no sense
Lawyer wife sets up her cheating husband for the death of his pregnant mistress and the excuse is she didn't want to give him half in a divorce?
Clearly, Rose did no research because the funny thing is Washington D.C. is not a community property state, so, really, the story is redundant. Moreover, the wife, Sarah Morgan, could have simply gotten a divorce but to take another's life because they dipped the quill in the inkwell is not good enough.
There are people in prison for stealing a backpack, and this woman kills a pregnant woman and eventually her husband yet somehow is absolved because the husband cheated on her?
I don't like it. It's gratuitous and excessive and far too indulgent.
Rating: really liked it
When I'm feeling a reading slump coming on, I usually pick up a nice fast-paced thriller to get me back into things. According to the reviews, The Perfect Marriage should have been that. All I can say is I guess it's true that it did make me want to read literally anything else.
I don't get the hype. The writing isn't great, needs at least another round of editing, and there are plot holes the size of the Grand Canyon. Everything is obvious, yet also verging on ridiculous, and people (mostly Adam) act absolutely moronic for no reason whatsoever.
Everyone is awful, and not in an interesting way. Adam is the doucheiest misogynistic alpha male douchebag, not to mention a total dumbass, who seemed to do everything within his power to make himself look guilty. Sarah has to whisper "bitch" to herself whenever another woman in the room doesn't kiss her arse.
The police investigation is laughable, so is the fact that they would charge Adam and send this to trial without accounting for several anomalies that showed up in the "evidence" (like someone else's DNA). Sarah, a lawyer, gets more facts on this case than the police have by simply having a conversation with the victim's colleague, which I guess the police neglected to do. (view spoiler)
[And that attempt to explain away the shoddy investigation with the "oh, it was the sheriff's DNA" left me far more annoyed than satisfied. Way too convenient and it didn't make any sense. (hide spoiler)]Also, was Kelly in an abusive relationship? Because I'm pretty sure that wasn't cleared up(?) I don't like when a character knows something is or isn't true because they see it in someone's eyes, or some other such nonsense, but then it turned out that maybe he was lying? Who even knows?
So many other things I could whine about. The dialogue and the characters' actions all seemed so juvenile; not a single member of law enforcement or attorney behaved with a hint of professionalism-- all of them acted seedy, violent or just plain stupid. I got the sense that the author had no idea about criminal investigations or court proceedings.
It is irritating when I put things together way before the characters do and have to watch them scratch their heads and think "where have I seen this guy before?" It is also irritating when characters act one way for the entire book then (view spoiler)
[turn to the audience and mwahaha at the end. (hide spoiler)]So much doesn't make sense. The outcome of this book is only reached by having everyone be stupid and do silly things for no reason.
Rating: really liked it
Oh, honey, no. The writing is so bad and is trying so hard to be good that it's painful to read. The syntax is constructed so strangely that it's actively distracting. There's no character development. The plot doesn't make sense.
I have so many questions, and none of them are good. Did this ever see an editor’s desk? Did anyone think to google the legality (or even the ethics???) of a spouse representing their partner in a murder trial? Did anyone suggest that maybe investing a little more time in the characters and their development might make the story work even a little? Did no one mention the whole "show, don't tell" part of good storytelling? Why does this have so many five-star reviews?
This book definitely thinks it’s the next Gone Girl, or Shari La Pena, or Ruth Ware. It's trying so hard to be a twisty psychological thriller, and it fails at every single level.
This isn't it. WOOF.
Rating: really liked it
What the hell did I just read? I hate this book. I loathe it. I want to burn it into ash.
“Those are strong feelings” you might say to yourself. Well trust me when I tell you that this book is NOT WORTH IT.
First of all, everything is so incredibly obvious, that the fact that they seriously titled it “a completely gripping psychological suspense” is so laughable. It was none of those things. It was sloppy and messy and the writing was so awkward that at times I found myself asking if I really just read the sentence that just came out of a persons mouth.
And let me tell you something: I am so sick of these people writing about protagonists who talk as if they know nothing and then turn around and are the ones who committed the crime.
YALL ARE NOT GONE GIRL.
Gone Girl worked because Amy’s diaries were in the past. As soon as it switched to after, she was all “hahahaha I’m awesome I got away with it” all things she was thinking about THE WHOLE TIME. You can’t stick me with someone who acts surprised and upset and affronted when presented with evidence of murder when YOU ARE THE ONE WHO DID IT. Thoughts do not work that way. It is not possible to sit through an entire book of present-time thoughts and not once think about how great you are that you’ve pulled this off. I don’t buy it.
It’s the worst trope out there, and it really just makes no god damn sense. Stop trying to pull one over on me and make it actually thrilling.
And pro tip? If you want me to believe someone didnt do it, don’t make them say shit like “I’m the only one who can do this and you know why”. Yeah, I do. Because you’re the person!!! Ugh.
This book was horrendous and I can’t believe I wasted so much time being even slightly intrigued by it. Do not do the same. Save yourself.
Rating: really liked it
No.
Rating: really liked it
1.0 stars— First the good about this novel — I finished it.
I chose to read “The Perfect Marriage” after looking through the highest rated thrillers on Kindle Unlimited and discovering a very high number of 4 and 5 star reviews. This is how I discovered Colleen Hoover’s “Verity,”and I still consider it one of my favorites. “The Perfect Marriage” has a good framework as it begins with Adam being charged with murdering his lover. He “naturally” decides to let his jilted wife,Sarah, represent him on what is literally a life or death case. The book is written in the alternative perspectives of Adam and Sarah and neither one of them is even slightly likable. They both cuss like sailors, treat everyone in their life horribly and are as arrogant as any two characters I have ever read. Throw in Adam’s vile mother, Elenor who never says or does anything nice and you have a cornucopia of nastiness no matter who you are reading about. The plot itself is ridiculous with stilted dialogue, decisions that defy common sense, and a lack of knowledge of what happens during murder investigations as well as criminal and legal procedure that is embarrassingly bad. I should of put the book down as soon as the sheriff allowed the attorney for the defendant to be a part of the murder investigation and in some cases direct it. This NEVER happens … ever. All in all (if you couldn’t tell) this one wasn’t for me.
Rating: really liked it
2.5*Oh my! Almost at a loss for words...Almost!I was really looking forward to this audio, as domestic thrillers are one of my favorites to lose myself in.
Well this one sadly did not live up to my expectations.
Adam is having an affair. His wife Sarah is too busy at her law firm to have time for him so he looks elsewhere for his companionship. And the woman he falls for just happens to live in the town where Adam and Sarah have a vacation home. Well that’s convenient! Oh yeah, did I mention this woman Kelly also happens to be married!?💁🏻♀️
When Kelly turns up dead, of course Adam is the prime suspect right off the bat. And Sarah needs to step in as his lawyer to save him.
Eeks!😱
I thought the premise sounded terrific and was chomping at the bit to listen to this audio. Unfortunately it just fell far short of my high hopes.
Was it the storyline? Perhaps. I felt no real connection or empathy towards any of the characters.
Could it have been the audio version? Maybe. When I listen to an audiobook I want the narrators to breathe life into the characters and make them real. I didn’t feel that at all.
There are a lot of mixed reviews for this book so I truly hope you enjoy this one more than I did.
Thank you to NetGalley and Dreamscape Media for an 🎧 To review
Rating: really liked it
This book is absolutely ridiculous. Everything that happens is completely outlandish and all over the place. The writing style didn't work for me at all, especially the first person perspectives, and it just felt very much like a first draft in a way.
The cops, deputies, defense attorneys, lawyers, and any other legal person in this book didn't act professional in ANY way and this author clearly doesn't have enough knowledge on being in an investigation or working with the court and it shows. The language all of these characters use is super immature and doesn't fit at all. It was like reading a Pretty Little Liars book but the teenagers are acting as lawyers and cops.
Rating: really liked it
The writing is so bad that I’m genuinely suspicious of the 5 star reviews.
The characters are poorly written, between the lawyers and police officers, not one of them is professional and/or good at their job.
The main character is supposed to be an outstanding defense attorney but just lets it slide when she gets attacked by a police officer while at a police station, and doesn’t make a scene when the rest of the policemen don’t act professionally during an interrogation? Yeah, okay- definitely believable.
Also, early in the book the assistant offers to cover a 300 dollar lunch tab, unless she’s using a company card I have a hard time believing she is getting paid enough money to pay for her boss’s lunch.
I could not even finish this book because it was so terrible.
Rating: really liked it
The Perfect Marriage grabbed my attention from the beginning. This story is so crazy. I was constantly trying to figure out if Adam was guilty or not. Adam is adamant that he had nothing to do with killing the mistress he loved. There are so many twists and turns throughout this book. I liked how Sarah’s personal conflict was brought up throughout the book along with the suspense. The Perfect Marriage is an excellent domestic thriller with so much drama and surprises.
I listened to the audiobook narrated by Neil Hellegers and Teri Schnaubelt and loved the narration. They talked with so much emotion and were the perfect voices for Sarah and Adam.
Thank you Dreamscape Media and NetGalley for the audiobook of The Perfect Marriage.
Full Review: https://justreadingjess.wordpress.com...
Rating: really liked it
“Don’t call me Cubby Bear, Mom. I’m in JAIL.”
This is a wildly unrealistic, yet very entertaining domestic thriller/mystery. I have to mention that it’s unrealistic because, as a lawyer myself, I really couldn’t get past the premise of a wife defending her husband for murdering the woman he was cheating on her with. Girrrrrl, no. No one even mentions a conflict of interest until halfway through the book. So, if it’s a traditional legal thriller you’re looking for, this is not the book for you. However, once I decided to go with the premise, I found myself very entertained. There are some juicy suspects, good red herrings, and interesting and fun characters, not least of which is our heroine, Sarah — the county’s most famous female criminal defense attorney who has inexplicably decided to defend her sleazebag philandering husband.
The excellent audiobook performances, narrating for both husband and wife, really enhanced my enjoyment of this book. While not super intellectual or heavy on the accurate legal thriller details, this is a fun and devious portrait of a marriage gone wrong. I was entertained. 3.5 stars rounded up to 4.
Thanks to NetGalley, the author, and Dreamscape Audio for the advance listening copy!
Rating: really liked it
3.5 starsThis review was first posted on Mystery and Suspense. Check it out for features, interviews, and reviews. https://www.mysteryandsuspense.com/th...Sarah and Adam Morgan are very much in love, but their decade-long marriage is experiencing a bit of strife.
Sarah is doing well as a top defense attorney in Washington DC, but Adam - who was once a best-selling author - hasn't finished a novel in years. To spur his career, Adam convinced Sarah to buy a vacation home in Virginia, where he could write in a quiet atmosphere. Adam goes to Virginia for three or four days at a time.....
.....while Sarah usually remains in Washington to work.
Sarah and Adam's tenth anniversary is in a couple of days, and the couple plan to celebrate the occasion in their Virginia residence. Adam goes on ahead, but Sarah is held up by a trial and can't make it. So Adam spends a lusty night in the Virginia abode with beautiful Kelly Summers, a married woman he's been seeing for 18 months. Adam returns to Washington the next morning, while Kelly is still asleep in his bed.
A few hours after Adam returns home, while Sarah is at work, Virginia sheriffs come knocking on the door.
They say the housekeeper found Kelly Summers stabbed to death in the Morgans' Virginia house. Adam is a prime suspect, and he's promptly hauled off to Virginia, where he's questioned and arrested for murder.
When Sarah learns of Adam's predicament - and his long-term affair - she's hurt, shocked and angry.
Nevertheless, Sarah believes she's the only lawyer good enough to get Adam acquitted, so she takes on his defense. Adam insists on a speedy trial, and the proceedings are set to begin in two weeks, with the death penalty attached. (At this point I have to say the quickie police investigation and accelerated judicial proceedings stretch credulity to the breaking point, but I'm willing to grant author's license.)
As part of her trial preparation Sarah searches for other suspects, to raise reasonable doubt with the jury.
Moreover, Adam - who's granted bail and confined to his Virginia home with an ankle bracelet - launches an investigation of his own.
The book alternates back and forth between Sarah and Adam's point of view, so we see what each of them thinks and does.
As the story unfolds, Kelly's dubious past is revealed, and the secrets of other characters are exposed as well. The tension builds as one possible killer after another comes to light, and my suspicions leapt from person to person.
The book has a rich array of secondary characters, including the Virginia sheriff who investigates Kelly's murder, and seems unsure of Adam's guilt;
Kelly's cop husband, who's jealous and has a terrible temper;
Adam's over-protective mother, who blames Sarah for her son's troubles;
Sarah's sarcastic friend Matthew, who insults people with clever quips;
Sarah's law partner Bob, who's envious of Sarah's success;
the district attorney, who's good at his job;
an aggressive reporter, who wants to interview Adam;
Adam's greedy agent, who asks his client to write a tell-all; and more.
If you like suspenseful thrillers filled with surprises, this is the book for you.
You can follow my reviews at https://reviewsbybarbsaffer.blogspot.com
Rating: really liked it
Disappointing. Started off promising but rushed at the end with too many plot holes. If you’ve read Gone Girl, you could see this coming, but without the details that truly pulled it all together. Ending was disappointing. I was left feeling “that’s it?”
