Avery's story surprised me in the best way. She's the "Fun One" of the First Wives Group until she was attacked. Now she's fighting back to regain control of her life. Now Liam comes onto the scene and is fascinated by her. He wants to be in her life and is willing to do whatever it takes to prove himself to her. Great read.

Book three in the First Wives Club is a solid showing in this series.

Life is grand. You are doing everything you've ever wanted. You're making a difference and loving what you do. Then, you're savagely beaten. How do you come back from that?

A year after her hospitalization, Avery is trying. Trying to get back to the 'old' Avery. Trying to feel safe again. She's determined, and is learning martial arts, specifically Krav Maga, to get her life back. She's not interested in finding a man, but sometimes things happen.

Liam is interested in Avery. Avery could care less. He has to 'meet' her, so is kind of stalkerish and finds the gym she attends. He's a Mr. Fixit and figures a gym needs something fixed, right?

This story shows Avery's vulnerability, Liam's 'stick to it' attitude, and ultimately how much better they can be together.

I LOVED Liam's sister and niece. You can tell he's a good guy by how he treats his family. We also get caught up with the rest of the 'First Wives' and I can't wait for Shannon's story.

One caveat, you should probably read books 1 and 2 in the series for a better understanding of the whole 'First Wives' story line. It won't be a hardship...they're all fabulous!

You can't go wrong with any of Catherine Bybee's books!!!!!

She takes this series up another notch in her next installment of First Wive's Series., pitting Avery Grant agains Liam. A brutal attack makes Avery the courageous and independent women she is now, and no one is going to take it away from her. Not when her past rears it's ugly head nor when she falls in love with Liam.

Catherine Bybee is an maestro of writing romantic suspenses, and she does a splendid job giving Avery and Liam their happily ever after!

Great series!!!!!

Avery was attacked and left for dead. That happened ONCE and Avery doesn't intend for it to happen again. Keeping it from her friends, Avery takes Krav Maga classes and in a round about way through Krav meets Liam.

This story is fun, sweet, suspenseful and so much more. Before going any further I suggest starting with the first in this series - Fool Me Once. This book gives away information that is so much more fun to read on your own. With that said...halfway through I thought where is the suspense, the mystery, then BAM it's there!

While memories start returning from being left for dead, Avery goes in search of the person directly responsible for her pain. She's alone, vulnerable and desperate. As the saying does, if you go looking for trouble you will probably find it. Support swoops in giving Avery the help she needs in more ways than one. What Avery doesn't expect to find is the possibility of chance and change.

Excellent series. Excellent book.

I didn’t read the first two books in this series but loved that this read well as a stand alone.

Avery is wealthy, independent and doesn’t date. As she is recovering from a brutal attack, she becomes distrusting of men. Enter Liam.

This was a really well developed story. Yes of course there was the romance at the center but Averys friendships and the story of her attacker were great well developed sub plots. It was also pretty fast paced and I read it in no time.

Entertaining story in an enjoyable series, I liked it because it was easy to get wrapped up in the story without having to analyze every page to find or understand some deeper hidden meaning.

First, thank you for the opportunity to read and review this title. Access to review copies is always appreciated.
Unfortunately, I have chosen not to finish and review this title. I was not able to connect with it, and instead of finishing a title I was not connecting with, I have chosen to move on to another title.
Again, I appreciate the opportunity and look forward to the next title.

Avery was once carefree and enjoying life but after being attacked she's changed and this time she's going to defend herself.

Avery is also the pitbull of their group when it comes to her friends, but when she needs help she's not letting them in.

"That's where you're wrong. As Wade pointed out, you're the blonde pit bull. You're fiercely protective with your friends but won't allow us inside to be there for you."

Liam is taken back when he sees Avery and her warrior princess vibe she's got going on. And now he wants more. Avery doesn't trust easily, because of the attack and also from the way she was brought up and her relationship with her parents.

" . . . The therapist they made me see said I was looking for their positive attention. Which as an adult I can completely agree with, but it didn't work. Eventually all I seemed to do was hurt myself instead of them."

Avery had quite the journey to feel comfortable in her skin again but I loved how her friends and Liam rallied around her to make it happen.

"Why warrior? he asked Avery. She looked her past in the eye and let it go. "Because it was better than survivor."

Adore this series.

This is the third in the series and Catherine Bybee has found her groove in the Wives Club. This is one of those series that's light, easy to follow and enjoyable. I read it in one sitting and didn't really have to expend much brainpower to do it. Overall, I will be reading the next one.

Avery was a rebellious child mainly because of being sent to boarding school and lack of attention from her parents, she married to get away from them and gain her independence rather than for love and now that is over she doesn't want to marry again..... especially after the vicious assault the previous year. Liam first meets Avery in a bar and from that first time is convinced that she is the woman for him, but it will take a lot of time and patience for him to win her over.

An enjoyable read in this series I would recommend reading the previous two books before reading this one and the context will make much more sense but a good series worth reading

Reviews by the Wicked Reads Review Team

Ruthie – ☆☆☆☆
This is the third book in the series – and I would say that you definitely need to read them in order as the underlying themes run through all the books, and in this one we have Trina's wedding to Wade too.

Avery is one of the four women in the First Wives Club, but she has NO intention of ever repeating the act again. She only married to escape from being under the control of her rich but demanding parents. So, whilst she is delighted for Lori and Trina, who have found love, she is still recovering from being attacked and is ultra cautious. In fact, she is training in krav maga to help her feel safer. I love Avery and her strength, and her care for her friends, but am delighted that she found someone who finally cared about her.

Liam first sees Avery in a bar near the krav maga club, and by good fortune, and a lot of desire, works out how he can meet her again. He is very careful around her, as he realises that she needs him to approach her gently. I have no doubt that living with his sister and niece has made him more aware, and I thought it was a really good way to make that clear.

As the two of them spend time together and learn about each other, we can see the romance and passion developing. Obviously, the course of true love is not smooth, but in this case, it revolves around Avery's attack in New York. The chapters when she is in New York trying to recover her memory and find peace again are really difficult, but really well written.

Cannot wait for book four, and very hopeful that Shannon also gets her happily ever after at last.

Catherine Bybee is a must read author. Chasing Shadows is a good read but just not one of my favorites. The writing was marvelous but I didn't "feel" the female lead especially when she threw her wealth around.

Strong lady who never wants to be a helpless victim. Kudos to a woman who takes the hard way to see that she's never vulnerable again and learns martial art's former own protection. Good story, strong plot. A real page turner

This book was gifted to me by the author and the publisher in return for an honest review.

3 Mixed Read Stars
* * *
This is another part of the First Wives series by Bybee. As talented as Bybee is, she had some hurdles with this. Her main female character was a bit inconsistent for me. The man though was strong and true. He was a reason for the read.

This series is growing on me! Avery is the wild child in this group of girlfriends. Born to wealth and socially pretentious parents, she’s the classic daughter who is sent to boarding schools, who rebels at the lack of attention from her parents, and instead of conforming to the social strictures of her parents, engages in serial one-night stands or very short passionate flings, has no real purpose in life but to spend money shopping and partying. She’s one of the First Wives, marrying to get financial independence from her parents. She’s the fun friend, but she’s also a good, supportive one.

In the last book, Trina’s story, Avery is brutally assaulted to the extent that she spent a week in ICU, got a nose job, several broken bones, and spent weeks recovering. One year later, she’s still affected by her experience. In an effort to take control over her fears, she’s taking Krav Maga classes, but when she’s thrown face up to the mat, she still freezes.

Liam watched Avery using her Krav skills in a bar, and from then on he was fixated on her. He was relentless in his pursuit and courting of Avery. I totally loved Liam. He was a perfect book boyfriend: passionate, sexy, attentive, ripped, sex god, and fun to be with. Avery fought hard not to fall in love but she really had no choice. Avery had a lot of issues, mostly from her childhood and upbringing, but Liam was so loving and relentless, he had Avery fighting for her freedom. It was a lovely read, mostly because we see how Liam deals with a flighty, complex and difficult woman, and gets her to accept she’s awesome and lovable. It was another great read with some action but not as much as the previous book. As always, we visit again with the fantastic group of friends and family, we get a couple great funny scenes, and meet Brenda, Avery’s fitness manager.

The part where Avery goes to New York to face her assailant was a little boring (for me) and I think she was silly to think she could find a faceless guy in New York. Maybe she needed the catharsis. The author dealt brilliantly with the aftermath of this section of the book and then proceeded to a brilliant finale.

This is a great series and this one is as good as the others. There are some life lessons in here that all women could learn from. I couldn't put it down. It is relevant to the metoo# movement.

In this era of the #metoo Movement which had been marred by the actions of its proponents, author Catherine Bybee had crafted fictional women which can be poster girls of how to be strong women while being true to themselves and their femininity.

And unlike the real-life faces of the #metoo Movement who have their own sexual harassment scandals where they are the perpetrators, Avery Grant, the heroine of “Chasing Shadows” turned a harrowing experience into a pivotal point on her life so that she can learn how to defend herself.

Yes, “Chasing Shadows” is Rated M for Mature due to violence and sexual content, but I will change it to Rated T for Teens with parental guidance strongly advised because this book also teaches that learning self defense is good and it is not shameful to ask for help.

Now… enough of my lecture and let’s get into the romantic part of the book. Beautiful Avery Grant looks so much put together on the outside, but she hides a tragic past. So, as Liam gets to know her better, things begun not to add up.

Of course, the cracks on Avery’s persona are so tiny, they can be dismissed as just personality quirks. That is, until Avery disappears and Liam together with her friends must do an intervention.

A beautiful story that is easy to read with serious undertones, “Chasing Shadows” is a must-read for those who likes strong women and strong men who mesh together perfectly.

I really enjoyed this book in the First Wives Series. I liked how Avery’s story picked up after Trina’s. Liam & Avery we entertaining. I can’t wait for Shannon’s story.

I really enjoyed this book by Catherine Bybee and the series. I love the connection and chemistry with all her characters! I didn't want this one to end!

Chasing shadows gets two stars from me because I liked Liam. Otherwise this one might have been a DNF. I couldn't stand Avery and her character. Or to be more accurate her split personality. After she jumps to the conclusion that Liam is with another woman, she decides to go out and find a guy to spend her night with. I hate to see thing kind of behavior after the first 10% of a book. This gem happens around the 30% mark and she immediately lost some respect points for that. As if finding another guy wasn't bad enough, she gets drunk while she is out all alone, which is not the way her character should have acted. After her beating, Avery is closed off and very suspicious of everything around her and getting drunk in a place with a lot of strange people is not safe or fits the description of her character. It was a 180 and the reason I stopped liking her character. I don't know how I was able to finish the book. That girl needed someone to talk to and help her get through the horrible stuff she faced. Liam could have done better. He proved again and again that he cared and I didn't need anything else from him. He wasn't appreciated enough in my book even though he deserved it. I wouldn't recommend the book since I could barely finish it.