Wasn’t too keen on this book. Found it a little predictable. Felt like it was just a common domestic thriller but the sexy roles were reversed. Did not finish

Ben has the perfect life until his girlfriend, Charlotte, says she needs a break. Then he meets Bella, beautiful, confident, aloof and she soon rocks his world. Cut off from his friends and family in a Bella and Ben cocoon until tragedy strikes. The second half of the books is Bella’s POV and how she has made her life with Ben the perfect way she wants or has she? Whilst I read this arc on a kindle the whole premise with the physical book, where you turn it over and read from the other end is brilliant.

Thank you to netgalley and the publishers for this arc in exchange for my honest review.

I really enjoyed this book and read it in one sitting. Ben, on the rebound from his long term girlfriend leaving him , meets the beautiful Bella and quickly becomes ensnared in a dangerous and damaging relationship. It was interesting to see how things developed between them although I did become a little exasperated by Ben’s inability to exert control over his life.

At first glance, Bella seems perfect, especially to Ben, who is still recovering from a bad break up. Ok, she might be a bit controlling, and she definitely likes things done her way, but is it really that bad? But soon, everything changes, and Ben soon realised that his dream girl is anything but perfect...

Ok, first thing to address - yes there were some issues with the advance copy, which led to a few versions of it having to be uploaded. This has absolutely nothing to do with the quality of the book, and in my opinion giving it a negative review because of that is just ridiculous.

Now, moving on to the book itself. I will admit, the beginning is quite weak. It’s muddled, it’s hard to follow, and just not great. It’s definitely one you have to persevere with. But once you give it a bit of time, it’s actually a surprisingly good book.

The book itself is split into three parts - the first alternates between the POV of Ben, his friends, and his parents; the second goes back to the start and shows events from Bella’s perspective; and the third jumps to a year ahead and is once again told from the perspective of multiple characters.

I loved the inclusion of multiple perspectives, as it gave a very comprehensive account of the situation, but somehow didn’t end up being dull. Seeing how Ben was slowly worn down, and now his friends and family responded to that was just so heart wrenching. Contrasting this with Bella’s point of view made for a very dark and haunting read, and one that had you literally almost screaming at the page for Ben to get out while he could!

Plot wise, this is a difficult one to describe, as there are some twists and turns dotted throughout that are pretty stunning. Essentially, it is a novel about domestic violence, with a non-traditional approach of portraying a female abusing a male partner. By non-traditional, I don’t mean that this doesn’t happen, more than it is rarely covered in fiction, and so it was incredibly refreshing to see an author who was brave enough to tackle to. To have her write it so accurately, and to show the subtle escalation and how inescapable it can seem to be, showed to me a very high level of skill on behalf of the author.

I’ve had a rough time with thrillers lately, and most of my reviews of this genre have been overwhelmingly negative. So when I saw the reviews for this one, I was expecting the worst. But instead I was pleasantly surprised! I would advise anyone struggling with it to persevere and give it a good go before writing it off - it’s definitely worth giving a second chance.

Disclaimer - I was provided with an advance reading copy of this book by NetGalley. This has not affected my review in any way, and all opinions are my own.

After splitting up from long term girlfriend Charlotte, Ben brings home the mysterious Bella, a girl who he met in a bar. Bella is stunningly beautiful and charming and Bens Mum is pleased that he’s found someone else but Bens dad doesn’t share her enthusiasm and has reservations but won't explain them. Within a couple of months, Bella announces she’s pregnant and wants to get married. Ben, overwhelmed and surprised agrees. But as her pregnancy continues Ben becomes increasingly estranged from his friends and family, and after the wedding and the birth of their daughter they are all shut out at the insistence of Bella. But why is Bella acting like this? What is her secret?

This is an excellent read and very enjoyable. It’s a good spin on a revenge storyline and will certainly show you the power of love and commitment over friendship.

This story focuses on Ben who has recently been dumped by his long-term girlfriend when he meets Bella in a pub. Bella is everything men dream of. She is beautiful and sexy and clever and she wastes no time in hooking in Ben until he is totally under her spell. As the story develops we realise just how wily and manipulative Bella is and without giving too much away she manages to totally control Ben. They marry and have a daughter called Elodie and it is when she is born that things take a bit of a sinister turn.
The book is an easy read and you begin to quite like some of the characters, particularly Ben’s friends and ex-girlfriend, Charlie. Bella on the other hand is a nasty piece of work and it soon becomes clear exactly what she is capable of. Ben on the other hand starts out as an interesting and quite dynamic figure, but by the end he is very weak and I felt like telling him to stand up for himself which he seemed quite incapable of doing. Overall an enjoyable if not particularly memorable book. Thanks to NetGalley for allowing me to read and review this book.

Excellent read.
Started and finished in a few hours simply couldn't put down.
Highly recommended. Strong characters and even felt sorry for Bella!

A good thriller with an interesting and surprisingly different plot. The writing is a bit shaky at first but picks up quite quickly to become elaborate and engrossing.
I finished it in 2 sittings as I could not wait to read what happened next. A breath of fresh air in the congested area of so-called psychological thrillers.

I really enjoyed reading this book, gripping and exciting plot. Told from 2 perspectives and highly recommended. Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC.

Omg, had me gripped all the way through. What a book!!!!! I was not expecting the story to go that way at all!!! I loved it. It showed certain things which need to be highlighted,but I won't say as I hate putting spoilers in. Everyone who reads this will love it. Thank you netgalley.

I enjoyed this book, but I was expecting a lot more from it. I’ve seen lots of people talking about this book on social media, so I was very excited to read it. However it was a bit underwhelming. I didn’t particularly like the characters, and I found a lot of them annoying and weak. I found myself getting angry at them when I should have been feeling sorry for them. It was a great storyline and very easy to read, but it could have been a bit more eventful. I liked how you learn the story from two sides, and think this was done very well. However at times it did feel too repetitive. I wasn’t really shocked by anything that happened in this book, but did still enjoy it. I would recommend this to people, and I think they would enjoy it as long as they’re not expecting a full-on thriller.

SHE is about a man enticed into an a abusive relationship and the partner cuts him off from all his friends/family .

The story is from 2 or 3 perspectives. But the parts of the book were very much like reading what you’d read before although the last part eventually ties the story up.

A very difficult book to read as the parts didn’t really flow together meaning it did take you quite a while to work out what was actually going on.

Furthermore the main character was very downtrodden and partner rather evil. However Family/friends quite strong characters that made the book slightly palatable.

Although I didn’t really like the story the writer did try hard and the book was mostly well written even if illogical.

Ok. I’ve never been lost for words when reviewing a book before or indeed any other time but here goes. I’m aware that someone has put a lot of blood, sweat and tears into this so don’t want to be unkind but I have to be honest. Flat, one dimensional characters, superficial story line - I’m deliberately not saying plot. First go only half the manuscript was sent and when this was corrected I felt duty bound to read it all but it really didn’t improve. Big gaps in timeline, poorly explained. Really not a good experience.

I would like to thank the author, the publisher and NetGalley for the opportunity to read an ARC of this book. I really enjoyed it, I liked the way the story was told by one character and then the same story from a different perspective. It was quite a quick read but I will look forward to more by this author.

This book blew me away ... gripping with a great twist!
The beautiful Bella has a whirlwind romance with Ben ... falling pregnant soon after meeting things move fast however all is not as it seems as Bella is out for revenge.

What unfolds is a great read - a book that I couldn’t put down - the beautiful Bella unfolds to be evil and out for her own gain!
Highly recommend this book

Despite the dark subject matter (revenge, domestic abuse, infidelity, death) this is a thoroughly entertaining book that can be read in a few hours. Told mainly from the point of view of Ben, and then the same events from Bella's perspective, it's a story of a manipulative woman who refuses to go quietly when her lover leaves her.

Ok, it's not particularly memorable, the characters are all one dimensional, and there is no nuance whatsoever. But, the pace is fast and it's escapist fun. Sometimes that's exactly what you want in a book.

My thanks go to the publishers and Net Galley for the advanced copy in return for an honest review.

I enjoyed the story overall and found I needed to continue to read to the end to find out what would become of Ben and his various relationships. Reading the story again from Bella's perspective became a little tedious and if I'm honest the writing could be improved upon on. Overall, a good plot but something was missing for me. The copy of the book I read had obviously been amended and I had none of the problem others have mentioned about only receiving half the book.

I managed to read the whole book as it has now been corrected. It's certainly a bruising story, but I found it very tiring reading the story twice, once in actual happening and once in Bella's words.
Poor Ben, I have never been in an abused position but I can imagine it would diminish anyone....but he did sem to be a bit helpless about getting help for himself. In fact none of the characters seemed to have much backbone, except the ghastly Bella.
It wasnt a book that I enjoyed, a bit repetitive, a bit too dark, but thank you for letting me have a review copy to consider.

I’m sorry to give a negative review, as a previous reviewer said the author has put a lot of time and effort into writing this book. But I just could not like it. It was confusing and the review copy was badly formatting which also added to my disappointment as it was hard to read. I didn’t like this book at all, but thank you for giving m the opportunity to review it honestly.

I so enjoyed this story pulls you in from the beginning ben has broken up with Charlie . ben and matt are having a drink one evening and meets Bella . I don't want to say no more as spoils but it has everything twist turns secrets lies its brilliant so recommend a must read cant wait to read more from this author