My Darling started off very strong. All characters in this one are whacky especially Jade. She comes off as weird right from the start & doesn't stop getting odd till the very end. There were 4 major characters this story was centered around, but I felt Jade was the best. The plot rested entirely on her outlandish & extreme behavior. That was fun while it lasted but sadly not for long. I found it very difficult to 'like' the book because there was nothing shocking, compelling, or believable about it, at least after the first 25%. The first few 'twists' were good but were concentrated mostly at the start of the book. I kept hoping for a major shocker towards the end because that is what I felt was a long way coming, but that didn't happen. The book ended in the most predictable way leaving me slightly disappointed. I kept turning pages hoping for that elusive big finish, so I finished this book pretty fast.

Thank You, NetGalley, Avon Books UK & Amanda Robson for an arc!

I’d like to thank Avon Books UK and NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read ‘My Darling’ by Amanda Robson in exchange for my honest and unbiased review.

Emma is watching from her bedroom window as her new neighbours Jade and Tomas move into the house next door. Jade is jealous of every woman who comes into contact with Tomas and convinces herself that he and Emma are having an affair. She comes up with a plan to put a stop to what she believes is her husband’s philandering.

‘My Darling’ is a breath-taking and exceptionally well-thought-out thriller that’s so addictive I read it in a day having no choice but to leave the housework. The story is told by the four main characters, Emma and her boyfriend Alastair, Jade and Tomas, with frequent memories of Emma’s past and her experiences of domestic violence and abuse. To say this novel is great is an understatement, it’s absolutely brilliant and the further I got into the story the more involved I became. I’ve read previous novels by this author but this has to the best yet. I can wholeheartedly recommend this thriller as one that should definitely not be missed.

This book was just too confusing. I couldn't keep track of the characters and just gave up on it. Sorry this one isn't for me

The book goes well with 3 interesting narratives and also the memories of a character. But the book is too repetitive. Only the characters made me read the book.

Also there are lots of editing issues. Some narratives are under different character name.

"I hope I find a good relationship now. Men can be so controlling at times.

I had such high hopes for this one...so many sterling reviews from those I trust. And though it certainly wasn't a bad, it was nowhere close to a five-star story for me...for two main reasons.

1. It was over the top. I was all in regarding the first two twists. In fact, I thought it was all quite clever and struggled to put my Kindle down. The second and third twists, however...not so much. They actually gave the story a cartoon-ish quality I did not find appealing.

2. The way in which the story was written. I'm honestly not sure what the goal of this writing style was, as it had the characters telling the actual story to each other, instead of the reader. It was such an odd technique, making me feel very separate from from the story in which I should have been immersed. Beyond that, I really struggled with the changing narration within each chapter. Each section was labeled with a character's name, indicating the chose narrator...but from one paragraph to the next, it would randomly change. It was so confusing! My assumption is, that will be cleaned up in final edits...but man, did it make for some awkward reading. I remember one section, Emma was narrating when all the sudden, it read, "I climax inside you, but this time I do not feel your muscles tightly clamped around me, encouraging me like they used to."

I was, obviously, scratching my head about that one.

Regardless, this was a fun, easy story. It had tons of potential, but simply took things too far.
Jayme, as expected, I 100% agreed with you.

Trigger Warning: Sexual assault, domestic violence, and mild animal abuse

Available August 24th.

**My sincere thanks to NetGalley and Avon Books UK for my review copy.

I received a copy of this book via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.


I received a copy of this book via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

This is the story of Jade and Tomas who moves into a new neighbourhood. Jade instantly takes a dislike to her neighbour Emma. She suspects that her husband will start to have an affair with her as he has had affairs in the past and Emma looks to be just his type. She invites Emma and her boyfriend Alistair over for drinks and takes Emma aside to warn her about Tomas’s roving eye. Shortly after this the story takes an unexpected turn.

I would advise anyone wishing to read this book to ignore the burb and just go into this book blind. I promise that this is a much better story than the blurb makes it sound. The story is told from multiple points of view. In between the present day scenes there are flashbacks of a young girl witnessing domestic violence. This is slow to start but as soon as the main plot twist happens the story quickly picks up the pace and it is hard to stop reading.

Is anyone safe? Maybe not! Jade, a retired forensic pathologist, has severe mental issues but Tomas, a hedge fund investor, loves her anyway. He loves her when she's having good times and when she's having bad times but all Jade can see is a cheating husband even though he's never cheated. Emma is a successful dentist, dating Alastair, another forensic pathologist. Their relationship is still in the honeymoon phase, both on their best behaviour.

Jade and Tomas have just moved next door to Emma and paranoid Jade knows, immediately, that Tomas and Emma will have an affair and she cannot allow that to go unpunished. But she has met her match with Emma and Alastair, and Emma and Alastair have met their match in each other. What ensues is a murder and a game of wits and deceit and it's hard to imagine if anyone will be left standing by the end of the book. The only likeable person is Tomas and that doesn't get him very far. 

This is a guilty pleasure kind of book, filled with despicable people doing despicable things. Is it ok for bad things to happen to bad people? Watch and see it happen. 

Thank you Avon Books and NetGalley for this ARC.

Wow! I felt exhausted after reading this. What seemed like a simple concept got more complicated.
Two couples move in next door to one another. Jade and Tomas are happily married when Emma moves in next door. Emma’s partner Alistair is a regular visitor. Jade becomes jealous of Emma and the whole situation becomes intolerable.
The book is told from the POV ‘s of Emma, Jade & Alistair. By the end of the story you’re not sure if you like any of the characters. Every time I thought the twists had concluded another one came.
Thanks to Avon and NetGalley for anARC in exchange for an honest review.

Wow what a brilliant book the story was so well crafted . It was extremely exciting with the story going from past to present . Loved the tanged web of the murders. Well done Amanda I will be reading more from this author , 5 star read

This story is dark, gripping, brutal.I kept trying to put it down, but couldn't. The plot twists and turns with a really satisfying end and I'd say that Robson delivers exactly what you'd hope in this story with characters who behave badly, but whose personalities shine through.
In short, dark and utterly twisted.

Loved the multiple POVs and couldn't put it down. Right from the beginning, the story takes off, and it just keeps speeding along. I was confused a bit with the characters at first, but soon got into it. All in all, another great thriller book by this author

I received an advanced readers copy from NetGalley in exchange for my honest opinion of the newest book by Amanda Robson. OMG! This book is crazy and I think I just found another author to add to my list of must reads! This book is a great domestic thriller that you will race through to finish. Don’t wait, read this ASAP!

Wow! What a fast paced thriller. The reader really needs to keep their wits about them while reading this one. So many twists along the way! Very engaging and quite shocking in equal measure!

Emma is a beautiful dentist who has everything going for her until she meets the unbalanced neighbor across the street. Jade is so out of touch with reality that it greatly impacts Emma's life in a way that she never imagined.

This book kept me up late at night trying to put the pieces together. Although I couldn't put it down, it became a little too extreme for me. It went from a thriller to a horror show. I did enjoy it, but a little less of the extreme would have made it better.

Thank you NetGalley for an arc of this My Darling in exchange for my honest review.

This was a twisty and fun read that I ended up finishing pretty fast. I enjoyed all the twists with this one and didn't see them coming which made it more fun. The chapters read quick and keep you wanting to read more so before you know it you're finished with the book. Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for this one!

Well I really do not know what to say about this book; it is definitely a psychological thriller that will have you turning the pages until about half to three quarters of the way through when the plot becomes repetitive and somewhat boring.

The story is told in a three person narrative which didn't always work for me especially when the narrator changed with no notice and I had to read back a bit to fathom out what was going on.

The characters, without exception were the most unpleasant, self centred bunch all of whom seemed to have some kind of mental illness bordering on the psychopathic, even the young boy was very odd.

The initial plot was very good, sinister with lots of twists and turns but it just went on far too long and unnecessarily.

My Darling follows two couples Tomas and Jade, and Alastair and Emma. When one of them is murdered, and the murderer frames someone else it starts a chain of events which leads to the examination of all of their relationships and asks the question of who you can really trust.

Oh boy. I'm not really sure how to explain this one. Let's start with the positives - this book was super readable, I flew through it in a day which is impressive for me, and I found that the short chapters kept me reading as I was always wondering what happened next. I also found the use of several different POVs to be really good, we knew more than each of the characters but not quite enough to put things together completely ourselves which I think is such a good balance.

My main issue with this was that the plot and pacing all felt a bit off. By halfway through the book we had wrapped up the major issue and the rest of the book was the repercussions of that. While the second half still had a lot of plot, it all felt a bit irrelevant. I think I would have preferred it if the first half of the book had been dragged out further as this for me was the more exciting aspect of the plot, figuring out if the person who had framed could prove it wasn't them.

I also found the memories sections to be slightly irrelevant. I wasn't quite sure what that plot point was meant to contribute to the book, and I just didn't care about those sections when we got to them.

Overall this book had a decent premise and okay execution in terms of characters. But the plot for me was a little all over the place, and the pacing was way off.

This is a book about obsession and connection. New neighbors moving to a beautiful community but they are secretly being watched by someone with sinister motives or are they really the sinister ones? I highly recommend this book for anyone who likes a psychological thrillers with a strong protagonist.

An excellent story, well written with good characters and story line.

For me personally it wasn't a page turner and didn't have me on the edge of my seat but well worth a read.

Thank you to Netgalley and Avon Books for giving me the opportunity to read this book.

Thank you to NetGalley and Avon for the ARC of My Darling by Amanda Robson. I am always looking to read a dark and twisty domestic thriller.

When Emma, a beautiful and successful dentist, moves next store to Jade and Thomas Covington, she will soon learn that something is not right with her new neighbors. Can she trust them? When Thomas is murdered and Emma is blamed, a game of cat and mouse ensues. Soon, Emma’s boyfriend Alastair, a forensic scientist, gets involved in the case. Who will win this twisted game?

In this book full of unreliable and unlikeable narrators, everyone is a suspect and a victim. With short chapters and many plot twists, the suspense keeps building throughout. I found myself invested in figuring out the plot right away. However, I did find several aspects of this book too be too unbelievable. Are there really that many bad guys on Tinder? Would a victim of abuse keep perpetuating the cycle that many times without knowing? Overall, it is a fun, quick read but includes one twist too many and is missing the voice of Thomas, an equally important character.

3.5/5 stars