Unexpected
This was a ‘quirky’ read, the first half seemed to be all about a woman falling in love and then going on her honeymoon, sounds boring but there was enough to hold my interest, the writing was unique and it was a no hassle, kinda interesting read ( she did do something to threaten the marriage )
But then she gets to her honeymoon destination and all hell breaks loose, literally the last 50% was like another book as the story went ballistic and really quite shocking, totally not what I thought and brilliantly disguised in the first half
The characters were vague and almost whimsical until they turned into psychopaths, sociopaths and narcissists and merry band of n’er do wells
Very clever indeed and a bit of a ‘reeling from it still’ read that depending on mood will have you shouting its brilliance or doubting its sanity!

8/10
4 Stars

I'm very rarely blown away by thrillers and I've accepted that a long time ago. I've read from Peter Swanson in the past and enjoyed the writing and plot, so I was delighted to receive and arc of this book.

Every Vow You Break is about Abigail, who's about to marry a millionaire and ends up having a one night stand on her bachelorette's weekend away. She decides to move on and forget about it until the day she leaves for her honeymoon and finds out the man followed her and her husband. What follows is definitely NOT what you expect.

Or maybe it just wasn't what I personally expected from the book. I am usually pretty good at calling the ending early or halfway through, and the predictability of the plot is not something I dislike in thrillers, because being able to predict things means it all makes sense. However, that also usually means that even though it might be enjoyable, the read won't score anything above 3-4 stars.

Every Vow You Break falls into the 3 star category, because even though it surprised me, I didn't find it too believable or... thrilling. I definitely liked the first 3/4 of the book more than I liked the ending. Abigail was an interesting protagonist and the honeymoon destination, though nice on the surface, honestly quite unsettling.

Swanson's writing didn't disappoint. I've noticed similarities in the structure of this book and the other novel I read by him, The Kind Worth Killing, and I quite enjoy the way he tells stories and his plot twists.

Overall, this was a fun, quick read and although I enjoyed it, I wish it did some things differently. If you liked other Swanson's books, I'm sure you will enjoy this one just as much.

Oooh this one was creepy!!

Taking inspiration from The Police song - Every Breath You Take, EVERY VOW YOU BREAK is a creepy stalker thriller, where no one is particularly likeable and everyone is suspicious.

Abigail has cheated on her husband. She cheated before the wedding, when she was having wobbly cold feet, and then she pulled herself together and married her fiancé anyway. While on their honeymoon, Abigail sees her one time lover and things start to get creepy.

It's a stalker drama with references to horror movies. I loved this. It has so many little bits that you can pull from it and I was really excited the whole way through.

I recommend this one to fans of Swanson - his books are hit and miss with me, but generally hit - and fans of thrillers in general, psychological suspense and creepy stalker scenarios.

It’s the stuff of a fairytale – a whirlwind romance leads Abigail Baskin to marry a newly wealthy Silicon Valley millionaire Bruce Lamb. Abigail had hoped for a European honeymoon, instead, Bruce brings her to an exclusive retreat at Heart Pond Island off the Maine coast. It is remote but beautiful, offering an opportunity to unwind and relax away from the hustle and bustle of everyday life. True, there aren’t many women to befriend, but Abigail wants to enjoy herself… until she recognises a fellow guest. The man who she met at her hen party and with whom she spent the night. Why is he there and how will Abigail keep Bruce from discovering what went on? I read this in one sitting because of how engrossing the plot is. At times you wonder if it go to where you think it’s going, which makes it all the more satisfying to read.

The premise of this book sounded intriguing and it was certainly a quick book to get through. It starts out quite slowly and begins to up the ante about half way through. There isn’t much character development and you do have to suspend disbelief for some of it and for that reason I liked it but didn’t love it. 3.5 stars.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing an ecopy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I read Every Vow You Break in one sitting- such is the addictive nature of it, a twisty thriller that gives nothing away, keeping you turning the pages until you can find out what happens..

Abigail is recently married and on her honeymoon, but a mistake she made prior to her happily ever after is about to come back and haunt her..

I really loved this. That edge of unpredictability that Peter Swanson always brings to his devilishly plotted novels is here in abundance, everything that happens has a creepy undertone to it so you are never sure what may be completely innocuous and what may be important. The island setting with its claustrophobic lack of contact with the outside world adds atmosphere to the narrative that is classically clever. You keep wanting to tell Abigail to run, but you are not sure what from.

The ending was hugely satisfying and overall this was an excellent read, short and punchy, confirming this author as one of the best plotters and executioners out there.

Recommended.

‘Every Vow You Break’ -Peter Swanson
⭐️⭐️⭐️- 3.5 stars

“Every breath you take
Every move you make
Every bond you break
Every step you take
I'll be watching you”

Abigail meets millionaire Bruce Lamb and is consumed by a whirlwind romance- 3 weeks before their wedding, Abigail commits the ultimate act of betrayal; besotted by a handsome man ‘Scottie’, during her Bachelorette party, the two have a one night stand. Plagued with guilt and doubt, the wedding (surprisingly) still goes ahead; Bruce and Abigail head off to their honeymoon- a glorified summer camp on a remote island- only accessible via a small plane.

*And so ensues the chaotic drama*

Areas of strength:
- Tension building; plenty of ‘heart in your throat’ moments!
- Slow burn that kept the reader *mostly* engaged
- Cohesive storyline and twisty plot

Areas of weakness:
- Heavy misogyny throughout
- Characters rather one dimensional and lacking depth or development
- Reveal seemed unrealistic
- Parts are drawn out to no avail or enhancement of storyline

Unfortunately the jury is out on this book- I was quite content following along but there were several times that I became bored and slightly uninterested. With that said, this is my first Peter Swanson novel and this has in no way deterred me. Next up is ‘The Kind Worth Killing’.

Thank you to NetGalley and Fabber & Fabber for this ARC.

Thank you to the author, publisher and NetGalley for providing an ARC of this book.

I’ve loved everything I’ve ever read by Peter Swanson and I loved this too, even though I had a pretty good idea where it was going. Creepy and sadly more believable than it should be

I am so sorry but I wasn't a fan of this. I really wanted to like it but unfortunately did not. I read it until the very end but found the mysogyny way over the top and the plot itself extremely weak, predictable, and formulaic. I'm giving it 3/5 starts because, while not to my liking, it is readable and an OK book to pass idle time with. It's just not a very original or satisfying read.

Woman meets tech billionaire who immediately proposes. Woman cheats on naive tech billionaire on her hen night - doesn’t tell him. Honeymoon time! On a weird island - something’s up…

If that summary sounds vague, poorly conceived and plain astoopid, then it’s representative of this novel. I’ve only read one other Peter Swanson novel, Rules for Perfect Murders, and it was pretty decent, so I was wholly unprepared for the boring, instantly forgettable rubbish that turned out to be Every Vow You Break.

Stilted characters, contrived scenarios, obvious plot twists, huge stretches of dreariness where nothing happened, bafflingly dumb reveals, a garbage final act worthy of M Night, and an underwhelming finale - this book has it all in spades.

The premise of the protagonist sleeping with some rando on her hen night was so clearly a setup for something more than it was that it wasn’t surprising in the least. And the further “surprise” made all the male characters look like idiot children that it was more amazing that such drivel saw print or that a writer as experienced as Swanson couldn’t come up with anything better and thought this drek would pass muster as convincing motivation.

Beyond the abysmal features of the novel, the absolute worst part was the plodding storytelling. It takes half the novel(!) before anything of note happens - up ‘til then all we see is the premise playing out. Even once things start happening, none of it’s memorable or exciting. If what’s happening comes across as braindead and the characters are uninteresting nobodies - essentially puppets that never convinced you they were real people to even remotely care about - then it’s never going to engage you in the least; and it doesn’t.

Despite this crapfest, I haven’t given up on Swanson - I’m sure some of his earlier books are as decent as Rules for Perfect Murders was. But I still highly recommend steering well clear of Every Vow You Break, which was an utterly dismal reading experience. I take that back - maybe the absolute worst part of the novel is the title which never failed to put that annoying Sting song in my head. What a ghastly concoction this book is!

This was a book I was looking forward to reading. It took me longer than I would have liked to get in to it but once I was through about a third of the book I was hooked.
Every Vow You Break is about Abigail. She is due to marry Millionaire Bruce. On her hen night she has a drunken one night stand with a handsome stranger.
Putting her single life behind her she is married to Bruce and has her dream wedding day. The newlyweds go on honeymoon to Heart Pond Island where Abigail is tracked down by her one night stand who threatens to derail her life.
For me, there wasn’t many likeable characters in this book - I guess you could call Abigail perfectly imperfect?
The ending felt a bit unbelievable but I can’t say much more so as I don’t post spoilers.
It’s the first book I have read by Peter Swanson and I will definitely keep a look out for more.
Thank you to the publisher, author and NetGalley for gifting me an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Abigail Baskin never thought she’d fall in love with a millionaire. Then she met Bruce Lamb. He’s a good guy, stable, level-headed, and kind. A refreshing twist from her previous relationships. But right before the wedding, Abigail has a drunken one-night stand on her bachelorette weekend. She puts the incident—and the sexy guy who wouldn’t give her his real name—out of her mind, and now believes she wants to be with Bruce for the rest of her life. Then the mysterious stranger suddenly appears—and Abigail’s future life and happiness are turned upside down. He insists that their passionate night was the beginning of something much, much more. Something special. Something real—and he’s tracked her down to prove it.

This is a very easy, quick read, does not do much in terms of character development, you don't get a sense of anything deep just basic information of what you need to know for the story to work. A perfect, quick read for around the pool or on a beach.

When I first started reading this, I had to check the genre as it wasn’t feeling to thrillery! It felt very contemporary as we were getting a woman’s account of how many men she had slept with. We are taken on a brief journey of her past and how one man led to the other until we are up to date and she is with the man she is planning on marrying.
So, to begin with, the book did feel as if it were plodding slightly, but I persevered after reading some of the other reviews and double-checking the genre too. I knew something wasn’t as it seemed, so I kept reading.
I’m so glad I did, as the book really takes a sinister turn once Abigail and Bruce are on their honeymoon. Like Abigail, it is hard to pinpoint what is wrong with the situation and this perfect paradise her husband has taken her to. Is it the lack of women, the overfamiliarity of some of the guests, or is it merely her past coming back to haunt her?
As the book progresses, I found my heart beating faster and faster. I sensed the danger, and it was utterly thrilling! Just what I’d wanted when I picked up this book. I didn’t guess any of what would happen, and my heart was in my mouth towards the end.
However, there was a slight stagnant section during all the drama; when she is hiding out, this just seemed too long, and you wanted more drama to keep the pace up.
However, overall this was a fantastic and hair-raising read that has its ups and downs but is well worth the read.

I hate leaving negative reviews because reading is so subjective and it's just my opinion, so I will just say that I read this over a period of 4 hours and unfortunately it just didn't do it for me.

I absolutely ADORED A Kind Worth Killing and this will forever be a fabulous pyschological thriller that I happily recommend, but Every Vow You Break was just not a book I enjoyed or believed.

A Fairytale Ending....?
A whirlwind romance leads to marriage to a Silicon Valley millionaire for Abigail Baskin but will she get her fairytale ending? Maybe not. As she is whisked off on a glorious honeymoon to Heart Pond Island she doesn’t have a care in the world. Until she gets there, that is. Claustrophobic suspense from a superb writer.

Thank you Netgalley for this ARC copy.

Abigail finds herself swept off her feet by millionaire Bruce and after a whirlwind romance is engaged to be married. But a chance encounter at her bachelorette's party with the mysterious Scottie threatens her happiness when she arrives back in New York. After a fairytale wedding Bruce whisks her away to a private island for their honeymoon and this is when the real problems start. Why are there no other women there? Why are there more staff than guests and is that really the man from her bachelorette party staying there? Coincidence? That's when things really start to take a turn!

I did enjoy this book and found it had me gripped for the first two thirds even though I could see where it was going. For me I just found the fact the Abigail went from a normal person to all out Bear Grylls vigilante at the end a bit too much. I would still recommend as a great 4 star read.

Abigail Baskin is in love. She is engaged to Bruce Lamb, a millionaire. The wedding is less than a month away.

At her bachelorette party (which takes place three weeks before the wedding), Abigail has had too much to drink and meets a man named Scottie. After lots of flirtation (and a few doubts about marrying Bruce), one thing leads to another, she and Scottie spend the night together. Abigail does feel guilty about it but justifies it away as been a drunken, one night stand and moves ahead with the wedding.

Bruce chooses to take Abigail glamping (glamourous camping) for their honeymoon. Bruce has been there before and knows everyone, but Abigail hasn’t. Then Scottie shows up and that when things start to heat up.

Not as fast paced as his previous books, but still a good read.

Thank you to Netgalley and William Morrow for providing me with an e-arc of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I'm a massive fan of Peter Swason's, and so I was particularly excited to read this.

It's a bit of a slower paced thriller at the start, but it isn’t long until it turns into a nerve-shredding, claustrophobic read. Especially after they land at the 'honeymoon' destination.

Ended up with Every Breath You Take stuck in my head for pretty much the whole length of the book, though.

4.5 terrified little stars!

Goddamn! This book stressed me out so much, by the end I was clenching muscles I didn’t know I had.

What’s great about this book is that up until the epilogue, it’s completely believable which makes it super scary. I feel like Peter Swanson really understands the inherent fear that comes from just being a woman. And at no point does that fear feel invalidated or patronised.

Our MC Abigail kickstarts this book by sleeping with a man who’s not her fiancé on her bachelorette trip. She goes through with the wedding, writing off the infidelity as a mistake she won’t repeat and her and her hubs go off on their honeymoon. Which is where shit starts going down.

The honeymoon island, the setting for most of this book, is absolutely 100% terrible and terrifying. It’s pitched as a resort for rich tech people, a sort of glamping experience where there’s no WIFI and no phone signal, and where you can reconnect with nature. Of course the clientele is mostly white and male. Like I said, very believable and creepy as hell.

Swanson builds the tension so slowly you don’t even know you’re supposed to be scared until it’s too late. Which I loved. From what I understand, this isn’t as twisty and flashy as some of his other works [I’ve only read Rules for Perfect Murders], but I don’t believe that matters in this story. There’s enough clues along the way that you’re pretty sure what’s going to happen, as a reader. And yet, that doesn’t take away from your enjoyment. Or at least it didn’t for me.

Our Abigail, the POV character, was a big part of why this worked so well for me. I felt like she was a fully formed, imperfect person. I found her inner life relatable and her actions very human even when she was making bad choices. But also, I love a slightly lizard-y girl, so take that with a grain of salt.

My only gripe, the tiniest gripe ever, is with the ending. Well, the epilogue. Everything before that is either realistic or entertaining enough that I don’t care whether it’s possible. It was such a visceral ride that I felt the epilogue somehow lacking. I don’t know if this could have been solved by making it longer or shorter or if my issue was with the writing.

In short and without giving too much away, I really enjoyed Swanson’s comments on masculinity, wealth and horror and will definitely check out more of his backlist.

Thank you to Netgalley and Faber and Faber Ltd for the arc of Every Vow You Break by Peter Swanson.

4 star read- Im not going to say too much about this as it is really best going into this without really knowing an plot or synopsis etc so that you really get enthralled in.... but what I can say is that It follows Abigail's Hen do in Californina, USA. She is engaged to be wed to multi millionaire Bruce Lamb in a fortnight on what they call the East Coast. Abigail's POV and narrative it is told in... It starts off slow at first BUT it gets you right where it should and grips you in and makes you hooked and intrigued and want to find out more.. I would definitely recommend this to anyone who is interested in Peter Swansons books or if you have read any of this other books. It was so surreal that it made you think that your in a cinematric film feature!

4 Stars! ⭐⭐⭐⭐