I started off enjoying this book than struggled with where the story was going and felt lost at the end.

Unfortunately despite numerous attempts to connect with this book I have had to admit defeat and mark as dnf

Really enjoyed this. Even learnt some Spanish. A good solid read with a twist you think you’ve got. You haven’t! I’ll look forward to this writer’s next book.

I must firstly apologise for the amount of time it has taken me to provide me review of this book, my health was rather bad for quite some time, something that had me in hospital on numerous occasions and simply didnt leave me with the time I once had to do what I love most.

Unfortunately that does mean I have missed the archive date for many of these books, so It would feel unjust throwing any review together without being able to pay attention to each novel properly.

However, I am now back to reading as before and look forward to sharing my honest reviews as always going forward. I thank you f0r the patience and understanding throughout x

Unfortunately I am unable to leave a review as I never got a chance to read it before the archive date.

Katie Gutierrez's debut novel, More Than You'll Ever Know, is an enthralling and breathtaking page-turner that will keep readers guessing until the very end. This suspenseful mystery is full of intrigue and twists that will leave readers wanting more. With its captivating plot and well-developed characters, this book is sure to be a hit with all kinds of readers. Whether you're looking for a thrilling read or an emotional journey, More Than You'll Ever Know is sure to deliver.

I enjoyed reading this, characters were very believable and I loved the storyline. Gripping, interesting and recommended
Thank you to netgalley and the publishers and the author for the opportunity to read this book for my honest opinion

It took me a while to get into but I loved this interestingly thriller. Lore was such a complexe well written character

The synopsis of this novel really caught my attention and I was so keen to read it. I enjoyed this one but found it took me quite a while to read. It's told in past and present, which I enjoyed. In the present Cassie, a true crime blogger, hears about Lore Rivera and how her marriage to two men led to the murder of one by the other. In the past we get Lore's story of how she came to be married to two men. I enjoyed reading both character's perspectives and the exploration of mothers that runs through the book, also the look at how different people perceive the same event and how learning more changes how we feel. The book just felt far too long for me, it was slow-going and while I wanted to keep reading to see how it would end it felt like it was never going to get there. The ending was one I saw coming from the very start and, for me, it was foreshadowed way too much through the book. I did enjoy this book and I'm glad I read it purely because of the two main characters.

Sadly this wasn't for me so I cannot give an honest review and I did not finish. That is why I have only given 2 stars

I've seen such mixed reviews for this book! I agree with some of the more critical points - regarding the length of the book, the story could have been told in less pages, and the random use of Spanish phrases was quite jarring as I often had to search and translate which interrupted the flow of the story.

Apart from that, I really enjoyed the novel, there was a dual timeline from 1985 when Lore started the affair and the current day between Lore and Cassie. The characters weren't particularly likeable but that's beside the point as it was a real character driven story rather than any kind of plot. It was very well written, I did guess the twist at the end about two thirds of the way through but that didn't detract from my enjoyment of the story and how it unfolded

I did not finish this novel and only got 10% through before giving up. It's a style of writing which I don't enjoy as it's so detailed and talk about things with no relevance to the story.
The premise seemed very interesting but it just never got going

This is a well considered and well written novel that shows not only a solid understanding of the true crime genre but also explores its potential pitfalls, while also capitalising on the enduring interest it evokes in people.

Lore had two husbands and lived a double life in the 80s travelling between the US and Mexico and finding different parts of herself were uncovered by the very duplicity that she was haunted and freed by in equal measure. Until a fateful day when her lies were revealed and she was left to deal with a truly sad aftermath.

Cassie, a somewhat lost writer who is haunted by a childhood full of tough realities and memories of watching Dateline with her mum stumbles upon Lore's story when her life is at a crossroads. Should Cassie marry the dependable Duke even though she might love his family more than she loves him? Is there a future for her writing true crime that she feels has a deeper purpose than the click-bait articles she currently writes for a blog?

Lore and Cassie both become important figures in each others lives, and their relationship leads to them both airing mysteries of the past that cause sudden reckonings for them both.

Perhaps less of a thriller than I was expecting, which was actually a plus for me, I enjoyed these two complicated female characters and the well plotted , and well written story. I especially loved Lore's description of herself as 'someone like me, who felt most alive when waiting for the train to hit'.

My thanks to netgalley and the publisher for a copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

More Than You'll Ever Know is an excellent thriller from start to finish. Filled to the brim with twists and a captivating plot, this one is sure to keep readers hooked. The characters are well-developed. The story is incredibly fast-paced. This is one not to be missed! Highly recommended! Be sure to check out More Than You'll Ever Know now.

I have felt bad about missing out on some of the releases from 2022 due to a hectic work schedule so I was excited to get to my final 2022 ARC – More Than You’ll Ever Know. Sadly, I’m afraid this one is a DNF at 40% for me.

The plot really intrigued me from the blurb, a woman with two lives - two marriages which ended in murder and a journalist obsessed to find out the truth. Although this initially sounded interesting, I think the book was sorely let down by its editing. At 450 pages, this book is a beast, and it really, really didn’t need to be. To put it into perspective, I’ve just finished reading quite a few fantasy books of around the same length which introduced a multitude of characters, entire worlds, magic systems, lore and politics in the same amount of time this book managed to tell me what I already knew from the blurb. The only thing the book managed to do in the over 200 pages I read was make me dislike all of the characters!

Lore is the mysterious woman at the heart of the story, but I never really felt much sympathy towards her. She was unhappy in her marriage and lied to a man to start having an affair. It wasn’t exactly gripping. Cassie is a blogger and comes off as unlikeable with a shady family history and a weird obsession with this case that I didn’t really understand. We flipped between narrators and time periods so frequently which led to confusion as I tried to work out where we were in the timeline.

I also didn’t understand the need for random peppering of Spanish phrases in the prose and it felt very jarring at times. Using Cuates instead of twins was ok but there are some pieces of dialogue entirely in Spanish with no hint of a translation which got frustrating. There didn’t seem to be a standard convention for when these were used either. As someone who knows only a few rudimental words of Spanish, this added an unnecessary obstacle to reading the book, which I wish I had known before I chose to request it.

When reading other reviews to work out whether it was worth trying to plough ahead, I accidentally came across a spoiler and sadly, I had actually correctly worked out what had happened from one conversation point with a particular character. At that point, I put the book down and have no intention of picking it back up, I’m afraid.

Overall, More Than You’ll Ever Know is far too long for its content, with unlikeable characters and a predictable, slow moving plot. Thank you to NetGalley & Penguin Random House – Michael Joseph for the chance to read the ARC in exchange for a (very) honest review.

Cassie Bowman has been interested in true crime from a very young age. She used to watch true crime shows with her late mum, and it's one of her fondest childhood memories.
She works as a journalist for a true crime blog and whilst scouring articles online, she stumbles upon a story of Dolores Rivera, a woman married to two men simultaneously in the 1980s. What makes the story intriguing is the fact that one of her husbands killed the other one, confessed, and is now in jail.
Cassie begins to question how could Dolores (or Lore) put up such a pretense for a number of years without the two men knowing? She reaches out to Lore, initially for an interview, told from Lore's perspective. Then, Cassie changes her mind and wishes to write a book about Lore and her double life.
It's obvious from the beginning that Lore is hiding something from that day. However, Lore isn't the only one keeping secrets...

I had such high hopes for the book - it was well written and the synopsis intrigued me. However, the twist at the end was predictable. I also couldn't warm to any of the characters. I felt that Lore was a greedy hedonist who wanted too much of a good thing all at once. Cassie, on the other hand, annoyed me when she broke up with her boyfriend Duke (why would she throw him and his family away?). Her preoccupation with Lore and the book took over her life, and her relationship with Duke suffered at the end.
I also felt that the middle part of the story dragged on and could have been condensed a little bit.
It wasn't for me, but it might be for you!!

2.5 (rounded down)

I spent the weekend listening to the audio version of this book. What I enjoyed about the audio version was the two different narrators for the different women's stories. This book started off very well and drew me in with Lore's story and Cassie's mission to give Lore's version of events. I immediately thought there was more to Lore than meet the eyes and could see Cassie getting drawn into the mystery of the story more and more.

At about 50% I felt that the book was starting to drag and I had an inclination as to what the big twist might be. Whenever I'm reading a mystery/thriller I like to be surprised, for the author to pull out a twist that is not only plausible but shocking. Sadly this book did not do that.

This could mean that I was in super detective mode and surpassed my own expectations in my mystery solving but this did mean the story fell in the predictability category for me.

I have seen lots of great reviews for this one so please do not let me put you off. The family dynamics and Cassie's story are interesting I just think it could have been a lot shorter.

This novel is about open adoption. When Mia has Daisy she is unable to keep Her so has an open adoption with Suzanne. Over the years Mia loses the relationship with Daisy. Daisy then turns up when she is a teenager and must face difficult questions. A great novel

I had dicht high hopes for this book based in the synopsis. However, I just couldn’t get into it. I don’t know if it’s because of the writing style, the characters… it just wasn’t for me.

That elegant, decadent cover and the promise of a thrilling tale of love and lies across 1980s American and Mexico really drew me into reading this debut. And it is an impressive debut, with writing as elegant as the cover. But, while it uses a true crime writer’s investigation as a tool to tell the story, it’s worth knowing before starting that this isn’t really a crime thriller.

In the 1980s, Delores – known as ‘Lore’ – marries Andres Russo in Mexico. But, she already has a husband and two sons at her American home in Texas. In 2017, budding true crime writer comes across an article about Delores, and how her unfaithful actions lead to murder back in the 80s. She’s intrigued by a crime story with a difference – this isn’t a woman being a victim, this is a woman who was truly in control and took everything she wanted. She wants to talk to Lore, to hear her side of the story, and to turn it into a book.

This is a story of relationships, family and lies. It involves crime elements, but it’s definitely a slow-burn, very character-driven novel. But if you going into it knowing that and stick with it through a slow build-up, you’ll be rewarded with an beautifully written story which draws a tapestry of relationships in a unique and original way. The characters are authentic, the duel settings and era are brought to life, and it explores some thought-provoking topics about the role of women in society. If you love a good family drama, you’ll likely love this.