I was immediately fascinated by Jake's story. I admired him because he envisioned a different life for himself than what his parents saw for him, and maybe the way he handled it wasn’t the best—but in that moment, he didn’t see any other way to avoid sinking into a future he didn’t want.

I enjoyed seeing his friendship with Adam grow, and although they each go their separate ways, they don’t forget each other and eventually grow close again.

Is Jake a likeable person? No, not really, but I think that's because he's ashamed and wants to fit in. He doesn’t actually do anything wrong, and his thoughts are his own—he can think and feel what he wants in his head. In fact, I feel pity for him. On the one hand, he achieves his goal, but on the other hand, he has to give up a lot for it. Material things don’t keep you warm at night…

Jake finds the perfect partner in Anne, and Anne sees Jake as the goose that lays the golden eggs. And that works—until it doesn’t, and then everything explodes…

I really thought this was a fantastic book with a beautiful cover, and I wouldn’t have noticed if someone had pulled the chair out from under me while I was reading. But still, something is bothering me—and that’s the ending. I honestly don’t know where that came from, but that could totally be on me. It’s a shame, because I was ready to give it five stars.

Was it thrilling? Not really. Was it intriguing and gripping? Yes, absolutely.
I won’t be too harsh, because the majority of it really captivated me—so I’m giving it 4.5 stars.

Thank you

I wasn't sure what to expect when I picked this up. I wouldn't say this was a psychological thriller. It's more of a slow-burn domestic fiction. I found not a lot happened for a while. Then when Jake meets Joyce, things start to change, and the meeting in Bristol, things become much clearer to me. I could see what was beginning to happen to Jake and to be honest, my heart was broken.

I do love a book by Valerie, and this book was something different. It had a completely different feel to it. Different doesn't equate to bad, just different, which is why I don't think it was a psychological thriller.

I want to know more about Joyce, especially after that ending!!!! I am worried things might have gone a lot more south, and I pray for things to be different for Jake,

I found the book intriguing enough to keep going. There was something about Jake, and his purpose, wanting to be better, to have better and to be "above his station." Ann was a horrific character, but knowing what I know now...I'm not sure that was a fact. I have a feeling that our viewpoints might have been played with - which is very clever indeed. We will never know, if Ann was as toxic as we were led to believe or if this was conjured as an excuse for behaviour.

Cleverly done, even though I am still sitting here worried about one of the characters!!!!

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC of this book. I have chosen to write this honest review voluntarily and it reflects my personal opinion.
This book is by a successful author, but I hadn't read any of her previous novels. From the beginning Jake is an unlikeable character, driven by ambition and jealousy he comes across as disdainful about his small family. He manages to achieve a great deal in his personal life and finally sets his sights on his 'trophy wife'. I thought events were credible and realistic until the last quarter of the book. There were some unusual twists to the story but I felt as though the ending was anticlimactic and less credible.
I would read this author's work again but I didn't enjoy it so much that I wish to follow her.

I love me some Valerie Keogh, what a brilliantly gripping book. I was HOOKED early on in the story and definitely recommend it.

This book was dark and full of wealth and deceit. I loved it and couldn't put it down. I love Valerie Keogh books and can't wait to read more of them!

Jake has been accepted into Oxford University on a scholarship, but his father wants him to work with him at the factory. He leaves home to take up the scholarship.

At University he meets Adam Brett who comes from a wealthy family. He spends his free time with Adam and his family.

Jake lies about his past saying his parents died in a car crash. This lie will haunt him for many years to come.

Jake is jealous when Adam and Jane marry. He has the dream house, he is lonely until he marries Adam's socialite sister Ann. Will it be happy ever after for this couple?

A great book that is full of twists and reveals that will keep you hooked.

Thank you to Netgalley for my copy in exchange for an honest review.

This book starts off slow and then picks up. This was a character driven book rather than an action one. Another one that I thought I knew what was going on but really didnt.

I really enjoyed the dark glamour of this book. I loved the characters and the atmosphere. The plot was full of twists and turns which kept me gripped from start to finish!

This book has so many gigantic twists in every chapter.
And once again I just Loved reading it.
Superb writing from this author, a very eye catching cover, this book will go far, 5 stars.

THE TROPHY WIFE is a psychological thriller by international bestselling author Valerie Keogh. Having read and enjoyed five of her stand-alone novels, I was anxious to start her latest novel.

Her Standalone Novels Include:
Secrets Between Us (2018)
The Housewife (2019)
The Three Women (2020) (Read)
The Perfect Life (2020) (Read)
The Deadly Truth (2020)
The Little Lies (2021)
The Lies He Told (2021) (Read)
The Couple in the Photograph (2021) (Read)
A Taste of Deceit (2022)
The Lodger (2022) (Read)
The Widow (2022)
The Trophy Wife (2023) (Read)
The Librarian (2023)

This is my review of The Trophy Wife.

The opening of this novel clearly outlines and gives insight into what is to follow.

“Maybe I’ll never understand and will simply have to live with the truth-that thanks to me, three people died.”
“Lies, secrets, regrets, and loss-this life of mine.”

Jake Mitchell grew up in a small town, with little money, where his father worked in a factory and wanted his son to carry on the tradition…but Jake wanted more. He applied for a scholarship to the University of Oxford to study business and economics, without consulting his parents and was

It was at Oxford that Jake met Adam, a person who came from a privileged rich family. In order to fit in, Jake chose to lie about the past, saying his parents had died a few years earlier in a car crash. Now, his life would never be the same again.

Jake and Adam become best friends and Adam meets Adam’s parents and Adam’s sister, Ann.

After university, Jake gets hired as a consultant fund manager for one of London's investment banks, making lots of money.

And then he met Jane...he was in love…but he was too late as Adam would soon marry the girl he loved.

So regretfully, Jake settled for Ann and married her…but he never loved her. she would never be like Jane.

Soon, Jake needs to escape out of the marriage…and there was only one way out…

The Trophy Wife was an interesting thought-provoking well worth read. I was interested in finding out what happened to Jake. Jake’s life story was tragic.

“Money can’t buy happiness.”

Many thanks to the author, BoldwoodBooks and Netgalley for my digital copy.

A sincere thank you for providing me a copy of “The Trophy Wife” in exchange for an honest review. I am grateful to have had the opportunity to read this story and leave my review voluntarily

I feel like this book took a long time to get to the main part of the story. I could done with a shorter version of the buildup. I really liked the end though and it was a good twist.

This book just wasn't for me. It started off so slow and then I just got bored with it. I may give it another try in the future.


Thank you Netgalley and Boldwood Books for the digital arc.

I found it an interesting read but a slow burn. Some parts were dragging but overall interesting. Not much of a thrill, suspense or action in my opinion.

Really enjoyed this book by a fellow Irish woman! Enjoyed the characters, the writing style, the plot - all of it! I didn't see the twist coming at all until I was right there in the revelation pages. Very enticing and hard to put down!

Flippity Floppy Flappers! 😳😯🤯

Well hum-dingaling-dong! This was... well it was definitely interesting to say the least for me. While the ending was unexpected, it left me underwhelmed. I enjoyed the lead up and 3/4 of the novel but the last part just missed the mark for me so terribly. I thoroughly enjoyed the characters, the backstory, how it all tied together and for that it saved the book for me. But I'll say this was like a crème brûlée that looks so perfect out of the oven and as you go to take a glorious piece... it deflates before the epic moment. While suspenseful & very mysterious, the thrill was lacking at points for this ultimate thrill-seeker. All this being said, I still say give it a shot! It's got some excellent moments along the plot that will raise eyebrows and cause you to gobble that popcorn faster.

Thank you to NetGalley & Boldwood Books for this ARC.
Release Date: Out Now!

𝐌𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐭: 3.5 / 5 Snowflakes! ❄️

In my opinion, this book starts really slow, and takes too long to get to the "dumpster fire:. I read another book by the same author that I enjoyed, and was hoping to enjoy this one as well. I give it a 3/5.. While I did think that I had the plot figured out, I was wrong, which is always a nice surprise when reading a book.
Anne was supposed to be a 'trophy wife' and turned into a nightmare for her husband.
I thank Net Galley for this #arc and the chance to read and review.

"The Trophy Wife" by Valerie Keogh is a fantastic psychological thriller. There were many times that I thought I had it all figured out, only to realize I was completely wrong. This book is definitely hard to put down and will keep you guessing until the very end.

Thank youth NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I have enjoyed Valerie Keogh's thrillers in the past and when I saw this one thought "why not?". Unfortunately that quickly became..."why?" Keogh is adept at slow burns but this one I found so slow burning it put me to sleep...literally.

THE TROPHY WIFE follows Jake Mitchell's life from the age of 18...quite literally. It is a straight line of monologuing detailing his life, with no tangents or crossroads, just one long boring straight line that really doesn't come up for air. Not even between chapters. The next chapter simply follows on where the previous one left off leaving me wondering what the point of the chapters were.

So Jake has grown up in an average house, with average parents who had no ambition beyond working in a factory and serving up cottage pie twice a week. But Jake wanted more than this for himself. So he applied to Oxford and was granted a full scholarship, thrilling him no end. But when he broke the news to his parents, their reaction was...average. Why did he have ideas above his station in life? His father had organised a position at the factory for him and his mother merely nodded and changed the subject. That night, Jake packed his holdall and left without a backward glance or a word, arriving in Oxford the following day two months ahead of time. What to do?

But like a cat, Jake landed on both feet and from there his climb to the top began. He met Adam and the two became best friends. Jake was embarrassed about his humble beginnings when Adam so obviously had a public school education and came from old money. Adam was everything he wanted to be and everything he wanted to have...and so he modelled himself on his best friend. He spent holidays at the family's sprawling Cotswolds home and it is there he first encounters Adam's rather aloof sister Ann.

As the years pass the boys grow into men and remain friends with Adam going on to become a teacher and Jake getting first class honours in his business and economics degree which took from one financial position to the next until landing an exclusive position at the illustrious Sebastian et Sebastian, catering to the most allfuent. It is here that Jake makes his fortune. Yet despite this, he was lonely. And then Adam met Jane...and Jake wanted Jane.

Really not much happened up to this point by which time I had dozed several times and nothing but nothing happened. Just Adam living happily ever after with all that Jake coveted (still) while he made millions and had no one to share it with. It's a classic case of, while money can buy plenty, it cannot buy happiness.

Jake was kind of creepy, had built an entire life on a series of lies, while continuing to covet all that his best friend had. He was jealous of Adam believing everything came easy to him, having been born into money, whereas Jake had come from nothing and made something of himself on his own merits...and yet he still had nothing of real value. Not really. Because what he wanted he couldn't have. And on and on it went.

In the end, I put the put book down. I was bored and by 40% it hadn't picked up any pace so therefore it was going nowhere. And if it was, it was taking too long to get there. I generally enjoy Valerie Keogh's thrillers but this one just missed the mark.

I would like to thank #ValerieKeogh, #Netgalley and #BoldwoodBooks for an ARC of #TheTrophyWife in exchange for an honest review.

This review appears on my blog at https://stinathebookaholic.blogspot.com/.

This is a fast paced story with lots of twists to keep the reader interested. I thought I had figured out where it was leading but I was wrong. This is a book that I would highly recommend and wish I could give it more than five stars