I loooove the Dante connection, and Ophelia was an interesting character. Largely, I found myself not being totally pulled in by the narrative. It was fine, and I don't regret reading it. But it didn't wow me. That said, this is being added to the running list of Sad Girl fiction that I pull from for the So Much For My Happy Ending shelf on the Staff Picks display!

Great concept but this one wasn’t for me. Female rage and an unreliable narrator are usually up my alley, but something just wasn’t working here. The characters were not well fleshed out and felt quite stereotypical, and the story and text felt very repetitive. I do enjoy when chapters are short, and the book is able to be easily finished in one sitting. Thank you to NetGalley and Regal House Publishing for providing me with a digital arc in exchange for an honest review.

The Vixen Amber Halloway by Carol LaHines is a dark mysterious novel about an unhinged woman, Ophelia, who murdered her ex-husband's mistress and the events leading up to it.

I found this book to be fairly fast-paced as I feel like I sped through this book. It kept me on edge wanting to learn more about Ophelia and the events that transpired. I found myself having mixed feelings about her as a character--sometimes I'd feel bad for her & other times, I was somewhat disturbed. Ultimately, I think I pitied her even though her actions were shocking.

Her thoughts are often repeated throughout the book and come off as redundant at times, and I think some readers may get hung up on the repetition. I do feel like it makes sense narratively speaking. It shows how much Ophelia has been affected by her past and how she ruminates on it. I will admit that at times I, too, grew tired of certain obsessions (if I have to hear about Minnie Ha-Ha one more time... not really but kinda). Like I said though, I get it. It gives the reader insight about Ophelia as a character.

The ending seemed like a very literary choice, and I do admit I am a bit disappointed with it. I get it, I do, but I wanted more.

Overall, I enjoyed The Vixen Amber Halloway. It was different than other books I've read, and I appreciate it for that. Ophelia is a character I will not be forgetting anytime soon.

Thank you NetGalley and Regal House publishing for this ARC. All opinions are my own.

Ophelia, a college professor and Dante aficianado, is stricken when she discovers that her husband Andy has been cheating on her with his colleague Amber Halloway. What follows is Ophelia' s figurative descent into hell as she obsessively spies on the lovers, growing more and more estranged from reality. Andy's betrayal reawakens the earlier trauma of abandonment by her mother at the age of eight. According to the blurb, the story is a jailhouse confessional, a suspenseful revenge fantasy, and a portrait of one woman' s psychological breakdown.

I'm a fan of the unhinged trope and at first Ophelia sort of reminded me of Mrs. March where we're trapped in a woman's mind as she slowly loses touch with reality. The first 25% or so of this book had me totally drawn in but as it went on Ophelia's actions got more and more bizarre and it was doing my head in. One big complaint would be the repetitive nature of certain phrases and information (soon-to-be-foreclosed-upon was used many many times and Minnie Ha-Ha pops up a lot). The author also used many words that I don't know the meaning of. I like to think it's because the words are so unusual, not because I'm dense: words like psychopomp, oeuvre, arguenda. I'm all for learning new words but it took me out of the story too often. I'm not too familiar with Dante's Inferno but I felt like Ophelia was drawing parallels between her experience and that work. It could've been a much better read if it was tightened up and shortened a bit. I'm rating it 2.5 Stars rounded down.

TW: Animal cruelty, adultery, sexual references and descriptions.

My thanks to Regal House Publishing via Netgalley for the opportunity to read an ARC of this novel. All opinions expressed are my own.
Publication Date: June 11, 2024

0.25 "distasteful, disrespectful, misanthropic" stars !!

Acknowledgements to Netgalley and Regal House Publishing for an ecopy. This was released June 2024. I am providing an honest review.

I have read some horrible, terrible and shitty chicklit thrillers in my time but this one might take the cake (don't take a bite!)

The author is clearly very bright and has some promising writing chops. She also sets up a most interesting character in Ophelia who has suffered both abandonments and traumas. This could have been a most interesting and respectful character study of somebody with severe avoidant attachment injuries as well as a complex borderline/avoidant personality disorder and their attempts at living life despite very high mistrust and distress.

Instead we get a very a very over the top and sensationalistic approach to a woman's psychological disintegration and the damage she inflicts on others. The humor is not at all funny and the metacognitive musing do not at all fit in with the experience and background of this character. The metacognitive musings come across as an arrogant and glib authorial voice. If somebody tells me this is satire or dark comedy I will bop them on the nose. Just disgusting this was!

This book is in incredibly poor taste and a huge disservice to those who struggle with very difficult personality disorders as well as to the people they inadvertently (and sometime intentionally) hurt.

This novel is repellent and an epic fail !

For such a short book, The Vixen Amber Halloway is a suspenseful rollercoaster! It offers everything you could desire from a story: a cheating husband, a devoted girlfriend, and an unpredictable, vengeful ex-partner. It's a thrilling ride that you'll love!

I've read a lot of literary fiction this year, but this book floored me and left me wanting more. Ophelia's meticulous plans to exact revenge on her cheating husband and his mistress were both chilling and captivating.

Carol LaHines' writing is brilliant, balancing a lack of overt emotion with the intense emotional fragility of the protagonist. The narrative is structured around Ophelia's inner monologue, which is just what I needed. Who doesn't love an unreliable narrator? This style of writing kept me on my toes and added a layer of intrigue that made the book impossible to put down. This contrast made the story even more compelling and highlighted LaHines' skill as an author.

Overall, The Vixen Amber Halloway, a psychological thriller, is a fantastic read that I thoroughly enjoyed. If you're looking for a short yet impactful story in the genre of literary fiction and psychological thrillers, this is definitely one to add to your list.

Thank you, NetGalley and Regal House Publishing, for gifting me the E-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

craftily constructed tale of murder and mayhem. Her wonderfully original unreliable narrator tells a story that will make you laugh and cry

📚: The Vixen Amber Halloway by Carol LaHines
⭐️: 3.5/5 (rounding down on #goodreads)

The gist: Ophelia finds that her husband Andy is having an affair and leaving her for Amber. This story follows Ophelia’s unhinging as she follows the couple, spies on them, and inserts herself into their life.

The good: At barely over 200 pages, this quick read packs a punch of a full story as a complex telling of childhood trauma, abandonment, and obsession. It’s incredibly well written where Ophelia’s undoing into a fever dream is palpable.

The eh: While tagged as a mystery/thriller on Netgalley, I’d be inclined to not put it in that genre - and those expecting a thriller would be a bit misled. Overall a solid 3.5 star read, with a rounded down score for an animal-related scene that felt egregious.

Thanks to @regal_house_publishing via @netgalley for the digital ARC in exchange for an honest review. The Vixen Amber Halloway released this week and is available now.

This new release takes the unreliable narrator to a whole new level. Ophelia is anticipating a parole hearing and this book is her letter to Andy Treadway, the love of her life. When Andy left Ophelia for Amber Halloway, a loss from childhood was triggered and the descent into madness begins. When Ophelia was eight, her mother left town with a Cadillac salesman named Bob. Being left behind is lurking in Ophelia's psyche and it comes out in a combination of "Hoarders" and "Snapped."

The fact that Ophelia is a Dante scholar lends an intellectual/literary air to the narrative. References to the classic are sprinkled throughout. I also learned some new vocabulary words like lecunae, fortiori, and opprobrium.

Thank you to Regal House Publishing and NetGalley for a digital ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I would have love to see even more Dante / DIvine Comedy references just because I'm a fan of it myself. It was a pretty solid thriller, there were times where it just dragged on, but overall still a nice quick read,

IT'S ME, HI, I'M THE PROBLEM, IT'S ME!!!!!!!! The Vixen Amber Halloway written by Carol LaHines was NOT for me, at all, so maybe I am the outlier for this book. I absolutely love the unhinged women trope, but the main character was way too excessive for me, to the point where I thought this is not okay. I gave this book two stars for many reasons such as the excessive character behavior, the cheating trope, the repetitiveness, and the ending, like hello??? What even was that ending??? This was such a quick read, it had one of my many favorite tropes like an unhinged woman, the chapters were very short, but by the halfway point I just started skimming because of the repetitiveness. I wanted to read this book because you know, I'm just a sucker for those pretty covers and in all honesty, this book actually sounded interesting, but unfortunately it feels short for me. Don't let my review stop you from reading this book. Y'all might like it way better than I did, these are just my opinions and how I felt while reading this book. If The Vixen Amber Halloway sounds interesting to you, make sure you pick up your copy immediately.

THANK YOU TO NETGALLEY AND REGAL HOUSE PUBLISHING FOR AN ARC OF THIS BOOK IN EXCHANGE FOR AN HONEST REVIEW!!!!!!!!

"My sister is gone. She was more than a sister. She was my best friend, my confidante. And now she can't come to my wedding. She will never see her nieces and nephews. She is just a name chiseled on a headstone".

Ophelia's issues started when she was just eight years old when her mom abandoned her for a man, never looking back as she walked out of the house on her own daughter. Ophelia teaches literature at Dante where she met her husband, Andy. Andy Fairweather is the director of sales at Halford Medical Supply. Andy and Ophelia had a pretty good marriage until one day when Ophelia started noticing signs that Andy was fading from her and the sex started happening less and less. Ophelia decides to check Andy's emails, when she notices Andy is having an affair with a woman named Amber. Amber Halloway is a sales representative and apparently has a thing for married men. Now that Ophelia knows Andy is having an affair, Ophelia starts spiraling out of control. Ophelia starts following Andy and Amber around, she starts watching them from her Volvo windows at night, Ophelia even moves into the house next door to where Amber lives. When Amber and Andy get engaged, Ophelia completely loses her cool. Since suffering from abandonment issues at the age of eight, Andy's betrayal ignites a new fire in Ophelia. I know cheating is not okay at all, but in my opinion Ophelia went way too far.

Ophelia wants Amber out of the picture, she just wants Andy back in her life. One night Ophelia commits the worst crime of her life and is sentenced fifteen to twenty five years behind bars. On August 11th, 2011 Ophelia starts cyber harassing Amber and Andy, Ophelia uploads their pornographic pictures to a website where millions of people can see them. I felt bad for Ophelia in the beginning, but then she became way too unhinged and I absolutely hated her. Like I stated in the beginning of my review, don't let me stop you from reading this book, these are just my own opinions and how I felt. It's truly disgusting that I have to state this, but please respect my thoughts and opinions, everyone is entitled to their own opinions and if you don't like my honesty how I felt on this book, please look away. There's plenty of other ways to get revenge on your significant other, but I felt like Ophelia took it way too far an committed crimes that never should have happened. Part of this book is told in Ophelia's confinement behind prison bars. I felt so bad for Amber's family during this difficult time, but I also think Ophelia and Andy are both in the wrong for what they both did in this situation. Cheating is NOT okay in anyway, but violence is never the answer to help the situation.

This was a true depiction of how obsession and mental depreciation can completely destroy someone's life.

Our FMC becomes obsessed (and stalkerish) with her husband and his mistress. As she begins unraveling their story, her mental health and mental capacity completely diminish.

I thought this book was a quick read that did a good job with highlighting how scary an obsession can become in someone's life. It was a little quick in terms of how fast everything went, but still enjoyable.

For such a short book, this packed a punch. I was kept rapt by Ophelia's inner monologue, her enormous words (thank goodness I was reading this on this kindle, that dictionary feature got a years worth of work reading this), and how she planned to exact revenge on her philandering husband and his mistress. I was getting Eileen by Moshfegh vibes with this, a stunted woman and her inability to adequately understand social norms, etc. However, if you've ever been cheated on, you can understand the desire to exact revenge but normal people most likely won't resort to what Ophelia did...I truly enjoyed the writing in this book, I thought it was briliiant while being borderline devoid of emotion. A fantastic feat considering the whole story is about an emotionally fragile woman.

The Vixen Amber Halloway was a wild and addictive novel. I read the entire book in 24 hours, unable to put it down. Ophelia is a terrifying yet identifiable character suffering through heartbreak and exacting revenge. The prose was engaging and wonderful with an unreliable narrator that I obsessively wanted to hear more from and understand better.

Oh, betrayal has never come undone masterfully in Carol LaHines Ophelia. A little dark comedy is always welcome in these matters and one can honestly relate to Ophelia in her situation. This is a great account of how a psychological breakdown unravels when one becomes obsessive over her husband's deceit. With characters that you want to meet this was a wonderful novel. One can only imaging going down the same path as Ophelia if one were in her shoes.

A fever dream as our main character spirals into madness. This one was wild from start to finish. I didn't love being in Ophelia's head as she recounted her relationship with her husband. But as she slowly obsesses, stalks and loses it - I was oddly drawn to her drama. I did find parts a bit repetitive and the conclusion felt a little abrupt.

A huge thank you to the author and publisher for providing an e-ARC via Netgalley. This does not affect my opinion regarding the book.

This book was pretty good. This is a psychological thriller. This follows Ophelia and she's had a complete mental breakdown after her divorce with her husband. It's a shirt read. She ends up going a little crazy and having psychotic behavior towards her husband and his mistress.

This book was one of those stories you want to turn away but you just can’t. It had me glued to the edge of my seat and flipping pages like crazy!
I loved getting a look inside our FMC’s mind, it was dark, twisted, but also allowed you to completely sympathize with her and want the best for her. I think the author did a fabulous job of portraying her and giving us a true peak into her mind. Even when she was just doing mundane things I was completely captured by this book and never wanted to stop reading.
I think I could see how this book wouldn’t be everyone’s cup of tea, but if you love thrillers and you are interested in seeing into people’s minds that are a bit crazy than this book will definitely be for you.
I also really enjoyed reading about the side characters and even though I didn’t like what they were doing I still did like them.
I think the lead up and the story line were very well thought out and overall I just really enjoyed this book!
Thank you so much Netgalley for my arc copy, I am leaving this review on my own.

I knew I would love this book as soon as I saw what it was about. This will be one for the folks who love women wronged who take things a bit too far and who can't let it go. This was told from the perspective of a woman whose husband cheated on her with a much younger woman and ended up leaving her for her. Unable to let it go, she stalks and watches the two as they build a life together and goes more and more mad along the way. I definitely recommend!

Ophelia's world is crushed when husband Andy not only has an affair with work colleague Amber, but decides to move in with her and end his marriage. Abandoned by her mother only a few months after her birth, and being raised by an uncaring father, Ophelia's fragile confidence, which had grown during her marriage, is shattered. Unable to move on, she becomes obsessed with her philandering husband and his new lover. She spies on them to such an extent that it's clear her mental health is on a downward trajectory.

Overall, I enjoyed the story...a bit of a departure from my normal reads, but interesting nonetheless. Ophelia's narration, at times feels, detatched, as if it's someone else going through her trauma and she is a mere spectator, reporting events. Despite this, it was an entertaining read which made me keen to follow it through to the end.

I would like to thank Regal House Publishing , Carol La Hines and Netgalley for an ARC of The Vixen Amber Halloway in exchange for an hones reivew.