The Wife's Mistake by Lorna Dounaeva

Great twist and gripping storyplot.

The story has a slow start, but it then get into the pace. It first started with Natalie won the lottery, she decided not to tell her husband because her husband had an affair.

But then they were having their dream life - a life that they didn’t have to worry about money. Then more secrets were found…things were getting more unpredictable.

What will you do if you win the lottery? Will you tell your loved one…?

Many thanks to NetGalley, Bookouture Audio and the author for my copy.

Pub date: Feb 19, 2024

After a bit of a slow start and time to get to grips with the different characters and storyline it really turned out to be a rollercoaster listen with many a twist and turn with the listener being suspicious of everyone! Really well developed storyline and characters and superb narration that was both engaging and added to the experience. Told more so from Hannah’s point of view but also Hayden’s was thrown in and sometimes it became a little repetitive as same instances but a different point of view. This was a great listen with lots going on you didn’t know which way to turn. Was different in the way of storylines which is always a good thing as some can be overdone. I couldn’t stop listening until I had it all put to bed. Definitely recommend…

Thanks to Netgalley and Bookouture Audio for the opportunity to listen to and review #TheWifesMistake

Thanks to Netgalley for my ARC

I'm ultimately disappointed with The Wife's Mistake. While there were a few interesting twists and turns, this just felt too slow for the first half and too twisty towards the end. I spent most of the book asking myself "what's the point here?" and "where is she going with these people?" Also this deals heavily with money. Money is not a topic I enjoy reading about in general. I wouldn't have been interested in reading this if I had known about the heavy money related plotlines.

This may work for people that love tons of twists throughout the story, but it was definitely not my type of thriller.

This was an entertaining, twisty thriller, which kept me engaged form start to finish. I did guess a couple twists, but that didn't take away from my overall enjoyment. Recommended!

This one was frustrating. There were a lot of twists and turns, which I normally love. But I just really didn’t connect with any of the characters. They were pretty much all unlikable. I felt like the miscommunication, or lack of communication, was the root of most of the issues in this book, and that’s just not my favorite trope. I also didn’t like how abrupt the ending was.

This is now where near as thrilling as the novel I thought I was requesting. It started off quite pedestrian and slowly dragged on. It just did not feel realistic or believable.

The Wife’s Mistake has a slow start but when the plot stars to unravel it piques up speed. It’s a twisty read, full of suspense and so many turns it made it impossible to stop reading. There’re so many secrets coming to light and the mistrust in relationships.

Both our main characters – Natalie and Hayden - have secrets of their own that the other has no knowledge of. But then Natalie wins a lottery ticket and wonder what she’ll do and if she’s willing to share the news with Hayden. I was shocked to say the least with the way the book ended. I didn’t saw it coming and it was so good.

Overall, I felt like the book captured well enough how people tend to hide their true selves because they’re afraid of how others will react to it. Also, it portrait perfectly how people can change when money is involved in the equation. I really enjoyed this book and did not see the end coming.

Thank you, Bookouture & NetGalley, for approving me to read this arc and write this review.

3.5 ⭐️

This book definitely kept me guessing since the beginning. I never really had a solid idea who the real “suspect” was as there was many reasons why it could have been any of them. I enjoyed the story line and the characters were well thought out. In the end I was shocked by the reveal of the bad guy, definitely didn’t see that one coming. I do wish there was a bit more of an “ending” for a few of the characters as I felt there wasn’t a lot of closure for some. My first book by Lorna Dounaeva and I look forward to reading other books of theirs.

Overall, it was a fine story. I thought the pace was quite slow throughout the novel, and very few important things actually happened. A reveal in the middle of the story annoyed me, so my enjoyment went down a bit, but it went back up towards the end. More things happened and the plot quickened. As for the characters, I did not connect with them and they kept making things that irritated me a little. But I did like the fact that the story does not have the kind of annoying happy ending that I think does not belong in the genre. Truly, the last few chapters were definitely the best part of this novel.

Thank you to Netgalley for an ARC in exchange for a honest review.

A book read for my own pleasure as opposed to within my capacity as primary school teacher. I loved the many twists and turns which made for a compelling read. I would highly recommend! 👍

This book the premise sounded amazing and got me so intrigued!!!! Natalie has just found she won the lottery when her and her husband weren't in the best financial situation. Her husband comes home from work and heads into the shower when his phone gets a notification. When Natalie has a look its a woman who seems to be eluding that he may be cheating on her.

I felt that this was very misleading. This was not what the entire book was about and I did not feel like this book was much of a thriller. To be honest the first 80% of the book was pretty bland for me. It did not pick up until the 80% mark and then things started happening left right and centre. I did not like where the book ended up and wish there was more to the book. Again this did not feel very thrilling and it was a slow burn and not in a good way.

Unfortunately this is not one I would recommend to others and I felt as though it dragged on too much as well.

This book failed to engage me whatsoever, the writing was poor and the situations in the book were stupid and you can only suspend so much disbelief

Overall, this was an interesting story. It was a slow burn for about the first two-thirds of the book, but then it started to really pick up. The last part of the book was definitely more interesting, and had some good twists and turns. It wasn't the most gripping book I've ever read, but I did enjoy it.

Thank you to NetGalley and Bookouture for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review of this book.

I had a hard time getting into the writing style of this book. The flow was disjointed and sophomoric. The story line itself was good. A woman wins the lotto but before she tells her husband, she wants to see if he is cheating on her or not. But so much of this book was ridiculous. I questioned so many of the choices the characters made, along with some of the writing.

My first issue was when a car engine was smoking and then it miraculously starts. I understand the author is showing us that the car was old and beat down, but this isn't feasible.

Instead of confronting her husband with her questions, she dresses up in her friend's maternity clothes and an old gray wig and spies on her husband while he is at a work conference. Really? That's just ridiculous.

Then, when it comes out that they've won the lotto, Hayden can't pick between two colors of a Ferrari so he buys two different ones while his wife gets an Audi.

The relationships between all the characters were also pretty unbelievable. The sisters' relationship seemed great until the end. It just wasn't believable.

I did appreciate the ending of the story and I was pleased with what happened (no spoilers).

I devoured this book The Wife's Mistake by Lorna Dounaeva. It was the first book I read by this author and I'll be sure to read more titles. It was a slow burn but it was a satisfying ending. Natalie is a unhappy barista working for a not very nice boss. One day she buys a lottery ticket on the way home from work and wins! She was all set to tell her husband Hayden but begins to suspect him of infidelity. The rest of the book is about uncovering secrets and how money doesn't always buy happiness.
Thank you NetGalley and Bookouture for the advance reading copy of this title. Publishing date is February 19, 2024.

From the blurb I thought I'd really love this one however it was very much a slow starter and even then I never really felt any sort of thrill from the book and I found myself bored at times. The premises was intriguing but the execution just lacked some excitement and drama.

This was a page turner that starts out slow but picked up pace so you just have to stay with it and you will be glad you did. Looking forward to more from this author.

I rarely DNF books, especially ARCs but the first few chapters gave me so much anxiety and then, the reason for my anxiety happens at 25%. I was annoyed and frustrated so much at this point (as well as hating all the characters) that I had to choose my mental sanity over finishing this book. My apologies to the author and publisher, I'm sure it probably ends up being great, but it wasn't for me.
Thank you to Netgalley and Bookouture for the advanced copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

The book was slow at first. But it got better midway through it. Wonder if Natalie is going to tell Hayden about heather. Or if Hayden is going to tell her and his one night stand

Thank you #Netgalley for the advanced copy!

Hayden and Natalie were in a rut, a married couple struggling to make ends meat and each keeping their own secrets. When Natalie buys a lotto ticket she had no idea what would soon come her way. She won! But at the same time she was notified of her husband being seen with another woman! What to do! So her thinking was to hide the ticket to further investigate as she would not want to share the money with a cheater! Things quickly progress when the ticket is found by her husband and they ultimately went public with their winnings. That is when their lives went into a tail spin, so many twists that I did not see coming. I finished reading in less than a day!