Natalie is married to Hayden. When she finds out she's a 12M lottery winner, she does not immediately tell him or cash the ticket and hides it in the back of her cupboard until she does a little investigating. She is suspicious of his friendship with a female coworker and wants to find out for herself what is happening before cashing the ticket. (this made me internally cringe!! cash the ticket ASAP! gah!) However, Hayden finds the ticket and is excited THEY won the lottery.

With their new found wealth, life takes on a drastic change and not necessarily for the better. Secrets from the past start to emerge, family members come knocking and some people will stop at nothing to get their hands on money.

I have to admit, the first half of the book was a slow burn. I thought it had more of a cozy mystery vibe to it. I found it interesting but lacking any big thrill to it. The last part of the book made up for the first half and was worth sticking it out. The roller coaster of events had my head spinning. So many twists and turns kept me guessing until the end. The characters were not necessarily likable but their havoc was attention grabbing.

Thank you to NetGalley and Bookouture for provided me an advanced audio copy of this to listen in exchange for my honest review.

The Wife's Mistake was a twisty, turning ride. The story starts with a couple that is just getting by and then they win the lottery but they both have secrets. These secrets catch up with them. The twists and turns continue all the way to the end. If you need a page turner or great listen this book will keep you guessing.

Lorna Dounaeva is a good story teller although I feel like the only thing I would change is the lead up to the action seemed to be a little long and drawn out but it was still enjoyable. The narrator was Imogen Church, who I enjoy listening to. Her range of voices for different characters adds to the enjoyment of the story.

Thank you to Net Galley, Lorna Dounaeva and Audio Exerpt for allowing me to preview this audio book as an ARC.
#NetGalley #AudioExerpt #TheWifesMistake #LornaDounaeva
This audiobook is expected to be released on Feb. 19, 2024.

This review would not automatically post to Good Reads so here is the link
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/6249666311

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC audiobook.

Let me start this off by saying Imogen Church did an amazing job narrating this audio. Quite honestly, if I had been reading it physically, I think I would have DNF'ed it - she really saved this book for me.

If you're looking for something that's going to suck you in right off the bat, this won't be for you. I didn't start getting interested until over 40% through the book. The entire almost first half of the book is all about Natalie winning millions on a lottery ticket, while simultaneously trying to decipher if her husband is cheating on her. It felt very tedious, repetitive and dragged out.

However, about halfway through things started picking up. I did become intrigued to know who did what; it's one of those books where you can't trust anyone. I think if you're looking for a slow burn suspense with a sordid romance with and a who-done-it feeling, then this is for you! The last 20% through, you absolutely cannot trust anyone.

Thanks to #NetGalley and #BookoutureAudio for the book #TheWifesMistake by #LornaDounaeva. The book is a wild ride from the start to the end. Winning the lottery is a dream come true. Or is it? Such emotion, drama, lies and murder encompassed this book until the final twist ending.

The wife’s mistake by Lorna Dounaeva

This book was interesting and I haven’t read anything by this author previously. Taking a chance in a new book it was interesting to say the least.

Natalie was an Interesting character working a basic job hat she doesn’t enjoy and takes the chance on purchasing a lottery ticket. Where she is a winner and becomes increasingly curious of her spouse and she hides the winning ticket. She kinda goes awol and quits her job and flies on a buying splurge but doesn’t want to turn in the ticket because she is unsure if her husband is cheating.

The story is a round about tale of Natalie being scattered and her relationships being strained in more ways than one. Multiple hurdles come up and it starts to be a little frazzling to keep track of all the chaos that wraps around Natalie’s troubles. Her sister Liz and it also goes into her husbands perspective as well.

This book was not my favorite and it was difficult for me to get into.

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐

Overall Review (spoilers)

I do have a lot of thoughts about this book. The first is the pacing is not great. The beginning is so slow, and honestly should have been cut in half. The whole trope around the “Wife’s” mistake makes me feel gross. Finally, how do you forget about cameras?

However, I rated it three stars because I LOVED who you hate each character. None of them are redeemable or good people, and you don’t feel sorry for what they get coming to them. I do like how the money corrupts trope was kind of turned on it’s head, and how the decisions that were made when a person was poor was what was considered, not once they were rich. I do wish some story lines were more flushed out, but in the grand scheme of things this book wasn’t bad and if you like thrillers you will probably like this book.

Plot Rating: ⭐⭐⭐

Spice Rating: 🌶️🌶️

Genre: fiction, murder, mystery, thriller

Trigger Warnings: sexism, gore, murder, pedo, sexual relationship with a minor

Wow, I ended up really enjoying this book! Once you think you've figured it out, she goes tipu with another twist! I will definitely look for other books by this author.

Thank you to Netgalley, Lorna Dounaeva and Bookouture Audio for the audio arc of The wife's Mistake.

Narrated by Imogen Church.

I really enjoyed the premise of this book. The storyline was captivating, although a slow burn through the first half of the book. This gave time for the narrative to build upon the main characters of Hayden and Natalie, a couple who won the lottery and, like most people. Have secrets of their own. The story picks up a fair bit from the middle of the book and some nice twists came about.

I did listen to the audiobook at 1.5 x the recorded speed. As I found this suited the narrative more. Imogen Church has a great voice but seemed a little too drawn out and slow. Not sure if this was a recording speed issue?I have listened to books narrated by Imogen before and didn't seem that drawn out before. I know speed is personal preference and this made the audio book around 8/9 hrs rather than the advertised 11hr 34 min.

3.5 stars

Unfortunately, I gave up on this about 45 minutes in. I may consider trying the ebook if one comes available, but for audio it moved much to slowly to draw me in. The dinner party in the beginning seemed to be pointless and drag on way too long, as well as introduce too many characters at once. Also, idk why, but the narrator's voice grated my nerves. Much too theatrical.

This felt like it was 5 stories in one.
I felt like there was so many sub plots, that the actual plot felt a bit diluted. There were also a lot of characters, although they were easy to keep track of who was who.

There was definitely plenty of drama! I truthfully did not like any of the characters. They all seemed a bit extreme. Daisy the wild annoying party girl, Gail the quiet friend who is like a mouse, and Liz the crazy cat lady. The twist at the end saved this book in my opinion.

Definitely a long audiobook that I listened to on 2x the speed.

This suspense novel had my curiosity from chapter one. I had high hopes, but there were some low points in this book that kept me confused and wondering the relevance. Overall this novel was just okay, I listed to it on audio and thought the narrator was easy and pleasant to listen to.

Thank you to NetGalley and Bookouture for the ARC.

The Wife's Mistake by Lorna Dounaeva
(Narrated by Imogen Church)

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.

The narrator created a gripping and creepy atmosphere, which let me hooked at the beginning.

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

"Be careful what you wish for, money doesn't buy you happiness..." Understatements of the decade for Natalie and Hayden in this tale. It's absolutely packed with secrets, lies, and betrayals, some staring you in the face, others completely blindsiding you. It's a fabulous listen.

I enjoyed this story about a couple that won the lottery and how it impacted their lives. There were so many twists, turns, lies and secrets. There were a couple unanswered questions in the end that left me wanting answers. Especially about what Daisy’s fate would be.

I don’t think the title quite fits the book as most of the characters in the book made mistakes. I was thinking the title should be about how the lottery is more of a curse than blessing.

Thanks to Netgalley and Bookouture for the eArc for my review !

This book was a slow start and was very confusing with all plot lines,

Book was confusing and seem to be all over the place. Just not for me

the narrator drove me nuts just fell flat!

Thanks NetGalley for letting me read and review

I was genuinely confused by this book. So much so that i was not able to finish it. I also did not like the narrator and the voice was very distracting.

I was very frustrated and am sorry to the publisher, but this was not the book for me. It did not feel realistic or believable.

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

When Natalie wins the lottery, she decides not to tell her husband as she suspects he’s having an affair. But when Hayden finds the ticket, she forgets all that and they start spending

They celebrate with friends and family, generously offering them each a cheque

Half way in and apart from a family secret and a potential stalker, this didn’t feel like a thriller at all

I did like the dual POV as it gave more of an insight into Natalie and Hayden’s lives, but the rest of the characters felt two dimensional, which hindered my enjoyment

They all seemed to have very separate lives and yet London came across as a village half the time - it felt odd

The book was kind of all over the place and without giving too much away I’d describe it as a domestic drama with some twisty happenings at the end

Thanks to Netgalley and Bookouture Audio for access to this audiobook ARC in exchange for my honest review

This was my first book by this author. I will be looking into others because I really enjoyed this story. I listened to this on audio and I also enjoyed the narrator. Winning the lottery should be a great thing right? Maybe not. I found myself listening to "just 1 more chapter" many times because I had to know how this was going to end. Great story

Reading the blurb on Goodreads as I requested this ARC read like a different book entirely, eg: there's no mention of Natalie's dark mysterious past or "well hidden secrets" - there's not any kind of hint that she's hiding anything (other than the winning lottery ticket which happens in the book) or any mention of a Lottery win (which is a ✨major✨ plot of the book and the subsequent winnings.

So when The Wife's Mistake turned out to be a very different book it took a while to get into it (everything kind of changes at 45%, if you can keep going to get there). I'll be honest I wanted to shake Natalie and Hayden multiple times at their lack of communication with each other throughout. Several situations could have been avoided and the plot would haven't dragged on. That said, the second half of the book was much easier to listen to and faster-paced with roughly 15% more communication between the two of them (at least the lottery ticket was cashed - talk about anxiety-inducing). The latter part of the book was fast paced and enjoyable but the ending felt a little rushed and with the use of time jumps ended a little too conveniently tied up for me. That said, I would definitely read another Lorna Dounaeva book though because there were elements to this book that totally had me gasping and rewinding to make sure I'd heard it right. I do love it when I don't see a twist or a big reveal coming! You got me there!

I listened to the audiobook version, narrated by Imogen Church, who FYI does brilliant voices for all the different characters. My personal favorite was Daisy. It made for a thoroughly enjoyable audio experience and I would listen to anything by Imogen in the future. I will be adding her to my auto-listen list of narrators for future audiobook listens.

Thank you to Bookouture Audio + NetGalley for the opportunity to listen and review this audiobook before it is released on 19th February 2024 #TheWifesMistake #NetGalley