At some point I lost track of some of the characters, there were so many but overall it was a really good book!

One of the best things about reviewing ARC books is that you discover authors you’ve never read! I can see Lorna is quickly going to be a fav!

Some people can only dream of winning the lottery, but that’s exactly what happens to FMC, Natalie. She is overwhelmed with excitement, and can’t wait to tell her husband, Hayden, but she is hesitant. Is her hesitation justified? imagine what she could do with that money.

Winning 12 million pounds can change anyone’s life, but Natalie and Hayden will soon see what really happens when you receive that kind of money.

Lies, cheating, & murder. What more could you want??

The wife’s mistake follows our FMC Natalie, happily married and forging her way through life despite the fact she hates her job at the coffee shop where she is mistreated and unappreciated.

When she discovers she has a winning lottery ticket she is so excited for her life to be changed for the better, until she suspects her husband of having an affair.

Because of this she refuses to claim her winnings, which kicks in my anxiety levels because I couldn’t for the life of me keep something so valuable laying around and not claim it into my bank account immediately 🫣🫣🫣🫣🫣🫣

This book is listed as a psychological thriller but I would definitely put it more in the domestic suspense category as I feel like nothing overly thrilling happens until the end of the book.

I feel like a lot of issues could easily have been resolved with one simple conversation and communication, which irks me!

I enjoyed Imogen churches narration, she has a pleasant voice and I enjoyed listening to her narrate the story. The audio narration was probably my favourite thing about this book, as sadly I just couldn’t get into the plot, the storyline and characters just weren’t a good match for me, however the scene where Natalie quits her job was rather entertaining.

Thank you to the author, Bookouture audio and NetGalley for this ALC! 🩷

Publish date; Feb 19th 2024

I had to stop what I was doing towards the end of this book so I could really concentrate on the action. I was gripped. The early story reads like a romantic novel and I was unsure I wanted to carry on. I am so glad I did because all of a sudden you are led into something far darker. Just wait on that ending. It's a shocker

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for providing the audio copy. Good thriller with shocking twists. It was slow at first. Nothing was really happening, but picked up pace after middle. 12 million can achieve a lot but can't give you peace of mind and trust on your partner. Unreliable characters and secrets lies,betrayal all roll into one storyline is good, and narrator did an excellent job. A nice pastime thriller.

I really enjoyed listening to this book. i found the narrator easy and enjoyable to listen to. I found I kept wanting to go back to find out where the story was going. It is a different story from the ‘norm’, I just hadn’t a clue where it was going. Ultimately, I gave it 4 stars as in the end, it was a pretty awful ending for the characters. Natalie was left with no husband, she didn’t trust him in the beginning, but in the end, he killed her daughter! It really transpired that no one could be trusted. I did enjoy the twists and turns of the story, I just would’ve preferred some sort of happiness at the end! I’d love to read more of this authors books.

If you suddenly won £12M, what would you do? Buy a house, maybe? That's exactly what Natalie and Hayden did. Winning the lottery will completely alter their lives in ways they never could have imagined.

The beginning is a bit slow, but still entertaining. Things really started to get interesting halfway through.

I found all of the characters extremely irritating with no redeeming qualities. But as secrets began to be unraveled, the twists were mind-blowing.

A big thank you to NetGalley and Bookouture Audio for providing me with a complimentary audio copy of this book.

My feelings are a bit mixed for this one.
It's an often exciting, fun read and definitely worth it.
At times, I struggled to distinguish who was who and the narration wasn't my favorite. There was so much going on I felt a little lost here and there.
The twist was shocking and I believe most people will feel that way as well.
Both of the main characters were such a mess that their actions were slightly far fetched. It's hard to imagine the story when it seems unrealistic. It's non fiction but I want it feel like it would happen the way the author is explaining.
This book got me thinking about how I would move if I won the lottery.

I really liked how the book ended and how it revealed the twists along the way, but I wish it had gotten into the meat of the story quicker. The start seemed to drag a bit, and it could have been a lot snappier if the time before getting the money was shorter. From about 50% in the story got interesting and gave a few plot twists and red herrings and I enjoyed how the revelations were spread out as it seemed more realistic!

So many twists and turns in this book! Wow!! This was my first book by Lorna Dounaeva but it won't be the last. I wanted to throttle the main characters so many times. I found myself yelling at the book. Such great twists that I did not see coming. I want to go back and start again to see the twists unfold. Loved it!!

A Frieda McFadden level of twists throughout this book. A bit of a slow start, but about halfway through the plot really picks up. While I loved that the evolving plot had me tearing through the chapters, by the last 1/4 of the book I was ready to be done. Lots of overlapping storylines and crossing of character timelines and pasts. Overall it was a good read, but a bit to cross connected to follow unless you’re fully engaged in each characters story and back story.

The narrator for the audio book had a pleasant voice to listen to for the duration. However I feel like this is an audiobook that needed to be read at a faster speed than what was originally delivered

They say that money changes the people around you but This book, baby… THIS BOOK!!!

I can honestly say, that the book isn’t predictable. Yes, you may THINK you know where this book is headed, but the plot!! The plot twist & suspense is well written!!

I can’t even describe getting to the end of this book, with my mouth hanging wide open. There was a lot I didn’t expect from this book, the “wife’s mistake”, all of the secrets and lies & how far folks are willing to go to keep them hidden.

Listen to this book! Read it! Own it!!


I volunteered to listen to this ARC of this audiobook through NetGalley.

I want to thank Netgalley for the ARC audiobook.

The concept of this book really drew me in. Natalie works as a barista. One day, she purchases a lottery ticket and happens to win! Just as she's about to tell her husband, she finds text messages on his phone making it seem like he's having an affair. Now she doesn't know if she should tell her husband or not. Natalie has a secret of her own though…

I had a really hard time becoming invested in this story though. It was too slow at the start which made me not want to finish it, but I kept going. There was just a lot of extraneous information that could have been left out. It was almost like the wrong information was included. I wish there was stronger character development to fully understand who they were and why they acted the way they did. The last 1/4 of the book packed in a lot of information, that again was hard to follow. I felt more confused when finishing the book.

I listened to the audiobook at either 1.5x or 2x speed throughout as the narration was a bit too drawn out. The faster speed suited the voice better.

I received a copy of the audiobook to provide an honest review.
The narrator, Imogen Church, did a fantastic job in keeping the story interesting and engaging.
The focal point of the story centered around winning the lottery and that winning may not be all it’s cracked up to be.
Natalie, who’s very unhappy in both her marriage and her career as a barista, ends up winning millions. She’s unsure whether she should share this news with her husband because she thinks he may be cheating.
The story takes many turns, albeit some were confusing, overall I really enjoyed listening to this.
Thank you NetGalley and Bookouture for the arc.

Thank you so much for this ARC! The narrator did a really good job. The book was good, but I struggled with some parts of it. Overall, I enjoyed the characters and the storyline. I felt like it was hard to keep me super invested. I was a bit confused until halfway through. I could relate to the main characters paranoia about the potential cheating. Also I did enjoy the twists throughout the whole book. It was still a good thriller read! I would recommend and will pick up more books from this author for sure.

I enjoyed this audiobook for the plotline, writing and narration, but found it difficult to relate to the lifestyle as I do not usually read books with contemporary wealth. The redeeming factor for me is that the wealth came from winning the lottery and the characters were working class before they were elevated to a lofty position of 12 Million dollars

Natalie thinks her life is going nowhere. She is working in a coffee bar and has suspicions that her husband is cheating. She buys a winning lottery ticket and tries to hide it from him, but he finds it and from there, a litany of catastrophic events befall the pair

The plot was sound, screaming twists and you couldn't quite see where you were going next.

Imogen Church did a great job with the narration, bringing the characters into my consciousness. A fantastic book

Thank you to Netgally, Bookouture Audio, the author Lorna Dounaeva and the narrator Imogen Church for this gripping ALC. My review is left voluntarily and all opinions are my own

Wonderful!! Gripping, fast paced, exciting mystery! The audio version was simply amazing. The narrator used different tones and dialects for each character. I could not stop listening. The story was thrilling and shocking to say the least. Makes you question the characters morals and intentions. I loved this book and looking forward to reading more from this author. Thank you NetGalley, publisher Bookouture Audio, narrator Imogen Church, and author Lorna Dounaeva.

This book had a very slow start and I almost put it down since it seemed to be all over the place but going nowhere. About halfway through the book it got a whole lot better and there were so many twists and turns that it kept me engaged. I do feel if I was reading the physical book I would have skipped a few pages at the begining and wouldn't have missed much. Some of the characters got a bit on my nerves due to their personalities and traits, but that's just my personal opinion. The tone and voices the reader used for each one kept me entertained thoughout the book, it made it super easy to listen too.

Thank you to NetGalley for the audio to review.

The Wife’s Mistake was an interesting book. My biggest problem was the book took forever to get going. I feel that a lot of the filler or character development wasn’t needed. I was so confused about what was happening at the beginning of the book that I almost stopped listening. The book seemed to move at a very slow pace and the writing style that could have been a little more engaging. Overall it was an engaging book but I feel that at least 3 hours could have been saved by taking out all of the filler.

Natalie works as a barista in what she thinks is a dead end job. She purchases a lottery ticket one day on her way home from work. As the winning numbers are announced, Natalie realizes she’s won! She hides the ticket away to wait for the perfect time to tell her husband. But does she want to tell him? She thinks her husband, Hayden, is having an affair. Natalie also has a secret, no one knows but her family. She and Hayden finally claim their winnings. After the couple announces their winning of the lottery, weird things start to happen. Family secrets and twist and turns start to happen. but who exactly do you believe?


Overall, I enjoyed the narrator, although there were a few times I felt she was speaking too low. I did enjoy this audiobook, but there were a few details that felt like they just drug on for far too long. I would recommend this book. overall it's a good story.

Thanks to NetGalley and Bookouture Audio for the ALC!