4 stars ⭐⭐⭐⭐
" A successful marriage is built on lies"
This book follows Paul and Cecilia on their first anniversary in Paris. While both pretend to be in love- they have ulterior motives for being there and are both hiding secrets.
While this book was predictable and I guessed the twists; I still had a great time reading it. Overall I would recommend this book for a fast paced, fun, domestic thriller.
Thank you to Netgalley and Bookouture for the eARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.

I really enjoyed Rouda's BEST DAY EVER, so I was looking forward to this second-in-the-series THE SECOND MRS. STROM (publishes August 16, 2024). Paul has married his second wife Cecelia after receiving an inheritance from an older woman Esther. This novel has a dual timeline - one timeline is the present day on their one-year anniversary in Paris, and the other timeline is throughout their relationship.

Unfortunately, I thought this novel was only mediocre. I wasn't on the edge of my seat like I wanted to be.

Pros: Paul's voice is similar to BEST DAY EVER. I would say that this novel can very much be read as a standalone. Paul is clever, and he definitely is morally questionable. Now I don't mind a deliciously evil character. (If you do mind morally reprehensible characters, then you'll want to stay away from this novel.) I liked the Paris setting. For a thriller, the setting came alive well.

Cons: This novel is rather repetitive. It rehashes the same beats...over and over again. There was a lot of foreshadowing on a few plot points, and the suspense was lacking.

On the upside, this novel doesn't twist in any too many implausible directions like some novels. You can pretty much see where it's going in the first couple of chapters, and it follows through on where you see it going.

If you were a super fan of BEST DAY EVER, you might like to see how Paul's life unfolds further in this one.

#netgalleyreview #bookstagram #bookouture #kairarouda #thesecondmrsstrom

Thank you, NetGalley and Bookouture for this ARC.

This is a sequel to Kaira Rouda's Best Day Ever. I highly recommend you read that book before reading this one.

Paul Storm is back and he has a new wife, Cecilia with his new life. Paul has not changed and in fact, I feel he has gotten worse since now he has money. I was not a fan of him in the first book and I was not a fan of him in this book. I also didn't care for his new wife, they are the perfect match for each other. Each have their issues and both are narcissists. In fact, they are both such horrible characters that I found it difficult to enjoy this book because they both were getting on my nerves. I don't know how many times I wanted to put this book down because they were both pushing me to my limit. Only reason I kept reading was to see if they each would get what they deserve.

As for the story, I felt like it started out slow and never really picked up. There was just enough excitement to keep me reading but not enough to be that book that I couldn't put down. Again, I almost didn't finish this book a few times because of the characters but also because I felt that story never really picked up. I figured out so much of the plot twists early on in the book so there were no real surprises for me.

I will keep reading Kaira Rouda's books since she is an amazing author. This book just wasn't for me. I will give it 3 stars though because it was interesting to see where Paul ended up. I just wish there had been a Mia update, it would have been great to read about her life now without Paul.

I did not read Best Day Ever, and honestly did not realize this was a sequel when I requested it. I had no issues with feeling lost, though I usually emphatically state I do not read books out of order. Oops!
Cecilia has fallen in love with Paul. A man who recently lost his good friend,Esther. Esther was kind enough to leave him her vast fortune (how convenient for Paul). After he and Cecilia wed, she goes from a life of poverty to one where money is no object.
But each of these people have plans of their own. When they head to Paris to celebrate their one year wedding anniversary, let’s just say their marriage has more cracks than a piece of broken pottery. Lots of twist and turns, and I went back-and-forth between despising both of these characters ,then cheering for at least one of them. No spoilers so you’ll have to read the book to find out if you feel the same way. I couldn’t stop turning the pages and was glad to be able to read this one outside in my garden. I am definitely going to go back and read the first book.

I hadn’t appreciated that this book is a sequel to Best Ever Day, nevertheless not knowing the narcissistic Paul prior to reading The Second Mrs Strom didn’t in any way lesson my enjoyment of the novel. I raced through this book as it explored the relationship between Cecilia and Paul, covering their initial meeting through to their first wedding anniversary in Paris. The characters were truly horrible, yet the dark humour combined with the staggering lies and deceit had me engaged from beginning to end. Although it’s a twisty thriller at heart, I found this novel to be great fun and thoroughly recommend it.

Thank you to Kaira Rouda, Bookouture and Netgalley for my advance copy.

The perfect fast paced summer domestic thriller. The writing style is easy to read and fast paced to keep your interest. I suggest reading the first book before start this one as it will make the reading experience even better!

Kaira Rouda has the incredible ability to write the perfect domestic thrillers! No matter how disable her characters are on occasion, you will still find yourself rooting for them! Can’t recommend this book enough!

I really liked Best Day Ever so I was very excited to get my hands on this book. This time Paul has inherited a fortune from an old lady that he was dating for a year that died. He meets his new wife and they have a quick whirlwind romance and wed. Paul is up to his old antics. He is keeping quite a few secrets from his wife and suspects she has a few of her own.

Fast forward to their one year anniversary. They are enjoying fine dining and shopping in Paris and getting ready for an elegant restaurant at the Eiffel Tower.

I thought this book was good in the beginning but about midway through I started to get tired of the premise and hoped for a good plot twist. I felt this book relied to heavily on Paul’s actions in the first book. Since I already read it I wasn’t surprised at all. The book came across as the delusional thoughts of a narcissist. I think if I wouldn’t have read the first book I would have enjoyed this one more.

I wish I had known this was a sequel. It was still pretty good. I would have liked to have read the first one. Nice twists and and the husband was just not good.

Thank you to NetGalley and Bookouture for providing this book, with my honest review below.

This was a ride I wasn’t quite expecting! The Second Mrs. Strom was a thriller I thought would read as a similarly named title but this was more of an internal power struggle and intrigue between two characters of dubious backgrounds and intentions. While in Paris celebrating their anniversary, Cecilia and Paul are both revealed to be playing a game (or multiple games-it’s unclear if they have the same motivations) with one another. While the present day unfolds we hear internal monologue and see flashbacks to the past which adds some complexity to the present events.

Full of additional characters that act as potential red herrings, this was a more complex (and as a result, sometimes confusing) plot but the twists wrapped everything up quite nicely. With room for a sequel I was left intrigued and thought the payoff was satisfying as events concluded. If you’re a fan of a thriller with deeper waters to swim through, pick this up.

I started this in the morning and finished it that night and it felt like I was in a fever dream? lol. But in a good way. The flashbacks between past and present but past in Cecelia’s POV and the present in Paul’s was so cool because I was trying to figure out what “changed” about her from his pov but all along, she had her reasons. The main part of the book took place in only a day and it was so quick and exciting. I really enjoyed this and would read more by the author. Thank you netgalley & Bookotoure for the arc!

This was my first book by Kaira Rouda. It was an ok read for me- a bit slow at times but overall a good story.

This is a sequel to the nefarious Best Day Ever. Paul is back in all his glory lol. He is now with Cecilia and they are vacationing in Paris. They actually met at Esther's memorial service. So Paul is being Paul, controlling, narcissistic, and downright evil, while Cecilia is playing her part as the loving wife. But watch out Paul. Cecilia has plans of her own and you just might get burned. This book was so good. So well written and so many twists in Paul and Cecilia's scheming. My head was spinning in a good way. I highly recommend this book. You don't have to read the Best Day first, but it helps somewhat to see what an absolute jerk Paul is.

Thank you to Netgalley and Bookouture for the ARC. I greatly appreciate it, and do highly recommend this.

Another well written tense thriller I Karin Ronda..A follow up to Best Day Ever.Paul is as awful as ever there were twists turns and surprises Really enjoyed from first to last.#netgallley #bookouture

After recently reading Best Day Ever, I was excited to see that there was a sequel! This book did not disappoint. This was such a fun, fast paced read. While I did find that I was able to predict pretty early on some of how the story was going to play out, I still really enjoyed the book, and the twists I didn't predict. The characters were well written. I enjoyed the alternating POVs of the characters and the overall plot. I think this is a must read, especially for anyone who has read Best Day Ever.

The second Mrs Strom by Kaira Rouda

This book had me mixed up from Sunday! What a trip!
Cecelia is a woman with nothing. Working for the wealthy and trying to make a name for herself she meets Paul at a funeral for the woman she worked with, when he wisks her away to a life of luxury. Anything she wants she buys, they are Celebrating their first year of marriage in the city of dreams Paris and things are not what they seem. This story is full of lies and deceit… suspicious in every way. Whose side are you on?

Thank you NetGalley and Bookouture for the opportunity to read this book in advance!

Enjoyed it. Listened and read along. Loved the setting and characters. Thank you NetGalley for this ARC.

A sequel to one of my favorite books ever??!! Yes please! As a favorite author, Kaira Rouda did not let me down!! This book was epic.

Enter Mr Narcissist, Paul Strom for act two. We disliked him the first time around and now dislike him even more. This time however his wife Cecilia is just as sinister as he is and we are lead on a cat and mouse chase. Each has their own agenda and it's just a matter of who's plan is able to be fully executed.

This amazing book was impossible to put down and I zipped right through it. If you have not read Best Day Ever read that before the Second Mrs Strom to get the full impact of Paul's character.

Thanks to Netgalley and Bookouture for the digital ARC of this book

The Second Mrs. Strom is a fast paced thriller and is the sequel to Best Day Ever. The character's are thoroughly unlikable, especially Paul Strom....
Plenty of dark humor this thoroughly entertaining novel, you wont be able to put this one down.

Interesting thriller in which nothing is quite what it seems.
There were a few twists I really did not see coming!
I found the American superficial view of Paris a little annoying, but it's probably true.