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.

I am a sucker for husband and wife tropes where you know everything and anything can go wrong. We meet a lovely couple destined to be famous in LA. Paul and Cecilia are a beautiful couple and have enough money to last more than a life time. In this dual timeline plot you’re watching their first anniversary in Paris fall apart and learning of both of their pasts. Paul inherits a large sum of money from a dear friend. At this funeral he happens to meet Cecilia, she’s young, beautiful and kind. It’s love at first site… or is it? Soon each partner is scrutinizing the other and trying to find out the truth. In this twist tale you find little secrets that unravel throughout the story. I enjoyed this read but was hoping for a little more of a shock when the twists were revealed. The dual storyline was well written and developed the characters well.

Goodreads review will be left nearer to publication.

I have enjoyed other novels of Kaira Rouda’s I previous read so I was excited to get an ARC copy of The Second Mrs Strom. The author can count me as a fan!

I did not know going into this that other readers previously met Paul Strom in a “Best Day Ever.” I didn’t feel as if anything was missing or lacking not having read it. We got introduced to Paul who is married to his second wife, Cecilia and they took a romantic trip to Paris to help get their spark back. Paul inherited an enormous fortune and is newly rich. The novel flips between Paul and Cecilia’s point of views in past and present tense. From the get go I did not like Paul and he raised red flags as a narcissist and overall not good guy.

I was swept right in and kept waiting for what’s next, what’s being hidden and what’s not being said. I kept wanting more with every page. I enjoyed the book and couldn’t put it down. I hoped it would get juicy and it sure did. The second half really picked up the pace and didn’t disappoint. The rollercoaster really got started!

Thank you to NetGalley and Bookouture for the digital advanced ARC in exchange for my honest review.

𝑻𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒆 𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒍𝒍𝒚 𝒊𝒔 𝒔𝒖𝒄𝒉 𝒍𝒊𝒕𝒕𝒍𝒆 𝒔𝒑𝒂𝒄𝒆 𝒃𝒆𝒕𝒘𝒆𝒆𝒏 𝒍𝒐𝒗𝒆 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒉𝒂𝒕𝒆, 𝒍𝒊𝒇𝒆 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒅𝒆𝒂𝒕𝒉, 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒂𝒍𝒍 𝒐𝒇 𝒖𝒔.

I *highly* recommend that you read BEST DAY EVER before reading this sequel so you can have some insight into the character of Paul Strom and his first wife Mia. Plus, it's a killer thriller, so there's that!

Paul has patiently been beside Esther's side, an elderly women who relied on Paul for companionship, until she took her final breath. Finally, he can get his hands on her outrageous fortune. But at Esther's memorial service, he spots someone so beautiful, it takes his breath away. Cecilia helped design the programs for Esther's memorial, and she ends up leaving designs on Paul's heart.

That's exactly what Cecilia planned.

After a whirlwind courtship and marriage, the happy couple are celebrating their first anniversary in Paris when the claws come out on both sides. Paul is exceedingly arrogant and controlling, and Cecilia has played the role of dutiful wife for far too long. Paul has met his match but doesn't yet know it, and seeing Paul's bewilderment as he loses his charismatic hold over his new bride had me cackling. While it may be true that Cecilia wants his money, there is far more to the story.

I'm thrilled to partner with Thriller Book Lovers: The Pulse to bring you this early review. THE SECOND MRS. STROM will publish August 16, 2024.

The Second Mrs. Storm is a quick read. The chapters switch point of views, between Paul and Cecilia Storm, but it’s easy to follow the story along. Upon reading the first few pages, I immediately disliked both main characters. Neither had a redeemable quality, and the story felt like I was reading an over the top soap opera, but the authors writing kept me going. After reading I learned Paul is a character from a previous book, and makes reference to his back story. I feel this could be read as a stand-alone and isn’t necessary to read the previous book beforehand in order to follow this one along.

Paul Storm has just come into a huge inheritance. He meets Cecilia and it’s love at first sight. It’s a quick whirlwind romance that leads to marriage. Fate brought them together, or so it seems. Mr and Mrs Storm take their money and leave Florida for the glamorous life in California. Paul plans to become a huge Hollywood producer while Cecilia becomes a stay at home wife and hopefully soon, mom. To celebrate their first wedding anniversary, they spend the week in Paris, where Paul and Cecilia’s secrets come out and each has plans for the other.