I thoroughly enjoyed this audio ARC.
The story was riveting and thrilling. Very fast paced and pretty crazy. There were lots of twists and turns and I really didn’t know where it was going for a while. Loved it.
When Chloe meets Dan she thinks she’s met her soul mate, until they arrive on their honeymoon. Did she just make a huge mistake or is it love?
This book seriously was so good. Give it a read or a listen.
Thanks netgalley for the AAC!

I fell asleep listening to this book and when I went back to listen again I realised sleeping through it was the best option for me.
Silly or nasty characters just take you pick. Over the top revelations at the end that could possibly have given the author more ideas for future books rather than slotted quickly into this one.

The Honeymoon
by Rona Halsall
⭐⭐
To be honest, this book was difficult for me to get through. First, the setting and atmosphere were good. I enjoyed getting to know Chloe and her and Dan's story. But things got bad really fast, Dan seeming to be the culprit for that. It was frustrating to read about chloes self doubts, Dan's gaslighting and her attempt to flee the scene. I don't like her grandma, Dan annoys me, Chloes is too weak to be a main character for me. It took a while for me to finish the audiobook because I was frustrated and slightly annoyed by everything. The last few chapters include several huge revelations, which in my opinion are way more important than how they are told. It's just a list of extremely life altering situations and none of them got to me on an emotional basis. So I would not recommend this book.

A L C • R E V I E W
•
Title: The Honeymoon
Author: Rona Halsall
Rating: 4/5 Stars
•
This was a great listen as far as psychological thrillers go. From start to finish The Honeymoon had my attention and was super suspenseful and had me questioning everything.
•
Most of the story revolves around Dan and Chloe, the rest of the cast is pretty small, but also super easy to maintain who is who. I don't necessarily think that any of the characters were that likable, which made me constantly question who was the villain in this one. I wasn't sure exactly where this one was going to lead but I did enjoy the roller-coaster that this one took me on. The ending was satisfying enough for my liking, and it was one that i never would have figured out.
•
This is told in the 3rd person and it held a pretty steady pace throughout the entire novel. The well placed twists and constant questioning of integrity will have you on the edge of your seat. This was such an easy read, I think it would make for the perfect beach read. I can easily say this is one honeymoon that I would definitely not want in my life.
•
I listened to this one via audiobook and Naomi Frederick was awesome. I love everything she did with the narration and found this to be such a pleasure to listen to.
•
Don't miss out on this one. Highly recommending this one to all of my psychological thriller fans and anyone looking for a good beach thriller. The honeymoon was released on 6/14. Huge thank you to NetGalley, Rona Halsall and Bookouture Audio for the ALC in exchange for my honest review. This was a pleasure to read.

This was an absolute rollercoaster! I read a lot of thriller/suspense novels, and I’ve gotten pretty good on picking up the line of the story to see where it’s ultimately headed; however, I truly stayed on the edge of my seat this entire book waiting to see what could possibly happen next. I mean, who was the actual villain? Was there one? It was so hard for me to decide at the end! I do think, ultimately, each character got a fitting ending (except, maybe, Gran). If you love a story that keeps you guessing, this is the one for you!

"The Honeymoon" by Rona Halsall is a suspenseful tale that follows the main character, Chloe, as her dream honeymoon swiftly turns into a nightmare. Chloe, who rapidly falls in love and marries Dan, finds her picture-perfect plans devolving into chaos. As her husband ominously insists that they aren't safe, Chloe is left to unravel the web of lies spun by Dan and discern the reality of her situation.

The novel starts slowly but picks up momentum towards the end, introducing new characters as it races towards its conclusion, which becomes a bit messy The story offers a mystery that keeps readers engaged, leading to an ending that manages to be both expected but also surprising.

This book is recommended for those new to the thriller/mystery genre, with its blend of suspense and intrigue providing a captivating introduction. However, more seasoned readers might find the plot development and character introduction towards the end somewhat messy.

Great book. Kept you wanting to know what's next. Quick paced, twists, and keeps you engaged. Narrator was great!
Thank you to NetGalley and Bookouture Audio for providing me with an ARC.

I liked it. The story improves as it moves along. The idea of getting engaged and marrying within 2months of meeting is hard to grasp. Then, being surprised that your spouse isn’t necessarily who you thought they were also seems a little crazy. I did like how it was written- descriptive passages and enough intrigue to keep me engaged.
The narration by Naomi Frederick is clear, well paced and easy to listen to.
Thank You to NetGalley and Bookouture Audio for the opportunity to listen to this ARC.

Thank you to NetGalley and Bookouture Audio for providing me with an ARC in exchange for my honest opinion. Dan and Chloe have just gotten married after only knowing each other for a very short time. Now they are excited to start their honeymoon on a trip to the very romantic Maldives, a place that Chloe has been wanting to travel to forever. As they try and find their gate at the airport, Chloe notices that they are boarding a plane that is not travelling to the Maldives. She is frantically questioning Dan but he says he will explain on the plane. Chloe is livid and doesn't understand what is going on. Dan explains that he has always wanted to go to Spain and it is a very remote island where they can be alone together and have a fabulous honeymoon. Chloe goes along with it until Dan says that they are staying there forever and not returning back to England. WHAT??? Who is this stranger and why is he keeping her locked in the villa and making her stay on the island? Maybe Chloe should have learned more about her husband before saying "I do". Enjoy!!!

What did SHE do and what did HE do and why aren’t the newlyweds confiding in each other? A fast paced, psychological popcorn thriller featuring a just married couple embarking on their honeymoon, with a few flashbacks from the past. The main female character, Chloe, is insecure and very suspicious of why her (unlikable to me) husband, Dan, changed up their plans and is forcing her to stay at a destination not of her choice. There were many unbelievable moments due to Chloe’s nativity which had me rolling my eyes and wanting to have a stern talk with her, but overall that helped further along the plot and the ultimate twist. The narrator was great, made for an easy and quick listen in less than a day.
3.5 stars

I could use a honeymoon about now, don't ya say?

Rona Halsall, knocked this one out of the park. My only shame is not listening/reading to The Honeymoon, sooner.

Jam packed with twists and turns, don't blink, you might just miss something .

Highly suspenseful and engaging, I never lost focus.

The Honeymoon is a sure to be bestseller and I am honored to have been able to read and review early in exchange for an honest review.

Check out this teaser :

‘I’m your husband, Chloe. We’re a partnership now and we do what’s best for us as a couple.’

Chloe finally feels like she’s got her life together. After a difficult childhood and losing both parents, she worked hard for the life she loves in lively Brighton, helping people as a physiotherapist. And then she meets the perfect man.

It’s a whirlwind romance, but Dan is handsome, funny, and simply the kindest man she’s ever met. When she sees him standing by the altar, tears glistening in his eyes, she knows this will be for always.

As they sunbathe on their honeymoon island, laughing over drinks, planning their future with their feet in the sand, Dan jokes that he’d like them to stay there forever.

At first, Chloe couldn’t agree more. It’s tempting to imagine truly leaving her troubled past behind. But as the honeymoon goes on, he becomes increasingly adamant. They shouldn’t leave. In fact, he won’t let her…

This is a fast paced edge of you seat thriller that will keep you guessing right up until the last page. As always, Rona Halsall’s books keep me up all night. I just couldn't put it down!
Many thanks to the author, Bookouture and NetGalley for a complimentary copy of the book. The opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own.

When Chloe finds herself leaving for her honeymoon with her seemingly perfect husband, Dan, after a whirlwind romance, she's happier than she ever thought she could be. Unfortunately, they don't even get out of the airport before she realizes that Dan isn't at all who she thought he was.

The basic plot of this book is simple and brilliant. We have a seemingly smart young woman finding herself in way over her head in the name of love. There were so many ways this book could have gone that would have made it a tense, edge-of-your seat thriller...... and it aggressively avoided all of them. I have never DNF'ed a NetGalley, I sincerely believe you owe it to the author who is giving you their book for free to read the *entire* thing and provide feedback, so I did finish this one. That being said, if there wasn't a NetGalley, I'd have DNF'ed no more than 15% through and even if I managed to keep going, every page gave me a reason not to. I kept waiting for it to go somewhere that would make all the actions of these characters make sense, but it never did, it just kept getting more and more bizarre and unbelievable.

In the first few pages, you feel bad for Chloe as you learn that her whirlwind romance is going to cause her huge problems. I say this as a married person: if my husband had changed our honeymoon from my dream location to some other random place, I would be absolutely livid. Chloe gets mad for a hot second and then write it off, which would be a continuing pattern for her no matter how many times this man does crap thing after crap thing. The more backstory you get, the less bad you feel for Chloe. By the halfway point, you can't help but feel she deserves absolutely everything she gets. I'm sorry but if I saw one tenth of the red flags Chloe saw, I'd not only marry him I'd have a restraining order out. Chloe on the other hand just rolls with it. Literally dozens of times in this book she has the opportunity to get away and either chooses not to, or does get away and returns. It's like watching the moron character in a horror movie that chooses to hide in the rusty-saw filled basement instead of driving away in the running car...... for an entire book. It's absolutely maddening. More maddening is the fact that the more nasty things Dan does, the more Chloe acts surprised. "Oh my gosh how could you do.... xyz thing?! I can't believe you could do that!" How could he do that? Really?! Look at all the other things he's done, how could you expect him NOT to do that?! I don't know that I've ever read a book with a dumber FMC. I kept waiting for their to be some explanation for her insane behavior but there never was. In addition to my absolutely hatred of the main character, there were absolutely no redeemable secondary characters. Dan was awful, Chloe's gran was awful, her siblings are awful. I suppose her Gran's carer was okay but she was a very small part.

In addition to absolutely abysmal characters across the board, the pacing in this book was disaster. The first 75% is Dan doing bad things and Chloe freaking out for a minute and then totally letting it go and moving on to let him to the next crap thing. The last 25% was an insanely wild ride that was off the rails as far as unbelievable and just completely bizarre.

It was all just really unfortunate because somehow the writing itself is good. The wording, the settings, the mix of dialogue vs. internal thought it all really strong. I just wish the author would have chosen a much, much more grounded believable story. The basic plot had to much potential and this fell so far short. It kills me to write a bad review, I am 500+ books in and I almost always find something redeeming but this one just killed me.

I just finished listening to the audiobook and I must admit. I found myself getting frustrated at the main character, Chloe. How could she find herself in these circumstances, etc. As the book progressed and we begin to see more determination and fight come from Chloe I began enjoying the book more. You route for her and I really liked the book. I loved how the author wrapped things up. I recommend this one.

This book has been on my kindle since its release in 2019, but as the audiobook was released earlier this month, I thought it was finally time for me to get to it!

I've read a lot of books about gaslighting recently, and it's a trope that makes me frequently roll my eyes. So I was a little worried at the start, as I couldn't get my head around why such an anxious character (Chloe) would marry a man she barely knew. Of course, stories like this always have such a basic set-up that makes little sense at first, so I gave the story some time to develop to see if it could redeem itself.

I probably wouldn't have enjoyed it as much if I was physically reading the story, but I found the audiobook really enjoyable! I think the narration definitely enhanced my reading experience as the audiobook really brought the characters to life.

Overall, I enjoyed it a lot more than I expected to. If you're a fan of this thriller trope, I'm sure you'll love this one as the story is handled well, and there are enough original twists to keep the story engaging.

The Honeymoon by Rona Halsall is a psychological thriller that had an intriguing premise about the consequences of haste decisions to marriage. The story had its moments of suspense and intrigue. The plot was well-paced and I found myself eagerly listening to uncover the truth behind the characters' actions and decisions. I appreciated how the audiobook delved into the lesson of taking time to understand oneself and one's partner before making life-changing commitments.

Overall, this audiobook was a thrilling ride with a meaningful message, complemented by superb narration. If you enjoy psychological thrillers that blend suspense with insightful themes and appreciate a talented narrator who can bring the story to life, I highly recommend giving this one a listen!

In this story we have a a honeymoon that was anything but relaxing when Chloe finds out that she might not be able to trust this man that she fell in love with and married so quickly. This story just kept unraveling more and more as you read it and it doesn’t stop until the very end. I think Rona did such a great job with building up the characters and giving you just enough to keep you wanting more and then boom everything explodes.

The Honeymoon by Rona Halsall was totally creepy - the reader follows as Chloe and Dan's whirlwind romance just begins to unravel. First, Dan decides that he is going to go against every honeymoon dream that Chloe has ever had - no amazing beach..... they go to the countryside. I mean, I love a countryside, but girlfriend wanted to go to the Maldives!
This was an excellent psychological thriller and the more we get to know Chloe, the weirder her situation is too... all of her siblings are angry with her. Really great twists - I finished this book in 24 hours!
Naomi Frederick did an amazing job bringing this to life - her "male" voice was awesome! Her vocalizations were excellent, clear and perfectly paced.
Thank you to @NetGalley and Bookouture Audio who provided me with this ALC in exchange for an honest review.

This is the 3rd book by Rona Halsall I've listened to and I enjoyed all of them! The Honeymoon definitely surprised me and kept me guessing. I thought I knew what was going on... but then I didn't! Rona Halsall does a great job creating gripping settings and characters that feel so real! I recommend this domestic thriller to everyone that likes this genre!

I really did enjoy the first half of this audiobook. I thought Rona built up the feeling of suspense very well. During the second half I found it impossible to believe that Chloe could be that naive. Thankfully there were a lot of plot twists that kept me listening. The narration wasn't my favorite but wasn't bad either.