In "The Honeymoon" by Rona Halsall, Chloe embarks on what becomes the honeymoon from hell. After being love-bombed and swept off her feet by a charming ex-rugby player, she rushes into marriage, only to discover that her new life bears little resemblance to the happily ever after she envisioned. The novel's fast pacing and an intriguing cast of characters keep the reader guessing about the source of Chloe's misfortunes. However, her consistent ignorance of red flags may frustrate some readers. While this makes a great airplane or beach, it lacks depth and believability.

I unfortunately had to DNF this as I really struggled to get into it. I’m not sure if it was the storyline or the narration of it on audio.

The story was enjoyable, though the twist was somewhat predictable. I appreciated the setting of the story. The main character was annoying at first but redeemed herself by the end. The plot involves a girl who quickly marries a boy she doesn't know well and then discovers his true nature. I wouldn't recommend the book overall, but it might appeal to those who prefer short chapters, a single POV, and a love story with a dark turn.

Thank you to NetGalley and for an audio copy in exchange for an honest review.

3.5 Stars

Chloe is head over heels in love with her brand new husband, Dan, who she met a few months before when he brought his mother into her treatment facility. They had a whirlwind intense courtship and they are now going to spend the rest of their lives getting to know each other. She is surprised that as they board the plane he has changed their honeymoon destination from the Maldives to Mallorca, without a saying a word to her. When they arrive, she is surprised by his strange behavior and he tells her he doesn't want to leave, in fact, he wont let her. Chloe realizes her biggest mistake was marrying a stranger she knows nothing about.

I am a huge fan of Rona Halsall's work as she has a real talent for domestic psychological thrillers with plenty of suspicion and twists. I struggled a little bit because I liked Chloe but her waffling between loving and fearing Dan and her inability to make him give her a straight answer made me crazy. I disliked and distrusted Dan which works for the story. The pace is fast and Chloe is the narrator pov. The end is great with a handful of last minute twists and turns. Bottom line, don't marry a stranger but do pick up this thriller.
I had the audio version read by Naomi Frederick who is a great narrator and easy to listen to. I love listening to her work and would highly recommend her.

The Honeymoon is an interesting thriller born from a main character who had a myriad of self-doubts brought from a life of emotional and mental abuse. Her desire of acceptance leads to a difficult spiral of events, and only when she’s ready to fight for herself do things begin to improve.

The thriller storyline is intriguing and will keep you guessing what’s next. The heart of the story though is the journey the female main character takes to overcome her obstacles.

I listened to the audiobook version of this story, which was well done by a single narrator. I listened at 2x speed (with my normal audiobook listening speed 1.75-2x).

Thank you NetGalley and Bookouture Audio for this advanced audiobook copy.

I will not be posting the review anywhere since it isn't a positive one. I don't want to negatively affect the author. I am currently at 81% and have decided to DNF. I just can't go on. The book is long and drawn out and the narrator has a boring voice. I feel like I would have given up earlier if I was reading the physical copy instead of listening to it. This book just isn't for me. Thank you for the opportunity and I am sorry that I didn't enjoy it.

The Honeymoon follows Chloe, a newlywed whose honeymoon vacay is about to become a nightmare. Sounds like such a good time! Unfortunately, this wasn’t quite what I expected. The set up is great, but most of the book doesn’t actually take place on the honeymoon and the twist unravels pretty slowly with no big shocking reveals. Maybe I just saw it coming a mile away? Or didn’t really keep interest after the honeymoon and our FMC’s weird decisions.
2.5 ⭐️

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for this advanced audiobook in exchange for my unbiased review.

I loved the ending of this book but was so bored in the middle and beginning. I thought the middle was drawn out and redundant. The ending redeem the book for me and I’m glad I kept listening!!
Naomi Frederick did a great job with the narration for this book!!

Good narration and a good story. Chloe is an awful character- so sappy - well, until the end. I liked her at the end. During the book you just want to give her a good shake. She behaves like a total idiot and I found her a little unbelievable. Everyone else is just horrible

This started off strong and suspenseful but then it felt like it took too long to get to the twist(s).
Chloe and Mark meet, are engaged one month later, married the next month. At the airport to fly away for their honeymoon, Mark has switched the location and hadn't told Chloe. Then she loses her phone, then he's taken her pocketbook. There was a feeling of dread as the story unfolded as Mark was completely untrustworthy. The narrator was great!
Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for access to this audiobook.

Now here is an author I love to read so when The Honeymoon by Rona Halsall came out I have to find a quiet place in my garden and open my kindle. WoW............Rona does not disappoint! her two previous two books Love you Gone and Keep you safe were brilliant reads I was excited to get my hands on a copy. I was not wrong with this book It was another brilliant read.

Chloe had the dream wedding. a wedding she has always dreamt of and wanted...........With her perfect man Dan waiting for her at the end of the aisle. They haven’t known each other for long, but as she she knew as she looked at him she knew it would be forever.

But was it?

Later, as they relax on a beautiful island, settling in to their new married life together, they congratulate themselves on their lovely wedding day, and Dan jokes that he’d like them to stay there forever.

But, was he joking?

I highly recommend this book and all of Rona's books. They are great for your holidays as well.

Big Thank you to Bookouture Audio and NetGalley who provided me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All the thoughts and opinions are my own.

Interesting thriller. Chloe had a difficult past, but now,she is married to Dan and happily in love. They were going on their honeymoon in Maldives. But, suddenly, Dan changed their location, and from there, it's ongoing tension one after another for Chloe. Dan is manipulative, and I found him suspicious from the start. What happened on the island was shocking and twisted. Still, Chloe gave him another chance but regretted it immensely. Chloe is a strong character who survived after suffering so much. Chapters are fast-paced and intriguing. The climax is great. My first by the author, but I would love to read more. Recommended. Thanks to Netgalley and Bookouture Audio for the audio copy.

Thank you NetGalley and Bookoture for an ARC of The Honeymoon.

While this book was gripping, in the end it fell flat.

All of the twists felt lackluster, and while they were logical... they weren't quite the surprise I was looking for.

Additionally, It's hard to rationalize why Chloe make the choices about Dan she did, after he continued to prove that he was only going to manipulate her. By the end of the book using her love to explain away her bad choices just felt like a tired trope.

Overall, not a bad read, but not my favorite.

📚🎧 BOOK REVIEW! 🎧📚

The Honeymoon by Rona Halsall
Genre: Thriller / Length: 298 pages
Narrator: Naomi Frederick (she was EXCELLENT! 🤩)
Audiobook pub date: June 14, 2024 by Bookouture Audio

Thank you to @netgalley and Bookouture Audio for the advanced audiobook recording!

Synopsis:
Chloe, a physical therapist in Brighton, UK, has had a string a bad relationships until into her practice walks Dan Marsden, with his mom who becomes her patient. Their whirlwind romance quickly becomes a wedding within two months of knowing each other and Chloe cannot believe her dream has come true. Dan surprises her with a honeymoon venue change to Menorca, staying a remote villa. Though this was not exactly what Chloe had envisioned, things seem ok until her new husband insists that they live their lives in the UK behind them and stay in Menorca forever.

From that point on, Chloe begins to wonder if she really knows Dan at all, and a series of bizarre, thrilling, and scary events take their lives on a rollercoaster that bring each of their past secrets to light... How far will Chloe go and what (or WHO) is she willing to ignore or sacrifice to maintain this possible facade of happiness??

Opinion:
There was A LOT of gaslighting in this story. I mean, SO much! Chloe was a very empathetic main character, but her inner thoughts and decisions were very frustrating throughout. I actually thought that the author did a pretty good job of leading you on different tangents that eventually turned out to be dead ends or unimportant. The ending was satisfying and I found myself often questioning motives of pretty much every character other than Chloe until the very end.

What really added to my enjoyment of this one was the narrator. She was easy to listen to and I was never distracted by her voice when she voiced the male characters (which sometimes annoys me with female narrators). I actually think that this book definitely is a good one for the audibook listener over the physical book. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

It all seemed perfect...a strong, caring man, a marriage, an idyllic honeymoon setting...until he changes the destination at the last minute, and regrets begin to creep in. Red flags are everywhere but it still seems a bit surreal. I don't know that twisty or thriller would ultimately describe this quick read, but it was enjoyable enough to see how the story would unfold. The narrator captured the characters with ease.
I'm interested enough to go back into Halsall's long list of suspense stories and see what I've been missing from this NYT Bestselling author.
Thanks to Netgalley and Bookouture for this ARC.

Thanks to #NetGalley for this one! Psychological thriller with amazing cover art! I was seeing all kinds of red flags as this honeymoon trip was getting started and the red flags kept coming but the author still threw a whole handful of twists in at the end after I thought I had this one figured out.

I was drawn in by the cover and synopsis of this book. The narrator did a great job.
This book follows Chloe who has a terrible self image and lacks confidence. She's always been made to feel like everything is her fault and she's a terrible person by her Brother and Sister as well as her Grandmother, however she's always been a caregiver putting everyone before herself. She is a Physical Therapist and meets Dan who brought his mom in. They quickly marry after a brief romance and then things get weird. They leave for the honeymoon of Chloe's dreams to somewhere she's always wanted to go but when they arrive that is not where they are. The confusion, lies and questioning begin.

This book then moves even faster as Chloe is questioning if she made a mistake, experiences some weird stuff from Dan, makes a trip to her grandma's to check on her, back to the Honeymoon and then all these strange stories that Dan keeps telling her. Dan made her question everything but because she had no self confidence she was wishy washy in almost all the decisions she was trying to make to get out of there and be safe. Come to find out they are both holding secrets but as those secrets get shared they realize lives are in danger. As the book moved on there were a bunch of twists and turns and more mysteries that came up. Then at the end more shocking revelations. If you like a book that moves quick and has you guessing who did what then you will probably like this book.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the advanced reader copy.

I was drawn in by the synopsis and had high hopes for this book. The suspense built up nicely, but I didn't find it particularly enjoyable in the end.

Chloe hastily marries Dan, despite only knowing him for a short time. He seems perfect and is head over heels for her, while she is deeply in love with him too.

However, both partners are hiding secrets from each other, and one of those secrets could put their lives in danger.

It was a quick read and the pacing was good, but I was expecting more from the story.

Thanks to NetGalley and Bookouture Audio for the ALC of this book.

Chloe and Dan have gotten married after a short, whirlwind romance. Heading to their honeymoon, Chloe is expecting a relaxing vacation, but she is immediately concerned when Dan has rebooked the location of their honeymoon and has no intention of leaving.

I don't expect much reality when it comes to domestic thrillers.; however, this one was so far outside the realm of possibilities that it distracted from the story. I was more focused on how unconcerned Chloe was that her new husband had taken away her phone, passport, bank cards, etc. and how willing she was to patiently wait for an explanation.

Throughout the book, more and more is revealed around Dan. Chloe quickly flips from anger at his lies (primarily in her head, rarely expressed to Dan) to love for her husband simply because of the way he looks at her.

This one wasn't for me, but I can see how someone who is looking for a fast paced and quick read would enjoy this. I listened to the whole audiobook on a plane ride, and it made the trip go quickly.

I enjoyed the narrator, Naomi Frederick, and would listen to more books that she narrated.

Chloe had a world wind romance when she met Dan, she was sure he was the perfect man for her. A short courtship followed by a dream wedding and a honeymoon on a sun drenched island. Dan jokes that he’d like them to stay there forever and as the honeymoon goes on he becomes increasingly adamant that they should remain, in fact, he won’t let her leave. The writing is excellent, and done in such a way that it's very easy to read. There's a rather chilling plot, beginning with Chloe's whirlwind marriage to the man of her dreams and a honeymoon that takes her away from her physical therapist job and caring for an ailing grandmother who would rather she didn't. Her longed-for honeymoon could put things right; that is, until Dan pulls a last-minute hustle that takes her to a place she didn't know they were going and doesn't want to be. Then, for reasons he doesn't want to reveal, he insists that they stay there. Forever. The Honeymoon is Rona Halsall’s latest thriller. Chloe’s experience is every newlywed’s nightmare and we get to see her situation turn from bad to worse. You may find yourself being frustrated with Chloe. Many thanks to the author, publisher and Netgalley for the opportunity.