This book got better as it went on. I liked the multiple POV aspect but was disappointed that we only got one character’s perspective at the end. Strange to hear from two voices throughout and only one at the finish. I was quite surprised by the ending, though it felt disjointed and a bit rushed compared to the rest of the book. I was left with questions.

All in all, an entertaining read.

3.7 rounded up to 4.

Talia sees herself as Leo’s new mother, she wants this life, she needs this life she must not lose this life! She wants to be married to Shep and to be Leo’s new mother. There just seems to be one problem….Emerson. She will do whatever it takes to have Emerson’s life.
Emerson is trying to get her life back after being sent to an institution following the death of her daughter Thea. When she is released from the hospital Emerson returns home only to see a new woman living in her there. It seems she was replaced as a mother and wife by her husband’s new girlfriend, Talia. But she just can’t seem to shake the feeling that she was not responsible for Thea’s death, she is convinced that there was a man in the house that night. Can Emerson figure out what happened that fateful night and can she get her life back? Or will she find out that the people she might have wronged want to ruin her life?
Overall rating 4/5
The dynamic between the characters is palpable! I loved the duel POVs that gave such insight to both sides of a volatile situation. But how Reinard can make you feel empathy for both sides. And the twist at the end made for such an unpredictable twist. I would love to see a POV from the passive Shep just to see what he was truly thinking the whole time. Also a huge shout out to Allman and Sciandra for making the woman in this story truly shine, and making the reader feel the mental states of each character.
*Thank you to Cara Reinard, Lauryn Allman, Amelia Sciandra, Bookouture Audio, and Netgalley for the audio copy. I am freely leaving my honest review.

I listened to an advanced copy of the audiobook of Caa Reinard's The Wife at the Window thanks to the publisher and Netgalley. I enjoyed this book, although I'd say there were two issues - a bit of a slow start and it took a while for me to get a sense of where the story was going - and then at the end - the book came to too quick of an end. The book had picked up steam, got very interesting, then in what seemed to be the last 25 pages it all came together, too quickly. I liked the story - I like where the book was going, I wanted the end to have been spread out a bit more. The book uses the alternating character motif, which is fine, if a bit tired at time, but for this story, it worked.

The narrator was good and the audiobook flowed well. I've probably read 400 audiobooks, and while this narrator was not in the top tier, I think she did a solid job with it, and that was a positive.

Is the book worth reading? Yes, Just know it will all come together quickly, so see if you can figure some of the pieces out before hand.

I really enjoyed this domestic thriller from Cara Reinard! The premise is strong: Emerson Wilder has been in a psychiatric hospital following the accidental death of her daughter, and Talia Davenport has inserted herself into Emerson's former life, living with Emerson's ex-husband Shep and their son Leo. When Emerson is released, it's clear she is willing to work hard in order to be reunited with Leo, and that Talia is willing to stop at nothing to prevent Emerson from upsetting the balance of her new, perfect family.

The characters were unlikeable, every single one - but to me that's a good thing here! I knew I was supposed to root for Emerson, but she didn't make it easy: she wasn't the strong-willed mother I am used to in these types of stories, despite the ferocity with which she was ready to fight for her son. She made some choices that were not only questionable but just irritating to me-I guess that means she's human! Talia had my sympathies for a brief moment, before I realized she is one of the worst characters of all: she acts better than everyone else, but she's the rotten apple of the bunch for a variety or reasons. Shep is bland, kind of pathetic, but I think that's on purpose - he's not the prize either of these women believe he is, but we don't know that until they do. Leo is cute, in the way kid characters are, although he acts a bit older than 4 in my opinion.

I have less to say about the setting of this novel only because it's a fairly standard domestic drama, which takes place in New York City and surrounding areas. Most scenes take place at work and home, with Emerson's individual and group therapy sessions making an appearance.

This story though, was far more than I expected. The drama between Emerson and Talia was not unusual, but learning about both of these women's pasts, and the way their presents are linked together, was what made the story exciting to me. I never would have expected the twist, but flipping back through the book I could see the subtle clues and hints that lead us to our ultimate ending. I wasn't disappointed by the twist, but rather engaged as I waited to find out how the pieces fit together, and I think people who are often spoiled by figuring out the ending too soon would enjoy the different feel of this novel.

My biggest gripe, and I have to say it (contains non-specific spoiler) is that we are told to believe that a character with a facial scar "used to be beautiful" and I find it disappointing and reductive to insinuate that being scarred makes someone no longer beautiful.

Trigger warnings for this book (includes spoilers): Mental illness and hospitalization, infant death, mentions of suicide

Many thanks to NetGalley and Bookouture Audio for the ARC.

Really enjoyed this book! Couldn't stop listening. Well written, lots of twists and unexpectedness. Love the twist at the end. Narrators were great.

Thank you to NetGalley and Bookouture Audio for providing me with an ARC

This book is about Emerson and the tragedy in her family that changed everything and left a family torn apart and Emerson in a physic facility and unable to see her son. She suffers from nightmares and due to having one her daughter died at her hands. Now her husband has a new life with their son and Talia who will do anything to keep Emerson from ever seeing her son again. There is a lot uncovered in this book and is truly a Psychological thriller with all the head games being played in this book. I was in this immediately and loved having the audio version it made the book so much better with the different voices for the characters and the snarl in Talia’s. This is also my first time reading a book by Cara Reinard and will not be the last with how great this was.

Promising but frustrating., I'm all for an unexpected twist,/ending, but this was an out of left field blindside, and not it a positive way. Whilst being well written, and keeping you involved in the story, I was just left feeling unsatisfied.

Thank you to NetGalley and Bookouture Audio for providing me with an ARC in exchange for my honest opinion. Emerson is finishing her last few days in an institution for having a breakdown after the death of her baby daughter. She blames herself for smothering her to death and since she has been admitted, her ex-husband Shep and his girlfriend Thalia are raising her son together.. Shep now tells Thalia that she is getting out and will not want to have visitation with her son. Thalia is livid she does not want Emerson to be a part of the little boy's life at all and how dare Emerson come between their happy little family. Thalia starts to scheme and hires a private detective to follow Emerson and find dirt on her to keep her away from her son. Once Emerson is granted a visitation, Thalia's plan to keep them apart backfires and now Thalia is scrambling to make everything right before Shep finds out and kicks her out for good. I did like this thriller it was a fast read and kept me wanting to read to see how this would end. Enjoy!!

The Wife at the Window is such a gripping story and it immediately caught my attention. The pacing of this book worked really well and I found myself intrigued throughout. I think the twist and turns throughout the story were well placed but I wasn't necessarily blown away by them. Overall, it was a really solid good thriller, perfect to read/listen to in the sun or cuddle up with when it gets to those darker months and therefore, I would say this was 3.5 Stars for me but I have rounded up to 4.

Thank you for the ARC audiobook that was made available for me to listen to and review by NetGalley, Cara Reinard, & Bookouture Audio.

The Wife at the Window by Cara Reinard
(Narrated by Lauryn Allman, Amelia Sciandra)

Addictive and smartly plotted.

The story had a promising start and it revealed more secrets chapter after chapter. It came to “who to trust” problem, which you had to find out until the end.

Two narrators gave a clear story as it involved quite a few characters. I love their voice and pace.

Many thanks to NetGalley, the publisher and the author for my copy.

Pub date: Jun 17, 2024

The description for this book really drew me in! The plot starts slow and builds and finishes strong. I was really drawn in during the last third of the novel. I was excited to listen to the audio book and saw there were two narrators. This usually lends additional depth to the narrative but in this case, the second narrator was very difficult for me. I found myself cringing when the second narrator came on. The first narrator was pleasant and I don’t know if this was intentional. I enjoyed the story itself but deducted a star for the narration.

The narrators were great. They were well engaging and made it easy to distinguish who was speaking. The story was a page turner as I didn't want to stop listening. At first I thought there were too many stories and characters, but they all came together nicely in the end.

BLOG TOUR REVIEW.

Review for 'The Wife At The Window' by Cara Reinard.

Well done Cara on an absolutely tension packed and page turning thriller!!!

AN ABSOLUTELY UNPUTDOWNABLE, TENSION FILLED AND SUSPENSEFUL BOOK THAT WILL KEEP YOU UP LATE AT NIGHT UNTIL YOU TURN THE LAST PAGE!!

Wow!!! This book is fantastically written and had me hook, line and sinker from beginning to end. The descriptions were so in depth and vivid that the hair on my arms was standing on the ends and my heart was pounding throughout. The synopsis, title and cover were perfect for the storyline.

A HUGE success by the extremely talented Cara Reinard!! I absolutely loved this unique page turning explosive page turner. I was absolutely absorbed throughout this suspense filled thriller. It is filled with tension, drama, family, suspense, lies, deceit, romance, love, and omg the ending!!! I DID NOT see the twists coming at all!!! Just when I think everything had been worked out and things were settling down BOOM came shocking ending!! A MASSIVE CONGRATULATIONS Cara!! It is getting harder and harder to shock me but by God you did that over and over and over!!! What an ending!!! One of the most gripping unputdownable psychological books I have read this year!!! You have one hell of a talent and I cannot wait to get hold of your previous and future books. I cannot remember the last time I was so hooked by a book but you managed that big time!!! I loved that the book is told from different perspectives and each of their stories/chapters were perfectly weaved together to show us everything that is going on and how each of the characters are thinking and feeling throughout. The storyline is filled with shocks, suspense, tension, deceit, and everything you could ask for in a gripping thriller!!. There was so much going on and it was very fast paced and kept me on the edge of my seat throughout. Cara's fantastic evocative descriptions ensures you are completely absorbed into the storyline with the characters coming to life all around you! This book is absolutely addictive and I read it in one sitting. I absolutely loved the explosive ending that leaves you wanting more! It kept me on the edge of my seat, biting my nails with my heart absolutely pounding throughout especially at the end! I really am looking forward to the next book by this extremely talented author. A gripping, all consuming addictive page turner!!!

Clear your schedule before you start as I read this in one sitting as I could not put it down!! Practically every chapter ended on a cliff hanger so no way could I put it down!! Absolutely hooked!! I would absolutely love to see this turned into a movie!!!!

The characters were all strong and realistic and thanks to Cara's absolutely fantastic writing skills they all come to life when you are turning the pages. My heart went out to Emerson for what she was going through as she only had the one person to support her through it. I was rooting for her throughout the book and hoping that she would get a happy ending. All of the characters were realistic, each with their own personalities, weaknesses and flaws. As much as I liked Emerson the opposite was true with Shep and I found him to be selfish and self centred. Now, normally when I dislike a character I struggle to enjoy the storyline but with Cara's fantastic writing skills she has managed to put extremely unlikeable characters in such a fantastic storyline that you can't help but be addicted to the book regardless of how you feel!!! I will stop here as I will give too much away if I say anymore and I really don't want to spoil it for future readers so I wont say anything else and let other readers make their own minds up about how they feel about the characters.. Regardless of whether you love or hate the characters they all worked perfectly together to make this an addictive and gripping storyline!!

Overall a suspense filled, unputdownable and addictive page turning thriller!!

#TheWifeAtTheWindow #CaraReinard #Bookouture #BookoutureAnonymous #BookoutureBookClub
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Cara Reinard’s upcoming release The Wife At The Window is an absolute page-turner that you won’t be able to put down! This gripping thriller follows a mother determined to reclaim her son and prove her innocence after a devastating loss. With its twisty plot and emotional intensity, the story had me hooked from start to finish.

The suspense builds with every chapter, and just when you think you’ve figured it out, Reinard throws in another twist. Perfect for fans of psychological thrillers, this book is a must-read that will keep you up at night!

Huge thank you to @netgalley and @bookouture for the advanced audiobook copy!

Emerson has just been released from the hospital after an accident happened to her daughter caused her to have a mental breakdown. Now, she is hungry to spend time with her son and focuses on turning her life around to get custody. Talia, Emerson's ex-husband's new partner, will do whatever it takes to stop this from happening.

The Wife at the Window has all the characteristics of a thriller that I look for. The cast of characters is large enough to keep you guessing, and the characters (for the most part) are well-developed. For some reason, I did not feel connected or invested in the characters but the pace of the book made it easy to keep going.

I appreciated having the duel narration for clarity with Lauryn Allman and Amelia Sciandra. They did a fantastic job.

The ending was fairly abrupt but did tie up all loose ends.

Thank you to Cara Reinard, NetGalley, and Bookouture Audio for the advanced audio copy!

The Wife at the Window by Cara Reinard and narrated by Lauryn Allman, Amelia Sciandra is an absolute belter of a thriller and the cherry on top is two of my favourite narrators who put in a stellar performance on this outstanding novel

Emerson has been in an institute for a long time, too long. She remembers blacking out, and when she came to, her youngest child had perished. It was her fault, she is sure it was her fault, and she can never forgive herself for it.

Emerson still has a remaining child, her eldest, a boy, who lives with his father Shep... and Shep's girlfriend, a woman he knew from work and unbeknownst to Emerson, had kissed Shep at an office arty. He thinks he was in the wrong, but who had set the wheels in motion?

There is so much packed into this brilliant thriller that I was left breathless. An outstanding audiobook that I cannot recommend highly enough. Whether you listen or read, this one will have you glued to your screen!

Thank you to Bookouture, Cara Reinard and the narrators Lauryn Allman & Amelia Sciandra
for this exceptional ALC. My review is left voluntarily and all opinions are my own

Really enjoyed this story from start to finish! Love the narrators and I think they made the story come even more alive. I would 100% recommend to anyone.

The wife in the window is an intense thriller, Emerson is just released from a mental institute after killing her daughter. Her son is now being cared by her ex husband and his new partner. She’s angry she can’t be with her so, but knows that she has to abide by the courts rules.

This was a great easy listen that you want to binge. The narrators did a great job at reading the story and it was easy to follow. Gripping 5 star thriller.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for a copy.

A very tense thriller with an epic twist that had me floored!

Shep and Talia are very happy, raising Shep's son Leo, who Talia loves as her own. All she wants is for Shep to acknowledge her as Leo's Mum, but then Leo's biological mother is released from her secure mental hospital and Talia's world is shattered. Emerson is granted supervised access to Leo and Talia will go to any lengths to prevent this happening.

As the story unfolds, it appears that Emerson may still be imagining events that aren't actually happening, the same as the night her baby daughter was killed, resulting in her incarceration. Was she released too soon? Is Leo in danger?

I listened to the audiobook which was brilliantly narrated by Lauryn Allman and Amelia Sciandra, who portrayed the two mothers convincingly and built a very tense atmosphere.

The ending was excellent but I would have preferred it to have been less rushed.

4 ⭐️ Thanks to Netgalley, Cara Reinard and Bookouture, for an ARC in return for an honest review.

Thank you Bookouture Audio and Netgalley for the ARC of The Wife At The Window by Cara Reinard.

This is a psychological thriller with a lot of twists and turns, you won't see that ending coming, my heart stopped beating for a minute LOL !

The story had me gripped from the start. It will keep you guessing throughout the story. I did want to see more of what happened after the ending.

There was a lot of tension between the characters. I felt like no one could be trusted. There was so much mystery in each of them.

I love Emerson. She never gave up on trying to see her child after all she was put through. She fought for her rights as a mother. 

Let me not get started with Talia's evilness, but I won't go into much detail. I don't want to spoil it for you!

I really enjoyed the audiobook. The dual narration by Lauryn Allman and Amelia Sciandra was really good; their voices added that drama and tension to the story.

If you are a fan of Frieda McFadden like I am then this book is for you!