3.5 stars, rounded down to 3 stars.

This was OK, not as a thriller, but as a drama. I'm not quite sure why it is titled "The Second Marriage," as the marriage part had next to nothing to do with the story. The main character was pretty unlikable and the multiple timelines were a little hard to follow at times. The book's different perspectives felt disjointed at times, and I really didn't have anyone to root for.

But, I was entertained, and I finished the book. That counts for a lot.

I received a complimentary copy of the novel from the publisher and NetGalley, and my review is being left freely.

The synopsis threw me slightly, as it appeared the story would be beginning as Liam and Emily were about to get married. In fact, it starts way before then. Uni student Naomi, has gained access to Emily Brigham, currently serving time for manslaughter, in order to interview her for her PhD thesis. The Second Marriage moves back and forth between Emily's life as a student, then later as a suburban mother, and latterly in prison. Gradually Naomi begins to piece together her complex life, many years of which appear to have been under the influence of the rich, charismatic Liam.
Meeting Liam, Emily soon became obsesed with him, and even though as she related her story to Naomi, it was clear she was convinced they were in love, it was obvious how unhealthy their relationship was, and how she was being used. Being abandoned by him brought her to an all time low, but when Pete came into her life, things appeared to change. The birth of their daughter Anouk saw the couple settling down, with Emily in a new role as suburban housewife, looking after the home and Anouk as Pete's career advanced. However, a shocking discovery changed everything and the temptation to return old ways arose unexpectedly when newly divorced silver tongued Liam movesd into the area.

This well written novel charts the ease with which young, impressionable women can be lured into a partying lifestyle with older wealthy men. In this case an experience which inevitably ended badly with the death of Emily's best friend Anna. When Liam returned years later, Emily appeared to have no sense of danger or memory of what had gone before, and you felt disaster looming. Naomi's investigation gave a whole new interpretation of events which led to Emily being convicted and in some ways showed she was just as much a victim. I have to admit I was glued to this book, reluctant to put down such a gripping story..

I would like to thank Storm, the author and Netgalley for an ARC of The Second Husband, in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for allowing me to read this advanced copy. I honestly got really confused reading this. There are three timelines and I couldn't figure out who was who. Alot of things happened to Emily and there is some sympathy there for her. Overall, I like the plot, but got confused.

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
The Second Marriage by Rebecca de Winter in my opinion is an emotional family drama with an ending you would not expect! This book broke my heart! Seriously! Such a sensitive topic!
This book is an emotional overload! This book had me hooked from the start.

There are triple timelines but in general, the story is centered on Emily’s life. It's a sad story in general! The unfairness of life, the power game of others, the naivety of young age...

Naomi who is a PhD student is writing a book about Emily's life and interviewing Emily about her crime. We don't know what she did and why she did but we know she ends up in prison!

I know there is no justification for committing crime but some human beings just deserve to leave the earth!

Thank you, NetGalley and Storm Publishing for this copy!

This was a super twisty story! This covered a few trigger worthy events/situations, so please check before getting into this story. The flipping POVs between Naomi & Emily were a bit confusing at first, and every time I put this book down and picked it back up again it took me a couple of pages to remember what the heck was happening and who was who! Once I could remember the characters and what was going on, I didn’t want to stop reading because I wanted to know what was going to happen!

There were definitely times throughout this story that I just wanted to punch some of the male characters, but the ending wrapped everything up nicely.

If you like twisty stories about marriage, relationships, affairs, toxic relationships and the aftermath of all of these things then this book is for you! This was a crazy rollercoaster of a story but so worth the read! I look forward to reading more books by this author, this was my first book by her. So I’m excited to see what else she writes! This is a must read!

I was pleasantly surprised to have been gifted this book by the author in exchange for an honest review. Thankfully this seemed just like the kind of book that I am super into so I couldn't wait to get my hands on it. This book really packed a punch and was consistently leaving the reader wondering what really happened with our main characters Naomi and Emily. The book is in two different time frames the current where Naomi is interviewing inmate Emily about her crime of murdering her husband and the incarceration and then the book jumps to the past where we get to see things really play out. I really enjoyed how it was written this way because it gave the reader more information that our main character might not have been able to see. This also left two complex storylines intertwined which was very compelling as a reader I couldn't get enough of this story. I loved the plot and watching all of the stuff that led up to Emily's incarceration was fascinating. This book is very different from everything that I've been reading currently however I couldn't get enough of this one. I do believe part of what made this so interesting was the fact that there was only two main characters but even so each them was written so strongly that no extras were needed. I think that my favorite part had to be everything that was written through Emily's point of view. Her character was amazing and firstly and everything I love in a novel. I couldn't get enough. I loved this book and found myself flying through it at record speed. Even though Emily did a terrible thing I really found myself rooting for her character and that gives a lot to the author's talent. My emotions were all over the place with this story as things were ever changing. There were so many hard topics covered in this story but I found it not to be overwhelming. Overall I really enjoyed this book and was very sad when I had to put it down. I will definately keep my eyes on this author and any of her future works. Great read I loved every part of it.

ARC Review: 4 ⭐

Publication Date: September 26, 2024

Wow...this book explored a LOT! I thoroughly enjoyed everything the book had to offer--from the complex relationships to the alternating viewpoints and timeline. This book truly cover a lot of ground in not a lot of time. At times I found it to be hard to follow and navigate and found myself flipping back to make sure I read something correctly, but it was very engaging.

In The Second Marriage, we both Naomi who is a PhD student who is interviewing Emily Brigham--a woman who is incarcerated for an unknown crime. The novel spans 3 different timelines--when Emily was in college, when Emily was post-grad and married with a child, and when Emily is incarcerated. The timelines alternate and discuss the struggles and abuse Emily suffered as a woman coming up in a man's world through college and post-grad as well as struggles with how she navigated married life and the trauma left behind by those formative years during college while establishing her life and career.

Emily is a very complex character and I felt bad for her and what she had to go through to get to where she did. I would warn other readers that there are some trigger warnings--abuse and rape being the major ones as well as sexual assault. Overall I enjoyed the book and it was a fast paced read for me.

✨Thank you to NetGalley, Storm, and the author or an ARC of this book in exchange for my review. ✨

What an outstanding and emotional rollercoaster book, so gripping from the very beginning.

I loved this book - page turner - the perfect psychological thriller. Highly recommended

Can’t wait for the next book from this author

Thank you to Netgalley

This book was not for me. I was classified as a thriller, but it is definitely not. More so a drama. I was skimming through pages as I was quite bored and waiting for it to be over.

The main character was also super annoying. This also made for a difficult read.

This book should be described differently as I would not have selected to read it if it was properly categorized.

Thank you NetGalley and Storm Publishing for an early copy of The Second Marriage. Emily was a very complex character. The plot with her and Sarah were definitely farfetched, especially after finding out stuff. Pete definitely had double standards in the way he treated Emily. There was too much “me too” scenarios especially in dialogue with Emily and Anouk. Otherwise this was a good read, very disturbing how she was groomed by Liam and all that happened. I definitely felt bad for the girls at the parties, very sad to me. All in All an honest picture of manipulation and just how much as parents we don’t know what goes on in our young girls lives. Sad feeling when I was finished with this novel.

This was a gripping domestic drama with really wonderfully nuanced and morally grey characters. My biggest gripe here is that the book is missold - I went into this expecting a thriller with a side of mystery and that is just not what we get. Even the title itself feels misleading as the second marriage really isn’t the focus of this tale at all.

I thoroughly enjoyed our FMC and she was fantastically written. Emily is not a good person, and that in itself is hugely refreshing for a MC. I thought the dive into Emily’s past was brilliantly done. Layer by layer we reveal the traumatic and terrible things that have happened to her and get to see how these events and the culture she was living in all contributed to her becoming who she was at the end. This deeper insight into who she is at her core lent so much complexity to understanding the terrible decisions she made.

The pace was also expertly managed with some really good build up suspense that didn’t feel overdone. I thought the unraveling of secrets as we went was perfectly timed, and while this might be a generally slower paced book I really think that allowed for the deeper character exploration. My only real criticism is that I felt there were a few storylines that were just thrown in and didn’t add much to the story, or rather they could have turned into something more (e.g. the instagram photos).

Overall this was a really enjoyable read; it was quick, interesting, well written, and a great read to just dive into one afternoon. I will definitely be keeping an eye out for what else this author has written as her writing skills are absolutely the stand out star of this read.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an E-ARC

3.5* This book had an intriguing premise, and the twists kept me turning the pages. I think that the buildup of suspense was well done, and I did enjoy how the layers of secrets were unraveled. That said, at times the pace of the book was a bit slow for me and overall, it didn't fully blow me away. It was still an interesting read though and worth checking out if you enjoy domestic thrillers!

Thank you to Netgalley and Storm Publishing for the ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Twists and turns…secrets and red herrings…imagine being the second wife…a loving husband or not…realistic characters kept this story moving quickly. Wondering what would happen next…a page turner by a gifted author…intrigue and mystery…guessing…thanks Netgalley.

I enjoyed the book. Read this in a day. Theres some twists here and there but we don't always need crazy twists around ever corner. Emily and Naomi are strong main characters we know from the start Emily is in prison for murder. She was raised a certain way that led to her choices in men not always good. Naomi's mother has a connection to Emily. They have known each other for decades.
The story really is about Emily and how her childhood and early adulthood shaped her and brought her to where she is sitting in a prison. The male characters are explained but not too deeply I would have liked to see some more explanation of the parties over the vague described. Overall it was good though.

The book started out great. The premise was really promising. Yet, somehow the pacing felt off for the first half of the book. It ended up being one of those reads where I’m glad I read it, yet I’m not entirely sure if I loved LOVED LOVED it. it was well-written and well-told, but somehow and at least for me it felt flat-ish and lacked some emotional depth.

I really hoped this would be a great book based on the description and did enjoy the beginning chapters, It may be for others, however sadly it fell short for me. The jumps in time all over the place, the lack of cohesion and the confusion created ended up being disappointing and I realised this wasn’t engaging me in the way I wanted. While the writing itself was done well and there were sections i enjoyed, it was the overall book that somehow left me disappointed. I hope others have a better experience but it was not for me. I’m thankful to Netgalley for letting me read this in exchange for my review - and hope others enjoy this more.

Alluring. Mysterious. Mind-boggling. Are some words that come to mind upon finishing this. With an underlying powerful message in regards to women rights. I loved this book, and you will too. It will keep you hooked wanting to know what happens next and yet keep you guessing.

This was such a brilliant page turner. I couldn't put it down, it had soo many twists and turns that it had me guessing until the end. The story was easy to follow, had good pacing and a good mix of characters. I highly recommend it.
❤️ Thank you to netgalley, the publisher and author for my arc ebook copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

This was fantastic. I was totally hooked from the very first page. I would def recommend to others thank you for the opportunity to review

I really enjoyed this book despite guessing some of the twists and turns. It was very well written and had a great story behind it . I would definitely recommend this book as it was better than I expected , I think the authors alias name put me off to be honest lol . I give this book 5 stars and will look forward to reading more from this author.