Thank you Net Galley for the ARC copy. Fantastic thriller. Fun guessing all the way to the end. I gave this books 5 stars and recommend it.

<i>Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this eARC in exchange for my honest review.</i>

2.5 stars rounded up

There were a couple of pretty out there twists that had me surprised for sure. This was definitely more drama-ish than thriller, I would say. Some parts were very repetitive and some of the dialogue felt a little drawn out and sort of spelling out what was happening a bit too much. Overall, a fun mystery but not my favorite.

Ramona wants to be the perfect step-mother to Allison, and a perfect ex-wife to her husband Bradley. But Bradley's ex-wife, Natasha, is missing. She disappeared twelve years ago. The police arrive and tell Bradley they have found the remains of a body, and it could be Natasha.

The story is told from Natasha in the past, and Ramona in the present day. The pace is fast in this twisted read. The plot is intriguing. My opinion on the characters kept changing, but most of the time they were unlikable. The last twist was really good. This is my first read by the author, but it won't be my last.

Published 17th November 2024

I would like to thank #NetGalley #CelestialBearPublishing and the author #WinterKWillis for my ARC of #The\PerfectExWife in exchange for an honest review.

Thanks Netgalley for the free ARC! This book was entertaining with lots of drama, All the characters were unrelatable and unlikable, but still engaging. I would give it 3 and a half stars. I would recommend. I received this review copy for free; and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

This writing duo is AMAZING. The Perfect Ex-Wife is exactly what the title implies. The story is told between a "prior wife" and the "new wife." The tale is gripping, intense, and profoundly addictive as the writer's weave a web of strife in both of their marriages to the same man. I can't wait to read more books by Winter Willis.

I really enjoyed this exciting thriller and kept me not wanting to,stop reading it.
Romana has been married for 12 years to Bradley, he was married before to Natasha and has a daughter from her called Allison.
Romans will do anything to protect her family she knows both Bradley and Allison cannot forget about Natasha and romana will never be good enough.
Romana has decided to take matters into her own hands and find out all about Natasha and find out why she was so perfect.
I never guessed the conclusion of this book.

Ramona Naylor has been with her husband Bradley and his daughter, Allison, for twelve years. She loves her life being a wife and stepmother - growing up in foster care, all she ever wanted was a family, and now she has one. Sure, it hurts that her stepdaughter doesn’t consider her a mother, and that she isn’t the love of her husband’s life, but she’s learned to be okay playing second fiddle to Natasha, Bradley’s ex-wife.

Natasha is still revered in the house, and Bradley and Allison have never stopped hoping she’s alive. She was everything Ramona is not: a great cook, a gorgeous lawyer providing for her family, and from the sound of it, a saint. Ramona and Bradley sleep in the basement, because the master bedroom hasn’t been touched since Natasha disappeared. Her dirty clothes are still in the hamper, her jewelry remains in its place. Ramona has to live with this shrine in her home, but again - she has a family now. That’s what matters.

Over a decade later, the police come to the house and change everything. A body is found, and it turns out to be Natasha. Now Allison knows her mom is truly dead, and the police are focusing on Bradley. Ramona knows he’s not capable of murdering this woman he worshiped, though. She’s going to do everything she can to find out what really happened to Natasha and keep her family together.

This book started off as a solid four star book, then towards the middle is started to lag and I became mildly annoyed with how nobody curses in this thriller. Everything is “what the heck” and “dang it”, and both phrases are repeated soooo many times. Also, all of the characters were, for lack of better words, stupid and immature. I was getting closer to giving this three stars as the book went on, but then the ending really surprised me. The big twist/reveal was something I never considered, and it was bonkers but impressive. That ending has me rounding up from a 3.5 to

The Perfect Ex-Wife by Winter K. Willis is a gripping psychological thriller that keeps readers guessing from start to finish. The story follows Ramona, a woman desperately trying to be the ideal wife and stepmother to her husband Bradley and his teenage daughter, Allison. But despite her best efforts, Ramona constantly finds herself living in the shadow of Bradley's missing ex-wife, Natasha, whose sudden disappearance twelve years ago left a lingering mystery. Ramona’s struggle to win the love and acceptance she craves is turned upside down when police arrive with shocking news—remains have been found that may belong to Natasha, sparking a series of twists that reveal unsettling secrets about the family.

Told from alternating perspectives between Natasha’s past and Ramona’s present, Willis expertly crafts two unreliable narrators who draw readers into their flawed perceptions and complicated motivations. The book explores themes of obsession, jealousy, and the deceptive nature of memory, giving readers a fascinating look at how far people will go to preserve or escape their realities. Willis’s characters are complex and deeply flawed, which makes them both fascinating and, at times, hard to root for. Ramona’s desperation and Bradley's lingering fixation on his "perfect" ex-wife add layers of tension, leaving readers to wonder who can truly be trusted.

Fast-paced and filled with unexpected turns, The Perfect Ex-Wife is both unsettling and engrossing, with a surprise ending that lingers. Fans of domestic thrillers with unreliable narrators will find this novel a captivating read. Thank you to NetGalley and Celestial Bear Publishing for the ARC!

This book definitely gives some Verity by Colleen Hoover vibes: a take on the new mother stepping in where there is a mysterious tragedy surrounding the previous wife/mother. I love a good domestic thriller.

I quite liked reading the book, I didn't want to put it down the whole way through. But then I found the ending to be quite anti climactic. There was no crazy jaw dropping twist, it was just such a casual ending.

A well written fun thriller- however it got too out of touch with reality for me. And as much as I enjoyed it - I also was super ready for it to be over. The mystery surrounding the missing first wife kind of felt overdone. Again, when I finished I thought “DANG!” And realized as annoyed as I was I actually did like and enjoy the book.. and the author has this fun, flowy and super interesting way of keeping you engaged. Enjoyable, worth read and definitely worth the recommendation!

This story is told from Ramona’s present and Natasha’s past. I was confused at first by this, but once I got into the story more, it was easy to go back and forth.

Natasha goes back and forth frequently explaining her trials over her relationships. I understood these points she was making and how it made her confused, but I feel like it wasn’t necessary to continue to do that so often.

Overall, this story is a quick mystery read. I enjoyed the twist at the end of the story and my thoughts about Allison ended up being accurate.

I want to thank NetGalley and Celestial Bear Publishing for the advanced copy.

When you can finish an ARC from an author you have yet to read a book from in just 2 days because you couldn't put it down, that speaks volumes on the writing and storyline. The turns and twists, the plot twist was not expected, at all! I was intrigued throughout the book, the characters were believable and I truly enjoyed reading this. I didn't want it to end but wanted to desperately keep reading to find out what happens.

There were times you were rooting for specific characters throughout the book and other times where I truly disliked them but in a necessary way to the story. Excited to have chosen this as an ARC.

this had a great psychological thriller element that I was hoping for. The characters were everything that I was looking for and was on the edge of my seat from start to finish for them. It had that element that I was wanting and enjoyed how everything worked together. Winter K. Willis wrote this well and has a great style for the psychological thriller.

I chose 4 stars bc when I finished the book I felt that "this deserves it "The writing, plot twist, and the plot In general are amazing INCREDIBLE, I highly recommend this book but I moved one star bc I was in a reading slump bc of my uni so if I read it in free days maybe I go to put 5 stars without thinking, and I want to thank the author bc writing Things like that.

Ramona plays second fiddle to Bradley’s ex-wife, Natasha, who went missing twelve years ago. No matter how hard Ramona tries to be the perfect wife and mother to Bradley and his teenage daughter, Allison, they can’t let go of the past. No matter how hard she tries to be a good mother to Allison, she always says or does the wrong thing, and Allison pushes her further away.

The day two police officers show up at their home to tell them they discovered remains of a woman believed to be Bradley’s Ex-Wife Natasha, they bring in Bradley for questioning and from there everything spirals out of control. Family secrets and betrayal reveal themselves in astonishing ways.

The Perfect Ex-Wife is told from Natasha and Ramona’s points of view, and it certainly is a page turner from the start. This story touches on a few themes such as alcoholism, depression, adultery, obsession, erratic behavior, neglect, self-serving behavior and devastating consequences for one’s actions. I have to say obsession and desperation drives the plot of this story and the author brilliantly portrays these actions.

What fascinates me about psychological thrillers is exploration of what is reality or what is perceived to be reality in the minds of the characters. Perception is tricky when it comes to the human mind and how we see and experience the world around us and how we perceive other people’s speech, actions and motives. Our perception could easily be distorted, which may lead to serious and devastating consequences for oneself and others when acted upon. I thought a lot about this while reading this story which leads to the unreliable narrator. The characters’ credibility in the story becomes compromised by the ill choices they make due to their perception of reality and their own selfish wants. We see this abundantly with the characters in this story and it leaves you guessing what is true and what is false. The lines quickly blur as the story progresses and before you know it, things take a drastic turn to events.

What a thrilling and suspenseful story.

Stephanie

This started out strong but I didn't really like the twist. This is a story that flips between present-day and the past, and the current wife, and the ex-wife who is missing and her remains are discovered. You learn more about her back story and then ultimately the intersection of the current wife and the ex. This is a quick-read thriller.
Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for access to this eARC.

Ramona wants a perfect life, a perfect husband and a perfect family, but it takes a bit of work and as Bradley is not perfect husband material and the fact that he has a perfect ex wife Ramona struggles.

I really enjoyed this book. I must admit it did get a little iffy towards the end but It has a super twist.

A good read ..

In their picture-perfect home and neighborhood, Ramona thought she'd finally found the life she always dreamed of. But one thing, she’s living in the shadow of her husband’s missing ex-wife, Natasha for the last 10+ years. No matter how hard she tries, her husband and step-daughter can not let go of the past.

The story is told in Ramona's present and Natasha's past. A surprising ending that made me say “wow, I didn’t see that coming.”

Thank you to Netgalley and Celestial Bear Publishing for the advanced copy.

The Perfect Ex-Wife is a first read by this author for me. I really enjoyed this book and will be checking out more from this author. That being said, the characters were all so unlikable. There's Ramona, weak and desperate to be loved, married to Bradley who at times seems like a bully and at other times seems like an incompetent child. Then there's Natasha, Bradley's first and perfect (but is she teally?) wife who is so desperately gullible she believes all the lies our next character David, a narcissist, feeds her.

The story is told in Ramona's present and Natasha's past. It is well written and is a fast read. Despite the unlikableness of all the characters it is an entertaining story with a surprising ending.

Thanks to Netgalley and Celestial Bear Publishing for the advanced copy