Ok story.
Some of the story really kept me on the edge but then some other times it just kinda dragged.

I read on another review that some parts were AI generated, so that’s kinda explains why it didn’t seem like any emotion was into the character and story.

Thank you NetGalley for the copy

Emma and Luke have ostensibly happy marriage, a successful cleaning business, and three adorable children. The happy marriage is called into question when Emma finds a hotel receipt in Luke’s jacket pocket. She suspects cheating, naturally, but the reality is even more disturbing. Luke has secrets and is honestly a MESS; I pitied him a bit but found him very hard to empathize with. Emma is just sort of there; as a protagonist she’s very milquetoast. The other main character is Georgia, Emma’s long time friend, who has some secrets of her own. Georgia is probably more interesting than Emma or Luke, but that’s not saying much.

The story is both weird and somehow strangely predictable? The ending is genuinely depressing, and a postscript notes that the dialogue was partly written using AI, which feels like something that should have been disclosed at the beginning. I gave this a C-.

Description sounded good but I couldnt get into the story. This one's not for me. The plot literally goes in circles.
Thank you to Netgalley for the opportunity to read this ARC in return for an honest review

To Have and To Hold by Lilly French is a gripping psychological thriller that delves into the unraveling of a seemingly perfect marriage. Emma, a devoted wife and mother, leads a comfortable life with her husband, Luke, in the quiet suburban town of Sherford. But as Emma begins to notice subtle changes in Luke's behavior—late nights, secretive phone calls, and a hidden hotel receipt—her perfect world begins to crack open.

The tension mounts as Emma, increasingly paranoid, confides in her best friend Georgia, whose fears only escalate the suspicion. As Emma digs deeper into Luke’s life, she uncovers disturbing secrets about his obsession with death and dark imagery, leading her to question everything she thought she knew about him.

When Emma and Luke take a romantic weekend getaway, their relationship is pushed to its breaking point, and the truth about their marriage is horrifyingly revealed. French masterfully builds suspense, keeping readers on the edge of their seats as Emma confronts betrayal and secrets that threaten to destroy everything she holds dear.

With its twisty narrative and emotional depth, To Have and To Hold is a captivating exploration of trust, deception, and the devastating consequences of buried truths. This book will leave readers questioning the people they think they know and the lengths they might go to protect the lies they’ve built.

Full review to come on Goodreads and Amazon. Thank you to the publisher, author, and NetGalley for a review copy.

The plot was clunky, the pace was weird, and none of the characters were particularly likeable. Oh, and I hated the end.

The author's note at the end about using AI to write the novel makes me wonder whether the novel was improved by AI or not.

I had fun with this book, and the plot twists were unpredictable. However, the character descriptions were lacking which made it hard to visualise them. And I also feel like I still had a lot of questions at the end

To Have and to Hold
Doting wife and mother of three, Emma seems to have a perfect life. She shares a lucrative cleaning business with husband Luke. But Emma starts noticing an alarming darkness in Luke’s behavior and her world starts to crumble. During a romantic get away they find themselves caught in a tangle of lies and deception.
A sensational read with nail-biting tension.
4 stars

Thank you to Netgalley and BooksGoSocial for an early copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. I loved this book and read it in one sitting. All I can say is WOW!!! The twists in this book I did not see coming. I would definitely recommend this book.

Description sounded good but I couldnt get into the story. This one's not for me
Thank you to Netgalley for the opportunity to read this ARC in return for an honest review

I have to admit that I was shocked when I got to the acknowledgements and saw that the book had been written with the help of AI but I can't say I'm surprised. I felt like the entire time we were just going around in pointless circles and nothing ever really happened. The characters were extremely one dimensional and everything was very predictable. It wasn't the most awful thing I've ever read but I wouldn't recommend it. The only reason I gave it 2 stars instead of only 1 was because I was at least a little bit interested and wanted to know how it ended.

BOOK: TO HAVE AND TO HOLD
AUTHOR: LILLY FRENCH
PUB DATE: JANUARY, 2025
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REVIEW
Thanks to Netgalley and the Publisher for this ARC. I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
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I did not like this book. It has a lot of confusing themes and the most annoying character ever. Luke Thompson was the worst. He fluctuates between being obsessed with death, gaslighting his wife and destroying his marriage, moaning about it, but not doing anything to change his situation. I didn't like anything about him.
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His wife, the FMC, was okay, but she didn't really make an impact on me.
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I didn't like this book at all. I don't even like anything about it. The only good thing was that I was able to finish it.

Good read, but I was left with some questions afterwards. The author didn't pay a lot of attention to detail. I understand that she used AI to help her write this story, but she obviously forgot to check the proofreading and editing before she was done. There were mistakes in character names, spelling errors, and grammar usage. But what bothered me the most other than the proofreading was the lack of any character descriptions for anyone in the book. It was hard for me to visualize them at times because I had no clue what they looked liked other than the fact that Emma was a blonde, which I found out later in the story and Georgia had dark hair. It was disappointing.

What do you do when you find out that your marriage is based on nothing but lies? This is Emma's predicament when she realizes that her whole marriage to her husband, Luke, is all based on manipulations and lies all created by him to have the best of both worlds. He's been sleeping with Emma's so-called best friend, Georgia, on and off throughout her whole marriage. When Emma finally finds out about it, it was too late.

When Luke starts acting distant towards her at the office and at home, but not towards their kids, she starts to worry. At first she thinks he's suicidal, based on the items she's found in his work van and on his internet browser, because he seems depressed. But it's much worse than that. It's guilt.

Luke is obsessed with crime scenes. He has hid that part of himself from Emma throughout their marriage. The obsession stems from a traumatic event he experienced when he was only 17 years old, one that he's unable to stop thinking about. When Emma stumbles upon that shocking secret first, he thinks he's in the clear, because of his mental manipulation, but his perfect life is about to explode without him realizing it.

Things begin to unravel fast when Emma's BFF, Georgia, who's also Luke's mistress, decides that she wants Luke for himself no matter the consequences. He now realizes he can't have it all. Georgia has been blackmailing him through their business every time he tries to end things with her. She knows about his sick fascination with crime scenes and his other secrets. But Georgia's sick of being his mistress, she wants Emma's life to be hers; with Luke by her side. So she starts putting doubts in Emma's head about Luke's secret phone conversations and his late night "jobs." Making Emma's trust in her husband slowly disappear, all the while playing Emma's loyal friend. Georgia starts calling the house when Luke's not home in a different voice, telling her to "trust no-one" and the next call Georgia leads her to one of Luke's secret, buried in a tin can in the rose garden. It was a picture of a dead women from an accident, cash, and a piece of jewelry he saved as well. When Emma shows Luke what she found, he knows that the life he once had is forever damaged. Luke also knows that there is only one person he told about that hiding spot. Emma doesn't know what to think anymore.

An intriguing read.

*I received a complimentary copy of this ARC via NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.


Good read, but I was left with some questions afterwards. The author didn't pay a lot of attention to detail. I understand that she used AI to help her write this story, but she obviously forgot to check the proofreading and editing before she was done. There were mistakes in character names, spelling errors, and grammar usage. But what bothered me the most other than the proofreading was the lack of any character descriptions for anyone in the book. It was hard for me to visualize them at times because I had no clue what they looked liked other than the fact that Emma was a blonde, which I found out later in the story and Georgia had dark hair. It was disappointing.

What do you do when you find out that your marriage is based on nothing but lies? That is Emma's predicament when she realizes that her whole marriage to her husband, Luke, is all based on manipulations and lies all created by him to have the best of both worlds. He's been sleeping with Emma's so-called best friend, Georgia, on and off throughout her whole marriage. When Emma finally finds out about it, it's too late.

When Luke starts acting distant towards her at the office and at home, but not towards their kids, she starts to worry. At first she thinks he's suicidal, based on the items she's found in his work van and on his internet browser, and because he seems depressed. But it's much worse than that. It's guilt.

Luke is obsessed with crime scenes. He has hid that part of himself from Emma throughout their marriage. The obsession stems from a traumatic event he experienced when he was only 17 years old, one that he's unable to stop thinking about. When Emma stumbles upon that shocking secret first, he thinks he's in the clear, because of the mental manipulation he uses on her, but his perfect life is about to explode without him realizing it.

Things begin to unravel fast when Emma's BFF, Georgia, who's also Luke's mistress, decides that she wants Luke for himself no matter the consequences. He now realizes he can't have it all. Georgia has been blackmailing him through their business every time he tries to end things with her. She knows about his sick fascination with crime scenes and his other secrets as well. But Georgia's sick of being his mistress, she wants Emma's life to be hers; with Luke by her side. So she starts putting doubts in Emma's head about Luke's secret phone conversations and his late night "jobs." Making Emma's trust in her husband slowly disappear, all the while playing Emma's loyal friend. Georgia starts calling the house when Luke's not home in a different voice, telling her to "trust no-one" and the next call Georgia leads her to one of Luke's secret, buried in a tin can in the rose garden. It was a picture of a dead women from an accident, cash, and a piece of jewelry he saved as well. When Emma shows Luke what she found, he knows that the life he once had is forever damaged. Luke also knows that there is only one person he told about that hiding spot. Emma doesn't know what to think anymore.

An intriguing read.

*I received a complimentary copy of this ARC via NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

Emma and Luke Thompson run a cleaning business called Sparkle Clean. They are the parents of three little children whom they adore. They are working hard for their family so that their children can have a good life when they are grown. Luke handles the accounting end of the business and works with getting new contracts. Emma works in their office with other business tasks.

Emma begins to notice that Luke appears distant but when she questions him, he always smiles and tries to assure her that he is just busy and thinking about their business and jobs. Digging deeper, Emma finds a hotel receipt which he tries to explain away as a surprise he is planning for her but Emma knows there is something else going on. She then confides in her best friend, Georgia. The three of them have been friends since school days and Georgia was her Maid of Honor at her wedding. Georgia tries to reassure her but tells her to continue to ask Luke and see if anything else goes wrong.

Luke is hiding some very dark secrets from trauma he has experienced in the past. Emma has no idea how dark these secrets are so she continues to plead with him to get counseling which he promises to do. Things build to a devastating crescendo and a not too surprising ending.

I think the author worked hard on her debut novel here but I felt that some things were a bit repetitive and spread out too much. The characters are created well and the tension kept me reading this book in an afternoon. All in all, a good thriller.

Copy provided by NetGalley in exchange for a fair and honest review.

To Have and To Hold by Lilly French is a study of the breakdown of a marriage. Emma and Luke seem to have everything they could ever want. They own and run a successful cleaning company together, are happily married, have three awesome kids and a beautiful home. So what happens when the secrets are uncovered? And can they survive the hidden truths that can shatter a perfect marriage? This story was just okay for me. It did take me a long time to get through it as I found it very repetitive. While the storyline is believable it is in the characters that I find fault. I feel like they don't have much depth to them and I also thought that the ending could have been better. A problem I did have with this book was the authors admission she used AI and then edited afterwards. I felt like this is why the characters all felt wooden and cold. AI does not relate to human emotions. I really do think the idea of this book was good, it just needed better execution.
Thank you to NetGalley, Lilly French, and BooksGoSocial for this ARC. Expected publishing date is January 17th 2025.

To Have And To Hold was an okay read for me. The storyline was believable, but the characters didn't seem to have much depth to them. One minute they're strong and capable, the next they're sappy little puddles on the floor. This went on throughout the entire book and you never knew which strength the character was going to be in each chapter.

Emma and Luke seemingly have it all. A company they own and run together, a happy marriage, a beautiful home and three great kids. So what happens to throw it all into a tailspin and bring their world crashing down?

I did finish the book and felt the ending fell a little flat as it ended suddenly. The novel was fast paced, though a little redundant, and was an easy read.

Thanks to Netgalley and BooksGoSocial for the advanced copy

Lilly French’s To Have and To Hold is a taut, suspense-filled psychological thriller that explores the complexities of trust, intuition, and the hidden truths that can shatter a seemingly perfect marriage. At the heart of the novel is Emma, a woman who begins to sense that something is amiss with her husband, Luke. His sudden odd behavior and secrecy set off alarm bells in Emma’s mind, leading her to investigate the source of his shady actions. What ensues is a spiraling journey of discovery, as Emma uncovers far more than she could have imagined.

French excels at building tension from the very first pages, skillfully weaving a plot that keeps readers on edge. Emma’s growing suspicion is relatable, and her determination to uncover the truth is both engaging and relatable. As secrets unravel and betrayals come to light, the story continuously surprises, offering twist after twist that heightens the stakes with each chapter.

The pacing of the novel is one of its strongest aspects, as French keeps the momentum high, ensuring that readers are hooked from start to finish. Just when it seems like the mystery will be resolved, another revelation shakes Emma’s world to its core, making for an unpredictable and thrilling experience.

Overall, To Have and To Hold is an absorbing psychological thriller that will appeal to readers who enjoy fast-paced plots, complex characters, and an atmosphere thick with suspense. The book is a testament to how well-crafted tension and unexpected twists can create a truly gripping narrative. Emma’s journey, filled with shocking discoveries and heart-pounding moments, will stay with readers long after the final page is turned.

First, I just want to thank Netgalley and Lilly French for the opportunity to read this before it publishes, but sadly that is all the "positive" feedback I can give on this book.

There was no character development which made it hard to connect to any of them. The amount of spelling errors throughout this book was super frustrating. And I don't mean the occassional say he when it should have been she, but it felt like every other page had at least 2 words completely butchered which caused me to spend extra time trying to figure out what word was meant to be spelled. A lot of the paragraphs were redundant and had me thinking I re-read the same paragraphs twice. It was as if the author needed to reach a word count. Then the way it ended was super bland and very predictable from the very start of the book.

There is an Afterword from Lilly French where she explains that she used AI to help generate and assist with the book which made complete sense. Like I almost guessed the entire plot from the very beginning and if I had to take a wild guess I'd say this about the only part of the book she actually wrote and let AI generate the rest from that.

Overall because of how terribly written this book was, it took me over 3 weeks to finish it and most of the time I found myself just wanting to DNF it.

The story was good but it was confusing sometimes as it was repetitive.
Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

Emma is a devoted wife and mother, seemingly living a perfect life in the idyllic suburbs of Sherford. Together with her husband Luke, she runs a successful cleaning business while nurturing their three children. However, beneath the polished surface of her perfect life, an unsettling darkness begins to creep in as Emma notices troubling changes in Luke's demeanor – late nights at work, hushed phone calls, and suspected lies that leave her feeling isolated and frightened.

Emma's world shatters when she stumbles upon a hotel receipt hidden in Luke's jacket, igniting a firestorm of suspicion and fear of infidelity. Torn between the love she feels for her husband and the gnawing doubts consuming her, Emma confides in her best friend Georgia, whose insistence on the worst-case scenario only serves to amplify Emma’s paranoia. As she delves deeper into Luke's life, Emma uncovers harrowing evidence of his disturbing obsession with death and morbid imagery—a stark contrast to the man she thought she knew.

This book lacked too much for me to truly enjoy it. The characters felt underdeveloped and the plot felt repetitive, predictable, and meh. I like the cover, though! 2.5⭐

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the advanced digital reader's copy (ARC) in exchange for an honest review!