Wow this book was good. Ellie, Sofia, Rose, and Michelle made a vow to never talk about the night they discovered a secret at their high school. Fast forward. Ellie is getting married at a remote location. She was just kicked out of her next movie, and pictures from a past affair show up. Rose, who cannot stand ever being left out, is a new mother, who doubts her husband, and lives in her twin sister's shadow. Sofia, the wedding planner, is getting all of these bogus reviews about her wedding business. These three run into Michelle at this same remote location. Someone has gathered them all there. But why? and Who?

*I do have to say I figured out who the killer is and what their connection is to all of these people. So parts were predictable.

3.5 rounded up

You like vows, Sofia? Here’s one for you : I vow to make you pay.

It’s 2024 and experienced wedding planner Sofia is working hard for her best friend Ellie McLeod, now an A-list Hollywood celebrity, who has chosen a rather odd location for her nuptials to Mitch. It’s Cape Turmoil, an isolated lighthouse with accommodation but it’s Ellie’s choice and so Sofia will make it work. They make their way there along with their other best friend Rose and although the venue is quirky, it’s also stunning. They’re warned about the dark, with no paths or lighting around the cliff edges. A dark night, a dangerous cliff edge, bottomless champagne – what could possibly go wrong? However, that’s not the only warning the three get as it seems somebody is out to sabotage the big day. But, why? It seems that someone knows about the vow of silence they made years ago and is out for revenge.

This is an entertaining, fast paced, twisty, easy read with plenty going on to keep you interested in the drama. I like the relationship between the three flawed central female characters who have each other’s backs although each have their own issues. At times there’s tension especially between Rose and the other two which is an interesting dynamic, giving a sense of the jitters that’s not just about the big day. My suspicions fall in several directions but as the plot unfolds it’s not hard to figure it out, as it quite simply has to be, hence the 3.5 stars. I love the setting too, I always enjoy an Aussie location.

Overall, I would read the author again as she does keep me interested in the novel throughout.

With thanks to NetGalley and especially to Avon Books for the much appreciated early copy in return for an honest review.

The Vow by Stefanie London is a thrilling read that delves deep into friendship, secrets, and the weight of a shared past. The premise is compelling: three women, bound by a mysterious vow they made twelve years ago, reunite for a wedding, only to find that someone seems intent on making them pay for their past actions. The tension builds as they face the consequences of a night they've vowed never to speak about.

The characters are complex and flawed, yet strangely relatable, and it's easy to find yourself rooting for them despite their imperfections. As their past begins to surface, I was hooked, desperate to understand what happened that night and who was behind the ominous threats. London does a fantastic job of creating a suspenseful atmosphere, keeping the reader guessing about the true nature of their shared secret.

The mix of mystery, emotional depth, and the intricacies of their relationships made this book hard to put down. It’s one of those stories where you can’t help but get invested in the characters and their journey, even as their past mistakes come back to haunt them. The twists and turns kept me hooked until the very end, making The Vow a compelling and satisfying read.

Read more at The Secret Book Review.

Wow! I literally finished this in a day. Kept going back to my book to read this as I had to find out what was going on. It is absolutely gripping and a serious page turner.

The characters are suspicious and have good number of red herrings and twists. Told in multiple perspectives and timelines this is a brilliant thriller. It has a good usage of visualisation and the character development and storylines. Absolutely want to read more from the author. Recommend!

Thank you Avon Books UK and NetGalley for this e-arc in exchange of my unbiased review.

As the description says "It’s the wedding of the year – for all the wrong reasons"
A real edge of your seat read, i devoured this in two big sittings.
Fab characters and an overall well written drama.
My thanks to netgalley and the publisher for my copy.

The Vow follows Ellie as she gets married in a destination wedding. She invites her childhood friends, Rose and Sofia. This should be Ellie's happiest day in her life, but when things start to go wrong, she realises someone out there knows this is not the first vow she makes... Years ago, Ellie, Rose and Sofia promised each other they wouldn't tell anyone about what happened that night and now someone who knows has come back to taunt them... but why?

This book was so good I read it at the weekend. I think I would've read it in one sitting if it hadn't been for the fact I had to go out and get groceries. Ugh! I wish I'd planned better. I couldn't stop thinking about the book when I went to bedm so I snuck out of bed early to finish it before breakfast. You've been warned!

The story is di-a-bol-i-cal...!! where do I even begin? told from their respective POVs, it has two main storylines: Ellie's wedding today, and that fatidic night in 2013. Something I really, really liked was that this was a character-driven story. So this was quite "meaty" with good insight into what drives each character. I did feel a bit bad for them, the author did a great job emoting the sense of injustice that permeates life these days. Anyone can go online and say anything about you and you're presumed guilty until proven innocent. But... what if you're kind of guilty?

These are flawed humans that I strangely found myself rooting for! I wanted to know more about them, what drove them, and I NEEDED to know what happened that night and who was behind their misadventure!!

All in all, a great book!! I'm already looking forward to Stefanie's next book!!

Stefanie London's The Vow has twists and turns galore. It was a fast-paced and interesting read with a relatively unique plot. Friends Rose, Sofia, and Ellie reunite for Ellie's destination wedding in the Australian coast by a lighthouse. The lighthouse element of darkness and light rotating made the plot even more scary/suspenseful. Rose is a former swimmer and boy mom, Ellie is described as a young Margot Robbie, and Sofia is a wedding planner. London skillfully wove the three point of views of the friends with a changing time frame between when they were young and the wedding. This story would definitely make a great movie.

This was a quick and fast-paced read that I read over the course of a few hours. It centers on 3 friends named Sofia, Ellie, and Rose who are approaching their 30s while still holding onto a secret from high school that could ruin their lives if it gets out. When Ellie plans her wedding at a remote location in the countryside, bad things start happening to all 3 women and it's clear that someone knows what they did and is trying to make them pay for it. The story is told in alternating voices between the 3 women, with most in current time but some back when the "bad thing" happened.

The changing in voices and timeframes made the book read at a fast clip. The characters were distinct and it was easy to tell whose chapters were whose. I did think all 3 of them read as a little immature for their ages/experiences, in both timelines, but I still enjoyed their stories. I thought that parts of the book were suitably creepy and there was frequent action. There were also plenty of red herrings from which to choose as I was trying to figure out the culprit. When the villain was exposed, I was surprised (which is hard to do!) but it all made complete sense and I didn't know why I hadn't figured it out earlier. I enjoyed the ending and thought it tied things up for the most part, but there was one piece of the story that left a few unanswered questions.

Overall, I thought this was a fast and fun read and I'd recommend to those who enjoy psychological thrillers. Thanks to Netgalley for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

A very good mystery. I loved the way it was told from the different characters point of view between past and present. Very enjoyable and I devoured it in one sitting !!

This book was so good! I enjoyed the timeline flipping between the girls being in high school and present! I definitely did not expect the ending, especially when it was came to Rose.

I was given this book by NetGalley for an honest review-
Someone is trying to punish them or so it seems… as each friend seems to have things going wrong in their life. Years ago the girls made a vow to never talk about what happened but somebody knows. A fun weekend for Ellie’s wedding is beginning to look troublesome!

Quite an enjoyable thriller. Thanks @netgalley for the opportunity to read this book in advance. I will keep an eye out for this author in the future.

Great book! Was so invested in every second of the story. Thank you for letting me read in advance. Cannot wait to read other things from this author.

This was a good mystery with some great twists that kept me guessing. I liked the overall storyline and was definitely curious to see how it would all come together.

That said, I had a hard time with the dual timelines and the constant switching between three characters. It made it a bit confusing at times, and pulled me out of the story a little.

Still, the mystery itself was strong, and I’m glad I stuck with it. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the chance to read this one in exchange for my honest opinion.

The Vow is a fast paced suspense drama packed with action, twists, and surprises. It centers around three childhood friends and the fallout from an unfortunate event that occurred in their past.

Sofia, Ellie and Rose are preparing for Ellie's upcoming destination wedding. Friends since childhood, they are excited to be together for this happy occasion. Sofia, a wedding planner, is managing all the details for the happy couple. Once they have arrived at their destination, Sofia receives a strange message pertaining to something that happened in the past, that all three made a vow to forget. As the day draws closer, more shocking things keep happening. They made a vow to never speak about what happened, so who else could possibly know what happened? Is the suspect closer to them than they think?

This was a fast paced, suspenseful read that leaves you guessing til the end. It's told through the perspectives of the three main characters and in a dual time-line. This was a crazy fun read and I thoroughly enjoyed it. I highly recommend!

Thanks to Netgalley and Avon Books for the advanced copy

4 star thriller for me!⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Three childhood friends keeps a dark secret and someone is out to bring their secret to life. Great characters and story. Really enjoyed it.

This was a thrilling exciting read, Sofia, a successful wedding planner, Rose, a disgraced swimmer, married now with a young baby and Ellie, an actress who has just landed an amazing role.
The 3 women have been friends from schooldays and are as close as sisters. Ellie is getting married at an exclusive resort and the three women arrive earlier than the guests for pre wedding time together.
A mystery person seems hellbent on ruining their lives though as Sofia starts getting bad reviews, pictures emerge from Ellies past and Rose suspects her husband of having an affair. Could this be linked to something in the past and who would know when they made a vow to never speak of it again.
This was a real page turner, I loved the girls friendship, the sister code they had, Proof that all actions have consequences. An enjoyable read

The Vow by Stefanie London is a book for of secrets and the ways bonds are tested through the darkest secrets of all.

The Vow was a really enjoyable read that I didn’t want to stop reading once I got fully immersed in it because there were so many secrets that I desperately wanted the answers to and they are tantalizingly doled out sporadically throughout the novel in snippets of the past being told as the story unfolds in the present so many years later. This combined with the multiple point of views telling the story makes for a well laid out and well told story that induces so much anxiety and paranoia as you read.

I appreciated having Sofia, Rose, and Ellie all telling the story both in the present and the past as it gives each of their unique perspectives on events and lets the reader understand what happened and why they’ve become the people they are in the present. On top of this it helps establish each of their personalities and the relationships they have with one another, which really helps them to be real feeling characters that you actually feel for and learn to understand.

The plot was deeply intriguing too, between the threats to the characters and the awful ways their lives starts to fall apart, leading up to the answers as to why everything is happening. The story helps to unfold clues that lead up nicely to the reveal of who is behind everything, and I thought the little clues dropped as the story progressed made it very clear who was responsible and easy to put together to lead to a natural conclusion.

The ending felt a little abrupt in the sense that all is revealed and then BAM it’s resolved, followed by an immediate time jump, but otherwise it was a good read and did keep my attention very well. It was a fast paced read and I really enjoyed it, so definitely recommend.