This book centres around Sam, Merry and their son Conor. Merry’s friend Frank comes to stay and we learn things are not what they seem in Sam and Merry’s lives.
At times I was uncomfortable with the treatment of the baby and if anything my discomfort grew as the book progressed.
I wasn’t really gripped by this story but was intrigued to see how it ended so kept going.
A tricky one to review as it didn’t really do it for me but some may really enjoy it.
Thanks to HQ and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book.

The facade of Mary and Sam's life is beautiful, pretty hose in the middle of the Swedish wilderness, baby boy, happy parents, fruit and vegetable garden, homemade meals. Sounds so charming, and looks so nice on the photos that Mary sends to her childhood friend Frank. Unless you look closely you won't see all the secrets and abuse. Mary, Sam and Frank should never spend time together, they are destructive forces by themselves, but in a group, it's tenfold. The secrets they keep simmer underneath just to overboil at one point.

You Were Made for This is a dark story, that very slowly creeps on you. For a long time, you are not sure what will happen, what the tragedy will be, you feel that's something's not quite right, but what exactly? I haven't read a similar story to this one, and I'm struggling to find words to describe my feelings about this book. The story is disturbing, and it was hard to read about such atrocities. But just because I find the story itself so horrible, doesn't mean it's not a well-written story. It's just hard to read because of the emotions of anger and dismay that it triggers.

No matter how many secrets the characters have, I think the author is showing them off too early, and even readers that aren't well-seasoned in suspense novels will know who committed the crime. There's an attempt to fool us, but really, it doesn't work. The power of the book doesn't lie in the search of who did it, you keep turning pages because you need to understand why they did it.

Happy wife, happy life? Well neither are true in this book, This family seem so perfect to the outside world but it soon unravels that this is not the case,. i can appreciate the story and plot to this book but it just isn't my cup of tea. I didn't like any of the characters apart from the baby so it was a little difficult to keep reading.

This book was an unusual book for me. It was a suspense/mystery but it was told in a weird writing style that I didn't really like too much. There was no speech marks for speech so I was confused most of the time if it was a characters thoughts or actual speech. Quite a lot of the time I would have to read again to make sure if the character spoke out loud or not.

In terms of the points of view, it was told in first person from 3 different narrators. I wasn't confused on who was talking and enjoyed each of the POVs equally. I think these points of views were done successfully because I thought I knew a character because of their point of view but another character would make me question it. This meant they weren't as trustworthy as one might think.

In terms of the actual story it was very slow in the beginning and took a long time to get to the main storyline. I think it took about 70 pages, which for a 260 page book is very slow. It hinted at things but I think it would have been better if the main story started a bit sooner.

I really disliked the ending. It was not as satisfying at all and I felt like I just wasted my time reading it. 

Overall, I think this was an okay book while you're reading but it's not going to leave a lasting impression.

3/5

Initially this book had me hooked. The location seemed idyllic as did family life, however we all know things are seldom what them seem to be.
By the 2nd half of the book I realised I disliked all 3 main characters plus the intensity experienced at the beginning was no longer there.
Sadly not a favourite of mine. 2.5 stars.

Loved the description of the Swedish countryside and the idyllic lifestyle.

The story was told from the view of the 3 main protagonists and this gave the novel a slightly disjointed feel.

I struggled to finish this as the 3 main characters were pretty unlikeable and struggled to feel empathy for any of them.

Thank you HQ and Netgalley for giving me the opportunity to read this novel in exchange for an honest review.

This was a well written book that described life in Sweden and the countryside beautifully. It was unusual in that it was written in the first person all the way through which although at times was confusing it gave an added dimension to the story. The three main characters were totally self centred and not nice people at all. The background of the three people, Sam, Merry and Frank evolves slowly which adds to the dark side of each of them. The basis of the story is that what you see is not always what you get and all three characters were trying to hide what they really were like. I felt that the ending was weird and did not reach a finality, however if this was a movie I would simply say that the writer had already left the opening for a follow on and perhaps that is a true statement here as well.
This was not what I had expected from reading the synopsis as it did not note that this was about twisted relationships and how people interact with each other; certainly all three characters were not how they initially appeared.This mystery story was dark as all Scandinavian stories seem to be but a compulsive read trying to find out who was responsible.

Firstly the good things about You Were Made for Me, it was well written and I liked the first person narrative from the 3 central characters. The descriptions of Sweden were beautiful written and made me want to visit one day. On to the bad things, the 3 central characters were hateful, self centre, narcissists who I had no empathy for and made no connection with. I didn't care what happened to them, as long as it wasn't good. Outside of those characters other people weren't that nice either and painted quite a bleak impression of humanity. If you like to read about the darker side of humanity this one is for you.

This book was so tense! I enjoyed it very much and would recommend to anyone that's looking for a good suspenseful read with great characters.

Creepy and disturbing, everything I like in a novel! At times though it was lacking The strength of other parts of the novel. But on the whole I really enjoyed it and it kept me hooked.

I received an ARC of this novel in exchange for an honest review. Thank you to Netgalley, Litttle, Brown, and Company, and the author Michelle Sacks.
I can't really sum up any stronger opinion of this book than that it was simply 'ok'. The premise itself had promise, as did the characters, but the whole narrative seemed a bit confused and erratic.
There were moments in the story that were incredibly dark and disturbing, and chapters that made for compelling reading, but the motivations and history of the characters often felt disjointed and didn't fully line up with the story arc.
2.5 stars, for the shock factor.

Chillingly beautiful. Very visual book that is utterly haunting. Contemporary writing art is best.. I loved everything about this book and have recommended it very highly to many some who have gone on to love it too. A brilliant read.

I really enjoyed this book. It was well written and I felt slightly uncomfortable whilst reading such was the author's portrayal of the characters. All 3 main characters were not as they seemed and this meant for a really intriguing read.

Unsettling and quite horrifying. Not exactly what I was expecting but well written. Even though I didn't like it much, I couldn't possibly not have continued to the end to find out what happened.!

I found this story quite disturbing and may not be for everybody.The story is told through the three main characters which I quite like as I feel you get to know the characters better .Sam and Merry have moved from hectic bustling New York to a sleepy part of Sweden in the hope of a better life for their baby son .At first they seem happy but then Merry's best friend Frank comes to stay and then things spiral out of control and get very dark! Though I thought the story was slow to start with it soon began to twist and turn until you were never quite sure of the truth .The ending was a surprise but perfect.
Many thanks to the Publisher,the Author and NetGalley for the review copy in return for an honest review.

It starts of with the perfect family in and idyllic setting that makes you want their life - you could visualise the long summer days, the lakes with the healthy walks and crisp cold wine. Then so cleverly written by three main characters this goes darker and the flaws appear. Each individual having some major issues. Very disturbing but addictive reading.

It starts out as a fairy tale, a perfect little family, living the perfect life in the perfect world. Then it descends into nightmare as the illusion of perfection is stripped back revealing the rotten core within.
This story deals with domestic abuse, with a controlling, unfaithful husband, isolating his American wife with their small baby in a remote island in Sweden. His wife has her own issues too, including her resentment and abuse of the baby, so no one is blameless in this tragedy.
It is an absorbing story and I was swept along by it from beginning to end.

I have to say that I'm not a lover of thrillers, but I do appreciate a bit of mystery. I love the way this novel was written but for some reason, I had a hard time getting through it. It became kind of distressing to read and the main characters had a vile characteristic to their personalities. (Although I do believe that's what the author was going for).

Sam and Merry seem to have the perfect life in a remote cottage in Sweden with their baby Connor. But, of course, there is no such thing. We already had seen the cracks both in Sam and Merry's marriage, and in Merry's relationship with her baby wnen her friend Frank comes to visitt, exposing the cracks. There is a truly shocking event, which made for tough reading. I couldn't really like any of the characters, but the book is well written. I didn't expect the end! A good read, but not an easy one.

This is a tough novel. The book is very well-written and as with all good thrillers, there is a really nice build and an uneasy sense of impending doom.

The story is told from three characters' perspectives and each is deeply unlikeable. My impression is that Dr Freud would love this book! Everything these characters experience and anything untoward they do is laid squarely at the parents' feet. Without giving too much away, the mental health of each of the characters is the truly disturbing core explored within the book. Some of the material regarding what might arguably be post-natal depression is terrifying and sickening. Some sections were so disturbing I struggled to read them.

We understand right from the outset the nature of the marriage at the heart of the novel – the controlling husband and the wife who pretends to follow his instructions closely. It is a really good description of someone who is being systematically psychologically abused. Perhaps it goes a little too far in some cases, with the misogyny laid on thick: "But like I say to her - you don't need a degree to roast a chicken." At the point this comment is made, we already know Sam is deeply chauvinistic so he doesn't need to keep pole-vaulting over the levels of a normality with such commentary. There was a strength in the more subtle moments of control - rewarding Merry for the way she has her hair, what she's wearing, or how well she cooks, that aptly disclose his attitude without hammering the point home.

I say this is a tough novel because there is very little to redeem any of the characters. Sweden, where the book is set mirrors what we discover about Sam, Merry and Frank, at first appearing idyllic but as the book goes along, we discover it too has a dark heart.

Many thanks to NetGalley, HQ and Michelle Sacks for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.