I'm not sure what to say about You Were Made For This. It is a compelling read and I loved the writing style of the story. Beautifully written in the first person; dialogue is depicted in a non traditional fashion but is hypnotic in its rhythm. Written in a very biased first person viewpoint but from three seperate perspectives - a misogynistic husband, a disturbed wife and her manipulative 'best friend' - it provides a somewhat reliable account of what happened.

You Were Made For This is a voyeuristic view into relationships and how toxic they can be. Some people are truly nothing like they seem. The problem for me though are the characters. There is no doubt that Sacks is a stunning writer. The atmosphere that she creates is intense and the twisted relationships she descibes are a tangible entity in it's pages. Unfortunately - not matter how compelling her writing is - it doesn't make up for the fact that I despised Sam, Merry and Frank in equal measure.

I found You Were Made For This difficult to read at times and the story not what I expected from the synopsis. I thought I was picking up a routine physcological thriller, but what I got was so much more than that. What I did not expect though was so much of the tale to revolve around Conor 'the infant son' and found many of the scenes very difficult to read. This book brought me to tears on more than one occasion and I have the feeling it will stay with me for a few years to come.

I can't say that I enjoyed You Were Made For This as I found it too upsetting and I'll be honest and say that I am unsure what I learnt or took away from reading it. However, I will say that it's wonderfully written in a style I enjoyed, and is an utterly compelling read. Dark and disturbing, is shows people at their very worse. An awful yet addictive look at how destructive and toxic relationships can be and how we sometimes enable them.

I’m not really quite sure what to make of this book if I’m honest. Although the storyline was well thought out, the ending was a bit bizarre for my liking.

Our main cast of Sam & Merry who are husband and wife are hiding secrets from each other even having moved from the US to Sweden to start a new life. Both have damaged/troubled backgrounds. Our third main character Frank is Merry’s childhood best friend.... however friend is a loosely used term as each hurts the other and have done across the years.

The storyline is developed in such a way that you think you know where it’s going but what actually happens is far from what was expected.

Ms Sacks manages to take a fairly standard collection of characters: philandering husband, wife with a secret and toxic best friend and meld them into a twisty thriller with an unexpected ending

I am totally on the fence with You Were Made for This. I liked it, then it annoyed me, then I liked it again, then I found it lacking in pace. The premise was good but o couldn’t gel with any of the characters at all and found the book to be both disturbing and an awkward read.

I’m going to rate it three stars as there were some aspects that I did like. Thank you to NetGalley, HQ and the author for the chance to review.

This book started well with an interesting story and good prose that made it clear that this was going to be somewhat disturbing, however, this went on far longer than was necessary and I lost any interest in the main characters about halfway through. I persevered to the end and unfortunately my disappointment did not wain. I really wanted to like this book but it was just so difficult to keep any interest that I finished because I felt I had to, not because I wanted to. Disappointing ending to a disappointing book

You Were Made for This is not your average thriller, the danger mostly comes within the marriage of Sam and Merry. Sam is possessive and controlling and Merry is simply acting out the role of the doting wife and mother. When Merry’s childhood friend, Frank comes to stay, the new life that they’ve built for themselves starts to fall apart. You Were Made for This is uncomfortable to read, no doubt, but I found it refreshing to have such strong feelings for a book. Whether you love it or hate it, it’s well written and fast paced although not for the faint hearted.

This claustrophobic tale of a fake Swedish idyll gone wrong, as told by the three main characters (Sam, his wife Merry, and Merry's childhood best friend, Frank) is deliciously dark and oppressive. It's hard to pinpoint exactly why it works so well, given that it's a deeply disturbing story, sparsely told, with an irredeemably damaged (and distasteful) cast of characters, and yet it works brilliantly. I absolutely loved this book.

At first I found this book a bit boring, he did, she did type of thing, but when a third person entered the mix it really got interesting.
Well worth sticking to the end.

It took me a while to get into this book because the first part, the part where you're getting to know everyone, really bored me. It was slow and it didn't seem to be going anywhere at all. But when Frank comes in, it completely changed and I couldn't stop reading. But, at the same time, I actually struggled to get through it.

The story takes you on quite a chilling ride and if you're not a fan of disturbing novels this really isn't one for you. It's completely filled to the brim with lies and secrets, murder and abuse, cheating husbands and terrible relationships and I actually really enjoyed it. But for the rest of it, the writing, the characters, the setting, I didn't enjoy that. I couldn't really get on with the writing style at all, it seemed a bit messy and I did have to use my brain quite a lot to understand what was going on, which I don't really like to do with a book unless I'm working out a mystery/plot twist. The characters were horrible, no likeable qualities about any of them and I prefer it when I can at least rout for someone.

The story however did win me over and I couldn't stop the pages turning, especially nearer the end, the twists are pulled out throughout the last 30% of the book so it made it so much more enjoyable and I actually enjoyed how it ended too.

Thank you to the publishers, author and NetGalley for my ARC copy - this did not effect my review.

I felt hooked almost straight away and knew that things were not as idyllic as portrayed. It was a fairly slow build, but I love reading books where we see all the characters view points in each chapter. It makes you think about relationships and how complicated they are. I am not going to write a synopsis of the story, apart for saying that it takes you out of your comfort zone with an unexpected ending. I would definitely recommend #youweremeantforthis

A bold, sharp, gripping novel about a couple whose perfect life in the Swedish countryside is not what it seems...

In an idyllic house in a Swedish wood, Merry and her husband Sam are building their new dream life with their young baby, far away from events that overshadowed their old life in New York. And they're happy, aren't they? blissfully happy.

When Merry's childhood friend Frank (Frances) comes to stay, Frank barely recognises her old friend Merry, pureeing baby food, baking, living the Swedish dream. But little by little, cracks begin to show in her carefully constructed fairy tale. And Frank starts to see things others might miss. Dark and treacherous things.

And then a terrible tragedy unfolds...

It is a tangled web that unravels around you and every single moment of it is completely, darkly enchanting. It has an almost fairy tale sense to it. When I tell you every character is unlikeable I am NOT lying! Lies, jealousy, betrayals, toxic relationships ooo my!!

I need to go and read about innocent, nice people for a while. This was shattering.

4 stars recommended

Many thanks to NetGalley and HQ for an advance copy for a fair and honest review

This novel is powerfully toxic, written in lyrical prose about the most poisonous relationships imaginable, where the reader stumbles on the shifting sands of loyalties and betrayals by the dozen. I have written recently in several reviews about how I find it hard to enjoy a book if I don't like the characters but this tale reminded me of how much fun you can get when you hate them!
The bucolic setting and attractive couple we meet in the first pages rapidly give way to the reality of rural and emotional isolation, cruelty, co-dependence, rivalry and self-loathing. Not one for the beach perhaps, but certainly as compelling and addictive as anything I've read this year.

What a brilliant book set in Sweden . Loved the gradual build up and the relationship between these 2 friends and the husband. Quite dark in places but well worth a read. Would highly recommend

First of all I must confess this: I read this book in one sitting. The writing is really good. The story captured my attention from the first page, I found myself dazzled switching between the viewpoints of Sam and Merry, a couple with a young baby, recently relocated to an area outside Stockholm. They left bustling city of New York and in this new settlement, the nearest public transport is 50 minutes walk away, they are in the wild, there isn"t even neighbours next door. Big change! But not without reasons...
In the beginning their life seems perfect, then you begin to realise the creases, the smudges in their smooth shiny surface... Merry isn't who she seems, so as Sam. Their relationship absorbed me and I absolutely loved the book until Frank was poured into the story. I don"t want to reveal too much about the plot, maybe I have read two many `obsessed female friendships gone wrong` type of thrillers this year- after Tangerine and Social Creature- but somewhere along the last third of the book I started to feel like we were being busy with too much "whodunnit". I wish it was kept more psychological, more tense rather than getting the attention from person to person to see what happened. And I wasn't a fan of the ending either
Still this was a very good read for me, considering the amount of thrillers that's been pushed onto the market, this is the first book in this genre this year that I haven"t dropped and read in one night. I will definitely read from the same author again, her style of writing is brilliant.
One warning, this book might contain upsetting scenes.

I have to be honest, the book was a mess. The characters didn't interest me. I just found the whole story strange.

A really great book telling the story of New York couple Merry and Sam who move to Sweden to raise their baby son. Merry's childhood best friend Frank arrives to visit this new idyllic home and it is not long before a series of life-changing events are set off.
I really don't want to give anything away except to say that this was an utterly dark, harrowing and compelling read that I found difficult to put down. Do yourself a favour and read this book - 4.5 stars!
Many thanks to Netgalley and publishers for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Doting wife, devoted husband, cherished child. Merry, Sam and Conor are the perfect family in the perfect place. Merry adores baking, gardening, and caring for her infant son, while Sam pursues a new career in film. In their idyllic house in the Swedish woods, they can hardly believe how lucky they are. What perfect new lives they've built for themselves, away from New York and the events that overshadowed their happiness there.

And then Merry's closest friend Frank comes to stay. All their lives, the two women have been more like sisters than best friends. And that’s why Frank sees things that others might miss. Treacherous things that unfold behind closed doors.

But soon it's clear that everyone inside the house has something to hide. And as the truth begins to show through the cracks, Merry, Frank, and Sam grow all the more desperate to keep their picture-perfect lives intact.

Dark, breath taking and very disturbing! Couldn’t put it down .....

Wow, what a book. Starts off a quite a gentle speed, gradually speeds up until it’s completely shocking!
Messed up friendships, lies, jealousy and betrayal!
Couldn’t turn the pages fast enough..

This was a difficult book to read. I could not warm to any of the characters and I found the plot too harrowing in places. There is a lot to try and take in and get your head around. The more I read, the more I disliked the characters. The atmospheric Swedish background is used to its full. I felt it added to the plot and its execution.

Thank you to Netgalley for my copy.

I had to force myself to finish this book, there was not one 'normal' character, not one single one that I could warm even slightly to. Well written and so on but the subject matter and the despicable characters have left a bad memory of this book with me,