Karen has done well as a marriage counselor, working from her home for decades. She generally works with couples together, and will do what she can to keep their marriages intact. It doesn't take long for Karen to understand the newest couple, Josh and Lydia Green. At least she thinks she understands the dynamic of their relationship.

Karen begins to listen and soon begins to offer advice as to how they can draw closer together. However, things begin to unravel rather quickly, and Karen soon realizes that she might be out of her depth with Lydia and Josh.

Neither Josh nor Lydia make Karen feel comfortable. There are things about both of them that send an alarm, but as she is dedicated to her work, she seeks to look past the angst that rises within her as she treats them. Furthermore, Karen is plagued by her past and this occasionally affects her perspective. Beyond that, Karen begins to feel unsafe.

What a twisty book! I felt much like Karen in the beginning. All I wanted was for this couple to look past their anger and grief and to learn to rediscover what brought them together in the first place. But, like Karen, I quickly learned that nothing was as it seemed. As things evolved, The Divorce moved past being a domestic drama to an actual thriller. Yes, indeed, something changed, and it did so smoothly, if not rapidly.

This book by Victoria Jenkins captured my interest from the outset and never let go. I was drawn into the couple, especially with the shift in the story. There were a few surprising twists and turns and a satisfying conclusion. I look forward to reading more by this talented author.

Many thanks to Bookouture and to NetGalley for this ARC to review in exchange for my honest opinion.

This was a fantastic story that had me guessing all the way through.

I loved the author, Victoria Jenkins' easy style of writing and the characters were all believable, well rounded and relatable. This was not a nail-biting, edge-of-your-seat thriller, but it was an extremely interesting story and a steady and solid read that had me in its clutches until I reached the startling reveal. For me, The Divorce was all about the subtle asides and the many variations of the psyche.

I received a complimentary digital copy of this novel at my own request from Bookouture via NetGalley. This review is my own unbiased opinion.

(Also posted on my GR account!)

The Divorce took three point of views: the marriage counselor (Karen) and her clients (married couple Lydia and Josh Green). Lydia and Josh came to fix their marriage and Karen saw signs of abuse, even clearer during their sessions together. Karen suspected half of the couple and really prepared to save the other half. However, stuffs weren't always like what it seemed.

The Divorce, to me, was just an OK book. It wasn't extraordinary, but it wasn't bad either.

I dislike: the povs, if the book stuck with Karen and only her, I think it'd be better. I quite like the initial idea of the plot before, of course, as always, things started to unrevealed themselves and we abandoned the initial plot.

I like the writing, I like Karen because for once I didn't have a main female character that wasn't hysterical nor stupid. Karen was professional with a hint of anxiety and a bad past, but she was stable, unlike many psychological thriller characters.

I don't really like the ending, I mean, after I passed the 'why' I didn't really pay attention that much.

Lydia and Josh feel their marriage is floundering so they begin therapy sessions with Karen. As their problems begin to unfold, Karen begins having flashbacks from her previous marriages. I am glad this was a quick easy read because I really struggled to get through the majority of it. This book fell flat for me and did not hold my interest. Thank you to NetGalley and Bookouture for the ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

3.5⭐️ rounded up to 4

Karen is a marriage guidance counsellor who takes on the case of Lydia and Josh Green who are on the verge of separation. On the face of it, they seem like any other couple who are going through troubles, but there is more sinister about this couple. The more sessions they have, the more uneasy Karen feels. There's something about them that she can't quite put her finger on, except something reminds her of events that took place in her own past.

Right from the start Josh is not a likeable character. They talk about infidelity, abuse and control in their sessions with Karen. The scenes are all set in therapy. There is something about the couple that does not ring true. The big reveal was at around the 80% mark, after that the story felt a bit flat. Overall, this is a decent enough read.

I would like to thank NetGalley, Bookouture and the author Victoria Jenkins for my ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This story is told by 3 different persons. The biggest part is seen through the eyes of Karen, but we also get a glimpse in the heads of Lydia and Josh.

As a counsellor you meet all kinds of people. Your job is to try and figure out the best way to help your clients. It's not always easy. Are they being honest or are they trying to deceive you? Who do you believe? Is she right? Or is he? 

The more you talk and listen to them, the more you are convinced you have delved deep enough and you know the truth. Now you know how to give the best advice possible, don't you ...? But why do you still feel that things do not really add up?

This is a slow paced thriller. At first the story is like a babbling brook where nothing seems to happen and suddenly there is a turning point where everything escalates.

And then there is the ending ... 4 stars.

Thank you, Victoria Jenkins, Bookouture and Netgalley.

Lydia and Josh are meeting with Karen for couples counselling. Karen is worried about the way in which Josh treats Lydia and scared she will end up hurt. Karen has her own experience of an abusive relationship. Soon it would seem this couple are not what seem.


This left me a little deflated and I think the ending could have been so much more. Thank you to netgalley and the publishers for this arc in exchange for my honest review.

Karen is a therapist, mostly dealing with couple who have marriage problems. She listens to them, and tries to help them save their marriage.

Lydia and Josh Green are new clients. Almost immediately she senses something not quite right. The two of them seem to disturb something in Lydia ...something from her past.

Lydia seems to be frightened of her controlling husband. Josh is plainly angry and seems to be hiding .. something.

As Karen spends more time with the couple, she more apprehensive and afraid she seems.

What is it about their behavior that sets her teeth on edge?

This is a well-written psychological thriller sprinkled with lies and deception. Karen is like a rat cornered by the cat. What is she hiding from her past? Are Lydia and Josh plotting... something? The ending is spectacular and quite surprising.

Many thanks to the author / Bookouture / Netgalley for providing the advanced digital copy of THE DIVORCE at no charge. I am leaving this review voluntarily. Opinions expressed here are unbiased and entirely my own.

This is a subtle, clever thriller about how we each see different meanings in the same things….

Karen is a psychologist and her clients, Josh and Lydia come to her to seek help with their marital issues…..this interaction between Karen and her clients is the bulk of the story, it also brings her own memories to the fore…how memories as a child may not have the same interpretation as an adult…

As Josh and Lydia’s sessions progress, more and more about their lives and their issues are discussed, reminding Karen of her own marriages, the abuse she endured and a tragedy….is this a coincidence or is there more to Josh and Lydia? Much more!

A quick read with a touch of a thriller and a twist you won’t see coming..

Thank you to Bookouture, the author and NetGalley for a free copy of the ebook. This is my in honest, unbiased review.

Sorry to say, I struggled with this book but at least I finished it but only to find out that the ending was almost worse than the middle. I think a major problem was that the characters were just not likable and it’s very hard to read when you don’t care about any of the characters.
Thanks to NetGalley for advance copy.

The tag line on the cover reads “A gripping psychological thriller with a fantastic twist.” It’s not unusual for psychological thrillers to claim to be “gripping” or “unputdownable” and to tout their “twists.” Unfortunately, this book does not live up to any of those claims. I’m sure that some people will love the commentary on marriage and domestic abuse, but for me, there was too much exposition that slowed the action down. As a result, the twist that was supposed to make me say “Oh, wow!” just made me say, “Eh.” Parts of the plot were interesting, and the concept was okay, but it all got lost in endless paragraphs of inner thoughts – just not my cup of tea. And speaking of tea, the ending seemed very abrupt and left the story unfinished. Thank you to NetGalley, Bookouture, and the author for a complimentary pre-release digital ARC of this book.

Thank you Net Galley for my ARC. This is the first I have read anything from this author.  I really wanted to like this book but i found it to be slow moving especially in the beginning and also wasn't too fond of any of the characters. I would rate around 2.5 stars.

A slow burner to start but the pace picks up as you go. Some surprises and a good twist along the way following Karen's discovery of Josh and Lydia as their marriage is exposed. The secrets and discoveries start to bring Karen's past into the story. A good read.

Probably closer to a 2.5, rounded up.

This book is told from the perspective of three different characters: Karen, Lydia , and Josh. Karen is a marriage therapist and Lydia and Josh are two of her clients. Karen is haunted by her own married past and that of her most memorable client, although we don't know why until later in the book.

The book started off a bit slow, but it captured my interest after a while, and it made me want to keep reading. I did figure out one of the big twists, though, since the clues were a bit heavy-handed. And at the end, this book left me with a lot of questions as the conclusion is quite fast (and not very much actually concludes.) As a reader, we are just kind of left to guess what happens to all three of these characters, which isn't what I really want from this kind of fast-read psychological thriller.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an arc of this book. It has not influenced my review.

This book was a completely different read. Though it was a thriller, but there was a bit of pathos underlying the backstory of these characters. It left me thinking quite a bit about how a mind interprets what it sees, adding its own meaning.

Lydia and Josh came to psychologist Karen to fix what was wrong in their marriage, and in trying to fix their problems, Karen not only went into the memories of her past but also read the unspoken lines between the couple.

Victoria Jenkins has played this story as a subtle mind game where the human psyche and what it believed and desired was shown against the backdrop of marital problems. If I removed Karen's ruminations from the prose about the past, what I got was the way each of those characters were etched. The shift in their demeanor was exciting to see.

Childhood is an impressionable time, and I loved the way the author has brought the difference in the characters' interpretations as seen through the eyes of a child and then as an adult. This was not a blatant thriller, it had suspense and mystery, but it dealt with more of the human psyche which fascinated me.

Ah then came my infamous niggles, the prose is too wordy for a thriller, the characters think quite a lot, especially Karen, and they didn't come across as likable initially. Ending could have been clearer. But barring the last scene, when I reached the last few chapters and got to know what the story was all about, it made me think about how our human brain was.

All my love was for those subtle by-plays and the shades of a human mind.

Ooh this book is full of surprises.
Just when you think you’ve worked out what is going on, it’s turned completely on it’s head.
Karen is giving marriage guidance advice to Lucy and her husband, and grows more and more worried about the relationship.
We get snippets of information about Karen’s past and it’s clear she’s had a difficult life.
Karen thinks she can see signs of abuse in Lucy’s relationship and wants to help but us she ready to be helped?
This book had me hooked and I couldn’t put it down.
Thanks to Bookouture and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book.

I was sent this book free of charge from net galley in exchange for a honest review...

A couple of chapters into this I contemplated not finishing it which is very rare for me however after reading some similar reviews from people who thought the same but went on to love it I thought I’d give it the benefit of the doubt and persevere with it. It’s safe to say my mind wasn’t changed.

The concept of the story was good a mystery couple a troubled counsellor and many surprises along the way however the story was quite flat, I didn’t like any of the characters and I didn’t feel that the plot had any substance. Overall I found it on the boring side and not very original, not one I’d recommend.

Karen is a psychotherapist who practices from her own home. Josh and Lydia Green are her new patients. Josh is a GP and doesn't seem to want to be there. Lydia appears frightened of Josh. Karen suspects Josh is a very controlling and might physically abuse Lydia. So this is the story of their sessions.
Jenkins hooks the reader from the start and we are quickly drawn into Karen's point of view. As the sessions progress it becomes clear that things are not quite as they seem. The twist lacked some credibility for me but otherwise it was an engrossing read.

I have read other books by this author which have mainly been crime/police procedural books, so was completely thrown, and pleasantly surprised when this book was nothing like the previous books at all!! Saying that, this was a compelling and addictive read which left me reeling by the end! The story revolves around Karen who is a marriage counsellor and Josh and Lydia, a married couple, who are seeing Karen for counselling. The majority of the book is set within Karen’s consulting room, and chapters are told from the different character’s perspectives. It’s clear that Karen has had some marriage problems previously in her own life and she wants to give something back to help others in similar situations. Her history is told in snippets throughout the book giving us some insight into her tragic background.

It takes a few chapters to really get into the story, with the characters being given time to develop as the story moves on. Josh and Lydia’s marriage is by no means perfect and at every given opportunity they like to blame each other for the flaws in their marriage. It was difficult to quite know how to feel about this couple. Josh I just didn’t like or trust, and try as I might to feel some sympathy for him, I just couldn’t! Lydia I felt more sympathetic too, but there was just something about her which I couldn’t put my finger on either! I felt myself thinking how lucky I was that my marriage is a happy one and not like Josh and Lydia’s! As the story continues though, it becomes apparent that all is not as it seems in their relationship and the story takes a twist as the tension and suspense builds up. I certainly didn’t see this coming and thought it was a great change in direction towards the reveal at the end.

Despite it being a bit of slow burner initially, this book had me asking lots of questions as to where it was going and what was going to happen – because let’s face it, it’s obvious something wasn’t quite right with Josh and Lydia!! As the book moves on, so does the pace of the story and you find yourself being carried along on a wave of lies, deceit and mistrust. The second half of the book certainly makes up for the slightly slower start and once you get there you won’t be able to put it down until it’s finished.

If you like a book to go straight into the action, then perhaps this isn’t the book for you. But if you like to savour every dark moment of a book, absorbing all the details and be kept guessing until you can’t take anymore, then this unique psychological thriller should be your next read!

I was really looking forward to reading this after having read the blurb but unfortunately I did not enjoy this book as much. I wish the characters had been more compelling and the story not so contrived. It was just boring and it dragged in a lot of places! I guessed exactly what was happening halfway into the read and was happy to reach the end just so that it was over. Very okay read for me.
Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for a digital ARC of the book in exchange for an honest review.