This book is such an easy read - not too taxing but keeps you turning the pages. I found it a little repetitive but enjoyed it nonetheless. Part1/2 seemed too similar for my liking

She is a book of two halves. First we start with Ben and how shattered he is when his long-term girlfriend, Charlotte, leaves him. He was about to propose but she didn't get to know that. Then in a whirlwind romance he meets Bella, she quickly becomes pregnant and they marry, but everything is on her terms. Bella, the 'She' doesn't come over as a very nice person and I'm sure if it wasn't for the baby, their relationship would not have lasted. She's rude to his parents and he's no longer allowed to see his friends. The brass neck of the girl makes for perfect poolside reading. Part two, and the story flips to Bella's version of events. I can't say it made me like Bella any more but one or two things slipped into place. There's quite a bit of repetition of events with living Bella's slant and perspective, but this just confirmed what a schemer she is.

I found She to be a cleverly plotted book and quite refreshing in its unusualness.

The wimpish Ben is heartbroken when his long standing girlfriend finishes with him. Things are immediately brighter when Bella turns up, but what is she hiding? I really thought I’d read this story before or maybe I’ve just read so many similar ones that I can no longer tell the difference! The list of characters were either good or bad, no happy medium. So many things were swept under the carpet, anything for a peaceful life it seems. Bella’s section was exactly like Ben’s dialogue apart from the “he said, she said” depending on who it was. It passed the time, I carried on reading but thought it was more drama than thriller.

This multiple character viewpoint novel is a brave undertaking as it is disturbing in the extreme with one main character who is impossible to like. This is balanced with another main character who is deserving of all the empathy that is possible to feel. Tackling the emotive subjects of female to male abuse, narcissism, love and parenthood would be a tricky path to leader readers down for just one of these, but this novel manages to navigate though them all with fairly successful results.

Ben is devastated when his long term girlfriend ends the relationship so when he meets the beautiful and enchanting Bella he easily falls for charms, convinced he is punching above his weight and truly lucky to meet her. Caught up in her whirlwind Ben very soon finds himself looking at marriage and imminent fatherhood but it soon becomes clear that there is more to Bella than meets the eye and it’s not a pretty sight.

Bella does everything within her power to manipulate Ben and isolate him from those close to him. When tragedy hits Ben’s family she swoops in further to take complete control of his life.

Tackling abuse, both mental and physical, when the positions of abuser and abused are not the general norm we hear of i.e. in this case it is the female abusing the male, could have led to a novel with so much more depth, conscience and meat to its bones than this. For me something just didn’t click with this book. The characters lacked layers and the plot, bar a fairly good twist at the end, felt somewhat predictable.

Now this could just be me and my inability to totally engage with the book. Many other readers have given it five starts and glowing reviews and to be fair I didn’t hate it, I just didn’t like it very much. I genuinely dislike writing negative reviews and as with anything, whether one enjoys a book is a matter of taste among other factors. So I think in some cases you should read the novel’s synopsis and go with your gut, but if you are asking whether I personally recommend it, it’s a sketchy maybe. It's more of a 2.5 than a 3.

My thanks to #Netgalley, the author and the publisher for a copy of #She in exchange for an honest review

Wow oh wow. The perfect ingredients for a gripping story you can’t put down! Ben meets Bella.....There’s something off about her.....Bens friends and family aren’t so keen....and the plot continues to thicken. I couldn’t put it down, what a fab book!!!!

What a gripping read! This chilling story of Ben and Bella and what should be an idyllic marriage kept me utterly engaged to the very last page. Ben is such a likeable character and you can’t help but wish him well. Bella on the other hand is beautiful yet very flawed. She has a very nasty streak, In this book we learn just how nasty!

This is adebut thriller, however, it was a wee bit far fetched for me and some aspects of the story I did find irritating.

Ben is miserable after being dumped by his long term girlfriend of 12 years. A beautiful woman is staring at him at a bar and a whirlwind romance follows. Very quickly she announces she is pregnant and they get married. I found it odd that Ben didn’t query this and there was no mention of him attending scans or wondering why he’d not been included more.

It soon becomes apparent that Bella is manipulative, violent and controlling and is only interested in herself. Ben loses touch with his family and closest friends and is fearful all the time. His family and friends are worried about him but other than one meeting with a friend, they don’t seem to do that much to help him.

The book did touch on the issue of domestic abuse towards men, both physical and mental and it’s good it raised this issue as it isn’t often spoken about.

‘The characters are good and I really didn’t like Bella at all, I felt so awful for Ben and just wanted him to leave her. I did find Charlie a bit irritating just because she could do no wrong in anyone’s eyes. I really liked the addition of Leo as I felt he was similar in personality to Bella and she would get her comeuppance.

The first part of the story is told mostly from Ben’s perspective and then the second part from Bella’s. It was very noticeable that the dialogue was exactly the same, the only difference being the other character’s opinions and thoughts. This really grated on me and it felt like the author had just copied and pasted the dialogue. It felt lazy and like they had to increase their word count.

One of the big twists I had predicted from the start so I wasn’t surprised at all and I found the ending to be a bit flat, predictable and too neatly tied up.

Overall, the book is ok and a very quick read. I wanted to find out what happened which kept me reading but I was a bit disappointed with the predictability of the story.

Thank you to Harper Collins HQ and NetGalley for an advance copy.

This was an excellent psychological thriller and one of the best I've read recently. Ben splits up with his girlfriend and meets Bella who soon fools him into her web of deceit, revenge & lies. Her motives are finally revealed with an amazing ending. Loved every word of this fast paced book and it kept me turning pages wanting to know what happens next. I would like to thank Netgalley and the publisher for an advance copy in return for a review and I look forward to reading the next book by this author.

I've heard such mixed thinsg about this book. A unique style of story and it was a little frustrating parts, also a little repetetive

A totally gripping book that I could not put down. This is definitely one of the best psychological thrillers I've read in a very long time. Can't wait to read more by this author.

An easy, fast-paced read that had me hooked from start to finish. The plot was engaging and the majority of the characters were relatable.

She is a thriller focussed on both mental and physical abuse within a relationship. The story is told first from Ben’s point of view, then later in the book it switches to Bella’s view and the story is told all over again.

I found it interesting to read a story from both points of view, of a little repetitive in places.

I don't like to give the storyline when writing a review, you can read that in the book blurb. A gripping, twisting, story with believable charactors. If this was on TV then you would be shouting out to one of the main characters. A wonderfully cryptic read that had me on the edge of my seat. Definitely one for the need to read list.

This was a very interesting read with the female partner as the controlling psycho.
It starts with Ben who after breaking up with his long term girlfriend meets the glamorous Bella who is he quickly becomes involved with but she is not all she seemsto be and she soon manipulates him into her web of deceit, revenge & lies. Her motives are finally revealed with a rollercoaster of an ending. One of the best psychological thrillers I have read.

I heard the author talking about this book on the Badass Women's Hour podcast, so was intrigued when I received a NetGalley of this title. However, the author was the head of daytime tv for ITV and responsible for Loose Women - a programme that is down amongst the likes of Jeremy Kyle and anything the Daily Mail prints in my opinion of "topical debate." So I didn't have high hopes, but as she came across well on that podcast and the synopsis of this story sounded fascinating, I reserved judgement.

Basically, Ben is quickly enthralled by the gorgeous Bella and a whirlwind wedding and baby quickly follow. But Bella isn't what she seems, and this perfect woman tears his family apart.

So lets get the negatives out of the way. This book isn't brilliantly written, it's over the top, predictable in places and if I have to read another description of Ben's parents' show home house ever again I might just gag. There is also far too much casual acceptance by one character in particular of serial infidelity - but it's ok, because she wuvs him soooo much. Urgh. I nearly tossed it aside after the first couple of chapters, as it was just so vapid.

But I didn't. I kept reading. I do have a soft spot for thrillers but I'm not very experienced in them, so that might explain my compulsion to keep going. But I think part of what kept me reading was some of what also made it a bit naff - it was just too crazy not to want to know what happened next, and it does have some good if unrealistic sex scenes. I also really liked that this book was probably the first I've read that looks at the issue of domestic violence perpetrated by a female.

On the whole, this book isn't going to change your life. But it might provide some light entertainment for a few hours.

Unfortunately not able to read this yet as been preparing to move house. I really hope that I will be able to keep this and read at a later time when we are settled in our new home but unfortunately everything is on hold due to the corona virus. It's worrying times and reading can help take you out of the situation into a different place so reading is a great thing to do.

I really enjoyed this and was hooked from the first chapter. It was interesting to see things from Bens perspective and then Bellas but I did skin read some of part two because the dialogue was often identical to part one though I appreciate it is difficult to rewrite from a second persons POV without any repetition. Thank you to Netgalley, the author and HQ for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review - I will definitely be reading more from this author.

This is a great psychological thriller that grabs you from the very beginning. The story starts with a young man whose long-term relationship has ended unexpectedly leaving him miserable and susceptible to the charms of beautiful femme fatale Bella. They marry after a very short time much to the concern of some of Ben's friends and family. This is a very dark, chilling story of domestic abuse - the abuser being Bella who is manipulative, cruel, deceitful, in fact truly evil. She justifies her actions as in her twisted mind she had a motive - I didn't see that coming! I highly recommend.

This book seems to have divided reviewers. I think you either love it or loathe it and I really enjoyed it. Ben has recently been dumped by his girlfriend. They had been together for twelve years and he was about to propose, so he is devastated by the breakup. In a bar he meets and falls for the beautiful Bella, who completely changes him, but she is not all that she seems. They get married and then he finds his life turns into a nightmare with her deceit and lies that estrange him from his family and friends. The book is narrated from Ben and Bella’s points of view. It made difficult reading at times but I found it hard to put down. A compelling and dark thriller.
Thanks to Netgalley and HQ for giving me the opportunity to read and review this book.