I actually really liked this book. It turned the tale of emotional and physical abuse on its head and made the female the villain. The story was well written and the twists I did not expect. A good quick read.

A book that puts the norm of the male being the psychotic one or the negative character in a story. This had me on the edge of my seat. Ben, after experiencing a really bad break up, meets Bella and gets swept along into a  relationship. Before long he finds himself living a in a nightmare he can't escape and his family crumbling around him. Enjoyed this and found the authors characters well developed and likeable...exept Bella, I say now more! Thanks to Netgalley for allowing me an ARC in order for me to write this review.

This is a dark and twisted thriller showing just how far someone is willing to go to get what they want. The main character Bella has got to be every mother's nightmare for her son! She's beautiful but brutal, and incredibly manipulative. As the story progresses you can't believe the lengths she'll go too, and the people she's willing to hurt, just to get her own way. It's an addictive read.

Ben was shattered when his long term girlfriend broke up with him. She got on so well with his friends & family & he'd imagined that it was happy ever after. Meeting the beautiful Bella raises his spirits. When she reveals she's pregnant very soon after they get together, it is a surprise. However Ben is a good guy & before you know it the pair are married. It is not long before Ben's family & friends are firmly edged out of the picture. Bella want him all to himself & gets very angry when she doesn't get her own way.

The second part of the book is the events from Bella's point of view. There is a lot of repetition from part one but I found it quite interesting from another perspective so it didn't really bother me. Ben's life deteriorates rapidly. At times I did feel he was a bit of a wimp, but as I said he was one of the good guys. Bella on the other hand was one of the nastiest characters I've met in a while!

This was a fantastic read & I just couldn't put it down. Thanks to Netgalley & the publisher for letting me read & review this five star book.

SHE tells the story of 30-year-old advertising executive, Ben, who is still devastated by the fairly recent split from his girlfriend of 12 years, Charlotte. While having a drink after work one evening with his oldest and closest friend, Matt, he meets the gorgeous, stunning and perfect Bella and though he doesn’t realise it, it’s the start of a nightmare for Ben, his family and friends!

Ben finds Bella irresistible – she is beautiful, head turning, intelligent and he is completely mesmerised by her. He is immediately smitten and he is surprised and pleased that she seems to feel the same way. Bella moves in with him straightaway and their relationship progresses at a whirlwind pace.

Told in several parts, we first learn about events of the past few months from Ben’s point of view, then we get Bella’s take on things and it’s intriguing – and chilling in Bella’s case – to see how they both interpret events and what they’re each thinking. It’s a little bit repetitive but helps us to understand Bella’s behaviour.

Bella is an amazing character – she’s awful, horrible and nasty but strangely compelling! She treats Ben so badly but he can’t resist her despite her controlling and manipulative behaviour. She regularly lies to Ben, is possessive and domineering and punishes him in all sorts of ways whenever she considers he’s done something wrong. She’s so selfish and passive aggressive and everything is about her and she can be quite woe as me and hard done by too. Bella wants Ben all to herself and alienates him from everyone else. This is such a chilling story of the worst relationship you can imagine!

I don’t want to say too much about the plot but the consequences of their relationship and Bella’s actions have far-reaching consequences for all connected with Ben and she has a devastating affect on his whole family and closest friends.

I was completely enthralled and horrified by this twisted and twisty book and found it really engaging and gripping. I thought it was well written and cleverly plotted and the characters are well drawn. It was terrible how beaten Ben became – a shadow of his former self – as he was unable or unwilling to stand up to Bella’s abuse for various reasons.

I really enjoyed this dark, tense, suspenseful psychological thriller and raced through it in a few hours! I couldn’t put it down and was frantically turning the pages to see if Bella got her comeuppance or if she was going to destroy everyone! I definitely recommend SHE, the author’s first psychological thriller, and look forward to reading more of her books.

My mother had a saying that you’re alright until your family starts mixing with other folks’ families! I guess that saying is taken to the absolute extreme in She.

Ben meets beautiful Bella in a bar whilst he’s out with his best mate, Matt. Ben has just come out of a long term relationship and right from the start he feels an irresistible attraction towards Bella and is very quickly besotted by her charm and irresistible beauty. Their relationship develops at a rapid speed and before long Ben and Bella are fully committed to each other. However, all is not well in this romantic paradise and it soon becomes obvious that Bella isn’t quite as charming as she first appeared.

The story moves along really quickly and there’s definitely a temptation to read faster and faster as it becomes impossible to put the book down for more than a few minutes. The author has done a great job of making beautiful Bella both irresistible, and obnoxious, and I particularly enjoyed reading the second part of the novel which gives us the story from Bella’s point of view, reiterating Ben’s version of events, but cleverly adding Bella’s chilling perspective on their life together.

She is a beautifully written psychological suspense story with some fabulous twists and turns and is absolutely stuffed full of fascinating characters who you love to hate one minute, and then sympathise with the next! Although, to be honest, Bella is totally unlikable all the way through!

She is one of those 'reads in a day' kind of novels, so, set side a time when you have absolutely nothing planned and no reason to leave the room except for tea and biscuits and let this dark domestic noir entertain you from start to finish.

I’m struggling to find anything negative to say about ‘She’ - it had me gripped from the first page.

Great storyline - works the switching perspectives narrative beautifully by having most of the first 3rd of the book narrated by Ben. Recently jilted by his long term girlfriend, he falls into an intense relationship with the very beautiful  Bella, who he meets in a bar.  The relationship is complex in many ways, some of which not even Ben is privy to as we learn from Bella’s narrative.  We learn early on that she is the villain in the piece so to hear her story is a bit different and really works!

Can’t say much more without a spoiler alert so I’ll just say that it has twists galore, is well-written, easy to read and thoroughly entertaining. Awarding this one five stars is a no-brainer!

My thanks to Netgalley, author and publisher for an advance copy of this work in exchange for an honest review.

She’s everything he dreamed of. Isn’t she?Ben can’t believe his luck when Bella walks into his life, just when he needs her most. Sexy, impulsive and intelligent, Bella is everything he ever wanted. And Bella wants him. All to herself.

In fact, Bella decides that everything is better when it is just the two of them, making it harder for Ben’s friends and family to stay in touch. And then a sudden tragedy triggers a chain of events which throws Ben headlong into a nightmare.

I really enjoyed She by HC Warner, a new author to me. The book follows the story of Ben and Bella and covers themes of controlling and narcissistic behaviour and essentially a toxic relationship. The book is split into two halves with the story told from Ben’s point of view at first, then switching to Bella’s narrative. This meant that the second half of the book was a bit repetitive as it went over the same grounds and events, albeit from a different point of view.  Overall, this was fast paced with a few big twists and steadily built up to an explosive ending.  A solid crime thriller.

Thank you to the publisher and Net Galley for an advance copy of this book in return for my honest opinion. I am also sharing this review on Goodreads and have recommended this book to friends.

Creepy and unsettling from the very start. I woke up at 7am to finish it!
Really well-written with believable characters. Look forward to more by this author.

My thanks to HQ for an eARC via NetGalley of ‘She’ by HC Warner in exchange for an honest review. It was published as an ebook on 1 January and will be  out in paperback on 23 January. 

Once I started reading this I couldn’t put it down and finished it in a single sitting. I won’t say too much about the plot in order to avoid spoilers and would strongly suggest that it is best read ‘cold’.

Very briefly it features Ben, a successful London-based advertising executive, who has recently been dumped by his girlfriend of twelve years. He’s not in a great place but then Bella enters his life. She is sexy, spontaneous and intelligent, and it seems that Bella is everything he ever wanted. And Bella wants Ben in return - all to herself....

I have read any number of domestic/psychological thrillers that have featured controlling men so this proved an interesting twist on the premise of the manipulative partner. 

Again, I am cautious about revealing too much. All I will say is that this was a brilliantly executed domestic noir that proved very satisfying and was a highly engaging page turner.

This is H.C. Warner’s fifth novel though this was her first foray into the darker territory of the domestic noir/psychological thriller. I hope that it won’t be her last given how compelling and twisty this was.

Feedback not included on commercial reviews: Kudos to the cover designers as initially when I looked at the cover I saw two metallic-faced black and red robed figures standing in front of podiums in a winter setting as one might find in a SF novel about artificial intelligences. I then realised that this was an optical illusion and the cover showed a pair of high heels!

This book is a total page turner, one I didn't want to put down until it was finished!

Ben's long term relationship with Charlotte has recently came to an end and then he meets the stunningly beautiful Bella and everything just clicks into place .. she's perfect .... isn't she?  So why is she alienating Ben from his friends and family? 

I can't really say much else about this book without spoilers and this is definitely a book that should be read without knowing what's coming!

I liked how the story for the first part of the book is told by Ben and then switches to Bella's account of things.  Both characters are written well as is the way the author deals with the subject of domestic abuse and coercive control showing it can happen to anyone. 

It's deliciously dark and at times disturbing with a shocking twist.  

Thanks to Netgalley and HQ for the ARC.

She by HC Warner is a 4 star read. 
Ben has just come out of a long term relationship and is feeling pretty sad about it when he meets Bella in a bar and falls in love with her instantly, their relationship moves along very quickly with Bella falling pregnant and then getting married within the first few months. All of Ben’s family and friends are happy at first until they start to see less and less of him and start to worry over Bella’s controlling ways. 
The author draws you in from the first page, I couldn’t put the book down until I’d finished it I just needed to see how it ended. 
I voluntarily reviewed an advanced copy of this book through Netgalley.

This was SUCH a surprising book!

I went into this one with pretty low expectations. I wasn't sure how much of a thriller it was going to be, if it was going to be more drama than thriller but I was pleasantly surprised 

I was hooked from the very beginning. The writing style was really engaging and easy to read. 

There was a big twist, during the book and I was shocked! I literally gasped out loud. I did not see it coming. 

What I loved the most about this book was how it challenges stereotypes and misconceptions surrounding abuse. Its clever and definitely needed in the genre. 

The reason I didn't give it a full five stars was due to the fact there was some quite repetitive bits. I don't want to spoil it, but it was a bit repetitive in certain parts.

This was a really clever, addictive domestic thriller. Whether you call it a domestic thriller or drama could be up for debate. Personally, I see it more as a thriller because of the shocking twists and the ending 

Its definitely a dark book and can be uncomfortable to read at times. But its incredibly important and definitely needed. 

TW: domestic physical and emotional abuse

Psychological thriller about complicated relationships told from different points of view.
Ben meets Bella, after his long time girlfriend breaks up with him and falls in love with her.
Shortly after she tells him she is pregnant and they get married.
This is a story of coercive control. It is beer well written and believable.
There is a big twist half way through which really surprised me.
Not the type of book I would normally read but a real page turner , intriguing and enjoyable .
Helen Warner keeps the reader fully immersed in the storyline and the main protagonists are well written and complicated.
A little disappointed in the ending but still enjoyed the book. 4 STARS

HC Warner's "She" is a compelling thriller. I couldn't put it down and read it in one sitting. There is some repetition in the book which I felt was a bit cheatsy but I did think it was a good read.

I read this pretty much in one sitting, which does speak for it being an easy read but really I was just desperate to get it over with. Starting off well, the pacing then just made way for a slow roller and Part Two really didn't help its case. The narrative up until that point is essentially just repeated almost exactly, just from another character's perspective and I found myself just skimming the pages since I'd already read the events panning out. This new perspective wasn't all that refreshing either; it didn't reveal anything new to the table and felt like pointless page padding.

Warner does raise some very good points surrounding domestic abuse and how it affects both genders, but on a literary front so much more could have been done with this and I felt let down by the plot's execution and lack of any substantial contents.

I found this book to be very compelling, I looked forward to picking it up and I didn’t see the twists coming. Parts of it were far fetched, but I think that’s all part of the joy of getting lost in another world.

Hey new week and first review for ‘SHE’ below, next up the soon to be published ‘The Liar’s Daughter’ the new book from Claire Allan

‘SHE’ by H C Warner published by  HQ and OUT NOW!

400 Kindle Flix

SHE
Is Bella
Bella is a psychopath
Bella is evil, abhorrent, manipulative, scary, nasty and probably the worst character you will meet, ever

Bella is also charming, beautiful, kind, loving and wants Ben 
Ben, of course, is flattered and falls immediately for her 
If only he had taken the time to find out more about herbefore he married her

The book is cleverly told by Ben, then Bella for the first say 60% but 30% each, so ( let me try and explain this right ) its the same story on how they met and their initial time together but told by each of them, first Ben, then Bella and the rest of the book then carries on in the ‘now’ as the horrific consequences of this marriage start to unfold  

Bella is a modern day monster, you really wont believe the depths she sinks to make her plan work, she is capable of anything and everything and Ben, well Ben slowly realises just what he has allowed into his life

Simply sublime characters and a strong cast of parents, ex’s and best friends make this book one that’s on your mind even when not reading it and you cant wait to get back to to see what has happened next

The ending and the lead up to it are nothing short than breathtaking and the whole book is one of the best I have ever read for psychological drama and suspense and for painting characters so real they make you literally shudder with rage and disgust!

Absolutely brilliant
10/ 10 
5 Stars     

The book does involve female to male domestic abuse, physical and emotional

I thought this book was a really fabulous read, a dark and twisted domestic noir with great characters and a really good story line.  After meeting the very beautiful Bella in a bar, Ben is totally bewitched by her and before too long they are married with a baby.  But Bella soon starts to tighten her frightening grip on Ben, reducing him to a shadow of his former self.  Will he come to his senses before it's too late?   With more secrets than Pandora's Box, and some clever twists along the way, I think this book is set to become a must read in 2020.

I got interested in this book by reading a description. 

This book takes you inside its world immediately and makes you forget about the other things.
The book follows the story of two young people who met themselves shortly after one of them went through a hard break up. 

The plot of the book is simple yet enjoyable. After starting reading I found it hard to put the book away. The story includes the subject of domestic abuse towards man which is not popular therefore I consider it valuable to read.

 I was impressed by the character of Bella which was deeply interesting since the first page. She is a complicated and deeply lost in her pursuit of revenge on the things that happened in her life previously. She is a person seemingly perfect yet hiding her dark side. I also enjoyed the other characters yet I was missing some simpler introduction of them at the beginning of the book where I found myself a bit lost who is who. 

The book is divided into two parts where the second one shows action from the perspective of the second character. In my opinion, it was a good thing to do as without it we may have missed some details yet I think it was a bit too long and at some point, I felt like I was re-reading exactly the same words.

Nonetheless, it was a good read and I would recommend it to anybody searching for some lighter thriller.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing to me advance copy of this book.