Have just finished She by HC Warner and am so glad I had the opportunity to read this. When Charlotte breaks off her long relationship with Ben just as he’s about to propose, it turns his world upside down. Enter beautiful Bella - confident, impulsive, deceitful, calculating and out for revenge. She doesn’t care who gets hurt in her quest to get even and sets her sights firmly on Ben. Engineering a meeting, Bella turns on the charm so Ben takes her back to the flat he shared with Charlotte and she doesn’t leave. Bella has a plan, but first she must exclude Ben’s family and friends so that he is really alone. Bella thinks that they only need each other, and makes it really hard for their friends to stay in touch. A sudden tragedy throws her into a panic - this was not meant to happen, and triggers a series of events which is only the beginning of the nightmare. Keeping secrets, the desire for revenge and control over another are at the heart of this story. Is beauty only skin deep? This story will have you reaching for it whenever you have a spare moment, the pace of the book holds your interest and makes you want to know more. I did particularly enjoy where the book flipped to give the viewpoint from Bella, and at times did find myself softening towards her, but fortunately not for long! Her treatment of Ben made uncomfortable reading at times and it did feel as though he was a bit of a wimp not  standing up to her. You wouldn’t really want Bella to become a member of your family. Thank you to NetGalley for a complementary copy for my kindle. I will be sure to look for more from Helen Warner!

Ben can’t believe his luck when Bella walks into his life. Sexy, impulsive and intelligent SHE is everything he ever wanted – isn’t SHE? This is the story of Ben and Bella’s relationship and the secrets, lies, vengeance and betrayal that lie at the heart of it.

The book was written in four parts; the build-up written from Ben’s (and his family and friends) point of view, then the build-up again but from Bella’s perspective, and finally the climax and aftermath which were both written from multiple view points. There’s been some criticism of this format, with some feeling that parts one and two are very repetitive, but personally I couldn’t disagree more. Yes the events and dialogue were duplication but with such a different perspective on the same thing it felt completely new and totally fascinating how (as in real life) two people can interpret the same thing in such different ways.

Bella is a dark, manipulative and evil character but seeing events through her (albeit twisted) view I could totally understand the reasoning behind some of her hurtful actions. She really is one of those characters that you love to hate. But, then again, I loved all the characters. They are all totally relatable, likeable and described so well that they are easy to picture. And, the dynamics and relations between them all cleverly constructed from childhood friends Matt and Ben, to Ben’s idolism of his father and the tense mother/daughter-in-law relationship.

In fact, this was brilliantly written throughout. The writing is really emotive, particularly the funeral scenes which really resonated with me, generating strong emotions thinking about my own loved ones and the impact of each of them in my life. The slow spiral of abuse was also carefully crafted, with the author describing everyday mundane activities such as dinner with friends or plans for Christmas over the course of a year to highlight the gradual submission and dominance of the main characters in a non-sensationalist way. That said, and without sensationalism, the author still manages to keep the pace fast and the story moving on towards its explosive ending.

Tension is built right from the start with a letter from an unidentified man to his child and we are left guessing right until the very end as to whether this was written by Ben, his dad or Bella’s dad. However, whilst it’s clear that events and family relations between Bella and her father have had a very big and disturbing impact on her character and actions, disappointingly her back story is something that was only ever mentioned in passing and never really explored. What did Bella’s dad actually do – we’ll never know....

All the way through I was convinced that I’d be giving this 5 stars but unfortunately this was like many of the thrillers I’ve read recently whereby I am completely captivated throughout, enjoying every page but upon conclusion and reflection the expectation was better than the actuality. What let this down for me was the clichéd and predictable motive behind it all – the big mystery of who SHE is was unfortunately all too obvious and slightly unrealistic. I also disliked the fact that by the end everyone knew who SHE was yet they all continued to pretend otherwise to spare each other’s feelings, so in a sense it was a bit anti-climatic as whilst there was an explosive ending there was no big reveal as such. All-in-all though I really enjoyed this and would totally recommend it.

This book wasn’t for me. I didn’t manage to finish the book as I just couldn’t motivate myself to keep reading....this rarely happens to me. I don’t think it’s the storyline or the author’s fault, it’s just a different type of book to those I usually read. I’m rating an average 3stars as I never completed the book and don’t feel a negative review is deserved for that reason. Thank you NetGalley for my advanced copy.

I honestly thought this novel was going to be a love story.
It was but WOW with a stupendous twist that I am not sure anyone could have thought of
Bella is the main person in this book it starts where she is in a pub and randomly meets a quiet,gentle guy called Ben 
She is a very clever manipulator she tells Ben she is pregnant very quickly into their relationship even he knows she must have got caught on their first night together but he will do anything for this stunning dark haired dark eyed goddess who he knows could be with any man 
Time progresses and Bella has had the baby but refuses to let anyone visit including his parents and his best friends, he is upset by this but Bella always wheedles an excuse out 
She has Ben with no family and no friends whilst she goes to work and Ben stays home with their baby, the down trodden husband until whilst on a rare occasion whilst bathing their daughter the baby pours a bucket of water over the side of the bath and onto Bella s phone and she asks Ben to fix it 
What he discovers will change him forever

I raced through this and thought it was refreshing to see domestic suspense explored in this way - where the gender dynamics are bit different to the norm for the genre. This a very fast, commercial and thrilling book. I flagged a little when the same events were repeated from a different POV and thought more could have been done with that, but otherwise I did enjoy the switches in character. For fans of quick, gripping and escapist reads.

I enjoyed this at first, but the middle section was a bit boring. The story was repeated exactly (but from another character’s point of view). Almost as if the author had assumed I didn’t read the first part. Loved the twists, but the repetition annoyed me.

#She #NetGalley 
Deceptive and Riveting. 
Ben who was dumped by his previous girlfriend, Charlotte meets a beautiful girl named Bella in a restaurant when he was sitting with his friend,Matt. Bella is a beautiful, violent and manipulative girl who comes in his life when he needed someone like her the most. Immediately they fall in love with each other and one day she told him that she's pregnant and asked him to marry her and start a family with her. They got marriage and then her behaviour changed towards him and his family. She wanted him to cut off from his family. They became parents of a beautiful daughter named Elodie. And then a tragedy happened which changed everyone's life. The story is told in four parts with different POV's of Charlotte, Ben and Bella. The story seems simple but its not. As the book moves forward, twists unfold one after the other. Who Bella really is? Why she wanted Ben to cut off from his family? Read this amazing psychological thriller to know more. 
All characters were awesome. Ben, Charlotte, Peter and Bella are my favorite characters which keep you engaged till you turn the last page. Although other characters like Jo, Leo, Matt and Freya are also interestingly built. 
Narration of the story is awesome. All POV's are interesting. 
Thanks to NetGalley and HQ for providing me an advance copy of this awesome psychological thriller. 
Highly recommended.

I’d like to thank HQ and NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read ‘She’ by HC Warner in exchange for my honest and unbiased review.

Ben can’t believe how lucky he is when the glamorous Bella takes an interest in him and within weeks she’s telling him she’s pregnant and persuading him to marry her.  But Bella hates Ben’s family and friends and makes things so unpleasant that he finds it easier to lose contact with them.  Then the unspeakable happens and Ben’s father Peter has a heart attack which unleashes the dark side of Bella’s personality.  

The ‘She’ in the title is Bella, vindictive, cruel, manipulative yet beautiful whose mood swings cause untold damage to Ben who’s scared of Bella when she attacks him but too embarrassed to tell anyone.  Parts 1 and 2 are the same story but written from the viewpoints of Ben and Bella, the details of the domestic abuse Ben suffers handled with sensitivity and compassion.  The story has a strong plot and is extremely well-written, it’s disturbing with breath-taking suspense, twists and turns, and an unbelievably shocking ending that mirrored what I hoped would happen.  I’ve not had the pleasure of coming across anything by HC Warner but after reading ‘She’ I’ll definitely be on the lookout for more from this particular author who definitely deserves 5 stars.

Thank you to Netgalley for the advance copy of She by H C Warner, coming January 2020.

This was a really intriguing read, following the story of Ben and his girlfriend Bella, who is not all she seems. 

I love books with chapters following the perspectives of different characters, although this was slightly different because a large chunk of the story is told twice from two perspectives. 

I enjoyed the plot twist, and overall it was a good read.

Very enjoyable and well written a nice twist with the way it is written I enjoyed that look forward to more from this author !!

A very interesting book that presents a predictable plot that is thoroughly enjoyable. I kind of knew what was going to happen but it still was a book that I enjoyed reading. There were things that I found a bit unbelievable but then again, this book did for me what it was supposed to: it was a straightforward story with a really manipulative and wicked female protagonist.

I enjoyed this book.  I liked the way it was written in parts although I was puzzled at first when I started to read Part 2 and found it was the same story but from the point of view of Bella!  It made perfect sense!  Good characters, a bit of intrigue, secrets and drama, well done.

Absolutely loved this book! So much you question and as it all starts to come out, there is shock and disbelief in there surrounded by a keep it coming feeling!

I was really enjoying this book until it switched to Bella's POV. I did like seeing the insight into Bella's life outside of Ben, but most of it was just the exact same conversations we''d already seen, but from her perspective, and her inner thoughts in these didn't add much to it for me.

Ben is reeling from a break-up, and suddenly the most attractive woman he's seen is showing interest in him.
Forget interest, Bella wants him.
And from want, branches commitment in the form of a sudden pregnancy and quick wedding.
But things aren't always as they seem.
As Ben withdraws from his friends and family, Bella's claws dig deeper into him.
What's the story?

I was totally immersed in the story, and the twists, followed by the point of view changes, made me despise Bella all the more.

A fantastic story that keeps you gripped until the very end! I've already recommended it to a few friends!

Many thanks to NetGalley and HQ for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I actually really liked this book- it was a great take on a story of domestic violence and how far people will go to take revenge. 

I really enjoyed all the different parts of views in the different sections, it made me excited to get to the next section to see who's next twisted view of the situation came up next. 

For me this was a perfect way to waste a few hours!

I absolutely love a story told by 2 different view points, and this did not disappoint! Deliciously dark, and extremely shocking in parts, everyone can’t help feeling a little bit sorry for poor old Ben!
When his long term relationship ends, he jumps straight in to a full on relationship with Bella, Who is definitely walking on the wrong side of crazy! I found it very hard to put down, and the approach to domestic violence was sensitive and well written!
An advocate for happiness, glitter and Disney - I did shockingly find myself praying Ben would chin Bella just once or that at least his mum would!
This is a great read, and HC Warner is going to be on my list of authors to look out for!

This is a brand new author to me but what a cracking book this was. It kept me gripped from start to finish although some bits were hard to read. Loved this book and would definitely recommend it!

This is definitely going in my top 5 of best reads this year!

What an absolute rollercoaster ride, jam packed with twists and turns which take you in sp many directions. 

The premise of this book had me hooked and wowzers, I did not leave me disappointed. 

The characters are relatable, likeable (apart from Bella) and easy to picture.

Written from the POVs of Ben and Bella you get to read the inner mechanics of a controlling and somewhat volatile relationship. Ben is cut off from his family in the saddest of ways, leaving him alone, depressed, abused and not quite understanding how he got there.

The family dynamics, & relationships between the friends are extremely well written as well as the covering of such an important matter. Its rare to read a novel covering Male domestic abuse and this was coveted amazingly well.

The fact that this book brought such string emotions to the forefront just shows what a brilliant author HC Warner is!

Now I so badly wanted to give a 5* rating BUT a couple of things stopped me giving that extra half a star. 

Firstly when the POV changes from Ben to Bella it basically recovers everything you have read in Part One so you do feel like your rereading but just with a slight difference.

Secondly, I felt the ending was pushed through really quickly,  I would have liked for it to have had the tense build up as the rest of the story had.

Lastly, I was left with a couple of unanswered questions.. like Bella's father, what was it he was accused of?

All in all a FANTASTIC psychological thriller that will be a brainworm for days to come.

The biggest thanks to netgalley and HQ for the ARC. 

4.5*

Well, well, well. What a read this was. To be honest, I really don't know what I was expecting from this book. Something about it just shouted READ ME!
So as I always do at the voices in my head tell me. A fantastic plot and a twist I didn't see coming. This book left me thinking about it long after I'd finished it. 
This is a phycological thriller that will have you hooked. There was many times I was shouting at or about characters as I was reading, (in my head) But they were at times winding me up and I had to tell them. lol
When Ben splits with his girlfriend, the wonderful, beautiful Bella steps right into his life. Just the right time? A coincidence? or something more. 
Can life with just the two of them be as perfect as Bella is making out. 
As I said, this book stayed in my mind long after i'd finished it. It was brilliantly written. I would certainly want to read more books by this author. 
This book covers not just physical domestic abuce but the mental abuse also and it's done brilliantly. This book is filled with secrets and shows how dangerous secrets can be.