4.5 Stars from me

From the very beginning we are drawn into the world from Zoe's point of view - a confusing start for her, and us, as she has just fainted and isn't entirely sure what is going on.

As you follow the story, it becomes apparent that not everything as quite as perfect as it seems to be in Zoe's life.

The story is broken up into 'Then' and 'Now' and I read it with a nagging feeling that something bad was going to happen!

As the 10th anniversary of their wedding approaches, people start acting oddly. 

Toby, her husband, seems far too good to be true - but is he? Celia, seems to be the perfect mother-in-law - but is she? Her sister-in-law is one of her best friends - or is she? Her own sister has run away - or has she?

Still, she goes ahead with the planning and it felt to be as though a train was set in motion with poor Zoe hanging off the back of it not quite sure what was going on!

Overall, a superb psychological thriller that will keep you guessing and keep you up late into the night as you race to finish it!

My thanks to Shalini Boland and BOTBSPublicity for letting me be a part of this blog tour.

Slow Build Of Tension....
Compelling psychological suspense. What is the real secret behind the wedding that Zoe can barely recall? People seem to be keeping secrets and as an anniversary approaches things are about to become very uncomfortable indeed. A slow build of tension adds to the tale as the reader is carried along with the engaging, twisted plot.

I have been doing blog tours with a while and I firmly believe that if you haven’t anything good to say about a book, then step out of the tour and don’t post a negative review. Why you might ask? Because a blog tour is specifically for an author and their book and publishers would like a positive review for it. There are other places to post negative reviews should you wish to do so. That being said you have to be honest.

My Review
I adore author Shalini Boland’s work. I think she is an incredible author and I don’t even read a blurb from her now. I will automatically sign up for a tour or buy her book fully confident that I will get a great read.
So you can imagine how strange it was for me to find her storyline in The Wife so incredibly far-fetched. Actually I thought it was bat shit crazy really and could never happen in real life..
You would think then that I would not recommend a book if I thought this of its storyline.
Wrong, wrong, wrong on every level. What it has shown me and to be honest I already knew it, is that Shalini is one very talented author. I can tell you right now, I could not leave this book down.
I read her story in one day, I kid you not.
It was shockingly intense, dramatic and edge of your seat reading. Imagine thinking a storyline is so far-fetched, that it would never happen in real life but at the same time being so engrossed in it that everything around you goes un-noticed……
We meet a woman by the name of Zoe in this story. A great character.
It is Zoe’s wedding day and she comes to on the floor of her hotel room completely disorientated having fainted and hitting her head. She goes ahead with her wedding but all the while feeling she is on the outside of something looking in. She just can’t quite put her finger on what it is.
Her new husband and his family seem normal around her. But it is when her friends begin to act strangely towards her and ignore her that she starts to question everything.
She’s not getting answers from anyone however and why can’t she seem to get in touch with her sister who has been off travelling.
I won’t say too much more about the story in case I reveal too much. All I will say is go buy it or put it on your list to get to.
It is well worth reading and has shown me to be ever so slowly in casting aside a book by any author. See a book and author for the writing and characters just as much as the storyline…
Well done Shalini, you are still top of my list..

This is a great thriller, the suspense is keeping you hooked from the beginning. Zoe can't remember her wedding day, she knows she fainted, but how come? After ten years she has a beautiful family life and then something is wrong. Her sister in law is avoiding her and she is glimpsing her missing sister on the street.
I will definitely continue to read the author.
Thanks, Netgalley for this amazing book.

A surprising twist on what I expected! A young woman faints on her wedding day, losing memories of the ceremony. She accepts the explanation that it was nerves....
Fast forward 10 years. Our bride is planning a blow out anniversary party to replace the memories she does not have of her wedding day. But, as the event draws closer and her friends and family, including her husband, start acting suspiciously, faint pictures and conversations start to return. I'll stop right there, but Shalini Boland did not as she unwinds this story through flashbacks and conversations heard, the suspense is added on layer by layer until the surprise POPS from the top of the cake to explode the false lives and half truths being told. You will definitely be surprised in the end!

Yet again, Shalini Boland gives us an excellent thriller. Every time I start one of her books I can’t put it down until I’m done!

Zoe fainted on her wedding day ten years ago, and is starting to remember parts of the day that she had forgotten. She’s triggered by her ten year anniversary and a sighting of who she thinks is her long lost sister. As always, the narrative takes turns you don’t see coming, and leaves your jaw dropped.

A great read!

Firstly a big thank you to the publishers for my copy to review on netgalley. Im very new to this authors books.. i need to read them all immediately!

What a fantastic book that will be hard to put down. Completely unpredictable and floored me which is always a great response when reading a psychological thriller.

Who can be trusted? What really happened on zoes wedding day? As a psychology student this was extra fascinating and interesting as the concept of memory is a large part of the story.

An addictive exciting storyline.

Published 9th September

Zoe's own family was pretty dysfunctional, which is why she always thought herself lucky to have found Toby and the perfect in-laws in Toby's parents and sis-in-law, Madeleine. As Zoe's 10th anniversary draws near, however, cracks start appearing in Zoe's relationship with Madeleine. Moreover, Toby is hiding something, her old friend turned nemesis Cassie is back in town, and it appears that her missing sister Gina is also back but doesn't want to meet her.

I loved the drama and suspense in The Wife and finished the book in a day. Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the arc.

Holy cow, this book! It was suspenseful and unpredictable for the most part. There were so many twists and turnstile my head is still reeling from it! It was a great read, though it started off really slowly. I'm thankful I stuck around and kept reading.

This was rollercoaster ride which started simply and ended with a curveball you never see coming.
Zoe fainted on her wedding day but got married and has been happily married to Toby for ten years. They decide to celebrate with a party at the hotel where they got married. The week of the party everything seems to start going wrong and Zoe feels her life is off kilter. Can it all be linked to the memories she lost when she fainter and hit her head ten years ago.
I loved the characters and how Zoe appeared to have this amazing life which suddenly seems to be wrong. I thought I knew where the story was going but I was completely wrong. Can’t wait for Shalini’s next book.
Thanks to Bookouture and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
#TheWife #NetGalley

Thank you to netgalley and the publishers for this early read.
This is the second book by this author that I have read and once again it's 5 stars from me.
I was gripped straight away and lived how the story moved from the last to now and back. I lived the twists within the story and didn't work out the ending. The epilogue was brilliant.
I really need to read everything else that thus author has written.

Thank you Net Galley & the publisher for an ARC of The Wife for an honest review.
The book starts out with Zoe fainting right before her wedding & when she wakes up she doesn’t remember her wedding. The story goes back & forth between then & now. I’m not a big fan of that type of writing. I stayed with the story keeping it straight. I liked the beginning but it seemed to drag on with a high school type of story. I really wanted to like this book a lot. The description made it sound really interesting to me, I know there are a lot of 4 & 5 star reviews so I am happy for the author. I guess it just wasn’t for me.

Ok where do I even start? This was approved to me today via Netgalley, I was really looking forward to starting it... turns out I couldn’t put it down and I finished it within a few hours! I’m still picking my jaw up from the floor! Absolutely brilliant!

I’ve read a lot of books by Shalini Boland and have enjoyed majority of them. This one is no exception. It was a quick read, and there was a certain amount of suspense. The Then and Now narration was engaging. I felt for Zoe, she was trying to lover her normal life and suddenly people around her start acting differently. It’s distressing and the author conveys that very well. I don’t think Cassie’s angle added much to the plot, but the twist was unexpected, the revelations and actions of certain characters was also hard to have predicted. The epilogue was very insightful and left me wanting a sequel. Definitely recommend reading this one.

I volunteered to read this book, through netgalley in exchange, for an honest review. This book is well written and the characters are described well. I like Zoe's character. This is a good thriller. This book will keep you on the edge of your seat trying to figure out what happened from the very first page. This author's writing style is incredible. This ebook is in stores today for $0.99 (GBP). It is so good. This is my first time reading a book by Shalini Boland and I can't wait to read more by her in the near future.

I was provided with a complimentary copy of this book so I could give an honest review. The opinions are entirely my own, and any quotes are taken from the ARC and may be different in the final published copy.

After reading the synopsis of The Wife by Shalini Boland, I knew I wanted to read it. A bride faints on her wedding day while getting ready. She wakes to a massive headache and no memory of fainting or what led up to it. Everyone said she must have been overcome with emotion, but nothing felt right afterward. Fast forward ten years and Zoe is planning an anniversary party. As the anniversary draws closer, the people around her are acting strangely. If she finds out what happened during the missing time, will it ruin the life she built?

I know, right? Sound good, doesn't it? Well, when I started reading it, I was disappointed. I thought I had everything figured out but was still enjoying the story. Then, wait, what? The story becomes intriguing and pulls you in and does not let go. It is not the fluffy and straightforward story I thought it was. It is a thriller worth reading.

Although Boland herself says she writes "suspense thrillers and dark adventures," I had not read any of her work previously. Her novels are rated around four stars on Goodreads, and I will be reading more of her work soon.

This 200-word review was published on Philomathinphila.com on 9/9/20.

Zoe is dressing for her wedding to Toby when she faints, hitting her head. When she comes to, Ceiia, Toby’s mother is there. A nurse, she thinks that Zoe must have been just excited and that’s what made her faint. Still feeling a bit unwell, she pushes through and marries Toby. Some weeks later, she is still not feeling the best and a trip to the doctor shows that she is pregnant. She and Toby are thrilled.

Ten Years Later

Zoe and Toby are the parents of two children. Zoe works as a stylist at a salon called Waves and Toby works in a construction firm with his father, Malcolm, and brother, Nick. They have a good marriage and Zoe loves her in-laws, Celia and Malcolm. Her own mother passed away years ago and her father stays to himself. Zoe has a sister, Dina, who left for Thailand when she was just a teenager and they haven’t heard from her in years. They don’t know is something happened to her. Although Zoe and Dina did not get along when they were growing, Zoe still worries about her.

Now, Zoe and Toby are planning a big party to celebrate their 10th anniversary. So many plans have been made and all of their friends and family have been invited. It should be a wonderful time for all.

Wow! That was not what I was expecting. This book meanders along almost like a mushy love story and then - BAM - the reader is sitting there with their mouth hanging open not believing what they are reading. Once again Shalini Boland has written an outstanding thriller that will keep the reader on the edge of their seat. Don’t miss it!

Copy provided by NetGalley in exchange for a fair and honest review.

I am starting to think of myself as something of a Shalini Boland veteran having now read three of her other books - One Of Us Is Lying, The Marriage Betrayal and The Other Daughter. I was so impressed with this outstanding psychological thriller! The premise of the book beckoned to me and I knew that I had to read this novel.

In The Wife, Toby and Zoe have been married for ten years and have two children and an outwardly enviable life. They’re planning their anniversary party for family and friends at the plush five star hotel where they got married, though not everyone wants to celebrate, but who... and why?

With her particular brand of style and flair, Shalini Boland wowed me with this classy psychological thriller. The plot execution was tremendous, as was the characterisation, and pacing. There were no disappointments and I was completely gripped from the outset, loving the shock factor and twists.

The story was told mostly from the perspective of Zoe, going back and forth in time, and was jammed full of secrets, lies and betrayal. As strange events and the odd, clandestine behaviour of Zoe's husband and relatives began to manifest, the fabulous formula of Shalini Boland kept me on the edge of my seat whilst I attempted to second guess everything. The Wife was everything I wanted in what was a pretty special psychological thriller, and I enjoyed how things played out in the spectacular finale.

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

★★★★★ 4.5 stars (rounded up)

I've said it before...there is no such thing as a bad book by Shalini Boland. Even a bad book is a good one! She is one of my go-to authors and I can always rely on enjoying a fast paced thrilling read with a twist that only Shalini can deliver. Her talent for story telling and weaving twisted tangled webs always have me hooked from the first page right up until the very last. And THE WIFE didn't let me down.

Zoe fainted on her wedding day, waking with no recollection of what happened or what may have caused to her faint. All she remembers is a fuzziness that followed her throughout what was meant to be the happiest day of her life. Instead, the whole day passed by in a blur. Ten years later, Zoe and Toby are preparing to celebrate their 10th wedding anniversary with a big celebration planned at the same hotel they had their wedding reception. Since she has a somewhat fuzzy recollection of that day, Zoe is determined that this anniversary party will be a success.

But the road to the party becomes a rocky one with strange occurrences. Beginning with the snubbing of her sister-in-law Madeline who is usually her closest confidante. Zoe has no idea why Madeline has suddenly started avoiding her, not answering her calls, not responding to her messages, pretending she isn't in when Zoe knocks when clearly she is. And then on a lunch break one day, she sees Toby and Madeline coming out of her house...together. Is this why Madeline has been avoiding her? Toby and her have been having an affair? And he popped home on his lunch break for a quick shag?

To make matters worse, she sees a woman who is the spitting image of her missing sister...not once, but twice! Dina left the UK when she was 16 to go travelling around Thailand but has not been heard from for ten years, since just after Zoe was married. Although the sisters have shared a rocky relationship, Zoe was disappointed that Dina couldn't get a flight back for her wedding. But they maintained sporadic contact via text messages. Until one day, they didn't. Dina's phone was suddenly disconnected from service and was never seen or heard from again. Zoe filed a missing person's report but in ten years there has been no news. Until now...when Zoe is convinced she has seen Dina on two separate occasions around the village. Has Dina come back? And what does she want with Zoe?

Zoe tries to confide in Toby but she isn't sure she can trust him now after seeing him with Madeline. Why is he suddenly lying to her? Zoe always thought she had the perfect marriage, but has Toby been playing her all along?

Then there is the return of her former best friend Cassie Barrington, who left the village for a job in PR to climb the ladder to become a rising reality TV star. What has brought Cassie back to Shaftesbury now? Particularly as she was always so eager to leave in the first place. She breezes into the salon where Zoe works as if they ar long lost friends when they are anything but...and Cassie knows it. She shafted Zoe for her own ambitious ends, making it clear she didn't care who she trod on to get to where she wanted. Zoe is in no hurry to see her now let alone serving her as a client. When all hell breaks loose over the pixie cut she insisted on having, Zoe realises Cassie hasn't changed in the slightest. But when Cassie lets on that she knows something about Dina, Zoe wonders if it will shed any light on her disappearance?

And then Friday night arrives. The party is in full swing at the grand Regis Hotel and everyone is enjoying themselves. Madeline still hasn't spoken to Zoe and so she thinks that now would be the best time to confront her.

But nothing will prepare Zoe for the can of worms she opens when Madeline makes a surprising confession...

And on a night that she was determined would be memorable, Zoe remembers everything that happened on her wedding day with clarity... But is she prepared for the truth? Even if it will destroy everything?

A wonderfully twisted domestic thriller from the domestic thriller queen herself, THE WIFE is a fast paced page turning thrill ride that will have you questioning everyone and their motives. It is highly addictive with a clever plot with plenty of twists to keep you on your toes.

No one does twists quite like Shalini. Just when you think you know what is going on, BAM! along comes one of her killer twists to turn everything on its head. And nothing, and no one, are safe from her poison pen. And as always, the short snappy chapters Shalini consistently gives us keeps the story moving at the breakneck speed to which we've become accustomed with Ms Boland.

Told in the past and present from Zoe's first person narrative, THE WIFE relives Zoe's wedding day and those subsequent in the past as well as the events leading up to the tenth wedding anniversary in the present. There are also a couple of chapters slotted in from 18 years previous, focusing on a young Zoe and her then friend Cassie. As each chapter rolls into the next, the story is slowly woven together to create the bigger and messier picture today.

My umpteenth Shalini book (I can't remember how many I've read offhand) but I know I have enjoyed them all - some more than others - but all of them are brilliant in their own unique way. And as always, I look forward to more domesticity played out by Shalini's hand as she carves out yet another wonderful domestic thriller.

Defintely recommend to anyone who enjoys fast paced domestic thrillers.

I would like to thank #ShaliniBoland, #NetGalley and #Bookouture for an ARC of #TheWife in exchange for an honest review.

For me Shalini Boland has become one of those authors that if I see a new book I immediately pick it up without really even giving the synopsis much of a glance. The Wife is the eighth thriller I’ve read and I was not at all surprised to find myself immediately engaged and intrigued.

In this book readers join Zoe as we learn that she has been married to her husband Toby and raising their two wonderful children while leading what seems like a perfect life. Zoe’s one regret was that she didn’t really have the wedding of her dreams and when she thinks back on that day she has trouble remembering all the details.

Now ten years after that day Zoe and Toby are planning an anniversary celebration that Zoe hopes will make up for her disappointing wedding day. However, as the planning begins Zoe couldn’t help but keep thinking back to that day and wondering just what else she couldn’t remember. The one thing she knows though was she passed out and afterwards everything went by in a blur with her feeling her world was just not right.

The Wife is a book that alternates what is going on in the present time with our characters while also flashing back to look into their past from that day ten years before. It was very easy to follow along as the timelines switched as the story seemed to run at a fast pace even with slowly building the past. As I always expect when picking up a book by this author the story flew by and of course had a twisty path to the finish.

I received an advance copy from the publisher via NetGalley.