Brilliantly written and powerful thriller that grips you from the start til the end amazing characters explosive thriller just mindblowing highly recommended ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

This is a great book with so many twists. I had a few guesses at how it was going to end, but I was wrong. A very satisfactory ending . Highly recommended

This is a very well written book. The story is not that strong, but the author certainly makes the most of the possibilities it offers.

This is a new author for me and it was a pleasant surprise and more exciting than I thought it would be by the synopsis and the cover.

When Becca’s first love shows up on her social media feed, she can’t help but smile fondly. Once upon a time, Connor was the love of her life, then he sends her a message..Becca hesitates, knowing she shouldn’t even reply. But Connor lives on the other side of the world. Just how dangerous can becoming friends again be?
Becca and Deans marriage isn't great, so Becca opens up to him about her problems and her life.
Becca' s daughter Mia suddenly starts getting ill and found to be poisoned . Is Becca poisoning her or is someone else trying to harm this family.?

The story seems simple but the way it's written.. oh it's very good!!  Compelling, absolutely captivating and twisty until the very end.. nothing and everyone is not what it's seems so simple 😉

Thank you Netgalley for the opportunity to read this masterpiece!

The Ex-Boyfriend was way more exciting than I thought it would be by the synopsis. Character driven with wife and mother,Becca at the helm trying to find who has poisoned her 3 year old daughter,Mia.That had me on edge turning the pages.
Compelling,had me anticipating what would happen until the very end. The plot was exciting,full of twists and turns. No one was who they turned out to be. One of my most favorite domestic thrillers.

Thank you Bookoture and Netgalley for the advanced readers copy. This was a honest review.

Firstly a big thank you to the publishers for my copy to read on netgalley. This is another new author for me and another fantastic bookouture publication, they certainly pick great writers.

This was tonights choice of book and i was completly swept away with it. A plot that hooks you straight away, untrustworthy characters and lots of twists and turns. This had all the ingredients for a great thriller.

This kept me on my toes and was completey unpredictable.

I loved everything about it!

Published 30th September

Lots of twists & turns in this one, making it a good thriller suspense. The main storyline is about finding the culprit who is poisoning the 3 year old daughter of Becca who is suspected by family services to be the guilty party. Great writing, characterization, plot & build=-up.  Enjoyed & Recommend highly.  Thanks to NetGalley & Bookoutour for a copy of this book.

Becca is married to Dean and they have a toddler Mia
Becca and Deans marriage isn't great so when Connor , Becca's first love appears on social media and he lives in Australia Becca opens up to him about her problems and her life.
Becca' s daughter Mia suddenly starts getting ill and found to be poisoned . Is Becca poisoning her or is someone else trying to harm this family.?
Thanks NetGalleg

Wow!  Halsall has been one of those authors  that are a miss for me, with an occasionally hit, but this one was absolutely captivating and twisty as heck to me!  This book was well written, fast paced, and realistic!  It was very suspenseful and had me on edge for most of my reading it!  The book absolutely grabbed me from page one and didn’t let go until I finished!  Full of shocks, twists & turns, chills, thrills, and suspense!  I highly recommend, even if you’re not a fan of the authors previous work, because she definitely nailed it on this one.  

I’ll buzz around and use lower Amazon reviewer number!

Oh my!! What a curvy path the author took me on with this book. And the twists hit me hard when I banged into them unexpectedly. Author Rona Halsall is becoming quite a wicked queen of suspense. A dark plotter.

Story seemed simple, a good life with family and with husband being busy, Becca’s mind wandered to the past and voila. There came a message from the ex. Before she could act on it, daughter Mia became ill with no concrete diagnosis. Later she found out that her daughter was being poisoned, and the blame was shifted on Becca along with restraining order. Who was the puppet master and why was she being played?

Omg! When I started the book, all I could think was – This was a lull before the storm. And sure enough, the author caused the winds of circumstances to swirl around the main character. And I soon found myself right in the eye of the storm, not knowing what to believe and whom to trust. Well plotted scenes with a fluidity in the prose, this was Rona at her best.

With an unreliable narrator and many suspects, I was led down the merry path, though my thriller antenna kept twitching. I was sure the author had something up her sleeve. With great subplots which brought to light different motives, I was completely engrossed, trying to solve the mystery. Becca being occasionally irritating, I knew I couldn’t trust her. I needed to get to the bottom of things. Where was Rona going to take me in this family drama? And I had a few suspicions, wondered if I would be proved right.

The story moved like a sniper’s bullet, and the last few pages left me completely enthralled where the sting of bullet could be clearly felt with the twist. Oh my!! I was right!! Go me!!

One of my favorites by this author, I started this at midnight to get the complete feel of the book. And stayed up till 4 to finish it. A fantastic midnight read. Get the book today. Well recommended for thriller and mystery loving fans.

Wow what a page Turner. This book had me gripped from the first page lots of twists that kept you guessing and made me ask the question who can you really trust when things start going wrong. A fabulous read

The Ex-Boyfriend is an excellent, edge of your seat domestic thriller. This book hooks you from the very first page, and keeps you tight it’s in grip throughout the entirety of your reading experience. I was glued to the pages, eagerly trying to figure out what was going on with each flip of the page. 

The author’s writing style and immaculately woven plot made this an easy read to follow and kept me on the edge of my seat. I finished this book rather quickly, as the suspense kept me frantically turning the pages.

The storyline is dark, alluring, and intriguing. Everyone has secrets, everyone is a suspect, and the twists and turns keep you guessing until the very end.

This book revolves around a woman named Becca, who’s three year old daughter, Mia, is being poisoned. Becca is the prime suspect, but proclaims her innocence and is both determined and frantic to find out who the real culprit is, if only to save her daughter and clear her name.  She knows that the culprit has to be someone close to her, but who? And why?

Further complicating matters and darkening the plot, Becca is having marriage problems as well as issues with an ex-boyfriend. Could this have something to do with what is happening to her daughter?

Compelling, twisty, and filled to the brim with suspense, this thriller is an excellent read for anybody who enjoys reading domestic thrillers filled with drama and secrets.

When you open this book, be prepared for a wild ride. You will be second guessing everything you think you know. This is a riveting story & the writing style is fantastic! You won't be disappointed when you read this one!

He promised to love her until her dying day…

When Becca’s first love shows up on her social media feed, she can’t help but smile fondly. Once upon a time Connor was the love of her life, and though it was over ten years ago, he’s always held a place in her heart.

Then he sends her a message. He sounds happy – still kind and funny, still living across the world in Australia. But he wants to know everything about her life now. How can Becca tell him the truth? About her workaholic husband, her stressful job, and the challenges of caring for her elderly father and her longed-for, adorable but exhausting three-year-old daughter Mia?

Becca hesitates, knowing she shouldn’t even reply. But Connor lives on the other side of the world. Just how dangerous can becoming friends again be?

It feels harmless. Until Mia gets sick – in a way that no one can explain. And it starts to become clear – someone will do absolutely anything to make sure Becca never escapes her past…

I'm a big fan of Rona Halsall so was really happy to recieve this one.

The synopsis was strong, the cover was bold, so straight away I was intrigued to get stuck in... unfortunately it just did not quite hit the spot.

As I've come to expect from Rona its brilliantly written,  I just felt that the story wasnt that strong. I purely think that there was only so far the storyline could be taken *no spoilers*. Don't get me wrong, the author used every opportunity, it just didn't feel as powerful as her previous books.

Personally I didn't really like the lead character Becca, I couldn't connect with her and found her quite 'silly' and self centred. The other characters were just as unlikeable in my opinion but I think that's how they were portrayed to be, especially Kate.

The ending was tied up like a nice neat present and I liked the epilogue (I do love an epilogue).

Overall it was an enjoyable read but not one I'd recommend unfortunately. 

Thank you to netgalley and Bookouture for the ARC.

This is my first Rona Halsall book, and it will not be my last! I, like other reviewers, began this book thinking it was about one thing only to learn the betrayal is much deeper.  Becca and Dean are married and after years of trying to have a child and multiple miscarriages, they have Mia.   

Dean meanwhile is doing everything he can to build his business and create a future of financial freedom which leaves Dean extraordinarily little time to truly talk to his wife.  Becca meanwhile is overwhelmed with balancing her career while essentially being a single mom.  

Becca's life to the outside world appears perfect until someone awfully close to her decides to use her past against her and her world begins crumbling around her.

When out of the blue, Connor, Becca's flame with unfinished business prior to Dean contacts her via social media.  Feeling a bit nostalgic for life before becoming a wife and mother she thinks, what harm is there catching up? Quickly Connor, the commitment-averse man, becomes needy.  Sensing this is not the Connor she knew; Becca reaches out to him and finds out he is not on social media.  If he is not on social media, who has been contacting her? The plot thickens. 

To avoid giving any spoilers away, I highly recommend this book to anyone who loves a solid psychological thriller.  The book was a little slow for me toward the middle but not so much that I disengaged.  There were so many twists and turns, I found myself needing to know how this story ended and who was responsible for turning Becca's world upside down.  I can honestly say, I did not anticipate who the culprit(s) were.

Overall Rating 🌟🌟🌟🌟

Thank you, Net Galley and Bookouture for the eARC in exchange for my honest feedback.

While overall good, The Ex Boyfriend just did not work for me. I felt that the story had too much going on - Becca's illness, her daughter's symptoms, the husband's disinterest, the father's loneliness, the nasty sister, the over-familiar nanny, and of course, the ex boyfriend - for any one of the plot lines to really touch me.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the arc.

So I did enjoy this - Becca is a nurse with a bit of a shady past, married to Dean and they have a daughter Mia. When Mia keeps being ill - Becca tries to discover who has been deliberately hurting her and quickly.
It was well written but the characters were very flawed and really annoying which spoilt it at times! Becca clutching at straws to try and find out who was hurting Mia was very random - I think at one point she might have tried to pin it on me!! 
Worth a read - but some issues

Becca and Dean are married with a little girl. Their marriage is very strained. He is married more to his work than his wife. Becca starts to wonder about her Ex Conner who lives in Australia so she figured contacting him online would do no harm. Then her daughter Mia who is three starts getting sick. The doctors say it's a virus but is it? Someone is poisoning her daughter and she starts to wonder if Conner is really in Australia or is he trying to sabatoge her marriage. 

Thanks Netgalley and the publisher for the advance ecopy.

"How well do you know the ones you love?" 

Gripping, dark, sinister and atmospheric, this is another outstanding thriller from Rona Halsall. 

The story opens with a worried Becca waiting for news about her three-year-old daughter Mia at the hospital. For weeks she's been telling everyone there's something wrong, but no one would believe her. Who is making little Mia sick? Could Becca really be guilty?  And what does the reappearance of her ex-boyfriend Connor have to do with it all? 

This book had me on the edge of my seat from beginning to end. The characters and plot felt frighteningly real. Though Becca is an unreliable narrator who makes some bad decisions, it was impossible not to feel sympathy for what she was going through. Her pain, heartache and torture at the thought of someone harming her daughter was palpable, but there was always the nagging question in the back of your mind of whether we could really trust her. I had that doubt in my mind right until the reveal, though my gut was saying she didn't hurt Mia. I'm not going to tell you if I was right because I don't do spoilers.  

Ms Halsall has become a must-read author for me and I have loved every one of her books. She sucks you in quickly and is a master at drip feeding the reader little pieces of the puzzle, keeping us on tenterhooks as we try to piece them together. And this book was no exception, keeping me guessing right up until the big reveal. Boy was my jaw on the floor! 

The Ex-Boyfriend is a chilling, clever and suspenseful novel. It's perfect for those who like a well-written thriller that is more psychological than gory and will make you question just how well you know those you love.

The Ex-Boyfriend by Rona Halsall is a psychological thriller that plays on every parents weakness, their children. Becca Thornton is married to Dean, they live in Wales and Becca is a District Nurse.They have a three year old daughter, Mia. Becca is at a point in her life where her marriage seems to have seen better days, she feels like her sister, Kate is the one mainly caring for their dad. Their mum passed away years previously, and she is truly letting every role she plays in her life down.
She begins to worry about who she can trust even down to Ruth, Mia's childminder. Ruth usually is her go-to for support, but the doubts Becca has, have made her so vulnerable, she second guesses everything and everyone around her. At this moment an ex gets in touch, from Australia by way of twitter. Becca knows that answering would be wrong and really attempts not to reply. She is so torn between the wonderful possibilities from the past and the emotional marriage she is clearly struggling with.While Becca is having her emotional struggles with her own self, Mia begins to suffer with vomiting and diarrhoea, really bad ones but not for a long period of time, intense and frequent they may be but only brief. This is added to Becca's emotional state. As every parent does, she worries about what it could possibly be, preying on her mind, along with all her other issues.
We are witness to the unravelling of Becca's life from every angle, once it begins she can't stop it, we travel a a breakneck speed watching the threads snap one by one. Rona Halsall, at this point, has created a marvellous piece of writing that causes us as the reader to be as confused amd worried as Becca, still attempting to find the root of Mia's health problem. I was literally dying to know what was wrong with Mia and that is created by an excellent storyteller.
This is a story that has been excellently written. I was pulled into Beccas world with such ease. I admire her skill in creating characters that are relatable and also realistic, Becca was never far from my mind when I couldn't read. The shock at the end of the story was not expected, I can say that definitely. 
Thank you to Bookouture and NetGalley for the copy of the book for my review today.