Cover Image: The Forever Home

The Forever Home

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Member Reviews

** Thank you NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest opinion. **

I would categorize this book more as a family drama rather than a psychological thriller. I really enjoyed this book. Just when you think the story is almost over, another twist comes into play and gives you a shock! I could not put this book down! You need this book! It was so fun to read!

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I think William Congreve said it best… ‘Heaven has no rage like love to hatred turned, nor hell a fury like a woman scorned.’

For most of Carly and Mark’s 25 years together, their marriage, like their forever home, was on the rocks. You’d never know that to look at them. Ever. They lived in a redesigned and renovated dream home on the Cornish cliffside, they had two adult children, and their business was flourishing. They had lavish parties and anyone in attendance would agree, Mark appeared to be devoted to his wife.

With surgical precision, Sue Watson dissects the illusion of this happy marriage and reveals that nothing is as it seems. NOTHING. Not the happy marriage. Not the husband’s successful career. Not the empathetic best friend. The further you get into Watson’s book, the more you realize it’s not only the walls of this house that are cracking. Carly, too, is cracking under the pressure.

It wasn’t only the champagne corks popping the night of their silver wedding celebration; it was their hopes and dreams for the future. As Mark’s infidelity was publicly revealed, the animosity and vindictive behaviour reared.

I loved this edge of the seat thriller! Readers will feel like they are standing outside and peering through the windows into the secret life of the inhabitants of the forever home. Just as you think Mark can’t get any more despicable, he’ll surprise you! You’ll be aware that there are lies hidden in this marriage, but, thanks to Watson’s deft control of the plot, you won’t know ‘the half of it’ until the end. As you can imagine, being suddenly single and alone in a house, Carly needs to feel secure. The problem is that there’s someone out there who wants to make sure that she doesn’t feel safe. Ever.

I received this advance copy as a gift from Sue Watson, Bookouture and NetGalley and was under no obligation to provide a review.

Publishes June 4, 2021.

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2.5 stars ⭐️⭐️💫

Carly and Mark Anderson have it all. A healthy marriage. A beautiful home. Celebrity, with Mark in front of the camera and Carly behind the scenes. But not all is as it seems. On their 25th wedding anniversary, Carly discovers that her husband has been cheating on her with a girl young enough to be their daughter. And that’s not the only secret in the Anderson house…

To be honest, I kind of had to push myself to finish this and not just leave it as a DNF. There is a lot of space in the book where nothing much is going on, or just more of the same. Also, it reads more like a divorce drama than psychological thriller. I did enjoy Carly’s character… she is sarcastic and funny.

Thank you to NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this ARC in exchange for an honest opinion.

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I was given a copy of The Forever Home by Sue Watson in exchange for an honest review.

I adore this author and her twisty thrillers so I was so excited to read this one. It did not disappoint.

I have to say I absolutely loathed Mark but was thrilled to see Carly take her power back in the most wicked way!

Super creepy, twisted domestics thriller that is binge worthy! I’ll always read Sue’s books!

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I really liked this one!

It kept me guessing and I did not want to put it down. I loved the way the characters interacted, and I thought the plot itself was phenomenal.

Thank you to the publisher for providing me with a copy of this ebook via Netgalley.

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After the initial pages, I found myself not connecting with the story or characters, so I decided to pass on this book. Did not finish.

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Another amazing read by Sue Watson, with an outstanding talent to give just enough information to keep the reader on their toes and keep you hooked. I am rarely able to stop reading her books and Forever Home is just as intriguing.

Your head is whirling with the hints and clues wondering if Watson is trying to throw you off the scent or if this will be later revealed as a huge detail.

A must read for a summer of intrigued reading. Sue Watson never let's readers down, her books leaving you needing an hour to recover when your finished....wow

#TheForeverHome #SueWatson #Netgallery #bookreview

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Genre: Thriller | Mystery

Release Date: Expected 4th June 2021

TW: Abuse, Alcoholism, Death, Divorce, Cheating.

On top of the cornish cliffsides, Carly finally found her home. Her husband Mark designed and renovated every part of it with her - a project that made him famous. Together, they've raised their children in this house, spent nights watching the stormy sea and starry skies, and they'd promised to love each other and always keep each others secrets.

But it's also where Mark told her that he was in love - just not with her. After losing her husband and her reputation, Carly isn't going to lose her home too. Peacefully alone, surrounded by the secrets her house had always hidden, Carly feels safe. Until she finds the cracks in the walls and anonymous threats start to appear. Someone wants to tear down the walls around her entire life - and she's already cracking under the pressure.

The Forever Home was a slow-burning, domestic thriller about a family who aren't what they appear at all - Their loving marriage isn't loving at all, Marks success is really Carly's and their publicist is constantly rewriting their own story so often that Carly doesn't know what she's going to find about herself in the news at any time. Their picture perfect marriage was slowly dismantled before my eyes, delving into every step that got them to where we are today.

This was a story about deceit and pretence - a tense, twisty tale full of lies and misdirection. But underneath this was a raw, real story that dissects the idea of 'Happily Ever After' and continues the story after those final words have been said - making us really think about what family is to us and what we would really do for the ones we love.

RATING: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Thank you to Sue Watson, Bookouture and Netgalley for this ARC in return for an honest review.

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Sue Watson pulls you in from the first page of The Forever Home. Carly is waiting for her husband Mark at their twenty fifth anniversary party. You know something is not right but you have no idea how spectacularly it will all go wrong.

In the middle of the party, Carly learns that her husband Mark is leaving her for Erin, his pregnant girlfriend, the daughter of Carly’s best friend and a friend of her own daughter. As if that weren’t bad enough, Mark is the star of The Forever Home, a reality TV show that was first imagined by Carly to feature renovations on their coastal home that she inherited. The show became very popular and is now about to be sold to American TV. They will make millions if they can remain Carly and Mark, the charming Anderson family. Can Carly do this? Can she keep Mark’s secrets and her own? And how will she explain the cute handyman who is spending so much time at her house?

This psychological thriller is full of surprises! Just remember that things are not always what they seem but even if you do, you won’t see the final twist coming. 5 stars.

Thank you to NetGalley, Bookouture and Sue Watson for this ARC.

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Carly and Mark appear to be the perfect couple. With their fantastic home set on Cornish cliffs and a very successful TV career they have it all. However all is not what it seems and when Carly discovers that Mark has been having an affair her life begins to fall apart in a way she could never have imagined. With family secrets and betrayals she does not know who to trust.
I really enjoyed this book, wanted to scream at some of the characters and tell Carly not to trust them.
Many thanks to Netgalley and Bookouture for the advanced copy in exchange for an honest review. My opinions are my own

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The Forever Home
By, Sue Watson Release Date 06/04/2021

Carly is married to Mark. Mark is not a good guy. At. All. They have a beautiful home overlooking the Atlantic on a cliff, and while renovating it early in their marriage Carly tapes the whole thing and uploads them online. And poof, they’re the next Chip and Joanna Gaines. Except Carly is behind the scenes and Mark is the star. But with great success comes great responsibility and that’s where Mark falls short. Super. Short. While going thru their divorce he is just the worst of the worst.
Her best friend is Lara, but she is questionable, and her family tangles in this web of destruction throughout the book.

There’s a massive difference in the way women are then and now, and Carly is def a then woman. They’re so many times when I wanted to scream GET DIRTY! As the books go on you’ll see Carly go thru a lot! And your heart just aches for her to win.
Does she? You’ll have to read to find out!

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Carly and Mark, who have been married for 25 years, live in a beautiful home on the top of a Cornish cliff. Carly’s mother gave it to her, and then she and Mark spent a lot of time and thought turning it into their forever home. Along the way, the renovation project became the subject of a television programme, featuring Mark, and making both him and Carly well-known.

Mark insists they should have a big, catered party to celebrate their silver wedding anniversary and even though Carly doesn’t really want this, she goes along with it. Until she hears a couple of whispered conversations and finds out something that she wasn’t supposed to. That’s not the only secret, by any means, but it’s the start of everything unravelling.

I was totally hooked from the start, there are lots of unexpected twists and turns, and the ending was definitely a surprise!

Thank you to NetGalley and Bookouture for an advance reader copy in return for an honest review.

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This is one of those creepy books that has you hooked from the beginning. You know it's going somewhere dark, but you don't know what is actually going on. Trust no one. Don't believe what you hear. Everything can look good on the outside, and to some that is what matters. The truth beneath the surface can be brutal, ugly, gut wrenching, and evil.

I enjoyed this psychological slow moving, building brick on brick thriller. Sue Watson is a skilled author, she writes well, and knows how to build the suspense. She can even do that in a way that distinguishes her from most other authors. I can't even explain what I mean. You have to read her books to understand.

One of the things I enjoyed in this book was that I didn't have that *I root for this person*, or *I really hate all of these people* feeling, which I find to be quite common when I read books in this genre. I found these people to be extremely quirky, insecure, but oh so believable, and that is something I can't say about most characters in books. Also, the house itself is such a character that you'd almost think it has a soul and it's one of the main characters.

All in all, I definitely recommend this book, and once again Sue Watson has written a memorable story, that will not be easy to forget!

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Carly and Mark have it all. A beautiful home that is the feature of their social media and TV fame, lovely grown children and they’re celebrating their 25th anniversary of a perfect marriage. Or are they? Because Mark has just revealed a shocking secret that means their ‘happy ever after’ is no more, but in order to get what she’s owed, Carly is going to have to play along with the web of lies he’s determined to weave.

This one was such a twisty family drama! At times utterly infuriating (how could there be anyone alive who wouldn’t want to punch Mark right in the face) but so engrossing I was on the edge of my seat and making excuses to read more and more. I did work out the final twist a little bit before I read it, but that didn’t take away the enjoyment of it, I was still gripped until the very end!

If you enjoy domestic thrillers, I’d recommend this one!

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A twist I did not see coming at all. Great story kept me intrigued and wondering who and what was going on. I had my thoughts but boy was I wrong.
Another great book from this author. Can't wait to read more from her.

Thanks to the author, the publisher and NetGalley for an early release of this book.

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Oh my gawd! I devoured this heart pounding book! And didn't want it stop ever!
This crazy, twisty, unputdownable book will have you thinking you might know what is going to happen but you won't have clue how this crazy book ends!
A masterpiece waiting to be devoured! I was hooked!
Get this one y'all its CRAZY!

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Carly finds out at her twenty fifth wedding anniversary party that her husband Mark has been having an affair with a girl young enough to be his daughter.
Mark has been a womaniser for years, this is the last straw and he tells him to leave.
They are now going through a messy divorce, arguing about money, the house and his new girlfriend is telling lies about her.
A story about lies, jealousy, cruelty and full of despicable characters.
Thank you to NetGalley and Bookouture for my e-copy in exchanges for an honest review.

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This was not a thriller/mystery. It's just a story of a dragged-out divorce with a womanizer. The mystery of who was playing with Carly's mind was not tantalizing enough to call a mystery. The arguments between Carly and Mark regarding the house dragged on and on and got on my nerves. None of the characters were developed. I didn't like any of the characters. I didn't feel sorry for any of them even when they were being abused. I did not connect with anyone in the story. There were no real reasons behind anything that any of the character's action. The whole story was a disconnected event.

Thank you to Bookouture and NetGalley for letting me read this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

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3.5 stars rounded up to 4.

The beginning of the book feels stilted and it was hard to get into. The dialogue between the characters as we're learning about their dynamics is... rough. It felt as though it was written by someone who'd never spoken to another person before, but had studied human dialogue from other media. Once the book gets going (about 1/4 in) it's really good. The narrative is gripping and the characters are all terrible in a really delicious and fun way. The final twist of the text also leaves something to be desired. The initial twist falls flat, and the secondary twist manages to fall even flatter.

Overall this is a fun text, but definitely does not do anything special for the genre.

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Wow! I loved this book so much!
It starts out with a lot of backstory which lays out the relationship between the two main characters and how they get to where they are, living in their Forever Home. In some books this can be too much as you just want to get to the nitty gritty but for this it was absolutely needed. It was interesting and kept me gripped.

The main character terms were excellently written with both flaws and characteristics you want to live and hate.

I love Sue Watsons writing style. Detailed with just enough that leaves you wondering where that little golden nugget will lead. It’s always very real and so descriptive which she uses to bring the characters alive and for me, this is important in a psychological thriller. You need to feel their happiness, frustrations and anger. I certainly felt these in this book.

The storyline was amazing! I loved the unravelling of The Anderson’s lives! A great novel that just kept on giving!

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