3.5 Stars Rounded Uo To 4 Stars

Holly Bancroft has it all, a perfect husband with a baby on the way but once Jolene is born- her husband Zach no longer is the loving, adoring man she married and Holly is put to the test to keep her and her baby safe but Zach isn’t the only one with secrets and he knows Holly’s deepest darkest one. Will that be the leverage he needs to keep her under his thumb forever?

To start off, I really enjoyed the narrator of this audiobook- Stephanie Cannon- I think narrators can make or break a book in audio format and she only added to it in a positive way- no excessive wetting of lips or throat clearing. Her voices for each character where distinct enough to identify them without adding an overly false note to her voice.

When reading a lot of books in the psychological thriller category especially when reading books from the sub category of domestic thrillers, if you have read a lot of books you expect plot lines to get recycled from author to author, there is a sort of mandatory checklist it seems to mark off- seemingly perfect husband who changes shortly after marriage because of infidelity, abuse/control, or some dark secret and a wife who either formulates a plan to escape, get revenge or both with a mother in law who thinks her child is perfect either hindering or helping her. This book checked all the marks so it needed something to set it apart from the rest. Carey Baldwin accomplished that by having multiple twists at the end that would surprise even the best of plot predictors. She was also able to keep me interested enough in what was going to happen at the end that I continued listening/reading despite being extremely frustrated with some of the characters and things they did and just how far fetched some of the situations that arose were.

Even though I did enjoy the book, I was dismayed at how implausible the story was and why the author chose some of the resolutions that she did even though it all wrapped up nicely at the end. I also had a hard time connecting or even liking any of the characters at all. Overall though, for the genre I was reading, I wasn’t expecting a Pulitzer Prize winner or to be wowed by a piece of literary fiction so at the end of the day- The Marriage Secret delivered exactly what was promised and that was a gripping domestic thriller that will help you escape for a few hours to the world of Holly, Zach and Jolene.

The Marriage Secret by Carey Baldwin
Narrated by Stephanie Cannon

#TheMarriageSecret #NetGalley

General Fiction (Adult), Mystery and Thrillers, Domestic Thriller

Carey Baldwin is a bestselling author of dark and twisty psychological suspense. Being a doctor by day and a suspense author by night, she offers unique insights into the human mind and our (twisted?) thought processes. Edge of your seat writing! From what I could figure out, "The Marriage Secret" is her 10th book.

The Marriage Secret is a real page-turner with numerous twists and turns. This should give you a good idea of where we're going with this: "He married me despite my darkest secret. But am I safe now that I know his?" It is the classic case of where a marriage can look perfect and happy from the outside, but the rot from within becomes all-consuming (without giving too much away!). Happily married with a brand new baby, Holly is becoming more suspicions about her super successful husband, Zach. Is it all in her mind - only baby brain or even depression? And at the centre of it all, Holly does not have a squeaky clean past, and Zach is aware of it.

This is an audiobook review, so more about the narrator. The book is narrated by Stephanie Cannon, professional voice-over artist. Stephanie's natural and engaging manner makes it easy to understand why she has narrated more than 100 audiobooks already! Well-paced and clear narration, which helps to capture this book's personalities and characters effortless. I would definitely recommend the audiobook version.

I will give this book 4/5 - I must admit, I was a bit rushed because I only had a very limited time to listen to the audiobook before it's official release on 11 February, but seeing that this was also quite a fast-paced and gripping read, it was easy to manage. Some of the characters I found very unlikeable and almost cringe-worthy, but I do understand that is the role they need to play in the story as well. I did battle with the title a bit, but it is clear that it comes from the crux of the story, i.e. the manipulative power of secrets in a marriage .

This book is due for (world-wide?) publication on 11 February 2022 and I'd like to thank #NetGalley and Bookouture Audio for the advance review copy. #TheMarriageSecret

Zach and Holly appear to have the perfect life. A strong and loving marriage, a new baby, the perfect house, plenty of money to buy whatever they could want. But appearances can be deceiving. From the inside, things are not quite what they appear. Zach has changed over the years, and now that they have their baby girl, he creates moments that make it seem that Holly doesn’t have it all together. Moments that make Holly seem unreliable. When a medical student who worked with Zach turns up missing and then found dead, Holly fears that it’s not just her that he’s manipulating. She also realizes that she’s not quite sure how far Zach will go to protect himself and his secrets. Zach begins to control every aspect of Holly’s life, including creating a schedule for her to follow exactly. Holly goes along with Zach’s wishes to protect her daughter and the life that they have. As Holly learns about more of Zach’s manipulations and lies, she knows that she must stand up for herself, or else risk the possibility of her body being the next one found dead.

This was a great domestic thriller! I found myself getting so frustrated with Zach and his manipulations and the fact that he needed to control everything around him. But of course, that’s the point. The absolutely shocking ending had me on the edge of my seat when I realized the actual depth of Zach’s manipulations. Overall great read!

I listened to this as an audiobook and enjoyed the narrator, Stephanie Cannon.

A big thank you to NetGalley, Bookouture Audio, and Carey Baldwin for allowing me to listen to this ARC. This audiobook was provided to me in exchange for my honest review.

What a twisty thriller! This one hooked me right from the start. Holly's husband Zach is controlling, and it only gets worse after she has their baby. His controlling ways and the way he speaks to Holly had me seeing red and my continued .listening was spurred on by my hope that Holly would get out of the horrible situation. I don't want to give too much away, but everyone is this story is hiding secrets and some of them are worse than others.
If you're looking for a thriller that you can read in one sitting, this is your book!
And if you get a chance to listen on audio, just plan on carving out plenty of time for listening to the whole book. The narrator is wonderful.
Thanks so much to NetGalley and Hachette for the opportunity to read and review this book!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for the opportunity to read this book in return for an honest review.

Synopsis
He married me despite my darkest secret. But am I safe now that I know his?

From the outside, my marriage to Zach was perfect: dream home, a perfect baby girl and passionate, all-consuming love. When we met, I confessed my darkest secret to him and he never judged me for it. Instead, he vowed to always protect me whatever the cost.

But as I cradle my gorgeous baby, I have to accept that the husband who used to be my everything, has changed. At first it was little things: expecting me to keep to a strict schedule, picking out my clothes for me. Now, he controls every aspect of my life: from how much money I have, to when I leave the house and who I can see.

One fateful night, a young woman is found murdered and Zach is a potential suspect. Turning towards me, a look of warmth returning to his eyes, he swears he’s innocent, and I realize there is only one solution. If I agree to be his alibi, he will keep my secret and our daughter can grow up in a loving home. In that moment, I do what any faithful wife would do: I stand by him.

But I know deep down, only one of us will make it out of this marriage alive.

This is perhaps only the first book I’ve read by the author, it definitely won’t be the last. It was brilliant. A piece of me for sure. Gripping, an edge of your seat disturbing psychological thriller. I have genuinely read so many that I feel I know what to expect from the offset. I love to be wrong and I was. I’d say a little bit triggering on d/a coercive control. However don’t let that put you off, it really is great

ARC audiobook provided in exchange for an honest review.

I just finished listening to this book moments ago and the only thing I keep saying is, “Wow, I did NOT see that coming!” This audiobook was among one of the best done I’ve listened to in some time! The narrator did a great job of seamlessly switching characters voices and they all sounded so natural and made it very easy to identify who was talking. I really enjoyed the storyline and it kept me up listening last night way past my bedtime! I initially didn’t like the main character much and how complacent she was in her life with an obviously abusive husband but felt she redeemed herself in the end. I will definitely recommend this book to friends and family!

The Marriage Secret by Carey Baldwin

I received an advance review copy for free thanks to NetGalley and Bookouture and I am leaving this review voluntarily

He married me despite my darkest secret. But am I safe now that I know his?

From the outside, my marriage to Zach was perfect: dream home, a perfect baby girl and passionate, all-consuming love. When we met, I confessed my darkest secret to him and he never judged me for it. Instead, he vowed to always protect me whatever the cost.

This was a real page-turner, I finished it in one afternoon. I didn't even see the plot twist coming - which just made it a far more enjoyable read. A quick paced and twisty story that will have you hooked - I listened to this as an audiobook and Stephanie Cannon did a fabulous job of adding to the drama with her narration.

This book has it all; from secrets and adultery to murder - all done in a way that will keep you interested right up until the very end.

Rating 4/5

Narrator- 5 Stars

The abuse at the beginning of this book, I almost felt like it was too obvious. Yet, I couldn't quit it, I still kept wondering what was going to happen. Then, as the book continued I realized that while the abuse seems obvious to the reader, the tendency of the women in the aggressor's life to excuse is his behavior is totally realistic. How often is abuse obvious to the victim? Contrast that with the family and friends asking, "Why doesn't she leave him". This book will circulate well.

I really enjoyed listening to this audiobook, the narrator was really good, pleasant voice and it kept me hooked.

Plenty of plot twists and a very surprising ending make for a great story. Highly recommended.

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

3.5/5 ⭐️
Hhmm this was okay. Like, I enjoyed it most of the time, but then the plot kinda fell flat for me.

Love triangles gone wrong. The suspense in this book continued to build through each chapter. The narrator had such a great way of describing every single scene. A physician with a crazy wife and a child he does not love or a wife that is too smart for his antics?

The audio narration of this book was wonderful! I loved the main character, and the narrator made her completely come to life. Overall this was another 3.5 star thriller that I rounded up to 4.

When I first started listening to this it felt like I was watching one of those Hallmark movies. With Holly's description of her perfect husband Zach…This so wasn't the case as the story gets deeper. That was just for starters. The author takes us on a rollercoaster ride where I couldn't help but will Holly along. You can feel the anxiety and emotion she goes through.

I loved that this story starts off with one thing and ends up something I totally wasn't expecting. The narrator has done a brilliant job telling it, I literally couldn't stop listening to it. Just one more chapter I kept telling myself. I loved that she is American and made it feel like I was watching a thriller movie in the end.

Holly is stuck in a situation that she can't get out of, I have been there myself so I could relate. This story made me gasp and shout out loud. I just wanted to slap Zach for doing what he was doing to Holly! Total control freak to say the least.


Zach is keeping Holly’s secret but what is her secret? I was kept there totally engrossed with Holly’s story. Then Zach needs alibi when a girl gets murdered and he is a suspect. The twists and turns in this story will blow your mind!

The Marriage secret is a totally brilliant and engaging audio that I highly recommend.

I received this as an audio galley to listen to for free in exchange for my honest review. Thank you to NetGalley and Bookouture Audio for giving me access.

More of a 3.5 ⭐️ rating.

This review may seem extremely vague, but I am trying to leave a spoiler free review and stating character names and events will be full of spoilers...because it is the end that I have a problem with and it is not because I couldn't figure out what happened.

However, I did love every minute of The Marriage Secret until the end. The end seemed like an afterthought to just throw the reader off-course completely. While the end explains the final event that took place, the way a character is portrayed during all the events that happened just didn't make sense. There were no clues or lead up to the idea of this happening. Maybe it was me and I didn't catch on, but I hardly feel like that was the case.

If the ending was slightly different than what was presented, I would have loved this book completely.

So great with twist after twist. The conclusion was a little abrupt and I would have liked a bit more nuance throughout but nonetheless it was gripping and I finished it in a day.

I enjoyed this book at the beginning, but the more it went on the more over the top it became.
It also was far too long - I felt the pacing was completely off. At times it felt fast paced, and I was gripped, and at other times it was felt like a snails pace!

This book was OK - but not one that will stay with me. It didn't stand out over other thrillers I have read.
Just OK.

Wow, that was great.

I couldn't stop listening to this audiobook - the first I've listened to by Carey Baldwin.
It's fast pace, gripping story and excellent narration make this a story that I can highly recommend.

I didn't see that last 20% coming, I know I rarely do, but...God, what a shocker!

I'm adding everything this author writes to my TBR.

Thanks so much Bookouture Audio, Bookouture, via Netgalley, for gifting me an audiobook copy for review - I really enjoyed it.

First book by this author and other books are half as good I will definitely want to read them. A real page turner this one will captivate the reader for sure. A domestic thriller revolving around Holly and her successful OB/GYN husband Zachary. Holly had the perfect life. Perfect husband. Beautiful home. When their daughter is born Holly begins to question Zach's behaviors. He's telling her she's just exhausted and not remembering correctly. She is worried she just might be going crazy. Then someone close to Zach is murdered and Holly's isn't so sure she knows her husband as well as she thought. The control, manipulation and abuse escalate when she returns home and he takes the baby to his mother's house unknown to Holly. The mind games, abuse and control Zach uses over Holly get worse over the next six months. Slowly but surely Holly decides she needs to get away from Zach. She will get the upper hand, she thinks, until everything starts to unravel. Holly will try to keep her daughter safe as she puts a plan into action. This story has many twists and turns. You will need a scorecard to keep track of who is on which side as no one is as honest as they appear. This book has everything that a perfect thriller needs, a story line that keeps you guessing, characters you love and love to hate, and last but not least the desire to want to finish the book to see how it ends but at the same time the feeling of never wanting the book to end at all. Great read and I'm so glad that I got the chance to check it out. This is one that will be the talk of the year I'm sure and I'm so glad that I get to be a part of it.

My thanks to Netgalley, Bookouture and Carey Baldwin for an ARC.

**please note due to low rating I will not be leaving a public review for this book as I have not paid for it.**

Narrator 5 stars

First half 1.5 stars / Second half 3 stars

I absolutely HATED the first half of this book (to the point that I was going to mark it DNF twice but a friend read it and her review made me keep going)
I felt that the gaslight, emotional abuse/manipulation was so obvious and over the top that it was just not possible for a strong women to tolerate these things. Lucky though that this book is fast paced.
Overall I didn't enjoy it, but would definitely try this author again

Sucked in from page 1… this was a heart-pounding thriller that continued to deliver twisty punch after twisty punch. I can usually predict how much I will love a book by the time I am 50 pages in. I started this book last night as I lay in bed knowing I would probably only make it a few pages in before falling asleep. Not the case! I made it to 40% before I forced myself to close my kindle!!!

This is the perfect example of how an author introduces readers to characters that you either love or hate… or love to hate! Baldwin, almost subtlety at first, introduces readers to Holly and Zach. They seem like the perfect couple. Zach, loving, doting husband and soon father-to-be… Holly, dedicated, loyal wife and mother-to-be. Well it isn’t long before readers will know Zach’s true colors! (In sing song-y voice… Controlllllll freeeeeaaakkk) 🤯

Truth in a marriage is a two-way street, and if only one person plays by the rules, it puts her at a disadvantage.

Things go from bad to worse and the most unthinkable scene (well one of many but just one of the first in the story) happens on the day Holly gives birth to a beautiful baby girl. Like… “what the hell just happened there?” No way did Zach just do that… say that… I can’t even tell you how badly someone needed to punch him in the face. 🤬 Oh… and if that wasn’t bad enough…wait until they all come home from the hospital 🤮.

“If you didn’t want to stay until death do us part, you should never have told me your secret.”

Little did I know… one unthinkable scene turns into another and another! I kept saying… “if Holly doesn’t grow a spine and get rid of him, I’m not going to keep reading”!!! Ugh!!!! The question is, does Holly really know her husband, her friends, his friends? Is Zach really as crazy as readers may think?

Then she straightened her shoulders. Not this time. No freakin’ way was she going to let him do this to her again.

This story is twisty and twisted! I loved every minute of it and my heart was pounding as I learned about the most twisted pieces of how events from the past and present weave together and deliver an ending that took my breath away! Just FABULOUS!

Thank you NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.