This was an interesting slow-burn psychological thriller following an apprentice that goes from infatuation to obsession. The writing/plot was a little bit erratic at best but the point still got across. It was okay, but not my favorite thriller by any means.

The Makeover is a psychological thriller revolving around the protagonist, James Devery, a builder’s apprentice with many many secrets, including but not limited to a growing obsession with Mrs Eastman.

Who is Mrs Eastman? His boss's wife. What begins as mere infatuation escalates into a toxic obsession as James notices the "cracks" in Mrs. Eastman’s seemingly perfect marriage. James convinces himself that like anyother protagonist he must be the one to "rescue" her. What follows is a harrowing tale of obssesive stalking and dangerous plans being made as we watch James spiral into madness, dragging all three characters into a web of lust, betrayal, and fatal consequences.

This story fits perfectly in the domestic thriller genre, but with the added layers of class divide and manipulation. James's increasingly erratic behavior, coupled with the toxic dynamic between Mr. and Mrs. Eastman, makes for a slow-burn thriller.

Pros:

Interesting Plot: The forbidden romance angle, between a married woman and her husbands employee, combined with a working-class protagonist versus a wealthy power couple, adds depth to the psychological tension. The fact that the story is written from the perspective of the stalker who is aware of the difference between him and his "love interest" make it very interesting to watch as he tries to justify his obsession.

Well-Paced Suspense: The pacing slowly builds, creating a sense of unease as James becomes more unhinged. It effectively mirrors his mental state, making the reader feel the mounting pressure as he begins as a seeming normal person we might see everyday and devolves into raging madness.

Character Depth: As previously mentioned, the fact that the novel is from James's perspective is a huge plus poin as we watch his internal dialogue and walk the path to madness and delusion along with him. One might even consider him an unreliable narrator.

Cons:

Predictability in Some Areas: While the novel does have surprises, certain elements, such as the crumbling marriage and James’s obsession, feel familiar within the genre and may be predictable for seasoned thriller readers. After all, the domestic thriller genre has no derth of obsessive stalkers and cheating wives.

One-Dimensional Side Characters: Some secondary characters, including Mr. Eastman, could have been developed more. He comes off as a generic antagonist without much exploration of his personality.

Conclusion

The Makeover offers an absorbing psychological thriller with compelling characters and representation of toxic relationships. Its blend of suspense, manipulation, and moral ambiguity makes it perfect for fans of domestic thrillers. Despite some predictable elements, the novel's sharp twists keep the reader hooked till the very end.

Recommended for readers who enjoy dark, character-driven psychological thrillers that explore the destructive power of desire and obsession.

I feel as though this was a solid idea, but the plot was so all over the place that it made it hard to muddle though, much less care about any of the characters or what happened to them. There were also a few discrepancies that I found, but as I read an advanced copy of this book, I am hoping they will be corrected before going to print, but even so, I will point them out in my review as well so the author can take note if they have not done so already. In a better effort to break down my thoughts, I'm going to do them in sections. My thoughts on the main plot, my thoughts after the first twist, my thoughts on the second twist, and then my overall thoughts on the story.

The main plot - Got old quickly. We have four main characters. Richard, his wife Virginia, his sister Gillian, and then the mysterious James. Then we have a couple of background characters (namely PJ & Simone). And absolutely NONE of these characters are likeable in the slightest.

Gillian seems to do little else than lay on the couch and make trouble for everyone (and she is the cause of two of the discrepancies I mentioned earlier). First we are told that she is eighteen years old, then later on it is said that she is seventeen. Either way, she was not a child, and the fact that Richard continued to refer to her as such was annoying. She was more than capable of doing what Virginia accused her of doing, and I hated how she was constantly painted as this traumatized child who didn't know right from wrong. She also in one chapter says she will be eating the chicken dinner Virginia was preparing, but then says later on (conveniently after the entire freezer of meat has been defrosted and ruined) that it couldn't possibly be her because she's a vegan.

Richard is a self-centered arrogant jerk, and I hated the way he constantly spoke down to Virginia, especially when some of the things he said made no sense. For example, she tries to tell Richard who she thinks is behind the vandalization and suggests that they set up cameras around their property to catch the person in the act, and he tells her that having camera on his property are a "non-starter". Why? What is he afraid they are going to catch?

Virginia, has issues. I get it. But she needed to grow a backbone and stand up to her husband instead of hoping the issues would clear up on their own (especially when she finds out he has not deposited money in her account since before they moved and she couldn't afford her medication).

As for the background characters, they go out of their way to make her feel unwelcome and as though she doesn't belong there. And while I get their motivations (to an extent), they were still the hired help and I found it absurd that not only did they act that way towards her, but she did nothing but take it from them.

To be honest, I found James to be the most interesting character of them all. It was easy to see how he was taken in by V, and how she was using him to forget about her troubles at home.

And then we got to the first twist - and wow. That was something that I did not see coming at all. And I will admit that I had things wrong, even though I was certain I had it figured out. In fact, I was preparing to give this book a three star rating just for that alone. And I probably would have, had the book not taken on that second twist, but I'll get to that one in a minute.

Once everything is out in the open, I fear the book became a bit predicable, slipping into the preposterous category more than once (for example, Richard and Virginia took a helicopter during a blizzard to reach their destination, however someone else arrives shortly after they do by vehicle). This was also where I noticed another discrepancy (again involving Gillian), Virginia says when Gillian storms out of the house, that she took Virginia's car keys, yet when she sees her car parked outside the cabin she thinks to herself that Gillian must have stolen her keys.

Some other things happen inside of said cabin that I wish I could talk about without giving too much away, although I can say that I have no idea why a certain lie was told in the end, because it was clearly a case of self-defense.

Now, in regards to the second twist, it was just so out of this realm unbelievable that I was immediately disgusted. Unfortunately, once again, I cannot go into detail without giving away spoilers, but it just felt like shoddy writing on the author's part after the triumph of the first twist.

Overall, I believe this author has a solid writing style, they just need to tone down on things a bit to make their stories more believable. I would give this author another read in the future.

DISCLAIMER: I received a complimentary copy of this novel from the publisher. This has not affected my review in any way. All thoughts and opinions expressed in this review are 100% my own.

This was a decent book. It was a slow burn for most of the story, but the ending really picked up with lots of twists and turns. It was an interesting book, enough to keep me reading, but didn't grip me the way I had hoped. The ending did help make it enjoyable, though!

An old house. A new marriage. A deadly obsession. James Devery has fallen in love with his boss’s wife, the glamorous Mrs. Eastman. He dreams about her. He writes about her. He wants to be with her forever! Decent read!This book had suspense, intrigue, action, murder, mystery, and a few twists and turns. The story was interesting! I would recommend reading this book, it wasn’t one of my top favorites but still worth reading! Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for sharing this book with me!

This is one of those great books that keeps you reading long into the night! Virginia and Richard have been married for two years when he suddenly whisks her away to Montana where his workers are renovating a literal mansion they will live in. But odd things begin happening and staff don't all seem friendly; some are downright hostile. Even Simone the gardener tells her, "You don't belong here!" But Virginia's a strong woman; she's been to rehab and her ex was in prison so she's no stranger to misfortune. Of course she (and we) have no idea what a convoluted plot she's up against. It's shocking, mind-blowing, and crazy good! So block out plenty of time as you won't be able to stop reading!
Thanks to NetGalley for this ARC!

Didn't love it.... but also didn't hate it. This book was intriguing and caught my interest right away. The problem is the author tried to implement TOO many twists and jaded family members that I got confused/annoyed by the end. It started as a good thriller with a realistic storyline which was nice, but by the end the realism was pretty much gone.

It was a quick read and definitely worth checking out if you have the time. But it was overall just meh for me.

Thank you to NetGalley and Inkubator Books for the advanced copy for my review.

Secrets,betrayal and a marriage that needs saving are the main topics of this rather confusing novel.

I say confusing as I had an hard time keeping with the characters lives. I did enjot my reading time but would have loved an easier plot.

The writing is superb and I feel like I can recommend this book to one of friends. For me though I like to not have think about what's going on quite so much.

The Eastman's have moved to the countryside and their mansion is being renovated.
James is helping out, and falls in love with Mrs Eastman.

I got a little confused with this novel. Not sure what was past and what was present. I also got confused between the Eastman wives....
I enjoyed the book though, but can only award a 3/5 stars