THE INNOCENT WIFE - This story took a bit to get going with most of the intensity near the end. Good characters, which made the book worth reading. Interesting story lines. Good twist at the end. Interesting way Natalie solved two problems. Source: Netgalley. 3*

I was given this book by NetGalley for an honest review-
Natalie begins her new job and who should she run into by Lucas. No one knows what Lucas is to her or how he ruined her life. She is shocked to hear he is married to Olivia and she too is very young, too young to be married to him. They become friends and she so wants to share her experience with LUCAS but does she dare? A gripping read!

The Innocent Wife is a simply written domestic thriller told from several points of view.
It is entertaining enough but it lacks the thriller oomph that I have come to expect from this genre and the plot jumps around too much.
I didn't hate it but I didn't love it either, it was ok.

3⭐️ Thank you to NetGalley and Storm Publishing for an advanced copy of The Innocent Wife.

Natalie is a single mom who just got a new job at a school and moved into a new home. She is introduced to a teacher named Lucas and she is shocked because they have met before but it was twenty years ago and he really messed up her life. She also starts receiving odd gifts at home and she feels like she is being watched but by who? Is it Lucas who has remembered who she is or her crazy abusive ex who she escaped from years ago?

I enjoyed this book. Some of the twists I saw coming but others truly shocked me. I enjoyed the storyline and the writing. Overall it was a good read.

Sally Royer-Derr tells a story that could be passed on to any school. Twenty years ago, Natalie had a romantic relationship with Lucas, her soccer coach. Natalie met Lucas again when she became a teacher at the school where both of them were teachers. Lucas is now married to Olivia. Olivia and Natalie became best friends. As their friendship evolves, no secret is kept from each other. Why is Lucas so unhappy with their friendship? You must read the book to find out.

The Innocent Wife by Sally Royer-Derr is a tense and gripping domestic thriller that had me staying up late to read just one more chapter. Natalie is finally starting to reap the rewards of a peaceful life after a trauma filled past. She has a new job as a teacher support at an elementary school, a new house right across the street, and a wonderful relationship co-parenting with her ex-husband. Things take a turn when she comes face to face with the man who changed her life forever. Lucas Hanson is a charming, handsome teacher that all the ladies love. He is also Natalie's old soccer coach, the man who groomed her to be in an inappropriate relationship when she was 15. Now 20 years later, Lucas is married to a beautiful young wife and has no recollection of Natalie in the beginning. Olivia, Lucas's wife is a picture of perfection. Smiling and at Lucas's side, she sees Lucas as her safety after a troubled home life. But what secrets of Lucas's is she hiding? When Olivia and Natalie team up all the walls of Lucas's carefully constructed life fall down, and his lies and manipulation are exposed. This was definitely a page turner! An intriguing story, multiple POVs, and characters that are intense make this a great domestic thriller. This was my first book from this author but definitely not my last.
Thank you to NetGalley, Sally Royer-Derr, and Storm Publishing for this ARC opportunity. Expected publishing date is January 13 2025.

First, a huge thank you for allowing me this ARC.

This one is not your normal domestic thriller. It follows 3 points of view with the story, Natalie, Olivia and Him. The beginning sets the stage for a potential love story and then, the twists start. They come fast and hard and gripped me from page 1. Nothing is as it seems and the ending isn't what you expect.

I would love to know about the baby given up for adoption, but that loose end remains loose. Maybe an idea for another book?

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.5(4.5/5)
Review:
So many lies and secrets. A hard book to put down. You'll lose sleep reading this. Strong female lead character. Women supporting women. Three povs, but mainly two. A school setting.

*Some themes could be triggering*

*All thoughts and opinions are my own.*

Teachers can definitely be messed up, just like anyone else, and these are prime examples! This is the second book in a row where the Teacher and the School are central to the chaos. I’m getting a copy for my big sister, who’s a Principal, and I can't wait to see her reaction! If there was ever a predator lurking at her large High School, there's no doubt she'd spot it and take action. The writing in this book is so compelling that it makes every outrageous event feel possible, which is why I thoroughly enjoyed it.

Natalie and Olivia are the main protagonists, and I found myself relating to them, especially since their age gap mirrors the one between my sister and me. The dynamic works. One drawback is Natalie’s obliviousness to someone stalking her and her young daughter; it’s unnerving to think about someone moving your belongings and making you think you did it yourself. Who leaves a key under a flowerpot in 2025? Given Natalie’s past, that felt incredibly naive! Another point to note is Natalie's repetitive self-criticism; we understand her struggle, but it doesn't need to be emphasized so much. The worst one for me has to be why Olivia never tells Natalie what she sees. Really?

Despite these minor issues, the story is engaging and one I highly recommend. I hadn’t read this author before, but I’m thrilled to have discovered her. For those familiar with my reviews, a four-star rating typically means a five-star experience for others. I'm a voracious reader and tend to be quite discerning. Will this book keep you up at night? Not out of fear, but out of sheer curiosity about what happens next! I wholeheartedly recommend it! Thank you to #Netgalley, Storm Publishing, #SallyRoyerDerr, and #TheInnocentWife.

Thank you to Storm Publishing and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Olivia and Lucas have what seems on the surface a perfect life, even though there's a 20-year difference in their age. He's charming, handsome, he provides for her, dotes on her, but is it attentiveness, or has he groomed her all these years?

Natalie started a new job in a school where Lucas also works. Unbeknownst to Olivia, Natalie holds a secret from hers and Lucas's past. While Natalie has somewhat moved on from those past events, the memories still plague her, and she realizes that Lucas hasn't changed at all. Does he even recognize her? She wants to tell Olivia, but how? Now, a young woman's life might be at risk, and she has to intervene.

Even as the story unfolds and you learn more about the characters and their thoughts, there's still a sense of mystery behind it that you're itching to find out. While the story evolves around these 3 main characters, there's a secondary plot with Natalie's character, and the storytelling does become repetitive halfway through.

There were a couple of twists that were unexpected, though not quite shocking, but did help pick up the pace again.

Overall, I gave the book 3.5 stars. The writing is easy to read, and the chapters are short, which is a bonus for me in any book.

A real roller coaster of a story! I was pulled in from the first page all the way to the last page. I recommend this book if you like domestic thrillers.

This was a 5 star book for me. I did not see that ending coming and was kept on my toes the whole time, grabbing whatever time I had to read. It was absolutely amazing.

I was very excited to read this book, as I am a teacher and enjoy stories whose characters share my profession. However, this felt very juvenile in the way it was written. I enjoyed the multiple points of view it was written from, and the insight from the stalker without knowing who he was, but some of the dialogue felt very simple and could have been done better, in my opinion. I did not find myself eagerly opening my kindle to see what happens next, nor do I see myself hunting down other works by this author.

Thank you, Storm Publishing, and NetGalley for letting me review this book.

Olivia and Natalie are very strong women to survive after what they had gone through. The things they went through will stay with them for the rest of their lives. This book is a great representation for a curtain awareness (I do not want to give anything away, so I am trying to use my words carefully).

This book was so well written and well-paced and flowed like a stream. I know. I loved the ending so much.

This is the first book I have read by author Sally Royer-Derr. I must check out her other books, because this one was fantastically written, a wonderful plot (that also advocates for awareness), and gave me all of the emotions, sad, happy, shock, thrill with twist after twist.

I highly recommend this book, and I am so glad I had the chance to read it.

This had me turning pages to find out each new part of the story. I was so hooked to both the plot and the characters.
It was nice to have woman working for the good, and seemingly together to protect eachother.
I was so impressed with how Natalie seemed to just be a GOOD person. Who seemed to just want to get through to the other side of her problems and then help others be safe too.
We often see in books how traumas effect how character futures,often carrying demons for the bad of them. But Natalie had come so far. And showed the side of such strong woman who fight awful things that happen to them and carve out futures.
I wanted so much for these character to have a good ending. And I defined each day by how I could carve out reading time until I found out.

This story is told from two main POVs, Natalie and Olivia but we have a third that pops up now and again called “Him” doesn’t give much away but it’s very interesting! The different perspectives allow for great character building and both girls are very likeable and the friendship they build is lovely! This had me hooked, there wasn’t a big twist as such but lots of twists and turns along the way. My first book by Sally and I’m off to add her others to my TBR! Worth a read!

Olivia Hanson’s husband, Lucas, is her rock; charming and successful, he offers her safety, security and the life she always dreamed of. In return, Olivia is a picture-perfect housewife, smiling and supportive. Until she meets Lucas’s new colleague, Natalie, and sees the flash of hatred in her eyes.

Olivia only wants to clear up the misunderstanding. But when she befriends Natalie, secrets come tumbling out that expose the ugly side of Olivia’s beautiful marriage and she realizes there is another young woman caught up in Lucas’s lies. Olivia learned long ago that her husband is no saint, but he’s about to discover that neither is she…

This is a new-to-me author, and I'm so glad I found her! This story gripped me from the beginning and kept me turning the pages. The twists and turns were fairly predictable if you read a lot in this genre, but it was still entertaining. Highly recommend! 4⭐

I received an advanced complimentary digital copy of this book from Netgalley. Opinions expressed are my own.

Choices, lies and resilience are the best three words to sum up this book. The author slowly drip feeds the reader pertinent information throughout about all the main characters and there are a couple of WOW moments when we find out something big. Plenty of twists and turns to keep the reader guessing as to what is really happening too. First time reading this author but it won't be the last.

Thanks to Netgalley and Storm for the ARC to review.

A tangled web of lies, hidden pasts and weird occurrences make this book a domestic thriller that will have you pointing fingers at everyone. Trust no one. Trust everyone. It seems there is no right answer. You do not want to turn your back on anyone in this book because their hand may hold a knife. I kept thinking who needs enemies when you have friends like these.

The emotions in this book are off the charts. The tension builds with each chapter until the shocking conclusion. Excuse me while I pick my jaw up off of the floor.

Thank you to Storm Publishing and NetGalley for this ARC. I am leaving this review voluntarily.

This book had me gripped from the start. A serial groomer of young girls whose position of being a trusted teacher makes for a sinister game player. The characters were well described and the book was set at a satisfactory pace where I found myself routing for the women that had fallen victims to such an insidious predator.