The Man She Married by Alison Stockham is a domestic thriller full of secrets and lies. This book does deal with domestic violence and coercive control so that is a trigger for you just be aware.
Beth awakens in a hospital after being in a car accident. She discovers that while she believes she is 24 years old and in Australia where she grew up, she is missing 5 years of memories. She is now in the UK and married to a man named Rob. She doesn't remember anything past 2019 and while in the hospital Rob seems kind enough there is just something unsettling about him and their relationship. When Beth is well enough to go home she is eager to regain her memories. But what are Rob's intentions for her? When she starts to get flashbacks of her missing years, she realizes all is not what it seems with Rob and her marriage. This book had a very good story line and I found myself eagerly reading to find out what Rob was hiding. I really think that Stockham really captured what a domestic violence relationship looks like. The red flags, the control, the manipulation and isolation Beth felt was very convincing. I did feel like some parts did drag just a bit but it didn't stop me from finishing. This was the first book I have read by this author but not my last.
Thank you to NetGalley, Alison Stockham, and Boldwood Books for this ARC. Expected release date is January 20th 2025.

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Thank you to Netgalley and Boldwood Books for providing me with this ARC in exchange for an honest review.
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In 'The Man She Married,' Beth, the protagonist, grapples with amnesia following a car accident, losing the past five years of her life. Her husband, Rob, presents himself as the picture of devotion, yet Beth experiences unsettling unease, a gut feeling that something isn't quite right. This intriguing premise drives a fast-paced narrative, keeping me hooked and eager to uncover the truth.
However, the character development felt somewhat superficial. Beth, while understandably disoriented, came across as overly gullible and somewhat irritating at times. Rob, unfortunately, was a rather one-dimensional villain, lacking any depth or nuance. His motivations remained shrouded in mystery, leaving his descent into darkness unexplained and unconvincing. Supporting characters similarly fell into predictable archetypes, lacking the complexity that would have enriched the story.
The ending fell very flat and was almost anticlimactic. The resolution seemed overly convenient, lacking the organic flow that would have made it more believable.
Overall, 'The Man She Married' offers a promising premise, but the execution falls short. While the fast-paced plot kept me engaged, the underdeveloped characters and the somewhat unsatisfying ending ultimately hindered the book's impact.

3.5 ⭐️

“The Man She Married” by Alison Stockham is a gripping psychological thriller that follows the journey of Beth, who awakens in a hospital with no memory of the past five years. The man at her side, Rob, claims to be her husband, yet she cannot remember him, or their life together. As Beth tries to regain her memories, she becomes increasingly suspicious of Rob’s intentions and the authenticity of their relationship.

I was absolutely right there with Beth, second guessing everyone and everything- I felt like I was losing my mind alongside her. The story did drag at times but I can’t fault it too much for that because the twists and conclusion were completely worth it.

Imagine waking up in a hospital and you can't remember anything that had happened. Not knowing how you got there. There is a stranger sitting next to you who says he is your husband. The main character's memory is fuzzy and the past five years is a blur. This is just the beginning of all the twists and turns that gets thrown at the reader and it's a thrilling ride. This book is an exciting psychological thriller. The main characters and plot twists are skillfully written. A great book to add to your collection of thrill reads.

Disclaimer: Thank you NetGalley and Boldwood Books for this is review copy and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

One moment I was just living my life, finding my way in the world. The next I woke up in a hospital bed with years of my life missing. The man by my side – Rob, my husband – looks familiar, but I can't remember marrying him. I can’t remember our life together. Most haunting of all: I can’t remember anything about the last five years.

Rob keeps telling me that everything will be fine, that my memories will return, but something feels... wrong. Why does our flat feel so unfamiliar? Why does he flinch when I ask questions? Why are none of my friends and family in touch?

I loved this. It had me from the first page and didn't let go of me until the end. It's fast-paced, relatively predictable, but I enjoyed the twists and turns along the way. 4⭐

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

Beth wakes up in hospital with no memory of how she got there. Rob is beside her bed and says he is her husband, however Beth believes this can’t be right as she has never been married. Only she finds out she has lost 5 years of memories. As time goes on Beth insistently feels something is not right. Can she trust Rob or herself?

Although this is a familiar trope, I usually find this intriguing so was keen to read. I ended up enjoying the majority of this story and found the plot fairly fast paced and it kept me interested. I found myself constantly second guessing myself, not knowing exactly how it would all play out, although there were no major surprises.

I found a few of the characters irritating, especially friend Dee and her overuse of a specific endearment, this slightly hindered my enjoyment of the whole novel. I also wasn’t that keen on the ending as I expected something a bit more from it. Even though a familiar one, this was a good story as a whole and I would read more by this author. 3.5 stars rounded down. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this copy in return for an honest review.

The Man She Married by Alison Stockham is a pulse-pounding domestic thriller that will boil your blood!
This is one of the books that you will want to share with someone who is going through DV without realising it. This book clearly shows the red flags and levels of manipulation that are not easy to spot if you live in a household with an abuser.

The story caught my attention straight away! And oh my, when they were trying to explain about COVID, it felt like a dystopian story... but we lived through, all of us! So surreal!
I liked the characters as they were action-orientated instead of just crying in the corner!

Beth wakes up after a car accident and realises she is missing a massive chunk of her life. She does not recognise people around, and the country she lives in but she must trust them because she can't remember anything... At the same time, her gut instinct screams she is in danger... who to trust when you can't trust anyone?
If you don't recognise your husband, can you trust him?

I loved this book from start to finish! It was nice to see how the story unfolds, how events fall into place and how characters find the way forward.

Thank you NetGalley and Boldwood Books for this copy!

Euh! I gotta say WOW!

This was a Pageturner, jawdropping book.

Kept me up to finish it all in one sitting.

Definitely recommended to put on your TBR

Thank you to NetGalley & Boldwood Books for the chance to read this book!

Idk what everyone's problem is in the review section, but I didn't find the book hard to read at all, there was nothing wrong with the writing or the sentences "being too long", maybe some of us are more advanced in our reading than other reviewers, but I feel this book got a lot of hate it did not deserve! PLEASE DO NOT JUDGE A BOOK BY THE REVIEWS IN THIS CASE!!!!

This is a very good read, very suspenseful fast paced, there is quite a bit going on so it is a longer book, nothing wrong with that imo as long as it keeps you hooked. I will say some of it is fairly predictable esp if you read a bunch of thrillers like this. But that comes with the territory and is in no way shape or form the author's fault! Personally, I think it ended exactly the way it should have. I also liked when something was said to her early on, they found another way to throw in a twist after that and make you rethink what was said. I'm not giving away any spoilers here so if you wanna know what I mean Go get the book!!!!

I wanted to like this as the premise was really interesting, and I really loved similar books. Unfortunately I couldn’t finish this as I just couldn’t get on with the writing style. So much of this was using words for the sake of using words

“The Man She Married” is a domestic thriller that will keep you engaged.
Thank you Boldwood Books and Netgalley for an advance copy of the book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.
After a car accident, Beth wakes up in the hospital and cannot remember the last 5 years and being married to Rob. He takes her home and tries to help her remember. Beth is isolated in the house, has no phone and starts to feel like something is wrong. Slowly she starts to suspect that her husband is lying and manages to find an old laptop and contact a friend. There is a lot of suspense during the book and you don’t know who to trust. This was a quick read, but it was well written.
There are twists that keep you guessing but it doesn’t have any unrealistic storyline and the end is not predictable.

2.5 STARS

Don't get me wrong, this book had an incredible start and middle. I felt very invested in Beth's story - wondering whether she was going to get her memory back and what dark secrets her husband Rob was hiding. It was a definite page turner! However, the ending completely lost me. I was waiting for that one final twist, or an epilogue showing the aftermath, or anything at all. Instead, it just felt like it sort of... abruptly ended. This unfortunately detracted from my overall enjoyment of the book. I've never read anything else by this author though, and I'd be willing to give her another try.

Thank you to NetGalley and Boldwood for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Although it had a promising premise of a woman dealing with memory loss, The Man She Married fell flat. The story started off strong with Beth who has no recollection of her life from the past 5 years as a result of a car accident, In fact, she does not remember being married to Rob. She is unsettled and suspicious of her husband who one minute is loving the next quick to anger and cold. How Rob portrays their marriage does not reflect what she sees, and her instinct tells her something is not quite right. I found the inner dialogue repetitive and tedious after a while and the story itself seemed implausible at times. As well I did not like the ending nor did I feel there was much substance to the book. The supporting characters needed more background and overall something was just lacking.

My rating 2.5 out of 5
Thanks to NetGalley and Boldwood Books for this eARc that will be published January 20 2025.

Really enjoyed reading this book, it kept me wanting to keep reading each night as I wanted to find out more. The storyline wasn’t predictable which makes a nice change from quite a few books. Also hadn’t read a book with a similar storyline as sometimes some can sound repetitive but this story was unique. Would definitely recommend to anyone wanting a good read!

I was disappointed in this as I had high hopes going into reading it. It felt slow to start, I had trouble being intrigued enough that to want to pick it up and I ended up dnf-Ing it at 55%.

The suspense is good, the story is gripping. I finished reading within 48 hours! I had to find out what really happened, whose version to believe - Rob (the husband), Beth (her old memories and gut instinct that something was off) and Dee, Beth's friend, who Beth could not remember!

It is an easy book to read though I found the dialogue flat in some scenes and I had so many questions while reading as some scenes felt unbelievable.

The author's depiction of domestic violence and how it builds up, the fear, isolation and helplessness that makes it hard for victims to leave especially where children are involved believable.

I was disappointed by the ending, wanted and expected more. This is my first book from this author and I will definitely be on the lookout for her books.

It's a 6.5/10 for me. Thank you NetGalley for the ARC, all opinions are mine and freely given.

Alison Stockham is a new author for me. The story kept me reading but also with a lot of questions that weren’t answered. I kept expecting a twist but none came. In my opinion it was an ok read. Thank you NetGalley for the ARC.

When Beth wakes up after a car accident she can’t remember the last five years. A man called Rob tells her that he is her husband and will look after her but things just don’t seem right. She has absolutely no recollection of him or being married and the picture he paints of their life together doesn’t match with how she remembers her personality being. As things start to develop and her memory gradually comes back, Beth realises that she is going to have to be careful and is possibly in danger. Who should she trust and what options does she have? An absolute page turner of a psychological thriller that kept me totally hooked right to the very end. Thanks to Boldwood Books and Netgalley for the ARC

This was a page turner, a fast paced thriller that I read in one sitting. Beth awakes from a car accident with no memory of the last 5 years, she didn’t know she was married and she has to leave with this strange man. But the lies that follows is worrisome. Beth starts to remember things and not is all well.
This was a breeze to read, the words flow easily and the plot was really good,. I highly recommend this psychological thriller. A 5 star read.
Thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for a copy.

This will strike a familiar chord with a lot of readers and shines a light on some pretty dark issues. In doing so, it also offers a very gripping story with a plot line that will make you question perspectives and challenge your thinking about which narrators can be relied upon. It’s well written and the characters are very believable, which is essential given the need to work out who to believe. Really suspenseful and a genuine thriller.