2 stars - but this was entirely my fault. I walked into this book not knowing that it was number 5 in a series, so I went in with a disadvantage of knowing none of the characters, history, or backstory. So I was immensely confused for the better part of this book.

With that being said - the writing was fine, but the book would have greatly benefitted from a dual POV. Also, the use of swearing and the amount of it was just not the vibe.However it was a quick (albeit confusing) read but it went by fast!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this e-arc in exchange for my honest review.

In 'I Knew You Were Trouble', Sandy Barker presents a charming and laugh-out-loud romantic comedy revolving around shattered trust and sweet revenge. Kate Whitaker's faith in love is shattered when Willem, a breathtakingly handsome Dutchman, shows up with the shocking news that her fiancé is also engaged to his sister.

Overwhelmed with anger and unexpectedly attracted to Willem, Kate agrees to go with him to Amsterdam. What starts as a gesture of support quickly turns into a wickedly wicked scheme to get revenge on the duplicitous fiancé. As Kate enters the world of revenge, she finds herself unexpectedly falling in love with Willem.
Barker skillfully weaves together humor and warm moments in a swift and entertaining tale.

There is undeniable chemistry between Kate and Willem, and their banter creates another level of charm in the story. Readers will be cheering for Kate as she finds her courage and love in the most unlikely of places. 'I Knew You Were Trouble' is a highly entertaining read, ideal for readers who love Sophie Kinsella and Emily Henry, and a cracking addition to Barker's genre of witty and escapist romantic comedies.

I absolutely adored I Knew You Were Trouble. I will always read a Sandy Barker book, and this one was no different!
Revenge over a cheating fiancé and getting to know the other woman's brother just a little better? Yes, please!
The banter was spectacular.

I Knew You Were Trouble
By: Sandy Barker
Review Score: Four Stars

Boogie’s Bulletpoints
•The last in the series!
•A fun revenge plot
•Beautiful European Locations
•Only One Bed

———

I Knew You Were Trouble was kindly provided by Boldwood Books. Thank you for allowing me to enjoy this wonderful book!

I feel like Sandy Barker’s books are constantly underrated, and I Knew You Were Trouble is no exception! I have loved the Ever After Agency Series, and I am bummed this is the last one.

Kate is surprised to learn that her fiancé, Jon, actually has a second fiancé. And who she learns it from is Willem, brother of fiancé number two (honestly, what a fun plot twist from the get go).

Kate decides to get revenge, and the team at the Ever After Agency helps make that happen. No spoilers, but there is more to the story than you would expect, and the ending is so satisfying. I loved seeing the evolution of friendship and love, all against the backdrop of such beautiful locations!

I really enjoyed this book. Sandy Barker is an auto-buy author for me, and I can’t wait to see what she writes next!

I Knew You Were Trouble is a rom-com novel, the 5th in the Ever After Agency series. It took a while for me to get stuck in and get used to the characters and their roles within the plot, however from the 40% mark I was hooked into the story! I really enjoyed Kate and Willem’s story and I also loved going back to Poppy and Tristan too.

The book was cute, but a little cliche/boring. I almost DNF'd in the beginning when the FMC said the MMC looked like Thor. The MMC on the cover looks nothing like Thor, so it felt very disconnected.

Book Review: I Knew You Were Trouble by Sandy Barker

Sandy Barker serves up a fun mix of humor, heart, and a sprinkle of revenge in I Knew You Were Trouble, the latest in her Ever After Agency series. This romantic comedy follows Kate Whitaker, who finds out her fiancé isn't exactly the guy she thought he was. Cue the self-discovery journey and an unexpected romance that blossoms between Kate and Willem, a character who brings a new perspective to her life!

The story kicks off with Kate learning from the swoon-worthy Willem that her fiancé is also engaged to his sister. The turn of events sends them on an adventure across Europe to confront the truth.

One of Barker's strong skills is her ability to create visual settings and show genuine female friendships. Kate's relationship with her cousin, Margot, is a highlight, offering both laughs and a deep emotional connection. I Knew You Were Trouble is filled with witty banter and laugh-out-loud moments, making it hard to put down.

The romance between Kate and Willem moves pretty fast. Some people may want more time for buildup and tension. Plus, a few side stories could have used more development to enhance the overall experience.

I Knew You Were Trouble is a cute read that embraces resilience, love, and the unexpected twists life throws our way.

This is the first book I’ve read by Sandy Barker and it won’t be my last!

This was a fantastically fun, flirty, and fast read leaving me wanting more!

What would you do if a handsome stranger showed up on a Friday night saying he has something to tell you? And what would you do if the handsome stranger told you he knows your fiancée - because your fiancée is engaged to his sister!

This was full of delightful banter. AND…it doesn’t get any better than hopping to various European countries while losing yourself in a terrific romcom!

The book is an easy four star read and one that led me to add the other four books in the series to by TBR.

Book 5 in the Ever After Agency series is available to read free for Kindle Unlimited members!

Thank You NetGalley, Sandy Barker, and Boldwood Books for allowing me to read this sweet and spicy romcom in exchange for a review.

Thank you Sandy Barker and Boldwood Books to allow me to read this ARC via NetGalley.

Genre: Contemporary Romance
Vibes: ✈️💼💘🌍🎶
Rating: 3.00 ⭐
Tropes: travel romance / opposites attract / friend's brother / found family / cheating ex

Firstly, while I originally was interested in reading this book for the Taylor Swift reference in the title, it is a little deceiving as the "trouble" is not the mmc that the fmc is interested in.
I did enjoy the connection between all the women seeking revenge on Jon.
Lastly, while I do enjoy the dual-POV, I prefer them to be individual chapters, it was confusing as the perspective changed halfway through a chapter.
Would recommend for a funny and entertaining read if you can overlook that, though !

I would firstly just like to say a big thank you to Rachel’s Random Resources who very kindly forwarded me an arc copy of this book, for my kindle, in return for my honest review.

I Knew You Were Trouble is actually book number five from five, from the ‘Ever After Agency’ series.

It is billed as the brand-new, funny, sexy and sweet romance with the tag line - don’t get mad.get even and is full of witty banter, swoonworthy moments and is actually just pure escapism.

I was pulled in to this book right from the very beginning and it did not let me go again until i had turned every page and devoured it all.

I do love a book that covers many tropes and this one had plenty that I absolutely loved! There was enemies-to-allies-to-lovers, only one bed(which I love love love!), forced proximity, sweet revenge, opposites attract, broody protector hero, slow burn and the wonderful will they, won’t they!

This book was wonderful and i thoroughly enjoyed everything about it. It was a laugh out loud romantic comedy and the very surprising places that we end up finding love…

I will not lie, I struggled to get into this book and enjoy it. I found it to be quite far fetched and a bit unbelievable in the way the FMC character responds to the news of her fiancé’s infidelity and even a random man showing up at her door. The book was a good way for me to rest and reset my brain though after some back to back heavy reads

A fun read

I haven’t read anything by this author before and when I realised this was book 5 I was a tad hesitant, but boy am I glad I read this one. While you could tell there were other stories referenced in this, I didn’t feel I needed to read them to understand this story.

The characters are relatable and their romance was incredibly sweet. The friendship between Kate and Margot is one of the best vibes I’ve read.

I loved the romcom banter but some of the POV switching did confuse me at first but it didn’t take me out of the story, just needs defining more for clarity.

Overall I enjoyed this book and will be going back to read the rest in the series.

🛌 One bed
❎ Will they/won’t they
✅ Forced proximity
😈 Revenge plot
🛶Set in Amsterdam

Plot: 💜💜💜💜
Characters: 🤩🤩🤩🤩🤩
Spice: N/A
Writing: ✍🏼✍🏼✍🏼✍🏼
Overall: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Thank you NetGalley and Boldwood Books for the ARC.

I wanted to love this book, especially because it is set in Amsterdam and I recently moved here, but i wasn't even able to finish it. This book just didn't do it for me. I can't recommend it. Others may enjoy it but it wasn't my cup of tea.

I have never read a contemporary adult romance where there was little to no romance and the story was told from dual POV from two women who were NOT romantically involved. I do not understand why the author seemed to feel we needed to hear half the story from Poppy’s POV. This was a very, very odd choice.

I chose this book based on the title, but it was misleading. The only thing that was trouble in this situation was ME having to read this truly baffling and unromantic romance story. It apparently is #5 in a series, and honestly I do not feel that it can act as a stand alone. With the author continually throwing past characters into the main plot I felt lost and very confused. It was an unusual way to do this, as most authors tend to just drop past characters in as cameos and not 50% of the plot. If the other POV had been from the MMC’s perspective I think it could possibly be called a romance. As it stands I feel this book is best labeled as contemporary women’s fiction.

Thanks NetGalley and Boldwood books for the free ARC in exchange for my honest opinions.

Kate Whitaker discovers her fiancé's shocking betrayal—he's engaged to multiple women. Teaming up with Willem, the brother of one of his other fiancées, Kate embarks on a whirlwind journey across Europe, seeking revenge and perhaps finding unexpected romance along the way. This is a laugh-out-loud romantic comedy.

Going Dutch
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 9 April 2025
In this fifth Ever After Agency book, Poppy and the regular cameo cohort are on board to help Kate with something unusual; a revenge plot.
Kate has been with hi-flier Jon for six months and is recently engaged to him, despite the fact her cousin Margot detests him.
One evening, she has a stranger - an attractive one - Willem De Vries, turn up at her door.
She meets him at the pub and is faced with evidence that shows her long-distance fiance is also engaged to Willem's sister Adriana.
And Willem wants Kate to go to Amsterdam and help him prove Jon's duplicity to Adriana.
After much alcohol and sobbing with Margot, she agrees.
Though it wasn't Poppy that matched Kate with Jon, she wants her to know and that's how the agency gets involved.
This is a fun, international, city-hopping rom com that feels like a Shakespearean comedy of errors at times with all of the shenanigans and the amount of people who get involved in making sure Jon never treats a woman the same way again.
And of course, with Margot in tow, Kate spends more time with Willem and can't help but be attracted to him.
This one was great fun, it's of planning, regular characters like Marie and George on board as well as Tris and Saffy, whilst also moving the Poppy narrative along.
There's a HEA at the end a bunch of new potential clients for the agency.
The chemistry between Kate and Willem sizzles and I love the fact there are multiple LGBTQIA+ characters in this het rom com, not just the token couple.
I loved this as much, if not more, than the others

good romance and finding out that a guy ends up engaged to 3 women and how they all find love and end up catching him.

I Knew You Were Trouble by Sandy Barker

Polygamy actually happens today!!??

The story starts with a girl being informed that her fiance has another fiance!! She is shocked of course but doesn't know what to do about it. She blames herself for being lame enough to fall for a con man but then she rewinds and start seeing all the signs that she ignored earlier. Well, she has to come up with a plan to con the con man.

It sounds similar to the Hindi bollywood movie - Ladies Vs Ricky Bahl, but the difference is this guy is playing 3 girls at once!!

📚 Story highlights the fact that how girls are so much into charming guys that they often neglect the red flags.
📚 It is an amalgamation of mystery, suspense, love and tragedy.
📚 Plot flows smoothly between finding out about the other girls, notifying them, giving them support and playing the con man.
📚 However, the frequency with which the characters are flying from country to country, it looks like they are super rich!!
📚 Beautiful insights are shared about how a person needs to be cautious about relationships, how becoming vulnerable can harm them.

A beautiful and quick read. Do give it a try!!

Kate meets Willem when he delivers bad news to her - the man she is engaged to is also engaged to Alex's sister. Soon they are working together, but as she spends more time with Willem will it be a case of wrong time, right man? A great read.

This book was a fun read, with an interesting plot. The characters were well written, and I enjoyed the main characters of williem and Kate. How they came together was so interesting. This is the fifth book in this series, but the first one I have read and it was impossible to put down.