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The Ruined Wife
Alastair has found the perfect partner in husband, Steven. Together they've built a successful life, had a beautiful child, and still behave like newlyweds long since the day he carried her over the threshold. But all of that changes in an instant thanks to a thoughtless deed that has lifelong repercussions. With secrets bubbling to the surface, the pair find their American dream life suddenly in jeopardy, and neither one of them are willing to let go at any cost.
284 pages, Kindle Edition
First published April 7, 2018
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Displaying 1 - 29 of 306 reviews
September 28, 2022
Hell hath no fury…
Alastair thought she had a reasonably solid marriage with Steven. Right up to the moment he abruptly, and at the most in opportune time, informs Alastair that he cheated.
Now Alastaires’ world is collapsing around her and she doesn’t know what or who to trust.
The characters were a bit hard to warm up to. Their actions didn’t feel very realistic. Lol! I know…it’s fiction! But I just couldn’t imagine the characters behaving the way they did.🤷♀️
The twist and ending were not surprising at all. As with most other readers I had this figured out pretty early on.
This may not be a standout thriller but I enjoyed it enough to check out more books by this author.
hank you to my local library 🎧
Alastair thought she had a reasonably solid marriage with Steven. Right up to the moment he abruptly, and at the most in opportune time, informs Alastair that he cheated.
Now Alastaires’ world is collapsing around her and she doesn’t know what or who to trust.
The characters were a bit hard to warm up to. Their actions didn’t feel very realistic. Lol! I know…it’s fiction! But I just couldn’t imagine the characters behaving the way they did.🤷♀️
The twist and ending were not surprising at all. As with most other readers I had this figured out pretty early on.
This may not be a standout thriller but I enjoyed it enough to check out more books by this author.
hank you to my local library 🎧
May 23, 2023
An average psychological thriller that was enjoyable enough, but not more. I know my memory of it will fade pretty quickly as there wasn’t much that made it stand out from all the other thrillers I’ll read. But I had a good time reading it, so that counts for something!
April 19, 2024
Yes! I was hooked from the beginning until the end!
August 9, 2019
I listened to this book in audiobook format and it was non-stop entertainment!! Solid 4 star rating, the only thing that kept it from five star is that I saw the ending coming about the first 25% in, but this is coming from a hardcore thriller enthusiast! Regardless, I was thoroughly entertained throughout and will no doubt be reading more from this author!!
June 19, 2019
Entertaining but pretty far fetched.. I found myself yelling at my screen, like "Really?? That's what you do now??" Both husband & wife were a little slow to realization, & to action! But i was definitely curious to see how it ended. I'd label this as an easy read, you don't need to pay complete attention but the story will draw you in. Perfect for the background- like listening to the audio while you're cleaning or driving, etc.
June 10, 2018
This book definitely had promise, but the execution was just bad. It was written in the first person, mainly narrated by the protagonist, Aly. Aly must be the dumbest person on the planet. Given the way her husband’s reaction to Brynn was described, she should have realized right away that something was off. It would have been believable if it were in the third person, leading the reader to think she just didn’t notice his strong reaction or verbal slip up. But she’s narrating it!
Also, several things were left unresolved. Who the man in the Kia? Are we supposed to assume it was Brynn in disguise? We do know that’s what she drove. Who was the guy at the party? What was the deal with the pic of Aly kissing some guy? Brynn couldn’t have saved it in her email. Did Mara do that? If so, why? If there were cameras set up in the house, why did the prosecutors just agree to drop the charges. Bc her husband said she tripped? Of course he’d say that!
Save your time and frustration, pick another book.
Also, several things were left unresolved. Who the man in the Kia? Are we supposed to assume it was Brynn in disguise? We do know that’s what she drove. Who was the guy at the party? What was the deal with the pic of Aly kissing some guy? Brynn couldn’t have saved it in her email. Did Mara do that? If so, why? If there were cameras set up in the house, why did the prosecutors just agree to drop the charges. Bc her husband said she tripped? Of course he’d say that!
Save your time and frustration, pick another book.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 4, 2018
Unlikeable characters and unbelievable plot. Sloppy writing and, odd note, I have never read about a character that vomits as often as this book's main character. Not sure why I finished it. At least it was a Kindle Unlimited.
February 8, 2019
5 stars audio for the female narrator. 3 stars audio for male narrator.
4 stars story.
4 stars story.
January 30, 2019
I read this with Kindle Unlimited. It was great read, although I picked the who quite early on, but not the why. A twisty tale of love and revenge.
November 11, 2019
Psychological Thrillers / Domestic / Contemporary
Most of THE RUINED WIFE is told in flashbacks from Alistair's and her husband's perspectives.
Yet another story with "perfect" family but turns out the husband was having an affair. Not particularly interesting or well written. Tried to be complicated but ended up being boring and slow. Didn't like any of the characters, found them too shallow and superficial. Also wonder why so many authors think that all their protagonist have to vomit in stressful situations? Its like they suffer from the cyclic vomiting syndrome! Why can't authors come up with something different?
Most of THE RUINED WIFE is told in flashbacks from Alistair's and her husband's perspectives.
Yet another story with "perfect" family but turns out the husband was having an affair. Not particularly interesting or well written. Tried to be complicated but ended up being boring and slow. Didn't like any of the characters, found them too shallow and superficial. Also wonder why so many authors think that all their protagonist have to vomit in stressful situations? Its like they suffer from the cyclic vomiting syndrome! Why can't authors come up with something different?
November 24, 2020
I feel like several key pieces are missing/unanswered or maybe the book was finished in a rush to meet a deadline. Why was her wedding ring in Mara’s bag after all? It isn’t addressed. Who is the guy who showed up to the fiesta acting as Brynne’s date? Was it the same man driving the car who rear ended Alastair? The book kept my interest but left me with too many questions. Also the switch between tenses as well as singular vs plural, sometimes within the same sentence really bugged me.
August 25, 2018
I was swept into Alystair's story the moment I started reading it. It didn't feel like i was observing what was happening in the story from the outlines , i felt like i was a part of it, as if Alystair was holding my hand and guiding me through the ruin that her happy marriage had become.
Montgomery made me DESPISE Steven, Alystair's not-so-goody-two-shoes husband. He made me agitated, i kept thinking, if only this son of a biscuit had kept it in his pants. I don't know why, but Brianna's relevation in the last few pages of the book made me think about 'The Orphan', a movie i enjoyed immensely. Maybe because the truth is unveiled in a dramatic way.
I kept flying through the pages, it is so well written ! If only Montgomery's books were available in Pakistan, she would be my auto-buy author, which makes me end this review with saying a huge thanks to the author for providing me an e-copy of her amazing book upon my request. If only i had a physical one *sighs*.
Montgomery made me DESPISE Steven, Alystair's not-so-goody-two-shoes husband. He made me agitated, i kept thinking, if only this son of a biscuit had kept it in his pants. I don't know why, but Brianna's relevation in the last few pages of the book made me think about 'The Orphan', a movie i enjoyed immensely. Maybe because the truth is unveiled in a dramatic way.
I kept flying through the pages, it is so well written ! If only Montgomery's books were available in Pakistan, she would be my auto-buy author, which makes me end this review with saying a huge thanks to the author for providing me an e-copy of her amazing book upon my request. If only i had a physical one *sighs*.
August 26, 2019
Holy shit what a terrible, awful book.
The husband was disgusting from the get go, there was no chemistry at all between them yet the main character (who must be the most gullible of them all!!!) repeats ad nauseam how much they love each other and are best friends (despite she yelling him how she chose him bc he was amicable and she."grew to love him).
And then the affair. Omg only if the assistant had put a billboard announcing "it's meeeee" it would be more obvious. And the wife,supposedly so intelligent, never saw it.
And the end, ugh. Wow, what a waste of time!
The husband was disgusting from the get go, there was no chemistry at all between them yet the main character (who must be the most gullible of them all!!!) repeats ad nauseam how much they love each other and are best friends (despite she yelling him how she chose him bc he was amicable and she."grew to love him).
And then the affair. Omg only if the assistant had put a billboard announcing "it's meeeee" it would be more obvious. And the wife,supposedly so intelligent, never saw it.
And the end, ugh. Wow, what a waste of time!
June 9, 2018
AWESOME from the first word to last word!!
This story is tragically amazing. One horrible decision leads to the collapse of many lives. The fantastic thing about this story, the author has the storyline so twisted together that you never know who's really to blame for the all the chaos. LOVED LOVED LOVED!!!!
This story is tragically amazing. One horrible decision leads to the collapse of many lives. The fantastic thing about this story, the author has the storyline so twisted together that you never know who's really to blame for the all the chaos. LOVED LOVED LOVED!!!!
May 28, 2019
How one stupid mistake can change lives.
This is a gripping read without any twists. You know pretty much straight away who is who, and what their roles are in this book. You have a suspicious wife, a husband that is really not that bad of a bad guy, a depraved stalker, and a child that is ignored for the most part.
Think fatal attraction...
This is a gripping read without any twists. You know pretty much straight away who is who, and what their roles are in this book. You have a suspicious wife, a husband that is really not that bad of a bad guy, a depraved stalker, and a child that is ignored for the most part.
Think fatal attraction...
June 23, 2023
A super intelligent high powered owner of a PR firm whose so dumb she can’t figure out her husband is having an affair with the woman standing right in front of her even when he mistakingly calls her by the affair name.
Said woman then hatches a ridiculously idiotic and far fetched scheme to catch him out (even though he’s already confessed) when she could just hired a private investigator. It’s not like she can’t afford it.
The only thing more far fetched than Aly’s plan was Veronica/Brynns plan to get herself knocked up by Aly’s husband because Aly owns the PR firm that represented the child care centre where her kid drowned…. This whole book requires some pretty wild leaps of logic.
At one point, Aly goes into her employees home and discovers the employee stole her family photo and has it on her fridge and her response is…. “Ask next time”…. No seriously, that’s what she said. Not “OMG you’re fired you creeper”
Stephen: what did you inject me with?
Veronica/Bryn: oh just a chemical agent that reacts with water when it reaches your pores
Lolwhat?!? Look, I’m not saying such a chemical agent doesn’t exist, I’m not a chemist, but neither is Veronica/Bryn. She’s a sexy 20 yo with arguably no frontal lobe so where the fuck did she get this magical chemical compound?
Said woman then hatches a ridiculously idiotic and far fetched scheme to catch him out (even though he’s already confessed) when she could just hired a private investigator. It’s not like she can’t afford it.
The only thing more far fetched than Aly’s plan was Veronica/Brynns plan to get herself knocked up by Aly’s husband because Aly owns the PR firm that represented the child care centre where her kid drowned…. This whole book requires some pretty wild leaps of logic.
At one point, Aly goes into her employees home and discovers the employee stole her family photo and has it on her fridge and her response is…. “Ask next time”…. No seriously, that’s what she said. Not “OMG you’re fired you creeper”
Stephen: what did you inject me with?
Veronica/Bryn: oh just a chemical agent that reacts with water when it reaches your pores
Lolwhat?!? Look, I’m not saying such a chemical agent doesn’t exist, I’m not a chemist, but neither is Veronica/Bryn. She’s a sexy 20 yo with arguably no frontal lobe so where the fuck did she get this magical chemical compound?
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 8, 2018
Readable, but not particularly interesting or well written. Weird note: the protagonist has a penchant for frequently throwing up and with such detailed descriptions, it made me wonder about this author. The book was kind of formula (perfect husband who then has one night stand). The ending is the most interesting, slightly dark, was my favorite part of the book. If she could have pulled some of that nuance into the earlier portion of the book, it might have made it more interesting.
April 7, 2018
Voluntary review of an ARC. Really really good book. Ultimate stalker story. Great characters and plot. Alistair and Steven are a happily married couple with a young daughter and the perfect life until Steven has a one night stand and the s**t hits the fan. Alistair ends up in jail accused of murder and Steven in a coma. I enjoyed it immensely. Highly recommended.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 14, 2018
Text Ruined Wife was one of the best books I've read. I can't begin to say what intrigued me the most. Her best friend almost got set up cause I was certainly falling for it. I had no empathy or sympathy for her husband. Her daughter was enchanting and loveable. She list the most in all. The temp was truly delusional Even as a child. Just excellent.
September 26, 2020
”justifiable homicide.”
this book was a pleasant surprise. wasn’t expecting much, nor did i know what it was about. but it’s was a exciting and fast thriller. the story was very gripping!!
actual rating: 3.5*
this book was a pleasant surprise. wasn’t expecting much, nor did i know what it was about. but it’s was a exciting and fast thriller. the story was very gripping!!
actual rating: 3.5*
April 15, 2018
Twisted scheme
This book made for a great reason to always beware of the actions you take. Even a one time encounter can lead to dire consequences. A good rainy afternoon read.
This book made for a great reason to always beware of the actions you take. Even a one time encounter can lead to dire consequences. A good rainy afternoon read.
March 17, 2019
It kept my attention: easy quick read: a few unanswered questions but it was still readable.
June 10, 2024
I would probably give it a 3.5ish - great twisty story line, love the two perspectives from husband and wife - did not care much for the cheap “romance novel-type” sex scenes, most of which seemed unnecessary.
March 21, 2020
4 stars!
Review to come
Review to come
March 29, 2022
Standard crazy marriage story was fun but the characters and story wont stick with me so...
The wife between us and pretty little wife are similar storylines as well!
The wife between us and pretty little wife are similar storylines as well!
June 18, 2018
Inconsistent
I have this book 3 stars solely based on the first part, from Alistair's point of view. Th e second part of the book was very inconsistent. It felt rushed with some of the events being implausible and not lining up with the first portion of the book. A good editor was needed for th is book. For example, one character's hair color was described as red then a few words later described as brown.
I have this book 3 stars solely based on the first part, from Alistair's point of view. Th e second part of the book was very inconsistent. It felt rushed with some of the events being implausible and not lining up with the first portion of the book. A good editor was needed for th is book. For example, one character's hair color was described as red then a few words later described as brown.
July 28, 2019
Warning: Gratuitous vomiting. The characters vomited more in this novel than probably all of the novels I've ever read combined.
I started off really not liking this book. I initially thought it was a mystery or psychological thriller but then it was more of any angry wife revenge tale. But then it did turn out it to be a mystery after all. It was definitely an original though far fetched plot.
I started off really not liking this book. I initially thought it was a mystery or psychological thriller but then it was more of any angry wife revenge tale. But then it did turn out it to be a mystery after all. It was definitely an original though far fetched plot.
Displaying 1 - 29 of 306 reviews