“Suffice it to say that things are not always what they look like on the outside.”
This story is told in dual perspectives: Joanna, the doting wife and Piper, the tease who wants to BE the wife...
...Or so we think.
Leo Drakos, the well-spoken, perfectly-dressed lawyer is the man in the middle. When Leo arrives at the “Phoenix Recovery Center” to check on one of his clients, Fred, he finds a flirty new friendship in the owner, Piper Reynard. Meanwhile, Joanna is at home taking care of his children Stella and Evie.
“Women have always been attracted to Leo, some even making it clear that they didn’t mind that he was married.”
Leo has been very depressed lately and in order to get him out of his funk before an upcoming trial, Joanna suggests that he take a meditation class in which Piper just so happens to decide to sit in on. They joke around, Leo ends up realizing that the class is not for him; they instead leave early and he treats her to lunch.
“I was relieved that he was finally going to take a step toward health. Little did I know that it would be his first step out of my life into hers.”
Piper, recently coming from The West Coast has moved around a lot , never really finding a true place to call home. She is hoping that Connecticut will be it, and Leo will be who with. But, she comes with a troublesome past, one that includes two marriages and not one but two dead husbands—Accidents, it seems.
When Leo confronts Joanna with the paperwork that’ll make her go away, she will stop at nothing to prove that he’s falling for the wrong woman. She won’t be left behind. She’s in total denial that what was is now over.
“She’s got Leo right where she wants him, and he’s blind to her game.”
Meanwhile, Piper continues to deal with Joanna’s obsessive ways as well as Leo’s son, Stelli’s refusal to respect her as an adult, let alone a new mother figure. His acting out has become intolerable. It’s one thing for him to miss his mother, but this is going way too far.
“She wondered if she would ever be a real part of this family.”
“Taking a deep breath, she grabbed a pillow from the bed, went into the bathroom, turned the water on, and screamed as loud as she could into its feathers.”
Imagine yourself as Joanna, she’s convinced that Piper is dangerous and only wants what’s best for her family.
Now, consider being Piper, how much can you take before you give up? She did afterall, steal this life from another woman, so she should have to pay some type of price, right?
Both women are in love with the same man and will stop at nothing to win the “perfect” life.
My initial reaction after finishing this book:
What the HE 🏒 🏒 just happened 😱😱! Page 283.... what did SHE just say 😱😱😱
1000% Delusional!
Could she really be THAT crazy? No way.
An ending that I DID NOT see coming and I’m left with so many questions!!
A fast- paced breakneck thriller that you can finish in one sitting!
I’m going to go take a cold shower now!
A SOLID 4.5 stars, rounded up for Goodreads.
Why this book did not get 5 stars SPOILERS below—
The reader was left with too many questions, I wanted more explanation about what really happened to the two husbands in the past. Is our answer within the last line of the book? “Otherwise, she’d have to start all over again.” I must know more info!