The Engagement

by Nasheema Lennon

Speak now or forever rest in peace . . .‘A pacy debut that ensnares’ ADELE PARKS-

THE PERFECT FIANCÉ.

When Victoria’s best friend Gwen announces she is marrying the rich and handsome Michael, celebrations are strained. Victoria doesn’t trust Michael – he’s hiding something. And he reminds her of someone she needs to forget.

THE DREAM WEDDING PLAN.

Too loved up to see Michael’s dark side, Gwen drags Victoria into a whirlwind of dress shopping, engagement drinks and elaborate maid-of-honour duties. Meanwhile, a mysterious visitor is leaving unwanted gifts in Victoria’s home, and Michael is becoming no one gets between me and Gwen.

TOO GOOD TO BE TRUE?

The clock is ticking until the big day. Will Victoria expose Michael’s secret, and save her best friend from a marriage made in hell? Or will her past catch up with her first?

*THE UNMISSABLE DEBUT THRILLER FOR FANS OF T.M. LOGAN, TAMMY COHEN AND CAROLINE KEPNES*

*SHORTLISTED FOR THE OWNED VOICES NOVEL AWARD 2022*

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What readers are saying about The Engagement . . . ‘Awesome twists’ ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

‘A perfect wee read for these dark and cosy nights’ ⭐⭐⭐⭐

‘The story had me page turning like mad, and the end . . . Well let’s just say I was pretty shocked!’ ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Genres: Thriller, Mystery, Psychological Thriller, Psychological, Crime, Audiobook, Fiction

352 pages, Kindle Edition

First published October 27, 2022

About the author

Nasheema's debut psychological thriller, The Engagement, was published by Harper North in 2022.

Her second psychological thriller, Going, Going, Gone, will be released in March 2026.

Reviews

[Mark · Rating 4 out of 5]

Debut author and shortlisted for the ‘Owned Voices Novel Award 2022’ this book comes with a good cover and a recommendation that if you are a fan of ‘YOU’ ( Netflix ) ‘then it’s for you’, heady stuff and a lot to live up to in a ‘busy’ psychological thriller market…..
It was good, well plotted and told and a cast of credible characters, some unbearably ‘love to hate’ but the author did her job well and have to say although guessed around the edges of what was going on wasn’t really sure until the 2 endings
The jist of it all is a best friend doesn’t trust the man her friend is going to marry and after finding some shocking things out is determined to stop the engagement/wedding…..of course this is no easy task and everything that can stop her in her wake does so, although I do feel if she stopped fainting and panicking so much and got a grip of herself she may have done better and quicker but then the fun and tenseness of the book wouldn’t be there and there would be no story so……
All told this is a great debut and look forward to reading more from this author after this very promising start

[Veronika Jordan · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a cast of unlikeable characters! With friends like these, who needs enemies, as they say. Selfish, untrustworthy, nosy, flaky, violent, jealous, the list of endearing traits is endless. I am glad to say I have never had friendships like this – my friends know when to help and when to back off. If I said (like Greta Garbo) I want to be alone, they’d simply say ‘I’m at the end of the phone if you need me,’ not follow me home and insist on staying.

First we have Victoria – she’s a therapist (God help her clients) – and flaky as hell. Not that I blame her after her past relationship with Dylan, but I don’t think she is ready to help anyone – for about the next ten years at least.

Then there’s Gwen, Vic’s selfish ‘best friend’ who is getting married to Michael. So busy organising an art exhibition, she just dumps it all on her friends. Jessica is a right bitch – telling everyone what to eat before the wedding so they don’t get fat, how to style their hair, what to wear. P*&s off Jess. I need chocolate for stress. Samira is nice but can we trust her?

Michael is rich and handsome but secretive. What is he hiding from Gwen? I’m not sure I cared after a while, she is that selfish and appearingly as dim as a TocH lamp (as my late father-in-law used to say).

What about Isaac? As far as my fellow book club readers were concerned, the jury’s out.

I loved this book. I so enjoyed the madness. All that metaphorically shouting at Victoria, ‘JUST TELL HER!!’ And that ending! Totally unexpected. Sometimes I was exhausted just reading it.

Many thanks to The Pigeonhole, the author, and my fellow Pigeons for making this such an enjoyable read.

[Pheadra · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is the debut novel of Nasheema Lennon and falls into the psychological/thriller genre. Read in my online bookclub, it was compelling because despite being fed up with main character Victoria, and featuring several implausible occurrences, as a group we all wanted to know how the story ended. Gwen is a manipulative, deceitful, selfish bride to be and asks Victoria to be her maid of honour. Victoria is a therapist but is so outrageous in her behaviour, she is more in need of therapy than anyone in this story which follows a few short months from the time of Gwen getting engaged to Michael. I had figured out about 90% of the story early on barr one twist and found the ending disappointing. 3 and a half stars.

[Judy Churchill · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is one of the best books I’ve read in a long time. The suspense was unbelievable. Please write more books.

[Lala Rochelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was pretty good. Nice twist that I wasn't expecting. New author unlocked.

[Kristine · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was a fun book to read, I’d give it 3.5 stars!

The characters were interesting, the main character believable and relatable and the whole plot was engaging and kept me reading!

I did guess part of the twist at the end and felt very happy about it, but the last additional bit did come as a surprise!

Overall, a fun thriller read, not too serious and easy to finish in a few sittings!

Thank you for the ARC, NetGalley!

[Anne Bath · Rating 3 out of 5]

A book of two halves almost and one that for some reason I couldn’t put down. I don’t think I’ve ever read a book where I didn’t like any of the characters and whilst the main character was looking out for her best friend, her intentions didn’t seem credible to me and unfounded. It almost felt as if she was jealous given the veiled references to the problems within her own previous relationship. An easy to read psychological thriller with twists and turns that often felt far fetched, with one final twist I didn’t see coming, thus was not the best debut novel I’ve read but it shows promise and I would look out for more by this author. Thank you to Pigeonhole for access to this novel.

[Jenny · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's probably more of a 3.5 read, really enjoyed the first half of this book. But I found myself mistrusting all the characters so even those who were seemingly genuinely nice I couldn't allow myself to believe! A very twisty novel!
Thanks to Pigeonhole for the chance to read it.

[Amy Webster · Rating 5 out of 5]

Best book I've read in a long time, I didn't see the ending coming but it all made sense. Although the main character makes some really bad decisions along the way she was still likable.

[The Cookster · Rating 2 out of 5]

Rating: 2.1/5

For her debut novel Nasheema Lennon has opted to enter the psychological thriller market. Many new titles are published in this genre every month and a fair number of them end up on my TBR list. With so much competition already out there, any new authors really need to bring something different and fresh to the market, if they are to stand out from the crowd.

Unfortunately, although there are aspects of "The Engagement" that are well-written and show some glimpses of talent, this is ultimately an example of pretty standard fare for the genre. The premise is not especially original, the main protagonist does not come across as particularly authentic and stylistically it is quite awkward and reminiscent of any number of similarly average novels I have read from this genre. There are twists and turns, but they are quite clumsily handled and not particularly cleverly plotted. "The Engagement" isn't awful and I am sure there will be readers out there who will enjoy it, but there are many better examples of the genre available.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for supplying an ARC in return for an honest review.

[Kat · Rating 4 out of 5]

When Victoria’s best friend Gwen announces her new boyfriend Michael has proposed and they are now engaged and getting married within months Victoria rather than being happy for her friend is alarmed , something just doesn’t feel right about it all especially Michael. The problem is the more Victoria tries to find out about Michael the more she finds herself being the victim of strange happenings and Michael begins to be very aggressive towards her whilst Gwen won’t hear a bad word said about him. So from then on the story becomes a race against time as Victoria tries to get to the bottom of just who Michael is and what if any danger he poses.
I enjoyed this book I liked the characters and also the way it was written I read it in a couple of days mainly as I wanted to know how it would all pan out and wasn’t disappointed in the way it ended.
This a debut book and I was surprised at that I think Nasheema Lennon did a brilliant job at keeping me glued to the page and she looks certain to have a bright future ahead of her I’m sure and I look forward to any future books she writes.
My thanks to NetGalley and Harper North for giving me the chance to read the ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

[Janine · Rating 4 out of 5]

Victoria ist am Anfang der Geschichte ziemlich schockiert, dass ihre beste Freundin Gwen ihren Freund nach knapp einem Jahr heiraten möchte als diese ihr erzählt, dass sie verlobt sind. Man weiß als Leser anfangs jedoch nicht wirklich wieso Victoria diese Bedenken hat. Die Hochzeit soll in den nächsten drei Monaten stattfinden und Victoria akzeptiert trotz ihrer Vorbehalte die Rolle als Trauzeugin mit dem Hintergedanken, dass sie mehr über Gwens Veelobten herausfinden kann.
Die Kapitel werden bis zur Hochzeit runtergezählt und anfangs hat man das Gefühl, dass Victoria versucht die Hochzeit zu sabotieren, da es keine Anhaltspunkte gibt, dass Gwens Verlobter nicht der perfekte Mann sein könnte, sondern dass Victoria ihre schlechte Erfahrung auf ihn projiziert und dass mit ihr irgendwie etwas nicht stimmt, denn sie scheint Probleme zu haben ihren Alltag zu bewältigen. Ob sich der Verdacht bewahrheitet, müsst ihr selbst herausfinden.
Die Geschichte baut sich anfangs langsam auf und wird immer interessanter und spannender, da es immer mehr zu Ungereimtheiten kommt sowie zu Überraschungen.
Das Ende habe ich nicnt kommen gesehen und hat mich wirklich sehr überrascht. Das ist ein richtig guter Twist gewesen. Insgesamt ein guter Psychothriller, den ich gerne gelesen habe.

[Kat · Rating 4 out of 5]

When Victoria’s best friend Gwen announces her new boyfriend Michael has proposed and they are now engaged and getting married within months Victoria rather than being happy for her friend is alarmed , something just doesn’t feel right about it all especially Michael. The problem is the more Victoria tries to find out about Michael the more she finds herself being the victim of strange happenings and Michael begins to be very aggressive towards her whilst Gwen won’t hear a bad word said about him. So from then on the story becomes a race against time as Victoria tries to get to the bottom of just who Michael is and what if any danger he poses.
I enjoyed this book I liked the characters and also the way it was written I read it in a couple of days mainly as I wanted to know how it would all pan out and wasn’t disappointed in the way it ended.
This a debut book and I was surprised at that I think Nasheema Lennon did a brilliant job at keeping me glued to the page and she looks certain to have a bright future ahead of her I’m sure and I look forward to any future books she writes.
My thanks to NetGalley and Harper North for giving me the chance to read the ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

[Lisa · Rating 2 out of 5]

Thank you to the author, publisher HarperNorth, and online book club The Pigeonhole for the chance to read this. This is an honest and voluntary review.

Well that was a car crash.

I enjoyed the first half of this book. By the end of the third quarter the main character’s poor judgment calls had me frustrated, but I was willing to let it go as the plot device chosen by the author to raise the threat level.

But, the final showdown was just utterly ludicrous. A couple of my fellow Pigeonhole readers had called it right on who the culprit(s) were long before. I have to admit I doubted them, but not because the author had successfully provided red herrings pointing in another direction. No, I sadly had faith that the ending would be more satisfying than that was ever going to be. Unfortunately, not only was I wrong about that, the ending was even worse than I’d imagined it would be with that plot device.

[Sue Wallace · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Engagement by Nasheema Lennon.
When Victoria’s best friend Gwen announces she is marrying the rich and handsome Michael, celebrations are strained. Victoria doesn’t trust Michael – he’s hiding something. And he reminds her of someone she needs to forget. Too loved up to see Michael’s dark side, Gwen drags Victoria into a whirlwind of dress shopping, engagement drinks and elaborate maid-of-honour duties. Meanwhile, a mysterious visitor is leaving unwanted gifts in Victoria’s home, and Michael is becoming aggressive: no one gets between me and Gwen. The clock is ticking until the big day. Will Victoria expose Michael’s secret, and save her best friend from a marriage made in hell? Or will her past catch up with her first?
A brilliant read. Great plot twist. Can't wait to read more from this new author. 5*.

[KathVBtn · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Engagement is the story of Victoria. a woman whose best friend Gwen has become engaged to someone unsuitable, possibly violent - and the wedding is really soon. Vic is determined that Gwen should know the truth about Michael at any cost. I think we're meant to be in Vic's side but some of her choices didnt make sense to me as a reader so I found her frustrating. There was a great character, Jess, who could have been made more of in the story too, the cast was a bit too small for me.

It started really well with lots of interesting routes it could have gone down, but the middle of the book lagged a bit and felt too repetitive, potentially it could have been trimmed down without losing the storyline, and in fact may have been sharper that way.

3.25 rounded to 3.

[Christine Rennie · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Engagement by Nasheema Lennon is a fascinating look at a couple due to be married and the events leading up to the wedding. All is not what it seems in the forthcoming marriage of Gwen and Michael and Victoria is determined to prove to Gwen not Michael isn’t the man she thinks he is. His best man Isaac tries to help Victoria but even he is finding it hard to believe his best friend isn’t the man he thought he knew.
There are all different twists and turns, lies and deceit and a final unexpected event at the end. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book and look forward to reading more by this author.
Highly recommended

[Julie Harris · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this on The Pigeonhole and found it an enjoyable read. It’s action-packed and centres around the whirlwind engagement of Victoria’s best friend to a man who Victoria is suspicious of. Strange things start to happen to threaten her and she becomes more suspicious even whilst fulfilling her duties as her friend’s Maid of Honour. She tries her best to protect her friend but makes some questionable decisions about how best to achieve this! There are lots of red herrings along the way and lots of opportunities to guess (mostly incorrectly!) what is going on but I didn’t foresee the final twist. This is a great debut novel that I think many will enjoy reading.

[Anne · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a great book centering on therapist Victoria, soon to be maid-of-honor at friend, Gwen's wedding to Michael. At the festivities beforehand she meets handsome groomsman, Isaac and they hit it off and begin seeing each other. But odd things begin happening to Victoria--things she can't explain and she doesn't know where to turn. Who is behind all of this? Friend? Jealous woman? Abusive ex? Just when I thought I had figured it out, of course I was wrong! But it was so good and worth reading--just not on your honeymoon maybe!

[Michelle · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Engagement is a debut by Nasheema Lennon.
Read over ten days with Pigeonhole,
this is a psychological thriller that fell a little short due to its implausible ending.
Apart from Samira, all the characters are very unlikeable. Victoria herself as a therapist is totally unbalanced and it drove me crackers that she wouldn't talk to anyone.
I felt in places it was too drawn out and repetitive
On the whole, it is a compelling read if only to find out who it was.
3.5 stars

[Karen Makeham · Rating 5 out of 5]

Victoria hates Gwen's fiance Michael, as she believes he has controlling tendencies like her ex. To help prove this to Gwen, she delves into Michael's past. At the same time strange things keep happening to her - are the two connected?
Amazing book! I was hooked, with all the turns and secrets revealed. Perfect for suspense fans, and can't wait for the next book!

[Carol Rogers · Rating 4 out of 5]

The first half of this was really good, but the second half was getting more and more implausible, and the last few chapters were a little farfetched. However, it was an enjoyable read and a great debut novel with quite a guessing game and a few twists. I would definitely read another by this author

[Sue Jenkins · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this with Pigeonhole and enjoyed it to begin with. However, the main character Victoria got increasingly annoying and the way she behaved towards her friend Gwen bordered on obsessive. I found the ending rather rushed and unsatisfactory. There were moments when I wanted to read on to discover the truth but not one of my best reads sorry! Rating 3.5 stars

[Rosie Reads · Rating 4 out of 5]

Couldn’t put it down! My heart is still racing at that ending!

[Wendy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Twists were good, lost sleep trying to read this one!! 4.95 stars.

[Barbara Noble · Rating 4 out of 5]

What do you do when you know your best friend’s fiancé is the wrong one for her. Who is the mysterious woman following him? Why has he changed his name? An engaging read with believable characters.

[She Griffiths-Gibson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Typical modern style, but this one certainly keeps u guessing, u almost start to doubt the main character.
Clever and gripping xxx

[Gillian · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brilliant debut novel. Well written with a plot that kept me gripped. Lots of twists and turns. Very enjoyable. Look forward to the authors next book.

[Susan Ritson · Rating 4 out of 5]

At first I felt that the plot was very transparent but then I kept suspecting Isaac. I wasn’t sure why but he never felt sincere. It never occurred to me that Gwen was also an evil person. Loved the ending as my gut feeling was right all along.

[⚓️Jennifer Sacchetti ⚓️ · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book, suspenseful