Revenge

by Stevie Turner

Teacher Alistair Veale is just coasting along in his 20 year marriage to Ann. His two sons Tom and Jake are growing up fast and have their own interests, but he still enjoys a close relationship with 13-year-old daughter Jessie, his ‘Princess’.When Alistair takes 14 children from his tutor group on a week-long school trip to the Isle of Wight, a new Science teacher, Carly Jessop, goes along to keep an eye on the 6 girls. Alistair notices a growing attraction between himself and Carly, which cannot be ignored. However, when Alistair and Carly begin an affair the consequences are horrific and far-reaching, threatening not only Alistair’s livelihood, but also his peace of mind and the relationship he has with his own three children.NOW WITH A BRAND NEW ENDING, WRITTEN IN NOVEMBER 2016!

Genres: Marriage

248 pages, Paperback

First published July 20, 2015

About the author

Stevie Turner is a British author of suspense, paranormal, women's fiction family dramas, and darkly humorous novels. She has also branched out into the world of audio books, screenplays, and translations. Her third novel 'A House Without Windows' gained the attention of a New York media production company in December 2017, and her screenplay 'For the Sake of a Child' won Silver in the 2017 Depth of Field International Film Festival.

More recently Stevie's novel 'His Ladyship' made the finals and Longlist of the 2021 Page Turner Award, and her book 'Falling' reached the finals of the 2022 Page Turner Award. Her (as yet unpublished) novella 'Holding Hands' was shortlisted for the 2025 Page Turner Writing Award.

To quote reader Roberta Baden-Powell: 'I'm looking forward to reading your new book and find your books the best so far. The style you write in has given me a new perspective and a renewed inspiration in reading once again.'

Stevie can be contacted at the following email address: info@stevieturner.uk You can also find her website at www.stevieturner.uk and her blog at www.steviet3.wordpress.com

Don't forget to sign up to Stevie's mailing list for new publications, events and giveaways! http://eepurl.com/dvNklL

Reviews

[Jac K · Rating 2 out of 5]

2 Generous Stars
I love angsty, drama filled reads, so I’m totally good with the “hubs cheating trope”, but I NEED a couple of elements to enjoy it. The actions/outcomes have to be authentic, and I have to feel an emotional connection. This dropped the ball on both.

Warning Alistair (to use his words) is an absolute shit-bag. He takes about a minute to deliberate if he should break his marriage vows, and takes even less time deciding to leave his family. I found it impossible to find anything likeable about him. He’s self-centered and feels little guilt, he’s a wuss and cries all the time; he giggles-enough said. His character is flat, nothing feels original, and there is no development to explain his flip-flopping decisions, and actions…Oh! And he has a way with words.
“These past few weeks with you have taught me something, apart from how to perform anal sex to give both of us the same amount of pleasure”…. “That I don’t want to be with Ann anymore; I want to be with you.” Swoon… right?

The plot doesn’t flow, or progress naturally. The relationships aren’t developed; they are just placed where needed. Like Ali & Carly. Their relationship came out of nowhere, and went 0-100 with little contact. All we are showed is Ali being smitten with her "I'm open to anything" sex attitude, but then, he deeply loves her in like 2 days. Also, the reactions of characters are manipulated to create conflict. For example, Carly is super easy going and supporting until the plot needs Ann to be more appealing. Then suddenly she’s snappy and insecure; she’s hateful towards his daughter, negative towards his kids. “They’re not my kids. Every time I see them, I think of you having sex with Ann.” Then she’s back to her usual personality.

There's also Ann, who’s the loving dependable wife, that Ali has been devoted faithfully to for twenty years, but a boring fuddy-duddy, and not the love of his life, when the affair needs justification. She turns into a vindictive snake when we need the “revenge conflict”; then goes right back to her normal personality. I found this not only lazy, but insincere an illogical; as a result, I felt no emotional connection, and was not invested in the story.

Overall, this one just didn’t work for me mainly because nothing felt natural. There's no explanation for anything, and after a conflict serves its purpose; it's just brushed away. Not to mention, this has to have some of the un-sexiest chemistry I have ever read with all the talk of vaginas and penis-es. The sexy banter was cringy; I kept imagining Sheldon & Amy in my mind. "My tiger will be no good without any lead in his pencil." and "Hurry up, before this tiger pops his cork." I'm giving two stars because I finished it.

[Michael Gallagher · Rating 5 out of 5]

Daydreams Come True

Only great writers can make daily life rich. Ms. Turner accomplishes making the mundane shine. She provides momentary frissons that climb up your back as Alistair gets led by the proverbial ‘short and curlies’ down a surprisingly unpredictable trail in this heartfelt compact novel. The author foreshadows trouble using hints and suggestions that could be taken either way, brilliantly leading readers and characters down the garden path. “Jeez! Black walls?” Most remarkable about the story of Revenge are the unexpected twists and turns that play out in a story of everyday lives shattered and seen through a microscope.

Revenge just wouldn’t be complete without the scintillating foreplay and warm sex between Alistair in his tryst with red-headed beauty, Carly and then the caring portrayal of rekindled warmth with his wife of 20 years, Ann. Through the protagonist, Alistair’s, eyes, the reader notices the things that most men care about in women. Indecision reigns supreme just as it would in real life.

The reader runs the gamut of an emotional rollercoaster, once siding with Alistair and curious about the reasons for his daughter’s betrayal and then questioning the main character’s motivations. Stevie Turner catches the magic of the commonplace and lets the reader decide. Is this a moral tale, shaming Alistair to get him to behave or are we reading about the devil in disguise? You’ll have to pick it up to see for yourself. A great read. A normal marriage goes bad. The causes seem transparent, but the way we ride through it makes it visceral. Highly recommended! 5 Stars.

[Tiff91 · Rating 2 out of 5]

i gave this book 2 stars for the simple fact that it was ridiculous. alistar was a self centred bastard that only cared about himself and where his own dick lead him, carly was a absolute whore to suggest to a married man an affair and the end of the story something told me that it isnt the first time, alistar was a shallow headed bastard who at one point in the book was going to leave his own children behind for her all because she didnt sign up for kids if that isnt selfish i dont know what is, and then there was ann, she was my favourite out of the book. and although i hated the ending i was sort of glad because of some of the clarity that could happen, i dont believe that alistar was in love with carly i think it was a massive case of lust. all over this is one book i wont read again . sorry to the author for the bad review it was one book i couldnt stomach.

[K.T. · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was given an ARC of this novel and it was a real treat. I hadn’t read this author’s work before and tend to be quite careful of reading someone unfamiliar. I’m glad I took the chance on Stevie Turner because I wasn’t disappointed. This novel had all the ingredients of a realistic extra marital scenario, which must happen a million times over in every town in the world. It was frightening how easily Alistair’s good but coasting marriage could pale into insignificance against the youthful allure of a work colleague and the storyline was the horror of wives everywhere.
But there’s a twist and nobody is who you think they really are. I met a pastor once who said, “I knew who I used to be, because when I tipped forward, I heard his words come out of my mouth.” That’s the moral of this book. The nicest people can be, under pressure, the most hideous enemies and Alistair’s harmless affair, begun in a moment of boredom will have devastating consequences for everyone involved in his life. There are more than a few shocks in this book which make the reader take a good, long, hard look in the mirror. The novel is written well and it was easy to keep reading. I liked this author’s work and will read more of it. An easy five stars.

[Cc · Rating 1 out of 5]

2025
I forgot I read this one, lol, and downloaded again from KU. I read the first chapter again and thought, huh, this reminds me of that stupid book...............so I flipped to the end. And wondered why she hated the wife. Maybe the author was the ow in real life, lost the dick back to his wife and this was wish fulfillment on her part? The kid taking the pain for the "father" confuses me. Why hurt the kid? Makes as much sense as this book does. This is the book in picture book format:





2016
The new ending sucked as bad as the first one. You can't call it a morality tale, because he had no consequences given for his actions. You can't call it a tragedy (except for the wife, because he came back) because nothing bad happens to HIM, just his kids. You can't call it a thriller, because, well there wasn't anything thrilling about it. You DEFINITELY CANNOT CALL IT A ROMANCE (sorry, a couple of reviews on Amazon tried that and it really ticked me off because that's why I read it!) because no HEA (no that was NOT a happy ending). So I guess it's in that all encompassing morass of "chick lit" which I hate. I want my time back. And I LOVE cheating books! Sorry for all the parentheses and exclamation points. ;)

[Katie L. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Certain aspects of this story felt rushed, but overall it was well-written. I think the mother/daughter betrayal in their allegations (their revenge) was worse than the husband’s betrayal. I’m honestly shocked he forgave so quickly. This is yet another tale of a younger, hotter, sexually-adventurous woman infiltrating a stale marriage. I have to wonder if some toys, sexy costumes, and creativity could keep this “story” from being rewritten over and over again. Good read.

[RomeoJuliet · Rating 1 out of 5]

Terrible . SPOILER

If OW had not kicked him out he wouldn't have left her. This is not a HEA. This is a compromise. IMO H didnt love h even in the end, he just missed what he couldnt have- the peace of the house and family life. NOPE NOPE. I don't get why the hell was h still letting him kiss her when he basically humiliated her in the worst possible way. Being on friendly terms for kids does not mean you let your cheating basting husband kiss you whenever he wants to. I am also not sure how can any woman be so "friendly" after her husband or boyfriend does something like that to her even for kids' sake. I don't feel like talking to my husband when we have a fight/ argument so how can women be friendly after such a huge betrayal.

[wrkatreading · Rating 1 out of 5]

Hated this

This was a tragedy. There is no HEA or HFN. We are expected to read the horrific things the H does by cheating and then the ending is rushed. Ugh I just can’t go on with the review.

[Alex Royer · Rating 3 out of 5]

The story had me hooked and was really realistic but I hated the ending which was abrupt and bizarre.

[Nerissa · Rating 1 out of 5]

not redeemable. at all.

[Balroop Singh · Rating 3 out of 5]

I approached this book with a little trepidation as I usually pick up a book at the recommendation of friends but I must say I was not disappointed. It was a breezy reading yet a discerning reader could pick many subtle messages.

Alistair is a weak-minded, confused and self-centered man, only guided by so-called love, which is bound to wear off because it rests on a wobbly channel. When the triggers for leaving a marriage are frivolous and self-motivated, you carry a lot of baggage, which is difficult to unload and sort out!

Family relationships reign supreme and are much deeper than one realizes. Love, emotions and responsibilities are intertwined. Anybody who is insensitive or tries to take them for granted learns the harsh realities of life in the wake of tumultuous circumstances.

[karma]

If only I could go inside the book and strangle all the characters in it, I would 🙂

[Dee · Rating 1 out of 5]

Gross

[TheBookishWife · Rating 1 out of 5]

This was an uninspired plotless drivel. If ur looking for angsty infidelity, this ain't it. The ow's use of the pet name "tiger" is cringey and that this affair starts in the midst of a school field trip with children afoot and it's just eww.
“Steady on, tiger; we’ve got fourteen kids to entertain first.”
Poor writing, pointless plot.
Hard pass on this one!