Print Length: 352 pages
Publisher: Bookouture (July 27, 2023)
From Goodreads.com: She signed the papers. Now she must pay the price…
I gaze at my new husband and smile. It’s our wedding day and I feel like the luckiest woman alive.
Lucas is perfect. He brings me coffee in the morning, flowers in the evening, and never leaves the room without a kiss.
So I try to ignore the niggling doubt in the back of my mind about the prenup he made me sign. Does he think I’m a gold digger?
I reassure myself that it doesn’t matter, because I know we’ll be together forever…
Three years in, Lucas has changed. I don’t feel safe in my own house, and when I look at my husband, I don’t recognize the man I married.
But I signed the papers and I signed away my freedom.
And now I’m trapped in this house with a man I’m beginning to realize I never really knew at all—and I’m terrified I might not make it out alive…
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My Rating: 2.5 stars out of 5
This story had an interesting premise, and the fact that it was told from the point of view of three different women over several months should have been enough to keep the reader glued to the pages. And there were moments where I found myself doing just that; however, for the most part, I just didn't feel engaged with the story. This is down to a couple of different reasons.
To begin with, Ava and Lucas are just completely unlikeable people. You can tell right off the bat that Lucas is narcissistic and manipulative. In fact, he either lies or tries to gaslight Ava at every turn. And even though she knows this, she keeps making up reasons to stay with him. Although by the end of the book Ava had shown that she wasn't as innocent as she made herself out to be either. Now, to be fair, some of the reasoning why (at least on Ava's part) is explained at the end of the book, but by that time, I had found it to be too little, too late.
I also feel like this book could have benefitted from another round of edits to eliminate the instances where details were repeated a page or two later. And also culled out some of the unnecessary details that were given (especially in relation to the houses; we get it Ava has a lovely beachfront view with seagulls; it doesn't need to be repeated over and over).
One final thing that I feel is worth mentioning is that this author has a habit of ending nearly every chapter on a cliff-hanger. And while I assume this was done to try and keep the reader engaged and reading, I simply found it came across as the author was trying too hard. It was like they didn't even believe the story was engaging enough on its own to keep readers interested.
On the whole, while this one didn't work for me for the avode named reasons, I can see where it may appeal to others.
DISCLAIMER: I received a complimentary copy of this novel from the publisher. This has not affected my review in any way. All thoughts and opinions expressed in this review are 100% my own.
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The Prenup is available on Amazon.com
(for free if you subscribe to Kindle Unlimited)
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