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The Couple
Whatever you think you know… you’re wrong.
Following a whirlwind four-month romance, lawyer Claire and hotel entrepreneur Angus are engaged to be married. Happy and successful, and ready to start their new life together, Claire and Angus find what they believe to be the perfect home.
But when Claire meets Mark, the man selling them the house, he looks eerily familiar. He looks exactly like the man she loved five years ago, the man she couldn’t bear to lose.
As Claire finds herself irresistibly drawn to Mark and crosses lines she never thought she’d cross, Angus’ behaviour becomes increasingly suspicious. Soon Claire doesn’t know whether she can trust Mark, Angus… or even herself.
The Couple is a psychological thriller with a stunning twist, perfect for fans of The Girl Before, The Wife Between Us, and The Woman in the Window.
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Following a whirlwind four-month romance, lawyer Claire and hotel entrepreneur Angus are engaged to be married. Happy and successful, and ready to start their new life together, Claire and Angus find what they believe to be the perfect home.
But when Claire meets Mark, the man selling them the house, he looks eerily familiar. He looks exactly like the man she loved five years ago, the man she couldn’t bear to lose.
As Claire finds herself irresistibly drawn to Mark and crosses lines she never thought she’d cross, Angus’ behaviour becomes increasingly suspicious. Soon Claire doesn’t know whether she can trust Mark, Angus… or even herself.
The Couple is a psychological thriller with a stunning twist, perfect for fans of The Girl Before, The Wife Between Us, and The Woman in the Window.
<
302 pages, Kindle Edition
First published February 5, 2019
1203 people are currently reading
798 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 29 of 208 reviews
February 11, 2019
I’m having facial aches from how long my jaw was dropped open while reading The Couple by Sarah Mitchell!!! This book puts the “thrill” in psychological thriller! You know how some thrillers have a slower build to a shocking conclusion? This one was edge-of-your-seat shocking the whole way through!! What a fantastic book that left me literally buzzing, especially those last few twists!
About the Book
Whatever you think you know… you’re wrong.
Following a whirlwind four-month romance, lawyer Claire and hotel entrepreneur Angus are engaged to be married. Happy and successful, and ready to start their new life together, Claire and Angus find what they believe to be the perfect home.
But when Claire meets Mark, the man selling them the house, he looks eerily familiar. He looks exactly like the man she loved five years ago, the man she couldn’t bear to lose.
As Claire finds herself irresistibly drawn to Mark and crosses lines she never thought she’d cross, Angus’ behaviour becomes increasingly suspicious. Soon Claire doesn’t know whether she can trust Mark, Angus… or even herself.
The Couple is a psychological thriller with a stunning twist, perfect for fans of The Girl Before, The Wife Between Us, and The Woman in the Window.
Reflection
This book had me guessing the whole way through! I actually missed my train while reading it because I was so absorbed! It pulled up right in front of me and I was glued to my kindle. Worth it, since I had a great book to read while waiting for the next train!
Claire and Angus have a picture perfect life. After a whirlwind romance they are engaged to be married, living in a gorgeous mansion, and can barely take their eyes off of one another when together. But the mansion was sold to them for an incredible deal by a man named Mark. A man who Claire can’t seem to quite get out of her mind. Mark looks a lot like Claire’s ex Daniel, and there’s a history there she’d soon forget…
Flashing back in time five years to the Daniel story and then forward to the Mark/Claire/Angus story had my mind spinning! Both plots were so compelling, and it was hard to imagine what could have gone so wrong with Daniel that left Claire the way it did. But don’t worry! You’ll find out in due time what happened between Claire and Daniel!!!
Claire was such an amazing leading lady. She’s surprisingly independent, despite how she may seem outwardly. There’s this incredible scene in a bar at a co-worker’s birthday party that had me sitting up straight in my seat, barely believing what Claire was doing. I love her character!!!
The triangle between Claire, Mark, and Angus is completely fascinating. Claire and Angus have an incredible relationship. But something seems not quite right, even from the first chapter. You’ll have to find out what it is though! Is Angus too good to be true? And then we have the mysterious, sexy Mark. He pulls Claire towards him, with his magnetic personality. But what is Mark really up to? Again, I can’t spoil it! You’ll have to read it yourself!
I loved so many characters. Claire’s coworkers are surprisingly fascinating! Even the dull ones may have a bit more depth than you first realize! And Claire’s family also adds a context to the story that really worked. Sarah Mitchell is a master with characterization. Even characters only in a scene or two made a big impact for me and felt well-defined!
The ending has a few twists that roll in one after another, and had me glued to my kindle!!! Absolutely mind-blowing twists!!! I can’t recommend this book enough to psychological thriller fans!
I’m so grateful to the awesome team at Bookouture for organizing this blog tour and including me! This was an incredible book, and I’ll read anything Sarah Mitchell publishes next!
About the Book
Whatever you think you know… you’re wrong.
Following a whirlwind four-month romance, lawyer Claire and hotel entrepreneur Angus are engaged to be married. Happy and successful, and ready to start their new life together, Claire and Angus find what they believe to be the perfect home.
But when Claire meets Mark, the man selling them the house, he looks eerily familiar. He looks exactly like the man she loved five years ago, the man she couldn’t bear to lose.
As Claire finds herself irresistibly drawn to Mark and crosses lines she never thought she’d cross, Angus’ behaviour becomes increasingly suspicious. Soon Claire doesn’t know whether she can trust Mark, Angus… or even herself.
The Couple is a psychological thriller with a stunning twist, perfect for fans of The Girl Before, The Wife Between Us, and The Woman in the Window.
Reflection
This book had me guessing the whole way through! I actually missed my train while reading it because I was so absorbed! It pulled up right in front of me and I was glued to my kindle. Worth it, since I had a great book to read while waiting for the next train!
Claire and Angus have a picture perfect life. After a whirlwind romance they are engaged to be married, living in a gorgeous mansion, and can barely take their eyes off of one another when together. But the mansion was sold to them for an incredible deal by a man named Mark. A man who Claire can’t seem to quite get out of her mind. Mark looks a lot like Claire’s ex Daniel, and there’s a history there she’d soon forget…
Flashing back in time five years to the Daniel story and then forward to the Mark/Claire/Angus story had my mind spinning! Both plots were so compelling, and it was hard to imagine what could have gone so wrong with Daniel that left Claire the way it did. But don’t worry! You’ll find out in due time what happened between Claire and Daniel!!!
Claire was such an amazing leading lady. She’s surprisingly independent, despite how she may seem outwardly. There’s this incredible scene in a bar at a co-worker’s birthday party that had me sitting up straight in my seat, barely believing what Claire was doing. I love her character!!!
The triangle between Claire, Mark, and Angus is completely fascinating. Claire and Angus have an incredible relationship. But something seems not quite right, even from the first chapter. You’ll have to find out what it is though! Is Angus too good to be true? And then we have the mysterious, sexy Mark. He pulls Claire towards him, with his magnetic personality. But what is Mark really up to? Again, I can’t spoil it! You’ll have to read it yourself!
I loved so many characters. Claire’s coworkers are surprisingly fascinating! Even the dull ones may have a bit more depth than you first realize! And Claire’s family also adds a context to the story that really worked. Sarah Mitchell is a master with characterization. Even characters only in a scene or two made a big impact for me and felt well-defined!
The ending has a few twists that roll in one after another, and had me glued to my kindle!!! Absolutely mind-blowing twists!!! I can’t recommend this book enough to psychological thriller fans!
I’m so grateful to the awesome team at Bookouture for organizing this blog tour and including me! This was an incredible book, and I’ll read anything Sarah Mitchell publishes next!
July 30, 2019
The past is the greatest optical illusion. ...
You’ve got to love an unreliable narrator- they make the most fascinating reads and the Couple by Sarah Mitchell is a great example of this.
From the first pages of this novel we get an uneasy feeling that Claire, who can turn her beauty on and off, Clare, who seemingly has it all including a great job with the Home office and a brand new rich fiance Angus, is not telling us the whole truth. There is plenty of hints and small details, so easy to overlook, but the blurb did not lie- whatever you think you know and understand about Claire is wrong and the big twist will take you aback.
I loved the setting. Sarah Mitchell chose The Immigration tribunal as Claire’s working place to make sure we make our own opinion of Claire’s character and her choices of actions in life. Things are rarely black and white and she obviously has her own particular sense of justice. Claire is a strange mixture of strength and weakness, which is evident in her being so ready to give in to her obsession.
The Couple is one of the most gripping books I have read this year and I can highly recommend it to other lovers of mystery and thriller genre.
Thank you to NetGalley and Bookouture publisher for the ARC provided in exchange for an honest opinion.
My reviews can also be found on:
https://readingtonic.home.blog/
You’ve got to love an unreliable narrator- they make the most fascinating reads and the Couple by Sarah Mitchell is a great example of this.
From the first pages of this novel we get an uneasy feeling that Claire, who can turn her beauty on and off, Clare, who seemingly has it all including a great job with the Home office and a brand new rich fiance Angus, is not telling us the whole truth. There is plenty of hints and small details, so easy to overlook, but the blurb did not lie- whatever you think you know and understand about Claire is wrong and the big twist will take you aback.
I loved the setting. Sarah Mitchell chose The Immigration tribunal as Claire’s working place to make sure we make our own opinion of Claire’s character and her choices of actions in life. Things are rarely black and white and she obviously has her own particular sense of justice. Claire is a strange mixture of strength and weakness, which is evident in her being so ready to give in to her obsession.
The Couple is one of the most gripping books I have read this year and I can highly recommend it to other lovers of mystery and thriller genre.
Thank you to NetGalley and Bookouture publisher for the ARC provided in exchange for an honest opinion.
My reviews can also be found on:
https://readingtonic.home.blog/
April 19, 2019
Suspenseful, Psychological Thriller!
Claire and Angus are engaged to be married after knowing each other only four months. They are looking for the perfect dream house to start their life together and Claire happens to meet the owner and is stunned to realize he is the mirror image (although quite a bit older) than her deceased lover and soulmate who is always in the back of her mind. Claire is instantly attracted to Mark and this is just the beginning of a journey of secrets, lies, deceit and possible danger.
I found this book well-written and fast paced with many twists and turns where at times I was holding my breath. Unfortunately, there was a huge twist at one point and I thought it was a typo (No Typo) and from there the story fell flat for me since I had a difficult time trying to put the story back together although I am sure many other readers may love this very different twist and consider it the icing on the cake!
I want to thank the publisher Bookouture and Netgally for the opportunity to read this book.
I do recommend this book to readers who enjoy psychological mysteries and have given a rating of 3 Twisty 🌟🌟🌟 stars!!
Merged review:
Suspenseful, Psychological Thriller!
Claire and Angus are engaged to be married after knowing each other only four months. They are looking for the perfect dream house to start their life together and then Claire happens to meet the owner and is stunned to realize he is the mirror image (although quite a bit older) than her deceased lover and soulmate who is always in the back of her mind. Claire is instantly attracted to Mark and this is just the beginning of a journey of secrets, lies, deceit and possible danger.
I found this book well-written and fast paced with many twists and turns where at times I was holding my breath. Unfortunately, there was a huge twist at one point and I thought it was a typo (No Typo) and from there the story fell flat for me since I had a difficult time trying to put the story back together although I am sure many other readers may love this very different twist and consider it the icing on the cake!
I want to thank the publisher Bookouture and Netgally for the opportunity to read this book.
I do recommend this book to readers who enjoy psychological mysteries and have given a rating of 3 Twisty 🌟🌟🌟 stars!!
Claire and Angus are engaged to be married after knowing each other only four months. They are looking for the perfect dream house to start their life together and Claire happens to meet the owner and is stunned to realize he is the mirror image (although quite a bit older) than her deceased lover and soulmate who is always in the back of her mind. Claire is instantly attracted to Mark and this is just the beginning of a journey of secrets, lies, deceit and possible danger.
I found this book well-written and fast paced with many twists and turns where at times I was holding my breath. Unfortunately, there was a huge twist at one point and I thought it was a typo (No Typo) and from there the story fell flat for me since I had a difficult time trying to put the story back together although I am sure many other readers may love this very different twist and consider it the icing on the cake!
I want to thank the publisher Bookouture and Netgally for the opportunity to read this book.
I do recommend this book to readers who enjoy psychological mysteries and have given a rating of 3 Twisty 🌟🌟🌟 stars!!
Merged review:
Suspenseful, Psychological Thriller!
Claire and Angus are engaged to be married after knowing each other only four months. They are looking for the perfect dream house to start their life together and then Claire happens to meet the owner and is stunned to realize he is the mirror image (although quite a bit older) than her deceased lover and soulmate who is always in the back of her mind. Claire is instantly attracted to Mark and this is just the beginning of a journey of secrets, lies, deceit and possible danger.
I found this book well-written and fast paced with many twists and turns where at times I was holding my breath. Unfortunately, there was a huge twist at one point and I thought it was a typo (No Typo) and from there the story fell flat for me since I had a difficult time trying to put the story back together although I am sure many other readers may love this very different twist and consider it the icing on the cake!
I want to thank the publisher Bookouture and Netgally for the opportunity to read this book.
I do recommend this book to readers who enjoy psychological mysteries and have given a rating of 3 Twisty 🌟🌟🌟 stars!!
February 12, 2019
Thanks to NetGalley and Bookouture for an egalley in exchange for an honest review.
Well, this certainly took my breath away and numbed my senses because I sure didn't see those twists coming. Although in retrospect there were a few red herrings, I believe I was just a bit too entranced in it all to sniff them out like a proper detective. . One of the reasons I couldn't go to bed at a decent hour was wondering if Claire( our main protagonist who is also extremely unreliable) was going to be able to make it out alive. This book just reeked of OBSESSION( and I am not talking about Calvin Klein) and made for a great Monday night read.
Well, this certainly took my breath away and numbed my senses because I sure didn't see those twists coming. Although in retrospect there were a few red herrings, I believe I was just a bit too entranced in it all to sniff them out like a proper detective. . One of the reasons I couldn't go to bed at a decent hour was wondering if Claire( our main protagonist who is also extremely unreliable) was going to be able to make it out alive. This book just reeked of OBSESSION( and I am not talking about Calvin Klein) and made for a great Monday night read.
February 8, 2019
We all know at least one of them. That perfect couple. The couple that seems to have it all going for them. The envy of all their friends. Claire and Angus are that golden couple. They both have successful careers, newly engaged and just purchased an amazing home in a much sought after neighborhood. They really do have it all, or do they?
I had no idea where this book was leading me. It grasped me right from the start and did not let go until the end. The characters were so well developed that I found myself completely drawn into Claire's life. I was excited that she had moved on from her ex Daniel after five long years. We got a look into their past life together and let's just say they were not the perfect couple.
So I was glad that she got her dream guy Angus,but then Mark entered her life. Is she going to risk everything? Her career, her home, her relationship and even her life? OMG I screamed about a million times, what are you doing Claire? How can you think that is okay to do?! For a smart girl with a law degree from Cambridge you are one bad decision maker!
I initially thought Claire was a bit of a bore, she works as a lawyer with immigration services. I was very, very wrong! This girl likes to walk on the wild side. She did things that would make most people very uncomfortable, but it made for a heck of a read though! I was completely shocked at her decisions she was making. This book flipped directions and went a way that I never even dreamed it would! The author gave us some very clever, unique twists that kept me guessing right up until the end! I loved how it had some serious issues intertwined in the book. I am looking forward to reading more from Sarah Mitchell!
I had no idea where this book was leading me. It grasped me right from the start and did not let go until the end. The characters were so well developed that I found myself completely drawn into Claire's life. I was excited that she had moved on from her ex Daniel after five long years. We got a look into their past life together and let's just say they were not the perfect couple.
So I was glad that she got her dream guy Angus,but then Mark entered her life. Is she going to risk everything? Her career, her home, her relationship and even her life? OMG I screamed about a million times, what are you doing Claire? How can you think that is okay to do?! For a smart girl with a law degree from Cambridge you are one bad decision maker!
I initially thought Claire was a bit of a bore, she works as a lawyer with immigration services. I was very, very wrong! This girl likes to walk on the wild side. She did things that would make most people very uncomfortable, but it made for a heck of a read though! I was completely shocked at her decisions she was making. This book flipped directions and went a way that I never even dreamed it would! The author gave us some very clever, unique twists that kept me guessing right up until the end! I loved how it had some serious issues intertwined in the book. I am looking forward to reading more from Sarah Mitchell!
July 31, 2019
People magazine does a great job of introducing us to "perfect couples". These are the pair who are just meant for each other. Surely Gwen and Blake, JLo and Alex, and Meghan and Harry have it all. Life would surely only get better and better fort these talented, wealthy, beautiful people.
Meet Claire and Angus, the perfect couple in Sarah Mitchell's novel, The Perfect Couple. Four months earlier, Claire, an attractive immigration lawyer met handsome, wealthy hotel entrepreneur, Angus. Love blossomed and they are now engaged to marry. After the fabulous wedding, surely this happy couple will need to take up residence in the ideal home.
Touring a possible "ideal" house, Claire meets the owner Mark. Although Mark is older, he reminds Claire of her first love Daniel. It is unsettling.
Now the unease begins. Claire if drawn to Mark. Lies are told and past secrets revealed. Angus' behavior becomes erratic and suspicious. Claire is unsettled by the fact that she doesn't know who she can trust. Her decisions don't all make sense and she wavers between being strong or being weak.
Sarah Mitchell delivers several jaw dropping moments in this book as well as a surprise at the end that you won't see coming.
The Couple is a quick read that will leave you questioning what do we ever really know about another person or another couples life.
I received an advance copy of this book from NetGalley. #NetGalley #TheCouple
Merged review:
People magazine does a great job of introducing us to "perfect couples". These are the pair who are just meant for each other. Surely Gwen and Blake, JLo and Alex, and Meghan and Harry have it all. Life would surely only get better and better fort these talented, wealthy, beautiful people.
Meet Claire and Angus, the perfect couple in Sarah Mitchell's novel, The Perfect Couple. Four months earlier, Claire, an attractive immigration lawyer met handsome, wealthy hotel entrepreneur, Angus. Love blossomed and they are now engaged to marry. After the fabulous wedding, surely this happy couple will need to take up residence in the ideal home.
Touring a possible "ideal" house, Claire meets the owner Mark. Although Mark is older, he reminds Claire of her first love Daniel. It is unsettling.
Now the unease begins. Claire if drawn to Mark. Lies are told and past secrets revealed. Angus' behavior becomes erratic and suspicious. Claire is unsettled by the fact that she doesn't know who she can trust. Her decisions don't all make sense and she wavers between being strong or being weak.
Sarah Mitchell delivers several jaw dropping moments in this book as well as a surprise at the end that you won't see coming.
The Couple is a quick read that will leave you questioning what do we ever really know about another person or another couples life.
I received an advance copy of this book from NetGalley. #NetGalley #TheCouple
Meet Claire and Angus, the perfect couple in Sarah Mitchell's novel, The Perfect Couple. Four months earlier, Claire, an attractive immigration lawyer met handsome, wealthy hotel entrepreneur, Angus. Love blossomed and they are now engaged to marry. After the fabulous wedding, surely this happy couple will need to take up residence in the ideal home.
Touring a possible "ideal" house, Claire meets the owner Mark. Although Mark is older, he reminds Claire of her first love Daniel. It is unsettling.
Now the unease begins. Claire if drawn to Mark. Lies are told and past secrets revealed. Angus' behavior becomes erratic and suspicious. Claire is unsettled by the fact that she doesn't know who she can trust. Her decisions don't all make sense and she wavers between being strong or being weak.
Sarah Mitchell delivers several jaw dropping moments in this book as well as a surprise at the end that you won't see coming.
The Couple is a quick read that will leave you questioning what do we ever really know about another person or another couples life.
I received an advance copy of this book from NetGalley. #NetGalley #TheCouple
Merged review:
People magazine does a great job of introducing us to "perfect couples". These are the pair who are just meant for each other. Surely Gwen and Blake, JLo and Alex, and Meghan and Harry have it all. Life would surely only get better and better fort these talented, wealthy, beautiful people.
Meet Claire and Angus, the perfect couple in Sarah Mitchell's novel, The Perfect Couple. Four months earlier, Claire, an attractive immigration lawyer met handsome, wealthy hotel entrepreneur, Angus. Love blossomed and they are now engaged to marry. After the fabulous wedding, surely this happy couple will need to take up residence in the ideal home.
Touring a possible "ideal" house, Claire meets the owner Mark. Although Mark is older, he reminds Claire of her first love Daniel. It is unsettling.
Now the unease begins. Claire if drawn to Mark. Lies are told and past secrets revealed. Angus' behavior becomes erratic and suspicious. Claire is unsettled by the fact that she doesn't know who she can trust. Her decisions don't all make sense and she wavers between being strong or being weak.
Sarah Mitchell delivers several jaw dropping moments in this book as well as a surprise at the end that you won't see coming.
The Couple is a quick read that will leave you questioning what do we ever really know about another person or another couples life.
I received an advance copy of this book from NetGalley. #NetGalley #TheCouple
February 3, 2019
The Couple is Sarah Mitchell's debut psychological thriller, but unfortunately, the cons outweighed the pros in terms of how enjoyable it was. Dual timelines where you experience two different time periods, past and present, usually work well for me, but I felt as though the changes were clunky and made the narrative very disjointed. It also starts off real slow and takes a long, long time to get moving; by this time I felt like giving up and reading something better, however, I did continue on with it.
The characters are all difficult to warm to, especially the main protagonist Claire, who becomes annoying after a while; she certainly isn't likeable. On a positive note, there were a few surprises, but some of the twists could be spotted a mile off making the read much less satisfying. As you can see this book was not for me, but I'm sure many others will enjoy it. I would try another book from Mitchell, and I hope I would find it more gripping than this was.
Many thanks to Bookouture for an ARC.
You can also find my reviews posted here on my blog.
The characters are all difficult to warm to, especially the main protagonist Claire, who becomes annoying after a while; she certainly isn't likeable. On a positive note, there were a few surprises, but some of the twists could be spotted a mile off making the read much less satisfying. As you can see this book was not for me, but I'm sure many others will enjoy it. I would try another book from Mitchell, and I hope I would find it more gripping than this was.
Many thanks to Bookouture for an ARC.
You can also find my reviews posted here on my blog.
February 3, 2019
I have found this book hard to review and woke in the night trying to work out what to say and how to review it!!!
I’m going to do it in 2 parts, first the writing......I loved the writing style, prob one of my favourite styles for a long time, descriptive and at times immersed in dark humour I found myself easily imagining each character and scene and really enjoying the extra effort the author went to to make the mundane sound fascinating ( after all its not easy to describe carpet in a manner which grabs the reader) I loved the atmosphere her writing created for the whole book and there wasn’t anytime I wasn’t captivated by her style
Marking on writing style would be a 10/10
Next up...the story...Claire is about to be married to Angus and they move into a new house, this house was owned by ‘Mark’ ( yayyyy ) but he is not all he seems and pursues Claire.....Claire is STILL battling over the loss of her first ever love and some of the story goes back to that time and events....Claire’s work as an immigration lawyer for the Home Office ( dealing with deportations ) is well described and the ‘clients’ stories well told ( and not in a bias way, just straight down the line )the courtroom proceedings are insightful and I actually have come away having learnt about the procedure and viewing things differently, the whole of the story is then based around her job and as the pieces fit together its horrifying the lengths people go to to blackmail and threaten other humans
I liked Claire although she fell into Mark’s arms way way too quickly imo ( she was due to be married, call me old fashioned...) she also failed to question things most of us would have been like ‘errr hang on this cant be right’ none the less I developed a soft spot for her and I also really liked Agatha her colleauge but didn’t like Angus or Mark and some of the other characters who were pure nasty and devious
My problem was at one point in the book Mark gives Claire a gun to look after and she does!!, almost without question and after knowing him a mere few days....from then on I had to give quite a bit of ‘ok, this wouldn’t happen but go with it’ and although it didn’t spoil the story that much it was there in the back of my mind throughout ( there were other instances like this through the book )
The ‘coming together’ of all the threads and the ending of the book happens quickly and the last paragraph actually left me with more questions than usual at the end of a book, but then thats not always a bad thing, this ending though had me wondering if I had misunderstood parts of the story!!
As I said I have found this book hard to review, it has got me thinking and pondering more than most and for that it has to be good......
January 15, 2019
Please note that I received this ARC for free from NetGalley. This did not affect my rating or review.
Good grief, I don't know what to start with here. There was just too much going on. It didn't help that the author jumped back to the present and then 5 years before every every chapter. We are following our main character Claire's current engagement to a man named Angus and then her university romance with a guy named Dan. If you wanted to know about either guy, there's not much there. We just know that Clarie is still obsessing over Dan and where things went wrong, apparently went into a funk after the relationship ended and seems to be ambivalent (at best) about Angus. Things go to the weird where quickly where Claire meets a man who reminds her of Dan. And then it's just Claire running to and fro looking into something that made a little bit of sense at the end of the book.
"The Couple" starts with Claire's engagement party to a man named Angus. Her family is pretty relieved that she has moved on from someone named Dan. FYI, it takes a while to even get to Dan and why Claire was so hung up on him. Claire works for the Home Office and deals with immigrant cases. We know she has a mother, stepfather, and brother, but she doesn't talk to them much, she is just telling you about them. Same with Angus. I didn't get a good sense of him via Claire. Same issue with Claire obsessing about the man she meets (Mark) and her former boyfriend (Dan). She just runs around and says, well this person reminds me of Dan and I am now going to just run around and force this person to be with me, when I am not hiding it from my fiancee and trying to make things work there. This book was confusing. At least Mitchell didn't do the unreliable narrator thing (which I loathe). I think the big issue is that Claire is written inconsistently in this book. I don't know what she really wanted in the end. And then all of a sudden we get some huge reveal about things and I maybe squawked plot hole a few dozen times and let it go.
The men were a mess in this book. We don't spend much time with anyone but the perfect Dan and good lord I didn't get it. You have to make him some big perfect love. Or something. Mitchell messes with his halo a bit, but then we don't get to see how things ended. We just get comments here and there and the rest is left to you to imagine.
The writing feels really disconnected at times. Claire works at the Home Office and apparently deals with immigrant cases. Anytime Mitchell goes into whatever case Claire is working on the book gets odd. You have the idea that maybe Claire looks down on these people at times, or she doesn't really care (which I still say she doesn't) and all these cases just hang in the book. The flow is impacted by going from the present to five years ago. I just ceased to give a crap about Dan. Claire's obsession with him and his dealing with his ex got old fast. She was just a mess as the ex was in my opinion. That opinion isn't helped by the fact that though Mitchell over explains everything in this book, she decides to keep what happened to Dan vague. I mean you can guess what happened, but I wish that the rest of the book was more like that in order for it to really hit you.
The book's setting is mostly Angus and Clarie's home with Claire occasionally going out to stalk Mark somewhere else.
The book ends in a whimper.
Good grief, I don't know what to start with here. There was just too much going on. It didn't help that the author jumped back to the present and then 5 years before every every chapter. We are following our main character Claire's current engagement to a man named Angus and then her university romance with a guy named Dan. If you wanted to know about either guy, there's not much there. We just know that Clarie is still obsessing over Dan and where things went wrong, apparently went into a funk after the relationship ended and seems to be ambivalent (at best) about Angus. Things go to the weird where quickly where Claire meets a man who reminds her of Dan. And then it's just Claire running to and fro looking into something that made a little bit of sense at the end of the book.
"The Couple" starts with Claire's engagement party to a man named Angus. Her family is pretty relieved that she has moved on from someone named Dan. FYI, it takes a while to even get to Dan and why Claire was so hung up on him. Claire works for the Home Office and deals with immigrant cases. We know she has a mother, stepfather, and brother, but she doesn't talk to them much, she is just telling you about them. Same with Angus. I didn't get a good sense of him via Claire. Same issue with Claire obsessing about the man she meets (Mark) and her former boyfriend (Dan). She just runs around and says, well this person reminds me of Dan and I am now going to just run around and force this person to be with me, when I am not hiding it from my fiancee and trying to make things work there. This book was confusing. At least Mitchell didn't do the unreliable narrator thing (which I loathe). I think the big issue is that Claire is written inconsistently in this book. I don't know what she really wanted in the end. And then all of a sudden we get some huge reveal about things and I maybe squawked plot hole a few dozen times and let it go.
The men were a mess in this book. We don't spend much time with anyone but the perfect Dan and good lord I didn't get it. You have to make him some big perfect love. Or something. Mitchell messes with his halo a bit, but then we don't get to see how things ended. We just get comments here and there and the rest is left to you to imagine.
The writing feels really disconnected at times. Claire works at the Home Office and apparently deals with immigrant cases. Anytime Mitchell goes into whatever case Claire is working on the book gets odd. You have the idea that maybe Claire looks down on these people at times, or she doesn't really care (which I still say she doesn't) and all these cases just hang in the book. The flow is impacted by going from the present to five years ago. I just ceased to give a crap about Dan. Claire's obsession with him and his dealing with his ex got old fast. She was just a mess as the ex was in my opinion. That opinion isn't helped by the fact that though Mitchell over explains everything in this book, she decides to keep what happened to Dan vague. I mean you can guess what happened, but I wish that the rest of the book was more like that in order for it to really hit you.
The book's setting is mostly Angus and Clarie's home with Claire occasionally going out to stalk Mark somewhere else.
The book ends in a whimper.
January 25, 2019
The Couple by Sarah Mitchell was not the book that I was expecting at all. The story was slow to begin with and then rushed at the end. I found it to be a bit far fetched and full of really horrible characters. There was not one that I liked in the entire book. It was at times confusing and it took me longer that usual to read as I just could not get into it as much as I would have liked.
Claire and Angus are engaged to be married and are buying their first home together. They buy a house from Mark, who reminds Claire of her ex boyfriend Daniel. Mark becomes a big part of Sarahs life and she starts to make some really stupid decisions. Her relationship with Angus is strained at the best of times and after they move in it gets worse. She starts to discover things about his life that don't marry up to what she has been told. The ending was good but it felt rushed after the start of the book dragged out.
Thanks to Bookouture and Netgalley for my advanced copy of this book. All opinions are my own and are in no way biased.
Claire and Angus are engaged to be married and are buying their first home together. They buy a house from Mark, who reminds Claire of her ex boyfriend Daniel. Mark becomes a big part of Sarahs life and she starts to make some really stupid decisions. Her relationship with Angus is strained at the best of times and after they move in it gets worse. She starts to discover things about his life that don't marry up to what she has been told. The ending was good but it felt rushed after the start of the book dragged out.
Thanks to Bookouture and Netgalley for my advanced copy of this book. All opinions are my own and are in no way biased.
June 4, 2019
3 ½ stars
Claire works in the home immigration office as a lawyer and is engaged to Angus even though they know each other for just 4 months. While buying their new home Claire meets the previous owner Mark, who reminds her of her ex boyfriend Daniel. Unable to resist Mark’s charm Claire embarks on a journey of lies, secrets and deceit
The Couple by Sarah Mitchell is s psychological thriller that starts slow but felt a little rushed at the end. I couldn't warm up to the protagonist but there were enough surprises and the ending was good to make me read more by Sarah Mitchell
I would like to thank Bookouture & NetGalley for providing an ARC of this book in exchange for my honest and fair review.
This and more reviews at https://chloesbooksblog.wordpress.com/
Claire works in the home immigration office as a lawyer and is engaged to Angus even though they know each other for just 4 months. While buying their new home Claire meets the previous owner Mark, who reminds her of her ex boyfriend Daniel. Unable to resist Mark’s charm Claire embarks on a journey of lies, secrets and deceit
The Couple by Sarah Mitchell is s psychological thriller that starts slow but felt a little rushed at the end. I couldn't warm up to the protagonist but there were enough surprises and the ending was good to make me read more by Sarah Mitchell
I would like to thank Bookouture & NetGalley for providing an ARC of this book in exchange for my honest and fair review.
This and more reviews at https://chloesbooksblog.wordpress.com/
February 6, 2019
Oh my! What a weirdly twisted book... The alleys were dark and felt psychotic. The mind was a fragile thing, once broken remained broken. What the heart wanted, it wanted by any means... Or death would be the end!!
Beware of the twisted plot this book coursed through. Claire and Angus were engaged, they bought a new house from Mark, Mark resembled her ex, so Claire had an affair with him and soon was embroiled in his nefarious deeds.
My first book by Sarah Mitchell, and my eyebrows touched my hairline as I read down its pages, eyes widened with expletives being showered over my poor kindle. One chapter in the middle of the book hitched my breath hitch and made me go Wowza. The rest were weird, logic less, and certainly not so intelligent. Claire really took some poor decisions, she was unlikable and kinda obsessed about the ex. Not that the others were any better. The men were badly characterized.
The writing though disjointed and rough had its own darkness which compelled me to read on. The book was a slow burn as most turn out to be, the ending was rushed and didn't make much sense too. Or maybe I wasn't too interested.
The book kept me company during my flu, filling my brain with niggles, hence enjoyable. One sometimes needs to bitch about a book to feel alive. Whew, my review is done!!
Beware of the twisted plot this book coursed through. Claire and Angus were engaged, they bought a new house from Mark, Mark resembled her ex, so Claire had an affair with him and soon was embroiled in his nefarious deeds.
My first book by Sarah Mitchell, and my eyebrows touched my hairline as I read down its pages, eyes widened with expletives being showered over my poor kindle. One chapter in the middle of the book hitched my breath hitch and made me go Wowza. The rest were weird, logic less, and certainly not so intelligent. Claire really took some poor decisions, she was unlikable and kinda obsessed about the ex. Not that the others were any better. The men were badly characterized.
The writing though disjointed and rough had its own darkness which compelled me to read on. The book was a slow burn as most turn out to be, the ending was rushed and didn't make much sense too. Or maybe I wasn't too interested.
The book kept me company during my flu, filling my brain with niggles, hence enjoyable. One sometimes needs to bitch about a book to feel alive. Whew, my review is done!!
January 31, 2019
Surprising until the very last page. The Couple has a gripping plot that will captivate mystery and romance lovers. You just don't know what's going on. There were pages I had to read twice because I couldn't believe my eyes.
The main character Claire is an immigration lawyer with a dark past whose job makes the story even more interesting. In spite of being engaged, she isn't besotted by her fiance Angus, a serious hotel owner, so they are a bit far from being the perfect couple. They buy a house from an attractive man and Claire's life changes in unexpected ways.
The book is full of twists an turns and even if it is fast-paced you should read it slowly or you may not be able to understand how complex the story is.
I would like to thank NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.
www.theleisurediaries.blogspot.com
The main character Claire is an immigration lawyer with a dark past whose job makes the story even more interesting. In spite of being engaged, she isn't besotted by her fiance Angus, a serious hotel owner, so they are a bit far from being the perfect couple. They buy a house from an attractive man and Claire's life changes in unexpected ways.
The book is full of twists an turns and even if it is fast-paced you should read it slowly or you may not be able to understand how complex the story is.
I would like to thank NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.
www.theleisurediaries.blogspot.com
January 14, 2019
A thriller with a difference, I enjoyed the well developed plot and characters in this dual timeline story. I swiped the pages at quite a speed, becoming involved in the dark but entertaining tale. I would probably have given it a higher rating had it not been for some confusion later in the book (Chapter 24), when it became hard to tell which character I'd been reading about. Did it switch for that one chapter? I'm still not sure! That aside though, it was a solid read and I did enjoy Mitchell's writing style.
*I received a copy of the book from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.
*I received a copy of the book from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.
March 25, 2019
Wow! This is a book that, like some of my favorite movies, I really disliked at first but then couldn’t stop thinking about it. I'm glad I didn't write this review immediately after finishing - I almost missed the "breathtaking twist" that the tagline mentioned. I had to mull it over for awhile, and once it hit me, I liked the book that much more. I LOVE when I get fooled.
I will hide the rest of the review because it contains a complete spoiler:
(I suggest that if you haven’t read the book but are interested in it, don’t read too many of the reviews or comments beforehand. At some point you will read something that will probably spoil the ending for you, and that would be a shame! PS, Based on some of the reviews I read, I think I'm not the only one who almost - or completely - missed the twist.)
I will hide the rest of the review because it contains a complete spoiler:
(I suggest that if you haven’t read the book but are interested in it, don’t read too many of the reviews or comments beforehand. At some point you will read something that will probably spoil the ending for you, and that would be a shame! PS, Based on some of the reviews I read, I think I'm not the only one who almost - or completely - missed the twist.)
January 8, 2019
Claire is engaged to Angus. She works as lawyer of sort for the immigration services and Angus runs a chain of hotels.
While house hunting, Claire meets Mark, who is selling them his house. She is drawn towards Mark.
The plot was interesting. The writing was not that great. But it’s surely not a bad one time read.
*ARC kindly provided in exchange for an honest review*
While house hunting, Claire meets Mark, who is selling them his house. She is drawn towards Mark.
The plot was interesting. The writing was not that great. But it’s surely not a bad one time read.
*ARC kindly provided in exchange for an honest review*
July 9, 2019
I found this book very frustrating. The story of her past made everything feel disjointed and only felt like it gave the ending a reason to feel a little plausible. I have no idea why she is with Angus, WHY?! They don’t ever seem to get along. How about Mark? They seem to hit it off but then don’t get along either. There is CLEARLY something else going on outside of the relationship and I wanted to yell at Claire to open her eyes and leave! If a guy you barely know gives you a GUN to hide. RUN AWAY FROM HIM! The the ending was too far fetched and overly convenient.
Thank you to NetGalley and Bookouture for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.
Thank you to NetGalley and Bookouture for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.
May 8, 2019
Thank you to NetGalley and Bookouture for an advanced read in exchange for this review.
The blurb and the title were what intrigued me - sadly, the read did not live up to what they promised.
The characters are all unlikeable - which doesn't necessarily make the book bad. However, their personas are flat and thus their actions puzzling and not at all believable, the plot is confusing and has so many gaping holes several armies could cheerfully march through them, and the story follows many unnecessary and meandering paths along the way to an unsubtle twist at the end. Sorry, but I would not recommend.
The blurb and the title were what intrigued me - sadly, the read did not live up to what they promised.
The characters are all unlikeable - which doesn't necessarily make the book bad. However, their personas are flat and thus their actions puzzling and not at all believable, the plot is confusing and has so many gaping holes several armies could cheerfully march through them, and the story follows many unnecessary and meandering paths along the way to an unsubtle twist at the end. Sorry, but I would not recommend.
March 9, 2019
The Couple is a psychological thriller by Sarah Mitchell and I have to say I really enjoyed reading it.
It’s written from two perspectives, the past and the present giving deeper insight into the protagonist and the characters.
I have to say I didn’t find any of the characters particularly likeable but I’m sure that’s the point and a credit to the authors clever writing.
Claire works for the Immigration Service and is now engaged after a whirlwind romance, to Angus…He is a hotel entrepreneur and they are about to buy their perfect home together.
Claire goes to view a house they like and meets Mark, the seller, but he looks familiar to her, and reminds her of a former lover……as a result Claire is drawn to him, then Angus starts to behave a bit oddly…..Can Claire trust either of them or even herself?
Sarah Mitchell’s writing is creative and expressive and this tale is a twisty, turny, fast paced ride. I really enjoyed it and can recommend it to all lovers of a psychological thriller.
I would like to thank the Author/Bookouture and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book for free in exchange for a fair, honest and unbiased review.
Merged review:
The Couple is a psychological thriller by Sarah Mitchell and I have to say I really enjoyed reading it.
It’s written from two perspectives, the past and the present giving deeper insight into the protagonist and the characters.
I have to say I didn’t find any of the characters particularly likeable but I’m sure that’s the point and a credit to the authors clever writing.
Claire works for the Immigration Service and is now engaged after a whirlwind romance, to Angus…He is a hotel entrepreneur and they are about to buy their perfect home together.
Claire goes to view a house they like and meets Mark, the seller, but he looks familiar to her, and reminds her of a former lover……as a result Claire is drawn to him, then Angus starts to behave a bit oddly…..Can Claire trust either of them or even herself?
Sarah Mitchell’s writing is creative and expressive and this tale is a twisty, turny, fast paced ride. I really enjoyed it and can recommend it to all lovers of a psychological thriller.
I would like to thank the Author/Bookouture and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book for free in exchange for a fair, honest and unbiased review.
It’s written from two perspectives, the past and the present giving deeper insight into the protagonist and the characters.
I have to say I didn’t find any of the characters particularly likeable but I’m sure that’s the point and a credit to the authors clever writing.
Claire works for the Immigration Service and is now engaged after a whirlwind romance, to Angus…He is a hotel entrepreneur and they are about to buy their perfect home together.
Claire goes to view a house they like and meets Mark, the seller, but he looks familiar to her, and reminds her of a former lover……as a result Claire is drawn to him, then Angus starts to behave a bit oddly…..Can Claire trust either of them or even herself?
Sarah Mitchell’s writing is creative and expressive and this tale is a twisty, turny, fast paced ride. I really enjoyed it and can recommend it to all lovers of a psychological thriller.
I would like to thank the Author/Bookouture and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book for free in exchange for a fair, honest and unbiased review.
Merged review:
The Couple is a psychological thriller by Sarah Mitchell and I have to say I really enjoyed reading it.
It’s written from two perspectives, the past and the present giving deeper insight into the protagonist and the characters.
I have to say I didn’t find any of the characters particularly likeable but I’m sure that’s the point and a credit to the authors clever writing.
Claire works for the Immigration Service and is now engaged after a whirlwind romance, to Angus…He is a hotel entrepreneur and they are about to buy their perfect home together.
Claire goes to view a house they like and meets Mark, the seller, but he looks familiar to her, and reminds her of a former lover……as a result Claire is drawn to him, then Angus starts to behave a bit oddly…..Can Claire trust either of them or even herself?
Sarah Mitchell’s writing is creative and expressive and this tale is a twisty, turny, fast paced ride. I really enjoyed it and can recommend it to all lovers of a psychological thriller.
I would like to thank the Author/Bookouture and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book for free in exchange for a fair, honest and unbiased review.
February 5, 2019
Well, well, what was this all about? I felt like I got a bucket load of information thrown at me and I had not the slightest idea what was going on. I could not imagine where it would all lead to and I wondered how this was going to come together.
The author played a game of table tennis and I was the little ball going to and fro between past en present.
Little by little every small bit of information became connected to the next one and I saw the light! At least I thought I did, but I had not taken the curveballs into consideration.
I love it when the chaos turns into orderliness. When you thought, in the beginning, some of the details did not add anything, afterwards you have to admit they had to be there indeed.
This story had a slow take off but it certainly picks up speed towards the end.
The male characters were not very likeable, but they were perfect for the role they played, because nice men don’t get involved in this kind of dodgy activities, don’t they?
Overall, I enjoyed the story and the idea behind it was original. 4 stars.
Thank you, Sarah Mitchell, Bookouture and Netgalley for the review copy
https://bforbookreview.wordpress.com
The author played a game of table tennis and I was the little ball going to and fro between past en present.
Little by little every small bit of information became connected to the next one and I saw the light! At least I thought I did, but I had not taken the curveballs into consideration.
I love it when the chaos turns into orderliness. When you thought, in the beginning, some of the details did not add anything, afterwards you have to admit they had to be there indeed.
This story had a slow take off but it certainly picks up speed towards the end.
The male characters were not very likeable, but they were perfect for the role they played, because nice men don’t get involved in this kind of dodgy activities, don’t they?
Overall, I enjoyed the story and the idea behind it was original. 4 stars.
Thank you, Sarah Mitchell, Bookouture and Netgalley for the review copy
https://bforbookreview.wordpress.com
January 30, 2019
5 stars for this twisted, twisty, dark, total mind game of a book. There wasn't one thing I did not like about this book. None of the characters were likeable or trustworthy but that's what made the book so awesome. I had no idea who was lying to me more or who was the "bad guy". The twists were unexpected and sprinkled throughout the book like little twisty surprises. I dont think I ever put my kindle down once I started this book. And that ending!
I CANNOT wait for more Sarah Mitchell books! The Couple is going to be HOT. Look for it on Feb 5th!
Thank you #NetGalley, Bookouture and Sarah Mitchell for my free advanced copy in exchange for my honest review. Posting on Goodreads and Amazon as well.
I CANNOT wait for more Sarah Mitchell books! The Couple is going to be HOT. Look for it on Feb 5th!
Thank you #NetGalley, Bookouture and Sarah Mitchell for my free advanced copy in exchange for my honest review. Posting on Goodreads and Amazon as well.
April 3, 2019
To borrow the lyrics from a song...this whole book was really a "bad romance."
Claire works for the Home Office Immigration Service, not technically a lawyer, but she helps with appeals of decisions made regarding the status of a petition of residency. She's overburdened with the desperation of the petitioners and the work, but things are looking up for her now that she's met and become engaged to Angus. Yes, they've only known each other about 4 months, but Claire is quite pleased at the uptick in her living situation and future domestic arrangements in a beautiful new home that they got at a great price. When Claire meets the previous homeowner, Mark, she's struck immediately by how much he reminds her of an old boyfriend, Daniel. Perhaps that's why she soon finds herself in a huge mess...NO SPOILERS.
My first thought after finally finishing this book is -- what the heck did I just read? And not in a good way. I found it confusing and totally, absolutely, almost unbearablely, unbelievable. In addition, the main character, Claire, is one of the most unlikeable people you're likely to encounter in fiction as she has no redeeming qualities. I couldn't relate to her and mostly wanted to slap her for being so stupid and horrible. The two men, Angus and Mark, were also hideous but we only see them through Claire's unreliable eyes and other characters are very incompletely fleshed out so are one-dimensional and only peripheral to Claire. I had to force myself through to the end and the conclusion was so unsatisfying that I wanted to throw the book against the wall.
It seems that the author does have some writing talent with some great descriptions and turn of phrase, but the story line and plot here was so off because of its need for me to completely suspend any sense of reality that anyone would do any of the stuff that Claire does. So, no, I didn't care for this one. It's not smart or clever or twisty or tricky in my opinion. Just glad I actually finished (it's a rule I have for myself) and now I'm done and moving on.
Thank you to NetGalley and Bookouture for this e-book ARC to read and review.
Claire works for the Home Office Immigration Service, not technically a lawyer, but she helps with appeals of decisions made regarding the status of a petition of residency. She's overburdened with the desperation of the petitioners and the work, but things are looking up for her now that she's met and become engaged to Angus. Yes, they've only known each other about 4 months, but Claire is quite pleased at the uptick in her living situation and future domestic arrangements in a beautiful new home that they got at a great price. When Claire meets the previous homeowner, Mark, she's struck immediately by how much he reminds her of an old boyfriend, Daniel. Perhaps that's why she soon finds herself in a huge mess...NO SPOILERS.
My first thought after finally finishing this book is -- what the heck did I just read? And not in a good way. I found it confusing and totally, absolutely, almost unbearablely, unbelievable. In addition, the main character, Claire, is one of the most unlikeable people you're likely to encounter in fiction as she has no redeeming qualities. I couldn't relate to her and mostly wanted to slap her for being so stupid and horrible. The two men, Angus and Mark, were also hideous but we only see them through Claire's unreliable eyes and other characters are very incompletely fleshed out so are one-dimensional and only peripheral to Claire. I had to force myself through to the end and the conclusion was so unsatisfying that I wanted to throw the book against the wall.
It seems that the author does have some writing talent with some great descriptions and turn of phrase, but the story line and plot here was so off because of its need for me to completely suspend any sense of reality that anyone would do any of the stuff that Claire does. So, no, I didn't care for this one. It's not smart or clever or twisty or tricky in my opinion. Just glad I actually finished (it's a rule I have for myself) and now I'm done and moving on.
Thank you to NetGalley and Bookouture for this e-book ARC to read and review.
February 6, 2019
Without a doubt, this is my favourite book of the month. What an amazing trip of literature at its supreme best. It is a masterpiece of style, vivid images, innovative analogies and richly drawn characters. It is seamlessly, effortlessly written and its pitch of tension is heart-racingly phenomenal. At times, my spine tingled with its sinister threads. I liked the skill employed in forcing the reader to try and figure out what is happening and who could be trusted. I found some red herrings which turned out to be clues and vice versa. Last, but not least, there is such wit and turn of phrase. Claire, the main character works for the Home Office. There’s a unique and intriguing insight into the workings of the Home Office, and I avidly read the astonishing details of case histories of asylum seekers and immigrants. I loved the spine-chilling ending. I will definitely be promoting this novel as far and wide as possible. I shall be searching for the other book advertised by Sarah Mitchell. Many thanks to NetGalley and Bookouture.
January 18, 2019
Very fast paced and interesting read. Definitely a thriller I would recommend. There were some parts that were unbelievable but overall the book is different then a lot of the unreliable narrator reads currently out there. I don't find the protagonist Claire very likeable but compared to most of the other people featured in the book aside from Claire's family and Agatha the rest of the cast of characters are downright despicable.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a chance to read and review.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a chance to read and review.
January 15, 2019
This is one of those books I almost can’t review for fear of giving anything away!
This book fooled me – it really got me good. Brilliant. The cover of the book says “Whatever you think you know… You’re Wrong”. NO KIDDING!
First, to those that are giving this bad reviews, I am presuming that at least some of you didn’t catch the shift in the narrative at the end – the big clue that let you know what just happened. Because if you missed it the book will make absolutely zero sense to you. If you did catch the shift in the narrative… YEAH! You were rewarded with a stunning reveal and a big gasp and an appreciation of an awesome gotcha moment. I haven’t read a book with such an awesome “GOTCHA” moment in a long, long time. Brilliant! Seriously, don’t ignore this book just because others didn’t get it. I highly recommend you give it a chance.
This book was full of twists and turns and intrigue and a whole lot of HUH? Some of that “huh?” for me came in the absolutely mind-numbingly stupid decisions Claire was making. She’s newly engaged but slips immediately into an affair with Mark because he resembles an old boyfriend? Claire also does things for Mark that are completely insane, including some things that put her and/or her job at risk, and yet she never questions why he wants her to do these things. She was coming off as a ridiculously stupid character and I was getting super frustrated with her in general. But remember that gotcha moment I mentioned above?? All of this makes sense in the end.
The book is told in a dual timeline. The past narrative is the story of Claire’s ex-boyfriend Daniel and what happened between them. The present narrative is the story of Claire’s current life. The dual timeline narrative is what makes this book come together so brilliantly.
Full disclosure, I almost gave up reading this book after just the first few pages. The run-on sentences and excessive use of commas and semi-colons was distracting and almost unreadable. It is possible the editing wasn’t completed in the ARC I was reading, but goodness sakes some periods would have been prudent. However, I am unbelievably glad I plowed through because the writing started to flow much better as the story developed and it was so worth it!
Seriously, the psychology of Claire would be a great topic for a master thesis!
I highly recommend this book! Awesome psychological thriller that is worth the effort.
Thank you Netgalley and Bookouture for a free electronic ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review. Expected publication date February 5, 2019 by Bookouture.
This book fooled me – it really got me good. Brilliant. The cover of the book says “Whatever you think you know… You’re Wrong”. NO KIDDING!
First, to those that are giving this bad reviews, I am presuming that at least some of you didn’t catch the shift in the narrative at the end – the big clue that let you know what just happened. Because if you missed it the book will make absolutely zero sense to you. If you did catch the shift in the narrative… YEAH! You were rewarded with a stunning reveal and a big gasp and an appreciation of an awesome gotcha moment. I haven’t read a book with such an awesome “GOTCHA” moment in a long, long time. Brilliant! Seriously, don’t ignore this book just because others didn’t get it. I highly recommend you give it a chance.
This book was full of twists and turns and intrigue and a whole lot of HUH? Some of that “huh?” for me came in the absolutely mind-numbingly stupid decisions Claire was making. She’s newly engaged but slips immediately into an affair with Mark because he resembles an old boyfriend? Claire also does things for Mark that are completely insane, including some things that put her and/or her job at risk, and yet she never questions why he wants her to do these things. She was coming off as a ridiculously stupid character and I was getting super frustrated with her in general. But remember that gotcha moment I mentioned above?? All of this makes sense in the end.
The book is told in a dual timeline. The past narrative is the story of Claire’s ex-boyfriend Daniel and what happened between them. The present narrative is the story of Claire’s current life. The dual timeline narrative is what makes this book come together so brilliantly.
Full disclosure, I almost gave up reading this book after just the first few pages. The run-on sentences and excessive use of commas and semi-colons was distracting and almost unreadable. It is possible the editing wasn’t completed in the ARC I was reading, but goodness sakes some periods would have been prudent. However, I am unbelievably glad I plowed through because the writing started to flow much better as the story developed and it was so worth it!
Seriously, the psychology of Claire would be a great topic for a master thesis!
I highly recommend this book! Awesome psychological thriller that is worth the effort.
Thank you Netgalley and Bookouture for a free electronic ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review. Expected publication date February 5, 2019 by Bookouture.
January 28, 2020
2.5 rounded up. Ughh.. I get that the author touched on some really important issues, so is it shallow for me to admit that I wasn’t really here for it? I mean, I went in expecting a thriller.. (But actually that’s not even fair to the genre, other thrillers have successfully maneuvered important topics into their insanity!😂) But in this 1 I really didn’t feel like much happened at all until the last few chapters. Then certain twists were interesting, but not so much so that it made up for the previous 8 hours!🤷🏻♀️ & honestly, I thought the ending was just ok- not bad or good, just time to move on! Same with the characters, could take them or leave them. So why a 2.5-3 & not lower? I guess the bottom line is that there wasn’t anything blatantly wrong with the story, it just obviously wasn’t for me.
January 22, 2019
The Couple looked very much like your standard domestic psychological thriller. (Standard issue domestic thriller title: check. Cover featuring young woman in brightly coloured coat looking over her shoulder: check.) So much so, in fact, that I wasn’t actually sure if I could be bothered to read it. However, it wasn’t quite what those signifiers had led me to expect. In fact it was quite an odd read altogether.
Narrator Claire is newly engaged to Angus after a whirlwind romance but clearly still affected by unspecified events involving previous boyfriend Daniel. Claire works for the Home Office, representing the government in appeals against immigration decisions. Angus has pots of money apparently from running hotels, and urges Claire into buying a house from a bloke called Mark, who seems a bit over familiar in more ways than one. From that point on, things escalate quickly...
It’s definitely more thriller than domestic and I’m not saying that’s a bad thing (that market is pretty saturated by now). I enjoyed reading it - it was a fast, easy read - and felt it was well written with an original and timely premise. The details of Claire’s work at the Home Office are interesting and have a ring of authenticity. None of the main characters are very nice, though Claire does have her redeeming qualities and as a narrator is quite interesting, though some of her decisions and choices seem bizarre.
The “twist” involving the past relationship with Daniel was clearly signposted (during flashbacks to “five years earlier”) and I would have been very surprised if it hadn’t occurred.
The title is utterly meaningless and seems to have been chosen purely to tap into the current domestic thriller market. (It probably doesn’t help that I hated the inexplicably successful The Couple Next Door, which this title is obviously reminiscent of.) Yes, there’s a couple in The Couple (in the present and in the past). But it could just as easily have been called The Vendor, The Fiancé, The Ex-Boyfriend or pretty much anything else.
All in all though an enjoyable read and certainly wouldn’t put me off reading anything else by this author. Three and a half stars rounded up to 4.
Narrator Claire is newly engaged to Angus after a whirlwind romance but clearly still affected by unspecified events involving previous boyfriend Daniel. Claire works for the Home Office, representing the government in appeals against immigration decisions. Angus has pots of money apparently from running hotels, and urges Claire into buying a house from a bloke called Mark, who seems a bit over familiar in more ways than one. From that point on, things escalate quickly...
It’s definitely more thriller than domestic and I’m not saying that’s a bad thing (that market is pretty saturated by now). I enjoyed reading it - it was a fast, easy read - and felt it was well written with an original and timely premise. The details of Claire’s work at the Home Office are interesting and have a ring of authenticity. None of the main characters are very nice, though Claire does have her redeeming qualities and as a narrator is quite interesting, though some of her decisions and choices seem bizarre.
The “twist” involving the past relationship with Daniel was clearly signposted (during flashbacks to “five years earlier”) and I would have been very surprised if it hadn’t occurred.
The title is utterly meaningless and seems to have been chosen purely to tap into the current domestic thriller market. (It probably doesn’t help that I hated the inexplicably successful The Couple Next Door, which this title is obviously reminiscent of.) Yes, there’s a couple in The Couple (in the present and in the past). But it could just as easily have been called The Vendor, The Fiancé, The Ex-Boyfriend or pretty much anything else.
All in all though an enjoyable read and certainly wouldn’t put me off reading anything else by this author. Three and a half stars rounded up to 4.
February 4, 2019
Oh this book is full of twists and turns and I really enjoyed it.
Claire has just got engaged to Angus and whilst she is happy, the love of her life Daniel, is still casting his shadow over her.
We learn what happened between Claire and Daniel later in the book but until then, it’s surrounded by mystery.
Claire and Angus buy a new house together and when Claire meets the person selling the property, she is immediately drawn to him - because he reminds her of Daniel.
I have to admit I had no idea where the story was going and was just enjoying learning more about Claire’s life - past and present - Then all of a sudden things come to a head, and your feet won’t touch the ground.
This book has a great ending and everything does comes together for those who like to find out why...
Thanks to Bookouture and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book.
Claire has just got engaged to Angus and whilst she is happy, the love of her life Daniel, is still casting his shadow over her.
We learn what happened between Claire and Daniel later in the book but until then, it’s surrounded by mystery.
Claire and Angus buy a new house together and when Claire meets the person selling the property, she is immediately drawn to him - because he reminds her of Daniel.
I have to admit I had no idea where the story was going and was just enjoying learning more about Claire’s life - past and present - Then all of a sudden things come to a head, and your feet won’t touch the ground.
This book has a great ending and everything does comes together for those who like to find out why...
Thanks to Bookouture and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book.
April 12, 2024
Boring. Too long. Slow. Agonisingly slow. Didn’t even like any character.
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