My Lovely Wife
Well, I can certainly see why Samantha Downing’s debut novel put her on the map!
Having loved For Your Own Good Review , I know she knows how to write a compelling character with a warped mind. What I wasn’t expecting is that she’d write a book with TWO of them! Millicent and her unnamed husband, from whose POV the story is narrated, have chosen a rather … unusual bonding activity, to say the least! Forget golfing or gardening together. These two crave bigger thrills.
I won’t go into more detail - there is no shortage of reviews for this book if you want more backstory. Personally, I think the more blind you go into it, the better. I know I wasn’t expecting what I got!
I listened to this on audiobook, which I don’t recommend. While narrator David Pittu did an excellent job with the male voices, every single female voice - and there were a lot of them - sounded like a caricature of women. With the exception of Millicent, whose voice was soporific and dull, every other woman sounded like a variation of a teenage Valley Girl, regardless of their age in the story. Is this honestly what he thinks women sound like?
Audiobook issues aside, the story itself is good. I had a little struggle getting into the story for the first half due to the subject matter. It was pretty tough to wrap my overthinking head around being entertained by this couple’s specific “hobby”. It felt so … ooky. 😬 Leave it to Downing to somehow get me onboard with things!
The second half really amps up the intrigue with this couple balancing their pastime with the growing issues of their teenage son and daughter and major revelations coming to light. I can’t say I wasn’t expecting where the story went, but I chalk that up to reading a lot of twisty books. While the climax and denouement were almost laughably unrealistic (I mean … seriously? C’mon), I STILL had fun with it, and the final line of the epilogue was … mmmm … *chef’s kiss*!
I didn’t like this as much as For Your Own Good, but it’s an impressive debut and a solid story that I’d certainly recommend for those wanting an introduction to Samantha Downing’s dark humor and twisty mind. She’s so fun! Speaking of that … I can’t wait to read A Twisted Love Story soon. I’m curious to see if she can top THIS twisted love story!
★★★★ (3 for the audiobook and 4 for the story)
Thanks to my library and Libby for the audiobook!
Having loved For Your Own Good Review , I know she knows how to write a compelling character with a warped mind. What I wasn’t expecting is that she’d write a book with TWO of them! Millicent and her unnamed husband, from whose POV the story is narrated, have chosen a rather … unusual bonding activity, to say the least! Forget golfing or gardening together. These two crave bigger thrills.
I won’t go into more detail - there is no shortage of reviews for this book if you want more backstory. Personally, I think the more blind you go into it, the better. I know I wasn’t expecting what I got!
I listened to this on audiobook, which I don’t recommend. While narrator David Pittu did an excellent job with the male voices, every single female voice - and there were a lot of them - sounded like a caricature of women. With the exception of Millicent, whose voice was soporific and dull, every other woman sounded like a variation of a teenage Valley Girl, regardless of their age in the story. Is this honestly what he thinks women sound like?
Audiobook issues aside, the story itself is good. I had a little struggle getting into the story for the first half due to the subject matter. It was pretty tough to wrap my overthinking head around being entertained by this couple’s specific “hobby”. It felt so … ooky. 😬 Leave it to Downing to somehow get me onboard with things!
The second half really amps up the intrigue with this couple balancing their pastime with the growing issues of their teenage son and daughter and major revelations coming to light. I can’t say I wasn’t expecting where the story went, but I chalk that up to reading a lot of twisty books. While the climax and denouement were almost laughably unrealistic (I mean … seriously? C’mon), I STILL had fun with it, and the final line of the epilogue was … mmmm … *chef’s kiss*!
I didn’t like this as much as For Your Own Good, but it’s an impressive debut and a solid story that I’d certainly recommend for those wanting an introduction to Samantha Downing’s dark humor and twisty mind. She’s so fun! Speaking of that … I can’t wait to read A Twisted Love Story soon. I’m curious to see if she can top THIS twisted love story!
★★★★ (3 for the audiobook and 4 for the story)
Thanks to my library and Libby for the audiobook!
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