Book Description:
You thought you had escaped him. Until he proposed to your daughter.
‘There’s someone I want you to meet,’ Belle says, as a man draws up to her side. He’s tall with dark hair and stubble on his square jaw. He’s not exactly smiling, but the corner of his mouth curls upwards as he slides his hand around my daughter’s waist.
I grab my husband’s arm to steady myself, as the room spins around me.
I stare into the man’s eyes – jet black. Nothing and everything hidden behind them.
Fear prickles my skin as I remember what he did.
How I only just escaped.
All the lies I’ve had to tell since.
‘I want you to meet Jack,’ Belle says, brimming with excitement. ‘He’s my fiancé.’ She rests her head on his shoulder. ‘Isn’t it exciting? We’re engaged!’
Fear hammers in my chest. I have to stop this.
My daughter’s life is in danger, and it’s all because of me…
A totally gripping psychological thriller from an Amazon No1. bestseller that will take you on a rollercoaster ride of emotions and have you gasping at the twists. Fans of The Housemaid, Gone Girl and The Girl on the Train will be flipping pages all night long!
BLOG TOUR REVIEW
Review for 'The Engagement' by Samantha Hayes.
Read and reviewed via NetGalley for Samantha Hayes,
Bookouture publishers and Bookouture anonymous
Publication date 10th January 2022.
This is the second book I have read by this author. I have also read 'The Trapped Wife' which I would highly recommend!!
I was originally drawn to this book by its stunning eye catching cover and intriguing sounding synopsis and title. The synopsis stated that this book is 'A totally gripping psychological thriller from an Amazon No1. bestseller that will take you on a rollercoaster ride of emotions and have you gasping at the twists. Fans of The Housemaid, Gone Girl and The Girl on the Train will be flipping pages all night long!' I am a huge fan of 'Gone Girl' so am looking forward to seeing if this lives up to this statement. I am also a huge fan of Samantha and if this book is half as good as 'The Trapped Wife' it is guaranteed to be a page turner! I must admit I was also biased due to the publisher being Bookouture. I have yet to read a book published by Bookouture that I haven't enjoyed. Hopefully this won't be the first... Watch this space! (Written before I started reading the book).
This novel consists of a prologue, 50 chapters and an epilogue. The chapters are short to medium in length so easy to read 'just one more chapter' before bed...OK, I know yeah right, but still just in case!
This book is based in London and Bristol, England 🏴, UK 🇬🇧. I always enjoy when books are set in the UK as I'm from Wales and have sometimes visited areas mentioned in the book. This makes it easier to picture where the scenes are set at times. I have actually visited both places recently and only live a couple of hours from Bristol so am looking forward to seeing if I recognise any areas mentioned.
This book is written in a mix of third and first person perspective and the protagonists are Hannah, Belle and Molly. The benefits of books written in first person perspective are as long as they are well written it makes you feel that you are being spoken to by the protagonist and it can create more of a bond between yourselves and them. If there are several protagonists you also get to see more of what is going on. The benefits of third person perspective with multiple protagonists are that it let's you see the bigger picture of what's going on and you get to know more characters more, what they are thinking and what they are doing. It feels like you get to see the whole picture and not miss out in anything. To have the benefit of both first and third person perspective ensures you don't miss out on anything.
'The Engagement' discusses some topics that may trigger some readers or may not be suitable for others. I like to point this out ahead of time in my reviews so you can judge if this book is for you or not. In this book Samantha discusses/includes exploitation of women and prostitution.
OMG!!!! WHAT DID I JUST READ!!!! I DID NOT EXPECT THOSE TWISTS!!! MIND BLOWN MUCH!!!
Wow!!! This book is fantastically written and had me hook, line and sinker from beginning to end. The descriptions were so in depth and vivid that the hair on my arms was standing on the ends and my heart was pounding throughout. The synopsis, title and cover were perfect for the storyline.
I was absolutely absorbed throughout this page turner. It is filled with tension, suspense, lies, secrets and omg the twists!!! I DID NOT see any of them coming!!! A MASSIVE CONGRATULATIONS Samantha!! It is getting harder and harder to shock me but by God you did that over and over!!! What an ending!!! One of the most gripping unputdownable nerve wracking psychological thrillers I have EVER read!!! You lady have one hell of a talent and I cannot wait to get hold of your previous and future books. I cannot remember the last time I was so hooked by a book but you managed that big time!!! The storyline is filled with crime, shocks, suspense, regrets, lies, friendship, tension, deceit and family. There were at least not one, not two but three explosive bombshells I did not see coming!!! There was so much going on and it was very fast paced and kept me on the edge of my seat throughout. The storyline is scarily realistic and what happens in the book and what Molly and Hannah went through happens to thousands of girls, if not more all over the world. It is a heartbreaking story and a parents worse nightmare!! The fact that Samantha has done her research absolutely shines through so a huge WELL done Samantha!! There is nothing worse than an author not doing even basic research on the subject they choose to write about as it can completely ruin a book of it is littered with unnecessary mistakes. Clear your schedule before you start as I read this in one sitting as I could not put it down!! Practically every chapter ended on a cliff hanger so no way could I put it down!! Absolutely hooked!! I would absolutely love to see this turned into a movie!!!!
It is set over multiple time lines. When books show what has happened in the past and what is happening in the present I find it really helps the reader (if it is well done) understand why things are happening and what has lead to the present activities and decisions. It also shows the bigger picture.
I was completely invested in both the storyline and the characters. Each of the characters had their own unique personalities and I felt differently about each of them. I really liked Molly and Hannah and felt so sorry on them throughout the book. Sadly, like many they felt they had no choice to do what they did after being manipulated and brought into their lives under false pretences. Hannah spends her whole life hiding her secrets and blaming herself but is she the only one with secrets? My heart broke for her with everything that was going on with her daughter Belle and as a parent myself I could feel my heart going a million miles an hour with hers. I'm not going to say too much about the other characters as I don't want to risk giving anything away. I could not stand Darren who was a horrible, twisted and sick person but again, strong and realistic and Samantha portrayed what many men in this world are like through him and what he does to the girls and how he treats them and the lies he says is exactly how these girls get dragged into these lives and caught in the webs that ruin them. My heart went out to Rob who was an absolutely amazing Dad to Belle and was worried about his family. I am not going to say anything about any of the other characters as it isn't worth the risk of dropping any hints but there was definitely mixed feelings with some of them and some major shocks to be had!! If you want to know more you will just have to click the link below to get a copy!! All in all a great mix of characters that worked well with this storyline.
Welcome to my top author Club Samantha and your book is one of the best psychological thrillers I have EVER READ!! Bring on the next one!!! I cannot wait!!! Here's to the next success 🥂
Make sure you read to the very end of the book to read the prologue and the prologue of Samantha's 'Date Night' ' which promises to be another explosive page turner and one I am looking forward to reading myself!!
Overall an absolutely heart racing, nerve wracking, emotional unputdownable addictive psychological thriller!!!
Genres covered in this book include Women's Psychological Fiction, Mystery, Thriller, Suspense, Psychological Fiction, Crime Fiction and Psychological Thriller amongst others.
I would recommend this book to the fans of the above as well as fans of 'Gone Girl', Shari Lapena, 'Housemaid', 'Gone Girl' and 'The Girl on the Train', Rachel Abbot and anyone who loves an explosive ending!!!
365 pages.
This book is just £1.99 to purchase on kindle, free on kindle unlimited and £8.99 in paperback via Amazon which I think is an absolute bargain for this book!!!
Rated 5 /5 (I LOVED it ) on Goodreads, Instagram, Amazon UK and Amazon US and on over 30 Facebook pages plus my blog on Facebook.
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Author Bio:
Samantha Hayes grew up in a creative family where her love of writing began as a child. Samantha has written eight thrillers in total, including the bestselling Until You’re Mine. The Independent said “fantastically written and very tense” while Good Housekeeping said “Her believable psychological thrillers are completely gripping.” Samantha’s books are published in 22 languages at the last count.
When not writing, Samantha loves to cook, go to the gym, see friends and drink nice wine. She is also studying for a degree in psychotherapy. She has three grown-up children and lives in Warwickshire.
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Buy Link:
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Audio:
Listen to a sample here: https://soundcloud.com/bookouture/the-engagement-by-samantha-hayes-narrated-by-sarah-durham
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