Author: Kiersten Modglin
Genre: Psychological Thriller
Rating: ❤❤❤❤
Backstory
Hi friends. I’m back with yet another hot take on the books I’ve read. Is that my catchphrase? I’m not even sure how I feel about it yet, but for now we can roll with it. First let me start by saying: WHAT THE FUDGE?! This book? Ya’ll this book. WHEW! I’m still reeling from it. Usually I like to take a few days after finishing a book to truly process what I read before writing a review but this time is clearly different. As soon as I closed the cover I had to run over here and write about it. This book was NUTS. Absolutely insane, but before I get into the gritty details I want to tell you how I found it, even though you probably already have a good idea if you’ve read any of my previous posts.
So, I was minding my business scrolling on Facebook one day and I came across someone posting about this book in my favorite Black Girls Read Books Too group (at this point, they need to hire me as a brand ambassador as much as I talk about them) and the comments were going on and on about how unexpected this book was. Now if you know me, I love a good dramatic read. Maybe because my own life has no drama (by choice) so I get my fill by reading about the completely ridiculous lives of the people in my books. Anyway, the reviews seemed positive so I gave it a shot. Completely ignored the books I was already reading and went on the hunt for this one. At this point, I should probably block BGRBT posts from my feed until I make it all the way through my TBR list because it’s getting ridiculous at this point.
Anyway, I grabbed this book with high hopes, but also no expectations because I really wasn’t sure what the book was even about. I just grabbed it based off the comments I read and the way the cover looked. Whoever told you not to judge a book by its cover lied to you. You should ALWAYS judge a book by its cover. It’s meant to grab your attention, that’s the whole point. Otherwise, every book cover would be completely blank and boring. I started reading this book before bed maybe Tuesday night? It’s now Thursday morning and I have already absorbed all 300 something pages and am on the hunt for the part 2 if that gives you any indication.
Book Synopsis
Ainsley Greenburg is a fixer. It's what she hangs her hat on, what she takes pride in. So when her marriage is hanging on by a thread, she does the one thing she knows how to do. She tries to fix things. She proposes an "arrangement" to her husband with two simple rules:
1. On one night during the week, they are allowed to see other people and go on dates.
2. They are not allowed to discuss the details of the dates with each other.
What happens when the rules are inevitably broken? Can they trust each other to do what needs to be done to protect each other and the family they have worked so hard to build? Will their marital vows stand the test? Is it truly: "Til Death Do Us Part"? or will their marriage crack under the weight of this ugly secret?
My Thoughts
The book starts with Ainsley Greenburg talking to her husband Peter about an arrangement for their marriage. She feared they had fallen out of love and was desperate to reignite the spark between the two of them. Divorce was not an option because both had agreed that they didn’t want to go that route and they had already tried counseling which didn’t seem to help much. So, Ainsley proposed to her husband that they should try dating…other people. That’s right. You read that correctly. They pulled a Will and Jada Smith move and opened up the marriage. With a few caveats. They were not allowed to talk to the people they met outside of the dating apps, they weren’t allowed to go on more than one date with the people they meet, and they couldn’t use their real names. I was a little shook at how quickly he agreed to “The Arrangement” (insert spooky music here) but hey, some men do have the urge to sleep with other women and he literally got permission from his wife to do so. Husband, if you are reading this, you do NOT have permission ok? Just so we’re clear. So anyway, they start this little deal and things quickly spiral out of control. Like almost immediately.
There were moments in this book where I was literally sitting with my mouth completely open in shock. Each twist came out of absolutely nowhere. Even when I thought I had predicted what was going to happen, it ended up playing out in a way I couldn’t possibly have predicted. If I was a cussin’ woman, I would have been cussing all up and through this book because WTF (fudge, the F stands for fudge). It just goes to show how one decision can send everything spiraling out of control and completely change your life as you know it. I refuse to give anything away, because that would ruin the shock factor in this book but whoa. There are very few books that have me staring into space trying to process what I just read and each time I thought I was done with the surprises, Kiersten smacked me in the face with another one.
I definitely recommend this book for anyone who wants a quick read that will leave you frozen in place out of pure shock. I am usually pretty good at figuring out how the story will go so this one definitely threw me for a loop when everything I had predicted ended up being wrong. Whew, Kiersten you have gained a new fan in me, that’s for sure. Now let me go see if I can find part 2. If you decide to read this book you can grab it here
Make sure you come back and let me know if you end up just as shocked as I did. Happy reading babes! <3
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