Book Recommendation – The Perfect Divorce

Yesterday I posted about Jeneva Rose’s The Perfect Marriage. Today, I want to post about the sequel The Perfect Divorce. The book was actually written five years after The Perfect Marriage. The sequel takes place eleven years after the first book.

SPOILER ALERT: I will tell you that if you do not want to know what happens after the first book (before you read it), you may want to revisit this blog when you finish it. The synopsis alone give a little bit of information as to what happens with the first book.

If you really don’t care about possible spoilers – read on.

I listened to the audio book for this one. I enjoyed it because each character was performed by a different narrator. It played out like a radio play, which made it easy to distinguish between characters.

Let’s look at the Goodreads synopsis (unless you don’t want spoilers to the first book):

The shocking sequel to Jeneva Rose’s multimillion-copy bestselling thriller, The Perfect Marriage.

Till death do us part. Yours. Not Mine.

It’s been eleven years since high-powered attorney Sarah Morgan defended her husband, Adam, against the charge of murdering his mistress. Sarah has long since moved on, starting a family with her new husband, Bob Miller, and changing careers. Her life is back to being exactly how she always wanted … or is it?

After discovering Bob engaged in a one-night stand, Sarah wastes no time filing for divorce. However, amid their ugly separation, new DNA evidence is uncovered in the case against Adam, forcing the police to reopen the investigation and putting Sarah right back in the spotlight. Everyone wants to know what really happened, most of all former Deputy Hudson, who is hell-bent on finding the truth.

But when the woman Bob slept with is reported missing, he and Sarah start to fight dirty, and a high-stakes game of cat and mouse ensues. Filled with page-turning suspense and Jeneva Rose’s signature twists and turns, this sequel will have readers wondering, Can Bob and Sarah achieve the perfect divorce? Or will it be “’til death do us part”?

The sequel is filled with quite a few twists and many of the same characters. In eleven years, things are different for many of them. There are also callbacks to the first book and as you read it, they both come together and shed light on both the past and the present.

Along with the first book, these two are easily two of the best books I have read this year.

5 out of 5 stars.

Book Recommendation – The Perfect Marriage

Back in 2024, I read my first Jeneva Rose book, Home is Where The Bodies Are. I recently finished two books that kept coming up as recommendations from other bloggers, Goodreads, and from my wife. Today, I will feature the first one. The Perfect Marriage.

Let me preface this by saying that tomorrow, I will feature the follow up to this book. I highly recommend that you read one right after the other.

This was a book that I found I could not put down. I felt like when a chapter ended, I needed to know what happened next. Then, when the book was over, I immediately started the follow up. Before I go any further, here is the Goodreads synopsis:

Would you defend your husband if he was accused of killing his mistress?

Sarah Morgan is a successful and powerful defense attorney in Washington D.C. At 33 years old, she is a named partner at her firm and life is going exactly how she planned.

The same cannot be said for her husband, Adam. He is a struggling writer who has had little success in his career. He begins to tire of his and Sarah’s relationship as she is constantly working.

Out in the secluded woods, at Adam and Sarah’s second home, Adam engages in a passionate affair with Kelly Summers.

Then, one morning everything changes. Adam is arrested for Kelly’s murder. She had been found stabbed to death in Adam and Sarah’s second home.

Sarah soon finds herself playing the defender for her own husband, a man accused of murdering his mistress.

But is Adam guilty or is he innocent?

This recommendation will not have any spoilers. I will say that when tomorrow’s recommendation posts, the synopsis will allow you to gain a bit of information about this book.

First of all, the ending was completely unexpected. There were times I wondered if Adam really did it, or if he didn’t, who did? I loved this because it kept me intrigued and guessing throughout the entire read. I found myself occasionally asking my wife (who read it first) “Was so and so involved?” or “Why is so and so acting so weird about this?” She usually just chuckles and tells me to keep reading.

Like any good mystery, the book has characters that you like and characters you will despise. There are plenty of surprises as you make your way through the story, and some of those surprises become even bigger surprises when you read the follow up – The Perfect Divorce. More on that one tomorrow.

5 out of 5 stars!

Book Recommendation – Home Is Where The Bodies Are – Jeneva Rose

I just finished another good book that had been on my “To Read” list. My wife read it before I did and based on her reaction, I chose to read it next. The cover itself was intriguing and I added it to my list before I even read what it was about.

This is the first book I have read by Jeneva Rose, but I liked it enough to want to read more. Here is the Goodreads synopsis:

From New York Times bestselling author of The Perfect Marriage and You Shouldn’t Have Come Here comes a chilling family thriller about the (sometimes literal) skeletons in the closet.

After their mother passes, three estranged siblings reunite to sort out her estate. Beth, the oldest, never left home. She stayed with her mom, caring for her until the very end. Nicole, the middle child, has been kept at arm’s length due to her ongoing battle with a serious drug addiction. Michael, the youngest, lives out of state and hasn’t been back to their small Wisconsin town since their father ran out on them seven years before.

While going through their parent’s belongings, the siblings stumble upon a collection of home videos and decide to revisit those happier memories. However, the nostalgia is cut short when one of the VHS tapes reveals a night back in 1999 that none of them have any recollection of. On screen, their father appears covered in blood. What follows is a dead body and a pact between their parents to get rid of it, before the video abruptly ends.

Beth, Nicole, and Michael must now decide whether to leave the past in the past or uncover the dark secret their mother took to her grave.

I like reading books my wife has already read because then I can bug her about them. I must have asked her about 30 questions about this one. “Is so and so involved?” “What’s the deal with the video tape?” “How does so and so fit into this?” She always has the same answer – “If I tell you that, it will ruin the ending!”

I had my hunches throughout the book, and there were were plenty of people who seemed shady to me. There were some unexpected surprises in it as well. Over all, I really enjoyed this book and if you love a good mystery, you might, too!

4.5 Stars