If you haven't had a chance to read THE PERFECT HUSBAND, I hope you do! I'm going to share one of my favorite reviews, but you can find them all here!
Review from Jeannie Zelos book reviews
... It starts well, that careful meeting when adults are thrown back into the dating field, after death, divorce, break-ups. Shelley meets Eric and her best friend Jackie and her workmates all agree he's the perfect man. Even at this early stage we can see one of two red flags but Shelley, blissfully immersed in Love Land misses them.
How easy that is, how we make excuses, tell ourselves “he/she didn't mean it that way./its understandable, I shouldn't have.../well he/she had past issues that make that reaction normal for them.
Eric's like a whirlwind, and Shelley is so in love, feels so treasured, so taken care of, even though she is perfectly OK at taking care of herself. Everyone loves a bit of pampering, a little special treatment and I could see so much why Eric appealed, such a contrast to her ex.
And before she knows it they're moving in together, and of course it doesn't make sense to keep her stuff when Eric's is so nice, and he says he'd rather not have things from her life with Scott. Some of the things were hers alone though, and he's all “well, of course if you really want to keep them we can change things round, make room somewhere...” sounding like he's doing her a favour almost. She knows he doesn't really want anything of her past in their new home, and she loves him, she wants what he wants.
Suddenly she's married, and the cracks start to appear. Sadly this is real life for so many people, men and women, and it's so easy to say “just leave” but by the tome things are that bad all confidence in the victim, in Shelley, has been lost. Life becomes just a constant struggle to watch out for anything that might make Eric angry, and then after pretending she accepts his remorse, his words of “you need to try harder Shelley, I don't like having to get angry at you” That's a classic, turn the blame around, and something abusers are so good at.
The real kicker is can she escape, will she find the strength, will he let go? The drama parts of this novel were superb, so carefully done its easy to see how outgoing, attractive, confident Shelley becomes a shadow of that person, and yet all the while presenting a front of the perfect marriage. I was so rooting for her.
Its a fabulous read, not romance by a long shot but an incredible dark, ( not as in horror dark thankfully) psychological suspense, mirroring what is real life for many people, sucking us in to Eric and Shelley's world, wondering how it can all end.
Stars: Five, a wonderful read, breathtaking in places with superb pacing, slowly revealing the real Eric.