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Wednesday, March 13, 2019

REVIEW: Beautiful Bad by Annie Ward @tlcbooktours @harlequinbooks @_Annie_Ward

Beautiful Bad 
by Annie Ward

Big thank you to TLC Book Tours and Park Row for this thrillers.
Knowing it started as a memoir made it all that more intriguing.


Publisher: Park Row
Publish Date: March 5, 2019
Hardcover
368 Pages
Standalone
Genres: Thriller, Mystery

Things that make me scared: When Charlie cries. Hospitals and lakes. When Ian drinks vodka in the basement. ISIS. When Ian gets angry... That something is really, really wrong with me.


Maddie and Ian's romance began with a chance encounter at a party overseas; he was serving in the British army and she was a travel writer visiting her best friend, Jo. Now almost two decades later, married with a beautiful son, Charlie, they are living the perfect suburban life in Middle America. But when a camping accident leaves Maddie badly scarred, she begins attending writing therapy, where she gradually reveals her fears about Ian's PTSD; her concerns for the safety of their young son, Charlie; and the couple's tangled and tumultuous past with Jo.

From the Balkans to England, Iraq to Manhattan, and finally to an ordinary family home in Kansas, sixteen years of love and fear, adventure and suspicion culminate in The Day of the Killing, when a frantic 911 call summons the police to the scene of a shocking crime.

My Review:


What blows my mind about this book is that it actually started out as a memoir so the majority of the happenings actually did take place.  If more memoirs were written in a novel type/somewhat fictionalized way then I'd probably read more... then again, they wouldn't quite be memoirs anymore now would they?

Maddie and Ian have had a hard time getting their relationship started.  Considering the handful of times they met, the long distance and non-communication for several years, they somehow managed to find each other again.  I didn't quite understand the attraction here or how they could pine over each other considering their limited interactions... HOWEVER, I do understand that sometimes people just get under your skin and you can't wash that away as easily as some people might expect.

There were a couple of things that I wish had a more polished finish - things with Fiona is one of them.  And boy, what a character she is! Another is the camping accident... I need to know more! I felt wanting.  Speaking of finishing, I definitely enjoyed the ending.  While somewhat predictable, there was that extra twist that I didn't see coming.

I actually really do enjoy domestic thrillers.  Though a lot have the same format and typical bad relationship turn deadly plot lines, when you include your actual life into one, it tends to read better for a reader like me.  I'm always fascinated with the truth over fiction... meld them together and well, color me intrigued.  Definitely a must read for domestic thriller lovers.

★★★☆

2 comments:

  1. This actually sounds like it might be a good book to movie project! I've got this one added to my list. Thanks for being on this tour!

    Sara @ TLC Book Tours

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  2. Great review! I had similar feelings. My turn on the TLC Book Tour is tomorrow. :)

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