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Book Review: Every Vow You Break by Peter Swanson


Book: Every Vow You Break 

Author: Peter Swanson 

Pages: 320 

Read on: Kindle 

Read in: ~4 hours 

Plot Summary: Abigail Baskin never thought she’d fall in love with a millionaire. Then she met Bruce Lamb. He’s a good guy, stable, level-headed, kind—a refreshing twist from her previous relationships.

But right before the wedding, Abigail has a drunken one-night stand on her bachelorette weekend. She puts the incident—and the sexy guy who wouldn’t give her his real name—out of her mind, and now believes she wants to be with Bruce for the rest of her life.

Then the mysterious stranger suddenly appears—and Abigail’s future life and happiness are turned upside down. He insists that their passionate night was the beginning of something much, much more. Something special. Something real—and he’s tracked her down to prove it.

Does she tell Bruce and ruin their idyllic honeymoon—and possibly their marriage? Or should she handle this psychopathic stalker on her own? To make the situation worse, strange things begin to happen. She sees a terrified woman in the night shadows, and no one at the resort seems to believe anything is amiss… including her perfect new husband.

General Thoughts: I have always enjoyed reading Peter Swanson's books. They are dark and twisty and the protagonists are not always kosher, if you catch my drift! So, when I saw his latest book up on the Kindle Store in India, I immediately jumped to get it! 

Things I Liked: 

1. The premise was rather interesting. A woman, who had an extramarital affair three weeks before her wedding, finds herself being stalked during her wedding and honeymoon by her one-night-lover! So, there was a lot of tension and intrigue implied in the plot summary, which got me interested. Swanson's characters, like I mentioned above, are a bit grey and sketchy and so, I was interested in seeing how Abigail handled this uncomfortably awkward situation. 

2. The book started off well. We get to know Abigail and her personal history- her broke parents, her sexual history, which she shared with the dude she slept with during her bachelorette weekend and her internal struggles on whether she is doing the right thing by marrying the safe and rich- Bruce Lamb. We also get to see her freaking out over her lover's sudden appearance in her life, especially, because they had not shared their real names or any form of identifying information about each other. 

3. Abigail and Bruce honeymoon in an exclusive island off the coast of Maine. There are luxurious cottages, the whole island accessible to them and world-class food. They barely even get there, then the mysterious Scottie, her lover, shows up there and starts wanting to rekindle their one-night dalliance. Scottie believes he is in love with her and Abigail, who has come to her senses, is not in love with him. The build-up of tension is done well. 

4. There are some sketchy characters that Abigail and Bruce encounter on the island. Abigail feels uncomfortable and doesn't understand why she feels that way. Bruce, who has been coming here for years- for corporate retreats and such- finds nothing amiss. So, the build-up of this conflict between the newlyweds is also done well. 

Things I Didn't Like: 

1. Sigh! I had guessed what the deal was in the first 10% of the book! Normally, I would not let that annoy me because I am willing to see how the story unfolds. However, when you pay over Rs. 600 for a book and the plot is so glaringly obvious, it becomes really disappointing! 

Rating: 2.5/5 
I always say that I read a LOT of crime fiction and very few books surprise me! So, if you want to read something suspenseful and tense, then do try this book! 
 

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