The Next Wife By: Kaira Rouda

“Everything I’ve done, I’ve done for you.”

-Kaira Rouda, The Next Wife

I make a point ever month to download a book from Amazon’s First Read program because; A: it’s free if you have Prime and B: you can discover some really great books and authors that you hadn’t considered. This was a First Read back in April and I’m not gonna lie, I mostly picked it for the cover and title.

Overview: Told through the point of view of four different characters, The Next Wife, tells the story of the Nelson family.

Kate is the first Mrs. Nelson. Bitter and resentful after her husband left her for his assistant. While running the family’s highly successful company, she must navigate the complex relationships of having her distant daughter and ex-husbands new wife as a part of her empire.

Tish is the second Mrs. Nelson. Coming from a rough childhood, Tish will do anything to get what she wants no matter who she has to go through. What will she be willing to do when she thinks her husband is pulling away from her?

Ashlyn, the daughter of Kate and John, has a complicated relationship with her parents and contentious relationship with Tish. Ashlyn would do whatever it took to take revenge on Tish and get her family back together.

And then there’s John. The catalyst for all the tension. It’s no wonder that he ends up dead of mysterious circumstances. The question is, which of the women in his life wanted him gone?

My thoughts: I see the promise in Rouda’s writing but the book just never quite created the tension and conflict that I was looking for.

I was hoping that the final twist would be a shocking revelation but you could see the resolution early on in the story. Also, I expected more of a back and forth between the characters with them trying to outsmart one another. In reality, they just did things to hurt the other person/people and then admitted it immediately. There was no wondering if the character was imagining these things happening to them.

I did really enjoy the fact that the author chose to do a few chapters from the point of view of the John before his death. It makes you think twice about a few aspects of the plot because you know how he was feeling in that moment.

Overall, it was an easy read and I was able to finish it within two days. I would recommend it if you were looking for something to read in between more complicated titles to give yourself a break. However, I’m not rushing out to tell my friends about it.

Finally, the name of the company they ran was Eventco., which is the worst name for a company ever, just saying.

Rating: 2/5 Stars

Would I re-read?: No

Should it be made into a movie?: No; miniseries maybe