The Almost Wife by Gail Anderson-Dargatz (Review by Amanda Woodruff)

Rating: 4 ⭐

The Almost Wife was the first book I have read from Gail Anderson-Dargatz and I am definitely going to look up more books by her.

I really appreciated the fact that this book was based in Toronto and featured Manitoulin Island (somewhere I would love to visit).

Kira has everything she could ever dream of. She’s engaged to Aaron who is a wealthy man, and who gives her everything she needs and wants. Together they have baby Evie and Kira is step mother to his daughter Olive.
Kira grew up with in a small town, with a toxic mother who made her hate her father, which resulted in a damaged relationship with her father. I had hopes she would get her happily ever after in this story and mend her past.
I didn’t like Aaron right away, I found him condescending and manipulative towards both Kira and his daughter Olive and those feelings grew and grew throughout the story.

The book introduces us to Madison who is Aaron’s “crazy” ex wife. We are taken on a ride where Madison is stalking Kira and Olive, breaks into their home, and even snatches Kira and Aaron’s baby Evie. The book is spun to make the reader believe that everyone is out to get Aaron and his “almost wife” Kira.

I began to cheer for Kira when she stood up to Madison and protect her family, however that that changed near the end of the book.

I don’t want to give too much away but I love how the author made that change and made the women align and work together.

I LOVED the relationship between Kira and her childhood boyfriend. He was the one I was really cheering for. I wanted them to end up together and play happy family. Aaron carried way too much drama and baggage!

The twist of the book was intense and at times hard to read however it was vital to the novel. I really loved the history of the characters and I found her writing style to be really dark and enjoyable.

I really liked this book and if you like twisty thrillers with a Canadian setting this is the book for you!

Happy reading everyone!