R.I.P. Reading Challenge

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THE EXES’ REVENGE by Jo Jakeman {Review}


Publisher: Berkley
Release Date: September 11, 2018
Source: Review copy from the publisher
Rating: ★★★★

A wickedly dark debut thriller about three women who’ve all been involved with the same man and realize the one thing they have in common is that they all want revenge against him…

Divorces are often messy, and Imogen’s is no exception. Phillip Rochester is controlling, abusive, and determined to make things as difficult as possible. When he shows up without warning demanding that Imogen move out of their house by the end of the month or he’ll sue for sole custody of their young son, Imogen is ready to snap.

In a moment of madness, Imogen does something unthinkable–something that puts her in control for the first time in years. She’s desperate to protect her son and to claim authority over her own life.

But she wasn’t expecting both Phillip’s ex-wife and new girlfriend to get tangled up in her plans. These three very different women–and unlikely allies–reluctantly team up to take revenge against a man who has wronged them all.

I love a delicious tale of revenge, especially when the villain is as deserving as the one in THE EXES’ REVENGE. Phillip is an abuser, control freak, and master manipulator. He continues to make life miserable for his exes and current girlfriend, until finally the three women reach the tipping point.

THE EXES REVENGE is a gripping dark domestic thriller. It’s entertaining, fast paced, and hard to put down, though also rather disturbing at times with the instances of domestic violence. The things that Naomi, Imogen, and Ruby went through put my stomach in nervous knots. Some of the things they did made me want to scream, but the tremendous stress they were under made me empathize with them.

This is an impressive debut novel from Jo Jakeman, and I’m eagerly anticipating her next book!

Disclosure: I received a copy of this book from the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

R.I.P. XIII Reading Challenge

Happy Labor Day to my USA friends! Today I’m joining my favorite reading challenge, Readers Imbibing Peril, which is celebrating its 13th year!

This past month has been crazy busy with real life commitments, and I haven’t had much time for reading and blogging. Hopefully things will return to normal soon so I can get back to my books…

For this year’s challenge, I’m aiming for the PERIL IN THE FIRST level, reading four books that fall into one of these categories: Mystery, Suspense, Thriller, Dark Fantasy, Gothic, Horror, and Supernatural. (My favorites!!)

Sounds fun, right? I’ll be posting my progress on this post below, and also on Instagram, so please find me there too → Instagram: @bookofsecretsblog

R.I.P. XIII Books Read:

  1. THE EXES’ REVENGE by Jo Jakeman
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R.I.P. Reading Challenge: Peril on the Screen – Happy Halloween! #WutheringHeights x 4

PerilScreenPeril On the Screen: “This is for those of us that like to watch suitably scary, eerie, mysterious Gothic fare during this time of year. It may be something on the small screen or large. It might be a television show, like Dark Shadows or Midsomer Murders, or your favorite film.” ~ The Estella Society

Happy Halloween! For the “Screen” part of the R.I.P. challenge, I watched four movie versions of Wuthering Heights. Yep, four, from 1939, 1992, 2009, and 2011. Luckily the library had a copy of each one. Wuthering Heights is one of my favorite classics, but I’d never seen a movie adaptation of it. Here’s how they stacked up:

Wuthering1939Wuthering Heights (1939)
Starring: Merle Oberon, Laurence Olivier
Grade: B

Despite the over-dramatic acting popular at the time, the 1939 version was good. Definitely full of passion! It was odd that the costumes were reminiscent of the U.S. Civil War era, instead of when the story takes place, English Moors, late 1700s. I guess that was due to the popularity of the Gone With the Wind movie, which came out about the same time.

Wuthering1992Wuthering Heights (1992)
Starring: Juliette Binoche, Ralph Fiennes
Grade: C

The 1992 version was okay, though unfortunately not too memorable. I never quite bought the relationship between Catherine and Heathcliff in this one, plus it’s hard to accept Ralph Fiennes as a dark and brooding anti-hero. Should I nitpick some more? Why not! Juliette Binoche’s French accent kept slipping in — not suitable for Cathy of the Moors!! I did like that they included the second generation of Earnshaw-Linton-Heathcliffs, which the 1939 version left out.

Wuthering2009Wuthering Heights (2009)
Starring: Charlotte Riley, Tom Hardy
Grade: A

The 2009 version is by far my favorite. Loved this one so much!! The entire cast was perfect for the role they played. Lots of angst, passion, cruelty, yet they never stepped over the melodrama line. I liked how Nelly Dean (Earnshaw servant/Catherine’s caretaker) played such a big role, which goes along with the book. Tom Hardy, yep, he is the Heathcliff that I picture in my mind.

Wuthering2011Wuthering Heights (2011)
Starring: Kaya Scodelario, James Howson
Grade: F

I hate to give it a failing grade, but I have no choice! I watched about an hour and had to give up. I never made it past Heathcliff and Cathy as children. They completely forgot the dialogue. Painful and awkward. Maybe it got better, though I’ll never know…

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So that’s my Wuthering Heights movie wrap-up. Let me know if there are other versions I should check out! Here are the books I finished reading for the R.I.P Challenge:

    1. THE BOOK OF SPECULATION by Erika Swyler
    2. WITHIN THESE WALLS by Ania Ahlborn
    3. WUTHERING HEIGHTS by Emily Brontë
    4. REBECCA by Daphne du Maurier
    5. BROTHER by Ania Ahlborn
    6. JANE EYRE by Charlotte Brontë
    7. DARK RENDEZVOUS AT DUNGARIFF by Lois Stewart
    8. THE FALL OF THE HOUSE OF USHER & OTHER TALES by Edgar Allan Poe
    9. THE NIGHT SISTER by Jennifer McMahon

Have fun trick-or-treating tonight! 🙂