'The Perfect Marriage' Review
No, no, no, no, no. This is all I need to say about “The Perfect Marriage” by Jeneva Rose. I literally finished this book, plopped it down beside me on the couch, and grabbed my laptop to write how unhappy I was with it. So here’s the thing, I saw this book making its round on instagram with raving reviews. It looked like an easy read, so I bought it as a quick palate cleanser before I read Fourth Wing (this one better not let me down too). I went into this book expecting to add my glowing review to the rest. Well, I will not be.
Summary
I usually start my reviews with a little synopsis of the book. But because this one is such a mess I’ve written all you need to know about it in one line.
Sarah Morgan is a successful defense attorney who finds out her husband is a suspect in a murder case where the victim is his mistress and she decides to defend him in court.
Sounds like an interesting plot, and done in a different way it might have been.
This review is going to contain spoilers, but even if you haven’t read this book, do yourself a favor and continue on. I think I can convince you it’s not worth your time.
Writing
The writing in this book is awful. The conversations between characters are juvenile and made me roll my eyes so much I got a headache. A mother of one of the main characters (Adam) calls her adult son Cubby Bear (yes, really). Then says that Adam wouldn’t have been diddle-dipping if his wife would have been fulfilling her wifely duties. Reading diddle-dipping had me rolling.
Characters
The characters in this book suck. Seriously there was not a single one of them I liked. The cops and legal team involved in the case were so unprofessional.Adam’s mother made me want her to be the one on death row. And the main characters Sarah and Adam were just obnoxious. Let me tell you all the things I hate about them.
First up, Adam:
- Everything. Literally everything.
- Has the audacity to get jealous over thinking Sarah and the Sheriff might have a thing.
- He feels so defeated for not being a successful writer and living off of Sarah’s income yet he does nothing about it. He admits his writing isn’t wonderful…so go get a job. Instead he has Sarah buy him a lake house where he regularly cheats on her. Prick.
- The reporter. For no reason at all trusts her with all the information about his case. Then he goes to her house when he is on the run from the police and has the audacity to kiss her. But not because he had feelings, because he was trying to comfort her. Uh what? All while she is naked wrapped only in a towel. Barf…
Next up, Sarah:
- Her perfect bun, perfect clothes, and louboutin heels. Seriously, her dang clicking heels.
- She named her daughter Summer. I’m assuming this was after the woman she stabbed to death…Kelly summers. What a psychopath.
- The fact that as readers we had access to her thoughts (all anger, hurt, and betrayal), but she was really the complete opposite. Setting things up to get her way and frame her husband. She was an unreliable pov and it just didn’t work. If the readers weren’t given access to what were supposedly her real thoughts, then it may have worked better.
Plot
My list of contenders for most ridiculous thing that happened in the story:
The whole idea that a wife is representing her husband in court for murder while the victim is his mistress is absurd. Conflict of interest anyone??
The twist, if you want to even call it that. Maybe the anticlimactic reveal describes it better. Sarah did it as an act of self preservation?? It wasn’t jealousy. I’m not even sure she was all that upset that he cheated. She was driven by the fact that Adam would take half of everything she owned. So Kelly was a casualty in her efforts to take down Adam. I’m not saying that it would have been right for Adam to have half of what she worked for given the circumstances, but it is also an insane reason to stab someone thirty seven times. The reveal missed the punch because it was so out of left field.
The random person coming to Sarah’s house in the middle of the night to have sex with her. We have no idea who it is, and they are gone before daylight. Then it’s never mentioned again. It felt like a weird fever dream, but was written in a way that made it seem like it really happened. It was so random. No other clues were mentioned that questioned her fidelity in the marriage and no clues were given after. It just didn’t make sense.
The way the police handled the investigation, all the random fights and beating people up.
Adam’s mom making him a snack tray that included fruit gushers, lunchables, and go gurt. Hardcore cringe.
Final Thoughts
Does it sound like I hated this book? Good, because I really did. Save yourself the time and read literally anything else.
If you want a good murder mystery novel with a plot that has some similarities to The Perfect Marriage, check out “Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens”.