Name: Madilyn Taylor's review of Every Vow You Break by Peter Swanson
Item: Every Vow You Break
Rating: 3.5
Author: Madilyn Taylor

Peter Swanson

"A new bride's idyllic honeymoon becomes a nightmare when a man from a recent one-night stand shows up in this electrifying psychological thriller from the acclaimed author of Eight Perfect Murders"--

A Novel

Every Vow You Break

Averi Hobbs

Madilyn Taylor

A bride’s dream honeymoon becomes a nightmare when a man with whom she’s had a regrettable one-night stand shows up in this electrifying psychological thriller from the acclaimed author of Eight Perfect Murders. 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.

Suyash Goylit

Maybe Peter Swanson isn't for me

Unimpressive read on all fronts. The story started quite well and I was intrigued as the structure was somewhat new for me. Instead of keeping the seed of crime shrouded in mystery, as done by almost all the novels in the genre, it was in plain sight and the premise was built around it. The build-up was done brilliantly and the story was at a point from where it could have gone in a multitude of interesting directions, however, for some reason, the author chose the weird and thoroughly unimpressive path. The worst thing is that I can pinpoint the instance from where it went all downhill. Up to this point, I was eager to find the fate of the plot, however, afterward, I was left indifferent. The plot had such promise and potential to become something great, but it didn't.

Furthermore, the lack of motivation and drive for the antagonistic forces didn't help either. The antagonists always work better when their actions are justified, even if it is just in their minds, or at least understandable. Here, they were just after Abigail without anything backing them, which weakened them significantly. The final nail in the coffin was the lack of atmosphere. Thriller-mysteries are nothing without the eerie atmosphere (actual physical surroundings or otherwise), and that was on full display here. Sure, I cared about Abigail, as her character was the only well-written character in the book, however, at no point in time was I scared for her. Good thriller-mysteries scare you for the characters' wellbeing, great ones scare you. There wasn't even a hint of either in Every Vow You Break. A great idea that could have soared high but burnt and crashed miserably.

(view spoiler)[So the moment I referred to earlier is when Abigail and Eric (Scottie) talk in the morning after the swimming pool. Up to that point, everything was shrouded in mystery and that was the key moment to take the story and run wild with it, however, the author went in a very weird direction with it. The story was unable to find its groove, starting as a mystery-thriller, tried to go in a very over-the-top direction, but ended up settling for an unimpressive cult plot with an underwhelming payoff. 

Bruce's character was very underdeveloped. There was every opportunity to do some solid character development, instead, what we got was a billionaire that hated infidelity. There was no depth to his character and it hurt the plot throughout, making me indifferent even when Abigail killed him. 

Another fatal flaw comes towards the end which diminished the experience even further. The idea of taking a break from the chase and having Abigail hide in the closet for an entire day served no purpose except diffusing all the tension and breaking the immersion (whatever was left of it). The escape could have been plotted during the day, or if the darkness was the key, then it should have been better timed. 

And I just did not understand the deal with Alec. He snapped and brutally killed his wife just because she wasn't a virgin. Sure, moments like this exist for the sole purpose of delivering the shock, but for that to actually happen the reader must be fully immersed in the story and care about the characters. Additionally, there should be a subtle build-up or a drastic fallout for such an event. Alec's character wasn't even remotely fleshed out, and there wasn't any explanation of it afterward which made the scene meaningless as it felt completely out of place. (hide spoiler)]

Katrina Meyers

Sarah Pino

Ok tbh, I quite liked this. Gave me "Get Out" vibes. And I love isolated thrillers. But I feel like the characters are lacking. I need to understand the story behind the characters more. 

The plot was good but I just feel like the ending gave me the same feeling as doing my eyeliner with shakey hands.

## Update - 3 May 2021
I wanted to add that I really liked the first half of the book and like i said, it gave me very "Get Out" vibes (which I honestly honestly loved) but the last 30-40% of the book was just so messy and done like Peter was trying to meet a deadline.

Alexa M

this was honestly not bad. pretty fun, pretty forgettable. men are trash xo

Melyssa Tromberg 

Abigail and Bruce are on their honeymoon at a secluded, exclusive resort. While on their honeymoon, Abigail starts to notice strange things happening within the resort. Feeling more and more isolated and that something just isn't right, Abigail starts to wonder if there is more to her husband that she is aware of.

This was an easy, quick and fast-paced and predictable read although I did feel like the setup of the book took a lot longer than it needed it, like 100 pages too long. While the pace definitely picked up, so did the crazy/unrealistic/cringy factory and even though the story did take some twits I didn't see coming, they weren't good ones and were just unbelievable. 

I also didn't really like any of the characters since they all did horrible things and it was hard to root for Abigail when the book starts off with her recalling cheating on her fiancé during her bachelorette weekend. 

This is my second attempt at a book by Peter Swanson and I just feel he isn't the author for me.

2.5 stars rounded up to 3

After a whirlwind, fairytale romance, Abigail Baskin marries freshly-minted Silicon Valley millionaire Bruce Lamb. For their honeymoon, he whisks her away to an exclusive retreat at a friend's resort off the Maine coast on Heart Pond Island. But once there, Abigail's perfect new life threatens to crash down around her as she recognises one of their fellow guests as the good looking, charismatic stranger who weeks earlier had seduced her at her own Bachelorette party... '[Swanson is] in the ranks of the killer elite alongside Tana French and Gillian Flynn. He's the real deal.' Joe Hill

Jessica Ford

3.5 stars
I really wanted to like this book more. I’ve read most of Swanson’s books and had high expectations for this one but it just didn’t hit the mark.

Stef

Pertama kali nyoba baca Peter Swanson karena banyak rekomen karyanya. Well, yang ini mayan sih tegang nya ada, feeling creepy juga cuman cerita nya dari bab awal-awal udah bisa ketebak aja gimana flow plotnya bakalan berjalan. Tapi secara keseluruhan aku sangat menikmati cerita nya.

Ana Gonçalves

Cheri McElroy

Abigail is getting married to Bruce Lamb. Bruce is kind, wealthy, and a little boring, but she loves him…doesn’t she? A few too many drinks and a regrettable one night stand before her wedding leads to terrible consequences when her fling shows up on her honeymoon.

I like Peter Swanson, but sometimes the why or the actual ending just don’t work for me. This was the case here.

Courtney 

Erin burns 

This was an easy to read and pretty good thriller. First, I liked that it threw you into the story right off the bat. I was literally checking to make sure I was reading chapter one, but once I knew I was in the right place I was totally gripped. I thought I knew what the twist was going to be and I was partially right. I wish the twist that did happen was more shocking. I did find myself going back and forth rooting for Bruce and Eric for the beginning of the book and ended up rooting for Abigail and I thought the writing did a good job of making you forget she didn’t deserve any of what was happening. I liked that she was complex and thought how I think most women would really think. Real women are not perfect book character heroines who always make the honest and most moral decision. Most women would lie and cover up their mistakes if they could. Maybe not the extent she did, but it still doesn’t mean she deserved what they were doing to her. I think making her a little unlikable made her even more realistic. I did think some of the writing made the plot a little too obvious but maybe that’s just me. I like a total heel turn right at the end with no obvious clues along the way. While I wasn’t shocked by anything that came from this book, I am scared by the premise that men with money will seek revenge any way they see appropriate and rationalize it. That’s terrifying.

Dee B. 

Meh.


The premise of this one was seemingly perfect for me, but somehow the execution fell flat. I didn't like the characters nor did I like many of the decisions the author had the main character making. It didn't come across as logical choices for a woman to be making (view spoiler)[on an island where she is one of three women who are inexplicably outnumbered by men. Who goes swimming in the pool on their own in a situation like that? Let alone goes wandering through the woods without telling your husband? (hide spoiler)] Granted, some degree of suspension of disbelief is required here in order for the conclusion to be possible or make sense, I still couldn't get behind it.

Had this book been what the last third was, it would have been an easy five stars. Swanson left all of the thrill for the end, which isn't always a bad thing, but in this book it would have boded well to have at least a bit of it up front. Or at least have Abigail react a bit smarter when (view spoiler)[Scott showed up in New York after finding her real name and email address. Then to have him turn up at your wedding and you still don't call the police? Right...okay then (hide spoiler)].

To its credit, this book is a quick read despite your feelings on the contents. 

Should you read it? I wouldn't discourage you, because the ending makes the drudgery of the first third and the slight intrigue of the second, worth it.

Michelle García

Honestly I don't know with this one. I enjoyed the plot a lot, it was really scary and thrilling. I was kept at the edge of my seat. But it didn't quite sit right with me how the author highlighted the ''not like other girls'' side of Abigail. And to my opinion that was bad enough to lower it down from 4 to 3. Maybe I'll change my mind?

meaghan leger 

** spoiler alert **
           I don't know if i just don't have great detective skills but this book absolutely shocked me 

Abigail has a drunken one night stand with a stranger she exchanged fake names with at bachelorette weekend 3 weeks before her wedding. When she sees him in New York the week of the wedding & receives an email from him stating that they had a connection and he's in love, she shuts it down immediately. 

But when her nee husband whisks her away to a remote 
Massachusetts island run by his friend, who does she run into? the mysterious man from her bachelorette.

when the unexplainable things start happening, the newly couple also honeymooning on the resort, the wife confides in Abigail, stating that her ex-boyfriend also happens to be on the resort at the same time?? 

is it a pure coincidence? does she tell her husband about her stalker and risk losing her marriage in the first 72 hours. Is it safe to be here? who can Abigail trust

Jill Niemeier 

Jeff Brown 

"Every breath you take ..... Every vow you break ..... I'll be watching you".

You can't help but think of the song by The Police as you are reading the book. In the beginning of the book, there is an apparent stalker of the lead character -- a man Abigail meets and sleeps with at her bachelor party. Then she suspects he is present at her wedding. And then he IS present at her honeymoon on a creepy island. Quite mysterious.

Then when she pursues answers to her many questions, she gets gaslighted at every turn, and finds out she is the only female guest on the island. Constant psychological twists.

Then -- the book turns into a horror thriller!

I don't understand the low rating on this book. True, you have to suspend belief a tiny bit, but that part of diving deep into a book sometimes. But I think some people want everything delivered on a silver platter to them. There is nothing wrong with feeling like, "WHAT IS GOING ON HERE???".

Maybe a little credit should go to the narrator of the audiobook. There were sections where she could have made Abigail sound like a crazed nutball, but she kept Abigail in the proper range of confused, suspicious and just short of frantic. 

I would say very highly recommended, but maybe it's also just for the right person. I think that person would greatly enjoy it.

Alexis Rader

I just feel like the plot was unnecessary and didn’t need to become a book? It was okay. A bit sick and like horrible. The men in this book are trash.

Jen Estrella

What in the actual f- Can men just stop trying to write feminist thrillers, if this was even supposed to be a feminist thriller? Three hundred pages of misogyny for what? To prove that misogyny exists and hooray to the few women who survive and live with trauma? Peter Swanson can do so much better than this. 

They should have just labeled this as revenge/horror instead of thriller, so people would at least know what to expect. My other thought - They could also just turn this into a revenge/horror film. At least, it would rank just a tiny bit higher than the trash that is I spit on your grave. Actually, no. Men should not be profiteering from garbage portrayals/glorification of women's struggles. 

TL;DR: Not a great read; would recommend reading his other books instead. I have yet to read the Kind Worth Killing too. I'll still give that one a chance, just because it's his most popular work.

3 ✨

I feel like the end left a lot to be desired. There were several plot points that either did not make sense or that were not tied up. Granted many things in real life are not tied up, but it was just in odd places.

Annalee Harris

Every Vow You Break was easily going to be a DNF until I got near the middle, and then it picked up steam and got really interesting. Like other reviewers said, the novel felt like a short story that got stretched out to be a full-length novel; there were parts where I thought, "Man, not even Swanson likes where this story is going." Thankfully though, I persevered. I kind of toiled with the rating, but felt three stars was fair as I did honestly really like it.

While the plot may be easily guessed, it was still intriguing and I honestly enjoyed the story after the first seventy or so pages--you could actually skip those and start the story about a quarter or a third of the way through and be still enjoy it. Anyway, Every Vow You Break had a shaky start but ended strong--I just wish that some of the more boring parts could've been reworked. Some of the stuff that was focused on a lot at the beginning really had nothing to do with the end, and it seemed like it was maybe just thrown in there to bulk the book up.

Cat H

Eh. It was ok. I didn't particularly enjoy this, but I understand why others will. 
I didn't like any of the characters, thus, I was not invested in anything that happened to them. I can usually get behind unlikable characters, but Abigail was the worst. She didn't even feel fully fleshed out as a main character, just really narcissistic and annoying. The plot was very predictable. The twist at the end was predictable. The ending had logic and fleshed out the story, but I just didn't care. 

Cameron Austin

after his last book and not enjoying that, i was iffy on reading peter swanson’s next books especially seeing that it has a 3.5 rating on goodreads, but i thoroughly enjoyed this. yes, it is predictable and i figured out where the plot was gonna go after the bachelorette party, but that didn’t bother me.

Samantha King

I dont want to rate this any lower than 2 stars as I didnt even get past page 50 or 55. Honestly I just could not get into this we spent almost fifty pages talking about her past relationships and the way it was wrote was really boring I really just didnt care and then she cheats and I care less
Nothing was really happening to keep my attention or care about this character who basically slept with another man. 
It could have got better but I didn't like the main character at all so therefore I didn't care and it's it's thriller but 50 pages in we are still talking about her relationships and how she come to cheat.
Not for me

Averi Hobbs &
Every Vow You Break by Peter Swanson

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Averi Hobbs &Every Vow You Break by Peter Swanson

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Averi Hobbs &
Every Vow You Break by Peter Swanson