Best Day Ever: A Riveting Psychological Thriller about the Perfect Marriage

by Kaira Rouda

Amy McFadden (Narrator) and Graham Halstead (Narrator)

"Paul Strom has the perfect life: a glittering career as an advertising executive, a beautiful wife, two healthy boys, and a big house in a wealthy suburb. And he's the perfect husband: breadwinner, protector, provider. That's why he's planned a romantic weekend for his wife, Mia, at their lake house, just the two of them. It will be the best day ever. But as Paul and Mia drive out of the city and into the countryside, a spike of tension begins to wedge itself between them. How perfect is any marriage, really? How much do they trust each other? Is Paul the person he seems to be? And what are his secret plans for the cottage weekend? Forcing us to ask ourselves just how well we know those who are closest to us, this story crackles with dark energy spinning ever tighter towards its shocking conclusion"--Publisher.

• ISBN13: 9781525811401
• Publish Date: 19 September 2017 (first published 1 September 2017)
• Publish Status: Out of Stock
• Imprint: Graydon House
• Edition: Original ed.
• Format: Hardcover
• Pages: 352
• Language: English

Reviews

[Briana @ Pages Unbound]

I’m not usually a reader of thrillers, but I give them a chance if one happens to come my way, but I have to admit that I have yet to be “thrilled.”  Best Day Ever is no exception; sure, it’s a bit creepy that it’s narrated by an abusive husband, but pretty much all the twists and the ending were predictable to me, which meant the psychology was really the only thing left of interest.

Yet I have reservations about that, too.  The author states in a note that she’s intrigued by unreliable narrators, so she was excited to write from the point of view of a guy who tells readers his story while leaving out pertinent information that might make him look bad.  After all, from his perspective, he’s not a villain; he’s a genius, and everything he does to other people is simply something that they deserve.  However, while I’m sure the author did her research into how the minds of people like her narrator work, a lot of it felt contrived to me.  It felt a bit like a woman’s interpretation of how an abusive man would think, and sometimes the detail was so overwhelming that it felt more like information the author was giving rather than something that a person would actually think to themselves.

The other characters are, of course, a bit bland, since the narrator’s whole perspective is that he’s the smart, charming, worthy one, and other people are just background noise who owe him things and deserve punishment when they don’t capitulate.  They’re not really people in his mind, which makes them not really people in the book.  One can see some sparks of life and cleverness in his wife, which is interesting and adds a bit of spice to the story.

Basically, I was underwhelmed.  Best Day Ever puts readers into the mind of a jerk, but that’s all it did for me.  I didn’t find him compelling, and of course reading about his abuse is not exactly what one would call “enjoyable.”  I wasn’t surprised by any of the turns the plot took, so this book kind of just was for me.  It’s fine, but I won’t be recommending it to others.

[chymerra]

Ever have a title to a book that sticks to you because it reminds you of something/someone? Best Day Ever is such a title. When I first saw it, Spongebob Squarepants song “Best Day Ever” started going through my head and stuck. So now, instead of being disturbed by the title, all I can think of is the little yellow guy singing that song. Actually, thinking about it, this song does seem to fit Paul Strom and Best Day Ever perfectly.

Best Day Ever fits the mystery/thriller genre. This book has a way of stringing you along, making you think that you know what is going on. Then, BAM, the twist comes and you have to rethink what you read. I, for one, was shocked when certain events happened. But, if you go back and read the book again, there are subtle hints about what is going on and what will happen. Very subtle hints that were hard to catch the first time through. That is what made this book fantastic in my eyes.

The plot of Best Day Ever is a man taking his wife on a much-needed weekend away at their lake house property. But there is a strange tension between them from the minute they start driving. I began to notice that things were not quite right with Paul around that time too. What sealed the deal for me was when he was talking about the drive to their house. There was a curve that you had to hit the brakes for.He made the comment that it wouldn’t take much not to hit the brakes and that the lake would be a great place to hide a body. Talk about total creepiness!!!

I thought Paul was off from the first chapter. He seemed too good to be true. The way that Mia acted around him also made me a bit leery of him. For someone who was so in love with his wife, he didn’t act it at times. I also had a feeling that her “special gift” that was in the dashboard wasn’t something good. The more the book went on, the more Paul started to become more sinister. His love for his boys turned from something great to something that was obsessive. Same thing with Mia’s trust fund that her father set up for the boys. Still, I was surprised at how evil he was and how he blamed his childhood for him being the way he was.

I am going to admit, I didn’t like Mia at first. I couldn’t understand why she was so indifferent to Paul and seemed to be baiting him. At the same time, my guard was up because I knew something wasn’t right. But the more stuff that was leaked the more I realized that something was up with their marriage. I was shocked when everything went down at the cottage. I wanted to bring her out of the book and apologize to her for judging her like I did.

While Mia and Paul didn’t have sex, it was mentioned a few times in the book. Paul seemed to think that he was a stud with women lined up. Because the book didn’t go into his relationships, I am going to go out on a limb and say that he wasn’t such a stud. That it was all in his head and he actually was horrible in bed. That the women stayed because he paid for everything. Well, Mia stayed because, at one point, she loved him.

The end of the book was not what I expected. There is a happy ending but it is overshadowed by Paul. I felt so bad for Mia because well…you need to read the book.

4 stars

My Summary of Best Day Ever:

Best Day Ever is a psychological thriller that took me on a rollercoaster. I didn’t know what was going to go on from chapter to chapter. I loved it!! This book had me glued to the pages and gave me the chills while reading it.

Will I reread: Yes

Will I recommend to family and friends: Yes

Age range: Adult

Why: Violence, language. There are sexual innuendos but nothing graphic is ever written. There is also a very graphic scene where a woman is beaten.

I would like to thank Kaira Rouda, Graydon House, Harlequin and NetGalley for allowing me to read and review Best Day Ever

All opinions stated in this review of Best Day Ever are mine and mine alone

**I chose to leave this review after reading an advance reader copy**