Reviews with content warning for Terminal illness - The Golden Couple

I just couldn't deal with the story, the plot was absolutely dragging and while I finally got one question answered when I DNF'd there was literally no energy left to the book. I was bored and I was starting slump. Chances of ever giving this book another try are really slim.

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polarplays220's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious reflective tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.25

This was a spontaneous read for me while I was on vacation and it was a great book for that (albeit, a little stressful due to its suspense!) I didn’t see all twists coming and so the book definitely kept me on my toes and interested! I did feel like the ending was a bit rushed and came out at you all-at-once but that’s a minor critique. The DC references felt a bit heavy handed and at times I felt like the switching back between narrators were a bit clunky, which is why my review puts this book in the 3-star range. Ultimately it was a book that kept me interested and engaged on vacation which is exactly what I was looking for.

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arthur_ant18's review against another edition

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dark hopeful mysterious sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

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kfquarium's review against another edition

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dark mysterious reflective tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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nrogers_1030's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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toofondofbooks_'s review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? N/A
Strong character development? N/A
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

1.5

So this book is about a therapist who's lost her license and now she treats her patients with out-of-the-box methods, because she can, and somehow no one steps in to question her ethics. Literally, not a single person in this entire book stops for one second to say, "this isn't ethical." Right off the bat, it's asking me to suspend a little too much of my disbelief.

So much of this book hinges on you being patient with mediocre writing, hollow characters, twists that make absolutely no sense with very little evidence throughout the book to support it, and for you to keep track of a bunch of side characters that add little to the story as a whole. Not to mention, by the time I was less than halfway through, I was already so tired of reading about these privileged WASPs - literally characters with lineage dating back to the Mayflower. I just stopped caring, but I *did* want to know if my theories were correct, because I am a freak who is obsessed with being right.

I can't say this is a complete dud - the book did have its moments that were genuinely creepy, and where I thought that Avery, the therapist, was sort of interesting. I enjoyed her chapters because at least they didn't feel as hollow as the chapters that followed Marissa, her client and one half of "the golden couple" in question. I also enjoyed her dog, he was adorable. I also thought that one of the scenes toward the end was very chilling, but it quickly became cringey and far-fetched, so it didn't really amount to much. Though I did enjoy Avery at times, it became increasingly hard to believe that she is as smart as these authors want to pretend she is.

All of this said, for once, I didn't call the ending of a thriller, which I enjoy, usually...except...I only didn't guess this ending because it made no sense in any realm.

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savvyrosereads's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Rating: 4/5 stars

Avery Chambers practices a unique form of therapy—she only accepts clients whose problems she can fix over the course of ten well-planned sessions. When Marissa and Matthew Bishop begin seeing her to work through Marissa’s infidelity, Avery quickly realizes that the apparently golden couple may be hiding some much bigger secrets…

This was my February Book of the Month pick, and since it was my first read from the writing duo of Greer Hendricks and Sarah Pekkanen, I went in with no specific expectations, though I had heard good things. Happily, all the good things I heard were true, because I really enjoyed this one!

The Golden Couple is fairly fast-paced, with just the right amount of drama and action mixed in with necessary character and plot development. The characters are very well-written—I personally found each of them slightly unlikable in their own ways, but this works so well for the story that I consider it a strength, not a weakness—and the main plot twist was perfectly teased without being obvious. I guessed at some aspects of the final reveals around halfway through, but other details remained a mystery right up until the end, which is the balance I’m always hoping for from a thriller!

In short, this was a really fun read, and while it was my first Hendricks/Pekkanen novel, it definitely won’t be my last.

Recommended to anyone, but especially if you like: domestic thrillers; complex marriages; books about therapy.

CW: Death/murder; sexual assault (implied + not described or depicted); infidelity; terminal illness; infertility.

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