Author: Audrey Wilson
Publisher: Bywater Books
Publication Date: August 5, 2025
I don’t know why this stayed on my TBR for so long, because once I started it, I couldn’t put it down. Holy cow! Why didn’t someone tell me about this book sooner?
After meeting on a train, Sam proposes to Margo six months later and asks her to come meet his family. That’s a natural progression, right? He warns her they’re a little old-fashioned. What he didn’t warn her about was the level of cult-like adoration they have for a televangelist. Okay, Margo is not without her own brand of crazy. She keeps seeing an apparition of the same dark figure she thought she saw (imagined) when she was 4. I put that down to the fact that she missed a few of her antidepressants. But once she’s in the presence of this family, the visions come back with a bang. The family starts planning her wedding, insisting they have everything she’ll need. They are offended when she suggests using a wedding planner. But, for the sake of Sam, she tries to comply with everything they’ve requested, even wearing the creepy satin nightgown they’ve provided to her. I wanted to scream, “No man is worth that. Run!”.
The author managed to describe scenes that evoked every creepy nightmare you’ve ever had. Think of future in-laws who are smiling to your face, while metaphorically stabbing you in the back. Over and over and over.
This is one of those books that, after you read it, you just kind of have to sit with it for a while. I was seriously reluctant to start another book while I still had this one in my mind.
Thank you, Audrey Wilson, for sending me an ARC and making a new fan out of me!
Background photo courtesy of Mateus Campos Felipe on Unsplash
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