[b:Beautiful Bad|39873226|Beautiful Bad|Annie Ward|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1532556337i/39873226._SY75_.jpg|61678543]
I would like to thank Netgalley and all parties involved in my arc of this novel. While I enjoy all sorts of books thrillers like this one have been my go to genre in the past year or two. The story centers around Maddie who has a lapse in memory, her husband and her long-time friend Jo.
Maddie has long periods of taking care of her son on her own while her husband, Ian, travels to dangerous places all over the world for his job. Maddie had a recent accident while camping that left her with severe scars and issues with her memory and anxiety attacks. She wants to regain control of her life and begins attending writing therapy close to her suburban Kansas home. During these sessions, a scary picture of dysfunctional relationships starts to unfold. Past events in Maddie and Ian’s lives seem to be building to a scene at the beginning of the book of a woman calling 9-1-1 and a young child screaming in the background.

Most of this book is told in the first person from Maddie’s point of view. It starts with the 9-1-1 call and then alternates between events in the recent past leading up to the phone call, glimpses of Maddie, Ian, and Maddie’s former best friend, Jo, from many years ago, and finally what happens after that call. The technique works well for this story. It sets up suspense that lasts through the whole book, worrying about the circumstances of the 9-1-1 call and what happens to the characters. Which made me as the reader want to read faster and keep turning pages.

Maddie, Ian, and Jo are all broken in their own way. Little by little, we see what has made Maddie and Ian the people they are today. Ian’s alternates between being moody and broody to charming and flirtatious. Maddie seems fearless and fragile at the same time. Under different circumstances, their romance could have been beautiful, but their past experiences continue to get in the way of their love. There are times I have liked and disliked Maddie and Ian. Jo, however, is hard to like throughout the book, even when she is at her most vulnerable. Jo plays an important role in the story, but I never could warm up to her.

I appreciate the suspense and the tension that build as the story progresses. Everyone and everything aren’t what they seem and I was very surprised when things are revealed at the end. “Beautiful Bad” is a well-written psychological thriller that I enjoyed. I am from Macedonia so reading little bits about Bulgaria was a very nice touch for me. I will be reading more books from Annie Ward in the future. ( )

This was a very unbelievable predictable thriller with unlikable characters.

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Maddie was working as travel writer and it seemed as if she was never working very far from her best friend Jo. During most of the book you are given the impression that Maddie was a sweet innocent and inexperienced young woman. Jo, on the other hand seemed to be a wild child but a very good friend to Maddie. I didn't think Ian and Maddie would ever get together, but when they finally did she used his PTSD against him.

This book had me captivated from the first page. It had so many twists, I couldn't believe what I was reading. This is one of the best psychological thrillers I have read this year. ( )

Psychological thriller/love story/mystery that was told in several different timelines which I kind of hate. It was very twisty, and the ending was unexpected, but this book is filled with a lot of damaged and unlikable people. Also, the jump from war-torn areas like Bosnia and Iraq to a tranquil existence in Kansas, of all places, seemed unlikely and jarring. ( )

This was NOT an “explosive psychological thriller”. This was a dumb book where the main lesson is “War is Hell”. Maddie is self-serving. Read something else. ( )