Review: The Young Widows by S.J. Short

Hey everyone!
Today, and I am excited to be sharing my review of The Young Widows by S.J. Short with you all.

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GoodReads Synopsis:

The twisty psychological thriller perfect for fans of Liane Moriarty.

Meet the young widows.
Together, they’ve shared their grief and emotional healing in the wake of losing their husbands. But whilst these meetings are the only places, they feel they can open up, all is not as it seems…

The hot mess Kylie is done with commitment. Her trust in men died with her husband. Now she trawls bars looking for fun – no strings, no promises, no second night. That is until she meets a man who seems to want more, but is it a mistake to trust again?

The new member Hannah’s grief is fresh and reminds the other widows how raw their pain once was, do they want to let that back into their lives?

The wallflower Isabel is used to hiding in the shadows, her past still haunts her. Only her late husband knew what happened the night that ruined her life. Will she be able to keep her secrets buried?

The fiancée Adriana is moving on. But as her wedding draws closer, she’s starting to question how well she truly knows her fiancé. Then she receives an anonymous note that Get out while you still can.

Each woman is hiding something, but one is not who she says she is.
In fact, she’s never even been married…

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My Review:

The Young Widows begins with an unknown man, in the midst of a fight with an unnamed woman on a balcony. When the woman pushes him over the edge, we witness potentially the last moments of his life. The story then continues by going back in time. First, we meet Kylie, who after waking in a hotel room with no recollection of how she got there, proceeds with her day by heading to meet her friends. This is where we first meet the rest of the Young Widows group, and our story really begins.

We get the background stories of each woman, and get the rest of the story told from each of their points of view. Clearly every woman has some secrets from their past that they haven’t even told each other, but it’s a just a matter of time before everything spills out.

The widows all had very different personalities and each brought different qualities to the story. My personal favourite was Kylie. She had more of a no care attitude than the others, and I liked that about her, even if her lifestyle wasn’t exactly a healthy one. Shared traumatic experiences can create the most unlikely friendships, and all of them had been through so much, but having each other made them stronger and they faced their grief together.

There were so many revelations in the final few chapters of the book, some I saw coming, and others that I didn’t. One of which was a massive shock, and they certainly made for an exciting showdown. The way these revelations tie every detail together is so clever, and very well written. The last few pages were a truly beautiful way to end the story, that brought a tear to my eye, and I’m glad that this book ended on a more happy note.

I give The Young Widows a 4 star rating!

*Thank you to NetGalley and Avon Books for my advanced copy, in exchange for an honest review*

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