The Ex by Freida McFadden

 

Synopsis :

Cassie thinks she has met the perfect man.

Joel is sweet, handsome, romantic, and best of all, he’s crazy about Cassie. She thinks she’s found the guy she’ll spend the rest of her life with. Have children with. Grow old with.

Yes, she knows about his perfect ex-girlfriend, Francesca. The beautiful, brilliant chef, beloved by all his friends. But she thinks Francesca is out of the picture. She thinks Francesca is gone for good.

Think again, Cassie.

This is what I say :

For the next few months, or at least for the next two months, I will have a lot of posts on titles  by Freida McFadden.  That's because I have been reading a lot of her titles.  For some reason, I am captivated by what she wrote and while the plot wasn't much of a plot, it's the way she writes that's very captivating.  

I can also say that she is the Queen of Twist as that seems to be her trademark.  Trying to work out her twist seems to be one of the captivating challenge for me.  But for The Ex, I cheated. hahaha...I actually went and read up a review that contains a spoiler.  It makes the whole reading process a different kind of freshness. I didn't do that for all her titles but I did for this.

Here's my tip for you if you intend to read this title. The ex isn't who you think she is.

The Intruder by Freida McFadden

 

Synopsis :

Casey's cabin in the wilderness is not built for a hurricane. Her roof shakes, the lights flicker, and the tree outside her front door sways ominously in the wind. But she's a lot more worried about the girl she discovers lurking outside her kitchen window.

She’s young. She’s alone. And she’s covered in blood.

The girl won't explain where she came from or loosen her grip on the knife in her right hand. And when Casey makes a disturbing discovery in the middle of the night, things take a turn for the worse.

The girl has a dark secret. One she’ll kill to keep. And if Casey gets too close to the truth, she may not live to see the morning.

This is what I say :

I admit that I am very much on the roll with regards to Freida McFadden's title.  The way she writes really captivated my attention and brought me out of my reading slump.

The fun is now to guess how the story she wrote evolves. Sometimes I am correct in my guess. Most of the time, I am wrong.  Once or twice, I cheated and search for spoilers online but I dont do that very often.

The Intruder is yet another of her title which has very little storyline but it's the way she wrote it that makes it extremely captivating.

The synopsis above doesn't really due the title justice as it wasn't really about the girl but that's what Freida wants you to think.

Among all of Freida's title that I read so far, this wasn't really as nice as the others but still is very good.

My tip/spolier : Lee is someone important to the story

The Tenant by Freida McFadden

 

Synopsis :

Blake Porter is riding high, until he's not. Fired abruptly from his job as a VP of marketing and unable to make the mortgage payments on the new brownstone that he shares with his fiancee, he's desperate to make ends meet.

Enter Whitney. Beautiful, charming, down-to-earth, and looking for a room to rent. She's exactly what Blake's looking for. Or is she?

Because something isn't quite right. The neighbors start treating Blake differently. The smell of decay permeates his home, no matter how hard he scrubs. Strange noises jar him awake in the middle of the night. And soon Blake fears someone knows his darkest secrets...

Danger lives right at home, and by the time Blake realizes it, it'll be far too late. The trap is already set.

This is what I say :

For the time being, I am rather addicted to Freida McFadden's books. They are very easy to read and I can complete one book within a couple of days or even just in one day if I spent a lot of my hours reading on that particular days.

So, do expect a couple more of my posts on her titles before I move on ya.

For today, it's my take on The Tenant.  I rather like this title as it's slightly different from the previous few books that I read.  This is also a rare title that's from the viewpoint of a male lead.  Like always, I will try to 'guess' how the story progress and I am happy to share that I was very on point for this one. Well, not a 100% on point as following the style of the author, she added in twist to the story at the end.  It wouldn't have the Freida McFadden's signature if otherwise.

I was rather happy with The Tenant which is a new title published this year 2025.  I am moving on to the next title, The Intruder.

My tip/spoiler for you : Whitney isnt Whitney

Happy New Year 2026

 

Here's wishing you a very Happy New Year 2026

May this year be kind to us all 

May you experience love, peace, good health and prosperity this new year.

Cheers!

Reflection 2025

 

Lobby of a hotel in Kuala Lumpur that I stayed in recently

With a blink of an eye, we have come to the end of the year.  I do not know why but the days and months seems to just flew by.

This is also my first reflection post since year 2022. 

Purple Queen Fairy will end the year with 27 posts for year 2025.  It was rather an achievement for this year.  Been so busy with other stuff in recent years that I have lost the time and interest in reading.  I must really thank Freida McFadden for bringing me out of my reading slump as I started reading The Housemaid during a trip last month and I havent stopped since.  You can expected a fair bit of posts on novels by Freida in months to come.

I travelled quite a bit this year. A couple of trips for work, a couple of trip out of the country with friends and my beloved, a trip to attend a concert and a couple more to the capital city for wedding and family bonding and yes, it's during such trips that I brought my books with me to keep me company.  All these while I have been bringing my physical books but for this year and especially for the trips towards the end of the year, I was depending on my tablet and on ebook.

I have not bought any physical books in recent years as the price of books are so expensive nowadays.  For me, e-book is the way forward now I guess.  I still love a physical book and I still have quite a lot of TBR physical books in my shelf so the objective next year is to read at least 1 physical book a month for year 2026.

Here's looking forward to year 2026.

Merry Christmas 2025

 

Wishing everyone

A Very Blessed Merry Christmas 2025

May you and your home be blessed with the spirit and the cheers of Christmas

May you know the reason for this season.

Never Lie by Freida McFadden

 

Synopsis :

Newlyweds Tricia and Ethan are searching for the house of their dreams.

But when they visit the remote manor that once belonged to Dr. Adrienne Hale, a renowned psychiatrist who vanished without a trace four years earlier, a violent winter storm traps them at the estate… with no chance of escape until the blizzard comes to an end.

In search of a book to keep her entertained until the snow abates, Tricia happens upon a secret room. One that contains audio transcripts from every single patient Dr. Hale has ever interviewed. As Tricia listens to the cassette tapes, she learns about the terrifying chain of events leading up to Dr. Hale’s mysterious disappearance.

Tricia plays the tapes one by one, late into the night. With each one, another shocking piece of the puzzle falls into place, and Dr. Adrienne Hale’s web of lies slowly unravels.

And then Tricia reaches the final cassette.

The one that reveals the entire horrifying truth.

This is what I say :

Yes, I am on a roll with titles by Freida McFadden. Right after The Housemaid Series, I decided to check out the stand alone title by Freida McFadden.  I started with Never Lie which she wrote in year 2022.  It was a very easy read - I started reading during my lunch break (about 1 hour) and continue after dinner and completed at around 11 pm the same day/night.

Similar to The Housemaid, Never Lie was extremely intriguing.  Fast paced and each chapter are from a different view point of different key characters in the book.  Knowing the twist that the author likes to have in her book, I read with that assumption and unfortunately I was a bit off angle.

It also wasn't really a nice title to read just before bed as death and murder are  her key themes.  I went to bed thinking that I need a break from what she wrote but the next thing I know, I downloaded another of her title in my tablet which I will start reading the very next day.

My tips/spoiler for you : Both Tricia and Ethan aren't who you think they are.