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The Wedding Vow by Dandy Smith | Tropes, Summary, Review and Quotes
Once again, a book convinced me to abandon my sleep schedule.
I picked up The Wedding Vow by Dandy Smith as a casual, light read, hoping it will break me past my fortnight-long reading slump.
And boy, did it work. In fact, it practically catapulted me past it.
I was a woman possessed at 2 AM in the morning, frantically tapping away at my tablet, gobbling up the words on the page.
And I know that consistently reading thrillers of all genres have messed up my brain when I don't trust a single person in the book who is nice or sweet to our protagnist. In fact, those people rocket to the top of my suspects list.
Keeping that in mind, let's dive in.
Book Overview
Title: The Wedding Vow
Author: Dandy Smith
Genre: Psychological Thriller, Domestic Thriller
Rating: 4/5
Tropes of The Wedding Vow by Dandy Smith
Unreliable narrator
Dual perspectives
Cheating spouse
Manipulation and gaslighting
Suspense and mystery
Death of a spouse
Secrets and lies
Summary of The Wedding Vow by Dandy Smith
Verity and Linden Lockwood appear to have the ideal marriage until Linden is brutally murdered in their home.
A year after his death, as Verity goes through his belongings, she discovers love letters proving he was having a secret affair. Realizing her entire marriage was built on a lie, she becomes obsessed with finding out who the "other woman" was.
She sets out to investigate everything on her own, speaking to friends, family and even other women who come up during the course of her investigation.
And the more she finds, the more she gets entangled in the web.
Blurb of The Wedding Vow by Dandy Smith
She is the perfect wife.
He is the perfect liar.
Verity and Linden Lockwood vowed to spend the rest of their lives together, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, till death do they part. Five years later they've kept their promise to never let their love die, to never slip into becoming one of those couples ...
But a year after Linden is brutally and inexplicably murdered in their picture-perfect home, Verity's world shatters again. They're not the golden couple she thought they were. Linden betrayed her: he had been having an affair.
Determined to uncover the identity of the other woman, Verity delves into her husband's life. Everyone is a suspect: her neighbour, her best friend, her assistant ... even her cousin. But as she unearths Linden's shocking secrets, Verity realises she didn't know her husband at all and the truth might be more dangerous than she realises.
Can Verity expose the other woman before she joins her husband in the morgue?
My Review of The Wedding Vow by Dandy Smith
Let's talk about Linden Lockwood for a while - what an a*****e, am I right?
I mean, he was either banging or waiting to bang every single woman that crossed his path - his wife, his wife's sister, his wife's friends, his own students. Like, dude, chill. Relax. Keep it in your pants, for God's sake.
You have a great life - you're doing what you like, your house is paid for, your wife is smoking hot, she earns banger money.
And as I write, I realise this is what the problem was for him. Dude was insanely insecure. So much so, that just because he felt emasculated by his wife, he lured out women who weren't as hot or ambitious or successful and basically manipulated them - all of this so he could feel a little sense of masculinity and superiority.
With every single chapter, my blood pressure spiked and my hatred for him grew exponentially.
Next is the Whodunit suspect pool - every single woman he came in contact with. And believe me, it was a pretty large pool.
And I will tell you the best reason why the book kept me obsessed: it was the visceral need to find out who killed him. While I 100% believe he deserved it, I also desperately wanted to know who did the honours.
Lastly, when it comes to the writing, it was genuinely one of the best written books I have read in a while. I feel like we (including me) have started dumbing down our books into simpler language so that thye are more easily read by our audience. But Dandy Smith writes exceptionally well. In a way that you both enjoy and understand it.
The only reason I deducted a star is that I felt the book took a little too long in between the twists. As in, it could have been shortened by a good 5, maybe 10 thousand words.
Quotes from The Wedding Vow by Dandy Smith
“Whether we like it or not, women are held responsible for men’s bad behaviour.”
“But isn’t it better to be loved by someone because they choose you than it is to be loved by someone because they need you?"
"Love is giving someone the power to ruin you and blindly hoping they’ll choose not to.”
“It’s so strange to me, this narrative that, for women, marriage is the end of our story."
"Under the right circumstances, we can all commit murder."
Now let’s talk about the ending
First off, I hated Addison from the beginning. I don't know why. She was way too clingy and judgy and secretive all at once.
Secondly, kudos to Dandy Smith for the ambiguous ending. For the life of me, I am still not sure if Verity killed her husband or not.
Between framing Addison and the stained ring in her pocket, I want to believe she was at the yoga retreat. But was she really? Because at the end of the story, she actually walks into her house after Addison leaves.
I would love to know what you think. Do comment and let me know.
Happy reading, babies!
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