If someone said that you would have to follow ten rules in order to marry them, would you do it? The Marriage Rules by Samantha Hayes is a psychological thriller that will have you stunned at the end.
4/5 stars ★★★★☆
Published: April 4th, 2025
What is The Marriage Rules About?
The Marriage Rules is told in three parts. The first part is told through the perspective of Fiona, who marries Jason, a doctor and father of two girls. Before they married, Jason set up 10 rules that everyone had to abide by in order to keep “the family safe.” For example, everyone has to be in bed by 8:00. No leaving the house unless it’s for a good reason. There will be a family confessional every day at 6 pm. No watching the news or using social media. Could you live with these rules so far?
The second part is told through the perspective of Jason. You begin to learn more about the rules and why they were set. The third part? Well, we won’t even talk about the ending. You have to read it to find out.
My Thoughts on The Marriage Rules:
This is definitely a book about damaged characters! Each time I read about the rules, I cringed. Who would agree to such a thing? Samantha Hayes does a good job of setting up the story, so you are surprised throughout the book. I didn’t love the adult characters, but I liked reading about the girls and their strength throughout the story. I didn’t know whether to trust Jason or Fiona’s part of the story. Both of them were unsettling. When the rules start getting broken, that is when the story really becomes interesting.
I had so many questions about certain details throughout the book. The ending answered my questions. It tied them up nicely. If you enjoy stories about mental institutions, dysfunctional families, or childhood trauma, you will enjoy this story. You will also enjoy it if you like stories about the loss of a spouse.
I gave this book four out of five stars. I wanted to keep reading and there were some surprises along the way. It also made me wonder what I would tolerate to marry someone I loved.
Would you be able to abide by these rules in your marriage?
Extras:
Here are some books that reminded me of this one because they are psychological thrillers. If you liked these, then you will also like this book.
- Lies He Told Me by James Patterson – https://amzn.to/43o16MM
- House of Glass by Sarah Pekannen – https://amzn.to/43k0Iiq
- I Let Her In by Maria Frankland – https://amzn.to/4m8IUOy
You can buy this book at: https://amzn.to/4ddEn9I
*If you want to read more of my book reviews, you can find them at: https://judiholst.com/book-reviews/
*If you missed my post about my Top Books of 2024, you can find it at: https://judiholst.com/top-20-books-that-i-loved-in-2024/
Thank you to NetGalley, Bookouture, and Samantha Hayes for my free copy of this book. This is my honest review.
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