Welcome to the family,” Nina Winchester said as she greeted Millie, her new housekeeper. Millie desperately needs a new job. She doesn't have too many choices and one that provides her with a place to live, sounds like heaven as she has been sleeping in her car. Cleverly plotted, complex and multi-layered, Millie discovers that she is not the only one whose life is built on secrets and lies and comes face to face with a master manipulator. Will she be able to turn the tables? Millie's POV is straight up "dear diary" style. As in, "I spent 7 hours cleaning the house and I thought about Andy Winchester's bangin bod the entire time. He is so dreamy. Does he like me too????" It's also giving me "rages to riches" fanfic written by a tween vibes. BUT AT THE SAME DAMN TIME... the book was legit funny in parts???? Like great dark humour throughout???? Just as a little side note, I highly recommend you read the first novel, but not because it’s necessary to understand this one. It’s a true work of art in its own right, and if the premise of this story appeals to you, then the first entry certainly will as well. Nevertheless, if you’re intent on skipping it, you can do so with the knowledge it won’t hurt your ability to understand this second book. Now onto the book. First I agree that this could be read as a standalone book. The story of Millie, Wendy and Douglas is complete. But I would be remiss to not mention that I think it adds to enjoyment having read book one first.

The daughter Cece is a capital B.R.A.T. and later in the book the mom’s just like ‘oh, you know…that’s just how she is!’ The second one references many highlights from book one, and better if it was read in sequence. It carries the same sarcastic humor and she displays the same confusion and controversial problems. I was all about the five star on this one, but I moved it down to 4.5 and rounded down because of three things. The ending is excellent. While not completely unexpected (and also not completely realistic), it still offers the perfect finish to this plot.I enjoyed The Housemaid and generally think McFadden’s books are fun popcorn reads, but this sequel was godawful. Clunky, repetitive writing. Cringey dialogue. Predictable plot with a “twisty” part 2 retelling the same boring story from another perspective. Skip this. There was a scene (without going into specifics) that was so wildly reminiscent of Kevin Smith’s movie ‘Holidays’ (the Halloween portion). It just didn’t seem very original when I felt it had major potential to be.

The ending was beyond satisfying and just something I didn’t expect at all! LoL saying it was a drop-the-mic moment is an understatement. This was a wild, insane, fun, adrenaline-filled thriller that kept me on the edge of my seat. It was a wonderful reading experience as I wish every novel I read was like this! I love trying to figure out what is going to happen, where the plot is going, who is telling the truth, who is reliable, etc. This one kept me on my toes. I found it to be fun, dramatic, surprising, and hard to put down!

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i think these quotes sum up how i feel about this little girl. not only was she creepy, but she was such a little brat omg.

I was impressed by how the author could take such a typical plotline and develop it into a captivating story. Right from the prologue till the end, I couldn’t keep the book aside. This, despite the fact that the story was disturbing, creepy, weird, even OTT.

If you have not read, The Housemaid, I highly recommend it. This book does work nicely as a standalone but reading the first book gives you more insight into Millie and her need to help others. Millie is an interesting and fully fleshed out character. She has a prison record and takes whatever jobs she can to make ends meat. She it tough and vulnerable at the same time. She also tends to get into some interesting and tense situations. A huge thank you to Bookouture and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC of The Housemaid’s Secret by Freida McFadden in exchange for an honest review. What It Is About Then comes Wendy, I HATED her so much. She is such a narcissist, all I wanted was Douglas to just tell her her reality and find a life of his own. I wouldn't even mind if her pathetic little gold digging arse got killed off in a brutal manner. What she got was so mild compared to what she deserved. *insert multiple swear words here* What a wild ride. The perfect escapist read, The Housemaid’s Secret was the definition of a popcorn thriller. Stuffed full of secrets, lies, and underhanded motivations, there was one epic twist after the other right up until the very end. And in typical Freida McFadden style, they had me second-guessing everything! After all, she’s always been the queen of misdirection.

This constant vulnerability is also what makes Millie’s plan for revenge in The Housemaid’s Secret so much fun to follow. Not only are we constantly wondering what inventive and devilish plan she’s cooking up next, but we’re also eagerly awaiting the moves which will be made against her, forcing her to improvise and adjust on-the-fly.

my mysterious italian man🦋freida knows how to write a fictional male character😋i won’t say anything else hehe you just gotta read about him😏😏 And then the second half of the book is all just a wild ride until the very end, delivering on the promise from that teasing prologue. Many tense chapters, quite a bit of drama. Easy, immersive writing and enough nail-biting plot points to keep you on the edge of your seat. This book completely fulfilled my little Nancy Drew heart. This book took a piece of my heart and gave me something in return. This is the book I didn’t know I needed in 2023. This is the author that I didn’t know I needed to dive into! If you get anything from this review, all you need to know is…. YOU NEED TO PUT DOWN WHATEVER IT IS YOU’RE READING AND GRAB THIS BOOK! Which – I don’t even know how this book managed to feel so different, considering all the similarities. We follow Millie again. She’s in desperate need of money, again. She starts working for a wealthy family and something about the place feels very wrong. There is a dark humour underlying Millie’s narration, I liked those random funny moments even when the proceedings were not hilarious at all.