Title: The Marriage Vendetta
Author: Caroline Madden
Rating Out of 5: 5 (I will read this again and again and again)
My Bookshelves: Contemporary, Humour, Mystery
Pace: Medium
Format: eBook, Novel
Year: 2025
The Marriage Vendetta was hilarious, dark and strangely difficult to put down. I was a bit hesitant to read it to begin with, and just used it to fulfill a reading challenge prompt. But then, as the story unfolded and I was entertained more and more, well, I couldn’t put it down. This was hilarious and brilliant. And, like I mentioned, seriously dark in moments. Kind of exactly what I needed in the moment (when my own long-term relationship with the father of my children was breaking apart). An extremely cathartic book that I just could not get enough of.
One of the many things that I loved about this story, was that it kept taking me to places that I did not expect. I mean, the whole story is basically Eliza careening to one insane choice after another. But, even though I knew something wonderfully bizarre was about to show up, I still couldn’t predict it. And, again, reading this at the time in my life that I did, it actually gave me a humorous lens through which to view my own imploded relationship and all of the toxic choices that we had both made. Don’t get me wrong, I definitely didn’t go the extremes that Eliza did, but it was still a good reflection.
One of the things that hardly anyone tells you about motherhood is how much of your own sense of self and identity you lose. I love that Madden was able to explore some of this through Eliza’s fixation on her child, loss of self and struggles to find her place in life. The fact that she crossed the line into some smothering behaviours in this, and why she did so, was a really beautiful way to explore something that is challenging for many mothers, and not talked about nearly often enough. Yet, it also spoke of the deep and consuming love that Eliza has for her daughter, and how she prioritises her with all of the love in her heart.
Alongside all of the soul searching and insane shenanigans, I loved the mystery aspect of constantly trying to figure out just what Richard was up to. It was obvious that he was doing something kind of dodgy and scheming, but, as the insanity got more and more intense, it also was fun to question reality and try and figure out what was delusion, and what was real. I love that the unhinged insanity of Eliza’s therapist drove all of this, to create a beautiful, strong ending with a spin that I just did not see coming…
Earth and Skye 