RELEASE DAY REVIEW: The Ever End – Audrey Wilson

The Ever End Book Cover The Ever End
Audrey Wilson
Psychological Suspense, LGBTQ+ Horror Fiction, LGBTQ+ Thrillers, Small Town & Rural Fiction
Bywater Books
8/5/2025
Kindle
260
Amazon

Amazon Link: Amazon

A mysterious figure. A dead televangelist. A series of bizarre rituals.

Margo has spent most of her life without a family, and with a telekinetic gift she can't quite explain. Since losing her mother less than a year ago, she's felt more alone than ever. When her fiancé Sam takes her to his remote Iowa hometown to meet his family and begin planning their wedding, Margo finally begins to feel like she's home. But the feeling doesn't last long, and Margo soon feels out of place among her future in-laws. Sam's family is different from what she'd expected. Not only is their obsession with a deceased televangelist unsettling, but Margo has begun seeing a strange, mysterious figure from her past—a figure that she thought was put to rest with her mother's passing.

As Sam's family begins to take over the wedding plans, Margo tries to regain some control by turning to the town's sole wedding planner, who soon becomes her only confidant, perhaps because she reminds Margo of her former love. But the more Margo tries to distance her past from her future with Sam, the deeper his family pulls her in, forcing upon her generationally archaic traditions that border on ritualistic. As Margo unearths the family's dark web of secrets, she begins to suspect that she may have been brought here for a reason, and it may cost her her life.

In the psychologically unsettling vein of I'm Thinking of Ending Things and The Women in the Dark, combined with the socially aware suspense of Get Out, The Ever End takes elevated horror to a new level with a queer, twisted, feminist story that will keep readers guessing until the end, and stay with them long after that.

Review By Linda Tonis
Member of the Paranormal Romance Guild Review Team

Amazon Link: Amazon

It has been a year since Margo’s mother died and six months since she met and became engaged to Sam Wailing. Now they are on their way to Iowa to meet his family. The only thing Sam said about them is that they are very religious, and they can’t share the same room. Sam has already decided they will not have sex until they are married but Margo will be sleeping alone in a house with strangers.
When they finally arrive the meeting with Sam’s parents leave her uncomfortable, a grandmother who just sits and watches a televangelist speaking, a sister who seems too comfortable with her brother and another sister and her husband and little girl. Margo tries to understand everything that is happening around her but as soon as she begins to something else happens.
Sam’s parents begin handling the wedding arrangements, while Margo seeks to regain control. She contacts a potential wedding planner, but Sam’s parents prefer to manage the planning themselves. Whenever Margo attempts to take back control, she encounters opposition, and Sam supports his family’s decisions.
Sam’s mother even goes so far as getting a nightgown that she wants Margo to wear and won’t take no for an answer. The nightgown is ugly and uncomfortable, but Margo decides to wear it instead of making trouble. Everything the family does makes Margo uncomfortable but when she discusses it with Sam, he just brushes it off telling her that his parents are just set in their ways and there is nothing to worry about.
Margo’s previous relationship was with a woman, so being with Sam is new for her. She tries to pursue him, but he rejects her each time. She wonders if it’s due to his parent’s religious beliefs or another reason. She becomes more and more uncomfortable with his family, but he begs her to stay till the day they were planning to leave.
So many things happen that Margo begins to question her own sanity. The baby’s first birthday is coming up and that is when she knows Sam’s family is not just different and religious but crazy. She has met with the wedding planner privately and feels more comfortable with her and questions her real feelings for Sam. Even with all the craziness surrounding Sam’s family she is still ready to go ahead with their wedding.
The family’s obsession with a deceased evangelist, their odd behavior towards her, and Sam and her wedding is unsettling. Their strange customs and Sam’s indifference should make Margo reconsider the wedding, yet she still questions what she has witnessed. She wonders if it is all her imagination and tries to dismiss everything going on, a big mistake.
This book warns new brides about unexpected in-laws and when to reconsider marriage. Margo discovers Sam’s secrets that should make her question their future together. Will she heed his warnings or realize too late that marrying Sam would be a nightmare?
Secrets, lies, surprises and a future life that will not be a happy one. I can only say that the ending is worth the price of admission.

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