What a wonderfully tense, obsessive, enveloping novel - almost like a feminist, introspective spin on Fatal Attraction! Ventura's deftly spun debut is a sharply observed dissection of marriage that will haunt you for days' Virgina Feito At forty years old, she has an enviable life: a successful career, stunning looks, a beautiful house in the suburbs, two healthy children, and most importantly, an ideal husband. After fifteen years together, she is still besotted with him. But she's never quite sure that her passion is reciprocated. Monday: “I’m in love with my husband or should I say, I’m still in love with my husband. I love my husband as much as the first day I met him.” I loved the ending. What a twist! He's just taking advantage of how much she needs him. They are both so messed up they deserve each other.

https://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/columns-and-blogs/openbook/article/91837-love-hurts-in-maud-ventura-s-debut-novel.html In this wry, psychologically complex debut, a meticulously manicured wife is obsessed with her husband. For the past 13 years, she's made a science of meeting his needs, putting them before her own or even their children's. Her love is a stranglehold; something's gotta give. The winner of France's First Novel Prize, this riveting emotional thriller requires serious willpower to not devour in a single sitting' Oprah Daily

Determined to keep their relationship perfect, she meticulously prepares for every encounter they have, always taking care to make her actions seem effortless. She watches him attentively, charting every mistake and punishing him accordingly to help him improve. And she tests him - setting traps to make sure that he still loves her just as much as he did when they first met. Ramadan’s exacting translation holds the reader in her grip, and what makes this so thrilling is not just the narrator’s surprising ruthlessness but how Ventura causes the reader to repeatedly change their mind about who’s to blame for the messed up marriage all the way to the explosive ending. It’s a bold and memorable first outing." At forty years old, she has an enviable life: a successful career, stunning looks, a beautiful house in the suburbs, two healthy children, and most importantly, an ideal husband. After fifteen years together, she is still besotted with him. But she’s never quite sure that her passion is reciprocated. Ventura's cleverly constructed, one-sided portrait of a marriage delivers a breathtaking conclusion that is as unexpected as it is deviously brilliant.” - Shelf Awareness

Our unnamed Parisian housewife is madly in love with her husband. She even resents the children from taking his attention away from her. She will do anything for him. She orbits him like the earth orbits the sun. She thinks he is the most charismatic and charming man. With vigor and zest she proudly worships the ground he walks on. Yet, she's filled with anxiety that he will leave her someday and that thought is utterly dreadful to her.On the outside, she is a loving wife, mother, teacher, and translator, but inside….well, she’s something far different. In this suspenseful and darkly funny debut novel, a sophisticated French woman spends her life obsessing over her perfect husband--but can their marriage survive her passionate love?