“Natalie chose James carefully, because he’s different from all the men she’d loved before. Calm. Competent. Kind.

And there are three very good reasons she needs to be so careful. Their names are Marc, Luca and George.

Natalie prefers not to think about what they did to her. Let alone what she had to do to them.

Except now, on a night they are meant to be celebrating how happy they are together, Natalie and James are lying in separate bedrooms. She is asking herself how she could have been foolish enough to let yet another man hurt her like this.

Slowly, Natalie realises she’s already holding a knife.

But she’s not going to do anything with it. She’s not.

Not again.”

Hello and welcome to damppebbles. Today I am delighted to share my review of The Exes by Leodora Darlington. The Exes was published by Penguin Michael Joseph on 12th February 2026 and is available in hardcover, audio and digital formats. I chose to read a free eARC of The Exes but that has in no way influenced my review.

Natalie’s chance encounter with her boss, James, that day at the bar wasn’t as random as James initially thought. Carefully engineered by Natalie after a string of failed relationships, the meeting was the start of something with real potential. The kind of relationship Natalie always dreamt about. Because that’s what Natalie deserves. She’s been through a lot over the years. Yes, her previous three boyfriends all died quite suddenly, quite unexpectedly. And yes, her memory from around the time of their deaths is quite hazy. Her blackouts can’t be helped though. As for the violent impulses, she’s seeing a therapist to try and work through them. But now James has committed the ultimate betrayal. The one thing Natalie wanted has been cruelly snatched away from her. How could she allow another man to treat her so badly? And why is she holding a knife…?

The Exes is an intriguing psychological suspense novel with a fascinating yet complex lead character. There’s a heck of a lot going on in this book. We meet Natalie (and James to a degree) as a celebration gets underway downstairs in their home. The couple are far from being in the party spirit though, having had a blistering row, tucked away from the festivities upstairs. When Natalie regains her composure, she realises she is holding a knife. Natalie’s thoughts immediately turn to ‘not again’. From here, the reader discovers that Natalie’s exes have an uncanny way of dying rather suddenly.  Told in the past and the present, the reader gets to see how each of the exes met an untimely end. These flashbacks build up a picture of Natalie’s life, her trauma and the reasons she is searching for her happy ever after. Throw into the mix her traumatic childhood, her difficult relationship with her mother and you have a highly compelling, nuanced read.

This is a full-on twisty tale where your opinion of Natalie and her situation will change with every turn of the page. There’s not a lot to like about Natalie when we first meet her. She seems dangerous, manipulative and unstable. All the things I normally enjoy in a lead character! Not in Natalie though. But with time, as the layers are scraped away, I did find myself warming to her. There’s a vulnerability there which drew me in. I couldn’t work out what was really going on here. Is Natalie a cold-hearted killer? Or is she something else altogether?

Would I recommend this book? I would, yes. The Exes is a well-written debut thriller packed full of delicious twists and turns. You may think you’ve got this one worked out. You probably haven’t. The characters are all interesting and multi-layered, with Natalie really leading the way. The plot is complex yet easy to follow and engaging throughout. I enjoyed the time I spent with this book, and I look forward to reading more by Darlington in the future. All in all, an accomplished debut from an author to watch. Lots of lovely suspense, jam-packed with secrets (even the secrets have secrets!) and highly readable from start to finish. If you’re a fan of the unreliable narrator, do whatever it takes to get yourself a copy of this book! Recommended.

I chose to read and review a free eARC of The Exes. The above review is my own unbiased opinion.

The Exes by Leodora Darlington was published in the UK by Penguin Michael Joseph on 12th February 2026 and is available in hardcover, audio and digital formats (please note, the following links are affiliate links which means I receive a small percentage of the purchase price at no extra cost to you): | amazon.co.uk | Waterstones | bookshop.org | Goodreads | damppebbles bookshop.org shop | damppebbles amazon.co.uk shop | damppebbles amazon.com shop |

Leodora Darlington is a writer from London with Ghanaian heritage. She received a distinction for her Masters in Creative Writing from Brunel University. A Bookseller Rising Star in 2021, Leodora is also an editor and has published a range of bestselling fiction. The Exes is her debut novel.