Angela's hunt for her birth mother opens a Pandora's box. It's a well done and at times difficult read. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC.

Wow, this book had some fantastic twists! Never saw that ending coming. Really enjoyed reading this one!

Highly recommended.

I received an advance reading copy of this book courtesy of Aria via Netgalley.

I would recommend this story to all thriller lovers. This book took me by surprise. It kept me interested throughout the story and I needed to see what was going to happen. I truly enjoyed the pacing of the story and the well-written characters.

A good read, plenty of twist and turns that kept me reading. I did feel the ending was a a bit rushed but a good read.

A disturbing topic for a book, but sensitively handled. Well written, though very dark, this one kept my interest throughout.

Unfortunately, I have not been able to read and review this book.

After losing and replacing my broken Kindle and getting a new phone I was unable to download the title again for review as it was no longer available on Netgalley.

I’m really sorry about this and hope that it won’t affect you allowing me to read and review your titles in the future.

Thank you so much for giving me this opportunity.
Natalie.

This book was a dark read, dealing with a very sensitive subject, namely adoption and child abuse, and isn't necessarily everyone's cup of tea. It was well written and worth the effort. Recommended.

Dark mystery that sucks you into a different place. A nightmare where no one wants to be. Good read. Can’t put it down. Wondering where it’s going to go And which way to turn

4☆ A Compelling and Poignant Domestic Thriller/ Drama

Wow oh wow, what a Compelling Read, it was Poignant and gripping I couldn't put it down!

I wasn't too sure what to expect when reading the blurb for The Home.

Angela was abandoned in a Children's home.
Sinister things happen whilst Angela is living there and the more you delve into those memories, via diary entries the more you want to save each of the children from the violence and abuse!

Luckily for Angela she gets adopted by James and Rosemary, her life takes an upward turn and she is shown a better life. She's now at the top of her career as an Associate in a Big City Law Firm.

But when her Father delivers devastating news, he encourages her to look for her real Birth Mother!

But is uncovering the past the right thing to do?
After all opening that can of worms is not always a good idea!

The story is told by several points of view, flitting between past and present, which I enjoyed. The storyline was easy to keep up with, the chapters nice and short.

But what I loved most was the diary entries, from Angela when she was abandoned in the Children's home and what it was like for her and the children.

I also really liked Angela's relationship with her Father James, who is battling a terminal illness.
Which I never ever find easy to read and normally it stops me reading a book.
But I was so compelled to keep reading.

The Home is down as a psychological thriller but I think it has more of a Domestic Noir/ Drama / Thriller feel.
Either way I really enjoyed it.

It does contain scenes of child abuse and violence which some readers may find it difficult to read, but Osman has handled them with the right amount of sensitivity to still make an impact and keeping it relevant and relatable to the storyline.

The Characters are all very Complex and have many deep rooted issues which was fitting for the nature of the story. Not all of the characters are particularly likeable either.

My only gripe was, that the ending seemed a tad rushed. It didn't give me the same feels I had the whole way through. It was more of an after thought. Which I why I deducted a star.

But overall I highly recommend this page Turner. I am definitely adding Karen Osman to my watch out for list!
I look forward to reading her next book!

Thank you to Aria Fiction for this copy which I reviewed honestly and voluntarily.

A good easy to read with short engaging chapters - Angela is given up for adoption as soon as she is born and lives in a children's home where cruelty exists - one day at the age of 14 she is adopted by James and his wife - she has a happy teenage life and becomes a solicitor - one day she decides to try to find her birth mother Evelyn. When she does all sorts of things come out of the woodwork. Cant really say more without giving away spoilers.

I wasn't too sure what to expect when reading the blurb for The Home.
This is a story of lies and abuse and some may find it disturbing.
Full of family drama, intrigue and plenty of interesting characters. It kept me guessing until the end.

3 ½  stars 

Angela was adopted by  Rosemary and James when she had lost all hope of escaping the children’s home  where kids were beaten with wooden spoons by the manager and taken to the “den” when they misbehave. Now years later at the top of her career  Angela’s finds her biological mother Evelyn but instead of a happy reunion strange sinister things start to happen around them.

The Home by Karen Osman  narrated from three women’s POV, as well as a diary from ‘A’  in childcare. The book started nicely and there were some unexpected twists and turns but the ending was a miss for me ,  plus there is mention of child abuse which might be a trigger for some.  

I would like to thank Aria  & NetGalley for providing an ARC of this book in exchange for my honest and fair review.

I wish there was more character development, honestly. It’s almost like the author focused so much on the actual happenings that we weren’t really given a chance to get to know the characters all that well. I don’t know, maybe it’s just me. I DID enjoy the story, but it just didn’t hold my attention all that well. I’m not even sure if I would have cared whether or not I finished the book.

I received this book in exchange for my honest review. THank you NetGalley!

Angela was just a baby when she was abandoned. She grew up In a grouphome where abuse occurred often. When a wealthy couple came to the home to adopt, she was desperate to escape.

Later in life, she searches for her birth mama, and sinister things start to happen. Will her birth mom survive her return?

The Home by Karen Osman is a dark suspense novel. Angela is twenty-seven years old and a solicitor in London. She was adopted by James and Rosemary from a children’s home when she was fourteen years old. Her father has pancreatic cancer and suggests to Angela that now is the time to look for her birth mother. He wants to be there to support her while she goes on this journey. Angela, Rosemary, James, and Evelyn are unprepared for what is about to happen. The apprehension builds as The Home progresses. The story is told from Angela, Rosemary and Evelyn’s point-of-view as well as diary entries of a girl growing up in a children’s home that begin in 1969. All three of the narrators are tied together by adoption and we get to see how it affected each of them. The diary entries allow us to see what it was like to grow up in a children’s home. Lies, abuse, and neglect are written about in the diary entries. The secrets unfold as the reader moves deeper into The Home. Be prepared for deception, abuse and betrayal. There are twists to surprise and shock readers. The Home is an unsettling story that will have you on the edge of your seat.

Don't judge the book by it's cover

I'm guilty in this case, because when I saw the cover of The Home I was immediately drawn to it. The description was also intriguing, so I had high hopes for this book and prepared myself for a fantastic read. However, I was disappointed, because it turned out to be not what I expected.
Firstly I will start with what I liked about this book. I enjoyed reading the diary parts, those where very disturbing, but also kept me interested enough to finish this book.
However the rest of the book was quite boring, nothing happened until the very end and at some point I even skipped few pages.
All the characters in this book were unlikable and I couldn't care less with what will happen to any of them. The reason for this, in my humble opinion, is that we didn't have a chance to know them that well.
The ending of this book was strange, unbelievable and quite abrupt. I think author tried too much to make the ending of this story unexpected. It wasn't necessary and, actually, made this book worse.
I can't say that I recommend this book, but I'm still willing to give this author another chance.

# The Home # Netgalley
Wow this is a brilliant book with some unpleasant actions. Although they are written in a tasteful way but doesn’t stop
Your imagination knowing how badly these girls are abused. You really want to do something about it and want everyone to escape. Although not everyone gets a better life, you wonder how things can get worse. And for one young girl it does, you genuinely do not want to put this book down in fact I stayed awake until I had finished. So if you start this book at night thinking you might just read a couple of chapters like I did OH DEAR YOU WILL BE MAKING A BIG BIG MISTAKE. Just be prepared to go without sleep, because you are going to be hooked very early on. This is one brilliant, awesome book.

I’d like to thank Aria and NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read ‘The Home’ by Karen Osman in exchange for my honest and unbiased review.

At the age of fourteen years Angela is adopted by Rosemary and James Steele but it’s not until James has cancer that he suggests she try to trace her birth mother. She sees an advert for an adoption society ‘Family First’ and meets Susan who organises meetings in a church hall and who very soon finds Angela’s birth mother, Evelyn.

‘The Home’ is an unusual and well-written novel with plenty of suspense and drama. Although I wouldn’t call it a thriller it’s an interesting story that moves between the prologue in November 1989, to a home where the children are mistreated by the managers Kath and Ray, to entries in a diary written by someone signing them with the letter ‘A’, to what’s happening at the present time. I found parts confusing such as the identity of ‘A’ who’s writing the diary? Where does the prologue fit in with the final chapters? - which I still can’t work out even after finishing the book. And it’s a bit of a surprise when another character is introduced in the last pages who hasn’t been mentioned previously. Nevertheless, I’ve been gripped by the story although at times it made me feel a bit uncomfortable by the turn of events, and I’ve had to keep reading to find the answers. This is the first of Karen Osman’s novels I’ve had the chance to read and I’ve certainly enjoyed it.

The Home is my first but certainly not my last read by this author as I absolutely loved this story.

When Angela was a baby her mum left her and she ended up in a children’s home. It wasn’t a nice place with Ray taking the kids to his ‘den’ and his wife Kath with her wooden spoons to be used on the kids.

She can’t believe her luck when a rich couple decide to adopt her.

This story is told through three points of view which gave us a great insight into their thoughts.

This is a great read. I read it in a day as I didn’t wanna put it down. Although I thought this was more of a drama than a thriller I still really enjoyed it. I’ll definitely be looking to read more from this author in the future. I’ll certainly be recommending this gem.

Thanks to the publishers and Netgalley for the ARC of this book in exchange for a honest review.

This is the first book from this author that I have read. I started off really enjoying this book. It was very well written and I loved the different POV.

I was going to give it 4 stars but ended up giving it 3 stars because of that ending. It could have been really good but I felt that it was too abrupt.

It is a good book for psychological thriller lovers.