Member Reviews

This book looked great when I first saw it but now I am realizing it just wasn’t for me. I think that this will be great for many people but not for me at this time.

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Received an ARC from Netgalley in exchange for a honest review. I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own

This started out strong, then they just mucked it up. There are too many subplots which makes me lose interest. A book shouldn’t be about the authors personal political views. There are too many holes in the story too, who hires a nanny without meeting her?

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"The Woman in Our House" by Andrew Hart is a solid, entertaining thriller. It tells a story of a young married couple with two young children. After years of caring for her children Anna wants to go back to work, so she searches for a nanny. Her husband supports her in this decision. He cannot much help her himself as he is pursuing a successful career and earning money to support family. Anna selects a nanny, that seems to be perfect for their needs and they decide that she should live in the house with the family. At the beginning everything runs smoothly, but then Anna starts to be suspicious about the perfect nanny. There is some strangeness in her behaviour and Anna becomes convinced she plans to hurt the children. But is it really the nanny, that is a true threat to their family, or should Anna look elsewhere?

There were many twists and turns in this book. The whole time I was interested in what would happen next and felt compelled to keep reading, which is always a good sign. I wasn’t happy with how a young mother was portrayed in a book. Anna felt guilty about “abandoning” children to go back to work and she let her guilt run wild. She was extremely neurotic. Honestly, it was hard to believe that a woman who took care of her young ones for such a long time, later when the nanny came was completely clueless and was panicking all the time. It also seemed unrealistic that Anna was taking care of the children for such a long time on her own, with no one she could call to support her. There are also persons in the book with hurtful, racist convictions and it was disturbing. I understand that such persons exist and the author decided to make them evil characters in the story, but at the same time, I didn’t enjoy reading about their hateful ramblings.

To sum up, it was a well-written psychological thriller and although some parts bothered me, it was a good read. I would recommend it to fans of psychological thrillers.

I received "The Woman in Our House" from the publisher via NetGalley. I would like to thank the author and the publisher for providing me with the advance reader copy of the book.

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2 stars.

TL;DR:
Plot: Meh, would have been more interesting had it gone an alternate route
Characters: Not terrible but no major connection and uninspiring twists
Writing: Mediocre- dragged at times

I was actually pretty excited for a short while by where I thought the story was going. I may be in the minority but I actually didn't care for the plot twist. It removed a great deal of the "creep factor". There was one scene where Anna climbs into the attic that was truly terrifying and I thought that the novel would have excelled more had it followed where that scene pointed.

Pros:
-interesting subplot with Anna reading a manuscript
-some creepy potential (even though it ultimately slipped away)

Cons:
-disappointing ending
-too long and too slow
-just ok writing

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This book just isn't for me. I DNF'ed at 33%. I was just sooo bored and there were so many subplots that really don't add anything to the suspense (if it had any) of the book. This book is sold as a thriller and suspenseful but at no point did I feel thrilled or full of suspense. It just isn't working for me.

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Hmm, I am indifferent about this one. I can’t really say too much without spoiling it for others. I can say there were parts I enjoyed and then parts not so much.

Thank you Netgalley for the Arc in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own and are completely unbiased.

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~ www.roxtao.com ~

Every time when I finish a book and go to GoodReads to mark it as read, I throw a quick glance over the first reviews that show up. This time, when I did it, I was surprised in a negative way by how much people complained about this book, even if they did give it a decent rating. From what I briefly saw, most of the people complain about too many details and too many lines followed by the author, instead of concentrating only on one of the characters. I don’t think I ever had such a different impression about a book compared to the general opinion shared by most of the reviewers.

Personally, I enjoyed every step of the story, every detail shared and in no way I found the book being uselessly elongated. I mentioned before, I’m very far from being that type of the reader that turns into a detective in order to solve the mystery before the writer will reveal it. On the contrary, I enjoy staying clueless during the whole reading and letting myself get surprised by the turn of events in the end. Therefore, I remained in the darkness for the entire storyline and I loved the change of perspectives, the different points of view and the small pieces of the puzzle that the author places along the book.

I loved how distorted the image of the characters becomes from a chapter to another, how Andrew Hart manages to manipulate you into trusting whatever he wants you to believe. All characters , from the protagonists to the secondary ones are complex, all of them show you different sides of their personality, all of them seem to have something dark to hide and some hidden reasons for their suspicious actions. You never know when the roles will change, when one of the less important characters will take over the scene and become maybe the main ones that influence the course of the story.

One more big plus of the story is the fact that it reveals from the very beginning one of the details that you would have expected to discover much later. Despite this, there’s never a boring page, the novel keeps you hooked from the first to the last page.

If there’s one thing that disappointed me a bit, it was the last chapter, after the big mystery has already been revealed. I thought that everything seemed rushed in a way, like things ended somewhat too easily after such a tensioned atmosphere that was built just before it. I got the feeling that the author created everything necessary for a huge explosion, even took the first steps to start in, only to end it in just a few, timid sparks instead. But even if I wasn’t the biggest fan of the last few pages, overall, The Woman In Our House was definitely a great reading, which I enjoyed with every page I turned.

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Anna and Josh Klein are one of those couples from New York, who’ve done exceedingly well with their careers. So when Josh gets an opportunity to take an even higher position with his financial company out in Charlotte, and Anna has just found out she’s expecting their first child, the timing seems perfect to move to a more family-friendly area. After Anna has their second daughter, however, she starts to yearn to go back to her career as a literary agent---working with adults and reading more than just nursery rhymes. In steps “Nurture,” a company out in Utah that specializes in placing Mormon nannies in homes----the perfect answer to everything. But is Anna’s nanny too perfect? And when her children start needing to go to urgent care for various ailments, Anna needs to understand if this is simply “what children go through,” or if it’s something more sinister. Although I felt some of this book was a bit of a stretch (especially toward the end), it didn’t stop me from flipping those pages, staying up way past my bedtime to read more. Great suspense that keeps you guessing right to the end.

3.5 Stars
NOTE: Thank you to the publishers and Netgalley for allowing me to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

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*thank you to Netgalley, Lake Union Publishing and Andrew Hart for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review*


4 stars.

Ohh wow that was such an engaging read! That ending was pretty intense and it has a bit of a twist as well that I did not see coming. If you are considering hiring a Nanny I would suggest watching the 90s TV series, 'The Nanny' than reading this book.

Anna is a full time mum who is wanting to get back into work life after having a few years off to look after her two little daughters. But she realises that she's going to need some help with that since her husband, Josh, also already works full-time. So Anna and Josh decide to hire a nanny from Utah as it was recommended to Anna by a friend that that's the best place to get an amazing Nanny. Oaklynn arrives and it starts off with things going pretty well. She seems to fit in pretty perfectly. You know that saying, 'Too good to be true' well that applies here. As soon things start to happen to the girls, injuries and sickness that  causes them to end up in emergency ward, Anna becomes paranoid that the new Nanny might be doing more harm than good.

I can't say that I really liked Anna but I didn't not like her, which leaves me in a bit of a strange place with how I feel about her as a character. Josh, well he was ok. He seemed to be a caring family man but I also don't have much of an opinion on him either. We also get to meet a neighbour/friend of Anna and Josh called Mary Beth. And gosh is she a piece of work! It's so easy to see that that chick has definite strong anger issues. She does make for one entertaining read though and I would have liked more from her but she wasn't really part of the main focus of this book. Thought there is a side story going on and she and Josh are apart of that.

I would have to say that this is one creepy, story because of the fact that it could be a real story. It really could happen and that is pretty frightening. The story isn't what would call suspenseful but that ending surely was. I would recommend this.

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This book was decent, I had an enjoyable time reading it, but truth be told, it was very predictable.

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This book makes you wonder about the possibilities of things that can happen when you hire a stranger to come into your home. It was suspenseful, and as a mom of four kids, somewhat terrifying. It kept me on the edge of my seat.

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Having done the nanny thing myself, this is one of those things that you always have in the back of your mind. What if?? Who are you really hiring?? Without giving anything away, this was a mostly well-paced, thriller that was an interesting and good book for me. I liked the story. It was gripping without being unbelievable. The characters were well written and the plot was good.
Definitely recommend.
#TheWomanInOurHouse #NetGalley #LakeUnionPublishing

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Well written story, interesting storyline...
Good pace, nice suspense, good twists... maybe a little slow at times...

A husband with secrets, a concerned wife, the nanny... I liked it!

ARC received through NetGalley. This is my honest review. All opinions are my own.

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Good story and very suspenseful. But as the climax approaches, the author descends into totally unnecessary Trump bashing and ridiculous white supremacy garbage. Great way to ruin what could have been a five-star book.

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The Woman in Our House was a gripping novel! It was a mixture of a sort of women's fiction and intense suspense. Anna and Josh decide to hire a nanny to help take care of their two young children so Anna can start working again. Their nanny comes to them with perfect references and is absolutely wonderful with the kids and helpful. But then things begin to happen to the children. And Anna suspects the nanny and everyone is upset with Anna for her suspicions. There is so much more to the whole story and to the characters. There is an ominous atmosphere throughout the story that left me nervous and anxious to find out what was going to happen.

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Would you let a total stranger in your house? To take care of the post precious in your home, your children? Anna Klein wanted to go forward with her dream of editor. To do so, she needed extra help with her children and her home. When Oaklynn Durst came thru with flying colors thru the nanny agency Nuture, Anna thought maybe she made a great decision. Her husband was behind her but with his own reservations. Oaklynn showed up at the Klein home and she appeared to be the perfect Nanny. Always there, always available, always willing. When accidents started occurring under Oaklynn's care and Anna's children were rushed to emergency, a pattern started to emerge. A dangerous pattern.

Anna's life begins to unravel, her husband is keeping secrets, she is paranoid about the nanny taking over her children and her home. She begins to question who she is and everything she holds dear.

The narration has 3 perspectives. Anna has she makes the decision of having another woman take care of all that she holds dear. The paranoia she goes thru and all that she questions. Oaklynn has she has her own secrets and what she is running from. She is the most complex and whom you don't know if she is friend or foe. The suspense keeps you going. The mysterious man who makes all things clear in the end.

Each of these characters bring the tension up, in my opinion they lacked depth and I think that was the case in order not to give anything away. To keep the reader guessing and turning the page which succeeded well with me.

A Special Thank You to Lake Union Publishing and Netgalley for the ARC and the opportunity to post an honest review.

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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

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I read this on holiday and found it an enjoyable page turner. Will look out for more from this writer.

Thank you to NetGalley and to the publisher for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

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Brilliant book, had me hooked, the storyline was great, not quite what I expected at the end, that was a surprising finish!
Loved it, thank you netgalley.

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I used to enjoy living alone. I did it for 10 years. However, life changes and now I live with a tall, handsome man whose company I enjoy. In a few months, we might have other people join us. But guys, I fear nannies. It might sound silly but social media is awash with secret footage of nannies gone bad. Might be something that happens this side of the world but I have seen those videos. I know they are good nannies out there but I still have my fears. This book made me even more wary.

Anna is a stay at home mum who decides to get a nanny to help with the kids and hence allow her to go back to work. It sounded perfect at first and all worked out well initially. But… who exactly is the new woman in Anna’s house?

I loved the intensity of this book especially in the first chapters. I was so curious about the nanny. She had secrets and I wanted to know them. As the mystery grew, I became more nervous than curious. I was worried about Anna and her family. I didn’t trust the nanny and then Anna began receiving a manuscript which seemed written by a crazy person with very dark ideas. I usually don’t mind dark narratives and I secretly admire authors who harbor such dark ideas. However, I wouldn’t want to read a dark narrative where the characters and events sound so close to home.

This was a crazy ride but unfortunately, the ending didn’t work for me. The buildup was fantastic but the reveal failed to wow me. Some of the events just didn’t make much sense.

Would I recommend this book? Yes I would. That premise and story-line are too insane and captivating to miss. I just wish that the wrap-up was as good.

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