Wow...I was drawn into the world of Tara's from page one! She went through so much in her life and I felt such compassion for her. Ugh...Mother was so freaky, scary, frightening and not what I'd call Mother! I thought the build-up and suspense on how the story slowly unfolded was done really well. I think what I loved most about it was that in spite of all the horrific things that Tara went through, she was a determined young woman who exhibited a lot of strength of character and I admired her for that. Many people who got dealt a bad hand of cards in life don't look for the positive or for ways to crawl out of their negative space, but some (like Tara) are just so resilient that they find a way. Kudos to Tara!

I also listened to the audio while reading and it gave it life! I enjoyed the story without the audio, but I definitely feel like the narrator did an excellent job of making it even more realistic.

Gave this book a try but overall didn’t enjoy it. Wasn’t able to get into the story as much as I wanted to.

This. Was. So. Good.

I’m not surprised, because I have loved everything I have read so far from this author… but man. This story sucks you in from the start.

A young woman is living with a woman she refers to as Mother - however she is not her mom. She is her foster parent, and her only connection in the world. The woman trained her to shoplift and post the items for sale on eBay. Unbeknownst to her, she spent her alone time binging YouTube, watching her favorite family vloggers.

When her favorite family posts a casting call for an intern, her whole world changes.

Such a good read!

I received an ARC from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review

Tension all the way here. I've read other books by the author and she always seems to write a good thriller that keeps you hooked.

What It Seems by Emily Bleeker is a tense and taut thriller that kept me fully engaged and turning the pages with a growing sense of unease. This is the first novel that I have read from this author, but I am certainly looking for more to add to my always growing TBR list.

Tara was adopted by her foster mother when she was eight years old. Never having a clear understanding of why her birth family abandoned her, Tara is a damaged young woman who has found herself the victim of emotional and psychological abuse at the hands of 'Mother'. Her only outlet is watching YouTube videos of seemingly happy families. When the opportunity of an internship arises with her favourite blogging family, the Feelys, Tara, now calling herself Angela, finds it within herself to escape the clutches of Mother, and lands not only the job, but a place within the family that she has come to love. But not everything is as perfect as it appears from the outside, and Tara must find a way to not only reconcile herself with this surprising dose of reality, but to also break free from a mother who does not want to let her go.

This was a fast-paced read that kept me sufficiently and satisfyingly unsettled throughout,

Many thanks to NetGalley and Lake Union Publishing for this ARC.

Wonderfully, creepy read. Fantastic writing. I need to read more by Emily Bleeker! Fast paced, and full of twists. Completely enjoyable. Give me more.

Such an interesting read. It didn't surprise me that much, but it still was different than the usual thriller and I'd definitely recommend it to others who are fans of the genre.

Definitely a creepy story. Some elements of this story made me want to lock my doors, close the blinds and hide. Made me feel uneasy. With that said, the story line was a little all over the place. Sometimes things didn't seem to fit but came around and was a pretty good thriller.

I liked this more than I thought I would. A lot of the elements and plot points were predictable and the ending was fairly expected, but it is written in such a way that you enjoy the getting there.

This was an emotionally difficult book to read. As you learn about Tara and her life, your heart will ache. Her “mother” is a controlling individual and, essentially, a bully. The author typically has me invested in the characters, their lives, family and relationship dynamics. However, this one fell short for me. I know there are plenty of positive reviews, so I would encourage you to read the book and decide for yourself.

Thank you to NetGalley and Lake Union Publishing for my advanced review copy. All opinions and thoughts are my own.

This book was tragic in its own light. The way Tara is brought up by her step mother, shoplifting and pretending to be pregnant for her stepmother’s personal gain is just terrible. There were times where the book lagged some, but it always picked back up and the ending was great. I love Emily Bleeker’s writing and I look forward to her future work.

I was given an advanced copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Vloggers, YouTube, kidnappers, fake pregnancy, and a ton of coincidence. This books encompasses plotlines I generally avoid in the world of "reality" entertainment.
I didn't much care for the main character, her blinders to reality were a bit too heavy for someone who spent a lot of time watching reailty videos online. Her obstacles (what if they find out her pregnancy is fake?) had easy solutions (duh, fake a miscarriage). The book only felt compelling in the final quarter with the double rush to uncover the truth of both the Feely family and the catch the kidnapper.
As much as I've loved Bleeker's other books, I'd say this is one to skip.

The premise of this book was really brilliant.
The first half of the book was so gripping but sadly that didn’t continue throughout the rest of the book.
It was lacking suspense.
An ok read

Ok I've been debating on whether to leave a review or check the "will not be reviewing" box because I don't want to be rude to the publisher or anything...or hurt the author's feelings. There's just a lot that doesn't make sense and even more that I can't let pass on the believability factors. Ok, here goes...

For example, our main character, Tara/Angela, stinks! Apparently, alllll the time. Really?? Why? TF for?? Also, she has had access to a computer with internet for practically the entire time she's been with "mother" but she never once thought to look up herself, her birth parents, her twin siblings or even Mother? Okie dokie... And while we're talking about Mother (she's our over-the-top villain in all of this) the author has Tara/Angela calling her this for the creep factor alone, I'm sure, but she overuses TF out of it, so by chapter 3 you're so over it and wanna throw it up against the kitchen wall. The blurb at the back of the book has this shroud of mystery surrounding the YouTube famous Feely family, like "ooooh, beware, they're not what they seem, blahblahblah" and it turns out that they're just a typical family with actual problems and everything is NOT great and wonderful every day, all day, 100% of the time. That's it. That's the mystery. And then there's the obvious flashback clues that has the reader guessing very early on that Tara/Angela was actually abducted, and the foster/adoption thing was all a charade. By the time our character discovers this though, we're nearly at the last 3 chapters! It's obvious that's when the reader was supposed to learn this as well, but I knew what was going on preeeetttty early, and I'm not the brightest star in the sky, so that's saying something. Ugggh I just hate when I have all the stuff figured out before the big reveal, especially when it's a mystery/suspense I'm supposed to be enjoying. It's definitely not enjoyable.

But thanks netgalley for giving me the pdf so that I can share my thoughts and opinions with y'all 🧡

Definitely a page turner! I would recommend this book to suspense lovers. Fast paced and enjoyable every step of the way!

Geez this was a great book, fats paced and draws you in from the start, loved the main character Tara but found myself screaming at her half the time nooooo! Hard to read in sorts due to the nature of the book and abuse she received but a totally fantastic novel and I was gutted when it was over, can’t wait to read more from Emily, 5 stars all the way!!!

I think that the abuse Tara received, including flashbacks, made me uncomfortable to read this book. That aside, I think that her coming of age was believable.

This was a very fast easy read. It's fast paced, starting right in the beginning with the MC almost being caught shoplifting. From there, you explore her relationship with Mother, her odd punishments and her foggy memory.

But I felt like the story was a easy to predict. I enjoyed it, didn't love it.

The premise of this book sounded really interesting, like a modern-day Rapunzel meets the YouTube generation, but as we know people's lives behind closed doors are never quite what they share online. This was a domestic thriller with something different, and I enjoyed reading it a lot.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for letting me access an advance digital copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

I really enjoy Emily Bleeker’s books and this is no exception. Angela gets picked to intern on a very popular YouTube channel, which follows a family on their regular adventures. However, the family isn’t exactly as they seem and neither is Angela. They both have secrets they want to hide. This is also on Kindle Unlimited and is a great, quick read.