Thank you NetGalley, author Ros Carne, and Canelo for giving me a free arc of this book in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
2.5 stars
Trigger warning: talks about miscarriages, struggles with fertility, talk about past attempt to die by suicide.
Kate's marriage has fallen on hard times! Kate and her husband are struggling due to a series of miscarriages that have happened throughout their marriage. Being sad and disappointed with the most current loss, Kate is trying to find a way to save her marriage. Michael sits Kate down and shares with her some shocking news, his estranged daughter is coming to stay with them. Kate is reluctant, at first, to allow her husband's daughter to come live with them. But as Kate and Imogen become close after Imogen shares a disturbing secret, Kate feels a bond with Imogen. But Imogen is not the only one with secrets. How much sharing really going on in a marriage about the past?
This book was all over the place. The characters were not overly developed and seemed to have a hard time communicating. None of the characters were really likable! I found these characters were really out for themselves and had no use in making real relationships of any kind. Kate was the most frustrating! She seemed like she really did not know what she wanted so she tried out different things and when they did not work out, she tries to back out without really resolving anything. I found the pacing to be a little bogged down in some parts of the story. The mystery was easily solved and predictable. Overall, this book read a lot like a Lifetime movie. I would be curious to read more books by this author in the future.

This was an unrealistic story with weak characters and it did not offer much in terms of a thriller. I was left very disappointed.

Sorry but this book wasn't for me, no storyline to get your teeth into and boring characters that I couldn't get involved with. To sum it up it was a DNF for me.

Thank you to Netgalley and Canelo Publishers for giving me the opportunity to read this book.

I received an advanced reader’s copy in exchange for an honest review

This one was a dud - tiresome characters, flat narrative, the opposite of thrilling. You can skip this one.

A marriage in tatters and a shocking surprise. This thriller is just that, thrilling until the end. Definitely not for the faint hearted.

An original domestic thriller telling the story of a stepmother caught between the rock and a hard place, when asked to keep a major secret for her stepdaughter. Highly recommended!

This is a decent domestic thriller and I really enjoyed it.
There were enjoy twists to keep me guessing and I’d definitely read more by this author in future.

Thank you NetGalley for this advanced copy. I feel I got a different book than the other two that reviewed this. It was soooo slow going I skipped ahead more than once and nothing grabbed my attention. There was nothing to this book. Just slow and boring and I stopped reading.

Thank you Netgalley for the advanced copy of The Stepmother by Ros Carne. I really enjoyed this book. I think it was a unique perspective on the step parent spectrum. Carne really makes you think and question the secrets of her characters. The Step Mother is a great read.

#TheStepmother #NetGalley
A good read.
Kate’s marriage is hanging by a thread. When her husband Michael tells her he has shocking news, at first, she thinks the worst – he’s been having an affair. It would explain why he’s been so distant. Instead, he reveals that the daughter he abandoned twenty years ago is coming to stay. Kate is blindsided by the sudden arrival of Imogen mere hours later. Her new stepdaughter is beautiful but troubled and seems wary of her own father. All the same, Kate is pleased to find herself connecting with Imogen, until one day, Imogen reveals a disturbing secret to her stepmother, making her swear never to tell a soul.
I want to read more such books.
Thanks to NetGalley and Canelo for giving me an advance copy of this book.