Synopsis:
Lily’s little sister goes missing from the back garden under supervision of her new stepmother. The story follows both Lily and Maria on the months leading up to Emma’s disappearance. Their biological mother dies of cancer and not even 6 months after her death, Lily finds out her dad has been dating her mothers beautician. She thinks it’s far too fast for them to get married that same year and has suspicions of Maria. Maria is on edge and when threatening messages start arriving through the letterbox, she’s scared that her past will catch up to her

Opinion:
I loved the premise of this book. I’m all for a psychological thriller but for me, this lacked the psychological element. I feel like the hints of Maria’s past was easily guessable for me and this made the “twists” too predictable. I feel like if the author had omitted the POV of Maria and left out the prologue with Emma’s disappearance then I wouldn’t have been able to guess too much of the plot in advance and actually feel shocked at the correct moments. Perhaps others will have a better experience reading this book. Overall it wasn’t bad, I just didn’t get the same feeling that I get when reading other psychological thrillers.

Going in to The Perfect Stepmother I knew it would take a lot to “wow” me. The “evil, mysterious stepmother” plot has been done many times. However, I can say with confidence, that I enjoyed this book and was surprised the entire way. I will be remembering this book for a long time. I predict Karen King is a name we will be seeing on bestsellers lists.

Review to come very soon! You guys know how much I adore Bookouture! You find the best authors!!! xo

The story begins quite dramatically. It then goes back eight months and follows events which lead up to the present day.
Lily's mother has been dead a year and beautician Maria, who visited her regularly and became close friends with her, is now in a relationship with Lily's father. Lily is suspicious and unhappy. When her father and Maria's relationship moves quickly to engagement and then marriage, she feels even more uncomfortable., particularly as she has now become 'Mummy' to her young sister Emma.

The premise of the story is a good one. However, for some reason I couldn’t take to any of the characters. Everything is here: suspicion, secrets, family conflict but it seems to fall short of the psychological thriller tag it has been given. The characters appear one dimensional and the only person I felt sorry for was Lily’s partner Seb, having to put up with her obsession to get rid of her stepmother.

I would like to thank Bookouture and Netgalley for an ARC of The Perfect Stepmother in exchange for an honest review.

A huge thanks to the publisher Bookouture for my ARC in exchange for an honest review. It was the title that made me pick it up but wow is the right word. The Perfect Stepmother tells the story of Lily who is very upset when her dad starts dating again. She firmly believes her dad is making a hasty decision because she doesn't like the woman he wants to marry . Then her little sister Emma goes missing and wham bam it's a race against time. Is the Stepmother to blame? Read and find out!. I liked the book and didn't necessary love it because I felt like the book was in a loop

I really enjoyed the premise of this book so couldn't wait to read it. It ended up being completely different to what I had thought, but this was only a good thing. I love when a book seems predictable but ends up not being! I had never heard of the author before and now I'm definitely excited to read her other works.

Lily is still grieving the untimely death of her mother barely a year later when she stumbles upon her dad in a cafe canoodling with a woman she recognises… Maria, who did free beauty treatments for her mother during her cancer treatment! Understandably, she is shocked. She begins to question this woman's motives, especially when they get engaged right after she finds out about them - why is she moving so fast? Did she plan this during her mother's treatments? Her dad is wealthy, does she want his money? Maria seems very shady about her past and Lily becomes increasingly concerned about her dad and her little sister Emma who is only four years old. Then, one day, Emma goes missing while in the care of her stepmother…

The story is told both from Maria and Lily's POV. I liked the idea of seeing both sides of the story but I did feel like it took the mystery of Maria away a little bit. I would have preferred to be completely unaware of her story and therefore more suspicious. I found myself eye-rolling at Gareth quite a lot. He was so infatuated with his new wife and the dialogue with her was very cheesy. This isn't a negative to the story though. I feel like it's important to dislike characters you're maybe supposed to like, it makes it more realistic for me.

I loved Lily but would have liked to have seen a little more of her life as a whole. She was mostly just seen to be in constant suspicion of her stepmother, which granted is what the story is based on, but I would have liked just a little more regular scenes with her. I loved her relationship with her little sister and they were some of my favourite scenes. I found it a breath of fresh air that she actually had a great boyfriend also. Too often these main characters end up having a crappy boyfriend or husband so it was refreshing to see a regular nice guy as the love interest.

Overall, I really enjoyed the story despite my few dislikes which really are just personal pet peeves. I look forward to exploring more work by the author and recommend you check this book out!

I would like to thank the author, publisher and Net Galley for providing a free e copy of this book in exchange for my review.

A few years ago, I probably would have immediately rated this book 3 or 4 stars. Back then, most of my reading was done in noisy waiting rooms, and it was difficult to concentrate on the story and plot lines, so I didn't much mind when something was repeated a few times. Now, however, that type of book is more annoying, because when I'm reading now, it's usually in a quiet place, relaxed and comfortable. So current day me is feeling more of a 2 or 3 star rating.

The overall plot wasn't bad, but it was very repetitive. I felt like more than half of the chapters could have been completely cut without loosing any of the story line at all. There's a lot of pages, a lot of words, with little substance. This could have been a much more enjoyable domestic thriller-ish book if it was just shorter, maybe cutting out the multiple POV's. I really don't need to read the same scene in multiple POV's.

Besides that .... I didn't connect with any of the characters. I wanted to. But I just couldn't. They didn't really feel like fleshed out character descriptions, just two dimensional, whiney, complaining busybodies.

I wish I'd enjoyed the book more. Had it not been an ARC, I probably would have quit about 10% in. But I did finish it for this review.

Thank you for an advanced copy of The Perfect Stepmother in exchange for my honest review.

I would give this a solid 3.5. The story was good and it had a nice mystery that was well resolved. My only problem was with the writing style. The characters asked themselves too many questions to help the story develop along. The soliloquy style did not read as authentic to me and distracted from the genuineness of the book.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for letting me read this ARC.
4 Stars!
I recommend reading this book.
It was hard to put this book down. It was a fast paced story full of suspense.
This is a gripping, psychological thriller/suspense read. It grabbed me from the first page until the last page!
Well written, well plotted, engaging characters.

The Perfect Stepmother looks at how we are defined by our past, how choices made in youth can haunt you for the rest of your life, define who you are and how you end up living your life. This story was not what I initially expected. It holds the promise of an exciting thriller, but it is also a moving, serious story that leaves you with a tear or two.
Opening this eBook, I was met with over six hundred pages which I was convinced would take me a while to get through. However, they ended up slipping away all too quickly. The story is told from Lily and Maria’s perspective, allowing you to experience both women’s emotions as you read. This makes it extremely difficult to pick aside. This daughter and stepmother share their feelings with you while not with each other. I found myself changing my opinion from page to page. The author unfolds the story with just enough information for you never to be a hundred percent certain of who you trust.
When Gareth decided to marry Maria only a year after the death of his wife Ruth, Lily is immediately concerned. Maria was Ruth’s beautician, and someone Ruth bonded with. Lily is convinced that Maria is taking advantage of her father, that he is still grieving, and not thinking clearly. Concerned about both her father and her little sister, Lily cannot make peace with Gareth decision and she finds it impossible to trust her stepmother. Lily is convinced that Maria is hiding something. No matter what her suspicions, nothing could prepare her for the truth that awaits her after little Emma disappears.
This story was intriguing right from the start, the characters are creative and realistic making it easy to bond with them and share their emotions. Five-year-old Emma steals your heart quickly. I lost myself in this story and was left with a tear rolling down my cheek at the end. This book turned out a lot more emotional than I expected, but I loved every minute.
I could not pick a favourite character in this story. As the story develops you see a different side to both Lily and Maria, and just when you think you picked your favourite, something new is revealed and you end up changing sides. The author did a marvellous job at keeping you uncertain, leaving you unsure who to trust. By the time you have the full story you understand both sides and end up liking both these women. Little Emma is simply precious and the one consistent character you love from beginning to end.
The Perfect Stepmother is a wonderful story full of surprises and emotion. I loved reading this book, enjoying every minute I spent with it. This book can be added to your TBR if you enjoy psychological fiction, mysteries and thrillers. It is a fast read even if the eBook version is over six hundred pages, they disappear in a flash.
This is one of those stories that I cannot recommend highly enough, it’s gripping and emotional and leaves you wanting more, a brilliant read that will not leave you disappointed.
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Goes over and over the same thing and gets monotonous. Writing is decent enough, plot is blah. Didn't hold my interest and can't really recommend.

I wouldnt describe this book as a thriller. more of a mystery . While it kept my interest, it wasn't gripping. Worth a read though

This was a fast paced read, more a mystery than a thriller for me, but I enjoyed the story line and would recommend.

Lily is still mourning the loss of her mother, who passed away less than a year ago, so imagine her shock when she sees her father with another woman in a coffee shop.

She does not like Maria at all, there is something not right about her, but Lily can't put her finger on it. To everyone else, she's perfect. Perfect hair, perfect clothes, perfect job, perfect, perfect, perfect.

But when her father marries Maria, and Lily's five year old sister Emily disappears, Lily knows Maria had something to do with it and she is determined to find out everything she can about Maria and her past.

This is a satisfactory book. It’s not brilliant, it’s not terrible it’s ok. I wouldn’t recommend it but if someone asked if they should read it, I’d say it was worth a go.

Lily is upset when her father starts dating again, just a year after her mother’s death. She’s concerned about the speed of the relationship, the secrets Maria seems to be hiding and the way she is overprotective of her younger sister Emma. When Emma goes missing it’s a race against time to find out what happened...

It’s quite a long winded book and the characters repeat themselves often. I didn’t really think there were many twists- I saw them coming a mile off! I also felt that Maria would never have spent ten years in prison off the testimony of one upset 7 year old boy. It didn’t seem believable.

It plods along at a steady pace but it say it’s more of a mystery than a thriller. The ending wraps everything up nicely but I’m not sure we needed the epilogue. Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for my copy of this book.

I received a copy of this ARC from NetGalley in return for a fair and honest review. This title will be released June 17, 2021.

This is a gripping, psychological thriller/suspense read. It grabbed me from the first page until the last page! The characters were captivating and likable. From one moment to the next I wasn't sure who or what to believe.

There were many twists and turns that kept me wanting to turn each page until the final unexpected ending.

This is the first book I've read by this multi-published bestselling author, Karen King. I'm looking forward to reading all of her books.

Highly recommended.

She wants to be Lily's friend and a mother to Emma but Lily saw the expression change very quickly from warm and loving to something else and Lily doesn't trust what she's seen.
It's been less than a year since their mother died so Lily is shocked when her father decides to marry again It's to soon and Lily is angry.
His new wife Maria can do no wrong and she seems to be totally in love with him and she's bonded with 5 year old Emma.hasnt she?
So when Emma goes missing what if Lily's right and the danger is living among them.
From the very beginning I was totally absorbed by this story.Lots of lies and mistrusting to keep you going and the flow of writing was very good to keep me hooked I could'nt put it down.Big thank you to Netgalley and Bookouture for the ARC.

Thank you Karen King, Bookouture and NetGalley for the ARC to read in return for my honest review!

I did not really enjoy this book but it wasn't bad too.
The ending was a little bit of a surprise, which does tie the story together. It was a good story but not suspenseful enough. The story was narrated between the stepmom and the eldest daughter that not much twists and not really a gripping psychological thriller. Anyway, the ending was a little bit of a surprise and it made sense of the whole story.

I don't think this book was great, but it wasn't bad. The title does give some hint to the story. However, the bad deed that Maria was accused of doing was bad and not bad.

This one is going to be super popular! The theming is super intriguing and exciting. It was a page turner.

I don't think this book was great, but it wasn't bad. The title does give some hint to the story. However, the bad deed that Maria was accused of doing was bad and not bad. It depends on the reader and which side you're on. Lily was annoying. Her reason for not liking Maria does go in a circle. There was not much of a push to figure out Maria's past. Something is missing from the story to complete it. It could be some incomplete characters such as Maria and Seb. What's the point of Seb's character? He doesn't add to the story. The ending was a little bit of a surprise, which does tie the story together.

Thank you to Bookouture and NetGalley for letting me read this ARC in exchange for an honest review.