Compelling, short read that’s perfect for a plane ride! I read Nanny Needed on a flight from Denver to the east coast, and it kept me entertained the entire time. It wasn’t amazing literature, but the plot was interesting enough to pull me in and keep me wanting to know how things would end. It was a bit predictable, and not necessarily I’d tell all my friends to rush to the bookstore to pick up, but decent for summer, beach read, quick thriller vibes, etc.

I would give this one a solid 3.5 but I will round up for the official star rating (why aren’t half stars a thing??). I will say this was an easy book to fall into and it definitely did catch my interest. I didn’t think the ending was a super surprise, but it was twisty in a Lifetime movie kind of way. I did think they rushed the reveals and it wasn’t all totally believable how they went about it. Sarah is living in New York City with her live-in fiancé as they live pay check to pay check drowning in the debt the aunt who raised her left from her end of life medical care. Sarah watches a man post a notice in the lobby of their building posting for a nanny needed with utmost discretion required. It’s too hard to go into it any further without spoilers which I want to avoid, but it was definitely a wild ride. I will be reading more by this author.

Wow, talk about twists and turns. This book gave me Verity vibes from the beginning. I was hooked immediately, like i was wanting to read this at work but couldn’t. I loved the characters of this book. I thought Sarah was a great main character. She was smart(well sometimes), funny at times and caring when she needed to be. This family is insane and just go rich for their own good. I am definitely going to check out more from this author! Highly recommend if you like nanny books for sure!

Nanny Needed by Georgina Cross

When Sarah Larsen finds the notice, posted on creamy card stock in her building’s lobby, one glance at the exclusive address tells her she’s found her ticket out of a dead-end job—and life.

At the interview, the job seems like a dream come true: a glamorous penthouse apartment on the Upper West Side of NYC; a salary that adds several zeroes to her current income; the beautiful, worldly mother of her charge, who feels more like a friend than a potential boss. She’s overjoyed when they offer her the position and signs the NDA without a second thought.

In retrospect, the notice in her lobby was less an engraved invitation than a waving red flag. For there is something very strange about the Bird family. Why does the beautiful Mrs. Bird never leave the apartment alone? And what happened to the nanny before her? It soon becomes clear that the Birds’ odd behaviors are more than the eccentricities of the wealthy.

But by then it’s too late for Sarah to seek help. After all, discretion is of the utmost importance.

This is a Goodreads giveaway happening right now for this amazing book! Click here to enter!

Nanny Needed comes out on October 5!

Wow! This is just what I needed to get me out of a reading slump. Nanny Needed was a total thrill ride from page one. Sarah Larsen is thrust into the creepy world of the Bird family when she answers an ad for a nanny. From the moment she agrees to take the job an eerie feeling of unease engulfs her life. The story is disturbing, compelling and macabre. I couldn’t put down this fast paced nail biting thriller! The book is full of sinister and surprising twists from start to finish. Georgina Cross is definitely an auto-read author. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Thank you NetGalley and Bantam for my advanced copy.

Wow. I thought this book was predictable and similar to another book I had read. I was totally wrong. I kind of figured out what was going on about half way through, but could never had imagined the way the story played out. Excellent book!

Thanks to netgalley, the publisher and author for the chance to read this early copy for an honest review.

Nanny Needed (Georgina Cross) is about Sarah, a young woman who, although already working, needed more money to pay off debt from her late aunt's ill health. Sarah applies and is hired for the nanny position at a terrific salary, but it also includes conditions that are spelled out in the contract she has to sign. Ms Cross gives the reader surprises which make Nanny Needed a page turner. I want to thank NetGalley and Bantam Books for an early copy to review.

A Madhouse Gothic Thriller!

Twenty-six-year-old Sarah Larsen is in debt. She cared for her ill Aunt Clara, and now Sarah is hounded by bill collectors for all the medical and hospital costs. She feels guilty that Jonathan her partner helps her. They both work at the same restaurant, but what they make doesn’t touch the debt. Poor Sarah doesn’t know what to do until she finds a job posted in her building.

“Nanny needed. Discretion is of the utmost importance. Special conditions apply.”

How hard can a nanny job be? With a nanny job during the day and restaurant work at night, her financial woes could be over. All seems too good to be true when she answers the ad and is hired by the Bird family who live in a glamorous NYC penthouse. She immediately connects with Mrs. Bird. Even though the family seems eccentric, she’s happy, although Patty, the four-year-old she’ll soon be a nanny for, is sick and Sarah spends most of her time with Mrs. Bird.

As the days go by and little Patty isn’t getting better, Sarah finds out that the former nannies left under mysterious circumstances. When she learns the Birds’ twenty-year, mind-blowing secret, she doesn’t go back out of fear. Unfortunately, she signed a contract, not only an NDA, but one that locks her into the job. She’s dragged back to the penthouse.

I won’t say more about the plot, only that it’s an over-the-top, melodramatic, Gothic page turner. Set aside any thoughts about believability because you have entered the Crazy Zone. The novel feels Gothic like reading Rebecca, the penthouse like a huge English estate. The twists and turns kept me on edge, and I kept wondering how this young woman was ever going to get out of this nightmare! I guessed one major twist near the end, but not the forehead-smacking ending.

Georgina Cross captures an almost timeless feel, and it felt great to let go, to let the crazy take over and not care if it made sense or was believable. It’s just fun sometimes to let go.

Thanks to #NetGalley #GeorginaCross and #Ballantine

I’m not opposed to the occasional ride on a literary crazy train. That said, this one requires a LOT of just going along for the ride and not asking questions, and for most of the ride, I didn’t want to get off.

Sarah Larsen is a 26-year-old up to her eyeballs in debt after shouldering the medical bills of her now deceased Aunt Clara, who raised her after the death of her parents when she was five. She’s waitressing alongside her supportive live-in fiance, Jonathan, as they struggle to make ends meet and save up for their eventual wedding. When she sees a man post a flyer in their apartment foyer seeking a nanny for a family living in a swanky area of NYC, she sees her opportunity to get out of the financial mess she’s in.

As can be predicted, this is only the beginning of a MUCH bigger mess she’ll find herself in with this secretive family. For the record, this is the part where the crazy train pulls up to the station …

I don’t want to go into the plot any further, because there’s no good way to do so without spoilers. All I can say is that, as my friend and fellow reviewer, Michelle, pointed out, you’ll probably see the initial reveal coming a mile away, and I’m not sure the author, Georgina Cross, was really trying to mask it. I think it was more of an intentional ‘easing into the unease’ of what’s to come, because things get just plain weird from that point out.

I enjoyed the bizarre direction the story took and I seriously didn’t want to put the book down. Chapter after chapter, I kept going, waiting eagerly for the big reveals that were sure to come, enjoying my ride on the train and savoring each scene I was looking at.

That is ... until the train, which was SO tantalizingly close to our final blissful destination, made an unexpected stop at the Sillyville Station, where apparently Farmer Jenkins and all the other Scooby-Doo villains, whose confessional trope so many of us despise, got on board and encouraged one of this book’s characters to try out their own eye-rolling confessional.

NOOOOOOOO. Why? Why? Whyyyyyy? I hate them. I’ll always hate them. Ugh. So disappointing.

The final reveal was pretty cool, if you’re willing to suspend (or just utterly destroy) disbelief, and I like where things end up with Sarah, so all was not lost at the end. All in all, I liked the book and would recommend it, but next time I’m getting a non-stop ticket to my destination!

So, my rating for 90% of the book is a 4, my rating for the last 10% is a 2.5, so for now I’ll settle on 3.5 and see how I feel in a couple days. It may go up to 4 if I can forgive the ending.

★★★ ½ (rounded down to 3)

I really liked this book, despite the death of a character I was rooting for (not going to say anything else about that, to avoid spoilers). Some of the ending seemed a little farfetched, but not so much that it ruined the story. I really enjoyed the authors style. I was concerned about where the plot was going after a huge reveal about 20-25% in, but the story didn't lose its speed or intrigue. I'll absolutely recommend this to our customers.

This book is wild. It's a bit unrealistic - but in a fun way, reading a quick book in a weekend sort of way. This is a Sunday hangover kind of movie on Lifetime.

Sarah take a job as a nanny. A nanny on the Upper West Side of Manhattan, in the penthouse of a luxury building, to a wealthy family. But...something is wrong.

I....can't tell you more. Just...read it. It's ridiculous. It moves QUICK. Just step outside of reality and enjoy it.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for the opportunity to read and review this book.

This book! What a ride! What a creepy domestic thriller!

At times this story was pretty unbelievable, but it made for a really entertaining read with a few jaw on the floor moments. Best book I've ever read? No, BUT just the sort of escapism I’m looking for when I pick up a suspenseful story after a stressful week. Georgina Cross understood the assignment!

I had such a fun time reading it, and I am desperate for it to come out so I can discuss all the craziness with my book club friends.

Big thank you to Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine and Netgalley for this e-ARC of Nanny Needed!

Poor Sarah owes a lot of money due to medical bills from her dead aunt's illness. She and her fiancé are just scraping by with restaurant work. One day she sees a flyer for a nanny position and the job seems simple enough. It also pays very well, including bonuses. It is just what she needs to get out from under her mound of debt. But remember...if it seems to good to be true, it probably isn't.

This was really a different take from the usual nanny trope and I liked it a lot. There were many twists...some I saw coming but most I didn't. The characters in this book were outrageously crazy, I mean way out there cuckoo...And it made this domestic drama deliciously entertaining. Also...There is a lesson to be learned here...it is "READ IT before you sign on the dotted line."

Nanny stories are a dime a dozen in the psych thriller genre but this one was a little different than the others that I've read.

Sarah is struggling with debt and getting by on tips waitressing. She lives with her fiancé, Jonathan, and they have grand plans for their future if only they could get out from under the mountain of debt.

One day, Sarah, see's a posting on the bulletin board of her NYC apartment building. Nanny Needed. Utmost discretion required. That should have been a red flag but the salary she is offered is exactly what her and Jonathan need to move forward with their future.

Once she meets the Birds she realizes this nanny position is much more than she ever bargained for.

I'll admit as soon as she interviews with the Birds family I knew instantly what was wrong with the situation. I think most readers will and I'm not sure if it's actually meant to be a twist and it certainly didn't hinder my reading experience for having figured it out. It sets the stage for what can only be described as a WHACKADOODLE story. Oh my, things aren't right at the Bird residence but Sarah has signed a contract. She can not leave for 3 months or she will be sued by the family or worse.

Okay, so the ending you will need to suspend disbelief for. It get's a little far fetched. I didn't actually buy the ending but it fits well with the rest of the story and since I had such a good time with it I accepted the ending for exactly what it is. This isn't highbrow literature. This is a book meant simply to entertain the reader and in that respect it has proven successful. 4 stars!

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine, Bantam for my copy.

Have you ever been struggling with finances, barely making ends meet while you and your fiancé are working dead-end jobs at a restaurant to pay off a mountain of debt, so you can soon amass more debt when planning your wedding?

Sarah and Jonathan are young 20-somethings living in NYC, and that’s the life they’ve been living for awhile. Wanting to get married, but unable to afford it, they work together at a local restaurant, taking extra shifts whenever they can. Living in the city is not cheap though, and they are barely making enough to afford groceries, much less pay for a wedding on their own.

One day, Sarah comes home and sees a curious ad in their lobby, asking for a nanny. Though she has no experience with children, she needs a second job, so she calls the number. Within days, she has the job…with unbelievable benefits and pay in exchange for her discretion. The Bird Family is very wealthy, very eccentric and very private. Everyone who works at the house signs a non-disclosure agreement to ensure what happens in the house stays in the house.

Sarah thinks it’s a bit odd that they hired her with no experience, but Mrs. Bird (Collette) adores her and showers her with money and presents, plus the pay is phenomenal, so she decides to give it a chance. How hard can watching a three-year-old be, especially when the mother stays home and there is also a housekeeper for help? Soon, she realizes exactly how difficult THIS particular toddler and her family will be…

I had a hard time deciding between three and four stars for this one, so I’m going with 3.5, rounded down because while the ending was good, it was so dramatically written that it felt like a cheesy soap opera, telenovela or V.C. Andrews book. I thought this might have had more of a horror/thriller lean, but I’d classify it as a family mystery/drama.

Most of the book, as wild as it was, seemed pretty plausible, which usually makes a thriller that more thrilling. The characters were good, the premise (while slightly unoriginal - Bentley Little has a similar short story) was good, and overall, I was quite entertained. Then that ending had a couple of surprises, but I felt like laughing because I could totally see it being a Lifetime movie at that point. Unfortunately, that took it from a four to three star for me.

(I would like to thank the author, publisher and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my review.)

Sarah has no nannying experience but that doesn’t stop her from landing a posh nanny job. When she starts the job she realizes something is off in their beautiful penthouse apartment.

This was a fast paced and entertaining thriller. It has a “wtf” creepiness the entire time. You don’t know exactly what is going on but you know that something isn’t right on the Upper West end. While the twists surprised and delighted me, they were also unrealistic. I’m willing to give realism up for entertaining and this one sure did entertain.

“Oh, in the beginning, how I’d thought this was going to be an easy gig. If only I could go back to that day two months ago and throw out that flyer. If only I had never seen it, if someone else had taken it from the bulletin board instead.”

Nanny Needed comes out 10/5.

When Sarah Larsen finds an advert for a nanny position in her apartment complex she jumps at the chance to make more money so she and her fiance will have less to worry about. She arrives at the glamorous Upper Westside penthouse and instantly connects with her new employer. Is this job too good to be true?

Woah! What did I just read?! I don't want to say too much and give anything away, but I will say that this book gripped me from the beginning. The pace is fast which I appreciate. Although I did guess at a lot of things, I still enjoyed watching them play out. So if you are looking forward to a twisty domestic mystery that will be a quick read look no further!

Thank you to Georgina Cross, Bantam, and NetGalley for the ARC which did not influence my review. I was so lucky to get this book on a "wish"!

Wowowow! Literally could. not out this thriller down! Talk about suspense, there were more than several moments I had goosebumps! I guarantee this will be a movie! Too many exclamation points in this review? It’s worthy of every one! And I am not saying anything more because to do so would be a spoiler for sure!

This story compelled me to finish and it was worth the effort, but the story is far-fetched and the author's descriptive words often felt overblown. One example involves a lock of hair that Collette keeps in memory of her dead daughter is presented to Sarah who goes off the rails and feels like screaming. “Horror grips my body, my hands trembling at the touch, and I want to drop it like a hot potato.” All that for a lock of hair?

Collette is a puzzle, and she is the reason I stayed with the book. Her moods, vulnerability and unpredictable behavior were captivating.

"A young woman takes a job as a nanny for an impossibly wealthy family, thinking she’s found her entrée into a better life - only to discover instead she’s walked into a world of deception and dark secrets.

Nanny needed. Discretion is of the utmost importance. Special conditions apply.

When Sarah Larsen finds the notice, posted on creamy card stock in her building’s lobby, one glance at the exclusive address tells her she’s found her ticket out of a dead-end job - and life.

At the interview, the job seems like a dream come true: a glamorous penthouse apartment on the Upper West Side of NYC; a salary that adds several zeroes to her current income; the beautiful, worldly mother of her charge, who feels more like a friend than a potential boss. She’s overjoyed when they offer her the position and signs the NDA without a second thought.

In retrospect, the notice in her lobby was less an engraved invitation than a waving red flag. For there is something very strange about the Bird family. Why does the beautiful Mrs. Bird never leave the apartment alone? And what happened to the nanny before her? It soon becomes clear that the Birds’ odd behaviors are more than the eccentricities of the wealthy.

But by then it’s too late for Sarah to seek help. After all, discretion is of the utmost importance."

The dark version of The Nanny Diaries you always wanted!