I tried with this book, but I just did not like it. It was very slow, the characters were all unlikable, and by the end I just got to the point where I didn't care what happened to any of them. There were some things that were described in completely unnecessary, almost gory, detail, while other things that should have been important to the plot were left just hanging. I guess the reader is supposed to draw his or her own conclusions, but that only works if the reader cares enough about the characters and the story to spend time thinking about them once he or she is finished reading. And sadly, I did not.
Annelise was fascinating, but completely unsympathetic. I tried to root for Suzy, but by the end I was just fed up with her. Every time I put the book down, I had no real feeling of urgency to return to the book. And I did not like the ending at all. I would not recommend this book.

You know from the title alone that there’s something not quite right with the nanny. But the levels of darkness go from gray to slate to ebony. This was a chilling psychological thriller.

Told in dual perspectives, one view takes place in the present. Suzy has lost her father and is now essentially an orphan after her mother passed from cancer when she was much younger. Her grief has led Suzy to sleepless nights and cutting herself off from everyone who has ever cared about her. Then she meets Anneliese.

Anneliese, Suzys childhood nanny, offers Suzy the comforts and feelings of home that she’s been lacking. Suzy let’s go of the loose grip she has on her old life and completely absorbs into Anneliese’s world. Until, she finds loose ends that aren’t adding up.

The second perspective is from Anneliese when she was caretaker to young Suzy during the time that Suzys mother passes away. Annie clearly loves Suzy but this love borders on obsession.

Both characters descend into madness in different ways, showing that the desire to be loved can twist a persons life in unimaginable ways.

While not perfect, this book had all the disturbing moments that are needed for a good psychological thriller. The twists were not so much surprising, but expected. There aren’t many moments, if any, where you root for Annie. It would have been nice if there redeeming moments for Annie to make her seem like the story arc could have twisted differently. Instead, the conclusion is relatively predictable.

Overall great for fans of Caroline Kepnes and Gillian Flynn.

I love this kind of creepy - when you know this won’t end well and you can’t put it down till you find out how. Poor Sue who loses so much and can’t find her way and poor Annie who never got the help she needed after suffering her own loss. Well paced story.

This book started off really promising but ended up kind of dragging for me.. there was nothing unique that I haven’t read before but it was still readable. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for a free copy in exchange for review.

Wow, what an emotional and engaging read! I really loved how it was told from dual points of view while alternating between past and present. I strongly empathized with Sue. Annie's behavior and thought processes were so disturbing that I felt repelled by her. The ending really shocked me.

Ooo y’all I just knew this was going to be a creepy one and I am SO glad I was able to read it! Very cunning and clever characters and the writing was fantastic.

A young woman named Sue, morning the recent loss of her father, suddenly runs into a woman who introduces herself as Anneliese, telling Sue that she was her nanny when she was younger. They strike up a conversation and quickly become good friends. Sue loves hearing stories from Anneliese, stories about when Sue was little and the fun that she and her nanny Anneliese had all those years ago, making memories and having a close bond and connection to one another many years ago. Is Anneliese who she says she is? Are the stories she is telling Sue 100% truth or is she embellishing some of the stories to her favour?

I enjoyed reading the alternating POV's in this novel. Parts are told from Sue's POV in the present day, and parts are told from Annie's POV in the past when she was the family's live-in nanny. There are many shocking twists and revelations, many that I didn't see coming, especially near the end. There are a lot of thrills and suspense in this novel to have you hooked as you flip through the chapters.

A great novel that I recommend you read.

Holy cow, holy cow, wow! Hard to review, as I absolutely want to give nothing away; so I’ll just say read it! It’s intense, deliciously dark, unputdownable, with phenomenal character development and an original and fun writing style! Mind blowing and hard to read at time’s, because of the pure evil within some characters! It’s not to be missed! Highly recommend’.

This was one I kept seeing all over Bookstagram. I absolutely LOVED this one, it was fast, it was razor sharp and kept me guessing. I loved the storyline of discovering the family secrets that had been kept quiet for over 20 years. Reonnecting always comes with a risk, is it always worth it? I loved how fast this book read, it was a terrific pace for a quick reader like me. Flora, your book is BRILLIANT! Thank you for letting me read. I will definately buy a copy for my own shelves! This was a 5 STAR read for me!

On it's surface, this is a domestic thriller, following a young woman who reconnects with her childhood nanny having lost both her parents. She begins to develop an attachment that her friend thinks may be unhealthy and starts to uncover the truth behind the nanny's time working in her home.

What sets it apart from other domestic thrillers is the rich sense we get of the characters and their relationships. The shifting perspective and timelines kept the story moving, but it never feels rushed. I hate using 'literary' as a descriptor, but I think it applies here.

I will recommend to fan of B.A. Paris, Megan Abbott, and Gillian Flynn. This is the author's first novel, and I will be following to see what comes next.

Thank you to MIRA Books and Netgalley for the digital copy in exchange for review.

Book: Nanny Dearest
Author: Flora Collins
Rating: 3 Out of 5 Stars

I would like to thank the publisher, Mira Books, for sending me an ARC.

I found this one to be a rather difficult title to rant. The first half of the book was really rough, but I found the second half to be strong. I did enjoy the characters, but I found bits of the plot to be really dragging. I don’t know. I guess that what I’m getting out is there were elements that I really liked and other parts that just did not work for me.

This is a domestic suspense thriller. That means that this is about everyday people who seem to have a normal life until that life is turned upside down. I will admit that domestic thrillers can do either way for me, but for the most part, I do enjoy this genre. We follow two characters, Suzy and Annie. Both for them tell the story, but in different time frames. I like this aspect. I like getting to see what got the characters to this point. We see why they are the way they are and it allows us to gain a deeper understanding as to just who we are dealing with. We get to see their complex nature and understand why they made the choices they did. it just gives us a deeper understanding of the characters.

Now the downfall of doing it these way means that we know everything-well, pretty much everything. I think we knew a lot more in this book than in other ones that I’ve read. I’m not a fan of this. I would like if something more had been hidden from us. By knowing just what went down, it takes away the suspense and thriller elements of the book. We know what happens and that punch at the end just isn’t there. I walked away from the ending not really feeling anything. I think that had the big reveal not been told so early, I think the ending would have had the punch it needed to bring everything home.

The overall plot was on the slower side-expect for a few chapters. Again, I kind of enjoyed the slower pace. It allowed us to get to see the full scoop of just what really happened and got us to this point. However, there were certain parts that just felt rushed to me. I’m pretty sure this is a new author and I think this imbalance will improve with time.

I think overall this is just an average read for me. I didn’t love it, but I didn’t hate it.

This book comes out on November 30, 2021.

This sounded extremely engaging, but it didn't come close to meeting my expectations. Lots of overdetailing slowed the pace, and the characters were largely unlikeable, so it was a struggle to stay engaged.

The book description looked intriguing but unfortunately, I didn’t find the actual book nearly as interesting. I thought the book’s pace was slow and it felt drawn out. I didn’t enjoy the back and forth time periods but I know a lot of people do. I ended up not finishing it, stopping around 60%. While this book isn’t for me, I’m certain others will really enjoy it.

Nanny Dearest follows Sue Keller and her former nanny as they reconnect years later. Sue is lost in her grief following her fathers death and she runs into her old nanny Annie. They reconnect and Sue feels like she's got someone to count on again. She soon realizes that Annie is keeping secrets from her and she's not sure she can handle the truth. Nanny Dearest is an exciting thrill ride but unfortunately for me it was kinda predicable. I enjoyed it but I figured out what was going to happen pretty quickly.

I was really excited to read this but it ended up just being ok for me, it was kind of a slow pace and it wasn't as gripping as I had hoped

A quick and compelling read, though the main character could have used a bit more depth. For all that, if we weren't getting a huge depth of feeling anyway, I could have done with a marginally more sinister nanny.

This was an excellent domestic thriller. Although at times I felt there were some unnecessary repetitiveness, it was a thoroughly easy read.

Sue has recently lost her father, already having lost her mother years ago, Sue is now alone. Sue soon takes comfort in reconnecting with her childhood nanny and the two become inseparable. However, Nanny Annie has been holding on to some secrets from the past. As these revelations begin to surface Sue is realizing that not everything is as it seems.

This novel is dual narrated which I absolutely love! It is also set in two different time periods, Annie narrates the 90s and Sue narrates in present day. Filled with twists and turns and an ending you wont see coming! Buckle your seats folks, you are in for a wild ride

The characters are so-so with a slow moving yet intriguing at times story. I can’t form a negative or positive opinion of this one oddly enough. It’s one to pass the time and you’ll probably like it.

This book was sent to me on Kindle by Netgalley for review. It is a dark mystery, sometimes frightening when one thinks what could happen. It is character driven with not the most likeable characters. However, others might enjoy reading this more than I did. I could not get into the story the way I usually do. It was slow moving.

I've come to the conclusion that "domestic suspense" isn't my favorite genre. It often feels slow moving to me at times, as there's only so much of describing Anneliese and Suzie hanging out that I care to read. I also wanted a bigger payout for the ending than what was given. This was okay but it felt forgettable to me.

Kindly received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.