Wow. This author is just so accomplished at writing twisty tales that leave us guessing until the breath taking end. She deftly builds up the tension notch by notch until we are absolutely at the edge of our seats. This book us just brilliant. Do read it.

3⭐️⭐️⭐️
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First of all,
Thankyou #netgalley #bookcouture #bookcoutureaudio #juliacrouch for giving me a chance to have a advance copy of this arc for an honest review.
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Trigger warning ⚠️
social media bully ⚠️
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I was hooked up by the plot at first until I get to chapter 36. The story surrounds with full of lies and too much bullying for being a social media influencer. I'm getting lost on which is which probably because of the narrator which I give 2.5⭐️. So I read it instead but still confuse about the plot . The genre *thriller and mystery * did nothing applies until to the end which quite a roller coaster on how and what happen. It's a mishmash of words . I would love to read it more but DNF at chapter 40.


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Overall it's 3⭐️
With a narrator of 2.5⭐️

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🌹shaye.diariies

Reading Between the Wines book review #110/115 for 2021:
Rating: 3 🍷 🍷 🍷
Book 🎧: The New Mother
Author: Julia Crouch
Genre: Mystery & Thrillers
RELEASED on October 12, 2021!!!

Sipping thoughts: This was a decent read for me. It will make you think twice and three times before you invite any new people into your life. Rachel needs help when she finds out she is pregnant. So, she hires Abbie who is one of her biggest fans. Only thing is, one of them is about to find out that the term “no new friends” is one to live by.

Cheers and thank you to @NetGalley and @Bookouture for an advanced copy of @TheNewMother.
#TheNewMother #Bookouture #NetGalley #advancedreadercopy #ARC #Kindle #Booksofinstagram #readersofinstagram #bookstagram #nicoles_bookcellar #bookworm #bookdragon #booknerd #booklover #bookstagrammer #bookaholic #bookreview #bookreviewer #IHaveNoShelfControl #ReadingBetweenTheWines #fiction #thriller #suspense #mystery #MysteryAndThrillers

Wow! This book has pulled me in and consumed me. I have literally been gripped to the pages of this one and unwilling to put this down.

This really is a psychological and breathtaking rollercoaster. The characters are interesting, I have found them realistic and the perfect contrast.

This moves at the perfect pace, I have adored losing myself in the pages of this one. This is a great read for lovers of the genre and is completely unpredictable.

This is my first read by this author, but I absolutely cannot wait to read more. This has been a superb and gripping read and I can’t wait for more.

Thank you to Netgalley for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

A little slow to begin with, but the narrative soon heated up. Full of suspense, twists and turns. A recommended read.

This book was really good with interesting characters and lots of twists and turns. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for a free copy in exchange for review.


4.5/5

BLOG TOUR REVIEW

Review for 'The New Mother' by Julia Crouch.

Read and reviewed via NetGalley for Julia Crouch, Bookouture publishers and Bookouture anonymous

Publication date 12th October 2021.

This is the first book I have read by this author. It was previously titled 'Mother's Helper'.

I was originally drawn to this book by its stunning eye catching cover and intriguing sounding synopsis and title. The synopsis stated that this book is 'Filled with tension and twists to keep you glued to every page, it is perfect for fans of Ruth Ware, Shari LaPena and The Girl on the Train.' I am a huge fan of Shari Lapena so am looking forward to seeing if this lives up to this statement. I must admit I was also biased due to the publisher being Bookouture. I have yet to read a book published by Bookouture that I haven't enjoyed. Hopefully this won't be the first... Watch this space! (Written before I started reading the book).

This novel consists of a prologue, 49 chapters, 43 "Instagram post page" and 2 newspaper extracts. The chapters are short to medium in length so possible to read 'just one more chapter' before bed...OK, I know yeah right, but still just in case!

This book is based in Devon and London, England, 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 , UK 🇬🇧. I always enjoy when books are set in the UK as I'm from Wales and have sometimes visited areas mentioned in the book. I have in fact visited and holidayed in Devon This makes it easier to picture where the scenes are set at times.

This book is written in third person perspective and the main protagonists are Abbie and Rachel. The benefits of third person perspective with multiple protagonists are that it let's you see the bigger picture of what's going on and you get to know more characters more, what they are thinking and what they are doing. It feels like you get to see the whole picture and not miss out in anything.

'The New Mother' discusses some topics that may trigger some readers or may not be suitable for others. I like to point this out ahead of time in my reviews so you can judge if this book is for you or not. In this book Julia discusses/includes mental health and miscarriage.

It is set over/includes multiple time lines. When books show what has happened in the past and what is happening in the present I find it really helps the reader (if it is well done) understand why things are happening and what has lead to the present activities and decisions. It also shows the bigger picture.

OMG!!!! SERIOUSLY!!!! WHAT A BOOK!!! JUST WOW, WOW, WOW!!!

What an absolutely fantastically written book with vivid descriptions that make you feel the warmth of the hot tub and leaving your heart race!!! The cover, synopsis and title suit the book perfectly!! Although 'The Mother's Helper' was also a perfect title for this book 'The New Mother' works just as well.

This may be the first book I have read by Julia but it most certainly will not be my last!!! I absolutely love how it is written with the Instagram posts in between chapters bringing realism into it. The storyline itself is scarily realistic, you just need to read the news to see how influencers get some extreme stalkers and abuse. I was completely invested in the storyline and once I picked it up I could not put it down so if you are about to read this then make sure you clear your schedules. If your not going to read it then a) why the heck not?!?! And b) definitely your loss!!! This is one of the most intense and suspense filled books I've ever read. It is absolutely filled with friendship, deception, tension, lies, suspense and a few shocks and twists thrown in!!! Being a vegan myself I enjoyed that veganism was mentioned throughout this book. A genuine page turner that will keep you flipping the pages until you reach the explosive ending!!!

Rachel and Abbie are both very realistic and strong women both with very different personalities. It was intriguing to watch how both their personalities and their relationship changed throughout the story. I wasn't a fan of Abbie from the start as I found her to be quite controlling and obsessive but I won't say anymore as I don't want to give anything away. Rachel was a typical influencer and although I don't follow any myself I really enjoyed reading her Instagram posts and seeing the difference between her online persona and her real life one.

Congratulations Julia on one heck of a page turning psychological read!!! I absolutely loved reading this book and have already added all your previous books to my wish list. I look forward to reading more of your previous and future books. I would absolutely LOVE to see this turned into a movie which I can guarantee will be a sell out!! Welcome to my favourite authour club!!! Don't worry I'm not an Abbie 😉.


Overall an absolutely page turning, intense, heart racing psychological thriller that will get you addicted!!!


Genres covered in this book include Thriller, Psychological Thriller, Suspense, Psychological Fiction, Crime Fiction amongst others.


I would recommend this book to the fans of the above as well as fans of Shari Lapena, 'Gone Girl' and anyone and EVERYONE who loves a fast paced thriller.


447 pages.

This book is just 99p to purchase on kindle via Amazon which I think is an absolute bargain for this book!!!

Rated 5 /5 (I LOVED it ) on Goodreads, Instagram, Amazon UK and Amazon US and on over 30 Facebook pages plus my blog on Facebook.

Feel free to add me on Goodreads or follow me on my website or Facebook for more reviews

#TheNewMother #Bookouture #JuliaCrouch #NetGalley #BookReview #BlogTour #BooksOnTour
@JuliaCrouch @Bookouture @Bookworm1986 @bookworm86

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When social media influencer Rachel becomes pregnant, she posts online about needing a mother's helper. Through many applicants, she selects Abbie. Best friend Fran thinks someone else would be a better fit, but Rachel insists on hiring plain and subdued Abbie due to her own personal motives of documenting her journey to improving herself in front of her many followers. What Rachel doesn't know is that Abbie has personal motives of her own.

I thought this was an interesting read, trying to figure out who is truly the villain. Quiet Abbie seems harmless at first but slowly begins to infiltrate Rachel's personal life, gaining her trust and becoming her trusted confidante. Rachel has a secret from her past that she can't escape from, with the effects of what happened becoming a permanent fixture in her life. As you dive deeper in the story you are trying to figure out who is out to get who. Overall a good read with twists and surprises.

Thank you Netgalley and Bookouture for the opportunity to read this book.

Welcome to the world of social media ! To start with I thought this was going to be chick lit about living your life through Instagram. It was so much more ! The story quickly pulled me in and the characters were well drawn, exploring coercive control, the story flipped when you least expected it. I thoroughly enjoyed the story and what an excellent film it would make !

I absolutely LOVED Julia Crouch’s previous book Her Husband’s Lover and even popped it into my Top Ten Books of 2016 so I was thrilled to see that after a long absence, she has come back with a new publishing deal with Bookouture and a stunning psychological thriller called The New Mother which is being published on 12th October. When Julia messaged me recently to explain her absence and ask if I would be on the blogtour it was an easy and absolute YES please from me.

The New Mother is a very twisty and utterly addictive story told by two female narrators and within moments of meeting both Rachel (RR) and Abbie, my spidy sense was telling me something was “off” with one or them or perhaps even both of them. This is one of the books that you spend the entire time reading with your heart beating faster, your sphincter muscles clenched tighter and a huge ball of dread rolling around your stomach.

Rachel is an influencer, now in her mid 30’s with a following of millions she has decided to have a baby. However, the fact she’s single reduces the odds in her getting pregnant in the old fashioned way, so she uses a sperm donor. Now pregnant, alone and living in an isolated house Rachel decides to “advertise” on her Instagram page for a “Mother’s Helper”, someone to live in and help her during the latter stages of her pregnancy and when the baby “beansprout” arrives.

Enter Abbie, Rachel’s SELF CONFESSED NUMBER ONE FAN, who despite not quite fitting the requirements of the job, manages to blag her way into Rachel’s life and home and very quickly starts to take over Rachel’s life.

It’s pretty obvious to me that one of these women is unhinged, but which one? Well I can honestly say that my opinions were going back and forth, back and forth throughout the book. With both women hiding secrets from their past, it was difficult to work out which of them was the unreliable narrator and which one was the victim.

I’m not going to say much more about this book, except to say “WELCOME BACK Julia Crouch, we missed you” and readers of twisty, clever and totally addictive storylines will love this book.

4.5 Stars

Julia Crouch’s The New Mother is a chilling, terrifying and compulsively readable thriller readers will not be able to put down.

Pregnant mother Rachel is on a quest for perfection. She wants to give her child the world and is willing to do whatever it takes to make sure that her baby never wants for anything. Rachel knows that she cannot be the perfect mum by herself, so she is looking for someone to help her care for her baby. Rachel has exacting standards and is looking for someone who is organized, friendly and willing to go the extra mile for her precious baby. When Rachel meets Abbie, she thinks that she has found the candidate she had been looking for along. Abbie is sweet, innocent and somebody capable of making all the difference to Rachel and her baby. But is Abbie really as perfect as she seems? Or is there more to her than meets the eye?

What Abbie doesn’t understand is that Rachel needs Abbie for one important reason which nobody must discover: Rachel has a difficult time trusting anyone – including herself! It is of paramount importance that her baby’s every need is catered for – especially because secrets from Rachel’s past are catching up with her. Secrets that necessitate Rachel having to lock her bedroom door every night and check the many cameras dotted around the house obsessively.

Rachel would be completely lost without Abbie. But is Abbie as saintly as Rachel makes her out to be? Or has the new mother made the biggest mistake of her life by letting Abbie step through the doors of her house?

Julia Crouch will make readers jump out of their skin and double-check that they’ve locked the doors and windows while reading her heart-pounding new thriller, The New Mother. A complex, sinister, creepy and absorbing tale of past ghosts, old sins, persistent dangers and dangerous deception, The New Mother has plenty of jaw-dropping twists and turns that will keep readers turning the pages late into the night.

Brilliantly plotted, cleverly written and superbly constructed, Julia Crouch delivers in a masterclass in thriller writing with her latest novel, The New Mother.

Wow! Where do I even start with this one? What an absolute edge-of-the-seat book this is!

Firstly I’ll warn you that once you start reading this book you won’t be able to put it down, so pick a time when you can just be completely consumed by it and cancel everything else.

There are so many interesting strands to this book. The whole area of social media influencers is brought to stark light here. Rachel has made a living out of this, and her supposedly authentic life is not as it seems. Those that follow these influencers are of interest too, as it can morph into obsession.

At first I thought that Abbie was quite a sweet, if easily influenced, character, and that Rachel was a bit shallow and vacuous, only interested in projecting her perfect life and promoting products. I won’t give too much away, but I was wrong on both counts! As Abbie becomes more important in Rachel’s life, we begin to see the real Abbie, and it’s quite chilling.

Everything in this book combines perfectly to set the scene, and to build the suspense. The setting, luxurious but remote, and tightly secured, gives a feeling of desolation amidst the opulence. The pace is perfect, starting off sedately, with Rachel’s social media posts interspersed throughout, and then building up to the dramatic ending. The plot is so clever, and the strands all weave together perfectly.

An absolute roller-coaster ride of a book, this book had me completely enthralled and I could not put it down until the end. One of my top books so far this year, an absolute must-read.

Social media influencer Rachel Rodrigues is about to have her first child, so she advertises on her page for live-in help; someone who will see to her needs as well as those of her unborn child. Abbie James is Rachel’s biggest fan and can’t believe her luck when she lands the position. But her illusions are soon shattered when she discovers that Rachel’s picture-perfect, #authentic life is actually a carefully curated facade. As the anger and resentment grows, the dark secrets that both women are hiding are slowly revealed, the tension bubbling until it boils over in a heart-pounding finale that will leave you breathless.

Wow! What a ride! This was my first foray into Julia Crouch’s books but it won’t be my last. She had me hooked from the start, suspense and mystery seeping from every page. The story is narrated by both Rachel and Abbie, who are richly drawn, compelling and unreliable. Rachel is the controlling, difficult and wayward influencer whose life isn’t quite what she sells online, while Abbie is the girl from a difficult background with dreams of a better life who sees Rachel as a kind of saviour. Both women airbrush the truth about themselves to be better liked or get ahead and I liked how they seem to switch roles in terms of who is the good guy or bad guy at different times in the story.

Rachel’s job as an influencer is a big part of the story. The author not only uses this in the plot itself, but breaks up the story with sporadic ‘Instagram Posts’ that detail some of Rachel’s online content. I loved how these posts created a contrast with what was happening in the narrative, revealing the staged aspect of so-called real life on social media. The author uses Rachel’s influencer status to explore the more damaging aspects of this phenomenon, looking at the effect this can have on the mental and emotional wellbeing of both the poster and the consumer, and making you think about what you see and post online.

Taut, tense, twisty and unputdownable, I loved this gripping psychological thriller and would highly recommend it to anyone who enjoys this genre.

Rachel is a social influencer, who finds herself becoming less and less influential after she becomes pregnant. She reaches out to her followers to find someone to help her with the baby, and hires Abbie, a super-fan who puts Rachel on a pedestal and believes that her online personality is identical to her actual one. But neither Abbie, not Rachel, are what the other one expects.

I have mixed feelings about this book. I felt that the beginning was a bit slow, but it definitely picked up in the second half of the book and kept me reading to the end. I thought Rachel’s drive to be the “perfect” mother was interesting, even as she was obviously hiding something, but Abbie’s motivation was just strange. When you get down to it, I didn’t find that I was rooting for either of these two main characters, even as I wanted to know how it would all end.

Writing this for a Bookstagram post was also ironic given the major theme of this book. At least I have no grandiose illusions about my reach our influence.

Thank you to NetGalley and Bookouture for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. It has not influenced my opinion.

Rachel is expecting her first child and is determined to do everything perfectly - including hiring the perfect mother’s helper.

As a popular influencer on social media, Rachel is used to showcasing everything in the best light. But are there more secrets hidden than just Rachel’s bad side in a photo?

And is her new mother’s helper, Abbie, really as innocent as she seems?

I enjoyed how this book alternated viewpoints for the story, and I am still trying to piece some things together even after turning the final page! I literally could not put this book down after about the halfway point. The author kept me glued with every twist!

Perfect for those of you who were fans of Single White Female.

Thank you NetGalley for this advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review,

This was an exciting read and I thought the cover was really eye catching.

It's a fast paced read full of suspense and thrills around every corner.

It kept me on the edge of my seat until the end.

Highly recommend

Abbie James, 26, lives in Bristol with her bird, Barney. She is going to interview as a special mother’s helper for Rachel, an Instagram influencer. Abbie has been following Rachel for a long time and hopes to get the job. She is interviewed by Rachel and Fran, Rachel’s longtime friend. After much discussion, Abbie is hired.

Rachel lives in a nice home surrounded by her crew who work to do her makeup, photographs and help keep her Instagram account going as Rachel promotes various products.

While Abbie is basically a shy person, she is also careful and caring of Abbie. Rachel is enjoying taking her under her wing and helping her to exercise, lose weight, and look her best.

Rachel decided to have a baby on her own and is documenting her pregnancy and many products she uses and special food she eats to keep her healthy. But, she is obviously keeping some dark secrets that almost want to jump out at times. Is Abbie also keeping secrets?

This is a very dark, and at times, stomach churning. The social media part made me shake my head and reminds me why I totally give it a miss. I find most of it to be a hot bed of craziness. But, back to the book. I admire the author for her incredible imagination to be able to pen this book. It is compelling and quite cringeworthy. If you’re ready to read something truly different, read this one.

Copy provided by the NetGalley in exchange for a fair and honest review.

Wow this book will be sure to take you on a roller-coaster of a ride. I got into this book very quickly as the writing style is just brilliant. The flow and reader engagement just had me page turning it is such a great book I went with the flow. I loved that before each chapter there was an Instagram post describing the picture and then the post. They created a great sense of atmosphere made the book feel like real life hence, creating a good connection to the reader. This is a modern tale of life struggles and insight into the lives of the social influencers. The depth of the characters was wonderful, so believable. I found myself loving Abbie's character and hating Wanda. This story has so many twists and turns and what is great is you don't even expect them. More than once I found my jaw hitting the ground. When it hit one twist I was in shock and the ending was just pure genius. I adored every second of this book, you could tell the book was written with love and a passion to please the readers. As we all love those ending that are unexpected with the twists and turns and the unpredictability of the characters. I can not praise the author and the publishing team enough for producing this brilliant page turner for us enjoy. I will be looking out for the authors next book and previous books for sure, I just can't wait. This review has been added to goodreads, kobo, Google books and amazon and B&N it was not available at waterstones. Also on my blog https://ladyreading365.wixsite.com/website/post/the-new-mother-by-julia-crouch-bookouture-5-stars

Title: The new mother by Julia Crouch
Genre: Domestic Thriller
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Verdict:
Thanks to @bookouture, @netgalley and @juliageek for letting me read this fantastic novel about what goes on behind the scenes of social media posts what’s real and what’s not. I love that with each chapter came a new Instagram post where Juliet then proceeded to strip back the barebones of it all to reveal what really happened. Julia’s writing is very much like @shaboland and yet has the warmth and empathy of a @diane.chamberlain.author novel where we see both sides of the coin. I love tell the novel focused on mental health in an age where social media is so dominant as well as the startling divide between the poor and the wealthy classes. I love that you weren’t sure if the narrator was a reliable one and the cat and mouse game that ensued when both women realised not all was how it seemed. I just loved the tension and pace through this novel where I could see glimpses of Stephan king along with an Agatha Christie influences in particular with the flashback scenes. It also kind of reminded me of a Channel 5 asked for the new drama where you get the derange Nanny/surrogate/stalker wanting to take over their victims life. Overall a stunning read about the intricate cogs needing to be tweaked and oiled for the social media Giants to have a hold on modern society. Both author and publisher has knocked out of the park with this one and has ultimately made me more sceptical of social media and so-called influencers | #readingtime
#bookobsessed
#readersofig
#hyggelifestyle
#bookaholics
#bookaddicts
#Ukbibliophiles
#booknerd
#ilovebooks
#lovereading

Rachel is an Instagram influencer and success is everything to her. She will soon need a mother's helper as she is now pregnant. That is just fine with Abbie. She will take the job. She is certain of it. Obsession and control will make it happen. However, Rachel has no idea the extremes that Abbie went through to get the job.

Rather than to worry about Abbie and even to realize how she is perfect - almost too perfect for the job - Rachel is doing everything she can for the child in her belly to be born in as an ideal a world as she can make possible. If this whole pregnancy increases her media success and pushes her likes into the tens of thousands, then all the better.

Rachel will be a single mother, but that is not why she is hiring Abbie to assist her with the baby. Rachel has a unique health issue and knows she will be unable to fully care for her child by herself. She already loves the baby, of that there is no doubt. She will do anything at all for it, and this includes bringing a stranger into her home.

Abbie is fully aware of Rachel's media success, but there is more she knows, much more. How far will Abbie push her way into Rachel's life and will Rachel ever see why Abbie has come to her for the job? Will Rachel ever realize why Abbie seems to be exactly the person she needs?

What is really going on in this captivating story? Rachel and Abbie are about to take an incredible ride that is so twisted, so shocking that the tension rises at an incredible pace, not letting up for one second. Who will end up on top?

I had this ARC as an audiobook and the narration was spot on, especially considering the tension in the story, more so when the obsession was playing out. This book was so good that I sat in my recliner and listened to it in one sitting, often with bated breath. From beginning to end, The New Mother is an incredible read, much like a runaway train that ended with a breathtaking climax.

Many thanks to Bookouture and to NetGalley for this ARC for review. This is my honest opinion.