Member Reviews

This is a well written, fast paced, page flipping thriller with twisty twists to keep the reader guessing! TW for sexual abuse of minors which caused me to skim read some sections. Thank you Netgalley, Bookouture and Nicole Trope for this eARC in exchange for my honest review.

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The chapters of this addictive, realistically plotted story of every parent's worst nightmare and the good and bad sides of human nature are written from the perspectives of three relatable females, Leslie, her step-daughter Shelby and a older lady called Ruth. It's a emotionally charged tale of a variety of parenting styles with a plot that covers a wide range of relatable issues and builds in speed and intensity as the story works its way towards its heart string pulling conclusion.

Leslie's nightmare begins when she receives a call on her mobile from Shelby who had been babysitting Leslie's three year old daughter Millie informing her that the little girl had mysteriously disappeared. After Leslie had rushed home from town to the luxurious house that she shared with her millionaire husband Randall, she is shocked to discover that the front door is open and Millie is nowhere in the house. Randall is informed and returns home from the golf course and the police arrive at the house and introduce themselves as Constables Dickerson and Willows.As Shelby begins to recount the events leading up to her discovering that Millie was gone, Leslie is convinced that her step-daughter is lying. Is her suspicious mind justified or were Leslie's doubts due to her guilty conscious over her own secrets. Why did she insist on leaving little Millie with a child who was below the legal age for babysitting? Why was Leslie in town for longer than she had originally stated to Shelby? Although,as a parent myself, I did feel some empathy towards Leslie due to the fact that her young daughter was missing, I can't say that I initially thought she was a very likeable individual but I admit that my opinion of her had changed by the conclusion of the story.

Shelby was a realistic twelve year old who had planned to meet up with her best friend from school Kiera and didn't want to spend her Saturday babysitting her little step-sister. Now Kiera had found herself caught in a nightmare world of suspicious adults whilst struggling with her feelings of guilt and regret and harbouring her own secrets. What had happened after Leslie had left the house? Was Shelby somehow involved in Millie's disappearance? Who was sending Shelby threatening text messages on her mobile phone?

I thought that the author's characterisation of Ruth and her various issues were realistic and relatable and that her backstory was heart breaking and unfortunately all too believable and based in reality. Ruth was a fantastic character but how did this deeply traumatised individual fit into the story of little Millie's disappearance?

Omg, wow.....just wow, there are not enough superlatives in the English dictionary to express how much I loved this incredible thriller. I was hooked into the story from the first page and found myself so captivated by the unfolding story that I was compelled to read the whole book in one sitting. The author takes the reader on a roller coaster ride with multiple twists and turns that culminates with a nail biting, seriously chilling epilogue. The story caused me to experience a wide range of conflicting emotions and even felt like I was close to tears at one point in the story which is something that doesn't happen to me very often. I think that Nicole Thrope has excelled her own very high standards of writing with this latest addition to her catalogue of emotionally charged stories. If I could I would award The Step Child far more than five stars. This is definitely one of my favourite reads of this year so far and very very highly recommended by little old me.

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Another fantastic book by this author who never disappoints. I thoroughly enjoyed this book which I read in a couple of sittings. I look forward to seeing what she comes up with next.

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I absolutely loved this book. I am drawn to books about families with issues and The Stepchild encompasses SO MANY psychological topics and issues that I was completely captivated and intrigued. The writing was so easy and made flying through the pages seamless, I could not put the book down! The personalities and mannerisms of all of the characters were described so perfectly that I could easily envision them in my mind. My heart went out to so many of the characters for different reasons. I feel like a book could be written based on each individual character and their point of view - a series perhaps? There are some trigger topics but nothing too descriptive or dark. Secrets, lies, and twists make the story even more gripping, I absolutely loved it! Please do read the letter by the author at the end of the book. I love this touch and love what she had to say.

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The Stepchild by Nicole Trope

Published: March 15, 2022
Bookouture
Pages: 276
Genre: Psychological Thriller
KKECReads Rating: 5/5
I received a copy of this book for free, and I leave my review voluntarily.

Nicole Trope went to university to study Law but realised the error of her ways when she did very badly on her first law essay because-as her professor pointed out, 'It's not meant to be a story.' She studied teaching instead and used her holidays to work on her writing career and complete a Masters' degree in Children's Literature. She is a USA Today and Amazon bestseller in the USA, UK, AUS, and CAN. She lives in Sydney with her husband and three children.

“A secret kept is a secret you live to regret.”

Leslie lives a life of ease with her wealthy husband, who provides her with more than she could ever need. A beautiful daughter, Millie, who is the light of her life, and her stepdaughter Shelby. Shelby is 12 and holding a secret inside of her that she feels could ruin her life. Secrets are dangerous.

This book will keep you on the edge of your seat from page one! I loved how this was written. The way this story is told is so clever. I had no idea who was the bad guy until it was revealed, despite the descriptions.

I enjoyed this novel. The characters were all so beautifully done. I loved the themes, especially that family isn’t always blood. The way the plot moved was great. The build-up was intense, and the pacing was quick.

This was a fantastic read that will break your heart and keep you riveted until the very end.

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EXCERPT: I left the house, I followed him, studied him. He used to be the cat, tormenting little mouse me. I had to be watchful and wary whenever I left my safe space, in case he was waiting to pounce. But now this little mouse has not returned to her safe house, although perhaps I should have. Perhaps then I wouldn't be avoiding the news right now for fear of seeing his wife's distress, knowing what I know. She has no idea how much worse things could get.

ABOUT 'THE STEPCHILD': Three-year-old Millie Everleigh disappears on a crisp winter’s day, and nothing is as it seems…

It’s the phone call every mother dreads.

I’m climbing into the car after a trip to the grocery store. As the engine starts, my phone rings. It’s my stepdaughter, Shelby, who is babysitting my three-year-old little girl Millie.

‘I only went upstairs for a second,’ she says through her sobs. ‘She’s gone.’

I race home to find my blue-eyed baby girl missing, and my heart ripped out of my chest.

When the police turn up, Shelby’s story starts to unravel. What is she hiding?

Then I get a message saying, ‘Your husband is not who you think he is.’ Could he be lying?

Suddenly, my family feel like strangers. Everyone has a secret – even me.

No one knows why I was late coming back from the store, and the guilt I’ve been feeling ever since…

Once the truth comes out, all of our lies exposed, will it be too late to save my precious child?

MY THOUGHTS: The Stepchild takes a turn in a most unexpected direction - certainly not what I was expecting, but it's very relevant and timely. What started out as a fairly prosaic and predictable story soon took a welcome turn to the darker as Trope explored the subject of teenage grooming.

None of my predictions held any water as secret after secret was revealed. You may think Trope gives you the whole story in the beginning but, believe me, she doesn't.

The story is told from the points of view of three women: Leslie, Millie's mother; Shelby, Leslie's stepdaughter; and Ruth, whose connection to the story I am not going to reveal.

Trope examines the dynamics of the blended family, and the pressure on the child who now finds herself having to negotiate living with two separate families; of having to watch what she says to her mother who is resentful and jealous, and try to deflect her inquisitions. She is also having to cope with getting to know her mother's new husband, and a very demanding friend who doesn't want Shelby to have any other friends.

The more you read, the more chilling and complex the story becomes. Secrets are slowly picked apart, but it is not initially evident just who is the bad guy in all of this. Trope is a master of misdirection!

The Stepchild quickly became hard to put down. Despite there being no graphic descriptions of anything, there were several places in the book where I found myself holding my breath, or crossing my fingers. Definitely a read that will have you experiencing all the emotions.

⭐⭐⭐.9

#TheStepchild #NetGalley

I: @nicoletropeauthor @bookouture

T: @nicoletrope @Bookouture

#australianfiction #contemporaryfiction #familydrama #mentalhealth #mystery

THE AUTHOR: Nicole Trope went to university to study Law but realised the error of her ways when she did very badly on her first law essay because-as her professor pointed out- ‘It’s not meant to be a story.’ She studied teaching instead and used her holidays to work on her writing career and complete a Masters’ degree in Children’s Literature. After the birth of her first child she stayed home full time to write and raise children, renovate houses and build a business with her husband.
The idea for her first published novel, The Boy under the Table, was so scary that it took a year for her to find the courage to write the emotional story.
She lives in Sydney with her husband and three children.

DISCLOSURE: Thank you to Bookouture via Netgalley for providing a digital ARC of The Stepchild by Nicole Trope for review. All opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own personal opinions.

For an explanation of my rating system please refer to my Goodreads.com profile page or the about page on sandysbookaday.wordpress.com

This review is also published on Twitter, Amazon, Instagram and my webpage

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WOW, WOW, WOW!!!
Please excuse my review, as I just experienced the longest panic attack of my life! My heart is still pounding! What an amazing yet dreadful, nail-biting thrill ride! This book was absolutely unputdownable!! I read this in about 4 hours. The secrets and twists just kept coming and were not at all what I expected. This book starts with a missing child and develops into so much more. I was on the edge of my seat feeling like a spectator alongside these characters, raging and yelling at my Kindle. LOL! It's been awhile since I felt such anxiety while reading. You will definitely experience all of the feels with The Stepchild. This is the first book by this author that I have read and it darn sure won't be my last!! I HIGHLY recommend that you read this!!

Thank you to the author, Bookouture and NetGalley for allowing me free access to this ARC!

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An utterly brilliant psychological thriller about a 3 year old child that goes missing when her 12 year old sister is babysitting. Told from 3 different POV the author engages the reader so much that you will find it hard to put the book down. The book is edgy yet the characters relatable as the story evolves around every parents worst nightmare one to read for sure.

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I once read a review that said there weren't enough superlatives in the world to describe that book. Well that's exactly how I felt when I finished reading The Stepchild. I simply couldn't stop talking about how wonderful it was. What a great plot. Brilliant psychological thriller. You get the idea.

I was drawn in immediately by the prologue and the description of a beautiful child lying lifeless in the park. When you realise that child is little Millie it is heart breaking because Nicole Trope does such a brilliant job of describing sweet, entertaining and much loved Millie. What happened to Millie and who is responsible was so gripping that I finished this book in two flights and didn't even notice the turbulence and I am a very nervous flyer!!

The story is told by three people, Millie's mother, Leslie, her stepdaughter Shelby and Ruth who is trying to overcome her severe mental health problems. I found that really works for me, getting a different perspective on the same story and they are people you really care about. They all have a secret but how bad can those secrets be? As I may have mentioned, I loved this book and immediately bought Nicole Trope's The Family Across the Street for the trip home.

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The Stepchild by Nicole Trope is a psychological thriller novel that features every parent’s nightmare, a missing child. The story in The Stepchild is one that is told by changing the point of view between the various characters involved.

Leslie gets the news that no parent ever wants to hear, her three year old daughter Millie is missing. Leslie had gone out and left Millie with her twelve year stepdaughter, Shelby, there to babysit but when returning home Millie is gone and Shelby insists she had only left for a second.

Nicole Trope has done a good job in The Stepchild making every character the type that you just know they are hiding something and that feel very untrustworthy. This of course is the type of book that then becomes hard to put down as it pulls me in further and further waiting for the answers to just what happened. Having read the author before I knew I enjoyed her stories and hoped The Stepchild would grab me too and it certainly did as each twist came along.

I received an advance copy from the publisher via NetGalley.

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I received an ARC of this book from Bookouture via NetGalley in exchange for my honest feedback. This was a solid psychological thriller told in 3 different viewpoints. At first you don't understand how the viewpoint of Ruth relates to the story, but it is a satisfying twist once it is revealed. Actually I did not guess any of the twists, which always leaves me impressed due to how many psychological thrillers I read. The conclusion is well done, not rushed. If I had to give a negative point, I think some of the mystery was a bit too drawn out. There is a fine line between building suspense and getting impatient!

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First, I want to thank Nicole Trope, Bookouture and NetGalley for providing me with this book so I can bring you this review.

WOWZERS!! The Stepchild is another 5 star must read from Nicole Trope! Each book she writes keeps getting better and better! There is no doubt in my mind that this will be a Bestseller-as everyone will be talking about this book!!

Nicole’s book blew me out of the water!! This book is every parent’s nightmare come true in more ways than one! She tackled some in-depth topics that are rarely brought up in books. How these issues were weaved into the storyline were brilliant!

One thing I noticed in this book is her attention to detail when it came to physical descriptions of a character.

The Stepchild was incredibly fast paced and addictive where I finished it in one sitting!

So many times my heart ached for many of the characters and what they were going through.

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A brilliant story-well done Nicola Trope! I would thoroughly recommend this book and would give it 6* if I could.
Thank you Netgalley and General Fiction for giving me the opportunity to review this book.

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Wow! This is my first novel by Nicole Trope, and it certainly won’t be my last! There were so many twists and turns in this thriller. Alternating POVs between Leslie, mom to Millie and step mom to Shelby, Shelby who was in charge of watching Millie when she went missing, and Ruth a mystery woman who runs into a man that sexually assaulted her when she was a child. It all comes together so well! I really enjoyed the characters and could totally relate to Leslie.

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WOW!!!!! I couldn't put this book down, it was gripping from beginning to end, you think you know who's fault it is and then it does a whole 360 and you are debating what the heck is really going on here??? EVERYONE HAS SECRETS NOW?? Who is being truthful over HERE!!!!!! This book had me on edge, I had to finish it the same day I opened it, I needed to find this little girl.

We meet Shelby who is Leslies stepdaughter, they get along ok, but Shelby is acting out, and when she tells her to watch her little sister for just an hour while she goes and runs an errand, she is shocked to find out that Millie is missing. And this whole situation started to unravel a whole bunch of secrets from everyone involved in this book. Shelby is keep a secret but her selfish mother is preventing her from talking, is she being protective? or is there more to Shelby's life that we don't know about?

There is a huge twist as well, is the husband hiding something? Leslie is getting messages from someone who is sending her things, and as I get to know this character I'm here thinking, what the heck this woman has to do with this story? and then POW!!!! I cant say anymore because WOW is the only thing after that last sentence that I can say.

And one more thing I would like to say. Thank you netgalley and the publishers for giving me the opportunity to read this book, it was too GOOD!!! can't wait to brag about it when it launches.

IG: @thewaysoffran
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4604802295

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There should have been a content warning on this book regarding sexual abuse of minors. Being a victim of sexual abuse, I found portions of this book difficult to read. I found Ruth to be a relatable character and her experiences. There are three viewpoints in this story, Leslie, Shelby, and Ruth .I liked reading from the different perspectives. Overall, the story is well written and fast paced. I did relate to Leslie, Shelby and Ruth in some ways. Highly suspenseful until the end. While I had issues with some things this book, I did want to know what happened to Millie, the missing child. I found the ending to be bittersweet and moving.

I received this ARC from NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

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I played quite the guessing game with "The Stepchild," trying to figure out exactly who did what.

Shelby, the twelve-year-old stepdaughter, is left to reluctantly babysit her adorable younger half-sister, Millie. Under her care, Millie disappears, but what happened and where did she go? Shelby has secrets that she won't divulge, as well as Leslie, Millie's mom and Shelby's stepmother, who feels enormous guilt about what happened.

What transpires is a twisty who-dun-it that left me guessing until almost the very end. Engrossing story with a wild ending!

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

4 stars

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Another emotional roller-coaster of a ride for me, reading this tense thriller by Nicole Trope. Whilst it took me a while to warm to the main characters of Leslie & Randall, once I did, I was gripped and racing through the pages, desperately wanting to see the plot unfold. Totally unputdownable!
The book is told from a variety of viewpoints, Leslie (the stepmother of Shelby), Ruth (an unidentified adult with compulsive behaviours) & Shelby (a troubled, torn child). The characters were portrayed very effectively, with their problems and thoughts tumbling through their minds, adding to the confusion and mystery.
Ruth is a fabulously complicated character, with behaviours that lead you to gradually unwrap her back-story, drawing huge empathy from the reader.
Millie, the three-year-old child who goes missing, is also well-depicted.
The story tackles some very challenging issues, with both clarity and understanding, reflecting well some behaviours, that these issues could bring.
The plot is tense, harrowing and emotional. There are unexpected twists and a real urgency to the storyline.
I seem to be becoming a HUGE Nicole Trope fan! I would unhesitatingly recommend this book!

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Many thanks to NetGalley and Bookouture for gifting me a digital copy of the latest thriller by Nicole Trope - 4.5 stars for a book that's hard to put down!

Leslie left her 3-year-old daughter, Millie, with her stepdaughter, Shelby, while she ran some errands. Then Shelby called her hysterically that Millie was missing and Leslie's world shattered. When the police are interviewing Shelby, Leslie can tell that her stepdaughter is not being completely truthful. Then Leslie receives an anonymous text saying, Your husband is not who you think he is. Plus Leslie is feeling guilty because she hid the real reason that her errands took longer than expected.

Told from the viewpoints of Leslie, Shelby, and Ruth, everyone has secrets they are hiding and Millie is still missing. This is a tense, well-written thriller that will literally have you flipping through the pages as fast as possible. Besides the mystery, it's a story of family, the secrets we keep from each other and ourselves, and coming to grips with our past. Another must-read from Nicole Trope!

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The Step Child by Nicole Trope is a gripping domestic thriller . Right from the very first chapter this book had me completely hooked and I didn’t want to put it down. I love when a book grips me in this way and this one certainly did. This is only the second book that I’ve read by this author and I cannot wait to read more.

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