Triggers: family abuse, car accident, hospitalization, abortion (mentioned)
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Where to start! I was over the moon when the author Isabela Bright messaged me to read and review her novel! It's the first time anyone asks so I took pride and read. First let me point out glad I read it on my Kindle 😅😅 my French needs a lot of work! Second if you're into family oriented novels this should b your next read I love thrillers and mysteries and I couldn't even see that ending coming. Its fast paste and in UK format so may be a little confusing but after the first few chapters you'll understand.This book has multiple POV, short chapters an very dog friendly!The family dinamic isn't healthy and each of the siblings has their demons(as do we all)and each character has more of a spot or character reference in this book then most novels. I'd go as far as saying that's how they dealt with thesituations in the book. How far someone will go to keep something from coming out. Hit one of my own triggers.. Looking forward to when it's released!🙂🥰
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~"Love can make you do anything. Guilt will make you do everything." ~Chap. 86

Let me just say this author never disappoints. This book was a whirlwind and dysfunctional doesn't seem to describe the main characters family well enough. I would say emotional train wreck.

The twists and turns kept me going. I loved the pacing and the quickness of the chapters. I kept wanting to know more and more. I kept wondering and I love when books have the ability to do this.

If you love domestic thrillers I would give this one a shot. Especially if you are in a reading slump and need something that has the ability to capture and keep your attention.

Debut author, Isabella Bright, explores the complexities of a conflicted family relationship in Stealing Foxy, and what a page-turner! I thoroughly enjoyed the author’s style of writing. As she’s told the story from a third-person omniscient perspective, the reader gets a bird’s eye view of her characters' thoughts and feelings. Cracking the psychological impact inheritance can cause, I learned what some of her characters had done or ignored and what they were capable of doing.

Bright quickly aroused my imagination whilst describing the French countryside and a run-down albeit beautiful house where the story is set. We meet Rachel and her adorable French husband. I fell hard for Gabriel when he showed me his undying love and respect for his wife and his delightful English accent—that sold me. I loved the snippets of his native tongue cleverly woven into sentences, the author always making sure he’s well-understood.

Of course, it’s not all about their daily worries, putting their house in order and how they’d finance what appears to be an overwhelming job. When their story progressed, I found out why there was so much sibling animosity. Or did I? It’s a tad convoluted; however, the way Bright led me down the garden path was nothing less than brilliant. At times she had me holding my breath—never will I look at something as simple as a dish the same way! Sounds like something out of a movie, doesn’t it? It certainly seemed to play out that way.

The brother Truck is dislikable, but his inner thoughts and expletives amused me. Yeap, dark humour abounds. The question is whether or not he’ll have his comeupance. The sisters. Gosh! You know when you want to give someone a good talking to, that was me! Lol, that or give my ebook a good bashing!

I liked Rachel a lot. She’s got her heart in the right place, and like me, is an incorrigible dog lover. I didn’t always agree with her choices and often put my hands on my head, but what a team she and her quite a bit younger hubby makes.

If there's one twist, another’s fast on its heels. And it’s not until nearly the end that I thought I’d put two and two together. I have to mention the title and cover before closing. Okay, you all know I’m a cover snob, but naming the book Stealing Foxy couldn’t have been better thought out.

Lovers of intrigue, fast-paced suspense, weirdish characters and non-stop family drama, don’t hesitate to one-click. Simply bravo, Bright!

ARC kindly received from Victoria Editing NetGalley Co-op for an honest review

Wow! Finding Foxy was an entertaining gem to read. It had its tense moments, heartbreaking moments and lashings of dark humour. Each character shone as the story developed.

I loved the old man in the car and everything he brought to the plot. As for Rachel and Gabriel, I easily connected with them. The setting in which the story was told painted a stunning picture in my mind. This idyllic French house in need of sprucing up tantalised my senses. It was like I could feel the breeze on the sunflowers. And Foxy, aww! Saying no more.

There were a few moments when the words, ‘what the hell?’ slipped into my mind. I couldn’t see how everything was going to get resolved which sent my pulse racing. ‘Stealing Foxy’ is fabulous and fun. It’s darkly delightful and a must read. A define recommendation from me!

Thank you Netgalley and Isabella Bright for my gifted copy!

Synopsis:
Far away from the toxic relationship with her brother Truck, Rachel has built her dream life with her dream husband in south west france. So when Truck finds out where they live and threatens to pay them a visit and kill Rachel, she's afraid she might end up dead for real. Only she has a protector: Foxy, the giant dog they found...

My thoughts:
I really enjoyed reading this book! It was an atmospheric slow-burn that was beautifully written, and reading this book made me feel like I was in France, myself. I absolutely appreciated the tiny, unexpected twists and turns (like what really happened to that damned salad bowl) and found the ending to be clever and touching. This book is all about the bond between humans and animals that cannot be shattered even if one of them does something wrong - and it shows us that animals really can save us, one way or another.

Parts of this book reminded me of:
- The Call by P.D. Viner

This book was so so good, talk about a dysfunctional family, I couldn’t sit down whilst reading this book, I had the jitters cause it had me so jumpy but it was excellent, great ending .

This is an interesting debut novel from Isabella Bright.

Rachel is happily married to Gabriel, living in France. She has two sisters and a brother living in other countries, who she doesn't have much contact with. They are a pretty dysfunctional family and the death of their parents has created even more of a wedge between them.

One morning, Rachel receives mail from her brother. He's discovered where she is living and sends a threatening email to Gabriel too, saying that he will be travelling to France so they'd better watch out!

What follows is a thriller with a difference, with quirky characters, a dark twist and a cover up murder.

Written in chapters from the point of view of all the siblings. Each has a different take on who's to blame and why they don't get on. But is everyone in this dysfunctional family ever being honest? 

An unpredictable, original, dark comedic page turner which actually turns out to have a satisfying plot and outcome.

If you want a thriller which is a bit different then give this a go. Just don't take it too seriously and remember, it is fiction!

Many thanks to the author for sending me an ARC. Thanks also to netgalley and the publishers. I love to discover new authors.

I'm not too sure what to make of this. Definitely a bit dark, lots of twists and full of family intrigue. But it was a bit too jumbled for me. A bit of a comedy but it didn't make me laugh, just felt uncomfortable. I didn't really like any of the characters enough to feel involved. An easy enough read, but not a favourite.

A digital ARC of this book was provided to me by Victory Editing, NetGalley Co-op and NetGalley. The opinions expressed are my own and freely given.
When Rachel's parents died, she spent a lot of time arguing with her siblings about items to be divided. Her only brother, Truck, thinks that she stole things that are rightfully his, but Rachel swears that she doesn't have them. Truck, known to be violent, threatens to show up and take them all back. Through a series of VERY misfortunate events, Rachel and her husband, Gabriel, start to travel to the ocean. There is a car accident, a creepy man lurking about, a few hospital visits, surgeries, and some theft - just to name a few incidents. Rachel's siblings are horrible, to her especially. I didn't understand why Gabriel and Rachel made some of the choices they did, but this book is not meant to be real life. If you can find the humor (not in a ha-ha kind of way, but I can NOT believe they did that! kind of way) in all of these things that happen, then I think you will enjoy this story. This is a slower paced suspense then what I am used to, so I am saying 3 1/2 stars (rounded up to 4).

This book is amazing! I love a good thriller. Rachel and her husband live in France and they are both struggling after sinking everything into their home in rural France. Rachel’s family are twisted and toxic people. She didn’t have a great start to her life, or a great childhood because of her brother.

One day Rachel finds a beautiful dog and rescues him. I loved how protective that dog was of Rachel and her husband. Something happens along the way and Rachel and her husband go down a long journey that feels like forever, but is only a few days.

Just when I thought I knew what was going to happen, bam! Twist! And again and again. I really enjoyed it. I really love when a good thriller makes me guess. This book is told in third person and there are several POV, however it is very easy to follow along! It’s just a wild ride and I loved it so much! The ending was perfection. I’d definitely recommend it to anyone who enjoys a good thriller.

Thank you so much netgalley for the advanced copy!


#StealingFoxyDebutAuthorIsabellaBrightSuspenseDomesticNoirSiblingRivalry #NetGalley

This author has such an amazing voice and an undeniable ability to draw you inside her fictional world. I felt as though I was in the French countryside, experiencing a very different way of life, as the author painted a picture for me with her words. With each layer of the story, and each new character voice, the tale became darker, and the family was revealed to be more and more dysfunctional. My heart broke for the siblings as they each attempted to interpret their abusive past and cope with that in their own way. Along with the main character, I felt the dual pull of needing to protect herself, while, at the same moment, caring deeply about the very person who threatened her. Stealing Foxy is a dark and deeply emotional read from a brilliant writer that will keep you thinking about the characters long after you close the book.

I loved the characters along with all the family drama, and the way I had to keep asking myself if I was right in how I thought the plot was turning out. A really enjoyable thriller, that kept me guessing until the end!

This was overall a fun and entertaining thriller, although the beginning grabbed my attention more than the rest of the book. It’s set in rural France where the main character is renovating a home with her younger partner. It had some gorgeous descriptions of the garden, fruits growing, and stormy weather brewing which did add to the atmosphere. I liked the storyline with the unstable brother ‘Truck’, as well as the twisty family dynamics. I just wished it had held a little more mystery as it did fall a little short for me.

This is a highly original book about four squabbling siblings. The youngest just wants to live peacefully with her husband in the French countryside but she is threatened by her sociopathic brother after the passing of their father, and her two other sisters are not helfpul. This is a suspenseful, darkly funny look at the family dynamics among the four siblings who are all fully-fleshed out characters.

Rachel is living her best life with her husband Gabriel in an old farmhouse in France. Life was perfect until her brother, Truck, threatened her at their father’s funeral. Now that Rachel, Truck, and their 2 sisters have recently finished settling their father’s estate, all of the demons are coming out in the form of grudges, jealousy, lies, etc. Rachel gets very concerned when Truck discovers her address and threatens to pay her a visit.

STEALING FOXY is packed with some good old family drama and some dark humor moments as well. I felt it was an original story and I always appreciate the multiple points of view. It is great to hear both sides of the story! You can expect a quick and easy read, with nice short chapters that get to the point and keep the pace fast.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Isabella Bright for my ARC in exchange for my honest review.

This review will be posted to my Instagram Blog (@coffee.break.book.reviews) in the near future.

Sadly this one just wasn't for me.
I struggled to understand the actions of the characters from very early on.

The dysfunctional family dynamics kept me entertained me a while.

Hopefully others will connect with it more than I did .

Canoodling Cannolis!! 😳😯🤯😳🤯🤯

This is a debut novel by a new author - and I was all over it! It's quirky, original, dark & great humour that hooks you in & keeps you interested. It's never ending darkness, twists, & of course thrills galore! I enjoyed the unique take of something I haven't read before for a thriller & murder. Whenever a family of siblings are dealing with an inheritance you KNOW it's gonna be good & Bright gives it an excellent twist with her writing.
Rachel & Gabriel live in a needs-work farm house in France. They're living the dream they've always wanted with unique, gorgeous scenery. However, Rachel's family is anything but that. Since the passing of her family's father the year before, things have been hostile, to say the least, with her siblings and especially her brother, Truck, who has been issuing threats. But even after the inheritance has been settled, sibling rivalries, jealousy and revenge seem to be stronger than ever amongst them. Rachel has done her best to cut ties & "hide" but Truck has been nothing less than determined... and he's found out just where Rachel and her husband are.
I absolutely adored this book! For a debut novel, it was fun, intriguing, entertainingly endless & some heart stopping moments! The characters were captivating, as if Bright was writing from experience they felt so real. This book takes a turn from suspense and thriller into chalk full action as it progresses and you can't put it down! The ending was excellent. I can't wait to read more by this author!

Thank you to NetGalley & Victory Editing NetGalley Co-op for this DARC.
Release Date: May 04, 2022

I give this 4 / 5 Bouquets! 💐