Thank you NetGalley for this advanced copy. I think it's good I listened to this. Had i read it, i think I would have given up. It was just too long and drawn out. The ending was confusing. They were saying when I think they meant to say Kai. I have had issues with her books in the past. They sound really good and then just seem to be a bunch of words trying to make a good story. Fell flat. Way flat.

Reading Between the Wines book review #101/135 for 2022:
Rating: 2 🍷 🍷
Book 🎧: Her First Child
Author: Sheryl Browne
Genre: General Fiction (Adult)
Available now!

Sipping thoughts: This book just did not do it for me. It was clear what happened to in the past but then it just got incredibly confusing. The end had me scratching my head and I had to rewind the audio. Even after listening to it for the second time, I was still confused.

Cheers and thank you to @NetGalley and @BookoutureAudio for an advanced copy of @HerFirstChild.

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I was pretty surprised when I realized I was only about 40% through this book and this were already getting pretty crazy. The drama starts nearly immediately- and so do the cliff hangers. We are fed a trail of breadcrumbs that gets more and more difficult to follow. Overall, an interesting plot that kept me looking for more.

🌀Synopsis
It’s no coincidence that when Eve’s estranged mother Lydia shows up, her son starts having health issues. Eve, Lydia, and Chloe all remember the years past- the death of Eve’s brother.
As her husband starts to hear more pieces of her history, he also starts to become concerned. There are a lot of things people aren’t telling him and they’re all throwing blame at each other. Transgressions within their marriage also come to light, leaving the couple on very unstable terms.
When Lydia has a stroke at the same time Chloe is attacked things become even more strange. Eve’s husband no longer trusts her with their child and, instead, turns to Chloe. Now Eve must make him see what is happening and save her son too.

Her First Child is a twisty psychological thriller that moves between times and characters. Fast paced, full of twists and red herrings. I hadn't read Sheryl Brownie before but after that heart stopping ending I definitely will.

alot of twist and turns in the story have to definetly pay close attention. all the secrets and lies that come out in very little bits and pieces. it kept you reading to figure out what came next. i definetly kept speculating but never guessed what could come next. kinda slow to get the story started but once in it was very exciting to keep going.

Unfortunately I struggled with this book and just managed to finish it. I didn’t care for the characters and I was confused by the story especially the ending.

Her First Child
by Sheryl Browne
Narrated by Tamsin Kennard

Rating: 4.3/5 Stars

First off, I have to say that I really enjoyed this book! It really kept me guessing until the end. Ms. Browne did a great job creating a complex psychological thriller that jumps around a few different time periods. I got confused with the switching of the present-day timelines a few times, but other than that, it was quite easy to follow. I loved how everything came together in the end and would love to listen to more of her novels in the future.

This is the story of complex families and friendships, about betrayal and secrets. Eve is a successful doctor, married to Dom. They have a little baby boy named Kai, and everything seems perfect. Her best friend Chloe and her husband Steve live close by with their two little ones. All is well until Lydia, Eve's estranged mother ends up back in Eve's life. Everything starts to unravel at this point. I don't want to spoil anything, but there is the death of Eve's brother, her father who just went away one day, secret relationships, etc. that fill this story and will keep you on the edge of your seat, trying to figure out exactly what is going on, until the very end.

Tamsin Kennard did a great job narrating this tale, and I really thought she voiced the various characters well, including the male characters, which can sometimes be where female narrators struggle.

Thanks so much to #NetGalley and #BookoutureAudio for the opportunity to listen and review this ARC!

This book was very predictable. I knew 1/4 way in what happened, so it was no surprise, no suspense for me. I would recommend this book to someone new to the thriller genre, as they would certainly be looking for more some what “a real thriller”. The characters of Eve and her mom Lydia were clearly psychotic. Dom was just a good guy caught up in a mess, and Chloe let’s just not even talk about her. I don’t know if I’d pick up another book by this author, but maybe with time and more experience in thriller writing she will improve.

Having survived an abusive upbringing, Eve is determined to give her own child a perfect childhood. However when her mother turns up on her doorstep, and her son is found unresponsive in his crib soon after, things begin to unravel.

A well written psychological thriller told through multiple timelines and viewpoints. Full of secrets, affairs,betrayal and lies, the plot really builds an air of suspense. Whilst this is a good book, there was nothing I found particularly ’special’ about it, hence the rating.



Tamsin Kennard is a great narrator as usual, I first heard her in Small Angels (which is a fantastic book) and would definitely listen to more of her narrations.

2,5* rounded up

Mother and daughter, two women who should have taken care of each other, but happened not to care too much. Problems from the past cast their shadows on present actions and behaviours. Unloved girl, damaged psychically, raised up by a woman who should have not been trusted, and a man who had hurt a lot.

Eve's brother died when they were children, and now her own son is in danger, just as her mother reappeared after the years of absence. The spiral of misfortunes and accusations is being wound up. Moreover, her best friend seems to be not so freaking friendly at all...

The book started really well and interestingly, but turned out to go in the wrong direction. Halfway I lost interest, just when the friend's marital problems were taken into consideration. I really love domestic noir, thrillers about marriages with their secrets hidden behind closed doors, wounded child's psyche, as well as many other topics that appeared in here. To be true, this story does not arouse too many emotions even if it has many subjects crammed in, I don't know why. It lacked something crucial that would have made it less chaotic and slow at the same time. Good plot idea, however something went wrong meanwhile.

Audiobook realisation was really good, nothing to complain about. One narrator was reading various POVs in a dual timeline.

Many thanks to Netgalley and Bookouture Audio for the access to this audiobook before its release day.

So this book had a lot crammed in. Being new parents, a jealous best friend, a past history of being neglected and emotionally and physically abused by her parents Eve has a lot to deal with. When her mother comes back into her life she has to face all these issues while protecting her own baby. Being with her mother again brings back the awful time of her baby brother dying. There is a long thread through the book which hints at who is responsible for his death. I wanted to finish it and I did but I found the last 20 minutes a bit of a rush and it left me trying to work out the final endings.

Thank you to the publisher for the ARC

A Mother's Secret

A story of secrets kept of friendships and betrayals. A young mother, her mother and her best friend all tied into the same secret which she must keep from her husband at all costs.
Her fear for her young son's health and her inability to talk to her husband about her fear of her mother.

The secret that was almost forgotten , put into the back of her mind resurfaces and haunts her every night. Who can she trust and what can she do to insure her son is safe.
When she is betrayed in the worse possible way she will fight for her son and for her marriage.

This book was full of secrets and twists I honestly didn't know how it would turn out and the ending was a surprise to me.

I listened to the audio book and the narrator did a fantastic job. It was easy to understand and the characters were defined.

It was a good story and I enjoyed listening to it.

Thanks to Sheryl Browne for writing the story, to Tamsin Kinnard for narrating it, to Bookouture Audio for publishing it and to NetGalley for making it available to me to listen to and review.

Definitely Sheryl Browne’s best book! The narration was well paced and added to the story. Easy five star audiobook

Oh wow!
At first I was a bit suspicious about this being another overprotective-new-mum- story. But I was so so wrong!
We get to know Eve, who is happily married and a new mother. She has not been in contact with her own mum for a long time- so why does Lydia turn up all at once?
Eve's friend Chloe is a very strong person as well.
I loved the narration done by Tamsin Kennard!
Thank you so much #NetGalley #Bookouture Audio for the audiobook

Her First Child is a twisty psychological thriller that moves between times and characters. Eve is a GP and mother to baby Kai. When her mother, Lydia makes an unexpected visit memories resurface from Eve’s childhood that she would rather keep from her husband Dom. With her childhood best friend Chloe living across the street and privy to some of these traumatic events, you never really know who is responsible for a tragedy that occurred many years ago.
I quickly became invested in this novel and found the storyline captivating. Unfortunately, the plot became over complicated and it really was a struggle to keep up with the many changes of direction.

My first novel by this author.

Eve is a new mother with a young son. She wants to be the best mom as her childhood was not the best. She has not spoken to her mother in years.

Eve’s baby brother died when he was young Eve has been holding on to the past. Out of the blue her mother Lydia calls reaching out. Against her better judgement she lets her mother visit to meet her son.

One morning her son needs emergency care and she wishes she never let her mother back into her life. Her mother had checked on her son at night and he seemed fine.

What happened all those years ago? We go from the present and the past? Is history being repeated? This twisty audio kept my attention. I look forward to more books by this author.

Thank you @netgalley, @bookouture and author Sheryl Brown

This is a psychological thriller that will require your complete focus. It moves both in time and between different points of views and can end up being confusing. To be honest I have finished the story and I am still rather confused, but perhaps that was intentional?

I think this book might have been better enjoyed when it is read, rather than listened to. Listening to it made it easy to lose track of the plot due to the many characters and all read by one narrator. The plot itself was good, so I am interested in other books by Sheryl.

My thanks to Net Galley and Bookouture for allowing me to listen to this advanced audio copy. I'm on the fence with this book. Title mislead me. I thought book was just focusing on the story of a child, but we got into a baby s death in the past potential mentally ill grandmother, a father abusing a wife and child,marital affairs, lies,childhood trauma, attempted murder vand potential Munchauesen . I'm not sure what I was supposed to be reading and focusing on. Story told in multiple pov. Confusing. Narrator good. Story just ok.

The best book I've read in a long while, could not recommend this one highly enough.
Thanks for the opportunity to access this audio ARC. I really enjoyed listening to this on audio as it gave the characters a bit more personality and when I read the second half on audio book I found myself relating and visualising the characters better which meant that I got into the book more.

Her First Child by Sheryl Browne Narrated by: Tamsin Kennard
Length: 9 hrs and 25 mins was an excellent audiobook from start to finish. This is an author that always writes books that just draws you in from the very first few pages till the end and this book was no different. This was an excellent psychological thriller and every character within this book was excellent.

The narrator Tamsin was excellent and I highly recommend this audiobook! I loved it.

Big Thanks you to Netgalley and Bookouture for the ARC.