The Stepdaughter

Joanne and Richard live a good life in a new home with their infant daughter Evie. It was a short courtship but Joanne is happy with her life with Richard except she is a bit overwhelmed with her new baby and a bit lonely in their big home in the country.

Things change a bit when her stepdaughter comes to visit. Her stepdaughter is mean to her and causes much trouble between Joanne and Richard. Then things become very strange. Richard and Chloe seem to be conspiring against her to make her feel like she is losing her mind. How can she get Richard to see that Chloe is trying to drive a wedge between them?

Joanne now feels it is a mistake for Chloe to come and stay with them. She now wishes to have her leave, but how can she ask Richard's daughter to leave as she has been told it is her home and she can stay as long as she wishes? Is she being paranoid? Is it all in her head? Is Evie and herself in danger from Chloe? The ending is unpredictable and surprising.

A chilling thriller that will keep you in suspense. Who is telling the truth and who is lying?
I listened to the audio book and the narrator did a great job. Her voice was pleasant to listen to and very easy to understand. I thought this was a very good book.

Thanks to NIcola Sanders for writing a good book, to Penelope Rawlins for the great narration, to Dreamscape Media for publishing it and to NetGalley for providing me with a copy of the audio book to listen to and review.

This book was very intense and twisted. This book made me question everything until the very end. I did however find the story went on a little too long and become a little drawn out and was a bit of a slow burn but then picked up and had one hell of a twisted ending. I recommend to keep pushing until the end as it is worth it ! I enjoyed my first experience with this author and narrator, the narration by Penelope Rawlins was done very well . Huge thanks to netgally and dremscape media for an advance copy of this audio book in exchange for an honest review.

Thanks to Netgalley, DreamsScape Media, and the author for the ARC of this audiobook.
Joanne is seemingly living the perfect life with her husband and her new baby daughter, Evie. She knows how lucky she is, despite the stress of having a newborn and being slightly bored, away from her job. One day, her husband tells her that his twenty-year-old daughter, who hasn’t spoken to him since he got married, is coming to visit for a few days to help with the baby. At first, Joanne is excited to meet her.
When Chloe arrives, however, Joanne feels doubtful. It is clear that Chloe is not interested in having a relationship with either her or the baby. Soon, Joanne starts to feel uncomfortable and fears for her daughter’s safety around Chloe. She fears she’s going crazy, especially since her husband doesn’t seem to think anything is wrong.
This book was one of the best psychological thrillers I’ve read in a long time. I was on edge the whole time, but also unable to stop listening to the audiobook. Until the very end, you’re not sure what to think about any of the characters, which was weird, thrilling, and terrifying all at the same time.
My only complaint was the open ending, which I’m not generally a fan of. But to be fair, I’d already gotten everything I wanted from the book, so it didn’t really bother me that much.

Wow. Hands down one of the best thrillers I’ve read. I spent the vast majority of the book SCREAMING. At the massive gaslighting from literally everyone. At Chloe’s horrendous behavior (that wouldn’t quit). At Richard’s undying devotion to his daughter despite the behavior. At everyone making Joanne feel like she was losing her mind!

About 40% through, I started to wonder about some things. And then about 80% through, I figured out the twist. And what a freaking twist it was. Wow! And then…surprised again! I couldn’t even deal.

The characters were PERFECT. Some were straight up terrible human beings, one started as a really stupid person (but only sort of redeemed themself), and then there was one who was the worst kind of human possible. Of them all, I ended up liking Chloe best. Ugh. Helen was the best, and I wish we had met her sooner. No spoilers, so I won’t say why!

For most of this book, I was so mad/angry/annoyed/generally pissed off at every one of the characters. But that’s exactly why it’s a solid 5-star read for me. To make me THAT mad for SO LONG…that’s a book well written. I’ll be thinking about (and recommending) this one for entirely too long going forward.

Thank you to the author, publisher, narrator and Net Galley for providing a free audio advance copy of this book in exchange for my review.

I do like thrillers, but don't often enjoy these newer domestic thrillers as much. Even thinking back on this book now, it doesn't seem all that different than others I've read in the past. The twist at the end felt more forced that usual, and really wasn't satisfying at all.

I'm rating this 2 stars for "it was ok". I can't think of any friends I would personally recommend it to, but I'm sure others would like it.

Don't Let Her Stay
by Nicola Sanders
Narrated by Penelope Rawlins
4 🌟🌟🌟🌟
Pub Date 07 Mar 2023
Description
Joanne knows how lucky she is—Richard is a wonderful husband, Evie is the most gorgeous baby girl, they live in a beautiful house—life couldn't be better. But then Richard's twenty-year-old daughter Chloe turns up. Chloe hasn’t spoken to her father since the day he married Joanne two years ago. But with the arrival of her baby sister Evie, Chloe wants to make peace. Richard is delighted, and since Joanne is struggling with the new baby, he suggests Chloe could move in and help. It sounds like the perfect solution, even if Chloe doesn’t seem to like Joanne very much. But Joanne understands it’s not easy for her, and she's prepared to give her time. But then things happen that make Joanne feel like she’s losing her mind. She misplaces things, misses important appointments, gets dates wrong… Could Joanne be going mad, just like her own mother? Or is something more sinister happening? Is Chloe really here to help? Or has Joanne made a terrible mistake by letting her move in? And is it too late to ask her to leave?
🚨MY REVIEW🚨

This book was very intense and twisted. Why Joanne put up with everything she did i will never know. Sanders does a great job of making you question everything until the very end. I loved the twists and turns and spent the entire book going back and forth thinking it was the husband or the daughter. I must say i was just as confused as Joanne throughout the whole story. I did feel like the story went on a little too long and become a little drawn out and slow but then picked up and had a twisted ending.If you haven't read this yet, READ IT! Soooo many twists! You don't know who to trust! (Trust no one, Trust me!!) Just when I thought I was at the end of this great suspense thriller, there was one last twist and it was a BIG ONE! Wow! I couldn't believe it!! The narration by Penelope Rawlins was done very well . Chloe was supposed to sound super annoying and omg she sure did. She drove me crazy. Rawlins does a great job in bringing the story to life.I really enjoyed my first experience with this author and narrator.

******Disclosure*******
I received a free audio ARC copy of Don't Let Her Stay
by Nicola Sanders
Narrated by Penelope Rawlins
from netgalley prior to release. Many thanks to NetGalley ,the publisher and the author for the chance to read and review a copy of this interesting book in exchange for my honest review. I do not receive any type of compensation for reading & reviewing free books from publishers & authors. Therefore, I am under no obligation to write a positive review, only an honest one. All opinions I have expressed are my own. As always if you like the book you read please take the time to leave a review for the author in places like goodreads & Amazon. It does not have to be long. Just a few sentences saying you liked the book will do. Authors really appreciate every review they get.

#netgalley
#DontLetHerStay
#NicolaSanders
#PenelopeRawlins

The perfect book to get back into domestic psychological thrillers after a short break from the genre. This audiobook had me questioning everything, the twists and turns were insane... don't even get me started on that final twist at the end!!!!! If you're looking for a fast paced, edge of the seat kind of read then you've found your next favourite in this.


As mentioned before, I listened to this in audiobook format and loved every second. Thank you Netgally for the ARC of this in return for an honest review!

Joanne and Richard have a beautiful baby girl. Bit Evie isn’t Richard’s only child, Chloe, his twenty year old daughter turns up and offers to help care for Evie. It’s an uneasy reunion, as Chloe hasn’t spoken to her father since he married Joanne, but now she wants to play happy families. Chloe is rude to Joanne when her father isn’t around, and worse, Joanne thinks Chloe wants to hurt the baby. Chloe begins to plant seeds of doubt in her father’s mind about Joanne’s mental stability, whose already worried about losing her mind like her own mother did. This book will resonate with any woman who’s ever been. a stepmother, even if her stepdaughter was as good as gold, because daddy’d little girl is never wrong

"Don't Let Her Stay" by Nicola Sanders, narrated by Penelope Rawlins, tells the story of Joanne, a new mother to sweet baby Evie and loving wife to her wonderful husband, Richard. Life is seemingly perfect until Richard's daughter from his previous marriage, who hasn't spoken to him since he married Joanne two years ago, shows up at their home, hoping to repair her relationship with her father.

At first, Joanne is thrilled for Chloe, Richard's daughter, to be there as she knows how much it means to her husband. Slowly, however, Joanne begins to feel unwelcome in her own home. Is she being paranoid? Or are her feelings warranted? As time goes on, she feels more and more unsettled at the thought of Chloe caring for Evie, and when she learns about Richard and Chloe's tragic past, her fear only increases.

This story took awhile for me to really get into, but the narration was done VERY well as Chloe was supposed to sound annoying and my god, she was haha. Had me wanting to leap through my airpods and knock some sense into the girl.

The last 30% of the novel was extremely suspenseful, and the twists just kept coming, which made it really hard to figure out what was the truth - which I loved!

I would definitely recommend this audiobook if you're a lover of domestic thrillers. The narration was great and Rawlins captured Joanne's heightened emotions very well.

Thank you to NetGalley & Dreamscape Media for the ALC!

Thank you to NetGalley for this ARC audiobook. This was a very entertaining listen, which is why I’m rating it so high. I called basically all of the twists coming from the beginning, but regardless of that, I was engaged with the story the whole time. There were also plenty of times that I wanted to yell at the characters to stop being so stupid, but now that I’m done, I think that was probably the point. Overall, if you like thrillers & need something easy to listen to, I would recommend.

Thank you Netgalley and Dreamscape Media for the ALC.

Story: 🌟🌟🌟🌟✨
Narration: 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟
Overall: 🌟🌟🌟🌟✨

Don’t Let Her Stay is a fun, entertaining, and intense thriller. The story follows Joanne, a new mom madly in love with her husband, Richard. However, when Richard’s estranged daughter, Chloe, contacts him and asks if she can stay at their house and meet his new wife and child, things quickly go downhill. Something is not right with Chloe and Richard refuses to see it. Joanne begins to wonder if she is safe in her own home.

Basically, I just had fun reading this book. It was unhinged and twisty and crazy and just fun. I absolutely loved the intensity and the quick pace. Nothing is better than a bonkers thriller. Penelope Rawlins’ performance is perfect and really captures the atmosphere. I loved every minute.

ARC was provided by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Don't Let Her Stay by Nicola Sanders is a wild ride of a book. The prologue immediately pulled me right into the story: it was hard to put the book down until the very end. However, there were some loose ends and things left unexplained (not just the ending), so I rate Don't Let Her Stay 4 stars.

Penelope Rawlins was a great narrator. My only complaint is that Penelope/Nicola didn't always make it clear when Joanne was speaking or having internal dialogue, leaving listeners to assume which it was.

Thank you to Dreamscape Media for providing me with an ALC.

This book was fantastic! I was enthralled with the story line & characters! It was gripping & I couldn’t put it down! And the ending threw me for a loop & I wanted to immediately start it again!

Don't Let Her Stay by Nicola Sanders
Narrated by Penelope Rawlins

Poor Joanne. She has a wealthy husband, a new baby, a huge house with acreage, someone to clean the house and tend the grounds. She wants for nothing materially. But she's bored, her husband is always working, and he claims SHE is the one who wanted to live out in the country, away from everything she used to love and enjoy. That's not how she remembers it, she remembers that it was HIM that wanted this much too big house.

But throughout the story people are telling Joanne she is remembering things wrong. She does seems to get dates and times wrong, forgets she said things people said she said, forgets she has certain conversations people say she had. So even as we hear Joanne's side of things directly from her, it's hard not to think she might be an unreliable narrator.

But for the most part, Joanne has a decent but lonely life. She has an opportunity to work from home part time with her old job. She's going to hire a nanny to help out during those hours. But then her husband's twenty year old daughter comes to live with them and Joanne would love to have her boring days back. Because Chloe is something else. Literally something else. When her dad is around she speaks with the voice of a twelve year old, acting like a twelve year old, all syrupy sweet with her dad. But when he's not around, Chloe is twisted and demented towards Joanne. She wants Joanne gone and she seems determined to make that happen. To make matters worse, Richard takes Chloe's side, always reminding Joanne that she's forgetful. What is going on?

What a stressful mess! And now Richard is making Joanne use Chloe as her nanny. That's not going to happen! Who can we trust, who is telling the truth, why does Chloe act so rotten most of the time and Richard some of the time? This is a roller coaster ride with some pleasant ups and many more terrifying downs.

Thank you to Dreamscape Media and NetGalley for this ARC.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.
Wow. So I finished this in less than two days. I spent the entire book back and forth trying to figure out who was the guilty party. The husband or the daughter. Narrator did a great job. Author did good with plenty of suspense.
The end kind of left you hanging a little bit. Could do with a possible sequel.

Hmmm. This one really gripped me. Twists and turns galore, with a few breadcrumbs left behind that make the next twist plausible. I really enjoyed it but I am still not sure how I feel about the very end… but the writing was well done and the story was gripping. There was never a dull moment and I felt just as confused as Joanne the entire time. The narrator did a great job and kept me immersed in the story.

Wow!

That was my first thought when this book ended. I could not stop, from the first chapter to the last, I was invested.

The story follows Joanne and her husband Richard after the birth of their first child together. Richard has a daughter, Chloe, from a previous marriage who he has not spoken to in two years. Chloe wants to make peace and meet her new sister so she comes to stay with Richard and Joanne.

From this point on I could not get through the story fast enough. As soon as Chloe got there everything got tense. Is Joanne crazy? Is Chloe here to hurt Joanne? The situations and the interactions were intense.

This is the type of book that you can’t discuss without spoilers so I will just say you have to check it out. There are two major twists in this book and both left me with my mouth wide open. Check out this book!

Wow!! It's been a really long time since I've started and finished a book in one day. This was such a page turning and fun thriller. We're following a married woman and mother of one 4 month old girl. Her husband was previously married and the daughter from that union recently comes into their lives again. What we see is what unfolds from then. This wasn't the most shocking twist-wise, but it doesn't matter. This was compulsively readable and So. Much. Fun. I would highly recommend to anyone! Thank you #netgalley for the arc!

Book Title: Don’t Let Her Stay
Author: Nicola Sanders
Narrator: Penelope Rawlins
Publisher: Dreamscape Media
Genre: Psychological Thriller
Pub Date: March 7, 2023
My Rating: 4 Stars

Joanne and Richard are happily married and have a baby daughter Eva.

Richard is a widow with a 20 year old daughter- Chloe who is not living with him and has been very happy that he remarried. Richard gets a message that Chloe is going to be on break from college and wants to meet her baby sister and will be arriving on Friday.
Richard is excited and offers her a warm welcome.
At first Joanne it’s happy her stepdaughter is coming and believes she might be of some help with the baby. However, she soon discovers that Chloe cannot be trusted with an infant. Joanne isn’t sure if Chloe is just spoiled and used to getting her way or is she a sociopath?

Joanne now has concerns but Richard is very defensive of Chloe and tells Joanne that she is over reacting.
Joanne does some family background research and now fears Chloe may have something to do with the death of Richard’s first wife as well as baby sister Sophie.

Joanne’s mother had some issues when Joanne was young and had to be treated. Chloe throws this at Joanne and taunts her with having mental illness as it is something that runs in the family.
Hmmm is Joanne really having issues and losing it or is Chloe playing games?

Okay there are a couple of eye rolling moments but I am a big fan of Psychological Thrillers so I expect things to be a little different than the way the author was leading readers to believe.


The narrator did a great job in her performance of Chloe. She had me convinced that Chloe was evil!
. WOW ending left my head spinning.
This was my first Nicola Sanders and certainly not my last!

Want to thank NetGalley and Dreamscape Media for granting me this early eGalley.
Publishing Release Date scheduled for March 7, 2023

Joanne is a new mom living her dream life with her wonderful husband. Everything is perfect….until his 20 year old daughter, Chloe, comes to stay with them for a visit. This turns their whole world upside down. Chloe plays the part of the perfect daughter when her father is around, however, when it is just Joanne and Chloe, things are vastly different. Joanne beings to fear for their lives. Who can she trust? Why is Chloe so seemingly evil? There are a few twists and turns, which made this a fun book. I wasn’t “blown away” by anything in the book, but I did enjoy it.

Penelope Rawlins did a fantastic job narrating. She really brought the book to life..

Thank you to netgalley and dreamscape audio for the audiobook copy in exchange for an honest review.