WOW!
I've read two book so far by Shari and they were two beautiful stories about the Holocaust. When she told the world about her first thriller book I was SO excited!
And let me tell you... I could NOT put it down. eeeek. I loved every single thing about this book.
This book is written in three different POV's (3 women) and also two different timelines. so you kinda have a "then" and "now".
You will meet Oliver and Jenna (1 POV). The new couple of this mysterious neighborhood.
Next you have another couple, Peyton (2 POV) and Lincoln. They are newlyweds as well.
Last but not least you have Ginger, an elderly women, who raised three boys. She lives alone with her cat, and her security cameras so she can check on her safety.. oh and also spy on anyone lol.
In the "now" Jenna and Oliver baby died right after being born... but why? and why can't Jenna remember her own child being dead?

I don't wanna spoil but I kept on guessing and I was so sure that I had it all figured out but I didn't until the very end. I really couldn't figure out who was telling the truth I even doubted Jenna and her husband and I doubted everyone at one point lmao.
as always in the beginning confusing with so many characters and the timeline but if u write it down once or if u keep going it will all make sense and I really felt like I was just another neighbor in that crazy neighborhood.
absolutely loved it. Shari, u did it again.
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I read the first 50% of the book as an ARC and decided to listen to the audiobook for the last 50%. I loved both. Although I wished that there was 3 different narrators for all the 3 POV's. nonetheless I loved it and would 100% recommend it!

🎧4.5-4.75⭐️

I had the audiobook read by Stephanie Cannon. I wasn’t keen on one of the voices, it was irritating, however it did represent her characteristics as described in the book. I would have preferred her not to have a high whiny voice for the listening experience. The narrator copes excellently with distinct voices that fit each woman well, especially the older woman.

Jenna’s baby is missing, there’s all the equipment in the house, but the crib is empty. Her husband Oliver tells her that they don’t have a baby! It immediately piqued my interest, and I have to say kept it throughout.

The time frame flips between the present and a year earlier. It’s very evident that things are not right, but due to the unreliability aspect it’s difficult to know whats actually happening. Although it’s pretty easy to guess the who, but not the why or the intricacies.

There are 3 main characters, all women neighbours. I think my favourite character is Ginger the nosy older neighbour.

I really loved it, and found it very entertaining. I felt one of the women was slow on the uptake, that’s the only reason this doesn’t score even higher.

This was a bit different. In the best way. It started a little desperate housewives like, which is no bad thing, but it got dark pretty quickly, fast paced, shocking, disturbing and exciting. What more could you ask for? The twist at the end had a definite chef’s kiss for me!

Thank you to NetGalley and Bookature Audio for the opportunity to listen to this audiobook in return for an honest review.

The book had a lot of flaws and unrealistic and unbelievable storylines. I didn’t enjoy it.
That narration was good though .

#TheHomemaker #ShariJRyan #NetGalley #BookoutureAudio

Jenna is a mother who wakes up after childbirth to find her baby boy, River, missing. Her husband Oliver insists that their baby was stillborn, but Jenna struggles to make sense of what she deeply believes happened in her heart and what others are telling her to the contrary. Her neighbors Ginger, Peyton & Lincoln have secrets of their own. The story is underpinned by a long-buried trauma that leads to grievances and revenge. No one is what they seem in this interesting, twisty psychological thriller. The book was an advanced review copy.

4ish stars

This one was definitely a super-dramatic domestic thriller. It was intense and suspenseful, and the writer did a good job of weaving together separate plot lines into one complete story. I saw parts but not all of the ending coming and largely enjoyed the twists and conclusion. It was an enjoyable adventure.

This book was immaculate. I could not find a single flaw. I was hanging onto every word, and I never could have guessed the ending.

The characters were well-made with realistic flaws and backgrounds. The plot was intriguing, gripping, and generally just wonderful. The climax had me guessing, gasping, and grinning while I read it.

I've already started recommending this book to people I know.

Thank you for the opportunity!

This is a gripping book. I had guessed the truth but red herrings constantly swayed me in other directions. I will be looking for other books by the author.
Just one thing, I don’t understand the final sentence. I returned to listen again but I am missing something. Help!

4.5/5 ⭐️
Yooo this was so good! Holy crap I literally listened to this in 2 days! The characters and the plot and the twists and turns just wow.

4⭐
Genre ~ psychological thriller
Publication date ~ June 12, 2023
Page Count ~ 344
Audio length ~ 9 hours 12 minutes
Narrator ~ Stephanie Cannon
POV ~ multiple 1st
Featuring ~ dual timeline (now & last year), pregnancy, infertility, postpartum, secrets, lies, assault

Our main characters are all neighbors: Ginger, Peyton & Lincoln & Jenna & Oliver (who are new to the hood).

We've got some unreliableness going on:
~ Jenna because she thinks she had her baby, River, but Oliver and the doctors are telling her he was stillborn.
~ Ginger because her husband is missing and she's doorbell camera happy.
~ Peyton because she is a serial door knocker for an ingredient she just happened to forgot at the store she was just at.

Overall, it was really fast paced and I enjoyed it even though I had a bit of it, but not all of it, worked out.

Narration notes ~ while the narrator did a fine job I think 3 different narrators would have been best, especially since it's 1st person storytelling.

This is an audiobook telling a story that is complex, heart-pounding and thrilling. I love the narrator, Stephanie Cannon, who masterfully modulates her voice, reflecting the personality of the three main characters. This book had multi-pov, dual timeline and a fantastic story. A story that surprised with twists and ultimately drew readers in. I could anticipate most plot twists, but it didn't spoil my listening. I had a great time despite that.

3.5 Stars rounded up. I stayed engaged throughout, and the narration was stellar! The twist was pretty predictable, but I still had a good time getting there. Will check out more books from this author.

Book Title: The Homemaker
Author: Shari J. Ryan
Narrator: Stephanie Cannon
Publisher: Bookouture Audio
Genre: Psychological Thriller
Pub Date: June 12, 2023
My Rating: 4.4 Stars
Pages: 332

Story is told ~ Then and Now ~ from the POV of Jenna, Peyton, and Ginger.
Story starts with Jenna and Oliver Milligan – she is an Attorney and he is a College Professor and they are anxious to start a family and are excited about Jenna’s pregnancy.
However, after delivery she is extremely tired and fears she slept through her baby’s feeding as he is not in his crib and she cannot find him. Oliver has concerns about Jenna’s mental health and believes she is suffering from postpartum depression.
~ Not really a spoiler but we readers know from the beginning of the book that Jenna’s baby was stillborn, but she doesn’t remember and keeps asking for baby River.

Peyton and Lincoln as well as Ginger are neighbors who lived in the neighborhood before Jenna and Oliver moved in a year ago. The neighbors are curious about the sale of the house as they didn’t know it was on the market!
Jenna and Oliver were living in an apartment and liked the Lakespur, Delaware community and have been house hunting. They hurried to make an offer as soon as they found out the house was going on the market.
We find out bits and pieces from an afternoon of the ladies drinking wine ~ they tell Jenna that the couple who had lived in the house before them ~ Lou Ann and Tommy had some suspicions surrounding Tommy’s sudden death.
Story kept me guessing. Love the twists and turns. I was pleased with myself that one of the things I suspect was correct but I was clueless on many things.
GREAT audiobook BTW: The narrator Stephanie Cannon did a great job in performing the characters.
Her performances made it very clear which characters was speaking.

The title is “The Homemaker, An utterly unputdownable psychological thriller packed with heart-pounding twists.
When I read that my first thought after I rolled my eyes ~ “Hmmm it seems publishers can come up with another teaser - this is used ALL the time!
When I finished - I said ~ Okay! This was an utterly an unputdownable psychological thriller!

Want to thank NetGalley and Bookouture Audio for granting me this audiobook!
Publishing Release Date scheduled for June 12, 2023.

This one kept my interest the whole time, it was an easy listen. There were parts of it that I loved and parts that were pretty predictable. I didn’t dislike it but I’m not sure I would recommend to others that read lots of mysteries and thrillers. I listened to the audiobook and liked the narrator.

This started off interesting but ended up being way too over-the-top and unbelievable. It needed to be dialed back in. I also didn't like that this was another story where an infertile woman is made "crazy" complete with the maniacal confession/blabs at the end. I prefer showing more than telling. What started as a great concept (woman believes she had a baby but is told the baby died) was interesting enough. The links to the ex-girlfriend and what not was too much.

Wow, just wow! What a thriller! This reminded me a little bit of The Real Housewives, pregnant edition. I've read so many books about women suffering from postpartum depression, or postpartum psychosis. Some have had stillborn babies and have actually stolen other babies because they were under a psychotic delusion that the baby was theirs. This is a little bit along those lines, but not entirely.

The story is told from three points of you. Ginger: a devoted woman who has four boys that are all grown now, and the youngest one just went off to college. Her husband just skipped out on her, no reason given. Her sons think she had something to do with it.

Then there is Jenna: Jenna just moved into the neighborhood with her husband, Oliver. She is a young attorney for children in her early 30s. She gets pregnant right away and wants to have a home burn.. Something happened in her house that made it so really quickly. She wants to get to the bottom of it but doesn't know what to believe.

Lastly, there is Peyton: Peyton is married to Lincoln and is always borrowing ingredients for her recipes from Ginger. She and Jenna become close with both become pregnant. She and Jenna become pregnant at the same time.

Jenna has her baby boy, River, but everything is really foggy to her, and she remembers very little about her son and the birth. Her husband told her that she had a stillborn baby boy. Jenna insists her baby boy is still alive and has some sort of a psychotic break down. She has sent to a mental hospital for several weeks to recover from losing her son in such a sad way. She does eventually recover and comes back home. She asked about Peyton's baby and she had her baby. Why is Peyton staying away from her? Is she afraid that she might have a bad reaction to seeing that she had a healthy baby boy?

There are a lot of twists to the story. Some that I didn't see coming. I really like the way the story wrapped up. This would make a good Lifetime movie!

Thank you to NetGalley and Bookouture for the advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

a full 5-star!

Oliver and Jenna move to their new home on Sapphire Road - everything is so perfect here, just as they dreamed and thought about!
The neighborhood seems to be a close-knit community, or are they really just doing that to show in front of the new people?
Jenna soon becomes friends with one of the neighbors, and they end up sharing a lot of their life events.

This story runs in the past and the present, and as the book starts we learn that Jenna has been taken to a mental health facility where she is being treated for post- partum psychosis. Jenna seems to be really confused about the events following the day of birthing her son, what happened and why is her husband trying to be deceitful?
I loved the character of Jenna, Ginger - the unexpected twists and turns made want to finish listening to this amazing thriller which has been beautifully narrated by Stephanie Cannon.

An unexpected ride is what The Homemaker by Shari J. Ryan is all about. Once you start you will want to finish and then only move on about your daily life!

Thanks to Bookouture Audio, Shari J. Ryan and Netgalley for approving the audio ARC in exchange for honest review!

3.5/5 The Homemaker is a psychological thriller that is told from the POV of 3 ladies — Jenna, Ginger & Peyton, with a dual timeline (past & present). This psychological thriller covers and very important topic, that left me both intrigued and confused.

Thank you to Shari J. Ryan, NetGalley & Bookouture Audio for giving me the opportunity to read/listen and review this book. All opinions are my own and 100% HONEST.

I received this book in the audio format & enjoyed it. I found @Stephanie Cannon to be soothing while listening. I enjoyed how @Stephanie Cannon fully bodied each character, with the animation and different tones, making it easy to distinguish each character.

With that being said, The Homemaker was an interesting book. The storyline was a bit confusing and left me questioning what was happening constantly although I thought I had an idea of what may have been occurring. I did end up predicting the plot eventually but overall still enjoyed listening to this audiobook & encountering new twists that I truly didn't see coming.

The Homemaker by Shari J. Ryan is a great book. I enjoy how the past and present are weaved together and everything unravels. I will say, I suspected what was going on much too early, and knew without a doubt less than halfway through the book. That being said, I remained intrigued and invested because the writing is so good.

Stephanie Cannon is a great narrator. I love how most characters have distinct voices. Her range is amazing.

Overall, I rate The Homemaker 4 stars. If something additional would have happened that I didn't see coming, I would have increased my rating to 5.

Thank you to Bookouture Audio for providing me with an ALC.

A compelling and gripping read right from the start.
Told from three different points of view and across multiple time lines this book needs a bit of focus, especially early on, but it is well worth the effort.
Although I did predict the ending in part there were plenty of different plot lines to keep the adrenalin pumping! Fast paced and excellently narrated - be ready for a wild and rocky ride!
I am grateful to the publishers and Netgalley for an ARC of this book and am leaving my honest review voluntarily.