If you like slow burn thrillers, then this one is definitely for you! Kernan writes a very well thought out plot in The Nurse. She creates intricate characters that are very interesting. She keeps you guessing as to what is really going on, and I bet you can’t figure it out. There was more than one surprise in this book.

The plot, the characters, the setting – it’s all very well thought out. It’s been a while since an author has amazed me with handling all three things so well.

Of course, the ending got me. It was one twist after another, and it completely shocked me. It *almost* leaves things a little open for there potentially to be a sequel, but I feel like it can be read as open or closed.

I would highly recommend reading this one!

This thriller was very clever, and had me questioning so many things. I loved the plot twist at the end, but I was expecting it, so that's why I gave the 3 star review. All-in-all, it was a really fun thriller to read!

Another great read from Jenna Kernan!

Emily has just finished her nursing degree and is desperate for a job so she can begin to pay back her debts. When Dr Roth, a highly thought of psychiatrist from the hospital she trained at, asked if she would be interested in being a one-to-one nurse to his wife who has multiple issues she’d jumped at the chance and prayed she would get the job. She did get it and Emily’s job description seemed simple; be Dr Roth’s wife, Sabrina’s nurse and look after her whilst he was at work. However, it became very obvious on her first day her job would not be as simple as she had first thought. Emily stays as she needs the money but doesn’t know who to trust. Were her first thoughts about poor long-suffering Dr Roth correct or should she be more concerned about her charge Sabrina?

This was a good read. I really enjoyed the amazing descriptions especially when Emily was driving into the gated community that the Roths lived in and also the ones about their stunning house. I loved how I kept flip flopping between who I thought was telling the truth, whose version of events to believe and honestly, at times, I felt just as confused as Emily did, which is great as I definitely like being surprised by a story. I found the book hard to put down and I was almost shouting at my kindle when chapter 18 ended on a dangerous thing in Dr Roth’s locked bathroom drawer but didn’t tell me what it was!!! Such a tease….. but I adored it at the same time!!!! I didn’t guess the twist at the end which is always a good thing with a psychological thriller, and I am really looking forward to see what Jenna Kernan comes out with next.

Overall, I really enjoyed reading this and would definitely recommend it to any readers who enjoy psychological thrillers 😊!

Thank you to NetGalley, Jenna Kernan and Bookouture my advanced reading copy. Out now.

4.5 stars rounded up.

Emily Lancing is a nursing graduate, straight out of college. She has a huge student debt accrued over the years of her degree and is desperate for a job.

Imagine her surprise and delight when she is headhunted by Dr Roth, a prominent psychiatrist. He is looking for a nurse for his wife, Sabrina also known as Bree.

During the interview he explains that his wife is mentally unstable and suffers from delusions. She was in a car accident ten years ago where a pedestrian, a young mother, was killed. Even though Bree was in the passenger seat, she twisted the truth and insists she was the one driving the car that fateful day.

Emily gets the job and starts straight away. She has huge admiration for Dr Roth. He is very loving and caring towards his wife and has all the patience. Sabrina is what Emily expected her to be – entitled and condescending.

However, as days and weeks go by, Emily becomes worried about the amount of medication Bree is taking. They are all prescribed by her husband. He insists that his wife needs them, but does she?

Who is telling the truth and who is lying?

Ooh, I really enjoyed this tense psychological thriller. I had no idea who to believe.

I could sense that at the beginning Emily looked up to Dr Roth and even felt sorry for him, as Sabrina wasn’t the easiest woman to live with. Then the doubt crept in and started to grow. Was Sabrina telling the truth after all?

This book certainly explores the notion of how rich and powerful people can get away with things that normal people wouldn’t. They have the means and privilege to hire expensive attorneys to fight their case, and often, as in Dr Roth’s case, have the police and other agencies on their side.
I loved the twists in the story, even though I guessed one of them, that didn’t take away the enjoyment from the story.

I definitely recommend this book. Thank you to Bookouture for the NetGalley widget.

2.5 rounded up
The first half dragged. We know something is very wrong here. Rather than give clues to what that is, the story is repetitive, boring and doesn't progress. If I was not reading to review for Netgalley, this would have definitely been a DNF. Last third of book is great and even though I had an idea about the twist, it was enjoyable. If only the earlier part had been as well written this would be close to a 5 star read.

⭐️⭐️✨

The Nurse
By: Jenna Kernan
Publication date: October 2, 2023

This book follows a nurse (Emily) who recently graduated top of her class and just got hired on to be a in home nurse for Sabrina. Her husband Dr.Roth has been in charge of her psychiatric care. Emily feels something is off with the couple and with lots of twist and turns we find out what that is.


Let me start off with what I liked about this book:
- [ ] Emily is a great FMC
- [ ] The plot twist was good

What wasn’t my favorite:
- [ ] Slow slow slow
- [ ] Way to much extra fluff that wasn’t needed
- [ ] Overall not a favorite for me

Thank you NetGalley and Bookouture for gifting me this ACR in exchange for my honest reviewer.

I stayed up way later than I should have reading this book, I found it highly addictive and fast paced. I was flying through the pages so fast that my head was spinning around. The characters are believable and real and the plot is surprisingly thorough which I loved. There are so many secrets and lies under the surface that you will be trying to unravel them all. The twist at the end came as a surprise and my jaw hit the floor!

Is this thriller about an unhinged, delusional, paranoid woman, or a controlling, diabolical, scheming man? Who is the victim and who is the villain? I enjoyed speculating on who was telling the truth throughout this twisted tale of deception and betrayal. This is an intense game of cat and mouse with the players stealthily racing toward vengeance. Who should be feared and who should be protected? The conclusion was full of twists and turns that were surprising and satisfying. Thank you Bookouture and NetGalley for my copy.

The Nurse is a psychological domestic thriller encompassing moral and ethical dilemmas as Dr. Roth, a psychiatrist is treating his wife for her alleged mental illness. He is desperate for a full time nurse to look after his wife, and Emily seems to be the perfect candidate as a newly graduated Valedictorian from nursing school. But as Emily witnesses what is happening within the house, she must decide where her loyalties lie...with Dr. Roth her well respected employer, or her patient and her delusional thoughts, or are they? The story slowly and methodically builds until it reaches its crescendo, and then it takes off as one twist after another is revealed.
Although I thought I figured out part of the twist early on, I realize that the author wasn't necessarily hiding this bit of information. So as it simmered in the back of my mind, I definitely didn't know the how or the extent of the impact and of course, there was a whole lot that caught me by surprise. This is more of a character driven thriller. And I personally found Sabrina the most complex character of all. She was quite a complex enigma.

Holy cow!!! If this book was a tennis match, I would have whiplash by now!
When I first started reading this, I had a theory figured out. The basis of that theory was correct, but so much more happened that I wasn't prepared for!
Henry Roth appeared to be a husband trying to protect his mentally ill wife.
Emily appeared to be a meek, eager to please nurse.
Sabrina appeared to be a mentally ill wife who needed looking after.
None of this was true. Whatever theories you have while reading this are probably not true.
I don't think I've ever been so blindsided reading a book!
I would definitely reccomend this!

This book is a juicy domestic thriller about a recently graduated nurse named Emily Lancing who is hired under mysterious circumstances by a concerned husband Dr. Roth for his mentally fragile wife Sabrina. The premise of this book hooked me, as I could picture lots of room for dramatic suspense, upon which the book ultimately delivered. This book started out a little slow as it built up the backlog to explain why Dr. Roth was looking for a nurse for his mentally ill wife Sabrina. Sabrina lives at home in the care of her husband Dr. Roth who is a psychiatrist and Sabrina's primary caregiver, husband, and physician. It makes one stop to think how ethical is it for a Dr to take care of his own wife and prescribe medications?

From the first page until the very end, Jenna Kernan takes you on a wild ride, that displays mental illness, ethical and moral debates. Just when you thought you figured out the ending you get hit with your first twist, then BAM you get hit with the second twist. As fi two twists in the book isn’t enough this book gives you one more final twist that is nothing less than sheer brilliance! I did not see the ending coming at all. Once it started unfolding it had me flipping the pages to figure out what was going to happen next. This was my first book by this author, but it will NOT be my last. I highly recommend this book. I was grateful to receive a copy of this Arc from Net galley! I have never read any books by Jenna Kernan or even heard of her before this book. I must tell you this book was amazing! I would give this book a solid 10/10 stars.

This one is an intriguing read that has your curiously piped from the beginning. It’s a slower paced read but it works as it really builds the suspense. I couldn’t turn the pages fast enough to find out what was going on or where it was going. A well developed storyline and characters. I think the author did a great job executing this storyline and it gave me a real feel of Frieda McFadens ‘The Housemaid’ as all is not what it seems and just when you think you have it figured out you couldn’t be further from the truth.

Thanks to Netgalley and Bookouture for the opportunity to read and review #TheNurse

What would you do if you were hired as a private nurse to look after a prominent psychiatrists wife, who is clearly being over medicated by her husband? Would you seek help or would you turn a blind eye and continue to do your job because you have huge student loans and not a penny to spare? This is the predicament that Emily Lancing finds herself in. Dr Roth has hired recent nurse graduate Emily, to look after his wife. Her most important duties are to make sure his wife takes her medications, doesn’t drive a car and keeps her safe. Dr Roth appears to be a caring and devoted husband to his mentally ill wife Sabrina. But after only a few short days of work it is apparent that Dr Roth is anything but. Deadly secrets and ulterior motives are uncovered, it’s a game of cat and mouse. What should Emily do, go to the authorities and try and help Sabrina escape or continue to dig deeper and discover what she really came for?

The Nurse is the first book by author Jenna Kernan that I have read. Although it did start off a bit slow, the pace picked up and I could not put the book down. The author wrote with a slow building of intensity to a crescendo at the end. And the plot twist?!?! Wow. I did not see that one coming. If you are looking for a brain teaser of a psychological drama then The Nurse is definitely a book you should read.

Thanks Bookouture, Netgalley and Jenna Kernan for my advanced readers copy of The Nurse.

Publish date: October 2nd, 2023.

I am a huge fan of psychological thrillers and this certainly didn’t disappoint! I was lucky to be given access to ARC of this book on @netgalley and @jenna_kernan totally had me hooked!

Emily had recently graduated as a licensed nurse and was offered a job caring for Sabrina Roth, the wife of Dr Henry Roth, a psychiatrist who as the plot progresses, is giving very mixed signals regarding his wife’s condition. You automatically take a shine to Emily understanding her desire to succeed, both for financial reasons but also to purchase a headstone for her mother. You wonder if her kindness will be taken for a weakness and this is definitely a reason you continue reading til the end!

I would say the first third of the book is slightly slower than the latter parts but has lots of fine details about the life of Mr and Mrs Roth and the development of Emily within her role. There was suspense from the beginning and the pace of the book kept me going as more details were revealed.

I did not predict the ending and this is one thing I expect from a true psychological thriller - for my predictions to be wrong! I loved the twist and it keep me fully engaged til the end! I liked how Jenna gave a full explanation of the twist and the logics behind Emily’s actions.

Thank you for the advanced copy in exchange for an honest review. I enjoyed reading this and will look out for more books by Jenna in the future. Would recommend.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I received a complimentary copy of this book via Netgalley. Opinions expressed in this review are my own opinions.

I'm sorry I could not finish this book. I'm sad because I do like the story and can see it being great, but way way too descriptive for my liking. Once we went through all the chairs we saw so far, I was done.

The build-up may be for something great and that requires every single detail, I just rather set a scene in my imagination.

This is my first Jenna Kernan book, but will absolutely not be my last! This is a stay-up-past-your-bedtime-to-finish psychological thriller for fans of Verity and The Wife Upstairs.

Emily Lancing is fresh out of nursing school and top of her class but without a penny to her name. This is why she agrees to act as a nurse for the illustrious psychiatrist Dr. Roth's sick wife, Sabrina. But how sick is Sabrina, really? Is. Dr. Roth overmedicating his sane wife to keep her complacent or is the medication actually needed to quell Sabrina's inner demons and delusions? In this picture-perfect world, nothing is as it appears to be.

The ending of this book left me completely gobsmacked! The Nurse is one of my favorite thriller reads of 2023 so far! Thank you to NetGalley and Bookouture for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

The back of this book had me thinking that it would be a roller coaster of a ride and then I wouldn't be able to put it down. However once I started the book even with the blurb like that on the back I found myself being pulled out of the story very easily. Well it had everything that I look for in a thriller the execution of the story was a little lackluster at least in the beginning. Once I got over the hurdle of the first chapter is when the story really took off and I got to know the characters a little more. I do understand why the book had to start off the way it did though because with so much going on it was almost like a prequel to what was going to happen and it was necessary to give the reader all of the background information. The book is all about our main character Emily. She's hired by well to do Dr Henry Roth to look after his mentally ill wife Sabrina. Emily's required to do everything for Sabrina especially administer her medication. However it isn't until Monday when Sabrina refuses that Emily really starts to learn about who this woman is when she isn't all loopy from the medication and what it's really going on with the family. This book had the perfect eerie feel to it and everyone seems suspicious. With each chapter the intensity of the story really ramped up and left the reader desperate for answers. I left all the characters in this book but my favorite would have to be Emily and Sabrina. I loved how their characters were so different at each so strong. And I loved how they interacted with each other. The best part about this book was all of the twists every time I was convinced we had the big reveal I was thrown another curve ball. AMAZING! This book reminded me of Freida McFadden's books which was great because she is one of the best for the writers in my opinion so I knew that this one couldn't go wrong. This was the second thriller that I have read by Jenna Kernan and while I went into it with high hopes I was completely blown out of the water by this one and two amazing novels back to back make her a go-to thriller writer in my mind. I cannot wait to see what she comes at with next because this one was amazing. The only thing that I could change would be I wish that I would be able to experience this book again for the first time just to see everything unravel. It was amazing. I found this to be a quick read because I just had to see what was going to happen. Great job

Such a good psychological thriller. This one was a non-stop page turner. I loved the twists and turns the plot takes, and the characters you just have no idea if you can trust. A good book indeed.

Emily Lancing had a difficult upbringing which made her more determined to work hard putting herself through nursing school and graduating in two years as the Valedictorian. Now, she is looking for a job as a personal nurse. Jenna met Dr. Roth at school. He is a well-respected and well-known psychiatrist. He is looking to hire someone who graduated at the top of her class to be a nurse to his wife, Sabrina.

Emily is down to her last few dollars as she heads to meet with Dr. Roth at his home which turns out to be huge and very private. He details the things that he wants done for Sabrina and her responsibilities. He emphasizes how important it is that Sabrina take her prescribed medications on time. Then, she meets Sabrina. The woman is very beautiful, fashionable, and arrogant. It appears she was left quite a lot of money by her family and is very wealthy.

As the story builds and we discover the secrets kept in this wealthy and entitled family, the more appalling they become. The job is not easy for Emily in which case I had to wonder why she chose to stay in this dysfunctional situation. But as the mouth-dropping ending occurs, we learn there is a lot more to the story than first thought. This is absolutely one of the very best books I have read in a long time. What an incredible author. I look forward to reading more of her books. Don’t miss it!

Copy provided by NetGalley in exchange for a fair and honest review.

_𝓱𝓪𝓹𝓹𝔂 𝓹𝓾𝓫 𝓭𝓪𝔂_
Kernan does it again with The Nurse. A gripping story with fantastic characters who keep the suspense alive.
I enjoyed the story, buildup, anticipation, twists, turns and then that ending.
This book was fantastic. A slow burn yet interesting the whole way through!
An enjoyable thriller.

"I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own."

Thank You NetGalley and Bookouture for your generosity and gifting me a copy of this amazing eARC!