Member Reviews

A really good book. It was somewhat predictable, but overall I really enjoyed it! It is my favorite genre. The ending was a tad rushed for me. It was twisty. I’d recommend to friends.

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"Tara leads a quiet life. Then she meets Cassie. When Tara Ryan gets the results of a DNA test one rainy afternoon, all her dreams come true. She discovers she’s not an only child, she has a long-lost sister, Cassie. What she doesn’t know is that Cassie is homeless, strung out, and praying for a break. As socially awkward Tara lets street-wise Cassie into her life, shocking secrets come to the surface – a dark web of illegal adoptions, betrayal and death. All rooted in a horrifying children's home scandal which occurred many years before. Has Tara's mother been deceiving her for her entire life, or is Tara looking to the wrong person for the truth? Someone is lying - and they must pay the ultimate price."
Does Tara figure out who telling the truth, does she figure out who is lying, and who is going to pay the ultimate price? Suspenseful story, fast paced, kept attention throughout the whole book, I give this book 4 stars.
Thanks to netgalley, Inkubator Publishing for the opportunity to leave an honest review.

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I raced through this book. It had me hooked from the very first pages. Such a great story, really enjoyed!!!

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This is a good solid thriller told from a dual point of view. It was an ok read, not really outstanding but easy enough to read. It feels like the long lost sibling genre has been done so much now.

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It's dual POV, and I found it interesting to see the development of the characters. But... I am expecting more behind 'what you wish for'. It ends too quickly and not thrilling enough for me, like the author said—a psychological thriller. Still, this book is enjoyable to read. The relationship between long-lost sisters makes me hooked till the end.

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Be Careful What You Wish For by Lorraine Murphy is a tale of two contrasting lives that intertwine in the most unexpected way. Tara, leading a quiet, sheltered life, discovers through a DNA test that she has a long-lost sister named Cassie, who has been living a starkly different existence, battling homelessness and addiction. As their paths cross, buried secrets emerge, exposing a dark web of illegal adoptions, betrayal, and death rooted in a horrifying children's home scandal from years ago.

This gripping thriller not only kept me on the edge of my seat with its suspenseful narrative but also tugged at my heartstrings as I became deeply invested in the characters' lives. Tara and Cassie are brilliantly developed, and their starkly different backgrounds make for a compelling and emotional read. The story starts off a bit slow but gradually gains momentum, leading to a surprising and thought-provoking conclusion. The complexity of the characters and the blurred lines between hero and villain kept me guessing until the very end. While the pacing felt a bit rushed towards the conclusion, Be Careful What You Wish For is an engrossing read that seamlessly blends suspense and emotional depth, making it a must-read for fans of thrillers with heart. My thanks to NetGalley and Inkubator Books for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

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This is such a good thriller I enjoyed all of it and I thought it was well done and decently pasted one of my favs

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Tara has had a sheltered life living with her widowed mother. Even now that she has her own flat it is only a couple of doos from her disabled mother's bungalow and she spends most of her time there. She has always wished for more family and now she has been contacted by Cassie who claims she is her sister. But Cassie has had a very different life from Tara's so is she genuine or a scammer.
For the first part of this story I would like to have shaken Tara. She was so diffident and just did whatever her mother wanted at the expense of her own life. But I always thought there was more to her than this little mouse and meeting Cassie makes a big difference to her life. There were lots of little twists in this story some of which I suspected but I was not ready for the big shocker. I was so stunned I could barely
breathe. I'll be looking out for this author in the future

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This was my first book by Lorraine Murphy, but it definitely won't be the last! She drew me into the story from the first line and kept me guessing to the very end. The idea of DNA testing and it's recent popularity is interesting. While it is intended to bring families together, I can't help but wonder how many families are torn apart due to long-kept secrets. I thoroughly enjoyed watching Tara evolve and come out of her shell, and the character of Cassie intrigued me. The story was well written and I was completely satisfied with the ending. Overall, this was a solid read!

Thank you to NetGalley and Inkubator Books for my advanced copy in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own

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Thank you to NetGalley as well as Ms. Murphy for the opportunity to read and review “Be Careful What You Wish For” in exchange for my honest feedback.

A thrilling psychological thriller indeed, I enjoyed following Tara sulking through the lies and deceit on the path to truth.

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Not a bad story, characters didn’t seem fully drawn, the story was ok regarding dna testing and find8ng famiky …the lead was a bit too gullible.

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This book was a quick read! Defined for me out of my romance slump. The twist & turns of this book were quite predictable though. Still a good read just wish it had me on my toes more

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Be Careful What You Wish For by Lorraine Murphy is a tale of two contrasting lives that intertwine in the most unexpected way. Tara, leading a quiet, sheltered life, discovers through a DNA test that she has a long-lost sister named Cassie, who has been living a starkly different existence, battling homelessness and addiction. As their paths cross, buried secrets emerge, exposing a dark web of illegal adoptions, betrayal, and death rooted in a horrifying children's home scandal from years ago.

This gripping thriller not only kept me on the edge of my seat with its suspenseful narrative but also tugged at my heartstrings as I became deeply invested in the characters' lives. Tara and Cassie are brilliantly developed, and their starkly different backgrounds make for a compelling and emotional read. The story starts off a bit slow but gradually gains momentum, leading to a surprising and thought-provoking conclusion. The complexity of the characters and the blurred lines between hero and villain kept me guessing until the very end. While the pacing felt a bit rushed towards the conclusion, Be Careful What You Wish For is an engrossing read that seamlessly blends suspense and emotional depth, making it a must-read for fans of thrillers with heart. My thanks to NetGalley and Inkubator Books for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

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BLOG TOUR REVIEW


Review for 'Be Careful What You Wish For' by Lorraine Murphy.


Read and reviewed for Netgalley, Lorraine Murphy, Inkubator Books and Zooloo's Book Tours.


Publication date 20th August 2023.


This is the first book I have read by this author.

This novel consists of a prologue, 36 chapters and an epilogue. The chapters are short in length so easy to read 'just one more chapter' before bed...OK, I know yeah right, but still just in case!

'Be Careful What You Wish For' discusses some topics that may upset some readers or may not be suitable for others. I like to point this out ahead of time in my reviews so you can judge if this book is for you or not. In this book Lorraine discusses toxic relationships, alcoholism and attempted r@p3.


This book is very well written and had me hook, line and sinker from beginning to end. The descriptions were so in depth and vivid that the hair on my arms was standing on the ends and my heart was pounding throughout. The synopsis, title and cover were perfect for the storyline.


This book is a fascinating and thought provoking thriller that grips your attention from the dark prologue all the way to the fantastic epilogue!! The title of the book sums up the storyline absolutely perfectly and really does make you be very careful what you wish for!!! It is written from multiple perspectives with two main protagonists. One of the protagonists being shy and introverted Tara who works full time as well as caring for her selfish and demanding mother. The other protagonist is down on her luck and alcoholic Cassie who claims to be Tara's sister who she was never told about. The story is based around the lives of Tara, Cassie and Mary and the reader can see how their lives weave together while the lies and secrets start untangling. This is one of those books where you have absolutely no idea who is telling the truth and if you can trust any of them. I was absolutely intrigued from the start to finish as I read about Tara's horrific colleagues, Cassie's life in the shelter and on the streets and Mary's demands and gaslighting of her daughter. While these women are working around each other the book also tells the story of what has been discovered about the Cherish The Children home from news broadcasts throughout the book. The plot is filled with suspense, tension, secrets, family, history and loads more!!! There is heartbreak, revelations, sadness and many more emotions on every page. I found the ending quite fascinating and intriguing as it left me still wondering how much of Cassie's story is true and what was fabricated. I can't say any more than that as I don't want to spoil it for future readers. With realistic, strong and unlikeable characters that make you want to shout at, sympathise with and more this book will keep you glued to the pages. I'm definitely looking forward to reading more books by Lorraine to see what else she has up her sleeve!!!


Overall an absolutely captivating, gripping and heart racing addictive psychological thriller!!!



253 pages.


This book is just 99p to purchase on kindle, free with kindle unlimited and £8.99 in paperback (at time of review) via Amazon which I think is an absolute bargain for this book!!!

Rated 4/5 (I enjoyed it ) on Goodreads, Instagram, Amazon UK and Amazon US and on over 30 Facebook pages plus my blog on Facebook.

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Decent enough story which jogged along at an even pace. I did think the writing was a bit simplistic in places but it added to the ambience of the story, I would read another of the authors books and thank NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

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Tara has always wished for a sister and after doing a DNA test she discovers that she does in fact have a sister. What I didn't know was if there was something more sinister going on and I had no idea who to trust her mother or Cassie the sister. I flew through this page turner and I had no idea who to trust. Lies, deceit and needing to know the outcome kept me engaged and reading as fast as I possibly could.

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Having read Lorraine Murphy's fantastic debut "Into the Woods" I was excited by the prospect of her second offering. The concept is something of a complex tale, sad even, and definitely intriguing. It begins as a slow burn which remains steady throughout and yet there was still something compelling me to keep reading. It's a quick read which I easily unravelled in a few short hours in one sitting.

Tara is an only child with an elderly mother, Mary, whom she now cares for solely since a car accident which claimed the life of her father and confined her mother to a wheelchair some twenty years ago. Her life is but a small one. She has no friends, no significant other, with her whole life devoted to caring for her ailing mother. But when a DNA test reveals a "full match" - meaning parent, sibling or child - through a family website, Tara unexpectedly finds she has a sister she knew nothing about and her ordered world suddenly falls into chaos. She contacts the woman, Cassie, and agrees to meet her. But the two women couldn't be more different.

Cassie finds herself homeless after a drinking binge sees her in hospital and out of the refuge where she had been living. But upon receiving the news of a DNA match with a woman, Cassie sobers herself up and arranges to meet her long lost little sister in Dublin. But their first meeting doesn't go as planned, leaving both women feeling dissatisfied and disappointed. However, Tara has always wanted a sister and seeing how lucky she has been in life compared to the hand Cassie had been dealt, she takes her under her wing...albeit maybe a little too naively.

Amidst the goings on is the news that is currently sweeping Ireland of the children's home scandal, which was rife in Ireland up to the 1980s, that saw children wrenched from their biological mothers and sold to the highest bidder with non-disclosure agreements preventing either party from revealing the details of the adoption...or even that there had been an adoption. I would have liked to see this play more of a part in the story than it actually did. It was dangled in the background and offered something of an explanation without really explaining anything.

And then there is Mary. Ailing, frail and elderly Mary. Widowed and talking fondly of her her husband Frank RIP - what in the hell was that? She referred to him as Frank RIP and Tara referred to him as Daddy RIP. Sure, he died and it was tragic but they branded the RIP on the end like it was a medal of honour. It was tacky and senseless. And Mary, who wears her ailments like a garment she cloaks herself with each morning was exhausting to read. The woman beat Tara down at every turn, gave her panic attacks, allergies and then demanded she not take a promotion offered to her. Why? What did she hope to gain from it? Of course the promotion meant Tara had a week's training in London which Mary simply would not hear of, nor would Tara leave her. Until Cassie stepped in and offered to care for her in Tara's absence. Oh no, that just would not do. But why?

Honestly, what a tangled web we weave when first we practice to deceive...as quoted by Shakespeare but Tara cites it as someone called Scott. Whoever first quoted it, no truer words were spoken. These three women weave a tangled web between the lot of them. And I liked none of them. Tara was weak and spineless and at her age could not stand up for herself in any way. She dressed dowdy and had no self esteem. Of course, this was down to the environment in which she had grown up, and Mary's devious ploy to keep her close. Cassie was secretive and had her own ulterior motives. I could feel no sympathy for any of them.

This is a tough book to review and rate because of this. And because I felt it had so much more potential. So much more could have been done with the children's home scandal, of which were rife in Ireland and there would be no shortage of stories there. I remember watching a documentary of a Catholic children's home in which there revealed to be a mass grave of children's bodies secretly buried there as well as many illegal adoptions that took place from there. Now that could be the basis of a brilliant thriller I would love to read.

Overall, this was still a good quick read that could easily be devoured in a few short hours. It was compelling, that's for sure. I just kept wanting to turn the page and find out that little bit more and what secrets bubbled beneath the surface.

I would like to thank #LorraineMurphy, #Netgalley, #InkubatorBooks and #ZoolooTours for an ARC of #BeCarefulWhatYouWishFor in exchange for an honest review.

This review appears on my blog at https://stinathebookaholic.blogspot.com/.

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Be Careful What You Wish For is a dual POV thriller that follows two women and a scandal in a children's home. Overall I found the storyline to be interesting. However, the pacing of the book had a few issues for me. I found bits and pieces dragging while the ending packed so much info. Despite the slower bits I did find this to be an enjoyable read. Towards the end of the book I found myself in that "I need to find out how this all ties together" mindset and despite the late hour, finished the book. This book covers topics of rape, child kidnapping, and alcoholism.

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Tara is an only child who has always wanted a sister. Her father died when she was young and it's always been just her and her mother, who was handicapped in the wreck that killed her father. She was home schooled, not socialized as we say with animals, has few friends and few social skills. She says what she thinks with little or no filter, which doesn't exactly endear her to others. She goes to work, comes home to dinner with mother, puts her to bed, and goes home to her penthouse apartment just around the corner where she and mother can see each other from their windows. A good daughter but boring girl with a boring life. Then she overhears a coworker talking about a DNA test and decides to do one herself. Imagine her surprise when the results come back showing that she has the sister she has always wished for. The story is told from Tara's and Cassie's points of view in alternating chapters, through which we learn their backstories in depth. We see mother Mary in depth also but not completely until late in the story. The other characters whom Tara works with are developed just enough for the story development. The two girls couldn't be less alike in looks, personality, life experiences, and attitude. Tara, thinking Cassie had been abandoned by their parents, allows her to worm her way into Tara's apartment and life even though she knows little about her and realizes it's probably not a good idea. The book moves along at a good pace with a few twists that were only somewhat surprising but still added to the story. The ending felt a little rushed but was still satisfying. All in all, I enjoyed this book, which I received from NetGalley, a lot and look forward to reading more from this author.

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Absolutely loved it! It's more than just a thriller and really does make you think about nature vs nurture. The characters are so well developed and created into solid people. There were some good twists and turns I didn't see coming and I was fascinated to see what direction jt was going to take. Highly recommend

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