Not My Mother by Theo Baxter immediately snatched my interest and kept me captivated to the end. Well written, well researched, well developed, with believable, relatable characters.
It was twisted and was a truly bingeable book. I couldn't read it fast enough.
The pacing of the book is relentless, drawing the reader in with its fast-paced narrative and engaging plot twists.

Thank you Inkubator Books and NetGalley for this approved eARC!

This book was gripping. From the first page, the action started, and it kept up until the end. There was a predictable twist, but that did not take away from the story at all. There were unexpected twists throughout the book, and at times, I wasn't sure what or who to believe. The drama was intense, and the suspense building was palpable in this book. I loved Carly and Jake's relationship. It was endearing to see how much they cared for each other. Watching their relationship develop was the highlight of this book for me. This could definitely be turned into a movie script!

Thank you NetGalley and Inkubator Books for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Thanks to #NetGalley and #InkubatorBooks for the book #NotMyMother by #TheoBaxter. This book about a boy whose mother gets attacked and afterwards he thinks she isn’t his mother. He doesn’t feel safe and stays with a family friend who tries to protect him. I read this book in one sitting and recommend it.

Another great book from Theo Baxter, this one kept me guessing and turning the pages until the shocking conclusion. I loved the ending, it was great!

Basically a run of the mill story, nothing to keep the reader on the edge of their seat.
The main character was a ten year old boy who acted more like the adult than any of the other characters. Not really believable. The attitude of the police was ridiculous. In light of the evidence provided by Jake and Carly, they ignored everything and no investigations were carried out. The whole book was long winded and mediocre. But one good point was everything turned out right at the end.

For once I can say “pulse pounding” is a perfect way to describe this book. I demolished this in one day, staying up past my bedtime to finish it. This one had me guessing, and wondering if I could trust anyone in this story. It’s a work of FICTION and some reviews gasp at the thought of a mom & dad giving their child over freely to someone they don’t really know that well (but come on, how well do you really know your child’s caregiver, teacher, coach, after school caregiver, etc - it’s not that far fetched). The book is sad, as far as the child and what is happening, but it’s so magical how caring and heartfelt the MC is, and I’m glad she was portrayed how she was (flaws and all).

1.5 stars rounded up

Thank you to NetGalley and Inkubator Books for giving me this free eARC for an honest review.

Unfortunately, I did not like this book. One of the main characters is a 10-year-old kid. No one treats him like a kid. Maybe because all the other characters, who are adults by the way, act like children. Nelson is one of the most ridiculous characters I’ve come across. He could have been forgiven if the character dynamics were explained better. Or explained much at all really. We see very little of how things were before Amanda’s accident. As a result, there’s little for readers to go off of for her as a character. It’s also unclear how her relationship was with Nelson, Carly, and Jake before the amnesia. I have so many questions and none of them are even about this “fake mom” fiasco.

The writing is drawn out. Majority of the scenes are unnecessary to the story. The narration follows every little detail of Carly’s everyday life. Hence, we would get boring descriptions of the simplest things like—deciding to get pizza, calling pizza place, placing order, hanging up the phone… The whole book is written like this. If transitions are difficult, doing hard scene breaks would still be better than this type of overwriting. Interestingly enough, certain scenes that should’ve been described in great detail are just glossed over or summarized in 1-2 sentences.

To end on a more positive note, I do think that it’s nice to see “the other woman” as the kind main character—the mom who stepped up. If the dynamics were done well, this could have been a great rep in a Modern Family way.

This book easily could have been a 4-4.5 star book. Unfortunately due to some serious plot holes and implausible moments I feel that this is a 3 star book.

I felt that as an adult, Carly too readily makes decisions based on statements made by a 10 year old boy. Most adults would consider must more realistic answers before coming to the conclusions that she does much too early in the book. There is also the behavior of the police. I can understand them thinking she's a hysterical woman at first, but as evidence mounts up they all continue with the dismissive attitude. This leaves it up to Carly and 10 year old Jake to find out who is pursuing and trying to kill them. On occasion Jake shows more maturity than Carly does.

As what was intended to be a thriller, every time the book picked up speed, it lost momentum because these moments brought down any built up tension.

Thank you to Inkubator Books for providing this book for review consideration via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.
#netgalley
#notmymother

This was just an ok read for me. I do read a lot of thrillers so this one was just pretty average for me, but if you don’t you may like it! I thought the concept of the ex girlfriend caring for the son was unique but as usual, the incompetency of rather lack of care from the police was cliche. I also don’t care for romance thrown into my thrillers unless it makes total sense to the plot. Overall I was entertained but I probably wouldn’t pick it up again.

Thanks Netgalley for a copy of this work in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are that of my own!

I have been looking for a book like this since I have started reading thrillers. They way this author writes leaves you wanting to know what happens next. You will think you have the book figured out, but with all the twists and turns, you will find out that you were wrong and you will have to pick your jaw up off the floor.

Jake Carter, who is 10 has an enemy and his life is in danger. His caregiver is focused on keeping him safe and find out who's intention is to harm him, with or without the police.

The relationship between Jake and his caregiver is so sweet and loving. But the twist at the end of the book will leave you wanting a part two!

I rate this book 5 stars and will recommend this book to all my friends and family!

10 year old Jake Carter has an enemy, and his life is in danger. His dad’s mistress, Carly becomes his caregiver, and is determined to keep him safe and find out who is after him, without help from law enforcement.

I absolutely loved this book! The writing is fun and kept me interested the whole time. The beginning was not intense, but still flowed steadily as you got to know each character and formed strong opinions of them. When the pace started to pick up, it got intense! I will definitely look into more books by Theo Baxter!

Thank you #NetGalley and #Inkubator for this ARC! I thoroughly enjoyed it!

oh WOW i've been struggling too find a book too keep my interest lately but this one had me gripped i read it in a night.

its a really good read fast paced and lots of tqlwists and turns that will make you keep reading and just wanting more.

its a shame this is a one off thriller as i would love to read about these characters again you can really get behind them.

i love Jake and Carlys relationship.

The big twist shocked me i'm surprised it didnt occur to me but as there were other things going on it was a sorta distraction.

I will read anything Theo Baxter writes. This as well didn't disappoint!

As usual it had me hooked from page one. It was intense and the author always writes with the reader in mind because every time i start a book by this author i cannot put the book down. The plot was jaw dropping and i never seen the end coming. Every time i read one i say oh this is the best one written and once again i always say this is my favorite until the next :)

Great book and great writing never a disappointment.

Thanks NetGalley for letting me read and review.

This was my first book by Theo Baxter. It drew me in from the beginning and loved the intensity of Not My Mother. It is full of mystery and suspense and I look forward to reading more from this author.

Thank you to NetGalley and Inkubator Books for allowing me to read this digital ARC in exchange for my honest review.

My first Theo Baxter read did not disappoint. Immediately you're sucked in wanting to know who's chasing Carly and the little boy she's with. It left me on the edge of my seat with every page turn. I will definitely be recommending this one and reading more by Theo.

This was an interesting and unique read, centered on Carly, who goes out of her way to protect young Jake, the son of the man with whom she was having an affair, after his mother was attacked. Jake is convinced that his mother was replaced with an imposter after the attack and Carly goes to get to the bottom of it while ensuring Jake’s safety.

Carly is a likable character and I enjoyed the dynamic between her and Jake. Jake’s parents were not likable characters and I wish we had gotten more backstory on them, as I didn’t really understand their apathy towards their child. The mystery in the story was sound and I liked that the author was able to take a situation that seemed implausible make rational sense. That being said, there were multiple other parts of the story that were extremely unrealistic; I really didn’t like the fact that the police refused to help Carly even faced with evidence, and I felt that the ending was tied up a little too neatly to be realistic.

Overall, this was an interesting read with a unique storyline and, despite some issues that caused me to suspend my disbelief, I enjoyed it. Thanks to Netgalley for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Solid 3.5 star thriller. This review contains some spoilers.

I found the premise of this book intriguing, but the execution was a bit lacking for me. I appreciate that Jake was able to tell right away that something was off about the woman claiming to be his mother, but I was left confused about why his father didn't notice anything to he unusual. I enjoyed the relationship between Carly and Jake, and they were both very likable characters. The biggest thing that bothered me about the story was the continued disregard by the police for the events that had occurred even when presented with evidence on video that the same man was involved in all of these alleged attacks. I understand that the allegation regarding the mother not being who she claimed to be was far-fetched, but there were multiple videos of the other man caught in the act and those were all completely ignored by the police which seemed too over the top.
Overall though, I did enjoy this book and would read another by the author because it was fast paced and kept me interested.
Thank you to Netgalley and Inkubator books for the opportunity to read this ARC.

I found the plot and cover to be intriguing. I love psychological thrillers. I did like the female protagonist, Carly, however many of the remaining characters were not as likeable. I would have liked to see a bit more character development in Carly. We also didn’t get a lot of backstory until the end of the book. I would have liked to know more about her and Jake’s relationship and how it got so strong.
At times I felt like Jake, who is about 9 or 10, was wise beyond his years. And his father seemed so immature and one dimensional, I’m not sure what the main character saw in him in the first place.
I also know the police ignoring the crazy woman in distress trope but. I just find it hard to believe the police would be so dismissive.
I think there was a good amount of tension and a pretty twist. I enjoyed learning what would happen. I had a great evening reading this!

Written fairly well, but I did have trouble with a couple aspects, particularly around believability. For example, that the police would not do anything about a man charging toward someone with a knife in broad daylight was a bit shocking. But in all, the book was entertaining to read and kept my attention. The only other thing I would say is there was far too much “fretting” going on. The word seemed to pop up in every paragraph which was slightly annoying at best.

This book had me addicted from the start! It was so intense that I could not wait to see the twist. Authot knows how to deliver the breath taking, draw dropping twist that we all know and love and never expect the ending. I believe this book is her best one yet but I say that everytime I read one of her books. Thank you for allowing me to read your book in advance.