Loving Mothers:
How far would a mother go to protect her child? This gripping psychological thriller had me on the edge of my seat!! It was an addictive read with a lot of twists!!! A must-read! 5 stars. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me to read this arc

Loving Mothers is a fast paced read that will have you guessing.

Mothers will do anything to protect their children and they are fierce.

The women of this affluent neighbourhood are no different.

All of them have secrets.

Secrets have a way of blowing up and creating chaos.

They are all friendly but don't turn your back on any of them.

Tragedy strikes and they all are in protection mode.

Miranda Smith has written a taut thriller with twists and turns and just when you think you have it solved she throws in another big twist.

Expect the unexpected.

Highly recommend Loving Mothers, just clear your schedule because you wont want to put the book down.

Thanks to NetGalley and Bookouture for another amazing read by Miranda Smith.

This book was such a quick and easy read! I enjoyed the author’s informal tone. The plot was nice and twisty and flashed back between Halloween night and the aftermath of a neighborhood party. The neighborhood women, Mary, Stella, Janet, Donna, and Naomi, are a clique of wannabe Stepford Wives who will do anything to protect themselves and those they love. The characters are majorly morally grey. The only thing that I think could have been better about this book is if there was less talk about a certain “perfect” spouse because I think that made me way more suspicious and able to guess a little bit of the plot twist. Thank you to NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this title. Highly recommend for a quick, fun, Halloween read!

Thank you to the publishers & Netgalley for allowing me to read this book in advance!

I couldn’t put this book down. The suspend & twists throughout the book just keeps you hooked in each chapter! And wow - what an ending!!

If you love thrillers then this book is definitely the one for you.

Once again thank you to NetGalley for choosing me to voice my thoughts on this book!

I absolutely loved this book! Had me hooked from the very beginning. Has desperately housewives feel about it, everyone has their own secrets and they aren’t afraid to protect their own by using others! The twist at around 80% the way through had my jaw hitting the floor! Didn’t expect the twists that came at all, had me guessing the whole way through! Definitely recommend!

Another thriller to add to my list of favorites! If you’ve seen Desperate Housewives, this book gives the vibes of the wives, the neighborhood, and the secrets they keep behind closed doors.

Loving Mothers by Miranda Smith is full of suspense and twists that made me re-read a sentence to make sure I was reading it right. I finished this book in one seating, too good to put down!

What lengths would you go to protect your child?

Thank you NetGalley and Bookouture for the opportunity to read this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I loved this book didn’t want it to end. It was such a well written thriller with such well developed characters. It had me guessing throughout I loved the writing style and how the story just flowed throughout. I always love when the story is told from different perspectives think it definitely builds up the suspense and there was lots of it. Overall fantastic thriller which I can’t wait to recommend. Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for my advanced copy.
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This suspense kept me interested and had an ending I never saw coming. A neighborhood full of mean girls turned gossiping housewives, each with secrets, trying to protect their children even if it means throwing another child under the bus. I will definitely look for more books by this author.

Stella has moved with her teenage son to a new area and is desperate to make friends but the women in the area are very cliquey with their perfect lives. However beneath the surface there are cracks and nothing is as it seems. When teenage girl goes missing at a Halloween party everything falls apart and the mothers are trying to protect their teenagers and deflect attention from them. A very twisty tale that kept me engrossed to the end.

Loved this book from the get go! It gave me Desperate Housewives vibes which I loved. A missing teen and a community with things of hide, what’s not to love? A great read, really enjoyed it!

Great book! I finished it in one sitting. I just couldn't put it down. The characters were very well written and relatable. I would definitely recommend this book.

Thanks Netgalley for opportunity to read...

I think this book promised more than it delivered. Whilst enjoyable enough I found it slightly tedious.

Its Halloween and the residents of Hickory Hills are looking forward to a night of trick and treating, partying and catching up with friends. Stella Moore, with her son Hudson has just moved into the gated Hickory Hills, away from her abusive husband and looking forward to a new start. But the festivities and this joyful atmosphere will all change when sixteen-year-old Shelby goes missing and her body found the next morning.

Shelby’s mother Donna is absolutely beside herself once she discovers Shelby is missing; she calls Mary whose daughter Grace is very good friends with Shelby and is surprised and taken aback that Grace seems to have a very nonchalant attitude to what has happened to her daughter. Stella then finds out that Grace and her son Hudson who was supposedly Shelby’s boyfriend seem to be in some kind of relationship. Stella still carries all the worries of her previous life with her, and she is scared, scared of the past and of what the future may bring into her new world.

Everyone here has secrets, some more than others and some that will change lives forever. The twists keep coming and I have to say after reading so many books about families in neighborhoods this one is right up there setting it away from the usual stereotypes we have become so used to in recent books.

Believable characters and a strong plot make this a book that is hard to put down, highly recommended.

Thank you to Netgalley, the author and publisher for an advanced copy of the book, all opinions are my own.

WOW I really enjoyed this book. It was very well written, the suspense of not knowing who did what was also well done. I am a bit miffed that it turned out to be who it was in the end because I feel like we didn't get enough information about her or from her during the story. However, if it was the husband it would have been too cliche. So I see the dilemma there but, would have liked if it were a more prominent character or if we saw more of Naomi's life unfold. It was mostly just tidbits when I'm positive she would have had a cracked facade.

Absolutely recommend this book!

When I say I could not put this down 👏🏻👏🏻
The pacing,the suspense, the ending. I haven't really been hooked into a thriller like I was with this one in such a long time!

On Halloween night, 16 year old Shelby goes missing.
Her best friend Grace & boyfriend Hudson won't fess up anything about what happened that night. Why did Grace have blood all over her costume, and why did Hudson have a bruise to his head? Mary & Stella, mothers to the teens, will do anything to protect their children, even if that means hiding their own secrets.

Rating:⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

You guys... I was addicted!!! Rich & perfect neighborhood, housewives, blaming each other, and so many secrets. I NEEDED this!!

This book kept me guessing until the end! I loved that there were layers to the mystery that was divulged at the end of the book. The character growth was great, and I enjoyed the multiple points of view. What a riveting book!

Title :- Loving Mothers
Author :- Miranda Smith
Genre :- Psychological thriller.
Story :- This thriller explores the terrifying lengths a mother will go to in order to protect her child, even when the truth threatens to unravel everything she holds dear. Set in the seemingly idyllic community of Hickory Hills, the story dives into the dark undercurrents that flow beneath the surface of a neighborhood where everyone knows each other—sometimes too well.The story centers around the disappearance of sixteen-year-old Shelby, which sends shockwaves through the tight-knit community. While the residents rally to find her, the protagonist, a mother who is both protective and desperate, discovers unsettling clues that suggest her own daughter might be involved. As she uncovers more evidence—including a blood-stained Halloween costume hidden in her daughter’s closet—she is forced to confront the possibility that her daughter knows more than she’s letting on. Torn between the instinct to protect her child and the moral obligation to seek the truth, she finds herself making increasingly risky decisions to shield her daughter from suspicion.
What I Liked:
1 Tense Atmosphere: Smith excels at building a tense, claustrophobic atmosphere. The small-town setting, where everyone’s business is everyone else’s, adds to the feeling of unease and paranoia that permeates the novel.
2 Moral Complexity: The protagonist's internal conflict is compelling. Her fierce maternal instinct drives her to consider actions that challenge her morality, making her a relatable and complex character.
3 Unpredictability: The novel keeps readers guessing. The twists and turns, especially around the daughter’s involvement and the secrets of other families in the community, are well-executed, maintaining suspense throughout.
Dislikes :-
None.
Overall Impression: Loving Mothers is a chilling exploration of the lengths a parent will go to protect their child, even when faced with damning evidence. Miranda Smith deftly navigates the moral ambiguities of parental love and the darker side of suburban life, creating a suspenseful and thought-provoking thriller. Despite some minor pacing issues, the novel is a page-turner that will leave readers questioning just how far they would go to protect the ones they love. Fans of domestic thrillers and psychological suspense will find much to enjoy in this gripping tale.
My rating 5/5
I wish I could give more.

Wow!… So many twists it had my mind BLOWN every page down to the last sentence!!!… My mind was spinning to keep up with all the twists… A must read for those who love a mind-blowing psychological twist! Deliciously dark and twisty… Will have you locking all the doors and flipping pages in order to find out what happened…

This was a book that you just don’t want to put down. So I didn’t! I don’t even remember the last time I read a book in 2 days. This was a domestic thriller with constant twists and turns. It’s told from different perspectives, and you have to read just one more chapter to see what happens next. This was my first book by this author, but it definitely won’t be my last! Adding others to my list now. Thank you to NetGalley, author and publishers for this fantastic ARC!

well i was completely hooked on this story infact I haven’t moved all day as i couldn’t put it down so many twists and turns you will get dizzy, it’ had me gasping with shock in some places and even if you think you know what’s happening you really don’t!
a great read