This was my first surrogacy thriller novel and woah/wow! Also my first by this author, excellent read. Also a quick read (under 300 pages), so if you're looking to get out of a reading slump, pick this one up! It comes out Sept. 27th! *I received an advanced complimentary copy from author/publishing company in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts & opinions are my own.

I really loved this book. I was not expecting all the twists and turns. The connections that come to light were so great. I could not put this book down.

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC ! I will be reading more from this author.

Omg this plot!! I started reading expecting something completely different and then I realised that I really had no idea what direction the story was going in. I got frustrated but continued reading waiting for something to happen. The the author took me on another twist and I was blown away. The main piece of the puzzle that I was desperate to solve was how the characters knew each other and where they fitted in. I screamed with desperation because I just had to know how it would end so I was flying through the pages. The ending is so suprising it smacked me in the face! I would love a sequel to follow up this page turning thriller.

Wow! My first Sam Vickery novel but definitely not my last. Read this in an afternoon and can’t get it off my mind. Wonderful characters that kept me totally engaged in the story. Packed with secrets and lies, I had no idea who to trust. Great read.
Thank you NetGalley, Sam Vickery and Bookouture for the opportunity to read and review this book.

My thanks to Bookouture and NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read ‘The Perfect Baby’ written by Sam Vickery in exchange for my honest and unbiased review.

Two women meet at a surrogacy group and immediately feel a connection. Elise is unable to have children and is attending in place of her sister Julia who’s offered to have a baby for her, and Maya is heavily pregnant and a surrogate mother for Nina and Will who are paying her expenses and expect her to conform to their wishes. But as the babies are due to be born not everything is as straightforward as it appears.

‘The Perfect Baby’ is a domestic thriller of lies and secrets, and the pitfalls of surrogacy. As Elise and Maya’s backgrounds are revealed I started to become uneasy that something was going wrong but I didn’t know how or why. At first I was confused by some of the characters who at the time didn’t have a logical place in the story and it wasn’t until later that the truth about them emerged. By the time I reached the final chapters the story had completed twisted around and the result was so unexpected that I found myself open-mouthed in shock. This is another well-written novel by Sam Vickery who always manages to write a story that’s entertaining and a pleasure to read.

This is a very interesting story that got off to a slow start. It begins to pick up pace and there are many twists and turns. Stick with it you will be glad you did.

This book had me hooked from the very first page! It was full of suspense & twists that kept me on the edge of my seat throughout!

Loved this thriller so much! This was such a quick read for me as I could not put it down! Frieda McFadden vibes for sure! The twist was so unexpected and I totally did not see it coming(the best kind) !

Fascinating take on surrogacy and all the problems that can arise. This is a cleverly crafted domestic thriller which takes a deep dive into the characters and has a stunning ending!

Many thanks to NetGalley and Bookouture for this ARC!

Thank you NetGallery for letting me read The Perfect Baby for my honest review.
It was a bit different than other books I have read. I love to try something new and dig into new troupe.
This was a slow start for me. I was determined to keep reading because once I start, I have to finish.

I’m glad I did!
The twist was absolutely shocking and didn’t see it coming at all.

This was definitely a very intense and suspensful read, I felt very immersed in this book right away and it was such a gripping read overall.

a real page turner that had me on the edge of my seat and wanting to know what happened next!
a great read and i loved the characters and finding our their back stories and the. the twists will make wonder of you need to go back and read it all again!

Twisty novel about surrogate motherhood, lies and secrets. Maya and Elise meet at a support group for surrogate mothers and those using a surrogate. Maya is a surrogate for a couple who are very demanding and Elise is using her not too nice sister as a surrogate. Told in then and now chapters and with multiple narrators this book explores the hard truths about impending motherhood and how difficult the surrogate process can be. Neither Elise or Maya are telling the complete truth about their stories and in order to maintain the mystery the author sometimes has conversations happen that make no sense when the mystery is revealed.

I also found some of the conversations the author had the characters say about children born of surrogates always looking for their real mother to be lacking in scientific merit. As Maya becomes concerned about the couple she is carrying for taking over her life, Elise is feeling very left out by her sister who won't allow her to come to doctor appointments or spend time with her. The whole story gets twisted on it's end in the last third when we find out most of what we read was not real. There are some mention of past crimes and violence and in the prologue we find out a baby has been kidnapped, but which one? Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a copy of this ARC in exchange for a review.

My second book by Sam Vickery and once again a really good read!

Elise wants a baby very badly but circumstances have meant that she can’t have her own baby and so she goes down the surrogate route with Julia and her husband, Ben. It’s a very difficult path to navigate and so she decides to join a local surrogacy support group to meet others in the same situation and this is where she meets Maya. Maya is a surrogate to a couple called Nina and Will and when Elise and Maya meet, they become friends very quickly especially as both their babies are due at very similar dates. However, both Elise and Maya are hiding very dark histories from each other, which means a lot of lies and secrets. Neither Elise, Maya, Nina or Ben are whom they had first seemed to each other and when the babies are finally born, things get even more complicated. Both babies are born hours apart, but will Elise get the baby she has longed for, and will Maya be able to give up her baby that she has spent 9 months bonding with?!

Another great offering from Sam Vickery. I have to admit I didn’t really warm to any of the characters, but this certainly didn’t ruin my enjoyment of the book. I did find it hard to distinguish who all the characters were at first; however, this could be down to my brain fog as I was sick when reading the book, rather than the actual writing itself but again this didn’t ruin my enjoyment of the story at all. I have to say the twist utterly blew me away and I really did NOT see that coming AT ALL, and I felt that it showed that the story had been very cleverly written up until this point as to not give it away. All I really need to add is that I really really REALLY hope there is a sequel in the works because I desperately need to know what happened to Elise in the future…… Sam Vickery please tell me you have plans for a sequel?!

Ultimately a very good 4 star read, and I recommend this for any psychological thriller fans. I look forward to seeing what Sam Vickery writes next….. (please say it’s a sequel to this book 😉- no pressure!!).

Thank you to NetGalley, Sam Vickery and Bookouture for my advanced reading copy. Out 27th September 2024.

OH MY GOSH!! I did not see that coming!!

Elise's sister, Julia, is acting as surrogate mom to Elise's baby boy. Maya is acting as surrogate for Nina's baby girl. When Elise and Maya meet at a support group for surrogate moms, Maya is drawn to Elise and a friendship develops. This is the story of their relationship and the dark past that they both have lived through. It's heavy and a little depressing, but not all all predictable. It's the story of what a mother will do when she must do something more than let life circumstances take advantage of her. I read this book in record time and was shocked by the ending! I would recommend this to my fellow female readers to enjoy while curling up under a blanket on a rainy day.

Elise and Maya strike up a friendship after meeting at a surrogacy support group meeting, Maya is heavily pregnant with a surrogate baby, and Elise is awaiting the birth of her child who is being carried by her sister. Despite their different positions the women share their experiences and start to question their thoughts on surrogacy. This story was a fun read, there was a growing sense of unease about the characters and their behaviours and thoughts played out.

I brought her home from the hospital. But she wasn’t mine to take…

All I’ve ever wanted is to be a mother. And as I look into the beautiful, bright blue eyes of this baby tucked up in her blanket, I can’t wait to bring her home with me. Everyone doubted me, but I know I’m ready now. I’m going to give this sweet child the perfect life.

This may be the best thriller I've read in quite some time. While I had inklings of what might be coming, I was pleasantly surprised that I never had anything completely figured out. There were a few parts that dragged a bit but overall, this kept my attention, and I wanted to keep reading to know the ending. Definitely recommend this for those looking for a good suspense novel.

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐+⭐
Oh wow, rainbow unicorn!
The Perfect Baby by Sam Vickery was something! This is a SO twisted, absolutely heart-pounding psychological thriller with an interesting main topic! That twists! What a twist! I was literally picking up my jaw from the floor! Wow!

I loved how layers tingled together giving out the small details to ensure you got your shock moment when the main twist hit the ground!

It starts by exploring a sensitive topic - surrogacy. What I loved was - that it was explored widely from different angles giving a good emotional understanding!

Elise and Maya meet at a surrogacy group. They are on a different side - Else is waiting for her baby while Maya is carrying someones baby. Despite anything they develop a nice friendship and support each other. But each of them has its own drama going on and both must meet drastic challenges!

Mostly the book is presented in present in some flashbacks from the past to unfold the next shocking level! Seriously, I can't believe how smooth and easy was first 74%! After that, it was like someone dropped you in the war zone, boom, twist, boom, boom, twist, boom, twist, twist... I seriously think I forgot to breathe most of the time. And it didn't help that I started this book at 2 am when I realised I couldn't sleep (it happens sometimes) and by 8 am it was done! I was getting the kids ready on autopilot as my brain was still processing what I just read! (I know you didn't need my life story it just came out ha, ha).

Thank you, NetGalley, Bookouture and mostly Sam Vickery for this fantastic book!

When provided with the blurb to this story, I immediately wanted to read it:
"All I’ve ever wanted is to be a mother. And as I look into the beautiful, bright blue eyes of this baby tucked up in her blanket, I can’t wait to bring her home with me. Everyone doubted me, but I know I’m ready now. I’m going to give this sweet child the perfect life.
Stepping into the cold air outside of the hospital doors, a shiver runs through me. I know my life will never be the same again. I slip off her little white medical bracelet and put it in the pocket of my jeans. She’s mine now, I smile, picking up the pace.
I know this little baby is safe in my arms. That I deserve her. That I should do everything in my power to keep her. Even if she wasn’t mine to take..."
So when I started reading The Perfect Baby, I was a little confused to read about a support group for women who are surrogates and for women who are getting a baby through surrogacy. For quite some time I was wondering if this book was going to inform me about all the difficulties of surrogacy, which I find very interesting, don't get me wrong, but it did not match up to the blurb I was sent.
But don't you worry! At some point this story starts to twist, leaving you gasping. I literally put the book down and reran all of what I had read before in my mind and saw it all in a very different light!
Because of that twist it is not easy to give a short summary, because I'd be afraid to give away too much from the plot. But I can tell you that the story revolves around Elise (oh yes, finally a character with my own name!), a woman trying to get a baby through surrogacy, her sister Julia, who is Elise's surrogate, and Maya, a surrogate for another couple. Elise and Maya meet through a surrogate support group and a friendship begins...
It all sounds very straight forward, but let me tell you, it definitely is not! You just have to experience this one for yourself!
Author Sam Vickery has done a great job of giving a 360 degrees turn to a straight forward story. The novel is easily readable and after some time the plots urges you to keep reading, wondering how everything will be turning out. The Perfect Baby is a informative book about surrogacy and at the same time a very well done thriller!

4 🌟

This story follows 3 different women's perspective. You have Maya, a girl who decides to become a surrogate for a wealthy couple. Elise, whose sister Julia is carrying a baby for Elise. Then Julia's perspective who is Elise' sister/surrogate. Most of the story is from Maya and Elise' pov. The two of them meet at a group for surrogates and the family who is awaiting the arrival of their babies. Maya and Elise hit it off and become fast friends, but each of them is hiding secrets from their past. The secrets were shocking and I NEVER saw those twists coming! This book is fast paced and really good. Highly recommend, thank you netgalley for letting me have an ARC of this.