The Perfect Baby is a gripping psychological thriller that keeps you on your toes with its twists and turns. The story alternates between different characters and timelines—"before" and "now"—which adds depth but occasionally made it tricky to keep track of. However, this complexity also contributes to the tension, as everyone seems to be hiding something!

I didn’t predict the entire ending, which is always a plus in thrillers for me. The cliffhanger left me wondering what will happen next, which I both loved and found a bit frustrating. However, If you enjoy a good psychological mystery with secrets at every turn, this one is worth a listen!

The Perfect Baby
Sam Vickery
Elise and Maya meet at a surrogacy support group. They become friends and support each other. Maya is a surrogate for Nina and Will, who want to take over her life. They want to control what she eats, where she goes and what she does. Maya was in a bad relationship. Elise was also in a bad relationship; she wanted a baby, but it would be physically impossible. Her sister Julie agrees to carry a baby for Elise. Julie is cold and distant; she doesn’t take Elise’s phone calls, allow her to come to doctor appointments or participate in the pregnancy. Both Elise and Maya have secrets.
Both Maya and Julie go in labor on the same day. Elise just happens to be with Maya when she goes in labor. Something goes wrong.
I suppose I will join the minority of reviewers. This book just didn’t do it for me.
Narrators Sofia Zervudachi and Katie Soeby did a great job. I struggled with this book. It was slow to catch my attention. The characters are not particularly likable, especially Julie and Elise. The ending wasn’t really an ending.
Thank you NetGalley for the review copy.

Great book and enjoyed! The end did completely shock me! I would 100% recommend reading as this was different from other thrillers. Definitely read more from this author.

This book immediately captured my attention, due to the theme. I hadn't read anything like it before and that makes the book special. I loved the deep way in which the author portrays the characters' emotions. It's so real and trustworthy. There are no loose ends and the mystery is well constructed. The only thing I have to point out is that although I really liked the depth in which the characters' emotions were written, I thought something was missing there, because this story has such harsh contours and I didn't shed a single tear. And that means that the story didn't touch my soul. I'm not sure what's missing, but there was something missing that would trigger more emotion in me.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I definitely said “OH DAMN” when the twist happened. I was not expecting it at all. Like I could never even have thought of this if I tried. I hope this book gets a sequel!

Thank you NetGalley, Bookouture Audio, and Sam Vickery for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Great suspense novel. I thought I knew exactly where this was going but was still surprised with a couple twists! I had the pleasure of listening to the audio version which I found enjoyable and easy to follow. If you are looking for a suspense novel that will keep your interest and throw in more than one twist this is for you!

Thank you Bookouture Audio and NetGalley for the ARC.

An interesting take on a thriller and surrogacy. While I enjoyed the story, it was a bit of a slow burn. At about 50% the book did pick up pace. It was a decent story, but it’s one of those that if you asked me details about it now, I wouldn’t be able to explain any. I didn’t really connect with Elise or Maya, the two MCs. There were a few twists at the end that I did not see coming. I listened to the audiobook. There were two narrators and at the beginning, both were very similar, so I had to really think who was telling the story at that time.

Loved, loved , loved the dark twist in this book- completely took me by surprise!
Started this thriller with not much expectation as have read a few thrillers around surrogacy and they were all pretty similar but oh boy…. This one knocked me sideways!
Found the audio a little confusing at first, trying to get my head around the characters but enjoyed more as the story developed.
Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for gracing me with an ARC in return for honest review.
Will definitely be keeping an eye out for more from this author

Holy cow, this book was crazy. It was definitely unputdownable and revolved around a surrogacy support group. It was so interesting to hear the different sides of the surrogacy journey and you keep thinking you know what’s going on, but do you?

Definitely an insane ending too.

The audiobook narrators were great for the roles and kept me engaged throughout.

This is also a must read for those who like Freida McFadden or Kiersten Modglin.

A big thank you to the author, NetGalley, and Bookouture Audio for this preview in exchange for an honest review.

The Perfect Baby by Sam Vickery took me by surprise! While I immediately knew one of the bigger twists, my jaw dropped in shocked by the biggest of them all! The reveals are perfectly paced throughout and kept me engaged the whole time. My only complaint is the ending. I wish we would have been shown what will happen instead of speculation. I also hope that the "bad" person gets away with it 🤞🏽

Sofia Zervudachi as Elise and Katy Sobey as Maya are both great to listen to.

Thank you to Bookouture for providing me with an ALC.

This twisty and well written novel is told from the POVs of Elise and Maya, two women who met at a surrogacy support group. Maya is a surrogate for a very demanding and intrusive couple, while Elise is using her sister as her surrogate. Initially, I though this would be a typical thriller that would be all about the intricacies that exist when surrogacy is at hand. Yet what I was in was a ride I couldn't have predicted in a million years!

As this masterfully crafted story develops, we learn that is much more to the plot than meets the eye. These characters were intertwined in a genius way! This was a twisty, fast paced, and emotional thriller that made my mouth drop open at various points in the book. This is my first book by this author, and I can promise it won't be my last!

The narrators, Sofia Zervudachi and Katy Sobey did a great job bringing this story to life.

Thank you NetGalley and Bookouture Audio for the ALC in exchange for my honest review.

Initially I thought I had sussed this book out, I continued to listen because despite this (false) confidence, I like the way the author writes, making two POV's and timelines easy to follow. Well I did NOT see the twist coming! The ending was satisfying, everything came together well and left me wanting more. My only (very small) criticism is that I feel that the ending could have been expanded on slightly, I would’ve liked to know more about the three ladies lives after the big twist.
The narration was fantastic, easy to listen to and emotive.
listened to this book in less than 24 hours and I'd like to read it again to see if there were any clues along the way!

'The Perfect Baby' shook me to my very core & I was left reeling by the end.

However for the first couple of chapters I wasn't sure if I was actually going to like it, I thought it was just going to be a basic, predictable, generic surrogate story but then slowly red-herrings were dropped & I started to feel like things weren't what they seemed & I was hooked & could not stop listening, I just NEEDED so badly to know 'what the actual hell is going on here'

This was a whirlwind of a storyline, pure confusion (but in the best way), intense suspense, back and forth on what I believed was the truth & what wasn't. I was fully convinced I had it all figured out and I could not have been more wrong, the final twist absolutely blind sighted me so strongly that I needed to catch my breathe while muttering 'damn that was genius'

The narrators did a fantastic job, bringing the characters to life brilliantly, I felt every emotion of every character and their performances pulled me right into the story, a narrator(s) will always make or break an audiobook and this was spot on.

Oh and the ending!! What an amazing ending, it's left open to your own interpretation, there are so many possibilities for what could happen next, I know this is not for everyone but when warranted I personal love when a books ending is left a little bit messy and rough around the edges, such is life after all.

"The Perfect Baby" is a psychological thriller by Sam Vickery. This is an easy to binge kind of book. The audio is narrated by Sophia Zervudachi and Katy Sobey.

At first, the book has two POVs, Maya, a woman carrying a baby as a surrogate mother, and Elise, a woman who desperately wants a baby. Elise attends a surrogacy support group and says that her sister, Julia, is her surrogate. Later in the book, Julia is the 3rd POV.

This book covers a lot of psychology around surrogate parenting from both the infertile mother-to-be and the surrogate mother's side.

Characters - 5/5
Writing - 4/5
Plot - 5/5
Pacing - 4/5
Unputdownability - 5/5
Enjoyment - 4/5
Narration - 4/5 (needed 3rd narrator voice)
Cover - 5/5
Overall - 36/8 = 4 4/8 rounded down to 4 stars.

Thank you to Netgalley, Bookouture Audio, and Sam Vickery for providing this audiobook in exchange for my honest review.

3.5
I had a lil trouble following all the characters while listening to the audiobook. Around 40% I had to start making a character list.
I love multiple povs and "then" "now" time lines. But not every chapter had a character name with it, leaving me to try to figure which pov I was in.
After finally figuring out what was all going on, the final 25% was great.

I just almost Dnf a few times so I can't rate it higher. This was totally a me problem, I'm sure and not so much the book.

Ooh just finished this book amd all I want to do is read more

Elise, has recently joined a local surrogacy support group. Her sister is acting as her surrogate and she has joined the support group alone, so she can discuss her feelings, thoughts and worries with others going through the same. There she meets Maya, who is acting as a surrogate for Nina and Will. The 2 ladies hit it off and tentatively become friends.

However both Maya and Elise are keeping secrets.

What are there secrets. What will happen when the babies are born?

I really enjoyed listening to this title. I couldn’t work out what Maya and Elise’s secrets were. I was blown away when the reveal came.
I have been left wanting more!
Thanks Netgalley and publisher for the opportunity to listen to this title

I cannot wait to discover more from this author. She draws you in and leaves you dangling. Great work

Thank you Bookoutue Audio, Netgalley and Sam Vickery for the audio Arc of The Perfect Baby.

Narrated by Sofia Zervudachi, Katy Sobey

This is the first book Ive listened to by Sam Vickery and it won't be my last. I really enjoyed the pacing and the psychological aspects of this narrative as we follow two women through surrogacy. We have Maya , who is a surrogate Mum to a demanding, somewhat controlling parents to be. We also have Elise who is using her sister as the surrogate. Both these women meet up at a surrogate /adoptive parents support group and establish a friendship. The narrative itself gives the reader different perspectives on being in a surrogate which I felt was well balanced. I felt that I bounded and understood the different sides of what being in the situation would be like and how heartbreaking it would be if something was to go wrong.

The pacing of the book is medium, you get a good build up of the characters and their lives and then becomes faster paced once the twists start, the reveal and pay off I wasn't expecting so the build up kept me engaged and on the edge of my seat!

Sofia Zervudachi, Katy Sobey did a fantastic job in keeping both Elise and Maya separate in the narrative. Both ladies are a pleasure to listen to.

4.25 stars for Storygraph. 4 stars for Amazon, Netgalley and Goodreads.

A fast paced, twisty and dark psychological thriller with an unpredictable ending - you will not want to put this one down!
I've read several books involving surrogacy issues but this is definitely a cut above.
The story is told from three different points of view with each main character revealing their back stories as the drama progresses.
I am grateful to Netgalley and the publishers for an advanced listener copy of this very well narrated audiobook.

This one shook me!!! I’ll be reading more from this author!!! The twist was so unexpected!!! 4 stars instead of 5 only because I was hoping for a different ending but still so so good!!!


Thank you @netgalley and @bookoutureaudio for an audible version in exchange for an honest review.

Sam Vickery’s new book is a gripping, twist filled thriller that left my head spinning. The story follows Elise, whose sister Julia is acting as her seemingly reluctant surrogate, and Maya, who is carrying a baby for a controlling couple.

As the pregnancies progress, tension builds, secrets surface, and just when you think you’ve figured it out, the plot takes a turn that completely blindsides you! The pacing is done well, and while there are a few moments that stretch believability, the shocking twists and emotional rollercoaster kept me hooked until the very end.

Be warned, the cliffhanger will have you begging for a sequel!

***Contained a few MA words, and a brief MA scene

Huge thank you to @netgalley and Bookouture
for the advanced audiobook copy!