The fake mother was……Outstanding. I'll be sorry to not have it to read tonight, but couldn't put the book down! I was fully immersed in this from the start… fascinating!

The Fake Mother sees Bailey Asher get a job as an assistant for influencer Eliza Watt. She has a picture-perfect life and runs a farm with her husband and three kids. Bailey soon realises that not all that glitters is gold....

This book was great! As someone who has tried her luck in content creation and got horrified by it all, I can honestly say this bookis very real. Although hopefully not too common!

The ending was shocking!

This book starts off exciting and continues throughout the entire book! It is realistic, twisty, mysterious and dark. It is about a lady named Bailey, who gets hired on as a personal assistant to a very well known and loved social media influencer. A woman named Eliza Watts is the influencer and is known for her perfect Family and life. Eliza has a wonderful Husband and three children.

However, as we all know, not everything on social media is real. It is wild to me what all Bailey figures out while staying at their home, even though Bailey promised not to say a word about what is really happening behind closed doors. My favorite characters would be Bailey and Aubree, while my least favorite is Eliza! The setting completely fits the storyline, I enjoyed the plot and the twists! This is definitely a psychological thriller that you want to pick up and read!

This book does contain some content warnings, be sure to read those before diving into this book. Overall, I give this book a 5 out of 5 star rating! I had so much fun reading it and it will be a book that I know I will continue thinking about! I love that it relates to the life of many people out there that do put on a fake persona on social media.

Thank you to NetGalley, author Jenna Kernan, and Bookouture for this complementary digital advanced reader’s copy book in exchange for my honest review!

𝐅𝐮𝐧𝐧𝐲 𝐡𝐨𝐰 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐰𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐫𝐚𝐫𝐞𝐥𝐲 𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐞𝐦𝐛𝐥𝐞𝐬 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐬𝐞𝐭𝐭𝐥𝐞 𝐟𝐨𝐫.

Having just watched 𝑨 𝑫𝒆𝒗𝒊𝒍 𝒊𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑭𝒂𝒎𝒊𝒍𝒚, the documentary about mommy vlogger Ruby Franke, this was a very timely, 'ripped from the headlines' read that managed to completely take me by surprise because I didn't read the synopsis in its entirety--if you want to be surprised, skip it.

Bailey has just interviewed for the job of a lifetime, personal assistant to Eliza Watts, a huge social media star. What is she famous for? She and perfect husband and their perfect children all run a farm, and she films every moment of their lives. It's all wholesome, organic, and exudes conservative family values.

But it's all a lie. We all know that everything on social media is carefully manipulated to curate an image, but Eliza is up to something that may be much more sinister. And why exactly is Bailey so crushed when she finds out that her living quarters are not inside the family home? Why does she want to get close to this woman? Is Bailey a deranged fan? Is Eliza someone she wants to emulate?

I thought I had this one figured out, but that twist totally derailed my theory. This was absolutely compelling, a little bonkers (in the best of ways) and again, very timely. Thank you so much to Bookouture for the early copy. This title will publish May 1, 2025.

This was my first book from Jenna Kernan and I will definitely be looking for more of their books. I read the entire book in one sitting. The entire book had me hooked from the first chapter until the very end. I really enjoyed the relationship Bailey had with Aubree throughout the book. I could not stand Eliza, she was so obnoxious and strange but that was kind of the point lol. The author did such a great job of throwing me off on where the the book was going to end up, I thought I knew but I didn't really know like I thought I knew haha. Such a great book and so well written!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for this eARC!!

I was completely captivated by this book from the very first few pages. I highly recommend it—just be sure you have time to dive in!
It’s such a thrilling read that I found myself staying up late, eager to turn each page. The characters were well-developed, and my favorite had to be Eliza.
There were plenty of unexpected twists, and I absolutely loved the ending. I would definitely recommend this book!

When some people showcase their life on social media, it seems like they are human centipedes. They do everything perfectly, cook everything from scratch and they can fit so much more in a day than other mortals. The question is though isn't all smoke and mirrors and are they not just fooling us and we fall for it with our eyes wide open?

As soon as the story begins, it's crystal clear Bailey has a hidden agenda. The question is why is she there exactly?

As we dive deeper into the book, I thought I had unraveled how it would all come together, but I was y-wrong. I never thought the author would take me down that road.

The tension keeps on building and I am more and more convinced I know the identity of the wrong doer. The author gives lots of hints to point me in that direction and she does not hesitate to throw in a few shocking twists.

Abuse, revenge, deceit are presented in a glossy box with a giant bow. It kept me up reading into the early hours. 5 stars

Thank you

Bailey Asher is absolutely enthralled by influencer Eliza Watt’s perfect life running a farm with her husband and three kids. So it is a dream come true when she gets hired as Eliza’s assistant where she will get to see behind the scenes of the Watt’s idyllic life and hopefully gain more and more responsibility. She is shocked to learn that what is shown in the screen is much different than reality and, Bailey has secrets too, ones that could topple Eliza off of her reality throne.

I absolutely devoured this book, reading it straight through because I couldn’t wait to see what would happen next. I love a good influencer thriller and this one absolutely delivered with twist after delightful twist and an engaging cast of well developed characters. Written in multiple POVs between Bailey and eldest daughter Aubree, and eventually Elise herself, we get a glimpse inside the Watt’s storybook life as things start to come apart.

I especially enjoyed the character of Bailey, the ‘can we really trust her’, possibly morally ambiguous and maybe unreliable narrator. A well written thriller that i wholeheartedly recommend. 4.5 stars (rounded to 5.

I received this advance copy from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review and feedback.

Jenna Kernan is a great author. Her books keep me enthralled. If you have anything else to do don't start this book. Once you start this book you can't put it down.

This book seemed to have a little different theme than I expected. Bailey gets a job as an assistant for Eliza, who is a famous vlogger/mother of the year/organic farmer. Eliza has a little bit of a control problem, as well as being very rude and entitled. She uses her children for views, and all of her products and food are done by others, yet she takes credit. Why is Bailey so interested in getting into this family?? As Bailey spends more time there, she exposes more and more secrets and lies. As Bailey puts her plan into motion, events happen, you will not see coming!

This book had me hooked within a few pages. I would really recommend it - just make sure you are free to keep reading it!

Thrilling - I really enjoyed this book, it kept me up at night wanting to read more. The character's were good and well- written my favourite one Eliza.

There were lots of twists. Loved the ending. Would definitely recommend it!

🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 stars!

Had me hooked from the start.
Something a bit different.
Great characters and well written characters.
My thanks to netgalley and the publisher for my copy.