The copy I received was only a sample, so it's hard to give a rating. I've decided on 3 stars because I found that the first chapters moved a bit slow. However, the story did start picking up and I can't wait to find out what happens!

Really enjoyed reading this.... am excited to read the ending. Thank you for the preview.

When I was approved for The Girlfriend from NetGalley, I was giddy with excitement. I waited for the perfect time to dig in. Right away I'm sucked in. A few pages in and I'm telling my husband about the mother that's obsessed with her son and feeling a little put off by the new girlfriend...He interrupts me, "Like you?" ha, ha very funny. If he thought that was going to curb my enthusiasm from telling him more, he was so wrong. I couldn't stop talking about it.

Ok, ok, so Daniel is from a wealthy family and Cherry is not. There is instant attraction and soon Cherry has dinner at Daniel's parents' house. Laura is Daniel's mother and she is very friendly and accommodating to Cherry, but Cherry senses a possessiveness that Laura has with Daniel. There is a little undercurrent of jealousy on both of their parts.

They all go on a vacation to the family villa. It's extravagant and the only thing Cherry wants is to be alone with Daniel without the mother tagging along. Laura is doing everything she can to plan outings so she can get to know Cherry better, but she's met with them disappearing. Don't leave a shunned mother alone to find things to do. Innocently enough she finds out a little something about Cherry that doesn't sit well with her. THIS IS THE END OF MY BOOK. The suspense is killing me. I have to wait until 1/18 to read the rest. Ugh.

I appreciate the publisher Kensington and NetGalley for allowing me to get a sample of what I'm absolutely sure is going to be a fantastic read!

Wowsers, what a read. The book centres around Daniel, raised in a wealthy family, handsome and the apple of his mother’s eye, Laura, Daniels Mother or Smother, and Cherry Daniels brand new love.

Cherry has led a life always having to work for what she wants and needs but has always dreamed of living a lifestyle of wealth and comfort. When she meets Daniel and there is an immediate spark it seems like her dreams are finally coming true. That is until she meets Daniels mother, who has sworn to always protect her son and keep him from harm.

The story is so well laid and and Cherry is quite honestly quite a scary person but is she a match for Laura, who to be quite honest is just as scary and calculating when it comes to protecting her little boy.

This literally had me up for a good part of the night with the promise to myself of just one more page.

Easy five stars of a read.

Unfortunately this is only a snippet of the whole book I was permitted to read so I can't really give a full review. I'm definitely looking forward to the rest of this book as I feel left hanging! The gist of this story is a wealthy young man, Daniel, home from school meets a young woman, Cherry, and they connect immediately. The issue is she comes from a very poor side of town and feels much resentment towards the wealthy. She meets Daniel's mother, Laura, who's a bit of a momma bear, and immediately the Cherry is feeling antagonistic towards Laura. Where I have left off Laura is beginning to get suspicious of Cherry because she's aloof, quiet, tries to keep Daniel all to herself. Laura has caught Cherry watching her, looking at her with a not very friendly stare. There's definite suspense in what I have read so far. I can't wait to read the rest!

I think this would be better suited as a domestic drama than being pushed as a thriller of any variety. I know that psychological thrillers are hot right now and the title sells books, but readers like me who go in with certain expectations will only feel lukewarm about this story. While it wasn't a bad read by any means, I'm afraid it wasn't great or anything I haven't read before. There were cliches abundant in this story and the pacing moves slowly and thoroughly with many unlikable characters that I felt hard to sympathize with. I will say that the story did manage to keep my attention and cause me to want to finish reading, so it wasn't a lack of interest here that was an issue. I think those readers looking for a slow burning family saga that leans more on the drama than the emotions will enjoy this novel. I'd like to add that both the US and the UK covers are gorgeous, intriguing, and draw the eye nicely. Recommended to those who maybe are new to the genre and enjoy their suspense fiction with more focus on the characterization than the plot progression.

Can't wait to finish the book! Has me very curious and waiting for the worst!

I was loving this book. Absolutely loving it. I couldn't put it down but then it ended. Just stopped. I checked my Kindle again and again but there just wasn't anymore.
I have looked at other people's reviews online and have managed not to spoiler myself which to be honest, i think i deserve a medal for.
The copy of the book that I had only went up to 35% so I'm sure you can understand my frustration.
But for what it's worth, I loved what I managed to read and for that reason I am giving this 5 stars as I can't imagine any way on earth that this book doesn't deliver.

It has been quite awhile since a book hooked me and wouldn't let me go like this one did. It was a book I wanted to race through and yet I so didn't want it to end. I was mesmerized and captivated and in absolute book heaven and I loved it!

I adored each tense moment, each misunderstanding, each event that all led up to that one moment that made me gasp, and yet as a mother I could completely understand and sympathize. It was simply brilliant watching it all unfold and wondering how it could possibly end in any satisfactory way. What a supreme ride!

I highly recommend this one to lovers of psychological and domestic suspense. This one was expertly written, with so many twists and turns and yet so real as to be completely believable. Absolutely, this will be one of my favorite books of the year! Brilliant!

So I only got to read a little excerpt but that intrigued me enough to want to read the whole book.
It is fast paced and I felt constantly waiting that someone might kill someone. So I really want to read the whole book.
I can't say much about how I like the character developement, for as much as I have read I can only say that I got really annoyed by Laura whereas Cherry really got me on the edge of my seat as I am really looking forward to see what will happen once I read the whole book.

I rated it 4.5 out of 5 stars as this excerpt really made me want to read on.

As this is a faster,I waited to read more,will be looking out for the final version

I can easily see why they say if you’re a fan of Paula Hawkins you should check out Michelle Frances as she has a very similar ability to create a psychological thriller that is unique and pulse racing.

Her fast pace and captivating plot line will have you glad you plunged into this relationship drama that will feel like a breath of fresh air if you’re a thriller addict who feels like they’ve begun to read the same thing on repeat just with a different author’s name on the cover.

The thrill of anticipation will overtake you as you need to know who things are going to work out between Daniel, his girlfriend Cherry who isn’t what she seems and Laura who is Daniel’s mother in deep need of therapy to work out the unhealthy kinks in their mother/son dynamic.

It was making me have flashbacks to my own life. What is it about the mother of sons and the girlfriend? No wonder this theme is used so often – it’s ripe for mayhem and Frances does a great job making it work.

Laura is the mother who dotes on her son Daniel and would do anything for him. Cherry is the girlfriend (from a completely different social sphere) who Laura wants to love, but fears that she is a gold digger and only out for one thing.

Initially Laura's fears seemed somewhat justified, certainly her over protective nature seemed explained. Her first child died whilst still a baby, her husband is distant and has been in a long term affair for years, and she has always harboured a secret desire that Daniel would marry the daughter of her best friend. Cherry is from a completely different background, and it seems that she has taken advantage of Daniel's generous nature. When Laura confronts Cherry about her fears Cherry's actions suggest that Laura is correct.

The middle section of the book was completely unexpected and very different to anything I had read before (which is a pleasant change in this particular genre). Laura does something awful on the spur of the moment and at an extremely pressurised time. However, instead of trying to rectify the situation she reveals herself to be an equal adversary to Cherry and sets in motion a series of events designed to remove Cherry from Daniel's life forever.

When Cherry discovers Laura's deception she swears vengeance. The final third of the book is all out war between the pair.

This is a story of two manipulative and thoroughly dislikable women both fighting for the love of Daniel (who never really emerges from the pages as a fully formed character, he is quite bland and really only acts as a foil to the two females protagonists), sinking to new lows that really made me recoil. If Daniel had been than a quickly drawn cliche (rich, single, "nice" doctor) the book might have felt more than a hideous game of tit for tat. Instead, by the final third of the book I was looking forward to the conclusion. There were no winners in this book, and honestly, it didn't matter to me who "won" Daniel at the end.

There were hints to Cherry's back story and a character called Neil (? I think this was his name) that suggested there was an intriguing reason for her mercenary nature, but frustratingly this was never explored. Equally there was little to explain Laura's snobbery. This made the characters less nuanced that I would have liked for the book to be really classed as a thriller.

Thanks go to the publishers and net galley for the first 100 pages for review, that then prompted me to buy the book to see what happened.

I am devastated that this was just an excerpt, can't wait to find out what happens between these two women.

I was gifted the first 100 pages of this book by the publisher.

Whilst it was enjoyable I didn't really warm to either of the lead female characters and found Daniel a little "foppish"... interesting and intriguing but hard to give a higher score without having read the whole story...

WOW! I need the rest of the book now!!! What a start to a fantastic book these first 100 pages are! I can not wait until I can read the rest!!! I received an ARC of this book from the Great Thought's Ninja Review Team. All opinions are my own.

Frances gets one star for writing the book. Not many people can do that and it is not for the faint-hearted. However, I don’t know what the plot is, nor could I build a picture about her characters in my mind. The book if re-written could develop into a good plot and the characters could become more interesting but only if Frances went deeper into the story.

The book is an age-old story of a wealthy boy meeting a girl who is not of the same social standing. He loves her though and it seems he does not care that his mother doesn’t approve. Good for him. Grow his character a bit more.

The mother at the beginning of the book is very ill it seems, but that plot doesn’t grow at all. It definitely could.

The girlfriend’s character too could be juicier or have some bite. But there is none.

My advice is to persevere with writing because the attempt will develop into something worth biting into with more gusto and vibrancy.

BonnieK

Breakaway Reviewers received a copy of the book to review.

I didn't realize this was only the first 100 pages! I'll wait until I can read the whole book, I just know I'll love it.

I didn't start it because it is only the first 100 pages

An engrossing and intriguing read. I really devoured the book and loved Frances's prose.