WOW. Be ready to get your socks blown off when you read this psychological thriller! Basically I was left speechless and mindblown when I reached the final page, and to be honest I still haven't recovered fully from this story. What starts out as an excellent, but seemingly straightforward psychological thriller will manage to leave you flabbergasted before you reach the ending... Because there is one thing I know: I was SO wrong about every single suspicion I had while was reading The Surrogate. Louise Jensen is a pro at creating the perfect suspenseful atmosphere with that feeling you can't trust anyone or anything... But she is also brilliant at misleading her readers. It doesn't happen often, but The Surrogate managed to surprise me entirely with the final twists and I just love whenever that happens! Apart from the final plot twists bombs, the plot itself is very well executed and very capable of misleading you without losing your interest as you suspect you have already figured everything out quite early on. The suspense and suspicions are real until the very end and combined with the excellent writing you will find it really hard to put this story down before you know what happened and will happen to the main characters. The characters themselves are well developed and feel realistic, even though if I am honest I didn't exactly like them. I found Kat to be a bit too trusting, but I guess this part of her personality does make the story work all the better. And this minor speed bump by no means makes The Surrogate any less brilliant. If you enjoy reading psychological thrillers, I can highly recommend Louise Jensen's work in general. Trust me, you won't be disappointed by her books!

Fantastic read!

I haven't read any of Louise Jensen's books before but have heard a lot about them and I was very excited when I found out I was approved to receive early kindle version before publishing date.

It didn't disappoint, it was all I expected and more and just like that Louise has become one of my favorite authors.

I loved her writing style, enjoyed fast pace and gripping story. This genre is becoming more popular by writers and readers but many plots end up being repetitive and very predictable. This book only proved that there are still books that can shock you, keep you excited when turning pages.

Story follows life of Kat and Nick, couple which was trying to have a baby for many years and after 2 failed adoption attempts, they are slowly giving up when Kat's childhood friend returns to her life. They all share their own secrets from past, hold their own grudges.
When Lisa offers being surrogate mother for Kat's and Nick's baby, it seems like their last chance to start family. Deeper in the book, reader can feel something about Lisa is off, Nick starts acting strange and however hard you try to guess, my advice is: DON'T! You won't be able to guess the ending so sit back and enjoy. Story is full of so many twists and turns, shocking revelations that I can't even believe this could all be squeezed into one book.
As you reach the end of the book and let out that last bit of breath you held because of tension, you think you know everything, you turn the last page and your brain gets thrown into one last rollercoaster.

Brilliantly written book, which I know I will be recommending to everyone for a very long time.

Louise Jensen has done it again! I was so excited to be approved for an early copy of this book by Bookouture via Netgalley as I have really enjoyed her first 2 books. This one is addictive! I thought that i had worked it out and was really suprised when I was wrong! This book will hook you in and keep you wanting more!

This Author gets it!!! I literally could not put this book down. So many twists and turns. It kept my interest from the very first page. Highly recommend!!

I received an ARC from NetGalley to read and review. The below is my honest, unbiased opinion. Thank you, Louise Jensen, the publisher, and NetGalley, for allowing me to review.

THE SURROGATE delves into the depths of humanity, questioning how far one would go to make a dream come true. Kat and Nick are trying to have a baby. Sadly, their dream of starting a family is proving difficult. When Kat sees long-time friend Lisa, Lisa agrees to be her surrogate. Is this finally Kat and Nick's chance at starting a family, or is Lisa's offer too good to be true?

This was my first Louise Jensen novel, and I did enjoy it. The writing was captivating, and the plot was gripping. I felt the characters' struggles as they experienced them, which is a writer's ultimate goal. This was a quick read with twists and turns that kept me guessing until the very end, which was, by far, the best part. Don't cheat yourself by reading that early. Savor the ride!

I have just finished reading The Surrogate. Louise Jensen totally knocked this out of the park what an incredible read.

When I finished the last page the only thought in my head was Wow! I couldn’t believe what I had just read it blew my mind. Reading this book was a rollercoaster ride of emotion. It was packed full of twists and turns that I did not see coming at all and totally had me enthralled. All the way through I was like yeah I can see where this is heading but I couldn’t have been more wrong! I totally did not see this ending coming.

Fantastic – so far my favourite book of 2017

I realise this review is very short but I am still kind of a little bit gobsmacked. I totally recommend this book it was amazing.

I have had The Gift and The Sister by Louise sitting in my kindle library for a while now, I am definiately going to get straight on to them!

Reader, don't make plans. You're just going to abandon them to finish this book instead...

"Sometimes it scares me how far I'll go to to have a baby to call my own. Sometimes I think there's nothing I wouldn't do."

Kat is desperate to grow her family. She and her husband, Nick, have tried adopting but after two failed attempts, Nick is ready to give up. That is until Kat's childhood best friend, Lisa, reenters her life and presents a unique opportunity: an offer to surrogate.

But secrets lurk in the shadows and the past threatens to destroy all of Kat's dreams. Can she really trust Lisa? What is Nick hiding? And why does she always feel like she's being watched, hunted?

This novel was an emotional rollercoaster as the truth was unraveled, one thread at a time. And just when you think you know where this is heading, the car veers into the other lane. Question everything. Assume nothing. And even still, you'll be lost.

More than once, something revealed as a red herring made me question why. What was the point of steering the reader into that false assumption? But these jolts only serve as a clear indication that Kat's mind is slipping. After all, you can never really trust an unreliable narrator. It's right there in the name, isn't it? The brilliance of the misdirection is akin to an illusionist who steals your watch right off your wrist while you're trying to remember which card was yours. This deftness of craft was enough to overlook the awkward bumps in plot or the odd question mark that follows a statement? And the information dump from a string of flashbacks in chapters 43-52 that alternate jarringly between Kat and Nick was forgivable as it glued me to my seat, racing toward the book's gripping conclusion.

Without giving away too much, I'll note, there is a sense of symmetry in the way the plot lines up when all is revealed. Themes of love and loss, familial ties and even physical hurts all seem to match up in such an orderly way that it is almost comfortable amidst this disturbing read.

Most haunting of all? All these twists set to the terrifying horror-movie soundtrack in Kat's fraught subconscious: the laughter of those who would plot against her, and the incessant cries of a baby. The babies she lost, the babies she could yet have.

Thank you to Netgalley and publisher Bookouture for an ARC of this ebook.

I’ve read both of Louise Jensen’s previous novels, The Sister and The Gift. I love Louise’s writing style and her newest novel the Surrogate didn’t disappoint. Written in first person narrative with third person flashbacks to other characters perspectives.

Opening with a crime scene and two dead bodies the book throws you straight into a first chapter you want to squeeze more information from! The story throws characters into the storyline, any of these could be the victims.

The main character, Kat is a 30-year-old woman, married and desperate for a child she has been unable to conceive. When Kat bumps into an old friend from the life she ran from, hope returns to her and the possibility of becoming a mother. Lisa could be her only chance.

The story unfolds with a pregnancy through a surrogate, many twists unfold as the past is revisited with alternate chapters from the past to present via Kat’s past and her husband Nick, creating more twists and possible plot lines that will flip and make you think again.

Kat’s trust is broken as incidents cause Lisa’s reappearance in her life becomes questioned, that maybe it wasn’t a coincidence. Secrets unfold which cross over to the present confusing what you think know as it throws you off course!

As I sat thinking I knew who the two bodies were at the beginning… guessing and thinking I knew, another twist happens. This book is full of twists, lies, deceits and clues. A storyline so well thought out and executed that you won’t want to put it down. Suspense builds throughout the first half of the book where it flips and all the twists get turned on their head. You won’t be able to guess, so don’t try.

The ending? That was very impressive and equally disturbing!!

Well done Louise you have amazed me once again!


http://fictioncafe.net/2017/09/06/book-review-the-surrogate-by-louise-jensen/

WOW I was blown away by this thriller.

I was too scared to even begin reading it but once I started my eyes devoured every word.

This book had me guessing right up to the very end. It was a tear jerker and I had tears in my eyes at the end.

An exceptional book. I cannot wait for more of this author.

So many secrets and lies lots of sadness and pain. The story is set in the present and in the past. Kat is desperate for a baby, she is waiting news of their adoption plans to get an orphan baby from China. They have been there before but were let down at the last minute. Nick her husband is reluctant to apply for an English baby he says they won't stand a chance and anyway he prefers to help a baby from China. While Kat is waiting for news she bumps into Lisa an old friend from her teens, her very best friend until tragedy struck and their friendship was destroyed. Surprisingly they chat and get on really well and promise to keep in touch but is Lisa really as friendly as she seems. There's a niggling doubt in Kat's mind but when events take a turn for the worse Lisa is there to offer comfort and perhaps a solution to their problem. This is the sort of book that runs away with you, I was desperate to get to the ending, it's a bit of a bumpy ride but in the end I was gobsmacked at the outcome. I enjoyed the book immensely thank you for the ARC

I almost didn't read this one. I was expecting yet another Single White Female clone. And boy was I wrong!

The Surrogate surprised me again and again. While I was bugged by how naive our main character seemed, it turns out that she (and a few other unexpected characters) had some hidden dark depths.

Very quickly, the book I thought I was getting turned into something else entirely.

Now, I confess that I didn't love the ending. The book had turned into quite a suspenseful thriller and the ending? It died with a whimper.

But I'll happily try the author again!

You can't improve on perfection, can you? Well, Louise Jensen has.
She must have some sort of magical power when it comes to writing because The Sister, her debut novel was perfect, then along came The Gift and that too was perfect and now we have The Surrogate, which is just so far beyond perfection it's scary! How does she do it?! 
The Surrogate sees Kat and her husband, Nick, settled in their marriage and careers. They look like the couple who have it all. Apart from one thing. Kat wants a baby but she isn't able to get pregnant. After a failed adoption and the stresses and costs that go with it, they are on the verge of giving up their dreams of being parents. 
Enter Lisa. 
Lisa is Kat's childhood best friend, the best friend Kat thought she would never see again because, well ... You'll have to read the book to find that out! 
Once again, Jensen has knocked it right outta the park with this one. Not shying away from topics that may not be touched upon too much, Jensen shows us the murky world of surrogacy. The depth of her research into the subject is clear, as is her ability to create the most twisted of characters. 
I was fully immersed in this one, I could not put it down, Jensen has a way of gently weaving her plot, the intricate details and the exquisite way she tangles the reader up in her web of lies, deceit, and deception is just fascinating. Her characters are needed, there isn't one which you don't understand the reason for, the whole cast are integral to the tale and all play an important part, whether big or small. 
Kat is one of my favourites. She is a nice, normal girl. She had a bit of a shitty start to life but then she met Nick. Gorgeous, kind, and caring Nick. And they fell in love. Kat is so relatable. I can see her, just like me, sitting in my Pj's all day, or perhaps upgrading to leggings and a baggy T-shirt if I have company, slightly worried about my weight and what my other half thinks about the extra pounds I've obtained but not really bothering to do anything about it. 
She is most women out there, she has a job she a loves, a husband she adores, and a life she has always craved. Although there is that one missing thing. A baby. Again, Jensen has developed a side to Kat that is so relatable. She has this empty space that she knows only a baby will fill, but she can't do that. Although Nick is happy as they are, Kat is desperate to give him a child. So desperate she is prepared to revisit the past she left behind so get one. 
What follows is the most thrilling ride ... Kat and Lisa are back together but what happened to break them up? 
I read this in one sitting, no, it's not fast paced but it works, as always with Jensen's writing. It builds and that is part of the beauty of her writing. We don't need millions of dead bodies (I can't believe I said that either!!) car chases, and gun fights. We don't need an alcoholic police officer whose team hates him more than he hates himself (not complaining about those books BTW - I do love a grumpy old copper!!) what we get instead is a chilling journey, a thrilling ride, and the most heartbreaking story I've read for a very long time. 
Jensen does that. She has this way of writing a psychological thriller that will get under your skin, that will get your heart pounding and your adrenaline flowing whilst at the same time taking you on an emotional rollercoaster. 
If Louise Jensen could bottle up her writing talent, she'd be a gazillionaire.

**3.5 Goodreads Stars**

"Revenge whispers the voice inside my head. I drain my drink to silence it."

With a title like The Surrogate, readers can expect one wild Lifetime-Movie-of-the-Week ride of a thriller. I am not a fan of gimmicky titles, but I read the description of Louise Jensen's book and thought it might be worth a try.

Admittedly, I couldn't put it down much like I can't turn off a new Lifetime Movie despite its predictable ending and a familiar cast of characters. The book isn't stale, but the ending is so wild (and for those of us who read suspense and thrillers, a bit easy to figure out early on) that it took me a few hours to digest. The Surrogate is a guilty reading pleasure, like a pint of ice cream you eat in one sitting.

The story is told from the perspective of Kat, who seems to have a normal, comfortable life with her husband, Nick. Everything seems perfect except for one thing: she can't get pregnant. Nick and Kat have suffered through two failed foreign adoptions, and are mourning their losses. That is until Lisa walks into Nick and Kat's life. 

Lisa was Kat's childhood friend, and she reappears in Kat's life when the two awkwardly run into each other. Kat and Lisa become close friends as adults despite the fact that their childhood friendship did not end on good terms. Lisa offers to help Kat and Nick have a child by being a surrogate. In her haste to have a child, Kat accepts Lisa's offer. Soon, however, Kat questions Lisa's motivations for being a surrogate, which leads Kat to dredge up long buried memories of her torrential teenage years. 

Jensen's writing will draw you in, and Kat's story will keep you turning the pages. I rated this book 3.5 stars because the ending seemed so completely unbelievable, and I felt like none of the characters had any redeeming qualities whatsoever by the end of the book. I read this book in two days, though, and if you start reading it you probably won't put it down.

Thank you to NetGalley, Louise Jensen, and Bookouture for an advanced reader copy of The Surrogate.

I received an arc copy of this book from Net Galley in exchange for my honest opinion. All I can say is "wow"! I rarely give a book 5 stars and there is nothing negative about this book. I really could not put it down.

When I'm in the mood for a fantastic psychological thriller, Louise Jensen is an author who always "wow's" me!!! The Surrogate packs a twisted and chilling punch that entertained me the entire way through. I had an initial theory of where Louise Jensen was taking the storyline, but she blew me away with some seriously well-timed twists and turns. My theory was completely wrong (way, way, waaaaaaaay wrong) which is one of my favorite aspects to Louise Jensen's writing, she ALWAYS surprises me. This novel was paced perfectly and I actually finished it in one day because I couldn't put it down-- so addictive! The Surrogate is a 5 star novel that is a 2017 must read! I am already looking forward to reading what Louise Jensen comes out with next!

Thank you to Netgalley and the Publishers, Bookouture for this review copy.

Kat and Nick have tried everything to become parents. They have tried to adopt from overseas, but the adoption has just fallen through again, for the second time. Kat is resigning herself to the fact that she will never become a mother. That is until she bumps into her long lost childhood friend, Lisa. She hasn’t seen Lisa for many years and their history holds lots of secrets. Lisa is the key to Kat’s dreams – she offers to become a surrogate mother for Kat and Nick. Is there more than meets the eye to this though?

Wow, what a book! Very difficult to review without giving away any spoilers, but this is a book that is full of lies, secrets, deceit and questions. I honestly didn’t know who was what, who was telling the truth or who was lying – it honestly did seem that every single character had a secret. Kat and Nick have a steady marriage until Lisa shows back into Kat’s life, and then Lisa’s back and all of these secrets start reappearing from many years before. I did guess some of the story, I mean let’s face it, the surrogacy story was never going to be smooth sailing, but I didn’t guess it completely right. The story veered from one thing to another, when I thought I’d made my mind up as to what the heck was going on, it changed track again!

The story switches between the present and the past, from different characters perspectives. It’s not necessarily a fast paced story, but it builds up the suspense at a good speed leading to an ending that I just did not expect. This book had more twists and turns than a rollercoaster, with the heart thumping feeling to go with it! If you like psychological thrillers, then definitely read this one….you will not regret it!

Five Stars!

Ever since I read Louise Jensen’s debut The Sister I've been a huge fan of her writing, but OMG The Surrogate her latest and most adventurous book yet plant her firmly on my list of “must read” authors. The Surrogate’s title misled me, I thought it would be a “heart warming” tale, how wrong could I be! It turned out to be dark and very twisted, a tale shrouded in lies, buried secrets and betrayal I really think this is the authors best book yet and it definitely one of the best psychological thrillers I've read this year.

The Surrogate starts so innocently Kat and her husband Nick have tried everything to become parents, and are on the point of giving up. Then a chance encounter with Kat’s childhood friend Lisa gives Kat and Nick one last chance to achieve their dream. What appears to be the perfect arrangement soon turns into something much darker, phew the sense of malice radiates from the pages early on and this increases as the plot becomes more complex.

There were numerous characters in The Surrogate but what a dysfunctional bunch they turned out to be. I couldn't help sympathising with Kat’s plight, I can’t begin to imagine the heartbreak, the emotions and the feelings of failure woman like Kat go through, so desperate are they to have children. I love a book where you find it impossible to trust any of the characters, and I found I couldn't trust any of them, rather like the main character Kat I found paranoia kicking in as my mistrust of each character grew. Each character seems to be hiding something and I wasn't wrong, when these secrets begin to surface I found myself lost for words. The Surrogate is told in two time frames and I do enjoy a book that moves between the past and the present, when it's done well I find it heightens the mystery and suspense as you are never quite sure when the two will collide and Louise Jensen makes sure the two collide in the most shocking and spectacular fashion.


Full of twists and turns I found my head spinning, from the opening chapter I felt a sense of dread that stayed with me until I reached the heart stopping conclusion. The ending may have seemed a little far fetched but when I read a book especially one that holds so many surprises I'm happy to suspend disbelief and “go with the flow”. For me personally a psychological thriller has to have an element of surprise a “OMG” moment, The Surrogate has lots of theses moments and I literally read this book in one sitting. Would I recommend this book? It's a huge and definite “yes” from me.

Review maybe altered slightly and edited prior to publication on my blog

Ok.. wow had to recover a little bit from this book.

I have been a big fan of Louise Jensen since her debut of The Sister. Of course, I jumped on the wagon to read her newest novel The Surrogate. I was overly excited that I was approved on Netgalley for this one!

Kat and her husband Nick are doing everything in their power to become parents. Unfortunately, heartache after heartache for this couple in getting their dream of becoming mother and father. Out of nowhere, Kat runs into a long time childhood friend Lisa.. who decides to do an amazing favor for her friend Kat and become her surrogate.
But, everything isn't always perfect is it? Slowly, we start to see things that are falling apart and Lisa isn't really who she says she is. Or as a matter of fact, is Kat who she says she is?....

I can't say too much about this plot since I don't want to give any spoilers away. But, novel is definitely entertaining and keeps you on your edge trying to figure out what the HELLO is going on ;). I do have to say that my attention span was waving in and out in the middle. I was getting quite annoyed with Lisa and Kat's relationship. I was hoping for the story to add up and was getting frustrated.

But, overall the ending is what made this book. I have to say TOTALLY not what I was expecting AT ALL. So cookies and ice cream for Louise! I am a long time fan of Louise and will be looking for her next novel.

Overall, 3.5 stars rounded up on this one.

Thank you to Bookouture and Netgalley for an advanced arc.
Expected publication date is 9/26/17.