How far would you go to have a family? After trying for years and two failed adoptions, Kat and Nick wonder if they will ever become parents. Kat is shattered and Nick wants to take a break, until Kat’s friend Lisa shows up.

“Did you ever think about surrogacy?” she asks.

It seems like the perfect solution, but in any psychological thriller, reader beware. Nothing is at it seems.

The Surrogate is a tale of lies, deception and secret painful pasts. Kat and Lisa were girlhood friends, but now there’s a wall between them because of a deadly car accident in which Kat’s boyfriend Jake died. Kat left town to shake off her misery and meets Nick, a chance for happiness.

Nick has his own secret past, however and something isn’t right about Lisa. What to do? Keep reading this exciting story in which even the most imaginative reader won’t guess how it ends.

As the pregnancy progresses, Lisa’s motives come into question. Why is she so evasive? Why does she keep asking for money? And something isn’t right with Nick. Secret text messages and lies about where he’s going make Kat think the worst. Is she being paranoid? But what about the scary figure lurking outside their house?

The author mixes in plenty of side characters with murky and abusive tendencies and the story proceeds with great momentum, as Kat continues to make foolish decisions that dig her deeper into a dark and complicated character dynamic.

I enjoyed reading this fast-paced and entertaining thriller, loaded with twists and turns and plenty of opportunity to get mad at Kat for her bad decisions. Instead of trying to figure it out, I went along for the ride and was rewarded with a wild finish. I also love the cover, which made me want to dig right into the story.

While I thought the story was excellent, I was frustrated with an assortment of grammar mistakes, particularly involving the use of “me” and “I” as well as misplaced apostrophes. These errors take away from the polish of the story. I received my copy of The Surrogate before its September 25 release, so perhaps these mistakes have been corrected.

I recommend The Surrogate to readers who like modern suspenseful stories about relationships.

This is the first book I have read by this author and definitely won’t be the last. When reading a thriller I find myself second guessing where the story plot is going. How wrong I was with this one. I could not put this book down with so many twists and turns and a dramatic ending. Excellent writing and a story not to be forgotten.

Kat and Lisa had once been good friends but a fight broke them apart. But when they run into one another today, Lisa is very friendly. Something in their past has left Kat very ashamed.

Kat is married to Nick. They have been unable to have children of their own and two adoptions have failed at the last minute. Now, Kat is thinking about going the surrogacy route. However, Nick is not keen on this.

Seeing Lisa and catching up on their lives, Kat learns that Lisa is a nurse and has been a surrogate before. When she asks Lisa if she will be a surrogate for them, she happily agrees. So, a contract is put together and monies agreed upon. The pregnancy happens right away and all of them are thrilled.

When Kat was younger, she enjoyed acting. She was doing a play of West Side Story, with her boyfriend, Jake, who is also Lisa’s brother. Kat and Jake were in love but Jake died in a car accident which also injured Kat. She is still devastated by it.

But there is something in the past relationship of Kat and Lisa which makes for some very dark secrets. Kat has never even confided in her husband Nick about her past which troubles her even today. But Nick also has his own secrets that he keeps to himself.

The story goes from the present to the past and back again revealing little pieces of the puzzle at a time for the reader to put together. It certainly is written to keep the reader’s interest and sitting on the edge of their chair with the lights on. I found this to be a good book and hope others enjoy it as much as I did.

Copy provided by NetGalley in exchange for a fair and honest review.

This book started well & I was enjoying it. That is until about half way through when I suddenly realised that I just didn't want to put it down. The book went from a good read to a real attention grabber. This did require a late night to finish it off!

Nick and Kat seem to have everything but are unable to have children. After two adoptions from abroad fall through they wonder if they can face trying again. That is until an old friend of Kat's turns up. Lisa has been a surrogate previously and the idea grows in Kat's mind that this is a route they could go down. Things aren't quite that simple.

This had all the makings of a good book right from the beginning. The plot structure was good and the characters three dimensional. Kat was just the right amount of suspicious concerning her old friend Lisa and there were some odd whisperings and strange texts which added a hint of suspense. However, as the book progressed it changed up a gear. There were several possible explanations of various events, not all of which were innocent. Which one was the correct one? I didn't see them all coming but they all worked very well within the structure of the book. The ending was excellent & everything was explained - not irritating loose ends.

This was quite simply one of those books that was a captivating read. The characters were three dimensional and likeable although not perfect. The plot was sound and well constructed and the level of suspense gradually built throughout the book quite effortlessly. I would certainly be keen to read more books by this author.

I received a free copy of this book via Netgalley

I loved this book and read it in one sitting. The premise was simple Nick and Kate are a happily married couple who are desperate to add to their family. Kate then bumps into a friend, Lisa, from her home town who she hasn’t seen in years due to something that happened causing Kate to run away.
They rekindle their friendship and before you know it Lisa is offering to be their surrogate.
The book is written both in the present and the past so you discover what happened in the past to cause Kate to run.
You also discover that Nick also has something he is hiding.
Every time I thought in knew where this story was going the writer threw in another clue that changed everything.
I could not put this down and will definately be reading this author again. Simply mindblowing!

When Kat's friend Lisa offers to help Kat and Nick accomplish the one thing that is evading them; pregnancy. However, Kat and Lisa have secrets and Lisa isn't quite who she appears to be.

Wow what a page turner! I could not put this book down.

Kat and Nick have been trying to have a baby for years. Nothing is working for them. Into Kat's life reappears Lisa, a friend, her best friend from 10 years ago.

Lisa learns of Kat's problem and offers to be a surrogate stating that she's done it before. That's when all the suspicions start.

This was super crazy with the plot twists. I blamed everyone and came up with the worst scenarios throughout this whole book. Of course, I was wrong. Yay! And yes, the ending was jaw dropping! I totally did not see it coming!

The first thing I did when I finished reading this book was tell my friends. This one fits right up their alley as a unputdownable thriller!

An absolutely entertaining book that I thoroughly enjoyed!

Thanks to Bookouture and Net Galley for providing me with a free e-galley in exchange for an honest, unbiased review.

I found this thriller to be very readable - but it was just too implausible at almost every step of the way!

You can always count on Louise Jensen to write a fantastic thriller. Of her three novels so far, The Sister, The Gift and now The Surrogate, I haven't been able to guess a single ending correctly. You know those tag lines "best twist ever"? Well, I hate them. I'm sure many of us do. How many "best twist ever"s can there be? But when that kind of tag is attached to Louise Jensen's books, you can trust that the twist will be worth your while. But, I'd argue it's not the strongest aspect of her writing.

I think her true talent comes from the way she creates characters. They're so complex, with detailed histories and layers of issues. You never know how they're going to react when pushed to their limit. They might seem nice, but beneath it all, can you really trust them? I have to go into these stories and keep the characters at a distance now. Never get attached. Trust no one.

The Surrogate is about a woman named Kat who is desperate to have a baby and her childhood best friend Lisa who is a convenient surrogate. Having struggled to have children for years, Kat finds it hard to accept that this time could be the real deal and a paranoia sets in. Little does she know, there is actually something very dark to be afraid of.

The story begins with a journalist looking in on a house - a crime scene. Two bodies are being removed. Right from the outset, you're trying to guess who. When you think you know that, you're trying to guess how, why, when? But, it's not until the end that the truth becomes clear and you realise you were entirely wrong. How you too didn't spot the darkness lurking.

You see, Kat's hiding something in her past and all we know is that it links with Kat's teenage boyfriend and Lisa. As the story went on, the line, 'you mustn't tell, Kat', was repeated over and over. Each time, I found myself scrambling for guesses as to what it could mean.

Kat's husband Nick seems to be hiding something too. That's what I was thinking at the start - either that or he was too perfect. Kat began to annoy me, the way she wound him up, but then I shifted my alliance and started to find Nick too secretive and uncaring. I was wrong about both of them.

For fans of Lisa Hall, Jenny Blackhurst or Louise Jensen's other novels, The Surrogate will give you the creeps right in time for Halloween.

Love, Jess

Thank you Bookoutre for my digital copy.

Wow! A book that’s far from perfect but nearly always entertaining and a large OMG for those last 50 pages or so and the ending!!

Kat and Nick are desperate to be parents. Married 10 years and having found out that Kat can’t conceive they have decided to go the adoption route. They have tried and have failed with a couple of foreign adoption attempts and Kat is distraught. She wants nothing more than to be a mother.
She has started a new life for herself after some, as yet disclosed,major event in her life made her leave her life,family and friends behind and start again. She met Nick and is happily married but she so wants a family.

By chance she bumps in to an old friend from her past life, Lisa. Her best friend from childhood and her teenage years, they shared everything and were inseparable up until Kats sudden departure. Not having seen her for so long she is wary but they soon rekindle their friendship and when Kat tells her they have been trying to adopt, Lisa offers to be a surrogate for their baby, having done it once before. Kat can’t believe her luck and as Nick agrees Lisa soon becomes pregnant.

As the pregnancy advances Kat becomes suspicious of Lisa’s constant demands for money and doesn’t know whether to trust her or not. She’s very hard to contact and keeps postponing the hospital appointments that she and Kat are to attend for the baby. Does she have some ulterior motive here? Revenge for whatever may have happened in the past? Is Lisa really the person she says she is? In fact do we really know Kat and the person she was/is? Can her narrative here be trusted?

To go into any more detail on the storyline would involve spoilers so I won’t. What I will say is what we have here is an overall very enjoyable thriller/whodunnit/mystery. It’s not perfect. It flags at times in the middle and becomes a little repetitive. The story as well maybe a little fantastical and the characters not particularly likable but, having said all that, I mostly had a blast reading it.
You just don’t know what’s really going on underneath for most of the book, with plenty of storylines being hinted at, but with suspicion and paranoia on all sides, it’s hard to grasp onto what is the truth and what is imagination/paranoia. Plenty of red herrings throughout. Maybe too many for its own good but they did add to the fun of it all.

It’s a pretty grim read when you dig down into the subject matter but you always feel the author is telling the story with someone holding her reigns until the final few chapters where she is let loose to tie everything together and literally have your jaw drop as everything is revealed.

I thought about giving this three stars. Although I enjoyed it, it wasn’t without it faults as pointed out above. But you know what? There was a certain “mania” to the book that suited the characters down to the ground and made it a really fun read. The story is mad like, looking at it in the cold light of day. A little too fantastical to swallow but there was just something about the reading experience for the most part that elevated this above a “enjoyable but nothing special”to a new class of “bonkers if flawed but certainly memorable” and for that reason I’m giving this a four star review.
What I will do when I’m finished writing this review is go off and read other people’s reviews as id love to see what other people made of it and look forward to reading future reviews. I’m sure they will vary wildly as I can see this one splitting opinion somewhat.

I’d certainly recommend you try this one and if you do, I’d certainly be interested in reading your thoughts on it. Grab a copy, hang on tight and hang on especially tight for that huge final drop in this rollercoaster ride of a novel.


Many thanks to NetGalley, Bookouture and Louise Jensen for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

The Surrogate is Louise Jensen's third novel and is published by Bookouture today.  A very happy book birthday to all, I just know this one is going to fly!  I am a huge fan of Jensen's work; you can read my review of her debut, The Sister by clicking HERE and her second novel, The Gift by clicking HERE.  And I absolutely flipping ADORED The Surrogate!

Dare I say this is Jensen's best book to date?  Y'know what, I think I dare!  The Surrogate has become my very favourite of Louise Jensen's books knocking the incredible The Sister from the top spot.  If this one doesn't end up on my list of top ten books of the year then there is something seriously wrong with me.

Kat is desperate for a baby.  Unable to have her own child she turns to adoption to fill the baby-sized hole in her heart.  But when it all falls through she is devastated.  After all, she has decorated the nursery for Dewei and is a familiar (rather too well-known) face in Mothercare.  The second attempt to adopt Mai also falls through leaving Kat at her wit's end.  And then Lisa miraculously appears in her life.  Unsure of her intentions to start with, Kat is wary of her ex-best friend.  The women have a murky past which Kat fears has not been forgotten.  Before long, Lisa is entertaining Kat with tales of how she acted as a surrogate for a friend, how she gave birth to baby Gabrielle and then willingly handed her over.  How she feels more of an aunt towards the baby than the infant's birth mother.  Kat can see a way out of her predicament, a way in which she can finally have the baby she so craves.  All she has to do is convince husband Nick and make sure she keeps Lisa happy and relaxed, totally stress-free.  But exactly how far is Kat prepared to go for that little bundle of joy...

There are so many surprises in The Surrogate that I became dizzy with joy while reading.  You think you know what's going on, where the story will lead you but in reality, you know nothing!  Jensen has created a wonderfully intricate web of lies and half-truths with bucketfuls of creeping paranoia.  I loved it! (I may have said that already...)

The thread of malice woven through many of the character's relationships was sublime.  The reader is frequently given glimpses into Kat's teenage years at school and her interaction with the younger Lisa.  We also get to see how Nick, Kat's husband was raised by his parents and how, due to injury and the inability to work, Nick's father begins to mistreat his son.  Both episodes are unsettling and add so much emotion to the story.  I found myself becoming more and more invested in Kat and Nick, knowing something awful was heading their way but not knowing exactly what.

And WOAH, that ending.  Hugely satisfying, totally unexpected and I can guarantee it will stay me for some time to come.  I had my own ideas of how I wanted the story to end but what Jensen has given the reader blows everything else out of the water.  Absolutely superb!

Would I recommend this book?  Without a shadow of a doubt, I would.  If you are a fan of the psychological thriller then you MUST get yourself a copy of The Surrogate.  Louise Jensen just keeps getting better and better and I am so excited about what she has in store for us in the future.  You've set the bar even higher now, Louise.  No pressure!  A superb, twisty read that I wish I could give more than five stars to.

Five out of five stars.

I chose to read and review an eARC of The Surrogate.  The above review is my own unbiased opinion.

Thanks to netgalley, bookouture and the publisher for letting me read this book. O WOW what an amazing, brilliantly, super creepy book!! If I could have given it ten stars I would have. Each and every page had a new twist and turn!! But that ending, I definitely didn't see that coming!! I don't just recommend this book, I would beg everyone to read it.....you won't be sorry!!!

Amazing amazing amazing this book was brilliant had me gripped to the very end! Wanted to finish quick to get to end but then didn’t want it to end! Fantastic writing love love love it!

I was given an ebook copy of this book in exchange for an honest review by Bookouture - Louise Jenson's publishers. This is something I am more than happy to do.

OMG - just wow. I had read Louise Jenson's previous books The Gift and The Sister and I was expecting wonderful things from her third novel The Surrogate. It met, exceeded and went way beyond my expectations - it is blimmin brilliant.

From almost the first page I was on edge and peeping around the next page. The pages literally crackle with nervous tension that is only heightened at several points in the story. The story flicks back and forth from the present day to a time when both Kat and Nick were growing up. It's very obvious that neither had an easy upbringing or time at school or early steps into adulthood both have history and clearly some excess baggage.

A chance meeting with childhood friend Lisa sees Kat losing her head. Her and Nick are having problems conceiving and the next thing we know Lisa is offering to be a Surrogate. Alarm bells started ringing loudly for me - Kat thoughts were like a ball bouncing from hand to hand - on the one hand she was beyond excited, an answer to their prayers and a chance to make amends for some past mistake, an opportunity to re-kindle a friendship that had broken down - a friendship that had left a gaping hole in her life. On the other hand there is a manic like panic and worry, Kat isn't ready to face her past nor confront her fears and doubts.

I devoured this book chapter by chapter, reading quicker and quicker in my quest to calm my beating heart and to try and mentally steer Kat - both she and Lisa made me feel edgy and anxious. So many times I had an idea of where this story was going only to sit mentally berating myself - I so didn't see that ending coming. A story that was bittersweet, love and hate, friendships, jealousies and lies all conspire in the most unimaginable ways that is both shocking and sad - an outstanding read that I feel I need to read again straight away - to decipher the words and look for the clues that I'm sure must have been there all along.

I can't recommend this book highly enough - utterly and totally compelling and addictive.

On the surface, Kat and Nick appear to have the perfect life. Happily married, Nick runs a successful business and Kat works for a charity. There’s just one problem. They have tried everything to start a family of their own but it is something that has never happened for the couple.
Kat is desperate to become a mother and feels as though her world is about to end when their latest attempt – to adopt a child from another country – falls through.
However, when Kat’s childhood friend, Lisa, makes an appearance in her life and mentions that she once acted as a surrogate mother for someone who couldn’t have children; it looks as though Kat and Nick’s dream may come true after all.
But can Lisa being a surrogate really work? Or is the whole situation too good to be true?

I couldn’t download this novel fast enough when it first popped up on NetGalley. I LOVED Louise’s previous two novels, The Sister and The Gift, and I had been eagerly awaiting her third. Then when I read the synopsis for The Surrogate I just knew it was going to be something special. And it was. It really, really was.

I was hooked from the first page as we are introduced to Kat and given a glimpse of her dreams of becoming a mother – before they come crashing down once again when her adoption arrangement falls through.
The story also begins with Kat bumping into Lisa and the pair accidentally becoming reunited. However it’s abundantly clear that something happened between the two- something which gave Lisa cause to hate Kat – but what? What happened? Kat is immediately nervous and uneasy around Lisa and we are fed snippets of things that happened between the two in the past, but we don’t discover the full extent of what really went on.

Kat was such a hugely intriguing character. We are privy to the fact that she has a secret very early on and this made her untrustworthy to the reader. I never quite knew where I stood with Kat and the way in which her secret was slowly revealed throughout the story was done in such a compelling and clever way. I had an inkling of what she was hiding but not a clue as to the extent of her secret.
Her paranoia made me feel slightly on edge but then I would worry that she was being too naïve at times – but then I would question myself and wonder if maybe she had reason to behave the way in which she did. ARGH. However the more I discovered about Kat and the past I did better understand her compulsive need to be a mother and despite not entirely trusting her, I did feel more sympathetic towards her.
Lisa evoked very much the same reaction in me. I was never quite sure about her and her actions seemed to range from one extreme to the other. She scared me at times and I found myself constantly changing my mind as to what her intentions really were.
Then don’t even get me started on Nick. He may have started out as your classic supportive husband but as the story progressed I wasn’t quite sure as to whether this was really the case.
The truth is I just didn’t know what or who to believe…and I love books like this. Books that surprise me with twists that come out of the blue are always winners for me. And this was The Surrogate all over.
The plot is so intricately woven, I am really conscious of giving too much away because the thrill you get as the story unfolds before your eyes is outstanding and I desperately want you reading this (YES YOU!) to experience this for yourself.
The book is written in a past-to-present format, which contributes to the whole ‘keep-you-guessing’ factor which works exceptionally well.
What's even more difficult is that I desperately want to talk about this novel with someone. To analyse it and to reassure myself that I'm not the only one who was shocked at THAT ENDING.
Not only was this novel nicely-paced but my favourite thing about The Surrogate is how the secrets are gradually revealed, and the more that becomes clear, the more shocked you will become, I promise.

This is a novel that will have you on the edge of your seat, biting your nails and it will almost certainly mess with your mind. Already a big fan of Louise's before I started reading, she is now firmly planted on my list of top psychological thriller authors and The Surrogate is definitely my all-time favourite book of hers.

Before I finish up here I should give a warning- it will almost certainly take you a day or two to recover from reading this novel. It was make you paranoid, tense and you yourself will be questioning everything. I still can't get this novel out of my head...and I know that it will be in there until I can get hold of more novels by this spectacular author.

Kat and Nick are happily married but have been trying to have a baby for some time now . After two failed attempts at adoption Kat looses all hope but she comes across Lisa ,her old estranged friend. Lisa agrees to become a surrogate for Kat and Nick but does Lisa really want to help them or is seeking revenge for the past.
The Surrogate by Louise Jensen is a gripping psychological thriller which keeps you intrigued till the very end. The twists and turns keep on coming with an unexpected ending.

Many thanks to Bookouture & NetGalley for providing an ARC of this book in exchange for my honest and fair review.

This and more reviews at https://chloesbooksblog.wordpress.com/

There is nothing that hooks me more with psychological thrillers than when a past tragedy is alluded to right off the bat, but you have no idea what actually happened. And Louise Jensen is a master at this. This twisting of time and space and trying to figure out what happened when.

You know when you want to say to a character, "no! Are you crazy?! This person is walking all over you!" You have to suspend disbelief a bit to think someone wouldn't see all the signs and red flags, but it also makes me heated which is a good sign that you're heavily invested in these characters and actually care what happens to them. But then the author flips the script and was everything you thought to be true really true?

This book just gets better and better as it goes on and really picks up a little more than halfway though. There are so many twists and turns, chapter ending cliffhangers, biting of nails...Jensen is a masterful thriller author and I am 100% a fan.

Thank you to Netgalley, Louise Jensen and Bookouture for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

The Surrogate was a brilliant, un-putdownable read, I was hooked right the start, such a fast paced thriller that had me utterly shocked, this one is going to be a bestseller!!!

O.M.G. what an absolute belter of a book. I'm still reeling from the last few chapters -- I was so convinced that I knew where this book was going and then - BAM - it took my breath away. I absolutely loved Louise Jensen's book The Sister, so I was thrilled to get my hands on a copy of The Surrogate. I was expecting a good book - but The Surrogate far surpassed my expectations. Enthralling, gripping and deliberately obfuscating, The Surrogate is just BRILLIANT.

Highly highly recommended. 5 humungous stars!

Kat and Nick are desperate to become parents but two adoptions have fallen through. They are wondering what options are in store when Lisa, a childhood friend of Kat, offers to be a surrogate. Terrible events led to the severance of the friendship, but as their last chance can Kat trust Lisa? As secrets from the past are revealed alongside present day events, we learn exactly what happened and the ending is very different to what I expected. Another great thriller from Louise Jensen.