Having recently finished “Not Her Daughter” by Rea Frey, I am happy to have had the chance for the e-book copy; thank you NetGalley and St. Martin's Press!

How to write a review of a story that made me go hhhmm at the end as I read the last page?

I can say the back and forth in the storyline was a great way to understand the mindset and backstory of Sarah and Amy, and made the book a very quick read. Although some of Sarah's situations along her "journey" seemed a bit unbelievable and abrupt, I thoroughly enjoyed the suspense along the way.

As soon as I read the summary I knew I would love this book - I was so right! Rea Frey has been added as an author I will read again and again. All of this from her debut book. I can't wait for more!

Not Her Daughter had me sitting on the edge of my seat as I raced through the pages. I couldn't put it down reading well into the night at the annoyance of my husband. It was so refreshing to have a thriller novel that breaks the mold.

I highly highly recommend this book!

This Author is really great. I really loved this book. This tale was highly engrossing and highly recommendable!!

All kidnappers are evil right?


This book was unique and compelling,
it's about a family who has their dughter abducted.

There is the usual perspective from the mother. But the story is also told from the kidnapper as well.

This book had me feeling emotions for everyone, not just Emma who was abducted.

It was a fast paced emotional roller coaster read for sure. A one-sitting read for me.

Thanks to the author, publisher, and netgalley for the complimentary e book in exchangr for my honest review.



----#Not Her Daughter #Netgalley

I really enjoyed this story. I don’t normally love the idea of a missing child story, but this one had a different depth to it that was unique. There were a few times that I found Sarah’s relationship with Emma kind of intense, but mostly I wanted to love her devotion to this child who was being mistreated at home. This book definitely blurred the morality lines of what’s right and wrong. This novel was written in alternating perspectives from different times and I feel like that truly helped to tell the story. After finishing the book, I found that the movie rights were sold and I’m so excited to see this as a movie!!

DNF...I could not buy into the plot of this book. There's no way I could believe that someone would believe kidnapping a child is an appropriate way to "help" the child out of an abusive home. I just couldn't do it.

An emotional, gripping, suspenseful, tug-on-your-heartstrings book that will have you questioning everything you thought you knew about morality and doing what is right! Couldn't put this book down, highly recommend !

Rachel is at the airport and sees a woman treating her young daughter poorly. She wants to speak up, but doesn’t quiet know how. Shortly after their patches cross again and Rachel sees that the young girl Emma is in an undesirable situation. Her mother hits her and tells her she doesn’t love her. Rachel using a an opportune moment to take Emma. She then struggles to avoid the police while she decides what to do next. I enjoyed the book and it’s premise, but it seemed like it dragged a bit towards the end and then ended abruptly.

Is it a crime if your actions are intended to save another person from bodily harm? Where is the line that should never be crossed?

Sarah Walker could not help but notice the frazzled mother berate her young daughter at the airport, with the girl's father seemingly oblivious to the commotion. When she comes across the five year old again, will the opportunity that presents itself be too much for Sarah to ignore?

Not Her Daughter raises great ethical questions, but the plot itself is completely unrealistic. The events unfolded in an implausible manner, laughable at times, though the story is totally serious. One cannot help but feel for Emma, a small girl who still has spirit despite her mother's treatment. Sarah's desire to help the child that reminds her of herself is honorable, but her crime negates all of the good that she could have done. The biggest problem that I had with Not Her Daughter is that the author does not give enough context regarding Sarah's past and conveniently gives the woman the means in which to commit the crime. The characterization was good, but the plot itself dragged the story down. That being said, Not Her Daughter was compelling enough that I would recommend it to those who like mystery thrillers and suspense.

St. Martin's Griffin and NetGalley provided me with an electronic copy of Not Her Daughter. I chose to review this book and my opinion is freely given.

This book ended up not being a great fit for me. It was entertaining and the characters well written but overall the plot felt far fetched and unrealistic. I struggled with some of the decisions Sarah made and wasn’t a fan of her character. The ending was disappointing to me and while I can see others loving it, this one just wasn’t for me.

This book was a moral dilemma for me. While I would never support the committing of a crime, but as a parent, how would I respond to the way a child is being treated by her mother? This will tug on your heart and have you falling in love with Emma, a delightful five-year-old.

I have to admit that this book has stayed with me long after I turned the last page.

Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

This story is about an abusive mother and a kindnapper who takes the child from her mother, but thinks it's acceptable due to the fact she isn't harming her. The story is told from the two women's perspectives and is told in an order of before it happened, while it's happening, and after. The author does a good job of leaving nothing out and organizing the story so that the reader isn't confused by the plot layout.

Although the writing is excellent I had a hard time believing the story would actually happen. I can't help but think how emotionally screwed up this child would be if this story took place. This book definitely raises the question of right vs. wrong and if the kidnapping was justified. This would be a great book for a book club discussion.

Emma is a lonely 5-year-old daughter to a mother, Amy, who finds her to be a nuisance and resents her existence. Sara is a successful business woman who witnesses Emma’s mother’s abuse and is reminded of her own sad childhood with an emotionally absent mother. Sara makes a snap decision to take Emma and make a life with her. Alternating viewpoints take us into the minds of Sara, Amy and, finally, Emma.

I’ve read many kidnapping stories and found this to be unique and refreshing in that Emma was taken in order to enhance her life rather than destroy it. The alternating viewpoints successfully had layers to this story, making it more than it appears to be on the surface. Amy is a multilayered character in over her head. I found that I did not want to put this down until I finished, which I loved.

Many thanks to Netgalley, St. Martin’s Griffin and Rea Frey for my complimentary e-copy ARC in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

First of all I would like to thank Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for the digital copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Reading this book was such a thrilling ride! I loved every minute of it.
Rea Frey has written a layered story with a great plot which I’m sure will stick with me for a long time.

Sarah is a thirty something woman who’s at the head of a very successful business and making lots of money. She is good at her job, but her private life is a mess.
She recently broke up with the love of her life because he didn’t want to marry her, the relationship with her father is troubled and the fact that her mother abandoned the family when Sarah was just a little girl left it’s emotional scars.

When Sarah is at an airport for a business trip, she witnesses a mother snapping at her young daughter and treating her really badly.. Sarah cannot tear herself away from that situation, knowing exactly how the little girl must feel.
However, it’s not until her path miraculously crosses with the little girl’s again that Sarah feels a very strong urge to step in and protect little Emma even if that means she has to break the law..
All she want's to is make things right...


This story was so captivating, it totally absorbed me!
I loved the different narratives. I was rooting for Sarah, who took Emma with the sole intention to give her the childhood she deserves, but also felt bad for Amy, Emma's mother despite her many flaws and personal issues.
A perfect book for a book club discussion.. Highly recommend!

Great thriller and will share this one with customers at the store. Loved it. 5 stars. #thriller #latenightreading

This was actually one of my most anticipated debuts of 2018. I had seen a ton of early buzz for it and I had my hands on an ARC. Then I didn’t get to read it and it got pushed down the TBR. I was expecting a thrilling ride and I found instead NOT HER DAUGHTER was just a little lackluster for me in the end.

As the title may suggest, this is about a child getting abducted by a woman. I don’t want to say much else about it so it doesn’t loose the impact of the story, which maybe will work better for you. So I’ll just talk about my feelings generally.

When I say lackluster it’s because I wasn’t invested. It didn’t draw out any big emotions from me. Either of compassion for the main character or repulsion. I felt very neutral throughout the story, and maybe at times a little bored.

What I did like was the author’s attempt to make the reader question how they felt about the heroine’s actions. Because I did question that a time or two. Was that a bit easy to do because of how the story is laid out? Maybe. Could it have been more impactful? Definitely.

Nonetheless, this was a fast read and a decent debut novel. It hasn’t left me rushing to pick up her next book but I will probably read what the author releases next at some point.

This book was good overall. I found parts of the story to be unbelievable and would have loved to see how things turned out from a legal perspective. Sarah did not try very hard to stay hidden and it was unbelievable that they were unable to catch her.

This is an absolutely brilliant, five star, modern fiction story. Sarah sees a badly treated toddler and kidnaps her. Is life with Sarah the best thing for the child?

It’s such a bummer, I tried several times to get into this book and I just can’t. The plot doesn’t interest me and I don’t care about the characters 😢

This book in my little book community was talked about A LOT! I couldn’t wait to read it! It was suspenseful, heart wrenching and a wonderfully quick read. I thought that I would DNF it since child abuse/neglect is an incredibly sensitive topic for me and normally I refuse to read anything having it. I gave it a try since I heard great things and I’m so glad I did!