"Not having a child can change your life as much as having one.'
Grace has returned to London after twenty years abroad to manage her dying mother’s affairs. When she receives a blank Mother’s Day card in the post, she is confused and unsettled. Who could have sent it to her and why? She isn’t a mother."

A slow start but ultimately a great book. She Chose Me by Tracey Emerson goes into the darkness that is mental illness, death, abuse and other difficult topics. It's definitely an emotional read.

Thank you #NetGalley for this ARC of #SheChoseMe
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This is a very good debut novel. I really enjoyed it.

Grace returns to London after twenty years abroad as her mum is dying and she needs to sort out her dying mums affairs. She starts getting blank Mothers Day cards which is very confusing as she isn’t a mother. Then the strange phone calls starts. What’s going on?

This kept my attention. The only negative is I was pretty confused who’s point of view was being told. I would have liked it to be more clearer. Having said that I’m looking forward to reading more from this author.

I really liked the premise of this book and thought it was well executed. I liked that there were a lot of twists as Grace tried to figure out what was going on. I liked that there were multiple storylines that coexisted to make the story even more psychologically unhinged. The characters were well developed and I thought the ending was nothing short of spectacular. I think this book will do really well and will recommend this to others.

Grace Walker, age 42, has spent the last 20 years teaching in Singapore and living in other parts of the world. She has returned home because her mother, Polly Walker, has become ill and needs to be placed in a care home. She and her mother have not always been very close. Twenty years ago, Grace became pregnant and against her mother’s wishes, decided to have an abortion. It caused much contention between Grace and Polly which is the big reason Grace decided to move away. Now, she has to clear things out of her mother’s home and put the place up for sale. Giving away her mother’s things is difficult. But when she receives a couple of Mother’s Day cards with no message inside, she’s confused and becomes quite nervous about it. Who sent these to her and why?

At the care home, a young and perky gal named Emma is such a help with the patients and has taken to Polly giving her extra attention and excellent care. But Emma is not who she seems and is keeping some dark secrets of her own.

I found myself frowning quite often as I read this book. There were a few times I considered making it a Did-Not-Finish. However, since I don’t like to do that, I pressed on. There is a lot of confusion which I think is how many of today's thrillers are written. As pieces of the puzzle started to come together, and I completed reading the book, I wasn’t as impressed as I hoped to be. This story is dark, sad, and depressing. I certainly hope other readers enjoy it more than I did.

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

She Chose Me is Tracey Emerson's debut psychological thriller, and a powerful and emotional journey on the issue of motherhood. The author not only provides a gripping tale but one that is thought-provoking and a lot deeper and more philosophical than most in the genre. It's essential to really concentrate to keep up with all that is happening, although at certain points it did verge on convoluted.

I always appreciate a story with the creep factor turned up to maximum, just as it is here. However, the constantly changing point-of-view was difficult to live with at the beginning, but once you become accustomed to the structure it flows a lot better. You also feel much more engaged when you work out exactly how each of the characters contributes to the overall plot and with more twists and turns than Brexit, this is a superb and highly accomplished debut. Not all of the characters are likeable but they are easy to relate to and feel empathy for. I did feel a little patronised in parts as everything was spelt out to the reader when it needn't have been as the clues left along the way were enough that the reader knows exactly what is going on, despite it only being implied.

Elegantly written, addictive and impossible to put down, I thoroughly enjoyed this. The line between reality and perception is a substantial part of what creates such a great storyline. Deft plotting and a dramatic and unpredictable conclusion make this one of my favourite reads of the year. I look forward to reading what Emerson produces next time around!

A good read that deserves some thought afterwards. Are we bound to our parents by blood or experience? I often wonder if there is some collective unconscious. Since we spend 9 months listening to our mother's heartbeat and living snuggled up to her, is there some connection that is forged during this time? I feel this book gave a good try at answering this.

My first thought about this book was very creepy and it was. The line between what is real and what isn't is very thin in this book! I didn't see the end coming! I loved the twist at the end! Great book and definitely 5 stars!

I am not too sure what to make of this book.

I mean, I liked it but I did not love it. The premise of the book caught my eye instantly and I was very eager to read it.
However, I felt that the story at times was confusing and the characters were not as believable to me as I would have liked.

This book was like a book sandwich for me. The middle was really good but I didn't like the beginning or the end. At first it was very hard to follow who was speaking. Throughout the entire book it usually took me a couple sentences to determine whose point of view I was reading. That doesn't make for a relaxing enjoyable read. As for the end, I liked it but it should have stopped 2 chapters before it did. Again, an author felt the need to tie everything up, answer all the questions even though the answers were already implied throughout the story, and make it pretty. Why? I really feel like someone in the industry must have decided that readers need everything spelled out for them and tidied up. We don't. Give us some credit. But the middle was good. We had a woman who thinks she is being followed while she tries to deal with her dying mother and a younger woman who thinks she is the first woman's daughter and is trying to get closer to her. There were some great moments and nice twists. Overall the book is probably worth the trouble, just stop after Chapter 62.

I enjoyed reading this family drama thriller. The book has plenty of twists and turns until the very end. I liked how the author chose to tell the story from two perspectives and they both perspectives tied the story together. I enjoyed.

Grace returns to London to take care of her mother and Emma is a care taker at the home where Grace's mother resides. As their stories intertwine throughout the book, you become more invested and have more questions. This story encompasses love, motherhood, drama, mental health, caring for an elderly parent and so much more.


https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/36914886-she-chose-me

2.5 rounded up

I’m not going to lie, this was really tough to get into. I started it and was confused and grew frustrated. I decided to put it down and read something else and then go back to it. I’m glad I did because I went back armed with a little more patience and some additional reviews to clue me in to get past the rough patch.

Once I got going this was actually a decent story with some twists. I was surprised at times and sometimes not. This was a dark story and Cassie is a sad character. The ending was ok.

Thanks to NetGalley, the author and Legend Press.

Well, this one kept me guessing pretty much all the way through. I really thought I had it all worked out quite early on but, although I was partly(ish) right about some things, I was way off the mark with others right up until the very end.
It's hard to say anything about the book without giving too much away but it centres around Grace who has returned to London to sort out her mother's affairs since she went into a care home. The two of them have not had the best relationship and have indeed been estranged for a fair while due to something that happened in the past. If that wasn't enough for Grace to cope with, she starts to receive strange things including a mother's day card when she isn't a mum. Flustered by this, she starts to get a bit paranoid. Could someone know her and what happened in her past? And, if so, what do they want? At least Grace has help with her mum as a young care assistant in the home has taken quite a shine to her. That'll be a big weight off Grace's shoulders... won't it?
OK, so before I write more about this book I will give you a bit of a tip. Read the beginning carefully. Please try and have your wits about you when you start the book. It's one of those that maybe is deliberately confusing but, for me anyway, I thought it went a bit above and beyond that and actually got a wee bit muddled. Well, it did for me anyway. I realised something and had to go back and start again. Luckily I wasn't too far through.
As things start to unravel and, at the same time, become clear depending on your viewpoint, it became a little odd to say the least but, as more was uncovered, it all started to make more sense and I started to change my opinions about certain things that had happened. I'd love to say more but what I am talking about is a bit of a spoiler so I am trying to be discreet and just hint. Suffice to say that things aren't always as they seem for anyone really. Behind closed doors and all that. It's just a shame that so many innocent people get caught up in the crossfire.
Characterisation was very well done. I changed my opinion about the main characters quite a bit along the way which is quite normal for a book of this genre. At times I wanted to slap them, other time I thought they could just do with a hug. Not sure I liked them but then that doesn't matter as long as there is some connection.
All in all, a well written debut that will work as long as you keep your wits about you and suspend belief and believe in coincidence along the way. I'm definitely interested in seeing what the author has for me next time. My thanks go to the Publisher and Netgalley for the chance to read this book.

I enjoyed reading this and was keen to see where exactly it was going. The different points of view didn’t cause me any issues but I did think on a few occasions that I would have liked t be reading a physical book so I could quickly flip back to check dates. I was a bit disappointed by the ending. I don’t know what I hoped for exactly but somehow just ‘more’.

This book started off really slow for me but once I finally figured out was going on it became a good read. I wish they had labeled the chapters with the characters whose POV were explained- I had no idea if it was Emma or Grace who was talking. All in all, a good read.
I received this from the publisher in exchange for a review. Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley.

3.5/5 stars rounded up to 4

I enjoyed this book although it took a while to get into but persevered. I would read more by this author.

She Chose Me was confusing and eventually became suspenseful. I read a lot of reviews about readers disliking it but I rather did like it. She Chose Me covers mental illness, death, abuse and other tough topics. What I liked about the book is, it got to me. It made me feel things. That is why I enjoy reading and one of the things that makes a book good for me.

Very confusing for around the first third of this book.trying to work out what the story is about. Quite predictable for the rest of the novel. Ok but not great. Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the chance to review it.

She Chose Me by Tracey Emerson sounded like a book that I would love... unfortunately it fell a bit flat for me. I didn't hate it but I didn't love it. For about 30% of this book I was really confused as to what was happening and who's viewpoint we were on. Once it became clear it then became quite predictable and I found myself skimming.

Grace returns to London as her mother is dying and she needs to get her affairs in order. She starts to receive Mothes Day cards but she is not a mother. Then strange calls start and unexplainable events. Who is doing this to Grace?

Thanks to Legend Press and NetGalley for my advanced copy of this book. All opinions are my own and are in no way biased

I was really looking forward to this book.
Once again I was disappointed. This book was so confusing that it gave me a headache.
I really did have high hopes for this author. There were twists and turns but they were so predictable.
I felt as though I was losing the will to live and I have wasted 5hours of my life.
I need a medal just for finishing this book.
I would like to thank the author, publisher and Net.galley for giving me the opportunity to read this book in return for giving an honest review.

I really wanted to like this book. By chapter 11 I set it down. I can handle some back and forth in a book, this one was just all over. Thank you NetGalley for the chance to try this out. It seems like there could be a good story here but this far in there should be a lot more suspense happening and there is not.