I was captivated by this book within the first few pages. It was hard to put down. It was so easy to relate to both women.

A woman is standing on the edge of a building with a young child in her arms. A security guard is trying to talk her down. This is the first scene, an out take from the end of the book. I like this literary convention. It gives you enough suspense to wet your appetite, but not enough to give much away.

Then, when the story begins–following the flash forward to the end, we meet Libby, a single mom who has finally gotten herself a lucrative book deal. She is so excited to be able to take her young son on a luxurious vacation. From the beginning, the reader knows something is up. We know everything is now leading to that ledge. Everyone is a suspect.

I don’t want to give much away, but Lost You is a solid thriller with some inventive twists I didn’t see coming. At the beginning, it appeared that Libby was the protagonist, but as time goes on, I found myself to be much more on the side of the other narrator, Anna’s side. And by the end, well, you’ll just have to check this one out.

Specials thanks to Netgalley and Crown Publishing for an e-galley in exchange for my honest review. This review will be published on my blog, Women in Trouble Book Blog on July 9, 2019.

I had been putting off reading this one because I thought the kidnapped/missing child plot would be too upsetting - but in a way, it was perhaps pleasingly so off-the-wall so as to be a suspenseful read as opposed to a disturbing one. I was definitely turning pages but it felt simplistic? Or written for a YA audience? Despite the disclaimer at the end I could see this one upsetting a lot of readers.

Surrogacy gone very wrong. That’s the simplest explanation for this book. I don’t want to give too much away by saying more.

I really enjoyed this one. It kept me on the edge of my seat and even though I thought I had it all figured out pretty early on, I was wrong!

This thriller about 2 women living parallel lives that are intertwined due to family comes through with the twists that you don’t see coming. Libby and Anna are connected through the desire to have a family, the desire to be able to survive, and their stories end up being more connected than you could imagine as the plot unfolds. Just when you think you are sure of how the story ends, one final twist makes you question everything you thought you knew.

Yet another fiction book with ‘unstable women’ as main characters. Maybe because I don’t have children I don’t understand that driving need to have them, but this book just did not work for me. I liked neither Anna nor Libby, and found myself rolling my eyes at times over the dialogue and progression of the story. The premise started out so interesting and unique but the storytelling got in the way.
Thank you for the opportunity to read an advance copy of this book.

Wow, I enjoyed this book! I love that you start off with a very normal story about a woman (Libby) and her son, and it then pauses when her son is taken by a woman who says she is her sons mother and goes back to the past to bring you into the present. Strong storyline, great characters, definitely a page turner! I very rarely give 5 star reviews, but this book deserves 5 stars! Thank you to Netgalley for the ARC of this book!

A bit predictable, but the writing and pace were well done. A solid thriller you can read in a weekend.

A topic so scary it can give every mother nightmares happens when your child is missing. What happens when you find the person who took him, but still can't find your child? Well, this story line is truly unique to me! Haylen Beck set up a story line that looked familiar then threw a big monkey wrench into it! This is not your everyday, run of the mill missing child mystery. A great look at how today's medical sciences can complicate lives. The story is really good. This one deserves a movie of the week!

I received this novel as an e-ARC via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
'Lost You' by Haylen Beck follows traditional surrogacy and the mental health issues related to surrogate motherhood and primary infertility. The issues raised by surrogacy are many and they are presented in this fictional novel. I have never considered reading anything on this topic and found myself very interested in the dynamics. As a mother, I could relate to Anna’s pregnancy and the vivid descriptions Haylen presents as Anna feels L’il B growing in her womb. However, I lost interest and felt underwhelmed half way through the book while Anna was pregnant. The novel gives us two perspectives: Anna’s (surrogate mother) and Libby's (intended parent). The novel follows Anna as she deals with socio-economic issues and Libby with her yearning desire to be a mother. My interest picked-up at chapter 48 and kept my attention until the last chapter. As the story came to an end, Haylen threw in a creative twist.. I did not see this coming! For this reason, the book went from three-stars to four. This is a quick reader, if you can hang through the middle chapters. It’s not a novel that I would typically purchase and read (because of the topic); however, I enjoyed my time with it.

Not my very favorite book, but not one you just cannot finish. I thought that it would be a favorite of mine by reading the synopsis, and in the beginning I knew I was right, but towards the middle of the book it became entirely too slow paced and directions sort of shifted, making it hard to get through. I do think that it’s one most will enjoy and get some thrills and chills, but absolutely not one I will be calling my favorite ever. A solid 3 star read.
I will be letting members of Chapter Chatter Pub know about it’s upcoming release!

Thank you NetGalley for the advanced reading copy.
This was a good read, and a genre I am quite familiar with. That said, it did not stand out from the pack for me, but had strong moments.
I liked the start with the missing boy, and wondered often when the plot would return to that scene.
The main storyline here was a surrogate mom who decides to change plans, and the havoc that ensued because of her choice. A woman and her husband who planned on bringing home a child, the husband somewhat reluctantly, were in for a shock and she became a little unhinged - putting it mildly. I don't want to give away too much, just know that it takes turns and twists, and some time later the plot comes full circle. I didn't see all the details coming - how it ended really - but some parts seemed a tad familiar.
I enjoyed this book, read it quickly, but would have l0ved to see some more new, fresh material.

Strong start but I got a little bit distracted or lost in the middle of it. Overall a good story, but it just didn't grab me the way I hoped based on the book blurb. Thank you netgalley.

Pub date August 6, 2019

There is more than meets the eye in this dark thriller about 2 mothers in a fierce battle over the child they each believe is hers. I feel that saying anything more about the plot would give too much away, but it goes to a place I didn't predict or see coming. I rated this at 3.5 stars overall. I was definitely gripped by the story and invested in the characters and the outcome.

Thank you to NetGalley for the advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

Being a fan of Stuart Neville's Northern Irish novels, I was thrilled to get an ARC of LOST YOU from NetGalley. But this foray into psychological fiction wasn't really for me. It started off with a believable premise, but devolved from there into a series of incredible events. I wasn't attached to any of the characters in a useful way, so as the storytelling got crazier I didn't quite have anything to latch onto.
thelithaven.com

The story opens with Libby Reese taking a much needed vacation with her three and a half year old son, Ethan. Libby's husband left when Ethan was six months old.

While on vacation, Libby befriends a gay couple, Charles and Gerry. Ethan was fascinated with the elevator, and while Libby and Charles were talking, Ethan headed into an elevator and started pressing buttons. Terrified Libby took the stairs to try to connect with her son on a floor, but Ethan seems to disappear. A search begins, and footage on the security camera show a woman with Ethan. When the woman is confronted, and asked who she is, her response is puzzling. She claims to be Ethan's mother.

I enjoyed this book a great deal! When I first started reading it, I thought it was going to be a child abduction story, to some degree it is, but it's so much more. The more the story unfolded, the more my emotions flipped flopped from feeling bad for Libby, then bad for Anna. Two women, strangers, but linked together and what happens when one changes her mind.

The subject matter touches on emotions of trying to conceive and how exhausting all avenues can lead to desperation and those who are willing to prey on the vulnerable for a price.

Enjoyable read!

I received an ARC from NetGalley via Crown Publishing in exchange for my honest opinion.

Every mother’s worst nightmare.... you looked away for a moment and your child is gone. This story takes you deep into how the mother feels and also adds an element of suspense. You find yourself asking how can this be and what would you do.

I received this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This was an average thriller. There were some "twists" but they were pretty predictable. I did like how the perspective changed so that you could see the story through both main character's eyes and how neither of them was exactly who you thought they were in the beginning. Because things were so predictable I did have a little trouble staying engaged and got a bit bored in the middle of the book. The end wrapped up a little quickly. Not a bad read if you have nothing else but it isn't one I'd run out and look for.

What an amazing thriller! Absolutely loved it; every roller coaster moment of it. This book was full of surprises, and there was no boring moment. I highly recommend it.

I received an ARC copy of this book from Net Galley in exchange for my honest opinion of it. I really thought the book started out good. Libby was a writer and went away with her son Ethan. The story goes on with Ethan missing and once found, two women claiming to be his mother which brings about the surrogacy story. It was just okay and I did feel like the foul language was a little too much.