TW - child loss

The story is told from the point of view of three women; Annie, Daisy and Grace. 
We don't really know much about Grace other than the fact she keeps having miscarriages and is losing her husband. 
Annie, a single mother, has raised her son Ben all alone in their big house on the beach. She believed it would always be the two of them forever. But then, Ben arrives with his pregnant wife Daisy and Annie realises she is no longer the centre of his universe. 
Annie hates Daisy for taking her son away from her, but she soon figures out a way to keep her son with her forever. 

I struggled with some parts of this book, particularly Grace's chapters.
The rest of the book was well written and suspenseful, however, I realised who Grace was halfway through and I had worked out the big twist. 
Was a really great, quick read.

I very much enjoyed this book.  It has a good story and excellent main characters.  I would definately recommend this book.

When this book started it gripped me. I didn't know what was going to happen. It seemed like there was something up but you can't place it or who it is up with. It does play with your head.

2.5 stars

This book had a creepy feel to it. It was a disturbing look at mother-in-law/daughter-in-law dynamics. And although I typically enjoy domestic thrillers involving mother-in-laws, this particular plot rang a little too far fetched for me to be able to take it seriously. There was some definite eye rolling going on.

The story revolves around the dysfunctional and possessive relationship between Ben, his wife, Daisy and his mother, Annie. It primarily alternates between two POV’s - Annie and Daisy - but there is also an intermittent mystery character, Grace, POV. It is the type of thriller that has a few surprises and a twist at the end. However, it was predictable and I was able to guess everything. This made the story less compelling for me. I also had a hard time connecting to the writing in that it was too slow and repetitive in spots. All of these factors led to my lower rating. However, it is an eerie story with some gripping moments, and certainly one that I can see others loving if they don’t guess the ending. 

Thank you to Boldwood Books and Netgalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

A story about a fierce relationship between Annie and her son, Ben that is shaken up with the arrival of Ben's new wife Daisy. This story sees the twists and turns of the relationship between the Annie and Ben, Daisy and her new mother-in-law as well as the relationship between Ben and Daisy and in true suspense fashion, nothing is quite as it seems. As this is a suspense novel, I do not want to give too much away as that would ruin the story for the reader. It is a solid story and very well written. The storyline however, is quite predictable and I felt the last 5% of the story was rushed. So as far as the thriller rush goes, it was quite average.

Nicht vor dem schlafen gehen lesen - denn dazu werden Sie nicht mehr kommen - ist eines der spannendsten Bücher des letzten halben Jahres.

Annie a independent woman/mother who raised her son all on her own, is about to meet her  new daughter-in-law. She doesn't like her, as she feels no one is good enough for her precious son. 
This was a great thriller, the twists and turns, make the book even more exciting. The story was told back and forth between Annie and Daisy. 
The ending was AMAZING!!! I didn't see that coming at all. 

Thank you Netgalley for a copy of this book for my honest review.

Two women who clash, connected through Ben (son to one, husband to the other).  The story was predictable so no great surprises or reveals, but somehow I enjoyed it despite of that and the lack of much proof reading.  None of the characters were appealing, so wasn’t rooting for any of them.  It was an easy read, albeit a bit too much domestic trivia but that can be skimmed.  Definitely not a bite your nails kind of thriller but it had a certain something, enough to encourage the reader to finish the book.

It’s rare that I don’t guess the ending to a book, however this one took me completely by surprise. This is a very decent psychological thriller with very well developed characters. I’d recommend for anyone who likes this type of book.

A gripping story with great characters. Can't say more without giving anything away. Highly recommended

This book had me gripped from the start. I love books that have alternate narratives.  This was one I couldn’t put down, read for yourself as I don’t want to give anything away!

https://booksbehindthetitle.wordpress.com/2019/08/05/blogtour-thedaughterinlaw-boldwoodblogtour-ninamanning78-boldwoodbooks/

*thank you to Netgalley, Nina Manning and Boldwood Books for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review*


4 stars.

Ohh wow I enjoyed this story so much! It's classed as a Mystery Thriller but I feel that it's more than that. It also has an element of Horror to it as it repeatedly reminded me of Norman Bates's mother. So if you are familiar with the movie, Psycho and the tv series, Bates Motel, then you will know who I'm talking about.

The story is told by three narrators. Daisy, who is Ben's wife and is expecting a baby. Then there is Annie, the creepy crazy psycho mother of Ben. Then there is Grace. I had no idea what her part in all this was but I expected to have found out by the end. Her story seemed pointless and I couldn't figure out what it was all about. It felt so random and just odd, like it was out of place. But I knew there would she a reason for it and I just had to wait until that reason showed up and explained itself. And that it did. It made sense in the end and I now see that it was necessary to have in there. Ben, all his life had grown up up quite isolated from the world. His mother Annie hardly let him play among other friends and she kept him to herself as much as she possibly could. For Ben's whole life, it was just Annie and Ben. Ben and Annie. Then along came Daisy and after only having known Ben a matter of months, they end up getting married and Daisy falls pregnant. Things are going well between the two until Ben brings Daisy to his childhood home to meet Annie. That is where the horror starts and it keeps going right until the end.

Annie is someone that you would run a million miles from if you knew what went on inside her head. She is very manipulative, way over the top overprotective to the point where it's actually scary and there is obviously some deep psychological issues going on there, which does gets explained in the end to give us readers an understanding of why she's as she is. Daisy is, well, I didn't hate her but I didn't like her either. She's had a rough past which makes me feel empathy for her but I can't say that I actually liked her all that much. Ben, he was alright actually I didn't mind him and considering how he grew up, with Annie I'm rather surprised that he wasn't so screwed up. It showed a strength in him I thought.

Overall, I really enjoyed this and would recommend it.

What is it about a mother-in-law that strikes fear in the hearts of so many young women? Two women who love the same man, one as her son and one as her husband, should have a lot of shared dreams and joys. Or perhaps not. Annie and Ben have lived a lovely simple life together in their cottage by the sea. Annie loves her son Ben, and takes such pleasure in caring for him. But when the mysterious Daisy comes into the picture, will there be room in Annie’s heart for a daughter-in-law? Nina Manning’s psychological thriller slowly reveals long kept secrets and nefarious intentions. The twisting plot that takes advantage of the stereotypes of mama’s boy and helicopter parent, is a dark and entertaining journey. It may even make you appreciate your wacky in-laws a little bit more.

Thank you NetGalley for this book in exchange for a honest review. Absolutely loved this book! The story flows, the characters are fascinating and I couldn't put it down. Highly recommend.

It’s difficult to comment on the storyline of this book without giving away too much. As some reviewers have said already, the plotline is far-fetched, but then most stories that deal with dark tormented souls and their behaviour often are.  I found it hard to understand how Annie got away with her manipulation of Daisy, but then that’s what insidious character she is. Daisy also had a secret she didn’t want revealed – which turned out not to be much of one. There are many contradictions to Daisy too which I found frustrating, but I tried to put myself in her shoes to explain an intelligent young woman.
Readers need to be non-judgemental towards the behaviour of the characters and accept we don’t always behave similarly under certain pressures or this book could annoy, but it kept me reading.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC for my opinion.

Another Mother in law book that alternates between the Mother in law, daughter in law and some one named Grace.  You are trying to figure out who the unreliable narrator is and who is Grace and what role does she have in the story.  There are plenty of twists and turns all the way to the end. I have a hard time trying to rate this book, I don't feel that it was one of the best or worst books I have read just average. So I am giving it 2.5 stars .

The Daughter in Law is an exciting, suspenseful thriller by Nina Manning.  Annie is a single mother who thinks no one is good enough for her Ben. Ben brings his new wife, Daisy, home to meet Annie and there’s instant tension.  Annie misses Ben and will stop at nothing to reclaim her close relationship with her him, even if that means exposing the truths she found out about her daughter in law.  

Does Daisy have something to hide from Ben and Annie? Is Annie too overprotective?  

I really liked the pacing of this book.  It was unpredictable, twisty and dark.  You’ll find yourself second guessing everything you believe you know about the main characters.  Manning challenges us to read between the lines and arrive at a riveting truth hidden beneath.

I received a review copy of this book from the publisher through NetGalley for my honest review. Opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own.

I was almost immediately sucked into this book. I really liked how I kept guessing all the way through - who really is the villain? The mother-in-law or the daughter-in-law? And who is this Grace who keeps popping up throughout the book? I would have read this book in one sitting if I'd had the time. This was a solid British thriller, 4 1/2 stars.

* Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with a free ARC of this book in exchange for my honest opinion.

This book was great. It had me hooked right from the first page. It was full of twists and I really enjoyed it.