Oof. I forgot I’ve read Bleeker before, but I wish I had remembered. Poorly written in my opinion, not for me.

What it Seems is a perfect book about things not actually being as they seem. I was intrigued right from the beginning of this book, constantly trying to "help" Angela/Tara. I couldn't stop reading and at times would be downright disgusted and angry about the story - feeling like it was so real. I pray and pray that this does not happen to people, but I know it does and so I pray that abductees find freedom and peace again like Angela!

This is a good suspenseful read with a good plot and believable characters. Well done Emily!

First of all, thank you to netgalley for letting me read this book.
This is not my usual genre, being set in the USA, but the premise of the story intrigued me.
The story pulls you in from the first page and even halfway through I was still in suspense.
Although some parts were uncomfortable to read, I really enjoyed this book and will certainly be searching for more from this author.

I honestly could not finish the book. It was flat, and so hard to wrap my mind around a 20-year-old being treated as 12 years old. I just had to finally throw in the towel on this.
Thanks, NetGalley for the advanced copy to review.

So so good a book that kept me reading late into the night. Angela is a strong character.Emily Bleeker is an author I will follow .#netgalley#lakeunionpublishing.

A psychological thriller with quite a twist at the end! Wow!
Tara aka Angela was adopted when she was small.
But... what is normal now at the age of 20?
Tara has been brainwashed by this woman she calls "Mother".
The mental and physical torture becomes the standard in this young girls life.
Mother often locks her in her room for her own well-being without food and water.
Her only respite is an old computer that allows her to carefully view the outside world.
She follows a family on the internet.
Tara loves this family. They are perfect. She wishes they would be her family.
Tara finds herself realizing she must escape her Mother's strong grip.
But how?
This is definitely a tough at times book to read, but definitely kept me guessing and in suspense until the very end of the novel! Excellent!

Thank you NetGalley for an advanced
Copy of What It Seems.

I’m so incredibly disappointed. I LOVED Emily Bleeker’s last book, The Waiting Room, and was super excited when I got approved for this one. Unfortunately this just fell really flat for me. I gave it a pretty fair shot (57% read) before I had to put it down. The book wasn’t really what I was expecting and there was no suspense, which is what I crave in a book. I was really torn between sticking it out and putting this on the back burner, especially after reading so many good reviews, but I just wasn’t finding myself enjoying this at all.

This was a heart wrenching story that slowly unfolded. This is a story that will effect how you look at YouTube stars and will highlight things are not as they seem.
Angela’s life dramatically changed when she was adopted by her foster mother at 8 yrs old, including her name to Tara. She is isolated and very little contact with the outside world for 12 yrs.

She finds comfort in an internet family that she thinks is perfect. She manages to get an internship with the channel, that gives her the strength to escape her situation.

As she spends time with the family, slowly she sees their life is not quite so perfect. Angela/Tara finds herself trapped in another impossible situation.

Will Angela/Tara find away to be free and have her own life? Will her adopted Mother find her again?

This is a story that will take you on a ride you did not expect.
Thanks to Netgalley for complimentary copy. Thoughts and opinions are my own.

I really enjoyed this book! It is clever, gripping and very enjoyable. Tara is such a sweet character that you can't help but root for and her controlling mother is just a character you just love to hate. I was mentally hissing at her whenever she came up.
I loved the real behind the scenes of YouTube vloggers and it came across as being very realistic. I'm so glad I got to read this story as it's one that I won't forget any time soon. Thanks for the read!

This book was not what I expected, which is why I've been teetering between 3.5-4 stars. Nonetheless, the story was original, which I really appreciated.

It starts off quite slow, there were a few times I wondered if this would be a DNF, but I'm glad I stuck through. The blurb made it seem as if there was something really sinister happening with the Feely family, and frankly, I was a little let down there wasn't. That being said, I think the ending made up for it (even if it felt a tad rushed). In a sea of thrillers, this book stands out. Thanks Netgalley for the ARC.

I loved this story. There is some great character development, and you really find yourself book hoping that Angela finds herself. I found myself reading this one in two sittings. It kept my interest all the way through.

Every time Emily Bleeker writes a new book, I cannot wait to read it! What It Seems was not exactly what I was expecting, but I still loved it! Emily Bleeker has so many different writing styles, so she always manages to surprise me, always in a good way. What It Seems is definitely full of surprises, until the very end!

Some may be able to get into this book and enjoy it but it wasn't for me. I guess I just could not imagine a 20 yr. old locked in her room, committing theft for her mother, pretending to be pregnant and wanting a job for a you tube channel. I will admit that I could not finish it. If you enjoy this type of fantasy story, okay, but to me, it was beyond reasoning. I thank Netgalley for giving me the chance to try it.

What It Seems is a masterpiece of a story.

I love books like this that show the reality of social media.
The writing is phenomenal and I lost myself in Angela’s (scary!) world very easily. There’s a small twist towards the end which I thought was obvious but it’s the haunting way this book unfolds that makes it so incredible!

Thank you NetGalley for this advanced copy, I just could not get into this book. It sounded good but it lost me early on and I gave up.

Emily Bleeker is quickly becoming one of my favorite authors. Her books are fantastic. While I really enjoyed "What it Seems" reading it in one day, there were a few parts of Angela's story that I found a bit unrealistic. Overall, another great book we will recommend. Thank you for the advanced copy.

For Tara, it should have been a new beginning, being adopted out of the foster care system by a loving mother. But her new mother is cruel and controlling, and now 8 years after her adoption, Tara is twenty and knows nothing of the outside world. Her only escape is watching online videos of the Feely family, to her they represent what a real family should be. When the Feely family offers her an internship, Tara believes her prayers have been answered and that she’ll finally have a life away from her controlling adoptive mother. But Tara will soon learn that the Feely’s are far from what they appear and she may have gone from the frying pan to the fire. Tense and creepy

Experimental Excellence. With this book, Bleeker does something she's never done before - writes a tale in first person. And for this particular tale, that was likely the only way to make this story as good as it is. This story involves some pretty heavy abuse, but that actually drives the reader to want to find some resolution... and drove me to complete the 304 page book in less than 12 hrs, which is a rarity even for me. An excellent take on the not-what-it-seems side of a popular cultural phenomenon, while also an excellent tale of survival and what a person will do just to get to the next day. Truly great work from an author I've been following since her debut a few years ago now. Very much recommended.