This audiobook has 2 narrators. While both did a good job being expressive and fluent, the older narrator did so well that I almost believed she was Eva. 

This story follows the ups and downs of a couple sisters and their families, as well as their mom, while the police investigate the death of a little girl in their neighborhood. During the course of investigation the police alternately suspect the one sister's husband and the other sister's son. After moments of doubt, anger and a final screaming match they decide to work together with their mom to clear both of their guys and find the real killer. 

I loved how real all of the characters felt.  I had a special connection to the grandmother, Eva, as she seemed to do, think and say what I would have in the same situations. 

This was an interesting and compelling story that was told well.  I would definitely recommend it to adults and older teens.

While I enjoyed the premise of the story, I had a hard time following along. Perhaps it would have been different if I read it versus the audiobook.  The narration was fine, it was the story itself that I struggled with.  The twists and the turns came a little too late for me.  I didn't love the characters, couldn't relate.

I'm not giving up on this author and look forward to reading her other works.

Entertaining story with great narration. It's a dark and cozy story with various layers. I appreciated the narration of the audio book because it kept me engaged and absorbed in the story. The story itself was well executed and I enjoyed the dynamics involving the neighborhood and family.

While I can honestly say I didn’t love this book, I can’t honestly say I didn’t like it either. It was just ok. Although I did appreciate that it was a quick read, it still managed to be a very slow burn. I did like the various POV, and there were several times that I didn’t see the twist coming, but in the end, there was no big “wow” moment they put it over the top. 
It was a family drama, and as soon as all signs pointed to the one character, I knew he wasn’t going to end up being the killer. Although, to be fair, who the killer ended up being just kinda seemed thrown in at the last minute. I did like the mother’s character, Eva. But other than that it just kinda came up short to me. I did enjoy the audiobook narration though. 
All in all, it wasn’t a bad book, it just didn’t stand out in the crowd.

“You can’t know everything all the time despite your desire to.” 

Hannah, a single mother with a questionably troubled son, moves next door to her sister in an upscale neighborhood hoping for a fresh start. Almost immediately after moving in a young girl goes missing and her son, a boy with a strange attachment to dead or dying animals, is a prime suspect. Desperate to protect her son she will point the finger anywhere else she can...including her own sisters husband. As tensions mount and loyalties are questioned, will the killer of this innocent little girl be found? And will this family be able to stay intact when they discover who is truly to blame? 

Well this is a first for me. I actually rounded UP my star rating based on the narration of this audio book. The story...meh. I struggled to stay focused at different points because not a lot was happening. Like at all. During most of the book. 

The narrator for Eva, the grandmother, was superb! Her voice gave the character life and heart. I found myself looking forward to her chapters and wanting to skip over Hannah’s. 

Thank you to netgalley for this audio ARC in exchange for an honest review. Available now!

I was thrilled to get approved for this audiobook on NetGalley, as the premise was so intriguing to me. 
I thought the 2 main characters were strong and the narrators were well chosen, they suited the characters well.
The plot just didn't deliver for me, I felt it was too slow and I found myself not fully engaged at certain times throughout.

The narrators did a great job for this audio book.  The story, however, was off to a choppy start. Hannah, mom of Miles, sister to Hillary, and daughter of Eva is the main character.  I didn't really feel I knew the character of Hannah until about half way through.  It was confusing why the author held back the reason for Hannah's relocation, next door to her sister Hillary's family, for so long in the story.  It was also confusing about how Eva raised her daughters for way too long. I don't think I ever was convinced that Miles did anything wrong (the title), so why would the people, including the police, in the story think so? #netgalley #notmyboy

Not my boy asks the question how far is a mother willing to go to protect her only son? This book took the reader on a whirlwind ride. Every time I thought I knew something for sure, this author showed me just how wrong I could be. The sister character’s of Hannah and Hillary were believable. At times I might not have liked them, but I couldn’t stop listening to their story. I really enjoyed the 2 different narrators for this book. I’ve heard them both in the past and they did a fantastic job this time around. I felt like the narrator that voiced Eva the mother became that character! A very well written mystery. I’ve purchased the ebook, downloadable audiobook, and the print book for my library. Thank you to Netgalley for providing me with an advanced copy of the audiobook for review.

The book grabbed me early on but then it kind of dragged..  i usually love multiplr6POV books but that didn't help here.  I didn't really like any of the characters either.  The author really set the atmosphere and the descriptions were good.

This book has two narrators who fit their characters well.
I liked the story but it also annoyed me. I cannot stand a book where people have information they don’t tell the police, but investigate themselves. It just doesn’t make sense. 
I loved the summing up of the boy, Miles, by his grandmother at the end of the book. That part was beautiful

This book was a pretty solid mystery!

I enjoyed the writing style, the alternating perspective between the mom and her two adult children made it a compelling listen and the narration was excellent, 

I did like the end as far as the main characters were involved, but didn't love the parts immediately preceding the end, I didn’t feel like we got enough clues leading in the direction it went and I thought the amateur sleuthing at poker night section was pretty silly. That being said, I enjoyed it while listening and would definitely try more from this author.

“Not My Boy” by Kelly Simmons, a murder mystery in a small, supposedly close-knit neighborhood. 

I was captivated by the way the author brought together the mundane family drama, the uniqueness of a young boy, an inquisitive grandmother, a predator hiding in the community and the horror of finding a dead child.

I received this book through netgalley and the publisher, Recorded Books in exchange for an honest review.  

Hannah moves into next door to her sister and within weeks a young girl is missing and then found dead.  With Hannah's son and her sisters husband as suspects each sister struggles with what to do.  Hannah is determined to protect her son.  An awkward boy who relates better to animals than people. They left their last neighborhood when he started being bullied for killing animals, even though that was never proven.  Trying to make a fresh start this new mystery is scaring Hannah and she isn't sure where to turn.  

Small communities have a way of knowing everyone else business and are quick to turn on you in the blink of an eye.  Especially when the community has wealth, and the new community Hannah moves into has wealth.  I found this story interesting and realistic.  How Hannah and her sister are so freaked out they start going at each other instead of looking at the bigger picture until their mother steps in.  This is a family drama as much as a mystery.  With the mother not knowing where she fits, struggling to find a way to connect with her grandchildren. 

I didn't realize it when I requested this book but it is set in the area in which I live.  So hearing about certain places or city names brought a jolt of recognition and I was able to understand some of the cliquish ways of the neighborhood. The narration was excellent, I could feel Hannah's desperation and her mothers need to be helpful but also feeling that just her age made her invisible.  I really enjoyed this and was glad that it was wrapped up at the end.

Rating: 2 🍷 🍷 
Book: Not My Boy
Release Date: Available Now!!! (Released on Jan 5, 2021)
Author: Not My Boy
Genre: Mystery & Thrillers/Women’s Fiction

Sipping Synopsis: Hannah and her sister, Hillary, were close and usually inseparable. So much so that Hannah decided to move next door to her sister. It doesn’t matter that she really moved to get a new start for her son, Miles. It doesn’t matter that she is running away from something that Miles may have done in their last neighborhood and school. It doesn’t matter that they have been in their new house for less than a week and a little girl goes missing, or does it? So why not just throw suspicion on your sister’s husband? May the best liar win! 

Final sipping thoughts: I had a lot of hope for this book-as in any book one would choose to read. Reading the synopsis made me think it was going to be a huge mystery. Unfortunately, it fell short for me. I did not like the grandma or the sisters. They were just unlikable characters. The only likable character was the little boy, Miles. I felt like I was waiting on a buildup, a climax, a turn in action and it just didn’t happen-very anti-climatic. Just when I thought that there was about to be some action the story would just plateau. 

I was able to have an electronic an audio version of this book. I enjoyed the narrators Morgan Hallett and Suzanne Toren. I am not sure if the grandmother’s voice was supposed to sound sneaky and duplicitous but that is what I got and I loved it enough to hate her character! 

Cheers and thank you to @NetGalley, @RBMedia and @SourcebooksLandmarks for an advanced copy of @NotMyBoy

#NotMyBoy #SourcebooksLandmark #RBMedia #NetGalley #advancedreadercopy #ARC #Kindle #Booksofinstagram #readersofinstagram #bookstagram #nicoles_bookcellar #bookworm #bookdragon #booknerd #booklover #bookstagrammer #bookaholic #bookreview #bookreviewer #IHaveNoShelfControl #fiction #thriller #suspense #mystery #MysteryAndThrillers #WomensFiction

I received a copy of this audiobook for my honest opinion. I was hooked immediately by the blurb so I was excited to get a copy! When i first started listening I was really into the story. However, I fell off about midway. I did finish and was surprised by the ending but I honestly wasn't fully captivated by the middle of the book.

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Not My Boy arrived in my mailbox last week and I had downloaded an ALC from @netgalley the same day. 
After her divorce, Hannah moved in next door to her sister in an affluent neighborhood.  Her son, Miles, had been bullied at his previous school and Hannah is hoping that he will have a fresh start.  Just after moving in, a young girl goes missing and Miles is the target of the police investigation.
The novel is told from the point of view of Hannah and her mother, Eva.  It was a good mix of family drama and thriller, and I enjoyed the audiobook and both narrators.  It fell a little flat for me, but it had some good twists and I love a story with a messed up family. 
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Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the e-ARC of this audiobook.

I liked the premise of this one, and liked the characters, but didn’t find it to be the page turner I wished it was.

Blurb sounded interesting. Unfortunately it was a very very slow burn. Loved the authors style of writing but the storyline was were it fell down. It just wasn’t interesting enough to keep my interest and I found I was bored at times. I was waiting for it to really get going but it just didn’t happen. It was very anti-climatic and lacked the suspense and shock factor that you needed to keep listening. Really liked the dual narrators and they really suited the characters. It was an ok listen to get you through the housework.

While I am typically a huge fan of mysteries and crime novels, this one just didn't hit home for me. I didn't find the main characters interesting or particularly engaging. While the premise was good and kept me engaged, much of it I felt like could've been left behind. It was also written oddly in flash forwards and flash backs. I'd get glimpses of exciting action, flash forward to the aftermath, and then flash back to the action. This left the action somehow a bit of a let down? It just didn't keep me gripped the way I wanted it to.

I received an advanced copy of this audiobook from the publisher through netgalley in exchange for an honest review.  This book is well written and the characters are described well. The pacing is good. It keeps your attention from the first minute of listening. All of the characters are good. The family relationships within this book is well written. It is perfect for the mystery thriller genre. The writing style makes me think of Ruth Ware books and Colleen Hoover's book Verity. The narrators did a great job reading this book.  The author did a fantastic job writing this book. I highly highly recommend listening to this book to anyone and everyone. It is in stores now for $19.99 (USD).