WOW. I haven't come across a book that has disturbed me quite like The New Mother in a while, and I inhale suspense/thrillers every day. Abby, the MC, is incredibly unpredictable and so, so interesting. It's impossible to look away from her. I need to know what she is up to! And Rachel is painted in such a complex way. I can't hate her, but I also have a hard time loving her. But, like Abby, I need to know what happens to Rachel! Unputdownable. I would recommend to everyone!

Rachel is an influencer promoting healthy lifestyles and luxury products through her social media accounts. Abbie is one of Rachel’s followers. She has lead a hard life coming through the British foster care system. Abbie applies to be Rachel’s mother’s helper. She thinks living with Rachel will be her dream job. In Abbie, Rachel sees an opportunity to transform an ugly duckling into a swan thus demonstrating how well her system works. Both of the woman are hiding dark secrets. Crouch does an excellent job of building suspense and keeping the reader engaged. I found this book hard to put down.

In a Nutshell: A decent thriller that starts off tame but becomes more and more menacing as it progresses.

Story:
Rachel is a highly popular social media influencer with a huge YA fan following on Instagram. Now preganant, she is subtly trying to change her brand and has already organised her plans towards the new target audience with the help of her best friend cum lawyer Fran. To help her with the pregnancy and baby, she is in search for the perfect “mother’s helper”. After a well-publicised search and multiple screenings, Rachel and Fran zoom in on Abbie, the plain-Jane who is shy but also a self-proclaimed “Rachel’s biggest fan”. Abbie soon makes a firm mark in Rachel’s life. It soon becomes clear that each of these three ladies has a secret agenda, quite unlike the façade they put on before the others.

The original title of this book was “Mother's Helper”. I’m not sure why the title was changed but the new title doesn’t suit the book at all. If you read the book, you'll know why.

This isn’t a thriller where you will wonder who is the bad party. The villain is clear right from the start. The thrill is more in knowing the how and the when. And the ‘how’ was quite interesting as the mental stability of the villain came more and more into question with every subsequent chapter. I enjoyed the first half of the story far more. The second half becomes too farfetched to digest easily. A couple of scenes left me feeling very uncomfortable. If you are squeamish about physical/bloody violence, consider yourself warned. (Let me add at this point itself: there are some animal-related trigger scenes too.)

There are no major surprises as such, no twists which will cause you to yell “OMG!!” If you have read a fair number of thrillers, you will be able to guess most of the surprises well before they occur. But the writing (and narration) was such that I was fairly invested in the story. I've got to appreciate the author's eye for detail. Wherever I had a doubt about why something happened or why some other action couldn't have been taken, I remembered an earlier hint in the story that pointed at the contrary. The author tried to plug in the logical gaps wherever she could rather than leaving them unexplained as so many contemporary thrillers do.

I enjoyed the various Instagram posts also that acted as fillers in between the chapters. They showed a glimpse of how Rachel’s online persona had changed over the years, and the number of likes also gave a subtle hint about the rise and fall of her status as a social media influencer. The story puts a strong spotlight on the fake, filtered lives of Insta-influencers.

In terms of characters, the book was a slight disappointment. There are hardly any impactful male characters. It is a women’s show all through. Yet I couldn’t really like any of the leading ladies. Fran had the greatest potential to be memorable, I suppose, but she too had her shortcomings and she didn’t have enough of page space to make a greater impact. Rachel was annoying and Abbie was creepy. While their back stories attempted to explain some of their behavioural issues, I still didn’t find them too interesting.

I heard the audiobook as narrated by Kirsty Dillon and she does a fabulous job. With distinct voices for each of the characters, she leaves no confusion in our minds about which character was being voiced. For a book that has mainly women characters and just one female narrator, this is a great performance. The audio version clocks at a little more than 12 hours and it’s an enjoyable ride with this wonderful narrator.

Rating this book was a bit of a confusing task for me. The first half was a steady 4.25, but with the over-the-top thrills coming in the second half, my rating began to dip. I might have settled at 3.5 stars, but I ought to give the narrator her due. So 3.75 stars it is.

Go for the book if you are looking for a fairly well-written contemporary thriller with some dysfunctional ladies at the helm.

My thanks to Bookouture Audio and NetGalley for the audio ARC of the book in exchange for an honest review.

This book was originally titled Mothers Helper which I actually think was a better title for the book, it seemed more fitting.
The chapters are told mainly from the point of view of Rachel Rodriguez a social media influencer and her mother's helper Abbie.
I enjoyed this one, and found myself looking forward to plugging in to it at any opportunity.  I've read a lot of thrillers over the last couple of years, so I can't say I was particularly surprised by any of the twists that happened in this book, but it was an enjoyable listen nevertheless.
My rating is 3.5 stars

Thank you NetGalley and Bookouture for the advanced reader copy of The New Mother by Julia Crouch in exchange for honest review.
The story was about Rachel an Instagram Influencer hiring a mother's helper. It was a ​mixture of family, fame, media frenzy and mystery. The characters were interesting. Rachel's character was realistic potrayal of current social media lifestyle of hiding reality behind hashtags. Abby the fangirl fanatic character fit perfectly in it. The
narrator Kirsty Dillon made the story more engaging.
Overall a good book to pass time.

Rachel Rodriguez (RR) is a social media influencer and her entire personal brand is "authenticity". RR is pregnant and hires a mother's helper. Abbie seems to be the perfect candidate, so she's hired!

Things go well for a while, Abbie is eager to help and gets on well with RR. Those closest to Rachel get a weird vibe from Abbie, but Rachel just doesn't see it. She's trying to transform Abbie into a better person, but little does she know, Abbie is trying to do the same to her.

Everyone has their secrets, but who has more - Abbie or Rachel? Rachel thought she could trust Abbie, but didn't see her entire life being changed before her eyes. When the truth comes out, we have to decide whose secrets are worse.

This was a decent thriller. There wasn't a big "aha!" moment for me because it was revealed early on in the story. It was more of a tense, uncomfortable reading journey for me. I wanted to jump through the pages and tell Rachel to open her eyes! This was my first Julia Crouch novel and I am definitely interested in reading more. I prefer my thrillers to really throw me off and make me question everything, so hopefully some of her other works will deliver!

***ARC provided by the publisher via Netgalley.co.uk in return for an honest review ***

Social media influencer Rachel is determined to be the insta perfect mother. After placing an ad on her Instagram for a "mother's helper" she employs Abbie. Not only does Abbie come with glowing references but she is also the perfect "before" for Rachel to turn into an "after". However, it turns out that there may be a little more to Abbie...

I read this in a day! I was hooked immediately. It was full of twists and turns that made it unputdownable. This was such an easy read and so thrilling from start to finish.

I would absolutely recommend this book.

Social influencer! I got this as an audiobook and It was rather annoying to listen to the narrator read out and describe social media posts. I think maybe if I read the book, vs listening to it I might have had a different feel for it. The book was a little slow at first but I stuck with it and damn can we say there is a full on cat fight at the end!

The New Mother by Julia Crouch is AMAZING! This will be a book I will like to have a hard copy of, to read down the road.

The narrator, Kirsty Dillon, makes the characters come to life with her dialogue. The cadence and inflections in her voice and tone are perfect! I will be searching for more of her work to listen to.

The story! RR (Rachael), is finally pregnant. As a single woman who makes her living on Social Media, she is in need of help. So many people in the world have Nanny’s, and Mother’s Helpers, Rachael is about to join them on this journey. Who though, is right to bring into her world? After losing so many people, she needs to make sure this person is JUST right to handle her baby, and HER.

THIS is where Abby comes in. She is PERFECT!! She seems great on paper, and becomes essential in Rachael’s life.

Rachel’s best friend Fran, has some gut feelings that she can’t really shake. Her and Rachael have been through, a lot! Is Abby capable of taking care of her best friend, her baby, AND keep the secrets that need to be kept?

I’m not personally into “hashtag” speak, (which comes in at the end of chapters with Rachael’s posts), but I was able to get through it and kept
wanting MORE! A story that’s hard to put down!

I am excited to see what Julia Crouch comes up with next, and hope to get a sneak peek like I was able to with this one. Thank you to: #netgalley #julia crouch #Kirsty Dillon #Bookouture

I really enjoyed listening to this audiobook. It was really interesting to see into the life of an ‘influencer’ and the twists towards the end kept me on the edge of my seat!!
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Thank you to NetGalley and Bookouture for letting me review this audiobook!

Not a solid 3 stars. I would say between 2.5 or 2.75 stars. It was interesting and relevant to today's world with social media influencers and their behind-the-scenes lives. It dragged a bit in the first half - I was thinking...where is the "thrill" in this thriller? It did deliver the "thrill" and suspense towards the end at least but I have to say I was not as focused. Narrator was good but I did get mixed up with the different characters (most of them were female).

Thank you to Netgalley, Bookouture Audio, Bookouture for this ALC. #MothersHelper #NetGalley

I really enjoyed this audiobook, which is a psychological thriller about a woman called Rachel, who is pregnant and is looking for a mother's helper. Rachel has the perfect influencer life, which she shows off on instagram. Abbie gets the job of helping Rachel and being a part of her influencer lifestyle, but is she really who she says she is? I found this book quite creepy and it kept me enthralled. I loved it and highly recommend it.

The narrator of the book did a very good job.

Many thanks to the author, publisher and NetGalley for a copy of this audiobook in exchange for an honest review.

3.5 stars

Rachel Rodrigues, called RR by her followers, has been a popular social media influencer for a decade. Rachel peddles exercise routines, athletic wear, bath products, beauty lotions, health foods, and so on - and even has yoga workouts and cookery videos on YouTube.

Rachel is in her late thirties though, and fears she's losing followers to young new internet stars. So Rachel decides to have a baby, so she can post the ongoing story of her pregnancy, delivery, and motherhood. Rachel hopes this will attract mothers-to-be to her social media sites and provide the opportunity to hawk prenatal and baby products.

Rachel and her best friend Fran, who've known each other for decades, plan Rachel's social media transition together. Since Rachel will need help with the baby, they advertise for a mother's helper. The successful applicant must have good references; sign a non-disclosure agreement; and agree to be photographed for Rachel's posts.

After interviewing applicants for three days, Fran favors a fit young woman with an outgoing personality. However, Rachel - who's always looking for stories for her Instagram - opts for a quiet out-of-shape candidate named Abbie James, who has overbleached hair and bad makeup. Rachel plans to 'fix' Abbie, and post about Abbie's step-by-step improvement, which she'll call Abbie's journey.

Abbie isn't the naïf she appears to be, however, and has an agenda of her own. Abbie considers herself Rachel's biggest fan, and lied and schemed to become Rachel's mother's helper. Now Abbie plans to insinuate herself so deeply into Rachel's life that she becomes indispensable. Thus Abbie is dismayed to learn that Rachel's posts don't reflect her real life, but are meticulously coordinated by a hairdresser, make-up artist, fashion consultant, photographer, and business manager. Still, Abbie is thrilled with her lovely rooms in Rachel's country home, and Rachel is pleased to have company as she awaits the imminent birth of her baby.

This sanguine picture soon begins to crack, because both Rachel and Abbie have dark secrets. Rachel's troubles began with an incident two decades ago; and Abbie's problems stem from a terrible childhood in foster homes. Both women are damaged, with histories of substance abuse, and they struggle with their cravings.

The story is interspersed with Rachel's Instagram posts, mentioning the number of 'likes', the images, and the products being advertised. There are also frequent updates about Abby's journey, as she gets a makeover, works out, and becomes more fit. These posts inevitably attract internet trolls, and Rachel is infuriated by the criticism.

The book starts to become ominous at this point, as Abbie becomes increasingly aggressive and manipulative and Rachel's pregnancy fugue clouds her mind. The novel now morphs into a thriller that heads for a dramatic denouement.

The audiobook is excellently narrated by Kirsty Dillon, who provides a unique voice for each character.

Thanks to Netgalley, Julia Crouch, and Bookouture for a copy of the book.

There is a theme within this book that isn’t mentioned in the blurb which I think should be as it’s an important part of the storyline. I wouldn’t class it as a spoiler so wondering why it’s not mentioned as it’s the one part of the book I really liked and I found it interesting to the point of eye opening. To begin with this listen really dragged but then picked up and got going. It’s interesting to see where the story is going but I did find certain aspects very unbelievable. It was all to convenient. The characters are very unlikeable for the duration but towards the end I did change my opinion somewhat on some. The narration was engaging and worked well. I’m not sure I’ll remember this book as it lacked the creepy, psychological aspect and all fitted together to easily. For me it didn’t live up to it’s potential.

2.5/5 🌟🌟/🌟

Thanks to Netgalley and Bookouture Audio for the opportunity to listen to and review this ARC that was published on the 12th of Oct.

Never wish for what you want for you just may get it. Rachel is a successful social media influencer. As a part of her career she is always looking for the next hook to draw her followers in to her perfect world and keep them coming back for more. Rachel is determined to show them all what an amazing mother she can be and how perfect the next stage in her life is going to be with the birth of her child. Knowing she really can’t do it all while curating the illusion of perfection she seeks help. Thinking she has found the perfect person to help her continue to share her perfect life with Abbie. Talk about letting the fox into the hen house! It’s a well written psychological thriller that had me on the edge go my seat. It’s gripping and creepy, but quite compelling.

Hmmm, not really sure how I feel about this audiobook. I think the only reason I finished it was because I liked the narrator. Rachel was one of the most irritating self-centered people I have come across in a book! The constant hashtag references were really irritating. The story was dragged out and seemed to be wordy for the sake of filling up the word count. However, that was until the last 20% of the book. Then it became really good and I couldn't stop reading it. Even Rachel became a more interesting character. I am glad I stuck with it.

Very suspenseful and a great audiobook. Would make an excellent movie. You won’t know which character is more evil until the end. Lots of twists and turns.

I started this book thinking it would go one direction and then it went completely off the rails. I was not expecting the surprises this story threw at me. I’m not sure I would have read it if I had known some of the extremely cruel events that took place during the course of this story. I only finished listening to this book because I had to know the ending, and that it would hopefully end well. The New Mother is about Rachel, a single, pregnant, social media influencer who hires Abby to be her live in mother’s helper and erstwhile makeover project leading up to the birth of the baby. I think it’s appropriate to say that this book should come with some content warnings: kidnapping, torture, and extreme mental health issues are found here. If you like reading about influencers and enjoy thrillers than this book is for you. Thank you to @netgalley for the free audiobook.

Rachel is annoying. A lot of books these days assume that the reader doesn't know how fake instagram influencers are and therefore think they are pulling back the cover. They just aren't that interesting. Rachel is one of those influencers and hires Abbie to help her with her pregnancy and new baby. What she really wants is a new cast member in her little insta-play. She plans to use Abbie. She underestimates Abbie and doesn't have anyone else around to truly help her through the mess being made. Probably because she surrounded herself with sycophants and cast member instead of friends. Both characters were a bit over the top, but not in that fun way. Just annoying.

Ok, maybe it’s just that audio books aren’t doing it for me right now, but this was, in my opinion, a bit boring. It felt like it truly did not pick up until about 80% into it. I had a hard time keeping my attention enough to listen to the story.

It did however pick up at the end and more is revealed little by little, so I did see it through to the end.

This personally was not fast paced enough for me. I like a good edge of your seat thriller & this just was not it. With that said, it wasn’t horrible just not for me. Some of it was also a bit far fetched. There seemed to be too many coincidences to make the story fit for my liking.