DNF @ 65%. I really tried with this one. A new mother's helper has tons of opportunity for creepy, psychological thriller moments but this one was too much. Both of the main characters were unlikeable: Rachel, the social media influencer is so fake and difficult to relate to with her # everything and her infatuation with posts, likes, and comments; and Abbie could have been a really great stalker/fangirl villain but just comes off as sad and whiny. I would have continued to plod along but there were some scenes with abuse that I couldn't stomach and I had to give up. There was so much potential here but it was lost in the hashtags.

In The New Mother by Julia Crouch we meet Rachel and Abby. Rachel is a social media influencer who makes her living by posting about products and services she tries and endorses. However, her life is nothing like what is on the posts. In order to appease her followers, she must maintain a “perfect” online persona. In an attempt to gain a new set of followers, Rachel decides to hire a mother’s helper and document the journey. She hires Abby who is already familiar with her from following her and has changed many areas of her life according to the advice Rachel gives on her platform. As Abby gets intertwined in Rachel’s life, she realizes that it’s all a front and her idol is not all she seems. The twists in this novel kept me interested as well as a view into the life of an influencer which may not be as glamorous as it seems. There were some parts that moved too slow for me and a couple twists that seemed a bit of a stretch. Overall, it was a good read for anyone that likes psychological/domestic thrillers..

The narration of the audio book was very good and added to the feel of the story. One thing I’d like to note is that I noticed the title change and I thought the first title The Mother’s Helper was more fitting.

Thank you NetGalley and Bookouture for the opportunity to read and review this advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review.

How well do you know the people around you? Rachel is a social influencer with a bun in the oven and hires Abby to be her soon to be mothers helper. Abby has been following Rachel on social media and knows everything there is to know. Both have a history that the other doesn’t know about.

This book gets to the root of how well do you know the people you work with, the people you invite into your house and even your friends. We should know that social media shows the very best of our lives, but is that rubbing off on all other aspects of our day to day lives? I really like how the characters changed as their secrets slowly came to light.

With the twists and turns as things unraveled, I was on my toes.

Kristy Dillon narrated the audio version and does a great job capturing both Abby and Rachel.

Thank you to NetGalley and Bookouture audio for the early listen!
Very interesting listen. The narrator did a fabulous job narrating! The author and the narrator held my attention to the very end. Great mystery!

This is the first time I have read anything by Julia and it sure has hell wont be the last! I really, really enjoyed it this audio. Which is 12 hours and 11 minutes long and only taken me a few days to devour it. That is pretty quick for an audio . I loved the narrator, Kirsty Dillon who has done a wonderful job of bringing this story to life. I couldn’t get enough of it. I was listening to it any chance that I had. I was even walking further just to get some extra listening time in.

In this book we meet Rachel who is pregnant and looking for live in help, every mother needs help don’t they?! Then along comes Abbie. The woman Rachel decides to give the job to. We follow a story about the relationship between the two woman. The narrators voice really suits the characters and it all felt real and believable.

Which starts off good. then has the story gets deeper something isn’t right but what….I didn’t know . Talk about building up the tension and keeping me guessing. Also loved the humour in the conversations between them. Some making me giggle when Rachel does into labour. You cant beat a mix of humour in a thriller story.

I love the Instagram posts at the end of the chapters with Rachel being a social media influence. Which is clearly shows that this is a modern story. And in all honesty something that I wouldn’t normally read or listen to. I could relate having children myself and going through the pregnancy twice. So for me it was something different and utterly addictive. Not forgetting I have found a new author to read.

Thank you to Bookouture for an ARC of this brilliant audio. All thoughts are my own and not biased in anyway.

𝘎𝘳𝘪𝘱𝘱𝘪𝘯𝘨, 𝘵𝘸𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘺 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘪𝘮𝘱𝘰𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘱𝘶𝘵 𝘥𝘰𝘸𝘯!

What a wild ride, this book was crazy and kept me at the edge of my seat from start to finish. You know I can’t resist a messed up character and Abbie was completely in another level, just wow.

Thank you NetGalley and Bookouture for this ALC.

𝘙𝘦𝘢𝘥 𝘪𝘧 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦: 𝘔𝘺𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘺 𝘛𝘩𝘳𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘳𝘴, 𝘗𝘴𝘺𝘤𝘩𝘰𝘭𝘰𝘨𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘭 𝘛𝘩𝘳𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘳𝘴, 𝘊𝘰𝘮𝘱𝘭𝘦𝘹 𝘊𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘴, 𝘛𝘸𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘺 𝘛𝘩𝘳𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘳𝘴.

https://www.instagram.com/booksandcoffeemx/

The new mother by Julie Crouch.
Narrated by Kirsty Dillon
You live with her. You trust her. But you don’t know her…
Wanted: full-time, live-in help for expectant mother. Must be organised, friendly and willing to do anything.
Rachel is determined to be the perfect mother. She has a birth plan, with a playlist and a bag ready by the door. She’s chosen a lovely light cream paint for the nursery, and in wide-eyed, innocent Abbie she’s found the perfect person to help her with her baby.
Because every mother needs a bit of help, don’t they?
But Rachel needs a little more than most.
She still makes sure her bedroom door is locked before she goes to sleep. She still checks the cameras that are dotted throughout the house.
Rachel trusts Abbie.
She just knows better than to trust herself…
I listened to the audiobook of this. I really enjoyed it. Loved Fran and Rachel. Didn't trust Abbie. 5*.

*Thanks to NetGalley and Bookouture for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review.* As soon as I read the description of this book, I was hooked. It has all of the elements of twists and intrigue that one expects from a domestic noir, but also serves as an interesting exploration of the world of social media influencers. 'The New Mother' focuses on the lives of two women - Rachel, a wildly popular social media influence and Abbie the young woman she hires to be her mother's helper. I am hesitant to describe too much more of the plot, for fear of giving away a spoiler, as there is a twist and surprise around every corner. An enjoyable read, that had me gripped until the end. A couple of scenes that were a little gory for my taste, but I just skimmed through those quickly. Overall, a great read. Surprisingly, I have not read any of Crouch's other books, so I am now excited to explore her previous publications.

Quick word about the narration: perfect!
And as for the book itself, wow! What a rollercoaster this one was. I was not sure who was going to be the crazy one. No spoilers but one of them is a complete fruit loop. A terrifying situation for the other to be put in. This has been one of my favourite recent reads and I am not sure how long it will take me to get over the shock
I forgot to add, the author also deals well with the topic of children separated from their mothers. There is an extremely sad scene towards the end that helps understanding of motive

Unfortunately the audio version failed and I didn’t get past like 30%. Until that point I was very intrigued! Will hopefully check out the full audio when released.

The New Mother
Julia Crouch
Rachel is expecting a baby as a well-known social media (Instagram) influencer with lots of followers she leads a busy life and will need help. She advertised for a mother’s helper: full-time, live-in help, orderly, sociable, and ready to do whatever needed to be done. She found exactly what she was looking for in Abby James. Rachel was determined to be the perfect mother. She had it all planned out, her bag was packed, she had a midwife, the nursery was beautifully decorated and now she had a mother’s helper. Abby came across as naïve, calm, experienced with great references; ideal for assisting with the baby. Abbie follows Rachel on social media and appears to be willing to do anything for her idol. Rachel has shared many aspects of her life including the pregnancy with her followers. While Rachel has hired Abby to be a mother’s helper, she also has a different pla;, she is using Abby on her social media as a before and after project by controlling her nutrition and physical training. Abby began manipulating Rachel and isolating her from her friends and employees.
At first, I wondered if both Rachel and Abby were insane, but it didn’t take long to realize which one was the villain. This psychological thriller has a perception of doom that steadily grows stronger. Rachel feigns to be genuine on camera, but she is a phony. From the opening Abby is dubious. Author Julia Crouch spends the first half of the book slowly drawing the reader in by introducing Rachel, her social media pages and on the beginning relationship between Abby and Rachel. About halfway through the pace speeds up and rushes to a climactic ending.
I enjoyed this tale. The characters were well done including the dog, Sam and the pet bird. Rachel seems to be self-absorbed and obsesses over how many likes she gets on each post. Abbie is also obsessed but over something very different. I knew very little about being a social media influencer until I listened to this book. Author Julia Crouch tackles several aspects of social media: how easy we can be swayed by social media, the damage done by online bullying and the danger in putting too much personal information online.

The New Mother by Julia Crouch.
Thank you to @juliageek @bookouture @netgalley for my audio copy of The New Mother.
Rachel a popular Instagram influencer is expecting her first baby, she wants to be the perfect mother. Every mother needs a bit of help don’t they ? Rachel a little more than most.
Rachel finds Abbie to be a mothers help and also a bit of an Instagram project for her account. Abbie wide eyed and innocent looking seems the perfect person to help her and her baby even though the stories of her past don’t always add up.
A great psychological domestic thriller with some Stephen King Misery vibes. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Rachel, an influencer with thousands of followers, wants to hire a “helper” to support her through her pregnancy and act as a nanny. Abbie was selected after long auditions of possibilities. But Abbie has her own reasons for getting this job that becomes slowly evident as the story progresses.
Influencers are a real example of false advertising. Their use of a product is hinged on the donation by businesses to the promoter: not on the fact they “discovered” a product the reader can’t live without which is the premise of their posts.
This discovery by naive Abbie, who has had Rachel on a pedestal, gnaws at Abbie as she sees how this charade is duping her followers and she become less enamored with her idol and grows more intent on her personal goals in this job. Abbie is a first class manipulator the listener will love to despise but the listener will anxiously await her next devious move.
The listener discovers that Rachel is just as naive as Abbie in spite of her worldly experience, becomes controlled by this stranger and results in a terror filled story. But more that that, it was a eyeopener to the listener to all to the real stories behind all those influencers and bloggers and how they shape the lives and dreams of their readers.
The audio reader made all the characters unique and therefore an easy listen.
My only complaint, and I do know was vital to the story, was listening her say “hashtag” over and over. If I was reading this book I would have skipped over that part but as a listener I was a captive audience.

The New Mother follows Rachel, a social media influencer in her search for a live-in helper. After what seemed like a long serach she finds Abbie, a girl that seems nice, experienced, and who she thinks could also help provide content to her social media. We come to find out Abbie is a dedicated follower and wonder if these woman can trust each other.

The story is very heavy on the social media aspect, which was a first to me, and perhaps a bit too much, so it is something to keep in mind. I wish Rachel being an influencer was mentioned on the description. Even thought it did not work for me so well, I do like that the author made the story relevant and realistic. At first it almost gave me Misery vibes, given that Abbie seems kind of intense, but the story has a lot more to it than just her being a crazy fan. The book seemed to drag on a bit for me, and perhaps it's the fact that it was an audiobook, but the posts seemed a little repetitive and I started loosing my interest. You get some twists, but it just didn't do it for me. This was one of those book in which I don't particularly care for any character. I can't say the writing is bad, I think the plot mainly didn't really entertain me as much. I would give Julia Crouch another shot based on the plot the book. This is a 2.7 for me, because I kind of found myself struggling to return to the book, and I started 2 others while reading it. I also didn't care too much for the ending. This would probably not be on the top of my recommendation list, but I also woul't disencourage someone from reading it and forming their own opinion.

I really loved the social media/influencer aspect of this book. The beginning dragged a little , and there were a few things that happened that weren’t touched on enough in my opinion. Overall I really liked it.

2.5 ⭐

I like books, especially thrillers, with social media influences as protagonists. And The New Mother (prev. Mother's Helper) had many elements of a good thriller, bit for some reason it failed to grip me. I guess the fact that I couldn't relate to any of the characters was my main struggle with this book.

Until about 40% of the book the story was dragging. There were lots of hints and clues about all the secrets these people were hiding, but all in all – it wasn’t all that intense.

Then bam - things suddenly got into the psycho mode. Everything became way more interesting, but by that moment I didn’t really care all that much.

I don't know, I think this is a book you really just have to have some fun with. Maybe overlook a few things and enjoy it as a whole.

It was entertaining enough for me to finish it and quite easy to get through. I just don’t think I’ll remember it in a few months.

A huge thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an audio ARC of The New Mother by Julia Crouch in exchange for an honest review.

'The New Mother' is another cracking thriller from Julia Crouch, it is highly original, and in its audio format, a gripping story to tantalise the earbuds!

The story starts with Rachel Rodrigues, queen of instagram with her wholesome yoga loving ways! Rachel has a ton of young followers, many of whom are beyond excited when Rachel reveals she would like one of her followers to apply for the coveted position of being her 'mothers helper' when 'beansprout' arrives in a few months time.

Devotee, Abby, applies, and woah, do sparks fly! This a story of obsessions, secrets and unfortunate coincidences! Such a gripping tale, and all superbly narrated. This is a book I wouldn't hesitate to recommend.

My thanks to NetGalley, author and publishers for the opportunity to reveal this audiobook in exchange for an advance copy.

An enjoyable thriller that ties in the ever-growing popularity of social media and how it can influence and affect our daily lives. With twists and turns that will keep you entertained, I would recommend this novel.

Thank you to Bookouture, Julia Crouch, and Netgalley for this audio in exchange for an honest review. The narration was awesome. I kept wanting for more. I loved it. 🌟🌟🌟🌟 solid stars from me! A definite must listen for 2021! #TheMother’sHelper #TheNewMother #domesticthriller

I struggled with this one a little bit.

I love the concept and I 100% understand that this kind of crazy social influencer thing exists and people are like this.....but often the details and painstaking way all of this "content" is planned out and created and the way people feed off the likes and public persona. I enjoyed the storyline and I thought it was well written, I would definitely read or listen to more from this author, but as a person squarely in their mid thirties who didn't grow up with this kind of thing.....it just left me feeling overwhelmingly sad for these kinds of people. Possibly this particular book is better marketed at a younger audience.