Mother’s Helper by Julia Crouch

Rachel a social media influencer is determined to be the perfect mother. A soon to be single mother, who knows she will need some help with baby once he/she arrives. Rachel posts an ad on her social media looking for a ‘Mother’s Helper’.

Abbie is a huge fan of Rachel and very excited over the ad. Abbie will do anything for the job. Abbie seems too perfect! What secrets could she be hiding? Does she have a hidden agenda?

Rachel has secrets of her own as well.

Tension, suspense, twists! A good book that kept me interested the entire time!! A good reminder that you can’t always believe someone has the perfect life behind their social media.

Thank you Julia Crouch, Bookouture Audio and NetGalley for the audio to listen to this book in return for my honest review!

Rachel is an Instagram influencer and success is everything to her. She will soon need a mother's helper as she is now pregnant. That is just fine with Abbie. She will take the job. She is certain of it. Obsession and control will make it happen. However, Rachel has no idea the extremes that Abbie went through to get the job. Rather than to worry about Abbie and even to realize how she is perfect - almost too perfect for the job - Rachel is doing everything she can for the child in her belly to be born in as an ideal a world as she can make possible. If this whole pregnancy increases her media success and pushes her likes into the tens of thousands, then all the better.

Rachel will be a single mother, but that is not why she is hiring Abbie to assist her with the baby. Rachel has a unique health issue and knows she will be unable to fully care for her child by herself. She already loves the baby, of that there is no doubt. She will do anything at all for it, and this includes bringing a stranger into her home.

Abbie is fully aware of Rachel's media success, but there is more she knows, much more. How far will Abbie push her way into Rachel's life and will Rachel ever see why Abbie has come to her for the job? Will Rachel ever realize why Abbie seems to be exactly the person she needs?

What is really going on in this captivating story? Rachel and Abbie are about to take an incredible ride that is so twisted, so shocking that the tension rises at an incredible pace, not letting up for one second. Who will end up on top?

I had this ARC as an audiobook and the narration was spot on, especially considering the tension in the story, moreso when the obsession was playing out. This book was so good that I sat in my recliner and listened to it in one sitting, often with bated breath. From beginning to end, Mother's Helper is an incredible read, much like a runaway train that ended with a breathtaking climax.

Many thanks to Bookouture and to NetGalley for this ARC for review. This is my honest opinion.

There’s a lot going on in this one, and at some points it seemed a bit much, but once I finished the book I understood why so many extra details were included p. They helped to wrap the story up successfully.
Rachel is a very active social media influencer who has based everything on being “authentic” and advertised for a mothers helper/nanny as she is expecting her first baby in a few short weeks. Abbie has been a faithful follower of Rachel’s for a while and even though she can’t afford the things that Rachel promotes, she tried her best to live as she thinks Rachel would. When the job becomes available, she does all she can to get it, and she does. She then moves in with Rachel and makes herself invaluable to her and her everyday life. As their relationship develops, it’s not clear who is hiding more secrets, Rachel or Abbie.
This gave off a lot of Single White Female vibes, except Rachel was the one trying to transform Abbie once they started living and working together, but she wasn’t aware of how far Abbie will take things.
The narration was good. There was one voice that was shrill and weird that I didn’t care for, but other than that they were clear and effectively helped to transport you into the story.
A jam packed thrill ride right up to the end, this was a good way to spend my afternoon.
Thanks to Bookouture and Netgalley for this Arc in exchange for my review.

As an “influencer”, Rachel has her plans for childbirth and raising her baby raised to an art form. She wants to be the perfect mom, and she wants all her followers to know it. Still, having a baby and putting all those plans into action isn’t easy, and Rachel settles on the amiable, helpful Abbie to bring those plans to fruition. Of course, nothing is ever as perfect in real life as it is online, and both women have secrets and reasons for keeping them. This is a tense domestic thriller that highlights the impossible standards set by internet sensations and influencers

I received an advanced reader’s copy in exchange for an honest review

I loved this one. Very fast paced, had me turning pages as I tore through it – I had to see how it would end. The characters were well rounded and the narrative felt believable. Gave me chills.

Thank you to Netgalley and Bookouture Audio for this advanced audio copy.

Rachel is an well known influencer with many followers and fans. When she decide to be a mom she also decide to get someone to help her so here comes Abbie her biggest admirer.
She lives with her. She trusts her. But she doesn’t know her… Both women have secrets. The world that is posted on line is much different from the reality. When you are inside is difficult to think different. How all work out? You can immagine or read the book.

I liked the posts before each chapter that presented the dynamics of her blog on IG. It was a drama book but it was a nice listening.