Trigger warnings ~ suicide, mental illness, sexual assault

This is a decent debut book.

I was fortunate enough to receive a kindle copy, paperback and the audiobook to review, so I was able to switch back and forth between the three. Ultimately my favorite was the paperback.

Right from the beginning I was drawn into the story wondering who to believe.

Megan wakes up in the hospital not knowing how she got there. She’s adamant that she has had a baby, Luka. Her husband, Stefan (Stef), sister, Sophia, and Dr Mac and nurse, Gemma, assure her she has never had a baby and, in fact, has had a hysterectomy. They, also, tell her that she’s in the psychiatric unit because she attempted to harm herself and Stef, of which she has no recollection of. The mental illness of psychosis was written well.

The story is mostly told in the present by Megan. We do get some ‘before’ insights from Stef’s perspective, which include tidbits about Megan, Sophia and his twin, Isaac. This kept the story flowing at a nice pace, but in turn the secrets came out at a slow pace.

Overall, this was a fast paced psychological/domestic drama debut that will make you wait until the end for all the secrets to be revealed. I am excited to see what Natalie writes next.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book and found it difficult to put down.

The story is about Megan who wakes up one day in a hospital room, believing she's just given birth. However she's shocked to discover she's actually in a psychiatric unit instead. Everyone denies the existence of her baby son, Luka and she begins to feel she can't trust anyone, not even Stef her husband. Why does everyone appear to be lying to her? Or is it Megan herself that is wrong? The deeper she digs, the more lies that become uncovered...

I found the book very well written and the characters engaging, especially Megan, whom I was rooting for all the way. The mental health issues were realistic and sympathetically portrayed. I found Stef fairly unlikable, but possibly this was the point.

The twist was completely unexpected, which was great!

I would definitely recommend this book if you enjoy psychological thrillers, especially ones with unreliable narrators.

Thanks to the author, Natalie Chandler, publishers Headline and Net Galley for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I SWALLOWED THIS BOOK WHOLE. Devoured it. Could not put it down. It was fast paced, twisty & kept me guessing right through to the climax. I’m always nervous when books feature women in the grip of a mental health issue but this was tastefully done & never gratuitous. Also, having worked as a midwife, I actually found it to be a fairly accurate portrayal of the way psychosis can manifest after birth & although this is a thriller, it doesn’t fall into the trope of “mental health issues = evil” which I thoroughly appreciated.

I really enjoyed the writing style, character development & the flashbacks to the past. It’s a compelling look at mental health, familial wounds, trauma bonds & motherhood but flings you so expertly from plot point to plot point that it never feels bogged down in darkness or overdone.

I can’t wait to read more from this author in the future! 👏🏻

Believe Me Not is a decent debut for Natalie Chandler and deals with some sensitive issues well.
Megan is the main character in this book, she has awoken when we meet her in a hospital room after suffering a psychotic break. She starts to remember things but no one will agree with her, her husband denies any knowledge to what Megan remembers, nurses don’t agree with her, her doctor, Dr Mac says it’s what her illness wants her to think and her sister just deviates away from the question. The question Megan wants answering is where is her baby as she definitely had a baby called Luka but she is sure they are keeping him from her.
This was a different kind of read for me and I did enjoy this. The pace was good all the way through and the characters were well developed although if I had to be picky I would have wanted more from the husband as I just thought he was a bit too steady and agreeable for him to make a mark in this book especially when the women were very strong characters. I liked how I read through the book I was still questioning myself close to the end of whether Megan was sane or not, did she have a child or not?
I would like to thank Netgalley and Headline for this ARC I received in exchange for an honest review.

A fantastic debut psychological thriller, that will have you guessing from the first page to the last.

It's told in past and present format, keeping you in suspense, with your brain ticking ten to the dozen as you try to work out wtf is going on.

There's a fantastic twist at the end too (which I wasn't expecting).

I found it very much a character driven read, all of the characters being amazingly flawed, realistic and for those of us who have/or are struggling with our mental health extremely relatable.

Believe Me Not is tense, twisty and a highly enjoyable read which I would recommend.
Many thanks to Headline Books for my tour spot.

Rating ⭐⭐⭐⭐💫 (4.5)

Believe Me Not by Natalie Chandler 🧸

I was invited to participate in a blog tour for this fantastic novel releasing in 3 DAYS! 🥂 thank you @headlinebooks and @netgalley for the advanced readers copy and the invitation!

When Megan woke up in a hospital bed and began asking where her baby is, everybody started to tell her that she has no baby and she is actually in a psychiatric unit. But Megan is certain that she had a child and that every person, including her doctor, sister, and husband, are lying to her. She is determined to find out the truth - but how can you do that if you don’t even trust your own memories?

Rating: ★ ★ ★ ★ ☆ ; what an awesome fast paced popcorn thriller!! The plot definitely sucks you in right from the beginning. And I really couldn’t trust anyone and completely didn’t know if Megan was actually crazy or not?! I loved some characters and disliked others, but thought all of their backstories were interesting and all tied well with the story. This would be a REALLY good tv series 🤩 Natalie Chandler - release another thriller soon?? 🤍

Believe Me Not was not at all what I was expecting but it was very good. It had plenty of twists and turns leaving me not sure what to believe. - it really kept me guessing.

Thank you to NetGalley and Headline for my ARC.

I just finished reading. Believe Me Not by Natalie Chandler and these are my thoughts:

First, a lot of difficult family issues from the past brought forward to the present in this one. I don’t hate that, but it kind of got old. Mental illness is a tricky subject to tackle and I think the author did an okay job with it, but I feel like it could have been done better.

I really dig the character of Sophia, the sister. She’s blunt and pulls no punches, but she’s also suffered her own traumatic experiences to have such a tough exterior and take no sh*t attitude.

Really didn’t care for Megan’s husband in this story. I felt like he was a total pushover and just went with whatever their out of the box thinking doctor said to do. Didn’t care for Dr. Mac either. As he states many times, he “hasn’t done anything wrong,” but he didn’t exactly do much right on Megan’s behalf either.

I thought it was a good story and I would recommend reading it, aside from any pregnancy triggers a reader may have, it was a pretty solid mystery with a lot to unpack.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher, Headline, for an early copy of this book, soon to be released on June 7th!

Let me start off by saying I really like this book!  The story starts strong and builds up to a strong ending. There were a few parts in the book where I was impatient and really just needed the plot to move faster because I needed to know if Luka was real or not. I am also an impatient person all the time so don't hold it against the book 🤷🏻‍♀️ I think it's a good thing that the story caught and held my interest that I needed to keep reading.

I liked Megan's relationship with her sister and her husband. I didn't like Dr. Mac but I don't think he's supposed to be overly likeable anyway.

Ⓡ︎Ⓔ︎Ⓐ︎Ⓓ︎/Ⓛ︎Ⓘ︎Ⓢ︎Ⓣ︎Ⓔ︎Ⓝ︎ Ⓣ︎Ⓞ︎ Ⓣ︎Ⓗ︎Ⓘ︎Ⓢ︎ Ⓑ︎Ⓞ︎Ⓞ︎Ⓚ︎ Ⓘ︎Ⓕ︎

👶🏻 you like a book when a character isn't sure what is real and what is not.
👶🏻 you like interesting family and kinda messed up dynamics
👶🏻 you read thrillers with a lot of twists and turns. 

I'd recommend this book and mark it is as a BUY on the scale of Buy, Bargain, Borrow, Bud (audio) or Bust.  (And yes I came up with the scale. I'm oddly proud of it!)

I'm participating in the book tour on the 12th. I'll post my review closer to that date.

➡️TW: suicide, mental illness (bi-polar/psychosis)

➡️THOUGHTS:
I am so thankful to be a part of this blog tour!
Thank you @HeadlinePublishing and @netgalley for sending me an ebook to devour for my opinion!

The author did a fabulous job making Megan feel crazy. Unreliable narrators are my fave! I enjoyed the dual timelines of past and present- everything tied up nicely and made sense thanks to that! Dr. Mac can go to hell. 😂Sophia, Stef and Megan all have secrets that prove they were shitty people at one point. I loved the twists towards the end.

Overall an engaging, quick read!

Sweep Me Off My Feet John Cena! 😳😯🤯

Holy Moo Moo! Fluff sakes was this one crazy mind fluffer upper! I couldn't trust anyone and I doubted everyone. The constant questions, everyone being a suspect and having secrets definitely kept me on my toes. The only thing missing from this movie-like playing novel was a big bag of movie theatre popcorn!

Mყ 𝐒ყɴ𝐨ρѕιѕ: Megan wakes up in a hospital room with no recollection of the past weeks, due to a supposed psychotic break. But one thing she does remember and is frantic about is where her baby, Luka, is. Her husband, Stef; her sister, Sophia; and psychiatric Dr. Mac, all keep telling her there is no baby and never was one. As determined as she is to prove he's real and tries to unearth anything she can find, can she trust her memories any more than she can her family? And just what are Stef and Sophia keeping from her?

I absolutely loved this whole novel and plot and was sucked in from the beginning. The revelations in the last quarter of the book were unbelievable! It was shock after shock after shock! I did not expect or foresee any of what was revealed, yet I loved it just the same! Be ready to question everything and everyone and your own self & mind. Because it's all a perception of reality, right?

Thank you to NetGalley & Headline for this ARC!
Release Date: June 9, 2022

𝐌𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐭: 4 / 5 Beach Waves! 🌊

Unfortunately, this one did not deliver for me.
It was in no way a thriller I signed up for.
The book explores mental health issues, but it is not thrilling nor keeps you engaged.

Maybe a different blurb would draw a more appropriate audience?

After a bunch of duds that almost put me in a reading slump, this one hooked me from the beginning. I couldn’t stop reading it and couldn’t wait to see what happens.

The plot twist was ok, not what I was expecting. This is my first book by this author and I’m curious about her other books.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for this arc in exchange for my honest review.

Megan's mother suffered from bipolar, her sister suffered an awful teenage incident, and her her husband's family has mental health issues as well.
Megan has memory loss and is under an experimental psychiatrist to retrieve these missing memories.
As Megan has no idea what is going on, it can be confusing to read, but as the past is revealed bit by bit, it becomes clearer.
It is a stretch of the imagination, but a good story.

**Blog Tour Post on June 9th**

Thank you to Headline and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

Believe Me Not by Natalie Chandler is a twisty thriller that will have you guessing the whole time. The story revolves around Megan, who wakes up one day in a hospital bed. She wants to see her baby immediately, but everyone around her tells her that there is no baby. How can this be? Megan remembers giving birth. So why is everyone saying that her baby doesn't exist? Is she crazy or is everyone lying to her?

Here is a chilling excerpt from Chapter 1:

"Even before it became clear she was being held prisoner in a cell masquerading as a hospital room, she knew something was missing. Something physical. Something vital.
What, exactly, she had no idea.
The fluorescent lighting burned into her eyes, their weighted lids begging to close again, but she fought the tempting return to darkness. Her surroundings were blurred, a fluid film mottling her vision, but rapid blinking only cost precious energy and she failed to raise her heavy head from a pillow that smelled of sweat and fear."

Overall, Believe Me Not is an unputdownable thriller with nonstop twists and turns. One highlight of this book is the wonderful story. I loved reading to see if the main character was crazy or not. Did she have a baby or not? Another highlight of this book was the shocking twist. Not only was it shocking, it was also satisfying, which is so important with thrillers. If you're intrigued by the excerpt above, or if you're a fan of thrillers in general, I highly recommend that you check out this book when it comes out in June!

I enjoyed this as an audiobook - not all stories translate to audio but this one did. I would recommend

This was just an okay book for me. It was a good, interesting read, but it wasn’t gripping, it wasn’t suspenseful, and definitely not chilling. I’m not sure if it’s the book or it’s me, though. I’ve read a lot of really great books recently, and when this one didn’t have me on the edge of my seat, I thought it was just okay. The author really does have a good number of twists in the book, one I suspected and a few that I didn’t see coming. One of the things I did love about this book is the support Megan’s family had for her as she was getting help for her mental illness, no matter what. It brought tears to my eyes.

Believe Me Not opens with a nightmare premise when Megan wakes up in hospital to find her baby son missing. However, Megan is forced to question her own sanity when everyone in her life from her husband to her doctor keeps insisting her baby never existed. Having read a lot of psychological thrillers, I was immediately on Megan’s side and kept viewing Megan’s family and doctor with a healthy side-eye. However, just when I thought I had the plot figured out, I was hit with the viewpoint of Megan’s husband. The different perspectives really helped me to get into Megan’s mindset as like her I didn’t know who or what to believe. The twisty nature of this plot kept me guessing right up until the end. Overall, a tense and brilliant read.

A frightening domestic thriller telling the story of a young woman committed to an asylum due to her certainty that she had just had a baby, despite the claims of her spouse and relative. Scary good!

This book was good. I don't think it was amazing but still intriguing enough. It had me guessing as to what was happening. I will pick up more from this author in the future.