I absolutely loved this book. It was exciting and fast paced. Each page kept me guessing and waiting for more. I kept trying to work out what had happened, but then something changed to alter that view. One of the best books I have read for a long time.

This book was fast paced, suspenseful and had me doubting everyone! Definitely recommend to any domestic thriller lovers!

Dani has just just got out of hospital after a car crash and therapy but can no longer recognise faces.
A slow moving story that had lots of repetition and confusing facts. Unfortunately I could not relate to any of the characters.
Thank you to NetGalley and Bookouture for my e-copy in exchange for an honest review.

OK, this was an OK psychological thriller in my opinion.

Dani and Tate, who is a judge seemed to be leading a happy life. But when an accident happen, that changes Dani's life--she cannot have any more children and she cannot even remember what led to the accident. So when the adoption papers were approved, Dani was overjoyed. But then a woman starts stalking her and Dani wonders if she can trust the people around her.

Honestly, this started out pretty boring. Too much reptitions, too much dialogue and it felt as if it was slow paced and not much of twists and turns. Towards the middle, it got slightly interesting but then the ending was everything about the story was predictable. The plot of the story was however great but nonetheless, too much reptitions, not much twists and turns and an ending that was predictable kind of ruined the story. Dani is labeled out as an unreliable narrator which seemed to be a trend in many psychological thrillers these days but then again, it didn't really do justice to the book.

As the middle part got interesting, overall, this book was an OK thriller though not fast paced or gripping as it should have been. Worth three stars.

Many thanks to Netgalley and Bookouture for the ARC. The review is based on my honest opinion only.

I did enjoy this book but I also felt like it was quite repetitive and the chapters were overly long.

I struggled to get into it as it was quite slow to start, there were twists and overall it was enjoyable but it felt a bit padded out.

Thanks NetGalley and bookouture for the ARC.

I wanted to like this book more but found it a bit too long and felt like the story dragged. The chapters were way too long. It was also repetitive, Dani and her disability and guilt. All the characters here were shady and unlikeable. Did not connect with any of the characters.
Still, thank you so much for the ARC! 😊

“The Adoption” by Jenna Kernan, I think this book may frustrate some readers - it did me for a good proportion of it. The author repeatedly repeats the information that we read and it did become repetitive and somewhat irritating. However as the book progressed it eased off and a great story formed.
Who can Dani trust? Is her husband holding back vital information from her? Can she trust her neighbour?
and why is it so difficult for her to see her twin sister?
A good solid 4 star read.

Dani and her husband, Tate, seem to have the perfect life. But Dani is dealing with the grief of a car accident she caused and with the physical and mental ramifications of the accident.

When Tate decides to adopt a baby, Dani starts having doubts about the legality of process. Knowing she has mental issues, she knows it won’t be an easy process. With the help of her sister, who was in the car at the time of the accident, Dani starts unraveling the truth. Or does she?

I enjoyed the last half book for the most part, but some of the writing was a struggle. I struggled to get into the first half and there were SO MANY things that were repeated, it really took away from the story. Thank you Netgalley and Bookouture for the advanced copy.

Really slow to start but if you can stick with it then it does get better about half way In and had a few unexpected twists and turns that keep it interesting. It all felt abut too dragged out and repetitive to me which took away from my enjoyment of jt but for those who like slower paced thrillers then it'd probably be fine

Thank you Netgalley for an arc in exchange for my honest opinion. The Adoption is set to hit shelves on May 11!

First off, I love thrillers so when I saw this synopsis I figured that this would be the perfect book for me to enjoy, Unfortunately, I did not enjoy this book at all.

This is a very slow starting book and so repetitive that I was really turned off by this book. The immensely long chapters paired with the repetition really drove it home that I was going to struggle with this book. Due to this, I couldn't appreciate the twists because I never got a chance to connect with the characters. It almost felt like the author needed to hit a certain word count so she would add in extra random sentences.

I guess I'm not the reader for this book unfortunately but I'm sure other people may resonate better than I did.

Right away into this book I knew that it was going to be the type of thriller that really grabbed me. I always enjoy books where the main characters have any sort of brain injuries. Our main character in this book, Dani, has a very different brain injury where she can't identify faces. This type of disability seems so traumatic that I can't imagine having to live with this. Add this injury on top of now being unable to have children and Dani is racked with guilt, so she decides to try to adopt a child, since that will be their last chance to be the parents that she so desperately wants to be. When the couple unexpectedly get approved for adoption Dani is confused but her husband's joy and excitement take over and she becomes very excited. It isn't long however when she notices a woman watching her and her baby and she becomes a little rattled. It isn't until she wakes up one night and finds Willow missing that she starts to panic. She starts to do anything and everything to find her lost baby, and that is when the story really takes off as she starts to uncover what is really going on and what really happened with her accident. I really enjoyed this book the characters were very well written. I also really enjoyed the fact that the main character suffered a traumatic brain injury because you don't see that too often in novels, or when you do, they are very much played out. This time, however, it wasn't all of who the main character was it was just a part of her which I thought was a nice change. There were so many twists in this story of all sorts and right when I thought I had it all figured out I would be thrown another curve ball from the author. This book was just full of mystery on every story line and each one was better than the last one. I loved how they all connected even though it didn't seem like they would at all in the beginning and I loved how you got to see this book as a third person perspective because it allowed the author to show you things that our impaired main character Dani, would not have been able to see. The story was amazing however I think it was the way that the characters were written that really hooked me as a reader. I'm so glad that I got the chance to check
out this novel, and this is one that you must read especially if you like books that deal with brain injuries. The ending of this book was amazing and everything I could have hoped for. If all of the rest of Jenna Kernan's books are even half as good as this one then she will be one to watch for sure and I can't wait to see what she comes out with next.

The Adoption is about Dani and her husband Tate; it starts by Dani had a car accident and she is unable to have children. She desperately wants a baby and feels guilty not giving a baby to her husband. She applies for an application for adoption. She is ecstatic when it is approved. She names the baby, Willow. Life is perfect; she has everything she ever wanted. Then, one day she pushes a stroller with Willow in it around the neighborhood and She sees a woman staring at her. She tries to say it is all in her imagination. But one night, she wakes up in the middle of the night and finds Willow missing from her crib. She is frantic to find her baby. Who took Willow from her crib? Is it related to the car accident? This is my first book by this author. The book had me on the edge of my seat. I couldn't wait to see why Willow was taken. I definitely recommend the book.

3.5 stars rounded up

Dani and her husband Tate's life together is almost perfect. But Dani is hunted by guilt for causing a terrible car accident that left her unable to have children. She can't remember why she was driving so fast, that day, or where she was going. Her therapist says she should try and move on. So when their application to adopt is accepted, Dani sobs with joy. As perfect little Willow nestles in her arms, Dani looks at Tate's loving smile and knows he will always provide for his family, no matter what.

The pace is slow to begin with. We are around the 40% mark when the story really kicks off. The first half basically covers the aftermath of the accident and it's very repetitive. You won't know who to trust or where the next twist will appear. I was shocked by the events whilst reading the ending. If the first half of this book had been more interesting this would have been a five star read.

I would like to thank #NetGalley #Bookouture and the author #JennaKernan for my ARC of #TheAdoption in exchange for an honest review;

A slow burn thriller with lots of twists and turns. At times a little repetitive but I think that makes sense given some of the characters state of mind.

What an absolute brilliant book, a slow starter for me in the beginning but then wham I was into it and I couldn't stop reading, the story line was mind blowing and it was a fantastic page turner from the beginning until the end.

All the characters were well developed and I just didn't know who to trust and I have nothing negative to say about this book.

Thank you to Netgalley and Bookouture for this great ARC which I can thoroughly recommend.

I am left with mixed feelings about The Adoption by Jenna Kernan. On the one hand, it is one heck of a psych thriller, where the reader is just about as psyched out as the characters.
On the other hand, my reading of it was almost derailed by (what I saw as) unnecessary and repetitive commentary. I’ll explain this in a minute.
First, the good parts of the book. There are so many twists and layers that I had to read very carefully. Usually, I do not have the patience to dive into a pleasure read, but by simple luck, I read this at the right time to be in the right frame of mind.
Dani returns home after having been committed in a mental hospital for a period of time. That’s really all you need to know, because everything else from that premise is tied up in the mysteries of the book.
There is not actually a lot of character development, which is odd, because the story itself is very detailed. Dani is a wreck, and her husband Tate is a young judge with political aspirations. All other characters are secondary (for the most part).
Tate proves himself to be unreliable very early on. But then, due to her conditions, Dani is also an unreliable narrator – so one of them may be more reliable than it appears.
See what I mean about being psyched out?
Part of Dani’s unreliability is due to a condition called acquired prosopagnosia – also known as face blindness. I’m not going to go into detail here because the author does plenty of that in the first half of the book.
In fact, there are so many mentions of Dani’s afflictions that it got repetitive and boring. Fortunately, at one point, the author decided that was enough and the plot really took off. Unfortunately, that was about halfway through.
What is also odd is that it is barely mentioned in the second half of the book, especially as Dani tries to figure out the truth in her situation. A little more balance would have been nice.
Also because of Dani’s condition, we are expected to believe that she is okay with how her husband goes about the adoption. As someone who is adopted and has adopted, this was one of the toughest parts for me to just let go. Everything about it screamed at me that it was beyond ridiculous.
But it is a psych thriller sooo….<shrug>.
I will also say that I almost stopped reading the book early on when the author kept mentioning the pandemic and (especially) when Dani muses that her newborn is “too young yet for the shot.” This is such a lightning rod topic that it took me right out of the action.
I get that the contemporary setting made the author feel that she needed to include it. Perhaps if more had relied on the mask wearing, it would have felt more natural to the story, especially due to Dani’s problems. As it is, though, it felt gratuitous and not organic.
That being said, if you can get through the repetitive first half of The Adoption, you’ll find that Jenna Kernan has ultimately crafted a multi-layered psych thriller that leaves the reader in knots.

While I would categorize The Adoption as a "can't-put-down," gripping thriller, there are a few reasons why I am only able to give it three stars. First and foremost, the story is unrealistic; the reader is asked to put reality aside and believe quite a lot that would simply never happen. Second, the book starts very slow. The pace does not pick up until at least 1/3 of the way through. Finally, at least a few of the twists were quite predictable.

There were aspects of the book that I did enjoy. I found Dani to be a likable character throughout the book, and I thought the author handled Dani's prosopagnosia or face blindness well. I also found the ending to be reasonably satisfying. And, honestly, I did want to keep reading after each chapter I finished.

On a final note, I did not think that the title appropriately reflected the plot of the book.

The Adoption by Jenna Kernan was my first read from this author, and I am sufficiently intrigued to seek out some of her previous work. While I did find this one to be a bit slow out of the blocks, the momentum increased as the narrative progressed, and I found that I could not stop turning the pages.

Dani has suffered a terrible car crash which has left her with face blindness so severe that she struggles to even remember her husband Tate's features if he is not wearing their agreed upon colour of yellow. Unable to have children as a result of the accident, the couple start the adoption process, and are thrilled when baby Willow comes into their lives. But the realities of new motherhood will have Dani reliving the terrible night of the crash, causing her to question everything she thought she knew. Whom can she trust in a world of uncertainty and unfamiliar faces?

This was an enticing thriller that, while demanding a healthy suspension of disbelief, will certainly keep you entertained.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Bookouture for an ARC.

The Adoption
Jenna Kernan

This is the first book I have read by Jenna Kernan. This book keeps you on the edge of your seat. Just when you think you know what is going on something shifts.

The book opens up rather slowly, and does take a bit to build. But once it takes off, it really takes off. I really felt for Dani and she seemed to be barely holding on throughout the whole story. The lies and betrayal definitely do not help her issues. I know that I couldn’t put this book down, because I wanted to see what would happen next. I read this book in one sitting. If you really want to read something that keeps you second guessing this is the book for you.

I give this book ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Thank you to NetGalley and the Author for the ARC

A story with many twists and turns and the ending was good. Didn't see that one coming. Slightly slow start but I did manage to find it gripping enough to finish it in a day.
Though some things are too descriptive and repetitive, maybe they were meant to throw the reader off track. I was second guessing towards the end.

Dani is dealing with the aftermath of her accident which has left her with facial blindness and also resulted in her twin suffering from a spinal injury. Things move too fast when she is discharged from the hospital and her husband Tate has already got a new born baby girl adopted. But there are layers that are hidden and things don't make sense to Dani. She turns to her sister Shelby, who she talks to on the phone for advice. Finally Dani realises that Tate isn't who she thought he was and she almost has another breakdown finding out the truth.

Thank you Netgalley and Bookouture for the ARC