A quick, easy read for those who enjoy books with unreliable narrators and surprising twists. It makes one think about the joys and troubles of raising children and how exhausting and worrisome it can be, especially with inattentive or dishonest men in the background. How well can one trust an overly helpful new friend? Why is a menacing man lurking around the neighbourhood and watching? The story is set in Sydney, Australia, but the stay-at-home mothers could be anywhere.


We have Andrea, heavily pregnant and a mother of an active three-year-old boy. Money issues caused by her secretive husband have resulted in them being heavily in debt and moving to a run-down house in a new neighbourhood. Andrea seems both physically and emotionally exhausted. A neighbour, Gemma, befriends her from her lovely home. Gemma writes an advice column for mothers and has many appreciative followers.

The woman, Gemma, and Andrea become friends, and Andrea's son loves visits to Gemma's home, where there are plenty of toys and treats for his enjoyment. Gemma has a teenage son who is rarely home and a husband who travels within the USA. We follow the points of view of the two women and get a creepy feeling that things will not go well and their new friendship will soon explode. Both women are concealing secrets from one another.

I did feel the writing was more about devising surprising, shocking twists than a believable plot. The book was entertaining and motivated me to try to figure out its outcome.
Thanks to NetGalley and Bookouture for the ARC in return for an honest review. The date of publication is January 3, 2023.

First off, the synopsis does no justice for this book! To me it comes off as very vague. The start was a little slow and took me a little while to really get into it and connect with the characters. I always thought there was something a little off with Gabby, something just didn't add up. I was going through all the emotions with Andrea. I know Andrea was tired, but come on girl! You cannot trust anyone with your children in today's time! The first time Gabby babysit I just knew something horrible was going to happen, and the way Andrea just let Gabby off so easily? It was always convenient how Gabby was available when Andrea needed help and how Flinn was never in the picture but was always busy. This ended up being a really great read with some unpredictable twist!

Thank you to Netgalley, Bookouture and Nicole Trope for this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

What did I just read?! You think you have it figured out based on the twists and turns taking you to a place a typically thriller does but then one shock twist after another just blows you over. I devoured this book in a matter of hours and it is so worth the staying up late past your bedtime. Thank you to Netgalley and the Publisher for this ARC

‘Everyone is hiding something.’

This story unfolds through the alternating views of two women: Gabby Burrell, mother of a teenaged son and Andrea Gately, mother of a three-year-old son and heavily pregnant with her second child. Andrea and her family have recently moved into the same street as Gabby. They are living in a rundown house for reasons that will soon become clear. Gabby runs a Facebook page on parenting and befriends Andrea. Gabby is lonely: she admits to having problems with her teenaged son, and her husband Richard she says is absent overseas on business. Andrea has her own problems: juggling pregnancy with the demands of a three-year-old and worrying about her husband Terry.

Gabby, it becomes clear, has mental health issues. And Andrea, because she is overloaded and worried ignores some of the discrepancies in Gabby’s account of her everyday life.

Okay. So how do I avoid spoilers but still convey some sense of the tension that builds as this story races to its conclusion? Suffice to say that Andrea’s trust is misplaced. She arrives home after a false labour alarm to find her son missing. And I will stop there.

This story kept me turning pages as I needed to know how it would end. While some aspects were predictable, there were a couple of twists I did not anticipate. And the ending? It made me uncomfortable,
even though I recognise the truth in it.

If you enjoy psychological thrillers which touch on contemporary issues and challenges, then you may enjoy this.

‘It’s so easy to manipulate everyone, actually.’

Note: My thanks to NetGalley and Bookouture for providing me with a free electronic copy of this book for review purposes.

Jennifer Cameron-Smith

The Stay-at-Home Mother isn't my one of my favorites of Nicole Trope's books. The story is told through two POVs - Andrea, an expecting mother who is new to the neighborhood, and Gabby, the woman who lives across the street with her teenage son and always-traveling husband. The book is mostly about these two women's relationship and their own challenges. Overall, I didn't think there was much mystery or thriller to the book, and the pacing was slow at parts. I also predicted much of the end, which left the book falling flat for me. I've thoroughly enjoyed some of Nicole Trope's other books and I know I will read more of them; however, I wouldn't recommend The Stay-at-Home Mother.

This was an entertaining and fast-paced read.

I think the book-blurb is rather misleading though. The book is about Andrea (mother of toddler Jack and pregnant with his sister) who moves into a dilapidated house in a nice neighbourhood. Andrea makes friends with Gabby - teenage mom to Flynn - across the street. Gabby seems to have it all together and runs a successful parenting advice group on Facebook.

It turns out everyone is hiding something, and despite becoming such good friends quickly, do they really know each other? (Nope!) Can they trust each other? (Also no.)

It was a fun read. I did guess at a couple of the twists. There was one that I didn't think made a lot of sense after finishing the book and thinking it over a bit, but it was a good read and didn't stick out immediately, so it kind of worked.

I'd totally read another book by Nicole Trope. Good entertainment.

Thanks to Netgalley and Bookouture for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

3.5 Stars
The Stay-at-Home Mother is a story of a struggling mother (Andrea) who has moved recently and is expecting her second child. Her neighbor from across the street (Gabby) who has a teenage boy is helping her with looking after her little son but one day when Andrea wakes up she finds Gabby’s house messy and her little son is nowhere…
Told in dual POV, 3rd person, it can be read as a standalone. I really enjoyed this story, the writing was good, but I guessed the main twist right from the beginning but didn’t see that ending coming. Even though it was a bit predictable but still a page-turner and I couldn’t read it faster, it was fast-paced with short chapters. All in all, I had a good time reading it and hope you enjoy it as well.
Thanks to Nicole Trope, Netgalley, and Bookouture for the advanced digital copy in exchange for an honest review (Expected publication: January 3rd, 2023)

WOWWWW!!! That was a very surprising read! I was not expecting all those twists and turns nor expecting to feel all those feels!!

I have never read Nicole Trope’s work before, but she is DEFINITELY one of my new favourite authors as she really knows how to write a psychological thriller!

I read this in 2 sittings because I was dying to find out what was going to happen. The whole book you are on edge wondering and worrying. You know something bad is going to happen, you can just feel it, but you don’t know what it’s going to be.

I hated Gabby, but you do feel sorry for her too because her childhood was so abusive. Andrea was sweet, but I detested her gaslighting husband ugh!

Btw, I don’t like to spoil books for others so I won’t outline what happened step by step like some do. Instead, I will share my feelings and impressions.

This book grabbed me from the start. The characters are so relatable and I even saw myself in Andrea, including the financial troubles we had at one point (from a stock market-playing husband!) I also recognized Gabby in people I know. (Ms.Trope knows Facebook Mothers very well lol.)

I did not guess any of the twists and turns in advance and was truly shocked by how things went! And just when I thought it was going one way, BAM, it went another way all together! Huge elements of surprise in this book.

This book also made me feel really uncomfortable at points, because I got quite sucked into this world of Gabby and Andrea’s and I started to feel what they were feeling. I was starting to feel bummed out by down and out Andrea and then starting to question my own sanity from getting into Gabby’s head. Might be the empath in me??? Lol I don’t know, but a really great read that has you guessing and wondering and worrying the whole time until it’s all revealed through shock after shock. I liked the alternating POV chapters as well btw.

Psychological thrillers are my absolute favourite and knowing Ms.Trope can really write one, I plan to read several of Ms.Trope’s books because did you see all those titles and captivating covers?!!?? Super appealing to me being a wife and mother living in Suburbia lol.

Thank you to Netgalley and Bookouture for the ARC for my honest opinion.

I read the synopsis for this book and immediately wanted to read it! It definitely didn’t disappoint; this was a page-turner that I read in one sitting.

This book is about two women: Andrea and Gabby. Andrea is a stay-at-home mom of a three-year-old, and is also nine months pregnant. Her husband made some mistakes, so they’ve moved into an older, worn-down place and Andrea is striving to forgive, but when she meets their new neighbor, Gabby, everything changes.

Gabby is slightly older, with a teenage son and a Facebook page devoted to mothering. She has women across Australia following her advice, her house is beautiful, and Gabby’s son, Jack, takes an instant liking to her. The reader will soon realize one thing though - Gabby is batshit crazy.

I raced through this and figured out one of the big twists quite early, but there were more surprises to come! This was quite a twisty book, and the last chapter leaves you with the biggest surprise of all - that one I definitely didn’t see coming. This is a perfect afternoon or before-bed book that you definitely won’t want to put down. Four stars for thoroughly entertaining me!

(Thank you to Bookouture, Nicole Trope, and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my review. This book is slated to be released on January 3, 2023.)

"The Stay-At-Home Mother" is a twisted, confusing, gripping page turner with a brilliant story and ending. It's written so well that you won't see anything coming but there are subtle hints along the way! I was hooked from chapter one and it just got better from there. Nicole Trope is a brilliant author with many great books under her belt and this book is a contender at the top of the list!

Riveting book! Really enjoy this author! This is about a young family that moves into a new neighborhood. They meet a little very neighbor across the street who is also a mother. The two becomes fast friends. Everyone is not who they appear to be and their lives are not the way they are portrayed. Don’t want to give any spoilers so that’s all I say. Very well written book!

Nicole Trope’s books are always winners. If you need great, suspenseful reads that don’t go TOO deep; these are perfect. Basically great “beach” reads is how I see them. The Stay at Home Mother was no different. Highly recommend picking all of her books up!

Domestic thrillers are my favorite genre and this one had me on the edge of my seat! The characters were believable, I could picture each one and they - for the most part -- (no spoilers!) acted the way I would have if I found myself in the same situations.. The twists? Wow!. I'm a suspicious person by nature, but those left my head spinning.
It was really interesting to me that author took social media which we all use, added a dash of child endangerment, and created a creepy story that's all-too-possible in our modern world.

Posting this at midnight when I should be sleeping . Take a nap before you start reading so that you can stay awake to finish this. Trust me, not even kidding.

Thank you Netgalley and Bookouture for this ARC, in exchange for my honest review.

Ooook. I was NOT expecting that. 🤯

At first I thought this book was a little slow but I think I feel that way with a lot of books that have long chapters. Not a fan of long chapters. But this book turned out sooooo good!

My mind was blown TWICE. 2 twists that I didn't see coming at all and I loved it!

Andrea made some terrible choices. Terrible. But at the same time, being in her position, I can understand why she would do certain things. But let me make it clear...I would have left my husband after he lost all our money and we had to sell our house. The fact she stuck with that guy is mind boggling to me. I'm also not super tolerant of that stuff. But literally none of the things that happened, would have happened if he didn't do the things he did.

Gabby.

Oh Gabby. I don't know where to begin without giving too much away! So we'll just say holy smokes, she's crazy. Haha.

The second half of this book was intense and I was here for it. I highly recommend this one and I can't wait to check out other stuff by this author!

Thank you Netgalley and Bookouture for an ARC. All opinions are mine and mine alone. :)

Gabby and Andrea live across the street from one another. The two have a lot in common, much more than either of them realizes. Both are stay-at-home mothers and both are hiding terrible secrets.

It seems every suspense-thriller book coming out these days seems to be trying to emulate the Gone Girl unexpected twist in the middle of the story. So much so that the twists have become expected, and therefore almost never a surprise. Well get ready, because Trope has done what so many others could not. I was puzzling over the twist as I read, thinking (quite smugly I’ll admit) that I knew what was going to happen. I had it all wrong. And just when I thought I knew how it would all shake out, another twist popped up.

This is definitely a suspense-thriller worth checking out, an exciting read that will keep you guessing until the very last page.

The Stay-at-Home Mother by Nicole Trope was an okay read for me. The chapters alternate between the points of view of Andrea and Gabby. Andrea has just moved into a new neighborhood with her husband and young son. She is also pregnant.

Gabby is Andrea's neighbor, who has a teenage son, Flynn. One day Flynn goes missing, and Gabby asks for help. However, a woman claims that the picture of Flynn Gabby posted on an international missing children's page is her son.

I would not say this is "a completely addictive psychological thriller packed with jaw-dropping twists." I was not a huge fan of the story. It seemed to take a bit to get the story started, then took forever to end. It really did show how con artists are in action and was a bit creepy, but the slow pace took away from the action.

I usually like Nicole Trope books, but this one left me a bit flat. I will read more from this author, and I think there definitely is an audience for this book. It just wasn't for me.

I rated this a 3.5 (which rounds to 4) because I liked the ending.

#TheStayatHomeMother #NetGalley @bookouture

Oh my, where do I start here? This book was... Something. It was a gripping and interesting read - but it does not even begin to describe what I read.
Even if there would have been way fewer twists, the book would have been awesome. But there were twists and good ones. At one point all I could think was - ok author, you are good, you are so good, you give us a (foreseeable and predictable) twist, make us believe that this is the real twist, and when we are all lulled into believing that we were so smart and had you figured out, you throw in an unexpected shocking twist, nice!
This was my first book by this author, and I am delighted to see that she has written other books I can read at some point later. As I definitely loved this one so much and I want to read more of what she has written.

Firstly, I am thankful for the opportunity to have received a free copy of this Ebook through Netgalley in exchange for my honest review.

I have read a few books from this author before and they have all been 4-5 star reads for me, and this one, once again, did not disappoint.

Switching between two differnt POV's of Andrea and Gabby we are taken through the stories of their lives. Now living as neighbours, but both have secrets they are hiding from one another.

Andrea is heavily pregnant with her second child and totally exhausted. Gabby just wants to help, but she is facing several problems of her own.

Twists and turns make this story an engaging read with twists and turns along the way. Very enjoyable.

I rate this Ebook 5 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ stars and would recommend to those who enjoy their psychological thrillers!

#TheStayatHomeMother #NetGalley

This was a face paced thriller and a quick, easy read. My first book from this author and will be checking out more. I could not put this book down trying to figure out what was going on! The suspense was great and I enjoyed the split pov. However, I did find the twist to be very predictable and was exactly what I expected. Enjoyed this read .

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2
Genre : psychological thriller
I’ve loved every Nicole Trope book I’ve read & this one was no exception. It’s a twisty ride and I enjoyed every page.
Andrea’s husband has put her in such a vulnerable place. Starting over from scratch while pregnant and taking care of her 3 year old. A new town where she has no friends or family close by, leads to her making friends with the neighbor across the street. Gabby seems to be everything Andrea strives for. Perfectly put together with her tidy, beautiful home.
But, how much do you really know about your neighbors? How much do you really know about anyone?
Thanks @Netgalley for the opportunity to read this one early! Be sure to add this to your TBR - out January 3rd!