Wow, this book was quite the whirlwind. My mind was reeling at the end, having gone back and forth between who I believed and trusted multiple times. Even at the end, I really wasn't sure what was true until the very last page. Initially after the main events of the book happened, I found myself a bit disappointed at the lackluster ending to such a twisted story - but that was until the final twist changed everything. The amount of frustration I felt for Joanne throughout this really made me hold on to every word because I was just waiting for her to be vindicated the entire time. The naivety of her husband was equally frustrating but led to a very complex game of cat and mouse. I really liked Nicola Sanders writing style with this and look forward to more from her. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

A chilling deception that reaches in to married life creating an atmosphere of fear and misunderstanding. Clever and twisted in equal measures giving you a few heart stopping moments. Narrator was good at adapting the tension.

I love, love psycological thrillers and this was fantastic.

The writing gave me so many moments I felt like I was Joanne looking over my shoulder.

I kept flipping back and fourth on who did it and I was never happy when I picked one.

Just loved this book.

I'm not sure you can say a book identified in the thriller genre could be described as delightful, but Sanders has blown me away with DON"T LET HER STAY. I absolutely loved every minute of this book.

I love to read thrillers, and when they capture me completely and have me riveted to my seat I have to applaud the author. I highly recommend this book. Whether you listen as Penelope Rawlins narrators the audiobook or the book for yourself, I believe those who share my interest in books will enjoy this tale as much as me.

I will say the setting is a country estate outside of London. It involves a family with a young child and a visiting stepdaughter. I don't want to give any of the storyline away, so you will just have to read it for yourself.

Thank you Netgalley for this ARC of Don't Let Her Stay by Nicola Sanders.

I don't know how I feel about this book. I've read it A LOT. Main character happily tethered to partner, everything right with life. Then partner introduces new person to main character's life. At first it's bliss, then cracks start to show, when main character addresses cracks to partner, partner gaslights, accuses main character of being intolerant, and maybe even weaponizes past mental illness against main character. All the while new person carries on public facade, while being a private nightmare to main character.

If I hadn't already read this multiple times, I probably would have enjoyed it. But since I have, I can't say that this is any different or special from every other book of it's kind. The narration even got on my nerves with a twenty something year old woman skipping up to her dad screaming "daddy!" like a five year old school girl. Ugh.

Conclusion, if you haven't read a book with this kind of premise, read it and enjoy, it is fun. If you have, then I would skip this one, it's been done.

This is a gripping psychological thriller that leaves you wanting more! There are so many twists - it was next to impossible to guess the final outcome!
The protagonist was gaslit the entire book, which is not my favorite thing, and there was some obvious plot points. Otherwise the main character was likeable, as were the rest of the characters, including the “bad guy”.
I did fly through reading this book, and I’m curious to read other works by this author!

Woah, this had me hooked from start to finish I never knew what was the truth and what was a lie. I felt like I was being gaslighted along with Joanne, I felt frustrated along with her and I truly didn't know which character to trust or whether Joanne was actually going crazy. This was really tense and suspenseful throughout the entire book until literally the last page. I also liked that it was a slightly open-ended, usually I don't, however I think it worked well with the overall plot and was another really nice twist. The only thing I found slightly annoying t=was the narrators voice when doing Chloe, although this may have been doing purposefully, I found it very irritating and overly childish and I don't think it fit the age of the character. However apart from this I really enjoyed the book and would highly recommend, you can never get bored and you're guaranteed to be on the edge of your seat throughout.

I received an ARC audio of this book from #NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Joanne married Richard about two years ago. Now she has a beautiful new baby, Evie, and a new house in the country. Everything is going well until Richard's 20-year old daughter, Chloe, comes to stay with them. Chloe has never met Joanne and hasn't spoken to her father since he married Joanne. She says she wants to get to know Joanne and her little sister, but does she really?

The narrator did a fabulous job with Joanne's sections, but I found the high-pitched tone she used for Chloe to be grating.

Overall, I wonder if this book would have read better than it did as an audiobook. The incessant gaslighting became very annoying and even distracting. I am also not a fan of an open-ending. A decent, middle-of-the-road read that could have been superb with a few tweaks. 3/5 stars.

I devoured this book. It was so twisty and with not one but TWO twists at the end. It was such a good read, it encapsulated me the whole way through and I was hooked. So bloody brilliant!

I may be in the minority here, but this one just wasn’t for me. I tried and tried to get into it, but just couldn’t. I struggled through, and didn’t enjoy the characters at all. It was by no means a terrible book, just not for me.

4 stars

I really liked this book. It’s one of many that confirms how much it grates on my nerves to read about characters experiencing intense gaslighting, and a part of that is how realistically some of the dialogue and characterization have been written. I also really enjoyed the whole super-tense, who-do-we-trust-here ending; the dramatic climax of the story was exciting, and it didn’t quite play out how I expected it would. When it’s done well (and it was here), I quite appreciate the whole “surprise twist in the final scene of the novel” thing as well. All in all, I always appreciate a thriller that keeps me entertained and that puts a fresh twist on some of the expected tropes of the genre.

This book is one of those books that you don’t realize how good it is until you do. I really enjoyed this one.
In this story, Richard and Joanne are happily married with a new baby, Evie. She’s a beautiful girl, they live in an amazing house, and Joanne thinks life just couldn’t be any better. Then Richard’s 20 year old daughter arrives.
Chloe hasn’t spoken a word to her father ever since he married JOanne two years prior. However, Chloe now says that she wants to make peace and she will prove herself by moving in for a few weeks in order to help Joanne with baby Evie.
Everything sounds great but then Joanne starts picking up on things here and there that make her start to think she’s losing it. Then Joanne begins to wonder just why Chloe is really there. Is she really there to help or has a terrible mistake been made by letting her move in,
This book reads like any other thriller of this kind at first but I assure you, keep reading. It’s got a great ending that you just don’t want to miss. The story is very well written and the characters will stick with you when you finish for a long time to come. I definitely recommend this one.
I received an audio version of this book from NetGalley and if you like audio it’s a fantastic way to go. The narrator has a way of bringing the story to life and giving it a very creepy edge. It’s incredibly good. You really can’t go wrong with this whether you read the print or listen to the audio.

4.5⭐
Wow wow wow 👌
I highly recommend this fast paced book.
It was beautifully written and very well narated.
The characters were also well developed and it's filled with so many twists.
I was sucked in right from the beginning. Its so unpredictable that it is impossible to put down... with an ending that threw me for a loop.

I found myself yelling at Joanne, this was insane. I mean, really?

Synopsis.
Joanne and Richard are happily married. Their daughter Evie is the most gorgeous baby, they live in a beautiful house… Life couldn’t be better.

Until Richard’s twenty-year-old daughter Chloe turns up. Chloe hasn’t spoken to her father since the day he married Joanne two years ago. But Chloe wants to make peace. She’ll even move in for a few weeks to help Joanne with the new baby.

It sounds perfect, but when things happen that make Joanne feel like she’s losing her mind, she begins to wonder: Is Chloe really here to help? Or has Joanne made a terrible mistake by letting her move in?

And is it too late to ask her to leave?

Thank you NetGalley and Dreamscape Media for this ALC of Don't Let Her Stay

TW: MAJOR gaslighting

I enjoyed the beginning of the work, getting to know the characters and their lives. The conflict was introduced quickly and started off interesting, but then when the gaslighting really kicked in I found this read less enjoyable. I had a difficult time finding it realistic, just because the gaslighting was so over the top. One of the most terrifying things about it is how subtle and twisted it can be, but much of it in this work was so overdone that it felt absurd that the protagonist questioned anything. It also became repetitive to the point where I think the author should have trimmed back some of these scenes. I honestly wondered why Jo didn’t just record conversations on her phone or something similar – it would’ve been so easy. But about 80 to 85 percent in, things escalated quickly, and I found myself caught up in the story again. I quite enjoyed this last portion of the book as well as the conclusion.

Jo wasn’t necessarily a likeable character, but I think that worked well in this book. As for the other characters, I wanted more – her husband was basically just a cardboard man who moved around between work and home and seemed a little changeable when it came to his stance on things and his attitude. Chloe was decently written but again, the way the gaslighting was so heavy handed made me annoyed and it was pretty much her only character trait.

This was a fine domestic thriller that was actually a thriller! DO NOT read this if gaslighting affects you strongly.

What’s better than an unreliable narrator? An unreliable narrator paired with an unstable character. We meet Joann as a happy, but exhausted mother of baby Evie and wife to Richard. Things seem to be fine until Chloe, Richard’s Adult daughter, shows back up in their life. They have been estranged but Chloe wants to get to know her new half sister. The only problem? Chloe and Joann mix like oil and water. They can’t get on the same wavelength. Joann suspects Chloe doesn’t like her, but Richard doesn’t believe her.

There are so many “just a little bits”. There is just a little bit of sinister activity going on. Chloe is just a little bit mean. Richard has just a little bit of a temper. Joann is just a little bit forgetful. Joann’s mom went just a little bit insane. Expect she actually was so unstable that Joann got taken from her. And is Joann heading down the same path? Or is Chloe actually a danger? Or is it Richard that is the threat? It kept me guessing until the last sentence and even then I was still shocked at what was revealed. The audio version was captivating-I found myself looking for more excuses to listen to it. I highly recommend

DNF at 30%

I couldn’t get into this and found the characters extremely annoying and cartoonish. The daughter was particularly obnoxious. Mostly, I can’t take another book with a spineless doormat or and family dysfunction

Sorry!!

Well dayuum. This was a psychological mind ****. I still feel conflicted on what was real and what wasn’t. All I know is this author really knows how to mess with people and I loved it.

I listened to the audiobook version and the narrator was incredible. Different voices and speech patterns for each character. Amazing.

This was twisty and gripping. Aww, I thought I had it!

Joanne is married to Richard and they have a 4-month-old baby girl, Evie. They live in a gorgeous 5-bedroom country home in a quiet village near Chertsey. Richard has an adult daughter Chloe with his late wife but is estranged when he remarried. Chloe has a change of heart and wants to be part of her half-sister's life and decides she wants to move in.

Grab your popcorn! Don't Let Her Stay is an engaging and fast-paced psych thriller. I really enjoy the story which at first seemed pretty tame, but I had a lot of fun with this family dynamic. I feel that someone will have to constantly look over their shoulder. Who can you really trust?

I listened to this terrific audiobook narrated by Penelope Rawlins. I enjoyed her voice and glad I have two more books read by her on my shelf.

Thank you Dreamscape Media and Netgalley for this ALC.

The intro to Don’t Let Her Stay is a well executed hook. We’re dropped into an intense survival situation, a woman attempting to escape with her baby. It definitely worked well to pull me into the story, and then once I was on the hook we jump back three weeks or so to learn of the events leading up to that intro. Joanne is a relatively new mother. She’s happy. She was an adorable bundle of joy, a loving husband, and they live in a nice house…aka she has a lot to lose. Just as she is thinking about going back to work, part time, and is intending to hire a nanny her husband’s somewhat estranged daughter Chloe shows up…looking to patch things up with her dad, even weaseling her way into moving in and taking the role of nanny. Right away you can feel the tension between the Chloe and Joanne. Joanne is being nothing but nice and welcoming while Chloe comes across as one massive/entitled *bleep!*. And things only escalate from there. The story is tense, filled with twists, and I found myself wanting to yell at the characters from time to time as I listened, lol. This is quick and entertaining story that’s made me want to check out Nicola’s previous book. Penelope Rawlins does an excellent job wit the narration. 4.5 stars rounded up to 5. I’d like to thank Dreamscape Media and NetGalley for the opportunity to listen to an advanced copy of the audio version of Don’t Let Her Stay.

https://www.amazon.com/review/RPQRKXLJKUFMO/ref=pe_1098610_137716200_cm_rv_eml_rv0_rv

Don't Let Her Stay had me from the very beginning. Nothing is what is seems and right when you think you have it figured out, you start second guessing yourself. I figured it out but the twists and turns kept me going back and forth. The Narrator did such a good job with all of the characters and the story was well done, though I felt it a bit repetitive in parts. If you like phycological twists and turns kinds of books, this book is for you. I look forward to reading more from Nicola Sanders and thanks to NetGalley for the chance to listen to this audiobook.