I thoroughly enjoyed reading 'THE BABY' by AJ Mcdine. Having read a couple of titles by the author before, I was keen to dive in. The book hooks you immediately, and you are desperate to find out what has happened with this baby. The readers are as invested as the protagonist, but her character flaws make her much more relatable too, which makes her more appealing as a character. The manuscript twists and turns, and the reveals are well plotted. I must admit, I did guess the ultimate twist at the end of the novel, but still enjoyed the journey to it, so it doesn't really matter.

The only downside was I did find Miles perhaps a little too easy to see through; we weren't as suckered in as the women in the novel, which perhaps made it harder to engage with them, but nonetheless a great psych thriller!

I was fortunate to receive an ARC of this book from the author.

The premise was intriguing and the first few pages really set the scene. Lucy has woken up to find a baby in her living room but has no idea how it got there. Was it because she drank too much and has forgotten, or is there more to it?

I did guess what had happened to Lucy, but it didn't detract from my enjoyment of the story at all and there were twists at the end which I had not expected!

My favourite quote:
"'Hope neither of you are veggie?' He made it sound like being vegetarian was a disability rather than a life choice."

Lucy’s husband Miles works on an oil rig and is away for weeks at a time. To combat her loneliness, she drinks heavily during the evenings. One morning after blacking out the night before, she wakes up and finds a swaddled baby in her living room tucked away in a wooden drawer. Lucy wants nothing more than to have a family, and she struggles with what she should do with the baby.

I found this story to be very entertaining and I often found myself thinking about it while I was working. I really wanted to sneak in another chapter instead of working! When you work from home the temptation is real 😁. I had to know who the baby belonged to and how it ended up in her living room!

There are quite a few twists that will leave you glued to the pages and the sheer craziness going on really keeps you entertained. If you are a fan of popcorn thrillers, then you will enjoy this!

Thank you to @ajmcdineauthor for providing me with an e- copy to read and review. I look forward to reading more of this author's work in the future!

This book started off with a bang right from the start. I was entertained the whole way through and couldnt put it down. The characters were great and I highly recommend it.

Wow - this one was a page turner. I started and finished this in one day because I was so captured by the story and the characters. Each character had very distinct personalities that were fun to follow because you couldn't fully trust any of them. I really wasn't sure where this was going to go but was excited to see how things played out. I definitely did not see things ending the way they did and felt a nice sense of karmic justice at the end. I knew some twists were coming and had a feeling one of them was coming but didn't foresee the others. This was pretty well done and I really enjoyed it. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

The Baby by A J McDine and narrated by Tamsin Kennard was a superb and gripping psychological thriller with a jaw-dropping twist that was just excellent from start to finish.

The day I was told I’d never be able to have a child, my world came crashing down all around me! My husband Miles, says "he still loves me" but I lie awake at night, wishing we could have a family. Our little family made by me and him.

Then, one morning, I woke up and my husband’s side of the bed is cold and empty.
I hear a noise and head downstairs to see what it was.

In the middle of the rug in my living room is a wooden drawer. They are all wrapped up, they have perfect rosy cheeks and beautiful round blue eyes, a baby gazes up at me.

I shiver. It’s all I’ve ever wanted was a baby I could hold and love etc, but this baby is not mine…......

OMG!!!!

Who's does she belong to?

Did I take her last night and forgot I did it?

This book is full of brilliant twists and turns throughout that will have you sitting on the edge of your seat and the end WoW Just excellent!!! Superb!

I highly recommend this audiobook..........and I really felt for Lucy as I can't have children and I will always remember the day I was told I can never have children etc and my Hubby loves me! But you feel something is missing in your marriage!!!!

Big Thank you to Netgalley, Bookouture and Bookouture Audio for providing me with an ARC.

I thought I’d hit a reading slump and was really struggling to get into books again. Until I read this. What an absolutely amazingly written book (it helps that I love babies!) There was so many twists and turns that every time I thought I’d figured out what was going on something else was happening and even another twist right on the last page. This book was so good, and I will recommend it to other people as well. It was fast paced and a quick page turner, I managed to read it within one evening as I just couldn’t put it down.

Omg this was amazing! Such an original storyline and such a twist on the missing baby storyline of most other domestic thrillers. I can't say I liked the characters much but they were definitely written to be very problematic and dislikeable lol. They commented to being such vile people! Good twists and turns, I flew through it

Three-Star Review for 'The Baby' by AJ McDine

I recently read an advanced reader's copy of The Baby by AJ McDine, published by Bookouture, and I found it to be a mixed experience. The novel delves into heavy themes such as gaslighting, emotional abuse, miscarriage, and alcoholism, but I felt these issues were not handled with the sensitivity or depth they deserved. The portrayal of alcoholism, in particular, felt a bit off and lacked nuance.

One of my major issues with the book was its predictability. From the beginning, it was clear where the story was heading, especially concerning the husband's behavior. There was little effort to disguise his manipulative and abusive nature, making the plot feel formulaic and devoid of suspense. It was also puzzling why so many women in the story fell for his charms, despite his obvious red flags.

The protagonist's decision to move overseas with him after only four weeks of knowing him seemed especially unrealistic and difficult to relate to. The character decisions throughout the story often didn't make much sense, which further hampered my engagement with the plot.

Additionally, the ending felt a little too perfect and implausible. Without giving away any spoilers, the resolution wrapped up in a way that didn't seem believable given the complexities and seriousness of the issues presented throughout the novel.

Overall, while The Baby touches on important topics, the lack of depth in handling these issues, along with a predictable plot, implausible character decisions, and an unrealistic ending, left me wanting more from the story. It’s a thought-provoking read but one that could benefit from more complexity and sensitivity in its portrayal of difficult subjects.

A woman wakes up with a hangover and a baby. She doesn’t know where the baby came from – it’s definitely not hers, and she doesn’t remember taking it. Her drinking problem doesn’t help much, because our heroine is too used to not remembering things.

First of all, it was a fun book. It is fast-paced, it’s ok-written, the characters are interesting to follow. We have unrelatable narrator, we have a secret, we have the picture-perfect husband (who obviously has secrets in his own). It’s a default thriller as I like to call them. It’s intriguing, it’s easy to read, it’s quickly digestible, it’s predictable to a point, but it’s still – and it’s the most important thing! – fun.

Yes, I could predict almost all the twists. Yes, it is clear from the start who the villain is. Yes, the writing is simple. Yes, it’s unrealistic.
But it was fun! I liked it ❤️

Incredible!!! What a book!!! I flew through this because it was literally impossible to put down.

It was immediately fast paced, which I loved, and there were so many questions! The main one being, why has Lucy woken up with a baby in a drawer in her living room?!

The story encompasses a lot of hard hitting issues, including domestic abuse, baby loss (trigger warning for this because that particular scene is pretty hard to read), gaslighting and alcoholism. All dealt with brilliantly.

At first Lucy is quite a hard character to warm to, but as you learn her story this becomes easier and you end up rooting for her.

The drama in this book is excellent and I would highly recommend. This is the first book I have read by AJ McDine and it certainly won't be my last.

Thanks to Netgalley, Bookouture and AJ McDine for a copy of this book in return for an honest review.

The Baby was a fantastic read. The description really intrigued me and the twists and turns were great and kept me on the edge of my seat throughout.

Thank you to NetGalley and Bookouture for my ARC.

A.J.Mcdine has done it again! And think it might be my favourite so far! I literally loved this book... the suspense, the issues addressed, the plot twists! My heart broke for the protagonist and all she lost and faced losing, and I disliked Miles profusely. Most of the plot twists were complete surprising, although I did guess one key one (was rather proud of this).

Adored the ending, and couldnt put it down!! Must read!

Thank you to Netgalley and Bookouture for this Advanced Copy!

Lucy wakes up one morning, with no memory of the night before. She hears a noise and goes to investigate. She finds a baby asleep in her living room-only she has no children.

She’s always wanted a baby, but she can’t have children of her own. So the big question is, whose baby is this? And where did he come from?

This was a fast paced thriller with little twists that’ll keep you guessing! The plot is soo good and the characters are easy to like.

If you like suspense novels, definitely add this one to your TBR👀

This was a fun domestic thriller! I really enjoyed the characters and pacing of the book, and absolutely loved the ending. The plot also took turns I wasn't expecting, which always make a thriller read that much better. As a new mom, the baby component really pulled on my heart strings. The only reason I didn't give 5 stars is because I felt like the mom-baby component wasn't totally captured right - the baby is really young and the challenges of babies at that age were either glossed over or not captured, which made the story a little less believable. But otherwise, this is a great quick read!

Wow, this one was gripping and had me on the edge of my seat!

Lucy and Miles are a happy couple that have decided not to have kids, or, well Miles decided they didn't want kids. Lucy likes to drink, and Miles is often gone for work. While Miles is gone for work, Lucy wakes up to a baby in their house, that seems to have just appeared from nowhere. She is racking her brain to figure out what she did during the previous nights drunken adventure and where the mystery baby came from. Lucy immediately bonded with the baby, and when Miles suddenly returns home unexpected from his work travel, things start to go downhill from there.

I really enjoyed this book! I think I saw some of the plot twists coming, but it didn't make the read any less enjoyable. I found myself rooting for Lucy, even though in other scenarios she could've been a character I didn't like. You really feel for her being with Miles and it makes you warm to her.

Thank you to NetGalley and Bookouture for the ARC (Advance Reader Copy) of The Baby by AJ McDine. It is my first book by this author and I will be sure to look for more. This book was very entertaining and easy to read. It was a fast read and it had a couple of twists. For those who enjoy a good domestic thriller, this one is worthwhile. The one thing that negatively impacted me was the amount of repetition. Readers don't need quite so much of it. I gave it 4 stars because I did enjoy it.

Oh how I loved this book! I love missing baby tropes so this was amazing to me! The FMC was very unpredictable which added to the suspense factor because you really weren’t sure what she did. Her struggle and want for motherhood was very relatable. I loved her as a character because I found her sympathetic and the plot was well put together and very fast paced! Thriller lovers will love this book!

Really enjoyed this book .had plenty of twists and every time I thought I had figured it out there was another one . Enjoyed it from start to finish and kept me hooked . Highly recommend