The Ones We Love by Anna Snoekstra is a psychological thriller that unfolds at a slow, deliberate pace. Unfortunately, the buildup felt a bit too sluggish for my taste. While the characters are all hiding something, I found it difficult to connect with any of them or feel invested in their outcomes.

Thank you to NetGalley & PENGUIN GROUP Dutton for letting me read this ARC.

Thank you Net Galley for this early copy. This book was good and a very slow burn for me. It did take me a little longer to get through as it didn't hold my attention in several parts of the story.

At first, the plot of this story seemed pretty transparent from the description. I thought it was pretty obvious what would be revealed to be going on behind closed doors, but this author threw several curveballs that kept me on my toes. I enjoyed hearing the story unfold from the different perspectives of all of the family members. Every character was in the dark on some elements, so putting the pieces together from their limited points of view was fun. However, the characters were hard to connect with and fairly unlikeable in some cases. I found myself not really rooting for them, even though the story was about this family unit.
Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for providing a digital ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

Unfortunately this book did not keep me engaged and I had to DNF. I will definitely give the author another try in the future. Thank you for the opportunity.

Thank you for the eARC! This book has a great premise but in my opinion relied too heavily on the locked door gimmick. While the characters had some development and there was a seemingly compelling central mystery, I found it very difficult to stay engaged. This was just okay, I was hoping for more.

I didn't really enjoy this book. I felt like things happened throughout the story but nothing mattered. And there were absolutely no consequences for anyone's actions. People were killed and the ending of the book just felt like no one cared. It was a fast read but that about all I can give that made this book worth reading.

wonderfully written characters!! I love books that keep you guessing about what is true. the character development and interactions were so deep and fascinating. I cannot wait to read more from this author!

I don't love a slow burn thriller. I especially don't love when it takes more than 50% of a book to build up to the actual plot of the thriller. And I really, really don't love that as soon as the book does start to grab my attention, the pacing falls off again and the ending feels totally dumb. Unfortunately, this book did just that.

The Jansen family moves from Australia to America for a fresh start. After drama back home, it's an opportunity for all of them to start again. But when their oldest daughter Liv wakes up one morning covered in bruises, unable to remember the night before, and her bedroom door is padlocked shut, it starts to feel like they won't be getting that clean slate they had hoped for. No one knows what happened to Liv, she can't even piece it together, but as she starts sleep walking, she realizes that something truly terrible may have happened to her.

After all, a parent's love is always to protect, right?

This is a debut work for this author, and there are definitely plenty of strong elements, but the pacing made this one tough and the characters weren't as well-developed as I've come to want in my marquee thrillers.

If you don't mind sloughing it through a slow-burn mystery, there's a chance this book will be for you.

This was a fantastic read that I struggled to put down. It hits on love, family, the past as well as a lovely mystery aspects.

The novel is from the perspective mostly of Liv as well as the rest of her family, the Jansen family. They are a tight knit family that only recently moved to California.

Liv wakes up one day with mysterious bruises that she cant explain, nor can anyone else she was with. Livs parents are acting odd, and her bedroom door has been padlocked shut. What is going on, and what happened? Liv's brother notices that her parents are acting oddly and is trying to secretively find out whats going on with his friend.

I wanted to enjoy this book but unfortunately reading it felt more like a chore. The pacing was extremely slow, with lots of filler. While there were suspenseful portions, there was a lack of character development so it was impossible to connect with any of the characters. There was a surprising plot twist at the end but sadly the overall book fell short for me

How far would you go to protect the ones you love? A story about a dysfunctional family and the secrets they keep. The premise of this was great, the writing was good but unfortunately it wasn’t for me.
The pacing was weird, it took me over 100 pages to fully get in to it. Then we rush through the mystery in the middle & the ending feels like a whirlwind. The family dynamics and individual characters don’t get flushed out as much as I would’ve liked. I did love Casper though!
I was really enjoying it until the last 30% - I didn’t love the resolution, everything seemed too “perfect” after everything that happened.

I got sucked into the storyline and was able to finish the book quickly - I will definitely be reading more of Anna Snoekstra's books! This one had a lot of unexpected twists and turns, making a good chunk of the storyline hard to predict (which I like in a book).

"The Ones We Love" is a suspenseful psychological thriller. It follows a young woman who, after escaping a cult, connects with a family she believes is her own, only to uncover unsettling truths. With a tense atmosphere based on mystery and manipulatioon, this one kept me on the edge of my seat. It's a good choice for fans of domestic suspense.

Liv goes out with a friend to a fashion event, where the two of them promise to have a two drink max so that they can network without looking messy. But in the morning, Liv wakes up in her own home rather than at her friend’s house, and the door to her room is padlocked. Her parents are acting weird, and she has no memory of what happened the night before.

The story drags at the beginning, and the first half is mostly spent hinting at what Liv did that night. The hints become more and more explicit, until we get the full story. I found it more frustrating than titillating. Once we got through that portion, the plot picked up pace, and I really enjoyed it. What would you do – how far would you go – for the ones you love?

This book is best suited for fans of domestic thrillers that delve into family dynamics over high-speed action or big twists. If you enjoy a slow-burn narrative that unpacks the weight of secrets and well-meaning mistakes, this thoughtful, more reflective read could be a good fit.

An intense, slow-burn psychological thriller that lingers long after the final page.

Anna Snoekstra delivers another gripping story in The Ones We Love, a novel steeped in secrets, tangled loyalties, and the dark shadows of family. The story opens with a chilling premise: the discovery of a hidden key that unlocks far more than just a door—it opens a Pandora’s box of past choices, betrayals, and uncomfortable truths.

The atmosphere is moody and claustrophobic, and the writing pulls you into a world where everyone seems to be hiding something. Snoekstra excels at creating tension through subtle character dynamics and complex emotional undercurrents. The pacing is deliberate, leaning more into psychological unease than action-packed thrills, which may not be for every reader—but if you love domestic noir, this hits the mark.

The characters are layered and flawed in a way that feels real. I especially appreciated how Snoekstra explores themes of trust, guilt, and the consequences of decisions made in desperation. The relationships—particularly between family members—are central to the story and feel authentic and emotionally charged.

While the ending was satisfying and well-earned, a few parts in the middle dragged slightly. A bit more momentum in the second act would have bumped this to a five-star read for me.

Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Group Dutton for the ARC in exchange for my honest review!

I received this ARC on Netgalley and all opinions are my own. This book was so good. That is the only way to describe it. The title of this book is perfectly named about two families and what they would do to help those they love no matter what. It was hard to figure out who you should root for in the beginning of this story because the lines of reasoning begin to blur as the story continues. I really believe the ending was perfect and the flawed characters all feel the repercussions of their actions. I would recommend this book to anyone because it has a little of everything for everyone. Highly recommend.

Give me a dysfunctional family, neighbors who are always there, & a twist at the 50% mark to really make it add up and I am SAT!
So much “omg’s” and “oh okayyyy’s” were said during this one. Loved how this plot was foreshadowed, how I picked up the pieces, but it wasn’t too obvious.
Big fan of the writing style, different POVs, and how even the ending made it real/make sense.

Thank you NetGalley for this arc!

This story intrigued me from the first page. Yes, perhaps I guessed one of the twists before it was revealed, but there were many others that kept me guessing until the very end. I loved the character development and how the author kept me on my toes throughout the story. I highly recommend this book if you’re looking for a well-paced thriller.

Thank you NetGalley and Dutton for the arc.

Thanks to NetGalley & PENGUIN GROUP Dutton for the chance to read this book!

The Crazy idea for this story was SO REFRESHING, to finally find a book that had a completely new plot that I've never read before, I have read so many mystery thrillers that I thought i had read everything!!!! Thank you so much for surprising me with this, I had no idea what this was about going into it but I loved every thing about it when i figured it out!! There were so many great twist and turns I think i now have whiplash & I'm not even mad about it !!!! VERY FAST PACED read for me I could not soak the pages up fast enough!!!! I will def be looking out for this author in the future!!!