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!!!

Anna Snoekstra’s latest novel, The Ones We Love, is a haunting and slow-burning domestic thriller that delves into the fragile dynamics of a family unraveling under the weight of secrets, guilt, and trauma.

The story centers on the Jansen family, newly relocated from Australia to Los Angeles. The narrative kicks off with 22-year-old Liv waking up bruised and disoriented after a party she can’t remember. Her bedroom is suddenly padlocked—her parents claim it’s due to mold, but their behavior suggests otherwise. As Liv begins to sleepwalk and her friend Leilani goes silent, the mystery deepens.

Snoekstra masterfully explores themes of memory, denial, and the corrosive nature of secrets. The novel is steeped in psychological tension, with a creeping sense of dread that builds as each character’s perspective adds layers to the central mystery.

The Ones We Love is a compelling read for fans of domestic thrillers like Big Little Lies or The Push. It’s not just about what happened that night—it’s about how far people will go to protect the ones they love, even when love turns toxic.

Thank you to NetGalley, Anna Snoekstra, and Penguin Group Dutton Publishing for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

An other amazing thrillers by Anna Snoekstra, I can't seems to dislike any of her thrillers. Everything is so well written and the plots and twists are simply amazing.

I always struggle with books when too many characters fail to share too many secrets, causing even more dysfunction. The characters weren't likable, which was just the cherry on top. This was not for me. Thank you, NetGalley.

I received The Ones We Love as an ARC in exchange for my review.

When I was a couple chapters into this book, I thought I knew exactly what was going to happen. When I got to the part that told me I was wrong, I kept thinking well who was it then? Then it happened and then another twist happened and I just wanted to keep reading. Getting to read from each characters view point helped understand what was happening. This was my first book by this author and I hope to read more by her in the future.

3.75

Thank you to Netgalley and Dutton for the e-arc in exchange for an honest review.

I enjoyed this book! I think that this was a well-written mysterious thriller that focused on the dynamics of a family that is slowly falling apart. It definitely hooked me at the beginning with Olivia waking up with bruises and having no memories of the night before. I do think the pace was a bit slow at the beginning and towards the middle. And I found myself figuring out things a bit too early before the book revealed it. Things seemed to be a little too obvious and nothing really surprised or shocked me. It was still interesting to get inside the mind of each family member and see how each of them are dealing with the same big event.

The ending was a bit lukewarm. It seemed a little too easy and like it all wrapped up too perfectly. I don't really feel like any of the characters faced serious consequences for their actions. which was a bit unsatisfying. However, I liked the book overall and would suggest it to a friend.

really good mystery. Kept me on my toes and loved all of the characters and what they went through on this journey. Loved that they a happy ending happened.

I went into this book expecting a gripping family thriller, an Aussie family starts over in LA, there's a locked door in their house that no one talks about, and tension simmers after an incident involving the daughter. It sounded like the perfect setup for a dark, twisty read.

But the pacing threw me off. A lot of time was spent diving into the parents' backstories that didn’t tie into the main mystery, and that eerie locked room? It barely mattered. What felt like it should be the centerpiece of the suspense ended up just being background noise.

Things finally clicked around page 100, when the story shifted its focus back to the central mystery and the tension started to build in a way that actually felt earned. The characters’ motivations became clearer, and the stakes finally felt real. From that point on, I was more invested, and the pacing improved significantly.

The twist, when it came, completely caught me off guard—in a good way. I had theories early on that felt clever at the time, but Snoekstra cleverly pulled the rug out from under me. It was satisfying and smart, and it made the slow build feel at least somewhat worth it.

Even though this particular book didn’t fully work for me, it showed that Snoekstra knows how to write atmosphere and surprise. Her style is sharp and emotionally aware, and I’m genuinely curious to see what she does next.