A harrowing insite into the life of social media influencers and an excellent reminder that what you see on social media doesn't reflect real life.

The Fake Mother had me gripped from the start. The relationships developed naturally and I loved some of the characters, although felt like I could trust nobody!

This book starts off full of action. It was mysterious and twisty. It had several twist laced throughout, some big and some small all of which added to me having to find out how it would all unfold. This book is full of revenge & deceit. It keeps you on the edge of your seat & is one of those books you cant put down. Thank you Bookouture & NetGalley for this advanced reader copy!

I think this was a fantastic book! It was addictive, it kept me hooked and I wanted to continue reading without stopping, to see what was going to happen. It was so thrilling, and it kept me on the edge of my seat! I love the way this book is able to captivate you as a reader

Thank you to NetGalley, to the author, and to the publisher for this complimentary ARC in exchange for my honest review!!!

Eliza has gorgeous three children, a handsome husband and an idyllic life with a business that is breaking the record books. As a blogger and influencer, she documents her family’s daily activities where she sells everything that is produced off the land. Bailey is hired as her new assistant and is desperate for work. From the moment she arrives Bailey has a strange feeling that all is not as it seems. She must live by a strict set of rules that leave her stuck on the farm all day every day except for Sunday and she is always at Eliza’s beck and call.

Bailey has had a fascination with Eliza for a long time and has followed her life as with many others on her streaming services of which there are many subscribers. She is desperate to get into Eliza’s home and see firsthand how this beautiful family are living. The cameras are always rolling and as time moves forward Bailey realises that this may not be quite the happy family that Eliza promotes. However, Bailey has her own reasons for wanting to move into Eliza’s world and this is the heart of the book.

As the book progresses the tension mounts and soon answers to our questions start to unfold. An enjoyable read that kept me interested throughout. Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an advanced copy of the book, all opinions expressed are my own.

THE FAKE MOTHER BY JENNA KERNAN.
Release date set for the 1st of May 2025.
Very slow start getting into this book if i'm honest.
Reminds me of the whole story of that horrible woman in the news and the show on Netflix about the mother Influencer Ruby Frankie.
This is my first book by this author.
3.5 stars but ill round it off to a 4

The Fake Mother is a tense, twisted thriller that kept me on edge from start to finish. The story’s dark secrets and the narrator’s obsession with Eliza make for an unsettling, yet compelling read. The tension builds as the protagonist uncovers more about Eliza’s perfect, but deeply flawed life. The rules surrounding the job add an extra layer of suspense, and the reveal of Eliza’s true secrets was even more shocking than I expected. While some of the twists felt predictable, the ending truly impressed me — it was satisfying and provided a strong conclusion to the story. Overall, it’s a gripping psychological drama with a well-crafted finale.

Release: May 1, 2025
Author: Jenna Kernan
Publisher: Bookouture

Rating: 4.25 ★ 

When Eliza Watts offers Bailey a job as her assistant, it feels like a dream opportunity. Eliza’s life seems perfect — a beautiful family, a stunning home, and the kind of success most people only imagine. But Eliza has no idea that she and Bailey have crossed paths before. And Bailey has been waiting for the right moment to get close to her.

The position comes with strict rules: Bailey can only leave on weekends, must return by sunset, and isn’t allowed to speak about anything she sees inside the house. Others have clearly turned the job down, but Bailey is determined to stay — because she knows Eliza is hiding something.

At first, Bailey believes she already knows Eliza’s darkest secret. But once inside, it quickly becomes clear that the perfect image Eliza projects is built on lies. Her children seem terrified of her, and the reality of what’s happening behind closed doors is far worse than Bailey ever expected.

As Bailey uncovers the truth, she realizes she’s in far deeper than she ever intended — and if Eliza finds out who Bailey really is, escaping might be impossible.

This was such a compelling read! It pulled me in right from the start with a really intriguing look behind the scenes of a “perfect” influencer life. While the story starts off a little slow, it doesn’t take long for the pace to pick up, and once it does, I was completely hooked. The characters felt believable and relatable, and I loved the modern, social media-driven setting. It made the story feel timely and unsettling in all the right ways.

The plot was full of secrets and twists I didn’t see coming, which kept the suspense high all the way through. I especially enjoyed how it showed the darker side of influencer culture—how far people will go to maintain a certain image online.

Told through multiple POVs, the story unravels slowly but cleverly, and I liked getting to see things from different angles. Even though the ending wasn’t the happily-ever-after I usually root for, it still felt fitting and left me thinking about it long after I finished.

Overall, this was an original, addictive thriller with strong characters and a sharp commentary on the illusion of online perfection. I’m definitely excited to read more from this author!

Favorite Quote:
"a lie can be the beginning of a beautiful story, but it's always the ending that matters."

Read and reviewed in exchange for a free copy from Netgalley. This was a compelling read. I was invested throughout, the story was well - paced, the characters engaging, and the book was very unpredictable. An intriguing glimpse behind the camera of a fictional influencer and a timely reminder not to take social media content at face value. I really enjoyed this and am keen to read more by the author.

Eliza has created the perfect family and life as an influencer is great for her little homestead. But can you really believe everything you see online? Great thriller, full of suspense, highly intriguing with an ending you won't see coming.

A reasonably good read, a bit of a slow starter but it did pick up and I got involved in the storyline.

The characters were easy to get on with overall and I did enjoy it although I didn't love it.

Thank you to Netgalley and Bookouture for this ARC which I would recommend but I wouldn't buy it.

Omg this had me hooked! I love stories that have a modern setting and take place in modern society so the influencer/ secret life vibe is very now and very relatable. The plot was original and the characters well brought to life. I loved all the secrets unravelling and some really good twists that I didn't see coming. Also the fact of how far some people go to for an influencer lifestyle is just too believable. I absolutely loved it

First as always, thank you Netgalley and Bookouture for this ARC!

Stories about social media and influencers are another thing I do like as parts of a thriller. Also because this world is often not as it seems. Or, well, at least, this is what the media wants us to believe, right? So, really, is it a surprise that the life of blogger mummy Eliza is not as perfect as it seems? For me, surely not.

The book does start a little slow, but then quickly picks up pace, told in the POV of Bailey - the young woman that wants to work for Eliza - Eliza herself and a woman named Aubrey. I am not going to spoiler now how she fits into the story, my apologies. If you want to find out . and also if you wan to find out why working for Eliza with some weird rules, you have to go and read the book. I promise it is going to be worth it!

Thank you Bookouture and NetGalley for an early copy of The Fake Mother. I have to say I didn’t love it, I struggled a bit to get through it. The twists were shocking and I did feel bad for one of the characters but it didn’t grip me. I did like the ending.

Name :- The Fake Mother
Author :- Jenna Kernan
Genre :- Psychological Thriller
Jenna Kernan delivers a chilling, fast-paced
psychological thriller with The Fake Mother, a story packed with obsession, deception, and shocking secrets. Fans of The Last Mrs. Parrish and The Housemaid will love this twist-filled ride where nothing is as it seems.
Eliza Watts has the perfect life—three beautiful children, a loving husband, and a gorgeous home. But when she hires a new assistant, she unknowingly lets danger into her house. The new hire is thrilled to get the job, but she has her own reasons for wanting to be close to Eliza. They’ve met before—though Eliza doesn’t remember. And now, she’s determined to uncover the secrets hidden behind Eliza’s perfect façade. But the job comes with rules. Strict ones. No leaving during the week, no talking about what happens inside the house, and absolutely no breaking the unspoken boundaries. As the assistant digs deeper, she realizes Eliza’s carefully curated life is built on lies. And worse—her children seem terrified of her. The deeper she goes, the more she risks exposing not only Eliza’s secrets but her own. Because if Eliza finds out who she really is, running may not be enough to save her life.
Likes and Dislikes:-
Likes:-
1 Unrelenting Suspense: From the first page, there’s an unsettling tension that keeps the reader hooked.
2 Dark, Twisted Secrets: The layers of deception unfold masterfully, leading to jaw-dropping revelations.
Dislikes :-
1 Some Predictable Twists: Seasoned thriller readers may guess certain reveals early.
2 Eliza’s Character Could Be More Complex: She’s intriguing but leans into the "cold, controlling mother" trope.
Overall :- The Fake Mother is an addictive, tension-filled thriller that will keep you flipping pages late into the night. If you love books about hidden pasts, dangerous secrets, and shocking betrayals, this one is for you.
My Rating :- 4/5

Eliza Watts is a social media influencer, with a huge following, who hires Bailey to be her assistant. Bailey is concerned that things at Eliza's farm are not as they appear -- that the children are not well cared for, and that other staff, and even Eliza's husband, are merely playing roles. Eliza devises more and more ways to learn the family's secrets, all while keeping an even bigger secret about herself.

This book portrays a realistic setting with believable characters and several white-knuckle moments, keeping the reader engaged until the very end. Though the ending was good, and unexpected, it was not the happily-ever-after one I personally hoped for. But I still enjoyed it and would read more by this author.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC. All opinions are my own.

Jenna Kernan is one of the best psychological thriller writers going around. All of her books are amazing, and Fake Mother is yet another masterpiece.

Loved this book it flowed easy to read, the characters were all very interesting. It caught me off guard the ending great twist. Glad I had the opportunity to read this.

Thank to the author, the publisher and Netgalley for an early release of this book.

You know what? I actually liked this! The Fake Mother is my first dive into this trope, and honestly? Pretty unique. It’s got a farm. It’s got child abuse. It’s got fame. All things you hear about in real life, but not exactly your standard thriller setup.

Eliza is a picture-perfect family influencer. Flawless life. Flawless kids. Flawless husband. But (you guessed it) things are not as they seem.

Bailey, for reasons unknown, is desperate to work for her. But the job comes with some…odd rules. She can only leave the farm one day a week. And she must be back before sunset.

Also, small detail: they’ve met before. But "she" doesn’t know that…👀

This one will keep you up late, I promise.

So why the knocked-off star? Well, it could’ve been 50 pages shorter, and I saw the twist about 10 pages before it dropped. But still! It kept me guessing and was a super fast read.

Bottom line: Great slump-buster. ⭐⭐⭐.75 stars.

PS – Maybe I’m a little harsh, but seriously, worth the read!

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

4.5 ⭐️ | interesting thriller

Eliza appears to have the perfect life—three wonderful kids, a doting husband, and a dream home. But when Bailey is hired as her personal assistant, it becomes clear that not everything is as perfect as it seems. Bailey knows a secret that could unravel it all.

Off the bat I loved the family blogger aspect of things since it’s something that is sadly very common in this day and age and made for an interesting premise. Bailey, the main character, is an incredibly well-written. Throughout the book, I found myself questioning her perspective, often second-guessing whether I agreed with her decisions making me always intrigued.

The story starts off a bit slow, but it still kept me engaged throughout. As the book went on there were smaller twists I managed to predict, but they only added to the intrigue, making me even more curious about how it would all unfold. Then, in the last hundred pages, everything took a turn—I genuinely had no idea where the story was headed, and my theories became increasingly bizarre. The unpredictability made for an exciting and satisfying read!

So good!!! I had trouble getting into it at first but then it was good. I had trouble putting it down and read it quickly. Such a good book!! I'll be reading more from this author.