I absolutely loved this book. The way the point of views from each character were shared throughout the book made me feel a range of emotions.

Her chest tightens, her heart speeding up. The kitchen is chaos. She steps on something hard, and looks down. Toy dinosaurs are scattered everywhere. But her son is nowhere - her baby boy is gone. The police arrive. She can't look at her husband, she studies the network of lines on her shaking hands. Then her phone beeps with a voice message. "Listen to it on speaker" says the detective. A woman's voice fills the air.... I’m in trouble then,’ Andrea replied and Brianna had sighed, knowing exactly what Andrea was stressed about. Genres covered in this novel include Thriller, Literary Fiction, Women's Psychological Fiction, Suspense, Psychological Thriller, Coming-Of-Age story, Mystery, Psychological Fiction, Suspense, Noir Fiction, Mystery, Thriller & Suspense Literary Fiction, Crime Fiction, Psychological Fiction and Domestic Fiction amongst others. With this thrilling story being alternately narrated by Andy and Gabby, Andy is navigating a difficult situation with a change of circumstances after she and her husband moved into a house that could stand some major updates. Along with that, she finds herself utterly drained and feeling like her life is out of control. Meanwhile, Gabby‘s problems relate to her feeling like her life isn’t going in the direction that she wants. In fact, she starts to think that she can change her circumstances in what would be a drastic and actually a catastrophic way.The Stay-at-Home Mother is a story of a struggling mother (Andrea) who has moved recently and is expecting her second child. Her neighbor from across the street (Gabby) who has a teenage boy is helping her with looking after her little son but one day when Andrea wakes up she finds Gabby’s house messy and her little son is nowhere… This was a good book, though I felt the synopsis was very misleading; it took 2 different parts of the book and meshed them together. The story centers on Andrea, who (reluctantly) moves to a new neighborhood with her husband and young son, and with another baby in the way. She meets the neighbor across the street, Gabby, who is eager to become friends and spend some time with Andrea’s son. The chapters alternate between the POVs of these 2 women. If you listen carefully, you’ll hear the sound of a mother reassuring her precious children, the son and daughter she’d do anything for, as she holds their little hands. It’s okay, Mama’s here. I read this book in one sitting… Absolutely gripping all the way through and so many twists that I felt like I had whiplash.’ Goodreads reviewer, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ I was hungry,’ he says, his big, deep blue eyes the picture of innocence. He has perfected the same ‘who me?’ look his father gives her. He shares Terry’s light blue eyes and chestnut brown hair, so different to her own plain brown eyes and dead-straight mousey brown hair. In the bar where she met him, at a birthday celebration for one of the women she worked with at the online homewares company, she had turned to look at him only because so many of the other women in her group were looking. Terry is really handsome, and when he smiles and the dimple in his cheek appears, Andrea has a hard time staying angry at him.

His chest tightens, his heart races. Chaos reigns in the kitchen. Step on something hard and look down. Toy dinosaurs are scattered throughout. But her son is nowhere, her baby is gone. Andrea pushes away the thought that Gemma is a mistake. She had wanted to wait before falling pregnant again. This fast paced book kept me on my toes. Yes, there is some predictability but the twists really surprised me. It was a fun and entertaining read. Oh my GOSH!!!!!! I read this emotionally charged, compelling book in one sitting. Whoa, my emotions are ALL over the place!!!’ NetGalley reviewer, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐You have a three-year-old child and you’re nearly nine months pregnant,’ Brianna replied. ‘And you’ve just moved. You have more than enough problems of your own.’ Then your phone will ring with a voice message. “Listen to it on the speakerphone,” the detective says.

There is no answer, so she leaves the kitchen and goes in search of her son. She knows he is bored and lonely and has had enough of his grouchy mum. She doesn’t blame him. She’s had enough of herself. Trope’s characters are emotionally driven and she uses their unthinkable experience to explore relationships, forgiveness, appearances, and justice. She proves that a fresh start is within the grasp of each of us; we are only one decision away from a completely different life.Aren’t you clever to stay out of the sun entirely,’ a shop assistant had said once, as she observed Gabby trying on a blue one-piece bathing suit, her white skin on glaring display. Gabby had smiled and nodded but she hadn’t bought the swimsuit. We have Andrea, heavily pregnant and already a mother of an active three-year-old boy. Money issues caused by her secretive husband have resulted in them in heavily in debt and moving to a run-down house in a new neighbourhood. Andrea seems both physically and emotionally exhausted. She is befriended by a neighbour from a lovely home who writes an advice column for mothers with many appreciative followers. And then Andrea begins to notice the red sedan with the mismatched door driving slowly past the house and she gets a strange feeling. Not again. Who is this person and why are they watching her? She tries to tell Terry but he dismisses it as just a tradie in the neighbourhood needing directions or her imagination. But is it her imagination or has Terry's problem reared its ugly head yet again? Gabby notices the red car parked out the front of their houses too. But she isn't sure if they are watching Andrea's house or hers. What if they are after her? Could they be? The synopsis had me hooked, and while it took a while to become actually relevant to the story, I think it was a wonderfully intriguing start. Thank you NetGalley, Bookouture and Nicole Trope for letting me read “The Stay-at-Home-Mother” in exchange for an honest review.

I raced through this and figured out one of the big twists quite early, but there were more surprises to come! This was quite a twisty book, and the epilogue leaves you with the biggest surprise of all - that one I definitely didn’t see coming. This is a perfect afternoon or before-bed book that you definitely won’t want to put down. Four stars for thoroughly entertaining me! Absolutely amazing!… So so good with so many twists and surprises. I could not put it down and read it in 24 hours!’ Goodreads reviewer, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Nicole Trope pulled out all of the stops when she presents her latest psychological thriller. We have two principal characters, Andy and Gabby. Andy is married to Tom and they have a three-year-old son and she is also pregnant with their second child. Gabby lives across the street from them and is the mom to a teenage boy. In fact, Gabby is a social media influencer and most of her time is spent keeping up her posts on social media. However, at some point Andy and Gabby meet and before long Gabby is the perfect stand-in for whenever Andy needs help with her son. She looks around her, relieved that no one else is on the street, relieved they are alone as she struggles for something to say, something to do.She’s tried self-tanning creams and real tanning by exposing herself to harsh summer sun and all that happens is she turns orange or burns bright red, so she’s had to accept her skin. And she’s tried forcing herself to show her teeth for photographs, but she always feels like she looks ridiculous. ‘You’re beautiful. Don’t worry about what other people say,’ Richard tells her – or he used to tell her. Disclaimer: all items are bought personally unless otherwise stated. Posts that have been commissioned will be labelled as sponsored or collaborative based on the brand’s preference. The idea for her first published novel, The Boy under the Table, was so scary that it took a year for her to find the courage to write the emotional story.