Member Reviews

Kat and Nick seem to have a perfect life but there's one huge gaping hole in their lives. Kat can't have children. They've tried adopting but everytime they're left disappointed. Nicks on the verge of giving up but Kat is all consumed by her desire to be a mom. Then she runs into her childhood friend Lisa who tells Kat she's been a surrogate in the past. When another adoption fails she offers to do the same for them. But Kat and Lisa share dark secrets from the past.....can Lisa really trust her?


I'm a big fan of Louise Jensen and this is the delightful psychological thrilling hokum I love.  And when I say hokum I mean it in a good way. Because it really is a lot of nonsense - multiple red herrings, coincidences and quite unbelievable situations all combine to make a fantastically enjoyable story. Like I've said before (and will countless times in the future) I don't want want realism in these books. I want plots that need deciphering, working out the twists and gasping out loud when I don't. I wanted that and Louise Jensen keeps delivering.How could I give it anything other than 5 stars?

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I really liked this book. I finished it in 1,5 day cause I was stuck, I couldn't stop reading.
Exciting almost from the beginning and love books that catch my intention that fast, than I know it is a great book.
I thought I knew how the ending would be, but I was totally wrong. Like the different twists the book has. I was guessing back and forth :)

I highly recommend it!

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Well this book has more twists and turns than a country lane. Just when I thought I'd worked it out something else slams the door shut another fantastic psychological thriller from Louise Jensen that doesn't fail to deliver. Kept me up reading until late into the night. A gripping page turner that you won't want to put down

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This is my first Louise Jensen book but won't be my last.

Kat and Nick can't have kids and have two failed adoptions. Kat bumps in to an old school friend who offers to be a surrogate but is all as it seems? The story is told in the present day and in the past to bring the story to an unpredictable (to me) conclusion.

There were no slow parts to the book at all and I really didn't want to stop reading. The ending was fantastic and there was only one part that I had worked out so plenty of exciting twists to surprise me.

I received a ARC copy of this book from Netgalley for an honest review.

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Omg the twist!.....well I really couldn’t wait to devour this book by louise as I’ve read her previous offerings and wow it didn’t disappoint.

So Kat & Nick are desperate for a baby after IVF failed and two adoptions have fallen through, along comes Lisa an old childhood friend who is all to happy to help them out and offers to be a surrogate regardless of the awful secret they share from their past.

Kat becomes Lisa is out for revenge, RIchard (Nicks best friend) totally hates Lisa from day one, and Nick is harboring his own secrets.

So away you go and the story kicks in pretty quick, I have to say I read it in a few hours as I literally ploughing through it (no other choice I was hooked) and I was gutted when it was over, the twist at the end had me shaking my head and wondering if I’d read right and then re reading the last few chapters again to make sure !

A seriously good book and it will have you hooked from the start!!!! Any wait for her next one!

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This is my kind of read, one that you can get your teeth into [the thriller part] emotional and realistic [my female mothery part] and what 'fertility problems' have on a couple [my experience with a friend who so wanted/needed a baby].

So I could think out of the box with this one, I have had experience of being around a couple who had tried no endless of methods to have a baby, yes including surrogacy. The emotional wreck it can leave a couple is beyond trying to explain, so, I could see both couples side. Kat and Nick tried everything.

So many failed tasks, Kat is in despair and then from her past comes Lisa. Although they parted on bad terms, with the meeting of these two again you wouldn't really think so, the past seems like that..... past.

Now this is where my 'thriller nose' came into play, however, I was wrong a lot of the times because so many people seemed like they had a lot to hide, so I ended up suspicious of many. Including Kat.

Then Lisa learning of Kats plight agrees to carrying a baby for her.

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I wondered where the author was next going to go with this, I could see it was going somewhere........
Of course it would involve Lisa right?
But Nick struck me as an odd ball too.

Kat is obsessed with having a baby by any means but Nick sometimes seems reserved by this and distant one minute and full on the next [to me]

I wanted to know what happened with Lisa and Kat in the past, why did they separate? What is lurking in the past?

The mystery unravels as you read, I'm aware that some may have commented on this in their review, however, I will not, I would love for you to read it for yourselves and enjoy is.

This authors previous book was so enjoyable for me that I was wondering if she could pull it off again, well she did, big time.

This is one author I will be following. Her ease of writing is superb, easy to follow the layouts for the plots are always consistent as are the characters she makes come alive.

My thanks to Bookoutour via Net Galley for my copy.

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Whoa, whoa, whoa, now wait a minute here. This is the kind of book that makes me wonder if the writer wrote it backwards and then forwards and then re-edited a million times for fluidity and accuracy. I’ve read several five star books lately (luck maybe?) and this one takes the cake as far as shocking ending. Why is it that the ending is so important in books? It’s that last little aftertaste of the whole story being built up into that last tidbit, that’s why. A bad ending is like eating a slice of chocolate cake but then the very last bite has a big chunk of mold on it. I actually had that happen once. Super disgusting. It was a slice of princess cake to be exact. But, I digress. The ending is so very important and this story takes the whole entire cake down the hatch with a chaser of chocolate milk! The story is told from different perspectives of each of the characters both in past and present mode so you really have to pay attention to who is narrating and in what time they are speaking of. I really liked all of the characters although I didn’t trust all of them. They were all well-developed. There were points of the book which I didn’t understand why they were included until the very end. I kept saying, “Aha! That makes so much sense now!” Louise Jensen wraps up this story with a neat-as-a-white-Tiffany-bow ending. Enjoy, suspense and mystery lovers!

Thank you to Netgalley, Louise Jensen, and Bookouture for my ARC in exchange for an honest review.

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The Surrogate by Louise Jensen can only be described as an edge of your seat psychological thriller. The book is full of secrets and lies, twists and turns that are revealed slowly right up to the last page.

Kat and Nick are desperate to start a family. They are not able to have a child of their own and adoption has not worked out for them, so when Lisa offers to be a surrogate, they jump at the chance and so started the rollercoaster ride through the alternating chapters of the present and past. Just when I thought I had guessed a twist, I found I was a wrong and there was another plot turn to keep me turning the pages.

This was the first Louise Jensen book I have read, it won't be the last.

I received this book from the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

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Wow absolutely fantastic read and definitely one of my favourite books this year. It had me hooked from the very first page and I couldn’t put it down. It was full of twists and turns I didn’t see coming. I devoured this book in a day and would highly recommend it.

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I totally recommend this book for people who are seeking for a thrilling, suspending and not predictable. I find the story very thrilling and exciting without any boredoms in it.
We follow Kat, Nick and Lisa (an old best friend of Kat). Kat and Nick are hoping for expanding their family by adopting a baby. Nevertheless, they find Lisa as a surrogate. Even though the three of them have their own secrets and difficult past. The writer found an easy way to constantly switch between the past and the present. Therefore my attention for this book has never left. You want to know what actually happened and what is going to happen. Also, I think the story is fast paced and easy to read because of the short chapters.

I really did enjoy this book! I've already recommended it to a friend of mine.

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Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with a copy of this book in return for an honest review.

I have really enjoyed Louise Jensen's previous books and was looking forward to getting started on this new offering.

It was a very entertaining read with an ending the reader does not see coming at all. Well written and fabulous characters which we can all relate to.

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While this isn't quite what I expected it was well written and up to the standards I have come to expect from authors who are published by bookouture there was something thst I was missing. I enjoyed but it didn't blow me away like the sister did

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Kat & Nick have been married for eight years. Nick owns a property development company and Kat runs a successful charity. They love each other and have a nice home in a nice neighborhood BUT something is missing. Kat is unable to have children and it’s the one thing she wants more than anything! After a failed adoption attempt Kat & Nick are beginning to lose hope. THEN one day kat hears a voice from her past. When she turns around it’s her ex best friend, Lisa, whom she hasn’t spoken to in 10 years.

Kat & Lisa reconnect and Kat shares her inability to have children with Lisa. Lisa quickly offers to become a surrogate for Kat & Nick. . Is it a good idea? What is Lisa really up to? Are the secrets between Kat & Lisa too much to bare? Kat ran away 10 years ago to start a new life - should she trust Lisa?

It was a nicely paced psychological thriller that opened with a crime scene in a quiet neighborhood, flipping back-and-forth between THEN and NOW, with Kats voice being the main voice. Midway through I did become a little irritated with Kat because of her extreme paranoia about Every. Little. Thing. BUT that quickly subsided as the story started coming together. Giving this book 3.5 out of five stars.

Thank you Net Galley, Bookouture & Louise Jensen for an e-copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Pam Andersen @crimebookjunkee

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This was my first book of Louise Jenson's and what a lovely feeling it is when you find a new author, who's story you enjoyed, to find out that the author has written other books.

This was a fantastic story which had me changing my mind time and again as to what the truth was at the heart of the tale. Highly recommended!

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This is the first book I have read by this author but it certainly won't be the last. From the start I had an idea of where this book was leading me but boy was I SO wrong!!!! It was a total roller-coaster of a book and my head spinning trying to keep up with all the twists. The characters weren't very like-able but that's what really added to the story and made it impossible to guess where it was going, every theory I came up with got blown out of the water. A fantastic read!!!!

Thank you to NetGalley and Bookouture for the advance copy of The Surrogate by Louise Jensen in return for an honest review.

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Absolutely brilliant, brilliant book. The first half of the story has you thinking that one thing is happening, you guess how the book is going to end then bam its all switched around! Amazing book, brilliant writing and will definitely be reading more of Louises books.

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I enjoyed this psychological thriller and could not put it down.
The story flits between past and present with twists and turns throughout. I thought I had it sussed but I was wrong.
I loved this book and can’t wait for her next one.

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Thanks to Netgalley, Bookoutre, and Louise Jensen for this ARC . Just when you think Louise Jensen's books couldn't get any better they do! This one was the best one yet, absolutely loved it! This psychological thriller had a very suspenseful ending, I couldn't put it down. Throughout the whole book I kept wondering who can you trust ? What are all the secrets? And do you really get what you deserve after all? From the beginning realize has to do with the baby. I alienated between liking Kate or liking Lisa, and then I like neither of them so my emotions were all over the place. Nick had me totally confused, I think I gave him more storylines in my head, involving all the characters. This is one I would definitely recommend, because I never saw this end coming !
I don't know how to link all my reviews that I put online so I will just tell you that I have put my reviews on Amazon, Goodreads, Twitter, and Facebook.

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‘The Surrogate’ is the latest book from bestselling author Louise Jensen. I must admit that although I have several of Louise’s books, ‘The Surrogate’ is actually the first book of hers that I have read. Boy oh boy what a book it is.
I don’t want to type too much about the storyline as I have an unintentional habit of giving away far too many spoilers about books that I have enjoyed. Kat and Nick are a happily married couple, who are desperate to be parents. They have tried to adopt but at the last minute the adoptions have fallen through. They have suffered a lot of heartache and they are on the brink of giving up. However, Kat’s childhood friend Lisa pops back up and tells her that she was once a surrogate. This gives Kat the idea of hiring a surrogate and who better than Lisa, who she already knows. Kat and Lisa have a long history together but it’s obvious that something major happened in their past, which affected both of them and which led to their estrangement. There is certainly more to Lisa than meets the eye. Cracks start to emerge in Kat’s picture of what her family should be. It isn’t long before Kat comes to realise that to save her family in the present day, she has to confront the ghosts of her past. Just what did happen between Kat and Lisa? Is Lisa all she seems to be? Will Kat and Nick get the happy ever after that they so desire? Well for the answers to those questions and more you are just going to have to read the book for yourselves to find out as I am not going to tell you.
I must admit that I found it pretty hard to warm to any of the characters but that isn’t such a bad thing as it meant that I could remain impartial and have an overview of the situation. Kat was a bit of a strange cookie. I get that she is desperate to be a mother and that she is at the stage of potentially doing something very drastic to achieve her aim, but there were certain of her behaviours that didn’t just set one alarm bell ringing, more like a whole shop of alarm bells. I also can’t really understand why, when there are thousands of children in this country ready for adoption, Kat and Nick go overseas to adopt. (That little thought probably has a lot to do with my past working life in Childrens Social Services). I think that Kat feels a tremendous amount of guilt over what happened in the past and she has never really forgiven herself. Kat wants to believe that Lisa is genuine but I think that there is a small part of her that remains suspicious of Lisa and her motives. Lisa is a funny old fish and not in the ha ha sense. At first she is all friendly and open but there are certain behaviours of hers that set warning alerts off (or at least to me they do). All the clues build up and provide a chilling insight into her true character. Lisa seems to be rather stalkerish and I think that she has been keeping an eye on Kat from afar because Lisa knows certain information that Kat knows that she hasn’t told her. I did keep asking myself ‘What’s your game Lisa?’ I was suspicious of her and her motives. Nick comes across as being a bit of a limp lettuce leaf. I couldn’t help thinking that he was going along with Kat’s wishes of becoming a parent because it was something that she wanted and it wasn’t what he wanted. Nick seems to be hiding something too as he can be less than truthful and also very evasive in details that he passes on to Kat. I did wonder just what it was that he had been up to. There was certainly more to him than met the eye.
‘The Surrogate’ is extremely well written. I was gripped from the first word on the first page and the book held my attention until the last word on the last page. It was almost as if I had been hypnotised by the book. The pages were turning that quickly that it was almost as if they were turning themselves and before I knew it I had finished the book. I was glad to know how this particular story ended but I was enjoying the writing style and plot that much that I wanted the book to continue. Reading this book was a lot like being on a rollercoaster ride with all the twists, turns and stomach churning moments. There were literally times when I had to hold my breath and I almost had to read through my fingers as I genuinely feared what was going to happen next.
In short, I really enjoyed reading ‘The Surrogate’, which provides a chilling insight into how certain hopes and wishes can drive you to do drastic things. I would definitely recommend this book to others. I can’t wait to read what comes next from this hugely talented author but whilst I wait, I will content myself with reading her earlier books. I award this book 5* out of 5*.

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Kat wants a baby more than anything, but she is unable to have one of her own. She & Nick have tried overseas adoption, but twice now they got their hopes up, only to have the baby go to someone else. Out of the blue, Kat's oldest friend shows up and offers to be a surrogate. What starts out so perfectly ends in deceit and tragedy.

This book is a non-stop thrill ride, with so many plot twists you won't have any idea what is coming next.

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