Great story, really enjoyed this book, kept me interested until the last page. The characters were real and interesting.
Loved it

This is the first book I have read by this author but it won't be my last. Beneath the surface tells the story of the Vermuyden family who are disfunctional and have been concealing secrets to protect each other but they are about to unravel after 10 year old Mia finds a pregnancy test in the garage and her older sister Lilly lies and tells her it belongs to her and she tells Mia not to tell their parents. This is followed by Lilly having a seizure at school during English class and the quest begins to find the cause thus leading to the unravelling of the family's secrets. This was an easy read that kept me intrigued the whole way through.

Thank you to NetGalley and the author for the arc of Beneath The Surface my review is honest and unbiased in any way.

I did try to like this book and read it to the end but I kept struggling and my mind wandered to the thought of reading something else.
I could not connect to the characters and found the story line to slow to persevere.It has great reviews from other people so don't be put off by mine.

Thanks Netgalley and the Publisher. Loved the Good Girls and this was equally (if not) just better. I really liked all the characters and the great storyline.

I have mixed feelings about this book. It's a well-written character driven story of a dysfunctional family living not far from Cambridge. The older daughter, Lilly, has a fit at school and is slowly revealed to not be the golden girl everyone thinks she is. Her parents take their eyes off younger daughter Mia, who is permanently "In Trouble", with disastrous results.

The plot is not particularly strong but the well-defined characters make up for that. Readers will certainly feel something towards them, be it pity, rage, frustration or admiration.

The book was a slow burner and I thought some of the family's secrets could have been revealed sooner to maintain interest. The ending, although certainly dramatic, left me feeling a little bit dissatisfied. I thought more could have been said about what happened to the family next - it lacked closure. Still a very enjoyable read though.

I have to say I struggled with this book. The setting appealed as it is fairly local to me, although the descriptions of The Fens instill in me a sense of claustrophobia,
The plot... not entirely sure if there was a main plot; it was meandering and trickling through the book.

Grace was not particularly likeable, but her daughters were well-written, and Mia was a refreshing joy in a dark, almost suffocating story.

Lily collapses in class. The past seems to be catching up with her mother Grace. Pressures of adult life, debt and uncertainty. For me I found the book hard to read and even to the end felt there was more, something I had missed. It just didn't work for me. Having said that I can imagine for some this book would work as it takes you into the characters.

A slow burning family drama about a dysfunctional family with various secrets and how things don't always appear as they seem.

After a fairly messed up childhood, Grace is determined to make sure her daughters have a better life than her. But while she's trying to fix Lilly's problems, she takes her eyes off Mia, and problems abound.

My favorite character was far and away Mia, who has such a vivid imagination and lack of social awareness it often gets her in trouble. But I found her authentic and funny, and she was such a wonderful addition to this novel.

A novel set in the heart of a family, it follows the story of Grace and her daughters Lilly and Mia. Complacent that all is well in her world, Grace is shocked when her elder daughter’s collapse at school triggers the release of many secrets. Fixed on sorting out Lilly’s issues, Grace’s attention is taken away from Mia. Unfortunately, to really enjoy a book with such a slight plot, I need to have some empathy or liking for the main characters, and that was absent in this novel. I also found the ending to be.anti-climactic.

An engrossing Read -
After a troubled childhood herself, Grace Vermuyden is determined that her daughters, Lilly and Mia, will have a settled and happy life.
Grace never has any problems with Lilly, just Mia whose vivid imagination and lack of social awareness cause her cause for concern. However when Lilly collapses at school, Grace is to find that her ideal elder daughter wasn't the angel her mother thought.
This is a very topical novel which covers the complexities of living in our modern world. I really liked the character, Mia, she seemed to be so unique and realistic.
Well worth reading.

Grace had a chaotic childhood, so when she got married to Patrick she was determined to be the best mother. She has two daughters. Bright, pretty Lily is an A student & Grace is determined to do everything to make sure she gets into Cambridge University. Mia is a law unto herself. Living in a world of her own, inclined to make comments most people would keep to themselves, her best friend is Tas- a member of the travelling community. When Lily suffers a mysterious seizure Grace's world starts to crumble & secrets are revealed.

I have mixed feelings about this book. Although it is very well written I soon came to dislike Grace intensely! Patrick wasn't particularly likeable either. I felt very sorry for Lily but Mia was this book's saving grace for me. I loved her- although I'm not sure I'd like to teach her!

Thanks to Netgalley & the publisher for letting me read & review this book.

I really enjoyed this book and liked the way that things didn’t always appear as they seemed. Family life is never easy and this book examines the relationships within the family unit. At times it seemed as though supernatural sources might be at work. A great read.

This isn't the sort of book that I normally read but I enjoyed it because the characters were believable. The mother, Grace, is in many ways, typical of so many mothers, her own poor upbringing means she is determined that her daughters will have a better life than she had. Patrick, her husband is an academic who is well educated, from a good family background but has flaws because he can't manage money and his choice of career is not one that provides for his family. The two daughters, Lilly and Mia are like chalk and cheese, Lilly is academically bright, dependable and (in her parents eyes) dutiful and sensible. Mia (who was probably my favourite character) isn't as bright academically, (though she is smart and resourceful in her own way)she doesn't fit in with her peers and is thought of by her parents as the troublesome one because of the way she views the world and by her actions. However, as with many families there is a twist, Lilly isn't as dutiful as they think she is and it is her actions that set off a spiral of events that have consequences for the whole family and expose them as being completely dysfunctional. I thought this book was cleverly written, with an ending that couldn't be anticipated but was a good climax.

This book is about the Vermuyden family and all their hidden secrets. Grace has had a very chaotic and unhappy upbringing and so she wants everything to be perfect for her family. Husband James is struggling to make ends meet as their house needs a lot of work and he is struggling with finances. Lily, the eldest daughter is a high flyer and all set for university when she suffers a seizure at school and is hospitalised. Grace discovers that Lily has secrets of her own and has been deceiving her. Mia, her younger daughter is ten years old, is an eccentric child with learning difficulties and few friends. Grace’s carefully ordered life starts to unravel. This is a multilayered and powerful story, a thought provoking book about a family and their secrets. An enjoyable read.
Thanks to NetGalley and Penguin for giving me the opportunity to read and review this book.

This started very slowly and at one point I was going to give up. I am glad I persevered because the story gradually grew better but there were lots of secrets and twists in the storyline some of which I didn't entirely understand and I found the ending quite rushed with unanswered questions.

A bit of a slow burner and at 30% I very nearly gave up with it, but it did improve and it definitely grew on me and what was a slow start, became an 'alright' read.

Many thanks to Netgalley for a copy of this ARC for which I have given my voluntary and unbiased review.

The first half of this book I enjoyed a lot, but it moved incredibly slowly and I started to get a little bored. It didn't really go the way I thought it would and ended up being a much more subtle story. I thought it would be a kind of mystery/something really big would be revealed but I think I just got bored.

A great story that is full of twists and turns as to what has happened and why. Lots to keep you guessing and never sure how it is going to finish...

A story of a dysfunctional family with dark twists of secrets. I struggled a bit with the flow but was compelled to keep going to reveal more secrets. I have to admit that I didn’t entirely understand the ending

A complex tale of family and relationships,secrets and lies.Interesting in parts but failed to hold my interest.