I found this book to be very slow but I see that other people enjoyed it. Sorry this one's not for me but thank you to Netgalley for the opportunity to read an ARC

Phoebe was forced to give up her son, Charlie, up for adoption when he was 3 years old. Now that Charlie is almost an adult, Phoebe is back in town determined to build a relationship with him. Unfortunately, Charlie now has a new name (now Ben) and a new life and he does not remember anything about the woman who gave birth to him. She needs to find Charlie and by a stroke of luck, she sees a newspaper clipping and she knows that’s her son. Because she can’t tell Ben her true identity, she begins plotting on how to insert herself in his life.
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The pace of the book was a bit slow and very drawn out. There were not a lot many twists and turns like most thrillers.
Story is based on dual POVs, Ben and Phoebe, going back and forth from 1998 to present. Phoebe was a hard character to like because of all the complex decisions she made leading up to the reason why she had to give her son up. It was hard to find any sympathy for her. The ending was a huge surprise for me but again, took too long to get there.

Thank you #NetGalley for the advanced digital copy of #AMotherNeverLies

A Mother Never Lies was a interesting read. A mother is forced to give up her four year old son, now fourteen years later she seeks him out. Where and what has she been doing for all them years and what secrets is she hiding. Thank you Netgalley for this arc for my honest opinion.

I cannot believe that A Mother Never Lies is a debut novel. It contains such assured writing, a brilliant plot and great characters. I couldn't put this one down.

When Phoebe Taylor's son, Charlie, is taken from her, her life is destroyed. Fourteen years later she is determined to reconnect with her boy who has been adopted and is now called Ben. She returns to London to live with her parents while she seeks for him.

As the plot progresses you gain a real insight into the troubled characters of Phoebe and Ben. Phoebe's guilt about the past and Ben;s unhappy present are sensitively explored. The way that they slowly begin to connect is engrossing.

The narrative is shared between Phoebe and Ben and you hear completely different voices and thoughts. It is very skillfully done.

This novel is a really rewarding read, full of tension and infused with emotions of guilt, fear, betrayal, love and hate. I'me really looking forward to whatever Sarah Clarke does next.

Thank you to NetGalley and HQ Stories for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Contain Spoilers: Thank you Netgalley for the opportunity to read this ARC of A Mother Never Lies. This book follows Phoebe and her son Charlie (now goes by Ben). Phoebe returns to living with her parents after being away for 14 years. Her goal is to meet Charlie and get to know him as he is now adopted and is 17. The book goes back and forth between when Phoebe got married and had Charlie to current day. Charlie is struggling due to events that happened when he was a child that he doesn't fully remember. It takes almost 3/4 of the way into the book to find out that Phoebe killed Charlie's father and was in prison for the 14 years. Charlie finally remembers who Phoebe is (I am a little surprised he didn't know who she was all along) and then confronts her. The ending was dramatic and then a little unbelievable. I found myself skipping over pages of dialogue to get to the end. Overall decent read but was not my favorite.

Thank you NetGalley and the Publisher for allowing me to read this ARC.
Was a good story. Definitely recommend going into this blindly!

A Mother Never Lies • Sarah Clarke

🌟🌟🌟/5

Thank you to NetGalley and HQ for the digital copy of Sarah Clarke’s debut novel in exchange for an honest review! Pub date: August 17, 2021

This is the first book that was approved for me to review and I really really wanted to love the book but I did not connect with any of characters, the story itself was good but it definitely wasn’t a thriller/suspense read. The story was somewhat predictable and a bit unrealistic, unfortunately. Rounded it up to 3 stars, I hope others have enjoyed it more!

This book was pretty enjoyable. It was easy to read and I read it in 2 days. I found myself conflicted on my thoughts of Phoebe. One minute I felt so sorry for her and the next I thought she was so selfish.

I really enjoyed the alternating timelines and POVs and it was easy to follow. I did find myself enjoying more of the parts set in the past though. The first half of the book set in the present dragged on a bit for me, but it did set up the characters and their emotions nicely.

This book is classified as a thriller, but this is more of a regular drama to me. Fans of dramas will surely like this book. As a fan of thrillers, it was a bit slow and predictable for me.

Overall, this was a good debut novel from Sarah Clarke and I will probably check out more from her in the future.

What a book!

It had me gripped and I couldn't put it down. There were times throughout the book where I thought "what?" and the story just got more intense.

This is an author who I'm definitely looking forward to reading more from in the future. It was a fantastic debut novel ⭐⭐⭐⭐

A mother, forced to give up her son when he was just a toddler, seeks to find him as he’s almost eighteen. A son, troubled by his past that he can’t quite remember - but he feels it’s all his fault.

A story that grabs you and doesn’t let go until you’ve read the final page. An amazing debut novel by Sarah Clarke.

I had the perfect life - a nice house, a loving husband, a beautiful little boy. But in one devastating night, they were all ripped from me. It's been fourteen years and I'm finally ready to face the past. I'm taking my son back.

This is one of those books where you're better off going in blindly. There's a few unexpected twists along the way. It's both thought provoking and intriguing. Phoebe has lots of secrets and we are drip fed information bit by bit. The chapters are set in different timelines. This is a quick and engrossing read.

I would like to thank #NetGalley #HQ and the author #SarahClarke for my ARC of #AMotherNeverLies in exchange for an honest review.

'𝑰𝒕'𝒔 𝒊𝒏𝒔𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒄𝒕𝒊𝒗𝒆; 𝒂𝒘𝒂𝒌𝒆 𝒐𝒓 𝒂𝒔𝒍𝒆𝒆𝒑, 𝒂 𝒎𝒐𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓 𝒘𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒂𝒍𝒘𝒂𝒚𝒔 𝒌𝒆𝒆𝒑 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒊𝒓 𝒄𝒉𝒊𝒍𝒅 𝒔𝒂𝒇𝒆.'

For a debut novel, this was quite an intense read.

Following a fourteen year incarceration, 47-year old Phoebe resumes life in the outside world with just one aim - to find the son that she gave up for adoption. Once upon a time her whole world revolved around her child, until a violent twist of fate tore them apart. But when she does find him, he is no longer her sweet boy, but a troubled teenager who is clearly suffering from PTSD. The plot follows the journey of the mother and son as they reconnect and address the trauma that separated them.

While the book has been termed a thriller, I feel this is a misnomer as it was more drama and emotions than mystery. The characters of Phoebe and Ben/Charlie, and the inner turmoil they face are beautifully portrayed. Both are shown to be flawed, with shades of grey colouring their thoughts and actions. However, I felt that the ending was too neat and tidy, in an attempt to wind up the plot on a high note.

Overall, an interesting read. Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for providing a digital copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

Well what a debut novel!! I’m so happy I read this.

14 years ago, Phoebe had no choice but to let her son, Charlie, be adopted but now she is back in London and ready to find him and be reunited. She is determined that nothing will get in her way but will Charlie (who is now known as Ben) want to reunite with his mother considering he doesn’t even remember her and can’t fully remember the events of that tragic night.

As I said above this is an excellent debut from Sarah Clarke. I really enjoyed the two separate timelines and found as soon as we were back in the present, I wanted to go back to the past to find out the next piece of the story. A few reviewers have mentioned pacing issues, but I didn’t feel this, I thought the story flowed very well. I was extremely conflicted by Phoebe (well done Sarah Clarke), I had sympathy with her and so, at times, liked her and then at other times I disliked her. There were definitely a few places in the story where I wanted to say “What are you doing??!!” (without trying to spoil things I’ll just say bittersweet job and Christmas day). All in all I thought this was an excellent book and I’m actually really sad to finish it. I am very much looking forward to reading more of Sarah Clarkes books.

Thank you to NetGalley, HarperCollins publishers and Sarah Clarke for my advanced reading copy. Due out 27th August 2021.

A quick interesting read. The plot had many holes in it and Implausible factors but the steady built kept me intrigued. Phoebe was hard to like but I felt for Ben trying to navigate through his personal chaos. The ending came together nicely.

Thank you NetGalley for this arc

Phoebe gave up her son, Charlie, for adoption after a night which changed her life forever. Fourteen years later, she wants him back.

I wasn't convinced by this story as there were too many things that didn't ring true. First of all (slight spoiler alert here), it is a condition of Phoebe's release from prison that she cannot contact her son until he is 18. He'll be 18 in a few months time so why risk everything for the sake of a few months? Secondly, the ease with which she finds him is incredible. Thirdly, the social worker who warns her off? Any social worker I have known has been worked off their feet with their current caseload and wouldn't have the time to home visit a case from years ago. Most annoyingly, Phoebe is one of those characters who is headstrong and does all the wrong things. So annoying and above all unlikeable.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

Phoebe gives up her three year old son Charlie up for adoption. Fourteen years later she returns determined to find her son. Unfortunately he has no clue who she is and Phoebe cannot reveal her true identity so she goes on to weigh her options. She has come to realize how precious time is and will consider her actions carefully.

Told in alternating points of view from Phoebe and her son between 1998 and the present, you will contemplate yourself whether we can learn from our mistakes and if we can ever truly right our wrongs.

I enjoyed this thriller. The pacing was a bit slow but overall a good read!

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for this ARC.

Phoebe, the main character has a lot of secrets. Some I guessed early on in the book. There is a slow build up of suspense and Phoebe's story is gradually revealed, different chapters are set at different times. The characters are well portrayd and feelings well described. The plot is interesting and believable. Maybe at times a little too drawn out but definitely a 4 star book
Thank you to Net Galley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4153831550

Really really enjoyed this book, very good detailing with the storyline as well as heart wrenching. The story was so well written, I was immediately engrossed and unable to stop reading as I just wanted to carry on. The characters worked well, there wasn’t many twists or turns in which I honestly didn’t mind as it was engrossing and I was really hooked onto this book which I loved! I would recommend this book, 4.5*! Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC, the review is based on my honest opinion.

Phoebe is desperate to find her son Charlie. We learn early on that he was adopted as a youngster following a traumatic event.
After returning to London to live with her alcoholic parents the hunt is on. Phoebe discovers Charlie or Ben as he is now known very easily. However, should she tell him who she really is. Ben has his own issues he’s currently dealing with.
Thoroughly enjoyed this book. It was a quick read as I was desperate to get to why Charlie had been adopted and how her husband had died.
Many thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this ARC

I found this book to be very, very good read, extremely well written and so gut wrenching!
I couldn't exactly like Phoebe, I wasn't too keen on Ben either, and Flora you could strangle! but the storyline is so well written and so heartbreaking you can't help but feel for them all and understand why they behave as they do.
I wont give any spoilers, but the ending is really cool, and unexpected!
I enjoyed this book very much.