Bethany is a young woman who has convinced herself that she would be the perfect best friend to her favorite influencer, Eliza. She knows everything about Eliza's life, schedule, and a secret detail that Eliza has tried to hide from the world. She takes it a bit far in blackmailing Eliza to accept her as a new close friend, and tries to seamlessly shove her way into Eliza's home and family. This book starts off slowly, the chapters switching between Bethany and Eliza's perspectives. However as the events pick up, you can't help but want to know what other crazy things Bethany is willing to do, and what crazy things Eliza is willing to allow her to do to protect her secret. With a huge hit and cliffhanger at the end, this book ended up leaving me wanting more. I'm not a huge fan of books that have modern trends - like influencers and instagram - but the mystery and inside into both character's minds was an intriguing pull that was enjoyable and entertaining.

Loved this book ,good relationships between the characters.i would recommend this book .I find myself reading more in the winter.five stars given

Full review on good reads
I already wrote a review for this but apparently clicked on the wrong book so now the original review is for the wrong book and idk how to fix it. Awesome.
Anyway, 2/5 stars.
Very repetitive. We get it. Bethany wants to be Eliza’s friend
And that ending was horrible!
I will not be reading anymore from this author.

Good thriller that keeps you interested to see what happens next. Will be looking for more of Shiner's books.

Wanting to be somebody else to taking over their life- this one quickly became crazy and a bit outlandish. Keep in mind, it's fiction! Thanks NetGalley for the ARC!

I'm sorry to say that I just couldn't get into this story. Neither Bethany nor Eliza were remotely sympathetic characters, one being an obsessive and the other a terrible snob. I found myself unable to care what happened to either of them so in spite of several attempts I couldn't finish the book.

WOW, I didn't know you could have 2 crazy people in one story but goodness you sure pulled it off in The stolen child. I really enjoyed this book and did not want to put down because I wanted to know who won in the battle of the stolen child or the one who kept the secret the stolen child A definite must read!

This book has left me speechless and still spinning from the amount of suspense in this story.Yet another book by Emily Shiner, that I could not out down and could not predict the ending.

What a crazy, twisted page-turner! Um, wow, I really don't even know what else to say! I liked that we got to read the story from the perspectives of both of the women.

Today, is my spot on ZooloosBookTours blog tour for The Stolen Child by Emily Shiner. This thriller is published by Inkubator Books and I read it as an ebook for this tour. I’m so glad that I took part on this blog tour as I really liked this novel. It was suspenseful, thrilling and exciting. It is a very topical novel too, as more and more people are becoming bloggers and social media influencers. This thriller tells a story of a family who kidnap their nephew and of a crazed fan who blackmails them. It sounds like every mother’s nightmare scenario and this novel discusses serious topics such as the dangers of sharing your personal life online.
This novel was unputdownable and I wanted to read it as quickly as possible to find out what happens in the end. I liked discovering a new author for me on this blog tour whose writing style I like. While this was my first novel that I’ve read by Emily Shiner, I can’t wait to read more novels by her in the future. I’m giving this novel 4 stars as I throughly enjoyed reading it and I’m sure other readers will like it too.

Eliza has the perfect life. Bethany wants it.
Eliza has the perfect life. A beautiful home, a hugely successful blog, a loving husband and two adorable children.
Bethany barely scrapes by in a dead-end job. Her only happiness comes from reading Eliza’s blog. Obsessed with her, she believes they’re destined to be best friends.
But Eliza doesn’t want another friend . . . especially one as pushy as Bethany. Because Eliza is hiding a family secret. One that would shatter her entire world if it was ever revealed.
Rejected and furious, Bethany starts stalking Eliza. And, as she watches her every move, Bethany discovers Eliza’s secret and threatens to expose it.
But Eliza will do whatever it takes to protect her perfect life. Even if it means getting rid of Bethany . . . forever.

This was an amazing suspenseful read.
Wonderful well written plot and story line that had me engaged from the start.
Love the well fleshed out characters and found them believable.
Great suspense and found myself second guessing every thought I had continuously.
Can't wait to read what the author brings out next.
Recommend reading.

I was provided an ARC from NetGalley and the publisher. This is my own honest voluntary review.

The Stolen Child by Emily Shiner
Eliza has the perfect life. Bethany wants it.
Eliza has the perfect life. A beautiful home, a hugely successful blog, a loving husband and two adorable children. Bethany barely scrapes by in a dead-end job. Her only happiness comes from reading Eliza’s blog. Obsessed with her, she believes they’re destined to be best friends.
Brilliant read. I loved this author. 5*.

I always enjoy novels taking social media influencers as a key element - so I was looking forward to this novel. It started well, showing how easy it is to stalk and glean knowledge about people online - but I found the plot rapidly become very unbelievable, with the idea of the stolen child at its heart. The ending was rushed and inconclusive also.

How far would you go to protect your children? That is what Eliza must ask herself when Bethany holds a dark secret over her. This quick read is highly engaging. It is told in dual POV, one from Bethany and one from Eliza. Eliza is a stay at home mommy blogger and Bethany is single and works in a bar. You would think they have nothing in common but Bethany is determined to be Eliza’s best friend because they have so much in common. I loved reading both sides of the story to really understand the characters thinking. I could not read this book fast enough.

This was an engaging book, but you really have to suspend your sense of disbelief during the read.

Interesting characters and plot

Many thanks to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for the advanced copy of the book.

So, girl mum Eliza is a mummy-blogger with a dark secret. She kidnapped her druggie sister’s kid and now keeps him hidden away in her house, while also detailing every other aspect of her and her daughter’s life online.

Super fan Bethany really wants be best friends with Eliza so engineers a few “chance meetings” with Eliza which just freaks Eliza out. After having her advances rebuffed a few times, the eagle-eyed Bethany notices something in the background of one of Eliza’s photos and instantly works out Eliza’s secret.

What did Bethany notice that was so incriminating? A blue cup.

That’s right, a blue cup caused the entire house of cards to come crashing down. Because everyone knows girls aren’t allowed anything blue! And there absolutely couldn’t possibly be any other explanation for this innocuous blue cup than a hidden boy baby living in the house…

The entire plot was ridiculous and poorly written. The wording was repetitive - the words “power” and “control” were used on pretty much every page.

The main characters were both unlikeable and their actions illogical.

There wasn’t really much action, there were no twists, and the ending was unsatisfactory.

@sarareadingbooks

This book was really good it flowed well and was to follow, loved the characters and kept my interest all the way through if haven't read a Emily Shiner book before I highly recommend you do she's very good

Eliza appears to have an ideal life. She has a doctor husband, a beautiful house, a blog/instagram following, and the picture perfect family with a daughter and a son.

Bethany is quite the opposite. She works in a bar. She lives in a crappy apartment. Has no friends and is alone. She follows Eliza on Instagram and loves her blog. She's almost obsessed with Eliza and truly believes is she could meet her, they would be best friends.

Eliza keeps to herself though. Because her family has a huge secret. One that could ruin their lives if it comes out.

A chance meeting at a coffee shop puts Eliza in Bethany's path. She latches on to her, trying to make friends with her. She fancies them best friends. When a photo on Instagram gives Brittany a clue and she uncovers Eliza's secret, the blackmail begins and it's a wild ride!

The ending threw me for a loop!

Many thanks to NetGalley and Inkubator Books for an ARC in exchange for my honest review!

Let me start off by saying anything by Emily Shiner is going to be great! Add this book to your TBR immediately! It did not disappoint! I do not want to give the story away but it is one of the best psychological thrillers I have read this year! Eliza has everything a girl could ask for. Bethany has nothing and becomes obsessed with Eliza. Bethany wants to be Eliza's friend but it is not going to happen. Eliza does not like Bethany and she is hiding something. Bethany starts stalking Eliza, discovers her secret and threatens to tell. It has a lot of twists and turns!

Eliza has the perfect life, Bethany does not,
Bethany becomes obsessed over Eliza and wants to be the best of friends, but Eliza doesn't want too. Eliza is withholding a family secret. Bethany learns the secret and Eliza doesn't want it exposed. How will the situation unfold? What would you do? Gotta read this spectacular book to find out what happens.

Thanks to inkubator, netgalley, and the author in exchange for a review.
Publishing date Sept 11, 2022