Before I start my review, please check Chapter 25: At Dark Peak
There is the sentence: I felt him exhale. and wWatched, reeling, as he turned away from me.

I just finished THE NANNY by Eleonor Samuel. Took me way longer than other books. First of all, I chose this book because of the cover (it just so much reminds Housemaid cover), and then in the description was actually mentioned that fans of Freida McFadden will enjoy this book! All I needed to be excited.
It started so well! Caught my attention straight away so the first 20% flew past and then everything slowed down. The chapters were so long that I stopped reading when I had some spare time (for example lunch break) as I knew I will be not able to finish a chapter. Each chapter become painfully slow and information started to repeat. Some chapters or parts of chapters weren't necessary! If you would take them out the main story would not be affected. I went to read reviews as I was thinking about giving up (I usually not leaving unfinished books but I was ready). I was glad to see that I wasn't the only one and not just picky and even more I was happy to see that reviews were processing a good and twisted ending! So I kept going!
The last 20% of this book was good! The story picks up speed and thrill and twists come in blindsiding you. Some gasps and uh and ah! Well done to the author about the twists.
I can see this as a twisted love story with psychological thriller elements. And if I am looking from this side I can say it was a good love story where characters grow into love, fighting feelings, letting feel and accepting differences... This story showed that things not always are how it looks like! I wanted to say don't judge a book by its cover.
Would I read another book by this author - YES! Even my favorite authors have books that didn't enjoy so much. And if one book wasn't for me, doesn't mean that the other book will be the same.
And remember that this is just my opinion and you could enjoy this book 100% as we all are different alt love different books!
Thanks, NetGalley and Joffe Books for the chance to read this story. It will be 3 stars from me this time.

India just started nannying for a wealthy family that makes her uneasy. She knows she'll have to work hard to befriend the little girl, Alicia, and although they tell her to pay him no attention, she keeps on being drawn to their older son, Alex...

This is a psychological thriller that will have you questionning who is telling the truth about what happened. I really didn't like Alicia's character, and the book was about 100 pages too long, dragging and repetitive. Even the final confrontation had be wishing it was shorter because it felt drawn out. It was also very predictable. It felt more like a romance drama most of the time. It's disappointing, because it started very interesting, and the premise was good, but it fell flat. This one wasn't for me.
I received an advanced review copy of this book for free and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

The cover of this book is very similar to Freida McFadden's The Housemaid but there the similarity ended. I found this book disappointing and couldn't get into it. Sorry, this one wasn't for me

I wanted to love the The Nanny but there was just a little too much packed in.

A thriller that has a romantic part needs a strong base and this didn’t sit right.

There is no doubt the writer is talented as all of the characters are told so well, even the plot has strong foundation but there wasn’t enough suspense to make this actually thrilling.

In the kindest way possible I wonder if this book decided to be discount The Maid by Freida McFadden. From the story to the cover.

I was sure I'd read this before but I think it's just the fact the cover is almost identical to the the housemaid that threw me off.

I'm a bit split over this one. Even aside from the fact I kept trying to figure out if I'd already read it, it was really predictable and wasn't much of a thriller. The tension is kinda there but there's a lot of romance and not so many twists and turns. It was a decent enough book but not what I was looking for, I'm sure for those who love chick lit or just women's fiction then it'll be a hit

This was my first time reading a book by Elanor Samuel, but it definitely will not be my last. I just finished reading The Nanny and I loved it! From cover to cover, I was hooked! What makes a thriller stand out to me is when I cannot guess the ending; that was exactly the case here. This book was creepy, full of memorable characters, and had me guessing until the very last page!

Enjoyed this one. I loved the character India and sweet Alice. This was a thriller which had me gripping all the way through. Loved it. My thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for giving me the opportunity to read this book in return for an honest review.

This was an engrossing read with well written characters and it kept me guessing. I’ve not read this author before but will definitely read more.

The Nanny by Eleanor Samuel held out the promise of an exciting psychological thriller. The main character, India, moves away from home to take a job as a nanny to seven year old Alicia. Alicia's dysfunctional family live in an isolated old manor house. and there are hints of dark secrets lurking in the past.

The main characters are well developed - particularly the delightful Alicia.

The pacing of the book tends to flag in the middle when it seems more like a romance than a thriller. This section could benefit from being shorter - the build-up to the big reveal at the end goes on too long and then the ending seems rushed.

A decent read but not as engrossing as I had hoped.

Thanks to NetGalley and Joffe Books for sending me an ARC in exchange for an honest review.. All opinions are my own.

Thank you Netgalley and Joffe Books for this eCopy to review

I loved The Nanny, I was completely drawn into India's story and her relationships with her (dead) friend Hope, Alicia (her charge) and Alex (Alicia's supposedly dangerous older brother).

Just what is going on at the Manor? Even though much of the plot was easy to guess I still enjoyed reading it as Samuel really knows how to build the tension and keep you reading to find out what India is going to do next.

My favourite part by far was the camping trip, everyone should have happy memories like this

Thank you to #NetGalley and #JoffeeBooks for the read and review of #TheNanny by #EleonorSamuel. This book was absolutely amazing. It had all the feels. I loved the relationships that India has with all the characters and the twist ending was the icing on the cake.

A conflicting book for me.

On the one hand, the characters and the backdrop were well developed. India is a wonderful character. Her chemistry with Alicia is great, and if you (like me) have a niche interest about reading what it is like to be a nanny, especially in an internal position, then you will love this book!
The suspense, however, is not really present until the end. You question reality like India does, but this is not a thriller right 'till the end. There's a lot of romance in this one. And even then, the ending was so dramatic it felt like a soap opera to me.
This is a good story, though. It drags a bit in the middle, but it is well rounded. It's just not the greatest.

Felt like I was reading the housemaid 2.0 and it could never quite land. This was a did not finish for me.

I was very excited for this book because of the description. Sadly it was a choppy story that was confusing at times. With the letters thrown in at random intervals that didn’t quite make sense.
Since the book did not have a nice flow to the story it annoyingly took me a long time to read it.

I honestly could not get into this book. I found the twists very predictable and I found the cover of the book almost identical to “The Housemaid” by Freida McFadden as well as the story line similarities.

The chapters were very lengthy and I think the book could have been shortened a lot. The letters to Hope just didn’t make much sense to me and were scattered throughout the book.

Quite disappointed as this is a book I would usually pick up by reading the blurb but unfortunately it is a very slow burn and didn’t give me the chills I get from reading other thrillers.

Overall a sad 2 stars due to it taking me ages to finish the book and not being able to get stuck to the pages and storyline.

Thank you to Netgalley and Joffe Books for letting me give an honest review.

Psychological thriller, chilling all the way through.
India McKenzie goes to work for John and Julie Maine looking after their seven year old daughter Alicia. The manor Rifway is going to be her new home as she says goodbye to Leeds and her best friend Hope Bryant.
Arriving she finds their son Alex is home and staying for a while, his burning eyes scare her and Alicia is running rings around her she's so full of life.
This book is very dark to read chilling chapter after chapter.
Full of twists that you don't see coming at all right till the big end.

Thank you NetGalley and Joffe books for an advanced copy of this ebook in exchange for my honest review.

India, clearly struggling with her past, moves away from home to become a nanny for 7 year old Alicia Maine. She moves into the Maine’s house where she lives with John and Julia - who are almost never home - as well as Alicia and Alex who is an adult that moved back home.

India writes letters to a friend from home throughout the book. The letters didn’t feel well balanced with the rest of the book. India is supposed to be mature enough to completely care for a 7 year old almost 24/7 but her letters seemed more like a 15 year old wrote them. I actually felt this way about the authors writing too. The beginning of the book had very simple, amateur feeling writing but the writing in second half of the book really improved. When her friend starts writing back and leaving letters in front paces like India’s backpack and room, she starts thinking she is crazy.

I loved Alicia and India’s bond. I was really happy to see a ‘nanny’ thriller where the child wasn’t a complete brat.

Alex is the Maine’s adult child who moved home after getting in trouble with the law. He is mysterious and full of anger. I enjoyed seeing him come out of his shell and start to live in the world around himself again.

The character development for Alex and Alicia was really strong however I felt that the author tried to keep India’s past a mystery for so long it actually was a detriment to her character development. I also think it was unnecessary to keep as a mystery as readers can instantly guess what happened to India and her friend.

The pacing of this book was good in the beginning. Then it was fairly slow to build the story for a good 2/3 of the book. I really think this could have been shorter. I don’t know that people who love shocks and twisty-turns thrillers are going to make it to the end as there is just a lot of story building for so long in this book. Then the end comes and it’s whirlwind fast. I did actually quite enjoy the ending, but again I guessed really early on every twist that was written.

3.5 stars rounded down. Overall I do think it was a decent read just was a little too long and predictable.

ARC Review
2.5 - This one unfortunately didn't quite hit for me. It felt like an off-brand version of Freida McFadden's 'The Housemaid' - going to live with a wealthy family, secret pasts catching up to everyone, being a little naive to everything happening, etc. Heck, even the cover is almost identical with the keyhole, blue background, yellow font. I also felt like it was about 100 pages too long. The beginning was good, and I didn't figure out the twist at the end, but the middle took me a while to get through because it wasn't holding my attention.

Compelling from the start, which hooked me in very quickly. What is going on at The Manor? Julia and John’s intense dislike of their eldest child, Alex is clear, yet there is an intense connection between Alex and India, the new nanny for Alicia. It’s electric, yet Alex remains tense and mysterious. Intriguing!

The middle of the book did unfortunately drag and it felt repetitive in parts. I was keen to get to the ending and what a rollercoaster of an ending! Naturally, I thought I’d worked it out and was wrong 😉

The main characters of India and the family at the Manor were well developed. Vee, Maeve and Sara were surplus to the storyline and only added to the drawn out middle section of the book.

3/3.5 ⭐️ Thanks to Netgalley, the author and the publisher for an ARC in return for an honest review.