Full of deceit and secrets, this book was intense and thrilling for sure! I couldn’t put this one down, the plot had me hooked from the beginning and I had to get to the bottom of it!
Thoroughly enjoyed this, will definitely recommending to my friends and coworkers in the medical field as a Fun read.

Thank you to Bookouture, the author and NetGalley for the ARC.

All opinions are solely my own

⭐️⭐️⭐️ out of 5

Amidst the humid backdrop of a Florida town the wealthy and those who serve them live out their secrets. Emily, a recent nursing program graduate interviews for the job of her dreams; a private nurse for a mentally challenged, spoiled housewife, Sabrina. Sabrina’s husband, respected psychiatrist Dr. Roth is his wife’s treating physician as well as concerned husband.

Upon receiving the job of her life, Emily agrees to all conditions laid out, nurse, driver, cook, maid after signing a NDA. She learns Sabrina is paranoid with delusions and must rely heavily on a steady pharmaceutical regimen to treat the worst symptoms. Sabrina is a petulant dismissive patient…but are her delusions really imaginary? Are shadow people following her or is dr Roth over medicating his wife for other reasons?

This domestic thriller contains all the elements of a suspenseful tale. What is real and what isn’t? Who is the prey and who is the hunter and why? Saying that, the story takes a long and I do mean long route to get to it. I prefer a growing sense of unease, I didn’t feel it until about the 70% point. The author waits until the last chapter to describe in detail how the events unfolded; I wanted to get there by picking up hints along the way and drawing my own conclusions not read a step by step synopsis. Take me on the journey with you.

Character development was strong for the main characters not so much for secondary ones. Atmosphere was descriptively accentuated.

This book had me on the edge of my seat trying to figure out who was behind it all. Definitely highlights the concerns that home nurses can face. Enjoyable read

For a domestic thriller, this has a different story. The pace is very slow and as is typical with this genre, the last 20% has twists and revelations.
Emily Lancing, recently got her nursing degree. She lives with a roommate - Jennell Green, and is hopefully of getting into a job which pays decently. She has no family now – with her parents dying of cancer (her mother more recently), and her sister taking her own life (the circumstances leading to this are covered later in the story). Dr Henry Roth is looking for a private nurse for his wife Sabrina (Bree). He has a psychiatric practice and is doing well. Their daughter Taylor Lee is married and in Tampa, with her husband finishing his residency. Sabrina has had some very traumatic experiences – she lost her brother Julian when he was a toddler, and somewhat recently was in a car accident. Dr Roth says Sabrina tends to get confused and is prone to false memories, and feels somebody is watching and following her. Sabrina mentions some incidents and Emily wonders if they could have really happened. Sabrina also comes across as excessively medicated to Emily, though Dr Roth insists there is no other option.

The plot is weak overall, and the build-up is very slow. The twist near the end while appearing clever requires elaborate plot tie-up to make it plausible. And the author does that – there is a fairly long and detailed explanation of how the story comes together (though the narration in the earlier sections was obviously tailored to get readers to make assumptions).

My rating: 3.25 / 5.

This book started super slow. It took me a while to get into. Once I got about 40% through the book, it started getting good. I found myself unable to put it down. Just when I thought it was all out there and I had everything figured out, another twist was thrown it. It ended up being a great read just a slow start.

This was super close to being a 5 star read for me! The main reason I dropped it down to a 4 star rating were the pacing issues. I felt like the book dragged quite a bit at the beginning and middle. I wasn't entirely "on the edge of my seat" for the vast majority of the book so that made me read it over many sessions instead of binging it like I normally would with a thriller. The ending of this book is really what could have made it 5 stars. What was really successful in this book was the portrayal of the wife Sabrina and how unreliable she was as a character. I really thought I had her figured out but wow was I wrong. The plot twists were super unpredictable in the end and extremely satisfying for the reader. I really enjoyed being in the dark until the confession/who dun it took place. I also enjoyed how we got an explanation on how the twist was pulled off. I find thrillers have a bad tendency to have massive twists that lack practicality and leave the reader to make assumptions on how the twists took place. This was a really successful thriller and I really enjoyed the last third.

Thank you Netgalley, Bookouture and Jenna Kernan for this ARC in exchange for an honest review. The Nurse will be published October 2, 2023.

As a nurse I love medical thrillers and this one did not disappoint! I like that it was a home setting instead of a hospital- a nice change. I did not guess the twist, that made reading it even better.
On a personal note I enjoyed that the nurse was a LPN instead of RN as I am a LPN..
I definitely recommend!

What a wild ride!
The first 25% felt a bit long and hard to get into, but then everything started happening at once and the ending was a blast.
I loved the characters and the story line with this one.
Karma is a B..
Can't wait to read more from this author!

Wow! Fabulous dark and creepy vibe and I loved it! My first Jenna Kernan book but definitely not my last. This book was captivating from the very beginning and kept me engaged the whole time. Well written and perfectly executed. The story just flowed and never stopped with the twists and turns. Highly recommend

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Emily is a new graduate LPN and gets a request to work for the Roth family. She is to keep an eye on Mrs. Roth and make sure she takes all medications prescribed by her physician, her husband. Is Mrs. Roth really a danger to herself or is her husband just trying to keep control in the marriage?

If you like slow burns, this would be a good one for you. For me, it went a little slower than I would have liked. The last 30% of the book was good and I did not want to put the book down but not worth the other 70% of the book.

This book was hard to put down because it was often so absurd.

This is a psychological thriller about a woman who is being “drugged” by her doctor husband.

He “makes” her feel like she’s losing her mind and she goes along with it. She tricks him because she’s onto his tricks.

He hires a nurse to take care of his wife and she starts to suspect that something isn’t right either.

The ending… went differently than I thought but overall a good, quick read.

Thank you netgalley and publisher for the chance to read this arc for free, in return for my honest opinion.

I read The Nurse over a couple of days and to be honest I almost gave up on it. I just going the novel so slow going and couldn’t really gel with any of the characters. It felt overly long winded but I’m glad I stick with it for the twist at the end. Thank you to NetGalley, Bookouture and the author for the chance to review.

Thank you to Bookouture and NetGalley for an ARC of this book, in exchange for my honest opinion.

Emily has just graduated nursing school and is looking for a new job, to help with her mounting debt. She has an interview with Dr Henry Roth, a prominent local psychiatrist, where she would be a private nurse for his wife Sabrina (Bree). Sabrina has long suffered from paranoia, delusions, confusion, and is on a constant rotation of meds, all provided by her husband who oversees her medical care. Emily’s job is to keep Bree safe, drive her around (because she is not allowed behind the wheel anymore), and ensure she is talking all her medications.

But the more time Emily spends with this family, she discovers things are off. Sabrina doesn’t seem to be as mentally ill, as her husband has led on. And why is Dr Roth constantly changing up her meds?

You may think you know what’s going on with the Roth’s; but I assure you, you will never see the ending coming. I will say this was a lengthy thriller, but it’s worth it! The final chapter of this book is just…. WOW, that is how you wrap up the ending to a thriller. Every single question is answered, and it’s so satisfying!!!

I cannot praise this book highly enough!
Wow! The plot was fantastic with one heck of a twist ,
no spoilers here….
I literally could not put this thriller down, I was hooked from page 1
as the book took off immediately until the very last page.
An absolute triumph

I knew from the start that this would be a fun, twisty book - and it was! This isn’t very thought-provoking, but it is definitely juicy…

Emily just graduated, valedictorian, as a Licensed Practical Nurse. She immediately is offered a job as a private nurse, catering to only one patient. Knowing she has a ton of student loan debt to pay back, Emily happily takes the position…despite the NDA, the locked-up car keys, and the mountain of medications she is required to dispense.

Dr. Henry Roth wanted the valedictorian for a few reasons, one being that he will pay anything for the best care when it comes to his wife, Sabrina. Bree has some mental health issues (of course) and her psychiatrist husband is treating her as best he can, but she’s still struggling with delusional thinking. Emily isn’t sure she’s up for this challenge, but she needs the money. How difficult can one woman be?

This had a slight feel of Frieda McFadden’s “The Housemaid”, because all is not as it seems with this couple, and it’s up to the nurse to figure out what to do with the situation she unravels. This was quite suspenseful the whole way through, and the ending was good. Four stars!

(Thank you to Bookouture, Jenna Kernan and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my review. This book is slated to be released on October 2, 2023.)

Thank you NetGalley, Jenna Kernan, and Bookouture for allowing me to read this ARC of "The Nurse" in exchange for my honest review.

Emily, an LPN, is hired to provide care in a private residence by a Psychologist with a mentally ill wife. All the red flags wave, but Emily signs herself up anyway knowing this would give her financial stability; something she has never had.

I am probably the hardest critic for this book. I live off the thrill of thrillers and I am a nurse. My first problem was the lack of research in this book. There were things that are mentioned that don't really exist, but most would probably not know that and this is a fictional book. My biggest issue was it took 47% of the book before it got thrilling, and the last 13% wasn't needed and was honestly quite annoying. I gave this book a good 3 stars because the 30% that was good was really good.

I recommend this book to occasional thriller readers that are okay with mediocre thrillers and to non-medical folks that wont be bothered by the inconsistencies.

From the very beginning I knew something was really off, I just didn't know what. The story could have gone a few ways and I enjoyed the thrill of finding out what happened. The ending had a shocking twist that I didn't see coming! Bonus for me was the location in Florida around the Orlando area, I was just there last week and so I really enjoyed that setting.

Thanks to Netgalley and Bookouture for a digital ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Emily is a newly qualified nurse, and is approached by Dr Roth to care for his wife, who has mental health issues. Emily needs a job to pay her rent, run her old car, and to eat. The pay is generous, there is only one patient to care for, so she accepts.
The Roths have a lavish lifestyle, Mrs Roth, Sabrina, is not allowed to drive, so part of Emilys duties are to drive her if she wants to go anywhere, lunch with friends, shopping, the golf club. Emily also orders the food shopping, and does some cleaning.
Dr Roth makes Emily responsible for giving his wife her medications, explaining that it is very important she takes it all, or her health will suffer. He tells Emily that Sabrina suffers from delusions, which worsen if her medications are missed. Emily notices however, that Sabrina becomes more talkative when her husband leaves the house. Emily is not sure that what Sabrina says can be believed, is it truth or her delusions?
Someone is lying, and Emily wants to find out the truth.
All the characters in the book are complex, I was believing first one then another, and I never saw the ending coming.
A brilliant psychological thriller.

This book was amazing but the ending was even better. It was a slow burn but in the best way possible. The middle felt slightly long to me but it still has me entertained. The last 25% was SO GOOD! Full of twists and turns. The entire book has me guessing about who was lying and who was telling the truth.

Emily Lancing may have graduated top of her class and scored a great job at graduation, but nothing prepared her for her employers, Dr. and Mrs.Henry Roth, a prominent local psychiatrist and his wife.

Nothing.

When she discovers that the doctor’s wife becomes more lucid after her husband leaves the house, Emily decides to monitor the situation. Is she purposely being overmedicated? Is Mrs. Roth hiding something? Why does Dr. Roth have so many rules to follow? He’s a psychiatrist, surely he’s doing what’s best for his wife? Author Jenna Kernan allows readers to follow alongside the nurse as she tries to get to the bottom of the mystery before it’s too late.

What I love most about Kernan’s writing is her ability to weave in intriguing unanswered questions. I knew there was something up with the Roths, but Kernan didn’t spell it out for me - thank goodness! I had to keep turning pages to …well, get the answer, but then another question arose! I love this kind of writing.

I also appreciate an author who doesn’t give us too much backstory! I know why it’s done, but often I feel so bogged down with the protagonist’s history that it makes for a slow start and hampers me from racing through the pages. Kernan knows when to reveal facts when they have the biggest impact on her story. Oh, there are clues and facts that are dropped like breadcrumbs, don’t get me wrong. What is left for us to pick up and follow is ‘just enough.’ Again, I love this kind of writing.

This is a captivating domestic thriller that you’ll want on your tbr pile! Kernan knows how to write thrillers and delivers a gobsmacking twist - one that you’d never guess, even after wading through all the secrets and lies.

I was gifted this copy by Bookouture and NetGalley and was under no obligation to provide a review.