ARC Review

The Playgroup by @leahmercerauthor
This book releases on March 21, 2024.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️,5

Lenore had a really rough time, due to a depression, after giving birth to her daughter Florence. She wants some time alone with her, away from her husband, to reconnect and build some new self confidence. Alice, manager of ‘The nest’ offers her a job in the nursery and Lenore is absolutely thrilled to start making new friends, all caring mothers like her, whilst taking care of each others precious children. But a horrific and tragic accident happens with Florence and all of Lenore’s newfound friends have their own dangerous secrets to protect..

I absolutely loved this gripping psychological and suspenseful tale. From the very first chapter I was hooked and almost couldn’t put it down. It’s so well written and the character building is awesome. Every character is packed with their own dark secrets, but you feel compassion for all of them at the same time and truly understand some of the choices they make.

Lenore and Beth were my favourite characters, because they are so relatable and want to protect their loved ones by any cost. I definitely want to pick up another one from this author.

Thank you so much @netgalley and @bookouture for my advanced digital copy in exchange for an honest review!

Lenore, Alice, Beth and Georgie all have secrets but it's Lenore's little daughter who is in the hospital because of something that happened (or didn't) at the Nest, a daycare center, Lenore has been struggling with post partum depression and has come to town to show her husband she can manage. The others, well, their challenges include addition and domestic violence. This more trope-y than suspenseful or surprising and the characters didn't feel as fleshed out as they could have been but I still kept turning the pages. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC.

Lenore wants to be the best mother she can be, so she leaves her husband (for now - not for good) and moves to a cute little town with her young daughter. While driving through the town to the apartment she'll be renting, she sees an adorable nursery and decides to stop. There, she is offered a job on the spot. There, a month later, she almost loses her daughter.

This was a super quick page-turning read. I finished it in one day.

Some things I want to mention:
- Lenore was dealing with post-partum depression, and I just don't see how her husband would be willing to let her take their baby to a new place without him after she tried to hurt the baby. HUGE plot hole for me.
- She got a job at a nursery as a teacher without showing any credentials. Questionable.
- I guessed the main twist from the very beginning. That's par for the course with me as I read too many thrillers.
- The title of this is a bit confusing. It would have been more aptly titled "The Nest" which was the name of the nursery, instead of "The Playgroup" which really was not the dynamic at all.

All of that being said, I did fly through this one, not wanting to stop at the end of each chapter. It was entertaining, and the chapter where something happens to Lenore's daughter was riveting and had me feeling all of the emotions.

If you like well-written, multi-POV suspense novels, check this one out! Totally binge-able.

Thank you to Netgalley and the author for my advanced e-copy!

This book was pretty good but I would like to have had the characters explained a little better. This is my second book by this author. It is not the fastest moving book but just stay with it. It just goes to show you can't trust anyone and especially not when it comes to your own child.

Thank you NetGalley and Leah Mercer for allowing me to read this book in exchange for an honest Review.

This book was a fast paced read that sucked me in from the start. It was a children's nursery that brought 4 women together. Each had their own secrets and past that was slowly revealed throughout the book. Each women's storyline had potential, but I found the characters to be underdeveloped. I want to know more. The ending also seemed a bit rushed. All in all, this book had a lot of potential, but fell flat for my taste.

Whoa! What did I just read!?

It has been a while since I’ve read a book and thought, “I hope they make this into a movie or a Netflix series”. - but after finishing The Playgroup by Leah Mercer, I can honestly say if this isn’t made into a movie or Netflix series one day I will be highly disappointed!

Leonore suffered from postpartum depression after having her baby two years ago. She’s finally at a place in her life where she feels like she’s stable and ready to work towards independence and bonding with her daughter alone. To prove to her husband she can be a great mother, she temporarily moves to a small village while her friend is on a trip and lives in her friend’s home. Soon, Leonore finds herself at The Nest, a local nursery and daycare that is the villages pride and joy and Leonore falls in love with it instantly, as well the three women that run it: Alice, Georgie, and Beth. One day, tragedy strikes and while her daughter is there, she’s ran over by a car and fighting for her life. The picture perfect nest begins to crumble. What really happened to Leonore’s daughter? Who is to blame? How did this happen?

This book is the perfect mix of suspense, mystery, lies, secrets, twists and turns, karma, and will definitely keep you on the edge of your seat. This is a must read! Leah Mercer did a phenomenal job and I was hooked from the very first page. I

The Playgroup was a fast paced, twisty book. I thoroughly enjoyed the writing style. The book does cover some heavy themes (drug abuse + DV), so worth checking if this is something that’ll be an issue for you. Overall, I’d recommend and pick up a book by this author again.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for my advanced read copy.

The Nest was supposed to be a safe place, a great opportunity, and a fresh start for Lenore after a rough battle with postpartum depression. But just when Lenore begins to settle into her new life, a tragic accident occurs and her world falls apart. But who is to blame?

I really liked the writing style and the different character perspectives. This story is pretty fast paced in the beginning, but starts to drag halfway through. I appreciate that the author tried to incorporate some difficult subject matter into the characters back stories (depression, addiction, crime), but the “everybody has a secret” trope seemed a little cliche. I didn’t find any of the characters likable or even relatable. It also drove me crazy how EVERYONE constantly gaslights Lenore. Overall, it started out as an interesting premise, but I felt that the author tried too hard to cram in as many twists and turns as possible.

The Playgroup is a fast-paced, suspenseful novel that follows the story of four women juggling family life and work in a small village where everyone knows everyone, and everyone is hiding something. Lenore, Alice, Beth and Georgie work at The Nest., the seemingly perfect nursery in an idyllic town that seems picture-perfect. Until the unthinkable happens, Lenore's daughter is critically injured in a terrible accident during her time at The Nest and nobody knows who is to blame. With the stakes and tensions running high, fingers are quickly pointed at the Lenore, but she maintains her innocence. The question is, how far will she go to prove her version of events, and how far will the other women go to keep their secrets safe?
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I appreciate the authors attempt to tackle difficult issues in this book, such as post-natal depression, drug abuse, and more. I found Lenore's and Beth's perspective the most interesting, as they felt the most fleshed out of all the characters. The Playgroup was undoubtedly a page-turner and I flew through it quickly as it kept me entertained.. However that's where my praise for this book ends. What was an interesting premise quickly became a mishmash of cliches and it felt as though the author was trying to add as many twist and turns as possible. There is sometimes too much of a good thing... Towards the end especially, the plot became so unrealistic I found myself cringing and rolling my eyes at parts.

Overall it is a fine read if you're into the genre, and I can't deny that it was entertaining, it was just let down by the ending.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I was hooked from the start and spent the day lost in this. I could nit out it down! The characters were brought to life perfectly and the twists snd turns and secrets and lies had me dying to know what was going ti happen next. The book has a very authentic and real feel about it all so I couldnt get enough. It didn't end how I was expecting but that may be a good thing, maybe a col of lose ends but still amazing overall

So Lenore needs to get away from her husband and regroup with her toddler after a terrible bout with postpartum. Then she finds herself working at the nursery with very questionable people. Really interesting book, very shady characters and it goes to show you what people will do to protect themselves. I was happy with the ending, though one person should really have been punished. Quick read because I didn't want to stop!

This was a great book! It was suspenseful, and had great twists and turns throughout. I couldn't wait to find out how it all played out. The ending was really good, and not what I had been expecting. I would recommend this book to other readers!

📖 The Playgroup
✍️ Leah Mercer
🗓️21.03.2024
✍️Bookouture

This was such a positive surprise to me! “The Mother Next Door” was perfectly ok, but nothing I was raving about - sorry!

This one in the other hand had me hooked really quickly. I finished this in one day, it was super good.

The Nest was supposed to be a save place for Lenore’s daughter, Florence. One morning the little girl manages to get out and gets hit by a car. But how did the girl even get there? was it all just a tragic accident?

It’s the perfect scenario of a parents nightmare. Lenore quickly struggles which who she can believe, what is true? Where were the caretakers?

The pacing was mostly excellent, but towards the middle it started to drag a little bit. Nevertheless there were so many intrigues, lies and secrets that I just wanted to know what is going to be happening.

The end was a bit… I don’t know, I would have gone down a different road. The explanations were a bit weak.

While this book has “minor flaws “, I still enjoyed this so much more than I would have thought! This was darker than I expected, which I enjoyed a lot.

⭐️Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for my advanced copy. All opinions are my own, I was under no obligation to review.

I always enjoy books from this author, a great storyline that I got so involved with, a great twisty read, just a brilliant page turner.

I particularly enjoyed how each of the characters had their own story to tell and everything was brought together with what I call 'a proper ending', just great storytelling.

Thank you to Netgalley and Bookouture for this ARC which I have no hesitation in recommending.

What an amazing ready - heart in mouth journey all the way through out. Couldnt put it down and read it in less than a day.
Edge of the seat and kept me guessing all the way.
Highly recommended. Loved it.
5 stars.

This author has written a page turner with intrigue from the beginning. Wow…
What is real and what is not? Difficult to discern. Lies and half truths…children at risk. What about the husband? Faithful and caring…or maybe not…co-workers who seem to be great but are they! So many questions…red herrings and secrets…try to discern the ending…not easy. Thanks Netgalley

This was very intense and suspenseful read as it has a relatable fear of not only a missing child but it raises questions of who can you trust which for me made it more anxiety provoking to read.

A chilling and suspenseful read that will leave you questioning the motives of everyone involved. This domestic thriller is a must-read!

The Nest nursery was opened 10 years ago by Alice, and is a co-op nursery where parents are on the board of trustees and therefor all have a say in how the nursery is run. Georgie is The Nest manager and Beth is her assistant. Lenore Morgan has recently moved to the area with her 18 month old daughter, Florence, and starts working at The Nest, where Florence is now attending.
One morning at the nursery, Florence manages to escape onto a main road where she is knocked down by a car. But why was she able to get out to the road? Where were Alice, Georgie and Beth when they should’ve been watching Florence?

A parents absolute worst nightmare comes to life in this book, where you begin to doubt everyone and question who you can really trust. I got pulled into this story almost immediately and the fast pacing helped to get through it quickly. However, towards the halfway point, it started to slow down. Secrets being let out keeps you guessing what actually happened until the final revelation.
Although there seems to be a lot of characters in the book, there are only a few main ones, all of whom we learn more and more about in their respective POV’s and all of whom do seem relatable in their own ways.
I did enjoy this read, however, the actual ‘twist’ of what happened that day and who was to blame just didn’t seem believable or make sense to me, which I have to pull a star for.
Thank you to Bookouture and NetGalley for providing me a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

“Secrets do have a way of coming out… of making sure you get what you deserve, in the end.”

After suffering from post-partum depression, Leonore decides that it may be best for a break, a new start, something to make her feel like herself again. Leonore and her daughter, Florence, choose to give themselves a new start in Guildford, England. Once arriving in this beautiful town, Leonore decides to begin a job at The Nest, a nursery that was started by Alice (a lawyer) with the help of the local community.

The Nest was established in hopes of having a safe place for parents to volunteer, leave their children for care, and provide that “village,” that all parents need. The only issue is, the staff at The Nest all have their own secrets that they’re harboring. Secrets always find a way to come out and haunt us, don’t they?

Leonore has told all of her secrets to her best friend in Guildford, Beth, but even Beth chooses to utilize these secrets against Leonore when it comes to saving herself. It’s crazy how people show their true colors once they’re in danger of their own secrets coming out, isn’t it?

Navigating this big accident seems a huge feat for Leonore, but she knows that everyone’s secret will come out to haunt them in the end and she will learn the truth. The truth behind this accident that will leave this town to haunt her.

TW: Overdose, drug use, post-partum depression, abuse.

4 ⭐️ overall.

Thank you Bookoture and Leah Mercer for an ARC of this wonderful story in exchange for an honest review.