Her Daughter by Jen Craven
Narrated by Amelia Sciandra

I received an advance review copy for free thanks to NetGalley and Bookouture Audio and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Blurb

When my best friend’s teenage daughter comes to see me, I know something is wrong. With tear-filled eyes, she says she’s pregnant and begs me not to tell her mother. I know I’m betraying my best friend but as I look at Chloe’s terrified expression, I don’t know how I will find the strength to say no…

No matter what life throws at me, I have always been able to depend on my best friend Rachel. In nineteen years of friendship, we’ve never argued or fallen out. So, I’m wracked by guilt over my decision to keep her daughter Chloe’s pregnancy a secret. I don’t want to break Chloe’s trust but, if I don’t say anything, it could destroy my relationship with Rachel.

I hoped Chloe would find the confidence to tell her mom, but days have passed, and the guilt is eating me alive. As much as I want to support Chloe, I don’t know how much longer l can lie to my best friend. I spend every day completely gripped by a panic that sends my heart racing.

The pressure only worsens when I discover that Chloe has one more thing that she’s been hiding. Something that could destroy the perfect life I’ve worked so hard to build—the family I love so much and the career I’m so passionate about.

And then I realize that Chloe isn’t the only one with secrets. Rachel has been lying to us all…

The three of us are more entwined than ever but when the truth comes out, what will be left of our friendship and our families?

My Opinion

Rachel and Chloe have been best friends for 20 years so what could possibly come between them? This is the first book I have read by Jen Craven but it was definitely a great read, I was hooked quite early on and refused to do anything until I had finished. For me, this was a book that just kept on giving - there were always more secrets to be revealed.

Rating 4/5

Cloe is in college. She has just broken up with her boyfriend. Her parents want better for her than they had for themselves. They had her as a teenage pregnancy and didn't get the chance to go to college. They both now have mediocre jobs
Monica and Rachel, Cloe's mom are best friends.Monica is the aunt that, of course, Cloe feels safe to tell her anything
Monica now knows a big secret that Cloe has told her. She feels really guilty not telling her best friend this secret. If it were her daughter, she would want her best friend to tell her, so why hasn't she told Rachel the secret. This is killing her inside
Can Rachel and Monica remain friends and get through these secrets, or is there a bigger secret that has to come to light

Author Jen Craven returns following The Baby Left Behind with HER DAUGHTER — an emotionally gripping story of family, friendships, and hidden secrets.

Rachel and Monica are best friends and have been since college.

Rachel's daughter Chloe (age 19) has a secret (pregnancy) and turns to Monica—confiding in her mother's friend versus her mother due to the past.

Monica feels terrible and does not like keeping things from her friends; however, there is a bigger secret that can destroy all of them.

Told from POVs: Rachel, Monica, and Chloe. Is history repeating itself?

HER DAUGHTER is a story of friendship, jealousy, envy, marriage, motherhood, and secrets. Loyalties are tested—the characters are not honest with one another or upfront.

The ongoing theme throughout the novel is accepting what you have, and the grass is not always greener on the other side.

Part women's fiction, domestic suspense, family drama, and coming of age.

While I enjoy the author's books, I recommend the book versus the audio. I did not care for the narrator at all. The narrator, Amelia Sciandra, put no emotion into the performance, and her voice was rather annoying, like reading from a script.

I look forward to reading more by this author.

Thanks to Bookouture for an ARC, NetGalley, and Hachette UK/Bookouture for an ALC in exchange for an honest review.

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@JudithDCollins | #JDCMustReadBooks
Pub Date: Mar 1, 2024
My Rating: Book: 4 Stars (audio 3 Stars)
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To be honest I never would have thought that I would like this book as much as I did! In The beginning I had to go back a few times to get familiar with all the characters but once I was on I could not stop! This is a story about normal people ending up in, well let me call it chaotic circumstances! What particularly got me was that they all seemed so authentic to me and they just act human!
At some point I thought 'and what now???' but life goes on, somehow!
The narration by Amelia Sciandra is just perfect

Rhank you #NetGalley #Bookouture Audio for this audiobook

It is a great circle of life/history repeating tale of two women's decades-old friendship and the trials they face when the daughter of one of them becomes pregnant. Secrets are abound, some kept because they are explosive, others because the right time to speak up has been missed. Lives are messy, families are messy, accidents happen, and plans change, and this book does a great job of making you feel all of that throughout.

I wouldn't call this audiobook a thriller, but it did have many plot twists. I would describe it as a story of family drama, friendship, deceit, and forgiveness. I enjoyed it very much and listened to the entire audiobook in 2 days. The narrator didn't really impress me when doing the voices of the male characters, but I still enjoyed the book.
Thank you to NetGalley, Bookouture and Jen Craven for the advanced copy of the audiobook. I hope others enjoy it as much as I did.

In the words of a character towards the end of the book, “best plot twist ever”. This book is heartwarming and sad, and maybe not quite as “thriller-y” as my usual fare, but it was very sweet and an enjoyable read.

I would say that the cover and synopsis makes it sound like a much more suspenseful book than it turns out to be, however!

Read this if you liked: prom mom

I really enjoyed this book. Being a teen mom myself, I really resonated with parts of the story. Maybe I'm naïve, but I didn't find myself guessing much of this book. Was not expecting the big shock in this one! Parts of it were a bit slow, but it still kept me wanting to know what's next. Really enjoyed that narrator!
Thank you to NetGalley, Jen Craven, and Bookouture Audio for graciously sending me the audiobook.

It’s described as a thriller but it has more a family drama style to it. It’s an easy listen if a little slow paced. The twists are a little predictable and nothing you haven’t read before so for me there wasn’t many surprises. It felt like the characters could have been developed as there was hints made when it came to some but not actually explained. I can’t say I really cared for any of them either. The narrator did a good job and held my attention. It was ok.

Thanks to Netgalley and Bookouture Audio for the opportunity to read and review #HerDaughter

Initially I loved this 'domestic drama' and couldn't put it down. I thought it perfectly captured the complexities of female friendships in adulthood and felt both MC were realistic and relatable. I was also attached to Chloe and felt for her heartbreak and was interested in seeing what she would decide.

Then came the "twist" at 80% which is hardly a twist when it has been overdone so. many. times. I was enraged and annoyed a book I had enjoyed so much was now plundering down this dumb shoot. What's worse is it was wholly unnecessary.

The rest of the book was a bore. I also found myself increasingly annoyed with inaccuracies ar,ound birth. Most babies struggle to latch and it takes a lot of work, especially for a first-time mother. Here the baby attached instantly? Second the baby actually nurses which again, no, it takes 3-5 days for milk to come in. A baby can't "feed" right away and even if we wanted to count a few drops of colostrum, mama probably wasn't putting that out immediately after birth. Then she's in the hospital for THREE DAYS. Don't I wish! Vaginal births are lucky to make it 24-h. Even c-sections are usually sent home after 48-hours.

As a final personal note, I am so tired and exhausted by the endless one-hit (or two-hit) wonder pregnancies, especially when the person is on birth control. Chloe can still fall pregnant, but why not make it because she was having plenty of unprotected sex with whomever.

3.5- 3.75 Stars
Two close-knit families fractured by hidden truths, deceit, and underlying envy.

The story is about motherhood and friendship. While the plot was pretty straightforward and somewhat predictable, it was still entertaining. I think the story would be great for television. Overall, a good read and perfect for fans of women's fiction.

***Thank you to NetGalley, Jen Craven, and Bookouture Audio for graciously sending me the audiobook to review. As always, all thoughts are my own.***

This one wasn’t really for me. Everyone sucked and the ending was just unbelievable. I listened to the audio and the narrator’s interpretation of a Pittsburgh accent was just off putting. Thanks to NetGalley for the chance to review.

Thanks to #NetGalley and #BookoutureAudio for the book #HerDaughter by #JenCraven. This book is full of emotion, betrayal and forgiveness and is such a great book. I highly recommend it.

Rachel and Monica have been best friends for 20 years. Their watching each other‘s children grow up and are like an extended family that vacations and celebrates everything together. Rachel is married to Chris a loving and steady partner who is always there for her and his children they had their first child in their late teens and have been going strong ever cents. Her best friend Monica didn’t meet her husband Roman until she was 32 he’s running for mayor and as far as Monica is concerned they have a perfect life together. When Rachel‘s 19-year-old daughter Chloe tells Monica that she is pregnant Monica promises to keep the secret but his guilt ridden because of it. Until recently Monica‘s life has been perfect but with Roman running for mayor she isn’t prepared for the dirt that his opponent is swinging in their direction from embezzlement to sexual-harassment and Monica doesn’t know what to believe Rachel on the other hand knows something is up with her daughter Chloe but doesn’t know how to approach her recently standoffish daughter she tries to discuss it with Monica who always seems to change the subject or surprisingly have something she forgot she had to go do. Poor Chloe who recently was devastated by the brake up with her first college boyfriend and and now she hast to tell him he is a father to be and she is surprised when he takes it way better than she expected. The actions of one of this extended family will affect them all even poor Preston and the secrets the others have to keep May just tear it apart. Let me just say I first started off liking Rachel but found that I agreed with Chloe and that she always makes it about her although she’s a mother who takes care of her kids and Monica‘s I did find she thought of only how things affected her but that’s not to say that at times I didn’t like her because I did but for the most part not so much. As far as Monica goes I really liked her and felt a connection with her and her struggles to be a good mother and a working doctor and the good wife this book is not a thriller it’s more a drama but that’s not even a genre that’s what it is more drama and a really good read about women supporting women and realizing who the real culprit and perpetrator is. Not everything is black-and-white and if you take time to look in the grey parts you may just fine you’re blaming the wrong person. The only one I really felt bad for was poor Preston who did nothing to get what he got. Having said that the ending was awesome I loved the epilogues in a few like a book about friendship and family that has drama then you’ll definitely love Her Daughter by Jen Craven I really liked the narrator who didn’t change her voice as much as as the accent when doing the different characters and I thought she did pretty good and would listen to another book by her as well as read another one by Jen Craven. I want to thank the publisher and net Galley for my free arc copy please forgive any mistakes as I am blind and dictate my review.

3.3 ⭐️
First, this is NOT a thriller, despite what the description leads you to believe. This is general women’s fiction with a drama flair.

This story is centered around entangled relationships between family and friends, seeded with secrets, jealousy and scandal. Rachael (the Mom) grapples with emotional maturity, feeding off of some underlying insecurities and regret. Chloe (the daughter) is also (age appropriately) immature, but more from an innocent, lack of experience even though she should know better, standpoint.

🫶🏼 “Be like a tree, and drop your leaves. That’s the only way to start fresh.” Solid advice!

🎧 This was a slow and underwhelming story for me. I think part of that was because I went into it thinking it was a thriller but nothing “exciting” was happening, but also partly because of the narrator. I never got used to the nasally voice with lack of inflection and therefore had a hard time connecting emotionally. It felt more like hearing a story than feeling it.

😮 Sadly, the “plot twist” wasn’t jaw dropping for me. It was one of my first thoughts, and just fell a little flat for me on the “didn’t see that coming” level. I do think this could be different for those not expecting a thriller or twist. But once you know there’s a twist, it’s easy to guess.

🎀 The end was wrapped up nicely, leaving you with hope for peace in their futures.

🤔 Overall, if I had read the book versus audio, and gone in thinking it was a drama versus thriller, I think this could have been a very different experience for me.

Thanks to NetGalley, Bookouture Audio, and Jen Craven for providing me with a complimentary ARC to review!

Two families with big secrets cause a decades old friendship to break, possibly beyond repair. A surprise baby with an unexpected twist make this a book that's impossible to put down.

**Thank you NetGalley for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.**

Not sure I feel about this book. Monica and Rachel have been friends since college. Their husbands don't really get along-one is a slime ball. Chloe, Rachel's daughter, ends up pregnant young just like Rachel did. The author does a good job of portraying a friendship with trust issues, a teenage girl depressed by a breakup, and younger sons who feel disappointed by an absent mom. I'm not really sure what to say. It was a good book-the ending was sick in my opinion, but it kept my attention.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher Bookouture for an advanced copy of the audio.
This is not a thriller. Apparently many readers have made that mistake going in. It is a story about friendship and family primarily. We meet Rachel and Monica (yes the friends reference is also mentioned in the book). These friends met in college and have remained best friends for 20 years through Rachel's unplanned pregnancy in college, through marriage and more kids these two rely on each other just like family. So it comes as jo surprise when Rachel's now 19 year old daughter turns to Monica in times of need. There are things which are hard to confide in your parents and Monica is the perfect middle ground. When scandals start surfacing about Monica's politician husband things start to unravel in a way that threatens the very fabric of Rachel and Monica's relationship. Can it survive these bombshells?
I have to say I went in a little blind to this one bit it was a little refreshing change from fast paced thrillers. A couple of personal beefs were the story sometimes had too much unnecessary detail which I felt were just beefing out the book. Even the ending felt dragged out somewhat.
The other one was I sometimes felt like punching Chloe (Rachel's daughter) either the author did an excellent job in writing an ungrateful, whiney, short-sighted, self-centered character very typical of a college girl I suppose but she really grated my nerves. That and I'm really sorry to say but the narrator had quite a strong accent. I know the book is set in Pittsburgh so the accent is appropriate but unfortunately it wasn't music to my British ears I'm so so sorry but it is what it is

I LOVE the narration. Wow. Great job!
I hated Roman. He was the worst. I do hang with politicians and none of them are like this jerk, or I wouldn't hang with them. He is literally the worst. I felt for Chris and Monica. Rachel needs to be nicer to her kid. She's a good kid. There is a twist but I saw it coming right from the beginning.
It isn't really a thriller though. This is more a woman's drama.

Slow burn read with a decent shocking surprise. It’s a story full of family drama and secrets, that I did enjoy. I liked the dual POV character chapters that made it a great way to develop the characters traits.
I did not like the narrator. They were reading as if the text was all in caps and bold lettering. There wasn’t any sincerity or softness at all, a bit robotic and monotone. When the narrator read the male POV they changed their voice to sound like a SoCal surfer, that I didn’t really understand. It was also a bit nasally too. I would recommend the physical book other than audio.