#HerDaughter #NetGalley

First, I would like to thank Net Galley and Bookouture Audio for providing an early copy of the audiobook version of this book for review.

I went in with low expectations and found myself sucked in. I read 50% of the book in one sitting. I loved the alternating chapters of the Friends-inspired characters Rachel, Monica, and Chloe (Rachel's daughter).

Jen Craven's writing was exquisite. There were a lot of things I would like to highlight but can't because I'm listening to it on audio. The audiobook narrators were great at giving life to the characters.

At 75%, I didn't see the twist coming. I expected something different at first since we really did not see the actual scenario and Chloe was under the influence of alcohol during that time.

I would also like to commend the giving birth scene. I felt like I was in the room as well, rooting for Chloe to give birth safely. It was intense and very commendable for the author's writing.

Overall, this was a story about friendship, relationships, and motherhood. I truly enjoyed my time consuming this.

This book definitely took unexpected turns all while pulling on your heartstrings. You get a mix of perspectives, that have had me screaming at my phone, gasping out loud and wishing the characters made different choices.

This story takes you through the daily lives of Rachel, Monica & Chloe. You see their lives change, their struggles and how small things can trump the bigger matter they’re all facing.

I enjoyed this book,
I volunteered to listen to an ARC of this audiobook through NetGalley.

Name of Book: Her Daughter
Author: Jen Craven
Narrator: Amelia Sciandra
Genre: Women’s Fiction
Publisher: Bookouture Audio
Pub Date: March 1, 2024
My Rating: 3
Pages: 359

Monica and Rachel have been friends since college- Monica is a physician married to Roman who is currently campaigning to be Mayor. Monica is the mother of three children- Chloe a teenager and two young boys. Monica is trying to manage her work, the campaign, as well as motherhood.
Rachel is a stay-at-home mom and often helps Monica by picking by the boys from school sporting events etc.

This story is about their continued friendship; however a crack has forming in their relationship when Chloe, Rachel's daughter, finds out she's pregnant but chooses to confide in Monica.
It appears Chloe has a secret she isn’t willing to share with her mom

The story kept me interested however I continued to be disappointed with the narrator. .
I am a big audiobook fan and it is so true a narrator can make or break a story.

Want to thank NetGalley and Bookouture Audio for this early Audiobook.
Publishing Release Date scheduled for March 1, 2024.

I want to thank Netgalley and the author for gifting me the audio version.
I enjoyed this book a lot. I read it in less than 24 hours and the story was very captivating. This is a female/family drama.

Honestly I was not shocked by the ending due to I knew who the actual father was to the baby as soon as the beginning of the novel. But this story did keep you on the edge of your seat. I could not turn from the drama...it is like watching a reality TV show! Ha. Highly recommend and the narrator did a good job. I would read from this author again.

First read from Jen craven and I must say her writing had me hooked. A story of friendship throughout the years had me flipping through chapters easily. Rachel and Monica deal with the typical struggles and juggles of motherhood. While this was a storyline I would’ve happily continued to read, I was not expecting the plot twists to come. Starting with a husbands work scandals to corrupt accusations leading to a teenage daughters pregnancy, I easily finished this book in about two days. Jen delivered a full plot that had me hooked until the very end of the epilogue which is an impressive feat.

Would definitely recommend this to a friend as a lighter read. Only complaint is with the narration of the audio book. The reader was excellent but it was hard to listener to her attempts at a male voice!

This book was both a new author to me, and a step away from my usual genre.
The characters were well rounded and recognisable, without being overly stereotyped. The multi person perspective kept the plot moving along at a good pace and helped to draw you in to the story.
I read (listened to) this book pretty much in one sitting. While it is a quick read, it does have some emotional depth.
I listened to a DRC of the audiobook. I found the narrator easy to listen to. She was able to give each character a distinctive voice, which helped with the multi person perspective. As I am from the UK I cannot comment on whether the regional accents were accurate for the different characters.
I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys the likes of Jodi Picoult / Diane Chamberlaine. It is a well written family / friendship drama with a satisfying ending.

Her Daughter by: Jen Craven
Audiobook Narrated by: Amelia Sciandra

This novel centers around two best friends, Rachel and Monica, and their families. When Rachel’s teenage daughter winds up pregnant and Monica does not share this with her best friend the cracks begin to show in their relationship. Will they survive this betrayal?
The Rachel and Monica were very relatable and I found myself rooting for them and questioning many decisions made. I enjoyed the narrator’s voice. I would recommend this book to those who enjoy modern Women’s Literature and stories about the messiness of friendship, child rearing and marriage.
Thank you Net Galley, Bookouture and Jen Craven for this advanced copy.
#NetGalley #HerDaughter #JenCraven #Bookouture

A nice quick easy read. The storyline is very everyday and non complicated. It was compared to Lisa Jewell however I don’t agree as in comparison to Lisa Jewell books it kinda lacks depth. Despite this I still enjoyed the book and story.

I received a copy of the audiobook to provide an honest review.
The narrator, Amelia Sciandra, did a fantastic job in keeping the story interesting and engaging.
The focal point of the story centers around friendship and what it takes to truly maintain a friendship throughout the years.
Rachel and Monica (Friends tv show pun intended) met in college and instantly became best friends. The story follows them post-college as they are raising families and maintaining marriages and careers. There are multiple POVs - Rachel, Monica, and Chloe (Rachel’s college-aged daughter).
The story takes many turns and includes a big twist at the end. Overall, I really enjoyed this book and finished it in one day.
Thank you NetGalley and Bookouture for the arc.

'Her Daughter' starts slow (especially because I mistook it for a thriller - it's more dark women's fiction) but once it gets going it's impossible to put down!

Premise - When Rachel and Chris end up pregnant during college, they drop out of school and settle into lower middle class living. Rachel's best friend, Monica, follows a different path - she becomes a fertility specialist, marries a well-off man, and enjoys an upper middle class lifestyle. Despite their differences, the women remain best friends. When Rachel's daughter, Chloe, falls pregnant during college and confides her pregnancy in Monica, asking Monica not to tell her mother, a wrench is introduced into the friendship. Can the friendship survive this first of many bad turns?

I called the major twist the first time a particular character was introduced, then I thought I was being too dark, but it turned out I was right!

SPOILER BELOW







But why would Chloe say the baby was Preston's?? She explicitly told him she didn't sleep with anyone else, it was definitely his. I get why she wouldn't own up to the real father, but with 50/50 odds it doesn't make sense to name a dad at all. If she'd said she didn't know, she'd been with several guys, she was going to do it alone, etc. etc. then the truth wouldn't have come out at the end. It's not like the baby was her dad's clone, it was only obvious because the child didn't resemble Chloe or the dad she identified. If she hadn't named Preston as the dad, no one would have been the wiser! Sure, the baby looked like her father - but people could only see that so starkly because of how much the baby did *not* look like Preston. Chloe's choice there made zero sense to me, it felt more like a choice made in service of the plot than anything.

On that note: Chloe confides in Monica, who's a doctor. Monica could have simply called on doctor-patient confidentiality when Rachel confronted her and that would have shut down the whole fight, no? Another moment where it seemed the characters acted in service of the plot rather than honestly.

Even so, the second half of this book was so gripping I would definitely read more from Jen Craven!

📚 Series or Standalone: standalone
📚 Genre: dark women’s fiction
📚 Target Age Group: adult
📚 Cliffhanger: no

✨ Will I Reread: maybe
✨ Recommended For: fans of Bye, Baby by Carola Lovering

💕 Characters: 4/5
💕 Writing: 4/5
💕 Plot: 4/5
💕 Pacing: 3/5
💕 Unputdownability: 4/5
💕 Enjoyment: 4/5
💕 Book Cover: 5/5

Thanks, NetGalley and Bookouture, for the gifted ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Her Daughter by Jen Craven is an exemplary audiobook and details a situation that none of us would ever want to find ourselves in with respect to the children of our friends

Two families grow together around the mothers, two best friends, Monica and Rachel. I felt a little like the characters reflected their namesakes, but was then distracted by how much I disliked Roman from the get-go. Amelia Sciandra did a great job narrating thi audiobook as each character had idioyncracies and cadances I could either get behind or dislike and Roman, oh my life no, I despised him immediately (Roman is Monica's husband, Chris is rachels)

The problem is, Rachel has 3 children, her oldest Chloe is the main feature of the book and two younger children. The two younger children take all of Rachels attention and sadly, this means her daughter Chloe, is left out. As such, Chloe reaches out to Monica when she finds herself in trouble with an unplanned pregnancy

This audiobook is not my usual thriller sub-genre but I am really glad that I listened through as the twist nearly took my head off and that is always the sign of a good tale

I really enjoyed Jen Craven's writing style. It was emotive, empathetic and the character building outstanding. The book weaves around different relationships between friends and families, love ,hate, jealousy and loss, all revolving around a significant amount of drama, love and lies

Thank you to NetGalley , Bookouture, the author Jen Craven and the narrator Amelia Sciandra for this mindblowing ALC. My review is left voluntarily and all opinions are my own

Here is the caveat to my star rating - for me, going in the way I did, this was a solid 3, BUT I made an error. Based on the cover (take a look at a lot of domestic thrillers - covers tend to be blue and yellow 🤷‍♀️) along with the title and cover verbiage, this was sure to be a domestic thriller. "Her Daughter".......You don't know your daughter's secret.....but someone else does"..... C'mon, who wouldn't read that and think thriller? I tend to not read a lot of the description because I discover too much about the story as publishers work hard to sell the book by drawing the reader in with details.

So, my bad. I literally read this charming, heartwarming story of decades long female friendship, deep relationships with a friend's child because you've shared a life and parenting, complications from hurt feelings, love, blah blah blah..... I read ALL of it waiting for the murder. Waiting for the revenge. Waiting for the cover up and duplicity of a crime. I absolutely knew character 1 (name withheld because I can't give away too much) was surely going to kill (again, go read it, I'm not spoiling it), and then a third character was going to cover up the crime out of loyalty. It was like sitting down to watch Sarah Bullock's comedy 28 Days expecting the horror movie 28 Days Later.

So, since charming "women's fiction" (grrrr I hate that phraseology) isn't my genre, to me this was a 3. If, however, you like well written stories about human emotions, friendships, miscommunication, and hard choices then Her Daughter is absolutely perfect and a 4 star worthy read.

This was an amazing exploration of motherhood, female friendships and the complexities that come into play when interweaving your long term friendships with your other halves and your children. For sure it’s filled with secrets and betrayal and a plot twist that nearly had my jaw on the floor.

I felt like I really understood Monica and Rachel, the mum guilt, the deep affection for each others children who naturally became like family, there is a real rollercoaster of emotions to go through and they result in a well deserved 4 🌟 review.

I really enjoyed the narration.

Thank you to NetGalley and Bookouture Audio for the opportunity to wish for this audiobook in return for an honest review.