I really really wanted to love this book, I love a domestic thriller and this sounded right up my street. Unfortunately it missed the mark, the plot was given away in the first few chapters, there were zero twists, the characters were infuriating and I found it really repetitive. In terms of positives, I found it fast paced and liked that there weren’t too many characters to get your head around. Overall, it just felt really unbelievable.

What a great novel. Gina and Owen haven’t been a couple for long, but Owen is taking her to meet his parents. His mother greets Gina a little too warmly. Almost as if she has something to hide, which she does. It’s a tale of cat and mouse with plenty of twists to keep you enthralled and guessing to the very end. Full of secrets and lies, it’s an unputdownable psychological thriller. Thank you to NetGalley, Bookouture and the author for the chance to review.

Another 5 star thriller from Emily Shiner! Are Gina”s new in-laws a blessing or her worst nightmare? She finally gets to meet Owen’s parents. But the parents have secrets. And so does Gina. She will do anything to make sure they never find out who she really is. Quick paced, keep you up at night, brilliant thriller!
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me to read this arc

Right from the first few pages, this book had me intrigued. The descriptions the author used in the prologue were just enough to grab my attention and keep me wanting more.

Gina and Owen are in love and headed to visit Owen's parents at their "cabin" in the woods. Owen's parents, Marta and Grant, are less than welcoming to Gina, and they don't try to hide how they feel.

The book goes back and forth between the points of view of two different characters, Gina and Marta. Both of those characters alude to events that occurred in the past that they would like to seek revenge for. The twist is that neither of them are aware that the other knows who they are.

Approximately halfway through the book, I was fairly certain I figured out the "twist". It wasn't obvious, but I knew that the obvious would have been too easy. Portions of the book felt too repetitive to me, but not enough to annoy me.

My only serious complaint is that this is described as a "stand alone" book when really, I'm DYING to know what happens next!!

Thank you to NetGalley for the opportunity to read this ARC in exchange for my honest opinion/review

*Thank you NetGalley & Bookouture for sending me an ARC for an early review. All opinions are my own*

This book was hard to finish, it captured my interest because of the description and cover art.

Gina is visiting her older boyfriend Owen’s parents and home for the first time. It’s clear they haven’t been dating very long, but she already knows something about his family secrets. Upon arrival, Owens family also knows something about Gina. It’s quick to jump right in which I do wish it made you guess a little more throughout the book rather than diving right in.

The dialog between Gina and Owen’s mother Marta is pretty cringey. Marta is very very creepily emotionally incestious towards her son and even uses disgusting dialogue out in the open which I find to be too unrealistic and makes me roll my eyes a little bit. The way she talks about Gina to other characters in front of Gina herself, is rude, but also kind of silly and just unbelievable IMO.


Pros: few characters to keep track of, quick paced and easy to read with fast chapters

Cons: cringey dialogue, repetitive descriptor words, leaves little to the imagination, unbelievable

Shoutout to NetGalley and Bookouture for the chance to read Meet the Parents by Emily Shiner before it releases on August 28, 2024.

Meet the Parents is a pretty typical thriller. You have the mom, Marta, a stay at home mom who is *slightly* too obsessed with her adult son. (and by slightly I mean extremely 😮‍💨) There’s the girlfriend, Gina, who from the start has ulterior motives for meeting the parents. Finally, the son, Owen, who seems oblivious to his girlfriend’s secrets and his mother’s obsessions.

This was run of the mill for me. Nothing stood out that I loved, and nothing stood out that I hated. It could absolutely be a palette cleanser after a heavy read or an intense fantasy novel. I see how it could be some people’s favorite, for sure. Will definitely be checking out some of the author’s other books, because I did enjoy her writing style and her story telling.

⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

Psychological thriller that was easily bingeable and pretty fast paced! The storyline jumps from past to present day for the main character, Gina. I loved the cabin in the woods vibe, especially given the luxurious feel of the cabin! Everyone has an ulterior motive it seems!

One issue I did have with the book is how the characters communicated with each other. Yes, they were all psychologically disturbed, but the conversation between the family and girlfriend had somewhat of an awkward flow. I found myself cringing at certain sentences, thinking of how unrealistic that would actually be.

Thank you NetGalley for this arc, all opinions are my own

This book had me racing through the pages. It was unique that one of the major twists of the book is revealed in the first chapter. This book is full of lies, manipulation, and psychotic, hateful people. It made me feel a bit icky reading it, as though the depravity would rub off on me. I didn't love the book. But it elicited such a reaction from me, it deserves some stars, Thank you to NetGalley and Bookouture for the advanced copy in exchange for my honest review!

Emily Shiner does it again! Such a fast paced thriller! Man I am glad I do not have to go through these In-Laws!! This book kept me on the edge of my seat ready to jump at a single noise! Thank you for a book to add to my collection! I will be buying this one!

Emily Shiner does it again with Meet the Parents. The suspense and the twists and turns had me on the edge of my seat. I could not put it down and it had me up at all hours of the night reading.
The plot twist had me holding my breath. I really liked the two POVS.

I received an ARC of Meet the Parents from NetGalley in exchange for an honest and unbiased review. Thank you to the publisher, Emily Shiner and NetGalley for the opportunity!

I am a big Emily Shiner fan, and consume her books rapidly when I get my hands on them. So I was very excited to see this one come up!

Owen takes his girlfriend Gina home for a long weekend to meet his parents Grant and Marta, and learns just how opulent of an upbringing Owen had. It’s clear that Marta despises Gina…and Grant has an unsavory fascination with her as well. Everyone seems to be keeping a secret…and it’s a huge game of clue. The way we bounce between present day perspective of Gina and her past is intoxicating and leaves the reader wanting more.

I was shocked at the last minute turn of events in this one, and I was left to speculate just what happened to everyone in the end. I highly recommend this fast paced read!

I did not like this book at all. It wasn’t believable and there were plot holes.

Thank you, NetGalley, for the opportunity to read and review.

Gina goes to her boyfriend, Grant’s, home to meet his parents Marta and Grant. Gina staged the initial meeting with Grant to get close to his parents to expose a big secret and seek revenge. Of course, there are always additional questions and secrets. I read this fast page turner eager to uncover more secrets. I would give it 4.5/5.

I liked this book overall, but have some issues with it. The plot was okay but had some oddities. Like things could’ve been accomplished without the visit happening at all. Would’ve been more believable and less frustrating to the readers. Especially when we have a strong female protagonist who has a big plan, yet is pretty easily put in uncomfortable situations that she just allows.

The writing was a bit redundant at times, and explained things we have already easily have figured out. The biggest twist truly wasn’t a surprise - I didn’t predict it but wasn’t shocked since the writing kind of knocked us over the head with the certain traits. It also doesn’t really make sense & didn’t add much to the book. I get there needed to be a huge ending, but this one fell short for me.

All in all, not a terrible book, I’d say 3.5.

{This ARC was provided by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.}

I hate to say it but I really didn’t rate this book. I found the plot absurd and full of holes, and the characters flimsy and unbelievable. I struggled to even finish it to be honest, despite it being only fairly short. With thanks to the publisher regardless for giving me access to this ARC in return for an honest review.

Just wow, this book was brilliant!!! My jaw was literally on the floor, this book had me hooked. Nothing else was done until I finished!!!

I really enjoyed this one.
I've read from Emily Shiner before and remember I liked her writing style when I requested this one.

This felt fast paced and easy to read.
The mystery throughout was gripping enough to keep me reading but not too hard to follow (or make guesses as the plot developed).

I would recommend this for a fun and fast mystery thriller.

Absolutely incredible! The storytelling, the suspense. I literally had no clue until Gina discovered the truth right at the very end, literally gasped out loud in shock! Wow what a ride this book was - so glad i continued reading even though i absolutely hated Marta to the point of considering stopping reading but if you hate a fictional character because they are so horrid then it’s a sign of great writing skill. 10/10 would recommend. Tbh this was my first psychological thriller and i was unsure but so so glad I read this one… raving about this book to anyone that will listen.

Owen and Gina have been dating for less than 2 months but Owen is ready to bring her home to his parents. Gina is perfect and Owen hopes they can make through the weekend with his parents and he will be ready to propose. Marta is an overprotective stay-at-home mom who has been living in her husband's successful shadow. She is not prepared for another woman to take her son away from her. Everyone has their own agenda and fair share of secrets that will come to light by the end of the weekend.
I enjoyed how this book went back and forth between the present day and Gina's past. It was a page-turner that quickly kept me up to devour the story. That being said I found the mother-in-law vs girlfriend trope just tiring. I had to keep reminding myself that Owen is 41! Marta talks about him like a young child and it feels incestuous at times. I finished the book but am still left vacillating between did I enjoy this or was this too cringey at points.

Thank you to NetGalley, Emily Shiner and Bookcouture for the arc copy in exchange for an honest review.

Only my second book by Emily Shiner, but what a 5 star read!!

Gina is excited, albeit a little nervous, to meet her new boyfriend, Owen’s, parents. Despite that Gina and Owen have only been together for 7 weeks, they have both fallen head over heels in love with each other. However, when Gina meets Marta, Owen’s mum, she isn’t pleased about Owen being with Gina and isn’t shy in letting Gina know when Owen isn’t around. Owen is oblivious to Marta’s dislike of Gina and is just happy to spend a weekend with the three people he loves the most. Owen’s dad, Grant, is much more welcoming to Gina, which is a relief given Gina’s secret hidden agenda. It certainly will be a weekend to remember for everyone as they all are keeping secrets, and it remains to be seen whether the weekend’s memories will be good or ones they would rather forget!!

Oh, this was such a good story!! I was already hooked at about 6% in and the suspense just kept building and building as the book went on. One of the characters I really despised but won’t say anymore as this is a spoiler free review, but kudos to the author for provoking such a feeling in me for this certain character. I found the book very very difficult to put down and found myself racing through it desperate to see how it all turned out and the twist at the end was nothing short of magnificent, I really did NOT see that coming.

All in all, a really great absorbing read and very deserving of 5 stars! Any fans of psychological thrillers will love this one and I highly recommend it! I can’t wait to read what Emily Shiner comes out with next.

Thank you to NetGalley, Emily Shiner and Bookouture for my advanced reading copy. Out 28th August 2024.