Fist let me say a huge Thank You to Netgalley and Bookoture Audio for the ALC of The Perfect Baby. WOW Sam Vickery you had me from the very first chapter! This was my first psychological surrogacy thriller and it did not disappoint. The Narrator did a great job keeping me engaged, even having to go back to confirm what I just heard...lol The basic premise revolves around 2 characters that meet in a surrogacy group and well the plot twist was not easily predicted like some other books I've read. Great job to all involved.

The Perfect Baby by Sam Vickery was a thrilling ride I did not expect. I was given the audiobook and couldn’t stop listening. This is my first book by Vickery and I cannot wait to read more, especially the preview I got at the end for The Child at My Door.

Vickery did such an amazing job with the storyline and plot for this book, I thought I had the ending figured out but I was wrong. This story was told in two POV’s Maya and Elise. Maya went through a breakup and became a surrogate for a couple to help her financially. Elise has a baby on the way that is being carried by her sister Julia. This story had so many twists and turns, and that ending I did not expect at all. I want to say more but don’t want to give it away. Just listen to the audiobook. Sofia Zervudachi and Katy Sobey did the voices of Maya and Elise and they did a fantastic job. Thank you to Bookoutre and NetGalley for letting me listen to this audiobook in exchange for my honest thoughts and opinions.

This is a gripping, creepy, dark and twisted in the best way. Surrogacy, the good, bad and in-between told from multiple points of view, which I really like. We meet the main characters when they meet in a surrogacy support type group and go on the well woven tale that when I got to the end was quite surprised. All of the characters (main and secondary) are well developed. The narration was stellar and added to the experience of this story.

These narrators were excellent! The TWIST in this book is not at all something I saw coming?! Which I feel is hard to do with thrillers! Nothing groundbreaking as far as content other than keeping the twist well hidden until the last moment. Well done!

The Perfect Baby by Sam was one of the most impressive thriller I have ever come across lately. The topic was unique which was about surrogacy, the pace of story was fast which I was hooked and the ending was totally unexpected.

The characters were well invented and their personalities stood out amazingly. The story plot moved smoothly and the twists were planted at the right place!

The various POVs just gave the thriller even a rounder and fuller content!

Many thanks to Netgalley, Bookouture and the author for my copy.

Pub date: Sep 27, 2024

I don't know how to summarize the plot of The Perfect Baby; it's too convoluted. Yet-- and this is to show the amazing skill of Sam Vickery-- when you reach the end (rush to the end, if you're me), not only does it all make perfect sense but you are cheering. The best TL:DR I can come up with for The Perfect Baby is "actions have consequences." That totally does not do justice to the plotline, though. This is the kind of book that could get a club talking and talking for days. Is addiction illness? What about the breakdown of the mental health system that allows callous individuals to act as therapists? The Judgment of Solomon revisited? There are some excellent issues for a comparative family law class, too, re surrogacy. I truly could babbble on and on and on myself. I could probably talk about The Perfect Baby for even longer than it would take to read The Perfect Baby! This was my very first Sam Vickery novel. If this is truly representative of her oeuvre, then I hope it's not my last.

I absolutely must give a shout-out to the narrators. First of all, I adore the use of multiple narrators. I was introduced to Sofia Zervudachi via The Paris Apartment. Her voice is rich and welcoming all at the same time, the voice of someone who has seen a lot of life but has a good heart. When I find a narrator I like, I have a tendency to want to listen to anything they perform, even if it's outside of one of my typical genres. I feel that way about Sofia Zervudachi. I don't want to leave out Katy Sobey; she was great, too! Really, just an excellently-cast audiobook all around.

So, in sum: gush, gush, love, love, more, more, more! Five stars all around and many thanks to Bookouture Audio for allowing me to experience this NetGalley audiobook.

Thank you to NetGalley and Bookouture for the ARC (Advance Reader Copy) of The Perfect Baby by Sam Vickery In audio format. This was quite a book. It was fast paced and very unpredictable. The ending was quite unique. I tried this one as an audio book (I had never tried one before) but ended up reading the book instead. I just couldn't get into the audio version. Well worth the read. I gave it a 4 star rating.

A twisty tale full of grey areas, The Perfect Baby is well-written and gripping, and while it was a teeny bit slow in the beginning, it rapidly picked up pace.

Surrogacy is a strange thing to me. That is not to say I don't agree with it, more that the idea of carrying a baby in your body for nine months and then giving him away to someone else is a rather terrifying and impossible thought. I'm not sure I could do that. On one hand, this book delves into just that, and on the other, it shines a bright light on what a desperate person is capable of.

So, right off the bat, let me say this - there is a moral quandary that comes to light towards the end of the book which is a bit of a mystery to me. In many ways it's the backbone of the story, the reason why Elise is waiting for Julia's baby. While I won't say I would react the same myself (I'm not saying I wouldn't, either), I can 100% understand Elise's reasoning. Towards the end, Julia's holier-than-thou ideals start to crumble, but only because she suddenly sees that when things go badly wrong, you'll do whatever it takes. Losing someone you love is kak.

Maya really needed a swift kick up the jacksy, and got on my nerves a bit with her penance intentions (I really do think that Nina and Will, while a bit pushy, were also victims here, and really got a raw deal, which relates back to what I said earlier. There is a very thin line here). You'll understand when you read it. I had no time for Harry. None. And Ben is an idiot.

There is a lot more to this book than meets the eye, so be prepared for an eye-opener towards the end. Nothing is what it seems. There are many topics that come under the spotlight - revenge, doctor-patient relationships, sudden and gut-wrenching loss, addiction, even infidelity rears it's ugly head. The way the babies are described is quite lovely, little tufts of fluff and delight that smell like all things rosy. *Side note: For anyone who hasn't had a baby, this is not strictly true. Sometimes they are holy terrors and they don't always smell like baby powder and vanilla cupcakes.

3 and half rounded up to 4 shiny, and sharp, stars.

Great psychological thriller involving a surrogate mom and a donor mom who meet at a support group for surrogates. I did not see the ending at all!! What a twist! I really enjoyed how the author portrayed the emotions of the characters. The audio held my attention from start to finish. I listened to it pretty quickly as I wanted to know what was going on. I'd recommend this to anyone who enjoys psychological thrillers. Thank you to NetGalley and Bookoutour for this ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

The Perfect Baby is a gripping psychological thriller that keeps you on your toes with its twists and turns. The story alternates between different characters and timelines—"before" and "now"—which adds depth but occasionally made it tricky to keep track of. However, this complexity also contributes to the tension, as everyone seems to be hiding something!

I didn’t predict the entire ending, which is always a plus in thrillers for me. The cliffhanger left me wondering what will happen next, which I both loved and found a bit frustrating. However, If you enjoy a good psychological mystery with secrets at every turn, this one is worth a listen!

The Perfect Baby
Sam Vickery
Elise and Maya meet at a surrogacy support group. They become friends and support each other. Maya is a surrogate for Nina and Will, who want to take over her life. They want to control what she eats, where she goes and what she does. Maya was in a bad relationship. Elise was also in a bad relationship; she wanted a baby, but it would be physically impossible. Her sister Julie agrees to carry a baby for Elise. Julie is cold and distant; she doesn’t take Elise’s phone calls, allow her to come to doctor appointments or participate in the pregnancy. Both Elise and Maya have secrets.
Both Maya and Julie go in labor on the same day. Elise just happens to be with Maya when she goes in labor. Something goes wrong.
I suppose I will join the minority of reviewers. This book just didn’t do it for me.
Narrators Sofia Zervudachi and Katie Soeby did a great job. I struggled with this book. It was slow to catch my attention. The characters are not particularly likable, especially Julie and Elise. The ending wasn’t really an ending.
Thank you NetGalley for the review copy.

Great book and enjoyed! The end did completely shock me! I would 100% recommend reading as this was different from other thrillers. Definitely read more from this author.

This book immediately captured my attention, due to the theme. I hadn't read anything like it before and that makes the book special. I loved the deep way in which the author portrays the characters' emotions. It's so real and trustworthy. There are no loose ends and the mystery is well constructed. The only thing I have to point out is that although I really liked the depth in which the characters' emotions were written, I thought something was missing there, because this story has such harsh contours and I didn't shed a single tear. And that means that the story didn't touch my soul. I'm not sure what's missing, but there was something missing that would trigger more emotion in me.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I definitely said “OH DAMN” when the twist happened. I was not expecting it at all. Like I could never even have thought of this if I tried. I hope this book gets a sequel!

Thank you NetGalley, Bookouture Audio, and Sam Vickery for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Great suspense novel. I thought I knew exactly where this was going but was still surprised with a couple twists! I had the pleasure of listening to the audio version which I found enjoyable and easy to follow. If you are looking for a suspense novel that will keep your interest and throw in more than one twist this is for you!

Thank you Bookouture Audio and NetGalley for the ARC.

An interesting take on a thriller and surrogacy. While I enjoyed the story, it was a bit of a slow burn. At about 50% the book did pick up pace. It was a decent story, but it’s one of those that if you asked me details about it now, I wouldn’t be able to explain any. I didn’t really connect with Elise or Maya, the two MCs. There were a few twists at the end that I did not see coming. I listened to the audiobook. There were two narrators and at the beginning, both were very similar, so I had to really think who was telling the story at that time.

Loved, loved , loved the dark twist in this book- completely took me by surprise!
Started this thriller with not much expectation as have read a few thrillers around surrogacy and they were all pretty similar but oh boy…. This one knocked me sideways!
Found the audio a little confusing at first, trying to get my head around the characters but enjoyed more as the story developed.
Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for gracing me with an ARC in return for honest review.
Will definitely be keeping an eye out for more from this author

Holy cow, this book was crazy. It was definitely unputdownable and revolved around a surrogacy support group. It was so interesting to hear the different sides of the surrogacy journey and you keep thinking you know what’s going on, but do you?

Definitely an insane ending too.

The audiobook narrators were great for the roles and kept me engaged throughout.

This is also a must read for those who like Freida McFadden or Kiersten Modglin.

A big thank you to the author, NetGalley, and Bookouture Audio for this preview in exchange for an honest review.

The Perfect Baby by Sam Vickery took me by surprise! While I immediately knew one of the bigger twists, my jaw dropped in shocked by the biggest of them all! The reveals are perfectly paced throughout and kept me engaged the whole time. My only complaint is the ending. I wish we would have been shown what will happen instead of speculation. I also hope that the "bad" person gets away with it 🤞🏽

Sofia Zervudachi as Elise and Katy Sobey as Maya are both great to listen to.

Thank you to Bookouture for providing me with an ALC.

Initially I thought I had sussed this book out, I continued to listen because despite this (false) confidence, I like the way the author writes, making two POV's and timelines easy to follow. Well I did NOT see the twist coming! The ending was satisfying, everything came together well and left me wanting more. My only (very small) criticism is that I feel that the ending could have been expanded on slightly, I would’ve liked to know more about the three ladies lives after the big twist.
The narration was fantastic, easy to listen to and emotive.
listened to this book in less than 24 hours and I'd like to read it again to see if there were any clues along the way!