Release: May 1, 2025
Author: Jenna Kernan
Publisher: Bookouture

Rating: 4.25 ★ 

When Eliza Watts offers Bailey a job as her assistant, it feels like a dream opportunity. Eliza’s life seems perfect — a beautiful family, a stunning home, and the kind of success most people only imagine. But Eliza has no idea that she and Bailey have crossed paths before. And Bailey has been waiting for the right moment to get close to her.

The position comes with strict rules: Bailey can only leave on weekends, must return by sunset, and isn’t allowed to speak about anything she sees inside the house. Others have clearly turned the job down, but Bailey is determined to stay — because she knows Eliza is hiding something.

At first, Bailey believes she already knows Eliza’s darkest secret. But once inside, it quickly becomes clear that the perfect image Eliza projects is built on lies. Her children seem terrified of her, and the reality of what’s happening behind closed doors is far worse than Bailey ever expected.

As Bailey uncovers the truth, she realizes she’s in far deeper than she ever intended — and if Eliza finds out who Bailey really is, escaping might be impossible.

This was such a compelling read! It pulled me in right from the start with a really intriguing look behind the scenes of a “perfect” influencer life. While the story starts off a little slow, it doesn’t take long for the pace to pick up, and once it does, I was completely hooked. The characters felt believable and relatable, and I loved the modern, social media-driven setting. It made the story feel timely and unsettling in all the right ways.

The plot was full of secrets and twists I didn’t see coming, which kept the suspense high all the way through. I especially enjoyed how it showed the darker side of influencer culture—how far people will go to maintain a certain image online.

Told through multiple POVs, the story unravels slowly but cleverly, and I liked getting to see things from different angles. Even though the ending wasn’t the happily-ever-after I usually root for, it still felt fitting and left me thinking about it long after I finished.

Overall, this was an original, addictive thriller with strong characters and a sharp commentary on the illusion of online perfection. I’m definitely excited to read more from this author!

Favorite Quote:
"a lie can be the beginning of a beautiful story, but it's always the ending that matters."

Read and reviewed in exchange for a free copy from Netgalley. This was a compelling read. I was invested throughout, the story was well - paced, the characters engaging, and the book was very unpredictable. An intriguing glimpse behind the camera of a fictional influencer and a timely reminder not to take social media content at face value. I really enjoyed this and am keen to read more by the author.

Eliza has created the perfect family and life as an influencer is great for her little homestead. But can you really believe everything you see online? Great thriller, full of suspense, highly intriguing with an ending you won't see coming.

A reasonably good read, a bit of a slow starter but it did pick up and I got involved in the storyline.

The characters were easy to get on with overall and I did enjoy it although I didn't love it.

Thank you to Netgalley and Bookouture for this ARC which I would recommend but I wouldn't buy it.

Omg this had me hooked! I love stories that have a modern setting and take place in modern society so the influencer/ secret life vibe is very now and very relatable. The plot was original and the characters well brought to life. I loved all the secrets unravelling and some really good twists that I didn't see coming. Also the fact of how far some people go to for an influencer lifestyle is just too believable. I absolutely loved it

First as always, thank you Netgalley and Bookouture for this ARC!

Stories about social media and influencers are another thing I do like as parts of a thriller. Also because this world is often not as it seems. Or, well, at least, this is what the media wants us to believe, right? So, really, is it a surprise that the life of blogger mummy Eliza is not as perfect as it seems? For me, surely not.

The book does start a little slow, but then quickly picks up pace, told in the POV of Bailey - the young woman that wants to work for Eliza - Eliza herself and a woman named Aubrey. I am not going to spoiler now how she fits into the story, my apologies. If you want to find out . and also if you wan to find out why working for Eliza with some weird rules, you have to go and read the book. I promise it is going to be worth it!

Thank you Bookouture and NetGalley for an early copy of The Fake Mother. I have to say I didn’t love it, I struggled a bit to get through it. The twists were shocking and I did feel bad for one of the characters but it didn’t grip me. I did like the ending.

Name :- The Fake Mother
Author :- Jenna Kernan
Genre :- Psychological Thriller
Jenna Kernan delivers a chilling, fast-paced
psychological thriller with The Fake Mother, a story packed with obsession, deception, and shocking secrets. Fans of The Last Mrs. Parrish and The Housemaid will love this twist-filled ride where nothing is as it seems.
Eliza Watts has the perfect life—three beautiful children, a loving husband, and a gorgeous home. But when she hires a new assistant, she unknowingly lets danger into her house. The new hire is thrilled to get the job, but she has her own reasons for wanting to be close to Eliza. They’ve met before—though Eliza doesn’t remember. And now, she’s determined to uncover the secrets hidden behind Eliza’s perfect façade. But the job comes with rules. Strict ones. No leaving during the week, no talking about what happens inside the house, and absolutely no breaking the unspoken boundaries. As the assistant digs deeper, she realizes Eliza’s carefully curated life is built on lies. And worse—her children seem terrified of her. The deeper she goes, the more she risks exposing not only Eliza’s secrets but her own. Because if Eliza finds out who she really is, running may not be enough to save her life.
Likes and Dislikes:-
Likes:-
1 Unrelenting Suspense: From the first page, there’s an unsettling tension that keeps the reader hooked.
2 Dark, Twisted Secrets: The layers of deception unfold masterfully, leading to jaw-dropping revelations.
Dislikes :-
1 Some Predictable Twists: Seasoned thriller readers may guess certain reveals early.
2 Eliza’s Character Could Be More Complex: She’s intriguing but leans into the "cold, controlling mother" trope.
Overall :- The Fake Mother is an addictive, tension-filled thriller that will keep you flipping pages late into the night. If you love books about hidden pasts, dangerous secrets, and shocking betrayals, this one is for you.
My Rating :- 4/5

Eliza Watts is a social media influencer, with a huge following, who hires Bailey to be her assistant. Bailey is concerned that things at Eliza's farm are not as they appear -- that the children are not well cared for, and that other staff, and even Eliza's husband, are merely playing roles. Eliza devises more and more ways to learn the family's secrets, all while keeping an even bigger secret about herself.

This book portrays a realistic setting with believable characters and several white-knuckle moments, keeping the reader engaged until the very end. Though the ending was good, and unexpected, it was not the happily-ever-after one I personally hoped for. But I still enjoyed it and would read more by this author.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC. All opinions are my own.

Jenna Kernan is one of the best psychological thriller writers going around. All of her books are amazing, and Fake Mother is yet another masterpiece.

Loved this book it flowed easy to read, the characters were all very interesting. It caught me off guard the ending great twist. Glad I had the opportunity to read this.

Thank to the author, the publisher and Netgalley for an early release of this book.

You know what? I actually liked this! The Fake Mother is my first dive into this trope, and honestly? Pretty unique. It’s got a farm. It’s got child abuse. It’s got fame. All things you hear about in real life, but not exactly your standard thriller setup.

Eliza is a picture-perfect family influencer. Flawless life. Flawless kids. Flawless husband. But (you guessed it) things are not as they seem.

Bailey, for reasons unknown, is desperate to work for her. But the job comes with some…odd rules. She can only leave the farm one day a week. And she must be back before sunset.

Also, small detail: they’ve met before. But "she" doesn’t know that…👀

This one will keep you up late, I promise.

So why the knocked-off star? Well, it could’ve been 50 pages shorter, and I saw the twist about 10 pages before it dropped. But still! It kept me guessing and was a super fast read.

Bottom line: Great slump-buster. ⭐⭐⭐.75 stars.

PS – Maybe I’m a little harsh, but seriously, worth the read!

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

4.5 ⭐️ | interesting thriller

Eliza appears to have the perfect life—three wonderful kids, a doting husband, and a dream home. But when Bailey is hired as her personal assistant, it becomes clear that not everything is as perfect as it seems. Bailey knows a secret that could unravel it all.

Off the bat I loved the family blogger aspect of things since it’s something that is sadly very common in this day and age and made for an interesting premise. Bailey, the main character, is an incredibly well-written. Throughout the book, I found myself questioning her perspective, often second-guessing whether I agreed with her decisions making me always intrigued.

The story starts off a bit slow, but it still kept me engaged throughout. As the book went on there were smaller twists I managed to predict, but they only added to the intrigue, making me even more curious about how it would all unfold. Then, in the last hundred pages, everything took a turn—I genuinely had no idea where the story was headed, and my theories became increasingly bizarre. The unpredictability made for an exciting and satisfying read!

So good!!! I had trouble getting into it at first but then it was good. I had trouble putting it down and read it quickly. Such a good book!! I'll be reading more from this author.

Loved this book! 5 stars for sure! Great complex characters, a fast moving pace, and a scathing commentary on the influencer culture. I thought I knew where it was going when it started but I had NO idea! Would love to read more by this author!

Bailey is desperate to work at the farm for Eliza, the influencer. She gets the job as Eliza's assistant, and tries to get close to the family.
Nothing is as it seems on the videos posted online.

Wow, there is a lot to unpack in this book. I was totally wrong in what I thought Bailey was up to, and her motives.
Quite chilling actually, to think of what nearly happened to the children.
Makes me think of reality TV shows. Nothing is as it appears on the screen. Everything is run according to a script.

Excellent book, I recommend.

Eliza Watts is one of those ‘momfluencers’ she has a sprawling farm, the perfect husband and 3 wonderful children. She has a farm shop, and she sells all the wonderful things you can see in her videos. But she needs a new assistant. Enter Bailey, a woman desperate to work for Eliza, but not just because she is famous and wonderful.

This is a good gripping story and I was very interested by all of the ins and outs of the farm and business. I also enjoyed Bailey’s relationship with oldest child Aubree. If you love a twist, they are provided throughout, and you’ll never know quite who to trust.

Ultimately, I didn’t enjoy the ending but that’s just preference, this will be a book that many enjoy.

I received this book as an eArc from Netgalley and the publishers in return for an honest review which this is.

Omg what a rollercoaster of a read this was. I was on the edge of your seat waiting to see what twists and turns will happen next and there was so many throughout I absolutely loved it. I could not put it down the amount of suspense from start to finish was great I love a thriller with so much suspense.

Eliza seems to have it all perfect life perfect children perfect husband and she is a big influencer. When she hires Bailey as her personal assistant it comes with rules that Bailey must follow so Eliza perfect life doesn’t crumble but Bailey has her own alter motivate for working for Eliza.

I devoured this book in a few hours I loved everything about it and I can’t wait to recommend this to everyone. Overall a great suspenseful thriller full of twists and turns. Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read this.

When Bailey starts working as a PA for Eliza you know there is going to be trouble.

Eliza has a secret that could destroy her picture perfect life and Bailey wants to bring her down.

This is a pacy twisty read and is so well written I had no clue what was going to happen next.

Each chapter has a wow and I couldn't wait to finish this book, only to be disappointed that I had .. its is so good I wanted to re read it immediately

recommended read.,

This was my first book by this author and I loved everything about it. The ending was next level in the best way possible. Such an enjoyable and thrilling read. Can't wait to read more from this author.