I received an arc copy of this book from Net Galley in exchange for my honest opinion. All I can say is "wow"! I rarely give a book 5 stars and there is nothing negative about this book. I really could not put it down.

When I'm in the mood for a fantastic psychological thriller, Louise Jensen is an author who always "wow's" me!!! The Surrogate packs a twisted and chilling punch that entertained me the entire way through. I had an initial theory of where Louise Jensen was taking the storyline, but she blew me away with some seriously well-timed twists and turns. My theory was completely wrong (way, way, waaaaaaaay wrong) which is one of my favorite aspects to Louise Jensen's writing, she ALWAYS surprises me. This novel was paced perfectly and I actually finished it in one day because I couldn't put it down-- so addictive! The Surrogate is a 5 star novel that is a 2017 must read! I am already looking forward to reading what Louise Jensen comes out with next!

Thank you to Netgalley and the Publishers, Bookouture for this review copy.

Kat and Nick have tried everything to become parents. They have tried to adopt from overseas, but the adoption has just fallen through again, for the second time. Kat is resigning herself to the fact that she will never become a mother. That is until she bumps into her long lost childhood friend, Lisa. She hasn’t seen Lisa for many years and their history holds lots of secrets. Lisa is the key to Kat’s dreams – she offers to become a surrogate mother for Kat and Nick. Is there more than meets the eye to this though?

Wow, what a book! Very difficult to review without giving away any spoilers, but this is a book that is full of lies, secrets, deceit and questions. I honestly didn’t know who was what, who was telling the truth or who was lying – it honestly did seem that every single character had a secret. Kat and Nick have a steady marriage until Lisa shows back into Kat’s life, and then Lisa’s back and all of these secrets start reappearing from many years before. I did guess some of the story, I mean let’s face it, the surrogacy story was never going to be smooth sailing, but I didn’t guess it completely right. The story veered from one thing to another, when I thought I’d made my mind up as to what the heck was going on, it changed track again!

The story switches between the present and the past, from different characters perspectives. It’s not necessarily a fast paced story, but it builds up the suspense at a good speed leading to an ending that I just did not expect. This book had more twists and turns than a rollercoaster, with the heart thumping feeling to go with it! If you like psychological thrillers, then definitely read this one….you will not regret it!

Five Stars!

Ever since I read Louise Jensen’s debut The Sister I've been a huge fan of her writing, but OMG The Surrogate her latest and most adventurous book yet plant her firmly on my list of “must read” authors. The Surrogate’s title misled me, I thought it would be a “heart warming” tale, how wrong could I be! It turned out to be dark and very twisted, a tale shrouded in lies, buried secrets and betrayal I really think this is the authors best book yet and it definitely one of the best psychological thrillers I've read this year.

The Surrogate starts so innocently Kat and her husband Nick have tried everything to become parents, and are on the point of giving up. Then a chance encounter with Kat’s childhood friend Lisa gives Kat and Nick one last chance to achieve their dream. What appears to be the perfect arrangement soon turns into something much darker, phew the sense of malice radiates from the pages early on and this increases as the plot becomes more complex.

There were numerous characters in The Surrogate but what a dysfunctional bunch they turned out to be. I couldn't help sympathising with Kat’s plight, I can’t begin to imagine the heartbreak, the emotions and the feelings of failure woman like Kat go through, so desperate are they to have children. I love a book where you find it impossible to trust any of the characters, and I found I couldn't trust any of them, rather like the main character Kat I found paranoia kicking in as my mistrust of each character grew. Each character seems to be hiding something and I wasn't wrong, when these secrets begin to surface I found myself lost for words. The Surrogate is told in two time frames and I do enjoy a book that moves between the past and the present, when it's done well I find it heightens the mystery and suspense as you are never quite sure when the two will collide and Louise Jensen makes sure the two collide in the most shocking and spectacular fashion.


Full of twists and turns I found my head spinning, from the opening chapter I felt a sense of dread that stayed with me until I reached the heart stopping conclusion. The ending may have seemed a little far fetched but when I read a book especially one that holds so many surprises I'm happy to suspend disbelief and “go with the flow”. For me personally a psychological thriller has to have an element of surprise a “OMG” moment, The Surrogate has lots of theses moments and I literally read this book in one sitting. Would I recommend this book? It's a huge and definite “yes” from me.

Review maybe altered slightly and edited prior to publication on my blog

Ok.. wow had to recover a little bit from this book.

I have been a big fan of Louise Jensen since her debut of The Sister. Of course, I jumped on the wagon to read her newest novel The Surrogate. I was overly excited that I was approved on Netgalley for this one!

Kat and her husband Nick are doing everything in their power to become parents. Unfortunately, heartache after heartache for this couple in getting their dream of becoming mother and father. Out of nowhere, Kat runs into a long time childhood friend Lisa.. who decides to do an amazing favor for her friend Kat and become her surrogate.
But, everything isn't always perfect is it? Slowly, we start to see things that are falling apart and Lisa isn't really who she says she is. Or as a matter of fact, is Kat who she says she is?....

I can't say too much about this plot since I don't want to give any spoilers away. But, novel is definitely entertaining and keeps you on your edge trying to figure out what the HELLO is going on ;). I do have to say that my attention span was waving in and out in the middle. I was getting quite annoyed with Lisa and Kat's relationship. I was hoping for the story to add up and was getting frustrated.

But, overall the ending is what made this book. I have to say TOTALLY not what I was expecting AT ALL. So cookies and ice cream for Louise! I am a long time fan of Louise and will be looking for her next novel.

Overall, 3.5 stars rounded up on this one.

Thank you to Bookouture and Netgalley for an advanced arc.
Expected publication date is 9/26/17.