Due to a sudden, unexpected passing in the family a few years ago and another more recently and my subsequent (mental) health issues stemming from that, I was unable to download this book in time to review it before it was archived as I did not visit this site for several years after the bereavements. This meant I didn't read or venture onto netgalley for years as not only did it remind me of that person as they shared my passion for reading, but I also struggled to maintain interest in anything due to overwhelming depression. I was therefore unable to download this title in time and so I couldn't give a review as it wasn't successfully acquired before it was archived. The second issue that has happened with some of my other books is that I had them downloaded to one particular device and said device is now defunct, so I have no access to those books anymore, sadly.

This means I can't leave an accurate reflection of my feelings towards the book as I am unable to read it now and so I am leaving a message of explanation instead. I am now back to reading and reviewing full time as once considerable time had passed I have found that books have been helping me significantly in terms of my mindset and mental health - this was after having no interest in anything for quite a number of years after the passings. Anything requested and approved will be read and a review written and posted to Amazon (where I am a Hall of Famer & Top Reviewer), Goodreads (where I have several thousand friends and the same amount who follow my reviews) and Waterstones (or Barnes & Noble if the publisher is American based). Thank you for the opportunity and apologies for the inconvenience.

This was a scary book, in the manner of, obviously you don't want to be a twin, or even have twins in this very "accident prone" family! Book starts off with the suicide of the one set of twins' mother, and jumps between the present and the past, describing all the other deaths. Nothing is as it seems, and the ending will surprise you.

Beautifully written and atmospheric with gorgeous descriptions of a sea-side estate which makes for an engaging, captivating read. The story itself had a few too many twists and turns which began to make it less plausible and, together with fairly one dimensional characters, it began to feel a bit like a soap opera. So I felt a bit disappointed in the end, although I did enjoy the journey.

When her father dies, Seraphine is distraught to learn her twin brother will inherit the family's country estate. Together with a new photo that she finds in her fathers desk, she begins to questions her roots and whether she is even a twin. With her mother long deceased, her father's recent passing and a grandmother who wont answer her questions, she must track down an au-pair from 25 years ago for answers.

The story switches between past and present, the au pair's point of view and Seraphine's point of view. We get a bit of context for these two key characters but everyone else was stereotypical - the father weak and dull, the mother vain and manipulative, the grandmother ruthless and the best friend, yearning. The story aims to keep you on your toes, with lots of unanswered questions and the potential kept me engaged but it fell short at the ending - leaving me rolling my eyes.

Emma Rous is one of my new favourite authors! I loved this story, it had everything in it from lies to deception, and secrets coming back to haunt from the past. A really unique story! The author has a really fantastic style and I really enjoyed this book!

Thank you NetGalley for my advance copy!

Goodreads description : A grand estate, terrible secrets, and a young woman who bears witness to it all. If V. C. Andrews and Kate Morton had a literary love child, Emma Rous’ The Au Pair would be it... what a description to live up to!

I was fortunate enough to receive a free digital edition of this book in exchange for an honest review, which was super as it was picked by my book club members as our current book to read!

Summerbourne is a grand house set on the brooding Norfolk coast. The story takes place over two split timeline narratives, one in the past focusing on the family occupying the home and the viewpoint of the nanny Laura, and the second present day featuring the children of Summerbourne as grown up adults, unearthing mysteries of their family legacy from the viewpoint of Sephy the oldest daughter, who discovers an old photograph following the death of her father that leads to questions about just who is in the photo and why there are no pictures of the twins together.

It's an interesting book and as a debut novel was one that was able to really set a vivid narrative which drew you in to the story. The characters of the family are well defined, each with their own quirks, but I do think you lost a sense of who Edwin became and who Danny ever was in the latter part of the story.

I enjoyed the 'earlier' aspects of the novel more, it felt more crafted and thought through. I do wish however that there was more information on what happened at the end to the grandmother Vera and the outcome of her situation, at times it felt convenient to use her as a plot device, yet in the early stages of the novel she was the character that most intrigued me, a Glen Close character if this book ever got optioned for screen!

All in all, a well crafted debut novel, perhaps a bit long winded and lacked the killer punch, but a good read.

Seraphine has always been curious about her mother, she committed suicide on the day that she and her twin brother were born....... what could have caused woman to do that and the rest of the family will never talk about her! When her father dies and she comes across a photo taken on the day of her birth and there is only one baby in the picture she is even more intrigued.... the only person left who can answer the questions is the au pair Laura who also disappeared on the day of their birth...... what really happened on that day?

A good light read with mixture of mystery romance and family saga. It told in dual timeline by Seraphine in the present and Laura from the summer of the birth which works well and there are plenty of twists to keep your interest

A flawed but enjoyable thriller, The Au Pair stretches credibility at times and could have done with a better thought out ending. The characters aren't particularly engaging and many of the twists are predictable.

Having said all that, it's a quick read and there's something about it which keeps you gripped as you switch between two timelines of Seraphine the daughter and Laura the Au Pair to unravel a family's deep dark secrets.

Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC without obligation.

I was really in the mood for a thriller, so reading this book scratched that itch. However, I did think there would be more to it - the “surprise twist” is poorly executed and appears to be an afterthought, and the supposed identity reveal of the twins is lacklustre. Nothing particularly stood out about this book for me, but it was a generally enjoyable easy read. Would recommend if you’re looking for a light holiday thriller.

Told by 2 females with 20 years between them it’s the story of what happened to twins’ mother on the day they were born. It won’t spoil the story saying it was suicide but the ensuing mystery overtakes that.
A good solid 4/5 as the characters are realistic and the mystery makes you want to read on.

The premise of The Au Pair was intriguing: after Seraphine Mayes finds a photo of her mother that was taken on the day she committed suicide, she sets out to discover what prompted her mother to kill herself on the day Seraphine and her twin brother were born. Ultimately, The Au Pair poses the question: what makes a family a family? And what do you do, if your family is under attack?

I read this in one sitting and really enjoyed it. I’ll admit I was a little thrown off The Au Pair by how many ‘meh’ reviews I’ve seen, but I do think if read in one go, as it’s a quick and easy read, it’s a worthwhile book.

The story is told through the alternating perspectives of a grown up Seraphine in the present day timeline, and Laura (the family’s Au Pair) in the run up to Seraphine and her brother’s birth back in 1991.
I sometimes get really frrustated with alternating perspectives and timelines, because one tends to be enjoyable when the other is insufferable. But that didn’t happen here - I felt Rous captured a healthy balance between both protagonists, where Seraphine was connecting the dots of the mystery, and Laura was casting them in the past.

However, I will say like many other bookworms have pointed out, the believability is a little tricky... but it didn’t change how much I enjoyed this. The use of alternating perspectives and time periods really give quite a striking feel in the story’s climax.

Seraphine is the kind of character, as a a reader, I immediately root for. I enjoyed the challenges she was up against: an uncooperative grandmother, as well as siblings, and dead ends because of deceased relatives. These obstacles made me want her to succeed in uncovering any long lost truths. And I also liked the use of folklore and changelings to provide an eerie undercurrent to the mystery.

What made The Au Pair enjoyable was the family dynamics of the Mayes family. There was family drama about issues of who the golden child was, inheritance issues, marital and sibling squabbling... some of this was really relatable to life, which made Seraphine and her siblings all the more likeable. And everything else drama wise, ensures I’d keep turning the pages to find out what really happened (all the while I got my popcorn at the ready!)

The Au Pair is a story about a family’s dirty laundry being uncovered, that quickly becomes a page turner, to get to the bottom of everything. I would recommend it, especially as a book to read in one go. Although, I would warn if you’re the type of bookworm that can’t hack plots where everything and everyone is conveniently timed, The Au Pair might irk you. However, if you can take such plots with a grain of salt in a fun way, then The Au Pair is well worth picking up. I’ll keep an eye out for what the author writes next :)

The Au Pair is a solid thriller and certainly worth a read. Sometimes with thrillers I can't help but feel like the author loses the plot towards the conclusion, trying to tie in shock twists and revalations. I didn't feel that way here. Yes, the revelations are shocking (some you see coming but the impact is still felt) but more importantly, I never felt like they detracted from the rest of the book. The ending fully kept in line with the plotting, pace and character development that the rest of the book had built up. This seems like something you would expect to be a given but unfortunately so many authors fail to do this convincingly and so I applaud Emma Rous for it!

I'm giving this a 4 star review as, while I enjoyed the book as a whole, I didn't really feel any connection with the characters, especially our main character Seraphine. It's tough to connect with people who only know wealth and privilege when quite a lot of the plot revolves so heavily around it. It doesn't make the plot unreadable however it does just leave you more invested in the thriller aspects and less on the characters themselves.

Thank you to Little, Brown Book Group UK and NetGalley for providing me with a copy for review.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. There were plenty of twists and turns to keep me hooked and the characters were well-drawn and believable. I did get a bit frustrated by some of the events at the end of the book, which I found slightly difficult to believe, hence the four stars rather than five.

Everyone once in a while you come across a book you're not quite sure what to make of. For me, The Au Pair was once such example - so utterly insane that it is hard to imagine the possibility, and yet, simply put, it is all about the timing.

Seraphine Mayes and her twin brother, Dominic, were born in the middle of summer on their family's estate - Summerbourne - on the coast of Norfolk. Within hours after their birth, their mother threw herself off a cliff, their au-pair fled, and the village thrilled with whispers of a stolen baby.

Now, 25 years later, mourning the recent death of her father, Seraphine, sorting through his belongings, comes across a picture taken on the day the twins were born before all hell broke loose. In the picture her mother, surrounded by her husband and young son, is only holding one baby. Worried by the dangerous questions the photograph raises, Seraphine decides to dig deeper to find the truth about what really happened that day and if she really is who she believes to be. As she soon discovers, it seems only one person may have all the answers, if only she can be found.

With a title such as this, anyone would sum up the broader plot details quickly enough. All the usual clues appear to be there. However the mystery surrounding the twins' birth is built up with plenty of misconception, deception, and psychological play. The dual narrative POV moving in opposite timelines adds to the suspense. Even as you read, you sense that one tiny detail keeps nagging you at the back of my head. And when it reveals itself, it shakes you to the core. I'd rate it an impressive debut despite the fact that at first the ending makes you question it's plausibility, but like I said before, it is about timing. As the author describes it, as much as you think otherwise, the way it happened is not entirely impossible.

3.5☆ A Twisty Read with Plenty of Secrets.


The Au Pair is a twisty read with a great deal of Mystery.
I wasn't quiet sure what to expect from reading the blurb, but I enjoyed it.

Seraphine has just lost her father and whilst looking through his things she comes across a photograph of her Father and Mother and just one baby!
She notices the picture is taken the day her Mother commits suicide by throwing herself off a cliff.
As far as Seraphine was concerned there should of been two babies as she was a Twin. But where was the other child?
Who was the baby in the photograph?
Why did her mother commit suicide that day?

Wracked with suspicion and desperate for answers, she decides to track down her Au Pair who was employed at the time to look after them.
She believes the Au Pair Laura has the answers she so desperately needs!

The story is written in dual timelines which really works as it gives the reader a real insight into what happened.
It flows seamlessly between character timelines and I have to say I found Laura's story that little bit better.

The Characters are well written, I didn't particularly like all of them which i dont mind, and Seraphine did grate on me at times.
My only niggle was that the book started off really strong, full of intrigue and suspense, but then I found it dipped towards the end and I felt it lost it's momentum and became a little drawn out. When reading this book you definitely have to read with an open mind as some of the revelations are a little bit unbelievable. But that's the beauty of fiction it can be anything you want it to be!

Overall a good read, with plenty of secrets, twists, intrigue and truths. For me i would say it's a mystery/saga.

I would like to thank Netgalley,  Little, Brown Book Group UK and for this copy which I reviewed honestly and voluntarily.

It took me a chapter or two to get into the plot but once I did, I was gripped. The twists were great and I didn't expect the big one at the end.

Oh boy, does my brain hurt after reading this. The Au Pair is a pretty generic domestic thriller/mystery told in a dual perspective, one in the present and one in the past (groundbreaking, I know). Though the writing is quite good and the plot moves along at just the right pace to keep you turning the pages, I couldn’t connect with one of the main characters, so I was not very invested in her storyline and nothing truly surprising happens for the most part. That is until we get to that straight-out-of-a-soap-opera reveal that will make your head hurt just trying to make sense of it all. Pity the big reveal pivots on an extremely weak plot device so I was not that impressed by it.

What a dark, twisted and absolutely addictive tale this is! And quite a surprise as I was expecting more of a generic psychological thriller (not sure why exactly). I'm so glad that this book ended up being exactly as it was... because it completely absorbed me! I started casually wondering if it would be a hit and ended up unable to put it down.

The narrative is set in two timeframes (something I love in a story, so that's a good start!) - the 1990s, when a young nanny is employed by a wealthy couple in Norfolk to look after their son, Edwin, and the present day, when Seraphine (Edwin's younger sister) starts to wonder if she really is who she thinks she is. The characters are convincing and feel genuine - I really liked Seraphine and her brothers, and in the past narrative I also found myself warming to Laura, despite some of her questionable decisions... she's a young, impressionable girl, after all, and those around her at the time certainly don't behave as they perhaps should have.

Emma Rous has managed to create such a sense of atmosphere across this novel; everything to do with Summerbourne feels tense and mysterious. I loved the way that the reader slowly uncovers more details through both Laura and Seraphine, as we're teased with certain details (which I won't give away here) that really play with, and contradict, the supposed version of events back then. There's lots of secrets, deception and the book is a beautiful blend of so many elements and genres - the Gothic, historical fiction, psychological suspense, mystery...

A truly addictive read!

I really enjoyed a lot about this book - the set-up was great, and I found the dual narrators engaging and interesting, although perhaps not entirely likeable. However, I felt that the twist stretched my suspension of disbelief a little too much. I didn't guess it, but I felt like that was down to it not being signposted or believable rather than down to being a clever choice. So there's a lot to enjoy, but I think reading with a pinch of salt is the best idea!

A fabulous tale, lots of characters and atmosphere, told by several points of view and with two different timelines, the reader is kept guessing right up to end as the what happened that fateful day.

This was another engrossing read! Seraphine and her twin brother Danny were only a few hours old when their mother died by suicide. Now in the present day the twins’ father has died and when Seraphine is going through his things she finds a photo of her mother with one baby. This sends her on a quest to find out which of them was the baby in the photo and what happened back then. This novel is told in alternate narratives with the other perspective being the nanny Laura who worked for the Mayes’ family before the twins were born. I did find this a compelling read and was fascinated by the story and what could possibly have happened. The ending when it comes is shocking but more than that it’s incredibly moving. I really enjoyed this book and look forward to seeing what Emma Rous writes next!