3 stars. Thank you #lakeunionpublishing and #emilybleeker for the copy. This is my true and unbiased opinion.

This was a fast and easy read. The use of "Mother" when referring to the really evil foster mom seems sorta corny to me. It just felt a little too Disney Evil StepMother to me. The book goes fast and I felt bad for the main character but I didn't like her enough to really feel that invested. I"ll try another book, but this one was lackluster to me.

What It Seems by Emily Bleeker is a full length, stand alone novel that put me in e roller coaster of emotions. This is not a romance, it's a dark novel with thriller elements, raw and gritty and reading Alngela's story gutted me. The 20 year old formerly foster child is not in a good place in her life, to be honest, she never was. Her past is a rough one and she's still under the thumb of Mother, a woman who manipulates her, brainwashed her, is her puppeteer.
What It Seems is a story full of unexpected twists and turns and had me from chapter one. I read the book, cover to cover in one sitting, I simply couldn't put it down. My heart was hurting for the heroine who's trapped in her sad life.
I loved the excellent writing and the storyilen as well as the hard earned and well deserved hea. 5 stars.

I found this book to be a solid read (a 3.5 stars). Tara (Angela) is a 20 year old young woman who is totally dominated by a creepy and truly awful 'foster' mom. She has been abused physically and mentally since she was 12, so if that's a trigger for you, you might want to avoid this book. At 20 circumstances occur that allow her to try to escape. That escape is successful, but as she tries to find her way as an intern with a you-tube vblog family, circumstances are equally stressful, just in a different way. This is a story of how a young woman finds her way out of a hellish life and begins to figure out who she is and if she's strong enough to survive.

Overall I thought the story arc was strong. The blurb about the book makes it seem as if the vblog family is something scary or sinister. While their reality is different than portrayed on you tube, there's nothing particularly sinister about them. But, there is enough evil in the mother for anyone.

I have an aversion to protagonists that are hand-wringers. When half the book is full of "oh poor me, whatever should I do" internal dialog, I usually stop reading. This one straddled that edge for me.....but when I did find myself thinking, oh just stop whining and DO something, I remembered her upbringing and the PTSD she was undoubtedly dealing with, and kept reading. I'm glad I did.

Thanks to #NetGalley and Lake Union Publishing for a copy of this book - the opinion expressed is entirely my own.

A good novel with a fast paced and unique plot. The main character is interesting and compelling. A quick read.

This book was not what it seems! At first I wasn’t sure what to expect but I was quite literally hooked from the very beginning. If you’ve read Emily Bleekers previous novels, this is a similar style, written in just as clever a manner, it really gets you thinking and doesn’t let go. I couldn’t put it down.
Tara has a very strange life. We are aware of that from the start. We know she has possibly been abducted but she has very little memories of her ‘past life’ and she is trapped in an unhappy existence. Knowing how she is treated, it’s a frustrating and harrowing read at times, when it’s clear she is clever enough to be able to get out of it, yet her “Mother” has such a hold over her that she cannot escape. Very clever writing. When she eventually finds her moment and makes a move to better her life, I found myself willing her on and couldn’t read fast enough to find out how it would unfold. The family she ends up with are not all as they seem, or as they are cleverly portrayed online, as Tara soon finds out. Lots of twists and turns in this book so be prepared for a rollercoaster of emotions! Toward the end I did think, could this really happen..? However the story was just so gripping it leaves you wanting more. This is definitely one of those books that stays in your thoughts for a long time. Wonderful writing, complex characters, a truly compelling and enjoyable read. Would make a great movie! Highly recommended. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC.

Tara’s foster mother adopted her 12 years ago, when she was only 8, so even though living with “mother” isn’t exactly the only thing Tara knows, it’s pretty close. So when Tara’s “mother” keeps her locked in her room, oftentimes withholding food from her as punishment, Tara assumes this is just how most family’s live. Except for those moments when Tara is able to sneak onto her computer and watch the Feely family on her favorite You Tube station---that is the perfect family, and Tara would do just about anything to be a part of their magical lives. But just like Tara’s life might initially seem normal to outsiders, just like the lives of the Feely family, nothing is exactly what it seems. I found this book to be incredibly suspenseful, although reaching in a lot of places. It’s a quick read, and definitely held my interest, but not enough to rate it the full 5 Stars.

Note: A special thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for allowing me to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

The concept of this book is INTERESTING. I can't recall every reading a book like it so the uniqueness really drew me in. Not only that, Emily wrote the book as if she LIVED the events that took place giving us an insight into the characters world like no other. While I didn't care for the fact that it wasn't as "sinister" as I thought it would be, the book did hook me from start to finish.

WHAT IT SEEMS started off a tiny bit slow for me. However, I'm glad I stuck with it because it ended up being an engrossing read. The story is not warm and fuzzy. The extent to which Tara has been brainwashed is really disturbing. On the other hand, based on the book's description, I felt a little let down about what's revealed about the Feely family. I was anticipating even more of a shock. Overall, this is a book about secrets and lies. It's a page turner, just not one to make you feel good about the world. Despite the slow beginning, the story is well-paced and super suspenseful. I read it very quickly and if you're fan of this type of twisty story, you'll probably fly through it too.

This was a super quick read for me! I was invested in the story from the get go and needed to find out how the story would end. If you like a good, quick mystery, this is a great book for you to try!

What It Seems is a fast-paced page-turner that launches us into the troubled head of a twenty-year-old girl who has been living with Mother for twelve years, convinced that her biological family had given her up when she was eight.
Mother puts a roof over her head and food on the table. Mother is there to protect her against the cruel, unforgiving world. Mother can be kind when she feels like it, but that comes at a price.
Physical and mental locked doors keep Tara tucked away in her room, and Mother’s countless rules are like the bars of a cage against which she stopped throwing herself a long time ago.
All she has are her few friends and her computer, her window to the world. It’s behind this screen that the Feely family lives. If she could only be normal and happy like them, surrounded by loved ones, taking part in tickle wars, mixing slime, always having someone to hug! Is this what real, caring families are like? Because it’s all she’s been craving during the twelve years in her prison.
Then, an unusual video posted by the Feelys changes her life forever. Tara was used to have everything decided for her, but now she is going to have to make decisions of her own, and they’re not going to be easy…for how could she leave her Mother?
Written in the gripping, immediate first person, this book will have you begging to know what happens next in no time at all. Ms. Bleeker is capable of writing about serious, traumatising things in a steady, relatable way.
I would have rather seen Angela getting to know the Feelys with all their virtues and flaws more gradually and subtly, and it would have been nice to give the kids more screen time. But I guess I’ll just leave that in the YouTube comments.
This book is a highly entertaining and emotional read, and it won’t let you go easily.

I found it slow to begin with. But it did generate speed. Good plot that slowly unraveled. All in all a good book. One that pulls at the heartstrings

What It Seems is about a foster child, now 20 living with her foster mother. She was 8 went Tara went to live with her controlling foster mom. Lonely Tara locked in her room all day finds happiness in a Vlog on YouTube about a real family. Something Tara never had. Fortune happens when the family need an intern for their show. Will Tara be able to escape her foster mother?

Oof. I forgot I’ve read Bleeker before, but I wish I had remembered. Poorly written in my opinion, not for me.

What it Seems is a perfect book about things not actually being as they seem. I was intrigued right from the beginning of this book, constantly trying to "help" Angela/Tara. I couldn't stop reading and at times would be downright disgusted and angry about the story - feeling like it was so real. I pray and pray that this does not happen to people, but I know it does and so I pray that abductees find freedom and peace again like Angela!

This is a good suspenseful read with a good plot and believable characters. Well done Emily!

I honestly could not finish the book. It was flat, and so hard to wrap my mind around a 20-year-old being treated as 12 years old. I just had to finally throw in the towel on this.
Thanks, NetGalley for the advanced copy to review.

So so good a book that kept me reading late into the night. Angela is a strong character.Emily Bleeker is an author I will follow .#netgalley#lakeunionpublishing.

A psychological thriller with quite a twist at the end! Wow!
Tara aka Angela was adopted when she was small.
But... what is normal now at the age of 20?
Tara has been brainwashed by this woman she calls "Mother".
The mental and physical torture becomes the standard in this young girls life.
Mother often locks her in her room for her own well-being without food and water.
Her only respite is an old computer that allows her to carefully view the outside world.
She follows a family on the internet.
Tara loves this family. They are perfect. She wishes they would be her family.
Tara finds herself realizing she must escape her Mother's strong grip.
But how?
This is definitely a tough at times book to read, but definitely kept me guessing and in suspense until the very end of the novel! Excellent!

Thank you NetGalley for an advanced
Copy of What It Seems.

I’m so incredibly disappointed. I LOVED Emily Bleeker’s last book, The Waiting Room, and was super excited when I got approved for this one. Unfortunately this just fell really flat for me. I gave it a pretty fair shot (57% read) before I had to put it down. The book wasn’t really what I was expecting and there was no suspense, which is what I crave in a book. I was really torn between sticking it out and putting this on the back burner, especially after reading so many good reviews, but I just wasn’t finding myself enjoying this at all.

This was a heart wrenching story that slowly unfolded. This is a story that will effect how you look at YouTube stars and will highlight things are not as they seem.
Angela’s life dramatically changed when she was adopted by her foster mother at 8 yrs old, including her name to Tara. She is isolated and very little contact with the outside world for 12 yrs.

She finds comfort in an internet family that she thinks is perfect. She manages to get an internship with the channel, that gives her the strength to escape her situation.

As she spends time with the family, slowly she sees their life is not quite so perfect. Angela/Tara finds herself trapped in another impossible situation.

Will Angela/Tara find away to be free and have her own life? Will her adopted Mother find her again?

This is a story that will take you on a ride you did not expect.
Thanks to Netgalley for complimentary copy. Thoughts and opinions are my own.

I really enjoyed this book! It is clever, gripping and very enjoyable. Tara is such a sweet character that you can't help but root for and her controlling mother is just a character you just love to hate. I was mentally hissing at her whenever she came up.
I loved the real behind the scenes of YouTube vloggers and it came across as being very realistic. I'm so glad I got to read this story as it's one that I won't forget any time soon. Thanks for the read!