This book was alright.  I was really intrigued by the premise of the book, a young woman who loves a YouTube family gets a dream job of working with them but finds out they aren't what they seem.  But this wasn't what the book was really about at all.  Yes the YouTube family was not the same off screen as they were on but the story centered about Tara/Angela and her issues. While Tara/Angela's story was interesting I felt that a lot more could have been done with it if it was going to be the center of the story.  I felt that the author had an idea for a story about a YouTube family then added a character with a bit of her own backstory and that ended up taking over the whole book. In the end it was a good story and I enjoyed reading it but there were definitely some parts that were really implausible. The implausible scenes and the disjointed feel of the story kept it from being really good.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

This was an interesting story of a child/Tara raised by a woman after her biological parents were no longer in the picture.  I think there was enough of a story to make you believe what you read but as it got closer to the end you find out more to the true story than what the adoptive/foster parent revealed to Tara.  Some of the things that took place were a bit stretched due to how Tara was raised especially at the end of the story.  I think the storyline was fine but it took until the end of the book to really want me to figure out what really happened.

Many thanks to NetGalley, Lake Union Publishing, and Emily Bleeker for the opportunity to read and review her latest novel.  Even though some of the plot was a little implausible, still a good read that kept me wondering how it would all play out.

Tara has been with her foster mom since she was 8.  But "Mother" is extremely abusive to Tara, locking her in the dark, starving her, making her steal from stores and then sell the products online to make a living.  Tara, now 20, escapes her reality by watching a YouTube family, the Feelys.  When an internship with the family is offered, Tara is able to finally escape from Mother and join a family like she's always dreamed of.  But of course, no family is as perfect as they appear online.

Creepy, especially because such things as this happen far too frequently.

You gotta hope this is as implausible as I think it is.  Tara has been held more or less hostage by her foster mother for the last 12 years. Now 20, she's got some really distorted views of life and then she finds the Feely family vlog.  She manages to escape from the rotten mother and restyle herself as Angela to get a job with the Feelys.  They are not, of course, what she thought they were.  I honestly didn't know why I kept reading this one except that I wanted to know what happened.  Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC.  It wasn't for me but if it grabs you, try it.

I really wanted to like this book, but it wasn’t for me. I found the characters to be lacking in depth. I think there was an odd emphasis placed on Tara’s life skills, but she taught herself so much. The ending was also too neat. Thank you to Lake Union publishing for the free review copy.

This was an interesting read! I was expecting more of a thriller type book, but this is more mystery/suspense.

The story is told from Tara's point of view. She was adopted by her foster mom at 8 years old. Since then, she rarely leaves the house and has been the victim of her mother's mood swings. Now at twenty, Tara may have a chance to get away - the Feely's, her favorite YouTube family, is looking for an intern. Does Tara have what it takes to get away?

I immediately fell in love with Tara. She's so sweet and innocent - so innocent that the book reads a little juvenile, but it's fitting. From page one, I was hooked on the story and could've read it in a day if I had had the time.

I wasn't just hooked on the story, my emotions were involved too. I was sad and angry and happy. The end actually made my eyes do that slightly burning thing like I was about to cry. For the record, I didn't cry, but I could have.

This book was fairly predictable though. I knew the big twist within the first few chapters, but that didn't stop me from enjoying the book. I recommend this book if you want a suspenseful feel good story.

This was a very different kind of story, that had me turning pages. I’m not a binge reader, and like to savor the journey, but this book really stoked my curiosity as to what was coming.
An eight year old girl wakes up in a strange place, with an unfamiliar woman, explaining that she is her foster mother. She states that the girls mother gave her away and she is adopting her. Thus begins her life within strict confines and dark locked closets, always hungry, always frightened, until she is released to help Mother shoplift.
Tara, her new name, builds her own family of dolls, which helps her absorb the abuse that is constant and allows her to survive her prison. Her computer helps her find a uTube family that she feels a part of.
This is a story of loneliness, longing for connections, our need to be part of a group and how courage can be found in dolls, blogs and a locked room, in order to escape.
My thanks to #NetGalley #LakeUnionPublishing for my ARC. All opinions are my own.

I was super excited when I found out this was about a fictional Youtube family. I was intrigued about what their dirty secrets would be, but it turned out to be kind of disappointing. In fact, the family doesn’t even appear until the second half of the book, and all the mystery would have work easily without them. 
This book was a fun experience, but it felt kind of uncomfortable sometimes, and kind of rush others. The main idea is good. The execution, however, is somewhat poor, especially near the ending, with those anticlimactic time jumps.
I enjoyed most of the book, though.
Thanks to NetGalley and Lake Union Publishing for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

What it Seems
Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC of What It Seems. 

Twenty year old Tara lived in a world of crime and misdeed. Faking pregnancy while living in a world that she was punished for missteps in crime, often locked in the closet and deprived of food. She lived for her friends, her dolls, and the families that invited her in to their family, via their YouTube channels.  When the opportunity came that she could intern for one of the families, she disobeyed the rules she had come to known since she was a young girl. 

I found the book very interesting. I enjoyed the how the story unfolded and kept me thinking about what would happen next. I enjoyed the behind the seems glimpses of how YouTube channels were made and ran.  I would definitely read this author again.

I received this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. Tara is twenty years old with an extremely controlling mother. But all isn't what it seems. This story took so many turns I could barely keep up. I was hooked immediately. Very enjoyable.

I am a huge fan of this author but I am disappointed to say I did not love this book. I liked it, enjoyed reading it but it did not WOW me like all her other books did ! It was a good story but I just felt it could have been stronger. Maybe less hip without all the YouTube family, bloggers, etc.  That just ruined it for me. Good ending though.

This book gives you a knot in the pit of your stomach from Chapter 1, and gives new meaning to “a wolf in sheep’s clothing”.  You see evil and unthinkable acts, but you see resilience and the will to live.  But, things are not always what they look like.  Sometimes you just never know what you are capable of, until you have no choice. 

Little Angela is running away from home, mad at her mom for yelling and not paying attention to her. An accident happens and she comes to live with her foster ‘Mother’. Here, she learns a whole different life.  Now, at age 20, she gets the courage to take control of her life, by applying for an internship with her favorite you tube family.  But, are things as perfect as they seem?  

The storyline is fast paced, coming together well.  Great characters that make your emotions go from 0 to 360 in a few paragraphs.  First book I’ve read by this author, I look forward to reading more.  

Thanks to Ms. Bleeker, Lake Union Publishing and NetGalley for this ARC.  Opinion is mine alone. 


Will review on B&N and Amazon on pub day. 





Sent from my iPhone

I have to be honest - I don't follow any YouTube families, but I spend a ton of time watching drama channels so I hear a lot about them. When I found this book that deals with a YouTube family that is not all that it seems, I was really intrigued by this concept that I hadn't seen anywhere else. To summarize, What It Seems is about a 20 year old woman, Tara, who has lived under her incredibly controlling adoptive mother since the age of eight. Her main access to the outside world is through YouTube, which she has learned to access in secret. When her favorite vlogging family announces an internship position, she takes action to leave her mother and join the perfect family she has come to idolize. Obviously, the family is not as perfect as they portray on their channel, and Tara's mother will stop at nothing to regain control. 

Based on the description, I was hoping for The Act meets Daddy of Five, but the book didn't quite live up to my expectations. I feel like the author picked a really interesting concept and tried to pack a lot in, but in doing so some believability was lost. I didn't think the dialog was as strong as it could have been, and the ending seemed a bit rushed. I did have fun reading however, and Tara was an interesting character with both personal strengths and flaws. This isn't a very long read, and therefore I would recommend it to someone who thinks the concept seems interesting. 

Note: I received an ebook copy of What It Seems from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

It was so so book but it’s kinda confusing storyline...

I enjoyed it for reading a book..

Thanks to Netgalley for the advanced copy...

I thought this book was okay and found the story line was somewhat predictable. It started out a bit slow, but picked up a bit the further I read into the story. I felt bad for Tara, but didn't really like her. Some of the choices she made were odd, but given her tragic circumstances and her relationship with the adult figure in her life, Mother, she may not have been able to see any other choice. I thought the author did a great job with the character of Mother. I felt chills go down my spine whenever she was referenced in the book...she was so creepy!!

Thank you to Lake Union Publishing and NetGalley for providing a copy for review.

Tara is a 20-year-old being held captive by her foster mother who is always "clicking" her false teeth.  "Mother" keeps Tara locked in her room and often without food.  Mother and Tara are both shoplifters and Tara has to wear a phony pregnancy bump when they are out stealing.  Tara talks to her dolls and has a pet sparrow which was creepy.   I was really disappointed in this book and I really had a hard time getting through it.   Thank you NetGalley and Lake Union Publishers for the ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Excellent heartbreaking story of a young woman who endures years of abuse at the hands of what she believes is her foster mother. Tara is 20 years old and forced to shoplift to avoid further abuse by her foster mother. While online Tara sees an opportunity to hopefully escape the horrible life that she is mired in. Well written, heartfelt story of bravery and hope when things in this young woman’s life seems hopeless. Another home run by Ms. Bleeker. Highly recommended.

I'm not entirely sure how to sum up my feelings about this book without being entirely negative. I only finished it because I was trying to get it over with. The one positive is that I liked it enough to finish, but there was something about it that I just couldn't connect with. This book is described as a page turning novel of suspense. I'm sorry, but that is the exact opposite of what this book is. Instead I was skimming pages doing my best to hurry to the ending not due to suspense, but to boredom. I never really got into the story and it just didn't jive well with me. Honestly, the whole book kind of leads to nowhere. The Feelys who I thought would be scary and creepy aren't really. Yeah the dads a jerk (among other things) and the mom is weird, but I just wanted more. There really should have been more. None of the characters made sense and this book could have benefited from more characterization. I don't even want to talk about the ending unless its to say I was both glad it was over and disappointed because everything was too neat. Ugh, I don't know. I will say that the author seems to be talented writer but I hope this isn't this best representation of her work. All in all, I didn't enjoy it and I like for my reading experiences to be enjoyable. Sadly, I wouldn't recommend this book to anyone.

Side note: I am not sure why there was so much emphasis on the way Tara smelled. It was a little weird to read over and over about her body odor. It got to the point that it was almost comical and I'm sure that's not what the author intended.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Lake Union Publishing for the advanced copy.

Thanks to NetGalley and Lake Union Publishing for an egalley in exchange for an honest review.

In her latest thriller novel, Emily Bleeker gives us 20-year-old Tara, a young woman held captive by her foster mother and treated very cruelly. Tara is forced to masquerade as a pregnant woman in order to steal from stores, but late at night talks to her dolls and watches YouTube videos. One channel, in particular, that of the Feely family, has Tara dreaming of what it would be like to live in the "perfect" family. When an opportunity to be part of the Feely family presents itself, Tara takes it and manages to break free from " Mother." But Tara will soon discover that the Feely family is far from perfect.

I enjoy Emily Bleeker's writing and her characters tend to find themselves in really intriguing situations. I was quite terrified in the beginning but as the story unraveled, it seemed less thriller-like and more contemporary drama. I know it's a book of fiction but the implausibility meter was off the charts in this one. In the end, I "liked" it but didn't fall in love.


Goodreads review published 01/03/20
Expected publication 17/03/20

This is seriously a sick and twisted book. It deals with child abuse & abduction. The characters were highly flawed that at one point, I find myself gritting my teeth in annoyance & perhaps anger.

The story centers around Tara a 20-year old (12-year old) young woman who's been mentally & physically abused by her awful foster mother since she was eight. She isolated Tara like a hermit, forbids her of even the simplest sort of social interaction like a normal person does. To support their needs she forces her to shoplift & wear a fake-pregnant belly all the time. They almost got caught so ‘mother’ starved & locked her inside her room as punishment. Poor Tara finds comfort by watching a Family Vloggers on YouTube, or talking to her dolls & bird.

Trying to finish this book was a struggle. But I kept plugging along because of my curiosity & I just hate to be a quitter. Plus, I kept reminding myself that Tara's a victim of a Psychopathic upbringing. Anyway, there’s just so much of a reality in this book about how Psychopaths seem to have an uncanny ability to home into basic human vulnerabilities. Puts them in unique positions where they're able to gain the upper hand in choosing their victims. I totally felt bad for Tara she was deprived to rightfully live a normal life. The Feely Family, they remind me of those ‘Influencers’ who carefully fake their lives by manufacturing their posts based on social approval, likes, validation in views & success in followers.

Overall I'm not sure I can pinpoint what exactly prevents me from loving this book, I think it's just a personal thing. Ain't saying this one is bad, but I rated it 3.5/5 because my feelings throughout on this are playing a game of tug-and-war at the moment.

This book will be released on March 17, 2020. Thanks to NetGalley & Lake Union Publishing for the ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.