I'm still trying to work out why there's a been a surge of baby group inspired books lately but nonetheless The Baby Group was an intriguing read. I like that very quickly you are aware of what Scarlett is dealing with and along with her, you attempt to figure out who has turned her perfect life upside down and exactly why. I actually think the anonymous chapters weren't needed until the latter half of the book and actually, these made the culprit pretty obvious to me. But my intrigue wasn't about who it was, more the reason why. Not many of the characters were pretty likeable (shout out to Ed here...) although I felt a lot of sympathy for Scarlett and thought her past was handled really delicately. Once the big reveal, I found the other 'events' slightly odd and even unnecessary. Regardless, The Baby Group was an entertaining read with a few mild twists.

The Baby Group is billed as a gripping read about motherhood, secrets and lies and from the synopsis it certainly sounded like the sort of book I’d go for.

Scarlett is a new mum. She has a perfect life living in a small Cheshire village with a gorgeous husband and a great group of ‘new mum’ friends. She has a successful digital marketing job, a popular blog and lives quite a privileged life until one day someone leaks a shocking video of her to everyone she knows causing her to realise she can trust no one. It has plenty of twists and turns and is told from Scarlett’s point of view and an anonymous point of view. I have to say I didn’t particularly like any of the characters and worked out who ‘anonymous’ was quite early on. It did keep me turning the pages even though I did feel the middle section seemed to drag slightly. Thank you to NetGalley, Avon Books UK and the author for the chance to review.

Lies, deceptions, more lies and half truths...I don't remember when was the last time I've about this many lies in one book..
The Baby Group is definitely a book worth reading. Although I didn't like the characters the story itself kept me guessing.
The reader is practically inside Scarlett's head throughout the story, we can hear all of her thoughts, nothing is left out.

I will read more books from this author, I enjoyed her writing style very much.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for my copy.

There is jealousy. There are lies. There is betrayal. And then there is The Baby Group.

Scarlett is an influencer, author of the successful Cheshire Mama blog, wife to Ed and mother to the adorable Poppy. She’s been home on maternity leave with Poppy for almost a year and now it’s time to return to her job as a digital marketing manager. However, as soon as she walks in the door, she’s ushered into a private room by her boss Felicity. A twelve year old sex tape of Scarlett and two men has been emailed to everyone in the office. If that wasn’t enough, it has been shared with her clients, her family and her husband Ed. Scarlett falls into a nightmare.

Only her three best friends, Asha, Emma and Cora, members of her baby group, have not seen the video. As Scarlett revisits her past, trying desperately to understand who could have done this to her, her friends provide much need emotional support. It is not until the final pages of The Baby Group that we understand the dark motives behind the destruction of Scarlett’s life.

This domestic thriller is a disturbing read that forces you to question who you trust and how much of your life you share on social media. This book stays with you long after the final page has been turned. 5 stars.

Thank you to NetGalley, Avon Books UK and Caroline Corcoran for this ARC.

I don't know where to start with this book, the blurb sounded so great and I was really excited to read it, however for me tis book went no where.

95% of the book was spent with all the suspense and then next thing you knew they were revealing who the torment/destroyer of Scarlets life and then pages later the book is over.

Really did not enjoy this book at all

<i>4.5 stars</i>

Caroline Corcoran's The Baby Group is an amazing book.

Can a seemingly innocuous setting -- a group of new mothers who previously bonded during their joint ante-natal classes -- be turned into one of mystery, back-stabbing, extortion, jealousy, betrayal, and more?

The short answer: YES, a definitive yes.

Our MC is Scarlett. She's one of the four mama's of the aforementioned group, and she runs a successful blog about her life as a new mom (she's one of those Insta-moms we see a lot of these days) while she's on extended maternity leave. However, the day she returns to her place of work, a digital marketing firm, she finds herself utterly humiliated -- someone has mailed a sex tape that she made when she was young and dumb to everyone in her contacts list, except the other three mamas of her baby group.

This is how the story starts. It starts with Scarlett's trust in the rest of the world disappearing in a second, as she battles with humiliation and pain. Her husband won't talk to her anymore, her friends and family can't look her in the eye anymore -- the only people who still treat her the same are her oblivious baby group friends, and she starts clinging to them.

But soon things get murky, and Scarlett starts noticing discrepancies in what her three new-best-friends say. They all have a secret life as well, and as time goes by, Scarlett is sure of only one thing: it's someone from this baby group who's obliterated her life. (She no longer has a job, she's been isolated by her family, her marriage is on the rocks, and so on.)

Things heat up as Scarlett starts actively attempting to get to the bottom of things. There's the blackmail, the gaslighting, and all those emotional manipulations -- there never was a dull moment in this book.

Initially, we mistrust everyone. As we meet new characters, we wonder if this is the person who did this to Scarlett. And then there's the mystery of Scarlett's life itself -- what is she hiding? What did she do to someone which made them do this to her?

This book was a constant mental exercise, in the best way possible. It kept me on my toes, and had me anticipating what would come next. I absolutely loved it! And just when I thought I had figured it out along with Scarlett, there was a twist that came out of the blue, and whacked both me and Scarlett right in our midriffs.

All the characters were well fleshed out, and while we knew enough about them to wonder if they would actually have done it, we also didn't know enough about them to completely have no suspicion towards them.

I have nothing to say for this book, except have very high praise for it. If I could narrow down my praise to just three things:

● The right tempo
● The perpetual mistrust and mystery
● The nail-biting-ness of the writing

This was my first Corcoran book, and I absolutely enjoyed it! I can't wait to read more by this author. I highly recommend The Baby Group to thriller buffs.

Thanks to NetGalley and Avon for giving me a chance to read this book!

This story is a definite example of keeping your friends close and your enemies even closer. I was hooked from the get go and I devoured each page. The friendships made although looked close and safe, they were certainly not. Heartbreaking at times. Loved it.

Gripped from page 1, this first person tale is every parents worst nightmare - that their kids would end up being caught doing something so silly. Scarlett is caught and has to leave her job as a result. A tangled web of intrigue as we try and puzzle who hates her enough.

This was an advance review copy from Avon Books, however as always all thoughts and opinions are my own.

At the start of The Baby Group we are introduced to Scarlett, a 35 year old new Mum who is rapidly approaching the end of her 12 months of maternity leave and is shortly due to return to her day job in Marketing. During her maternity leave Scarlett set up a blog called Cheshire Mama, which whilst successful, hasn't yet been monetised. As much as she'd love to stay at home longer with her daughter, she can't afford to.

Thankfully, she has the support of her NCT group through all of the emotions of leaving her baby in childcare. 4 strangers bought together by the timing of their babies arrival. they quickly became close friends and support each other through all of life's up and downs with a young baby.

But on her first day back in the office, her life gets turned upside down. She arrives to a frosty reception, with guarded hellos and avoiding eyes, only to be pulled into the office by her boss. Assuming she's about to be made redundant, she gets an even bigger shock when she learns that a sex tape of her with two men, taken some years ago has been circulated on the internet. Not only that, it appears that literally every one she knows has seen it - all her colleagues, her sister, her DAD! She is mortified, and through humiliation decides to leave the job she loves.

The only people who weren't made of the sex tape are her new NCT friends, presumably because they are only a recent addition in her life.

From this point onwards, the narrative of the book switches between Scarlett and Anon (the person who shared the video), and slowly but surely the detail of who shared the sex tape and why are pieced together, with lots of twists, turns and unexpected revelations along the way. Scarlett hires a lawyer to assist her, meeting up with the two men concerned to try and collate evidence on who may have shared it, but this opens more questions about her relationships - both with her husband and the people she thought were her friends.

My thoughts - This was a very different 'thriller' to the kind I am used to, and for me personally, lacked a bit of the fast pace and 'darkness' that I was hoping for. The emotions, feelings and experiences side is explained in detail throughout, and I did at times find myself skim reading a little willing it to hurry up a bit, I like rapid twists and turns, and for me, this was a bit of slow burner.

The second half of the book did however capture my attention much more, and I found the last few chapters with some unexpected twists at the end to be a great conclusion.

Overall, an enjoyable read, but perhaps with a little less grit than my usual.

Scarlett's life is turned into a nightmare when a video of her as a young woman is sent to nearly everyone she knows. The story follows her search into who has done this to her & her family. The opening chapters grabbed me & I couldn't put this book down. I love the style of writing with it's intensity & emotion. The writing is not too descriptive, which is a style I enjoy. Follow the twists & turns of Scarlett's life. A recommended read.

Very gripping domestic thriller. Scarlett, a popular mum blogger, meets Cora, Emma, and Asha through the antenatal class. Their forced friendship happened as each of them needs a friend in between their busy life with toddlers. Scarlett's life crashes when her sextape when she was 23 yo leaked online. Someone obviously hates her too much and wants to see her ruined. The story was told from Scarlett's point of view and the anon who was the character who tried to ruin Scarlett's life. Undeniable tickle my curiosity of who's the culprit.
Thanks to Netgalley and Avon Books for electronic ARC of this book.

Scarlett is a woman who appears to have it all. Great husband, new baby, fulfilling job to return to after maternity leave, successful mom blog and new friends in her mom group. But Scarlett's life is about to change. Everyone has secrets, some in the present and some in the past. All these secrets are about to surface. A great read about keeping your friends close and your enemies closer. But who exactly are the ones you can trust? this one will keep you guessing!

Thanks to netgalley, Avon Books UK and Caroline Cocoran for the fun read.

Scarlett is an influencer on Instagram, lives in a beautiful house, with her dashing husband and her baby and is just about to go back to her high positioned job after maternity leave. On her first day back, everyone is looking at her oddly and she is called into her manager and friend’s office to be shown a sex tape that has been sent to everyone in the company starring her, an ex and another man. Scarlett tries to keep her life together, while realising that everyone she knows has been sent the video, other than her 3 baby group friends.
I really enjoyed this book, although I found it slow to start. Initially, it seemed that each chapter was Scarlett realising that another group of people had seen the video and then another group and so on. Once it developed into finding out why she had indulged in the threesome and the disintegration of her relationship with her husband and the strengthening of her relationship with the baby group, I became more interested. It has a very exciting and satisfying conclusion which made me pleased I had continued to read the book.

The Baby Group centers on Scarlett, a new mom living in a small town in England. She has a group of mom friends, has a great husband and job, and runs a popular mom blog that is getting close to making money. That is, until someone send a sex tape of her from her 20's having a threesome with two men. It gets sent to her entire company, family, husband, and friends. Everyone, except her mom group. Spiraling, Scarlett must find out who sent this tape out, and quickly before her other secrets come out...

I thought the concept of this book was very intriguing, and overall it was an easy read. You got Scarlett's POV and the "Anon" POV of the person who leaked her sex tape and is trying to take her down. This added a fun, twisted aspect to the writing and gave the "bad guy" a voice. The great part was watching paranoia slowly cause Scarlett to spiral, as she began to suspect why this person would do this, along with then narrowing down who it could have been.

I wish the mystery was better. The second the character who ended up doing it was introduced, I knew it was them. I didn't 100% get the motivations correct or the details, but I knew for most of the book who it would end up being, it was pretty much telegraphed. I also feel like the ending needed to provide more closure for the characters involved, yet it really ended weirdly in my opinion. I also did not like the husband's character, but this I feel like was done on purpose based on the events of the books.

I gave The Baby Group 3 stars because I feel like the plot was executed well and well thought out. The characters were given good dimension and back stories. Also, it makes you think about the internet and how much putting our lives out there impacts our privacy.

**Thank you to Avon and Netgalley for an early copy of this book in exchange for an honest review**

Most of us who went a little wild in their 20's, can remember those nights filled with dancing, drinking, partying, living life to the fullest. For our main character, Scarlett, in The Baby Group, those party days and nights have never quite left her. They are a part of her, a part of her she misses since becoming a mom. Scarlett has a perfect job, perfect marriage and even a perfect mom blog. She also has, what she thinks, are the perfect group of mom friends that she met in baby training class. The moms have seen each other constantly exchanging baby stories and just supporting each other through the first year of their babies lives. Scarlett seemed to them to be the "perfect one" until the day a video gets leaked online of Scarlett in her party days. But when Scarlett turns to her trusted friends for support, can they be trusted, or are they all pretending to be just as "perfect" as Scarlett. Is anyone genuine in her mom circle after all? I highly enjoyed this mom drama/friendship rollercoaster of a ride plot. Scarlett was a very well written character, and I think anyone that is a mom may be able to relate to her at times in the story. The story makes you guess throughout the whole thing whodunit? 4 stars!!

Thank You to NetGalley and Avon Books UK for this ARC

A sex tape is posted to colleagues, friends and family and Scarlett’s world falls apart.
Who on earth would do such a thing and why? I did start to suspect the who but certainly not the why.
Not sure how I felt about Scarlett. On the one hand I felt sorry for her predicament but she did come across as very self centred.
Intriguing nonetheless

Thank you Net Galley and Avon Books for an early copy. I have so many mixed feelings about this book. First of all the title should not be the title, especially with it being more about a sex tape going online (no spoilers here you find that out immediately). The characters were not kind at all and the premise of the book was mean But for some reason it kept me very engrossed. All in All, an interesting novel.

I am sorry to say but I feel like reading this book was an absolute waste of my time.

Scarlett seems to have it all, mummy blogger for successful blog Cheshire Mama, mom to the gorgeous poppy, she returns back to work, bouyed on by her NCT friends. However on the first day back something is shared with her colleagues which will change her life and Scarlett has to figure out why.

I will say, this book had me intrigued. I couldn't DNF it because I wanted to see how everything panned out. Also there was a beautiful chapter where the author talked about Scarletts past and I was there feeling so much and just wanted to wrap her up in my arms. Thats where the good points end though.

Using lazy stereotypes, perpetrating stereotypes of some women being bad and dirty, others being clean and pure. The characters are meant to be in there mid thirties but talk like they are in their early twenties, and a lot of the side characters serve no other purpose other than to perpetrate the good/bad stereotypes. Also there were long segments when I was bored.

This book really surprised me. I wasn’t sure if I was going to like it but I did. It was so thrilling, & full of suspense.

This is a must read book for fans of domestic suspense thrillers. I devoured this book in one sitting it was so good. An excellent story which will keep you on the edge of your seat.