Cover Image: False Hope

False Hope

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Member Reviews

False Hope could have been a gripping read however for me there were too many themes that could have been better explored.
Grace has the juggling act of a young family, a demanding career as a trauma surgeon and the responsibility of being the only living child of a parent with dementia. She has adopted her late sister Hope's son and completely cut off his father and paternal grandmother. An action she believes is the only way forward for them all.

When Hope's ex-husband turns up on the operating table after a serious accident leaves his life in the balance Grace has to act fast and preforms the operation that she knows will save his life. There is much bad blood between the families and a malpractice claim ensues. This on its own could have created a great story but it never fully evolved.

There were lots of little plot lines running through the story and just when I thought I knew where the story was heading it would change direction.
Grace was selfish, self centred and over possessive and as the story was narrated in first person it seemed that it was all about Grace; how hard she worked, how her mother was a burden, how she never understood her sister. Grace's thoughts and actions certainly didn't endear me to her. I continually questioned her actions and even after the big reveal I still felt her actions were self motivated.

False Hope was an okay read. None of the characters really gelled with me but it certainly held my interest and I was eager to get to the end to see how it would all wrap up.

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To me, this is a suspenseful story of motherly love…….

A dying mother’s wish for her son to grow up in a loving, safe home.

A mother’s love to protect both her birth son and her adopted son who was formerly her nephew.

A mother’s unconditional love for her troubled son and her need to continue to be a grandmother to his child.

And a mother’s love for her daughters and grandsons, wanting to ensure that her daughter that has died is not forgotten.

The question is, how far would you go to love and protect the ones you love? Whose recollection of the past do you believe to ensure you are making the right choices for their future?

Although I would occasionally become annoyed with the authors use of very long sentences throughout the book, I enjoyed the storyline and characters and felt the past and present were well entwined to make it flow well. It was a page turner as well so that was a nice bonus. I would definitely recommend it.

Thank you to NetGalley and Amazon Publishing UK for an electronic copy of this book in return for an honest review.

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Sorry, I can’t rate this book. It would not show up on my Kindle App or my NetGalley App. I do not know why. This has happened a couple of times before, but usually the books go right through. I have an iPad, so it did an update and have had some glitches with the new system.

Anyway, just wanted to update you, as I would have liked to read the book.

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I received a copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review. Thank you NetGalley!

The cover of this book is beautiful. The title grabbed my attention as well.
The characters are well-developed and easy to relate to and/or like.
The storyline was easy to follow and pretty unique. I personally have never read something like it.
BUT the writing style was slightly off for me. I can't put my finger on what it is about it, but it just didn't keep my attention as much as I had hoped. I really wanted to love this book though. ;/


I'd definitely purchase a copy and check out other books by the author.

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This book was sent to me as an ARC from NetGalley. However, this book was unfortunately archived before I could read it.

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False hope is centred around Grace and the troubles she encounters after performing an emergency amputation on a trauma patient, who she later discovered is her late sisters ex and the biological father her sisters son Dylan, who Grace and her husband have adopted. After the amputation a complaint is made. Grace starts to look into the past and what her sister Hope had told her about her relationship with Aden questioning what was fact and what was fiction.

The plot of this book sounded quite good and in all honesty it was but its by no means a psychological thriller. I don't know what genre I would put this book in, maybe mystery?
The whole novel is centred around Grace and her on going battle of trying to protect Dylan who she adopted as per her sisters dying wish. It's a very family focused story where we get to examine the dynamics between Grace and her family members. It's interesting and I espically liked the relationship she had with her boys Daniel and Dylan. Also the raw honesty around how she felt originally about adoption.

So the book is called false Hope and once you realise the sister is called Hope it kind of tells you what you need to know. One thing I have to point out is I've never ever read a book with the word hope used so much!
I enjoyed the chapters where we got to learn more about hope and the big reveal, however I think it would of been so much better if that story ran along side the present time, but either way we found out what we needed to. It was believable and it was understandable almost. Not particular shocking which I think could of been the purpose.

I wish the book looked at the situation from rhe other family members points of view aswell because I didn't like Grace as a lead protagonist. Grace as a push over and just a bore if I'm honest. I didn’t jel with her and that may be what let the book down for me. I also felt the story dragged on, even the final chapters and the shocking twist it all fell a bit flat.


All in all I thought this was an average book and I did enjoy the insight of the family but its no psychological thriller. It's an easy read so I would recommend it but go in reading with no genre in mind and I think that will lower you expectations I felt I was constantly waiting for the crazy to occur and it just didn't. The characters of both Grans are interesting and again would of loved their points of view aswell. I am rating 2.5 stars 🌟 rounding up to 3.


Thanks to netgalley the publisher and author for providing me with a digital advanced copy in exchange for my fair and honest review.

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After her sister dies of a brain tumor, Grace adopts her young son Dillon. Now, years later, Grace, a successful surgeon, and her family of four (her husband Matt, biological son Daniel, and Dillon) have moved back to her hometown to be closer to her mother.
One night, Grace gets a call from the hospital that puts her face to face with Dillon's father. A web of lies and deception is uncovered and Grace has to deal with the consequences of the family secrets that are now been exposed.
Overall, an amazing thriller with a fantastic writing style. The story provides enough background information about the characters without giving out the plot, but it all wraps beautifully at the end of the book. The family dynamic is pretty realistic, and the characters are all flawed relatable human beings with good and bad traits. There are many plot twists that I did not see coming, but also made a lot of sense and were explained perfectly. Loved the book and the story and can't wait to read more stories from this author!

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This exceeded my expectations. I was expecting a run-of-the-mill domestic thriller, but it was more than that; it also explores familial relationships, morals and conscience. I found the character of Norma somewhat difficult to believe in, but the rest of the characters were well written and believable. A great read if you want something gentler than a full-on thriller.

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I have just finished reading False Hope by Author Lynne Lee

The best description of this book to me was – dysfunctional family overload. It was a good book, well written, however I had a really hard time getting behind the characters.

The storyline lagged as the book progressed, but overall a decent read. This is the first book that I have read by the Author

Thank you to Goodreads, Author Lynne Lee, and Amazon Publishing UK

#FalseHope #NetGalley

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Ten years ago, Grace made her dying sister a promise—that she would look after Hope’s baby son as her own. Now, the man whose son she is raising has turned up on Grace’s operating table, fighting for his life.

This story from the start was gripping and I was completely intrigued by Grace the main character. This is not so much a thriller but more of a suspenseful family drama. I felt it got a bit slow mid way through but there were plenty of twists and overall it kept me engaged!

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Firstly, thank you to NetGalley and Amazon UK Publishing for giving me the opportunity to read this book in exchange for my impartial review.

This book falls under the categories of thriller/family drama. I love the way this book shows relationships. The accurate representation of sisters who love each other dearly but don’t get on is wonderful.

I started off loving this book. However, it started slowing down in pace and I started losing interest. It’s ties everything up nicely and the author keeps the answers secret for most of the book; it just ends up feeling like you’re waiting for something to happen and it doesn’t.

Well-rounded characters and a good plot. I didn’t guess the ending but by the time the ending came around, I’d given up caring a little.

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Thanks to Amazon Publishing and Netgalley for a copy of this book in return for my review. I read this book quickly as I got lost in the text. Grace is an interesting character who I found intriguing to read about. My first book by this author and I thoroughly enjoyed it. Quite difficult to read at times and very thought evoking. I recommend this book for a good reading experience.

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Unfortunately this was a DNF for me. I couldn't really relate to the characters and it just wasn't a pick me up or page Turner for myself.

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Definitely a page turner. Couldn't wait to find out what had been going on. A tale of family secrets.

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Thanks to NetGalley and to the publisher for the the ARC, which I received in exchange for my honest review. False Hope is a difficult book to categorize. I expected a thriller, but the novel is really more of a domestic drama. The story is narrated by Grace, a surgeon who had adopted her sister's son upon her sister's untimely death. Life is going smoothly for the family until Grace is faced with her adopted child's father on her operating table. Grace faces an ethical dilemma as to whether to save this man because doing so will upend the life she has spent years building.

There are some very serious topics covered in the novel and it is not an easy read. Overall, I would say that while this book is well written, it is not for everyone.

If you enjoy novels that are heavy on the drama and light on suspense, False Hope may be for you.

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I received an ARC copy of this book from Net Galley in exchange for my honest opinion of it. I honestly could not finish it. I found it boring and just did not relate to characters.

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Unfortunately this book wasn't really for me. A psychological thriller they say it is. It isn't.
More a family drama, and quite a long drawn out one at that. And while you really wouldn't want the drama that enfolded happen in your own life, it wasn't much too read about in book form I'm sorry to say.
Not speedy enough, gritty enough or twisty enough for me to get my teeth into. Actually don't expect any twist, there isn't really a twist either.
The writing however was good, it was easy to read but I don't think I'll be seeking out another novel by Lynne Lee.

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Ten years ago, Grace made her dying sister a promise—that she would look after Hope’s baby son as her own. Now, the man whose son she is raising has turned up on Grace’s operating table, fighting for his life.

The title fits the content of this book 100%. The story is full of suspense, the author kept me gripped throughout. It has amazing character development and the authors use of italics to highlight key segments really stood out to me. I will definitely be telling others about this and recommending!

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3.5 stars rounded up to 4.

Ten years ago, Grace made her dying sister a promise that she would look after Hope's baby son as her own. Now, the man whose son she is raising has turned up on Grace's operating table, fighting for hislife. But when an accuasion of negligence follows, Grace is forced to confront not just the man who abandoned her sister, but also his mother, Norma.

There's a good level of suspense throughout this book that makes you keep reading. The story is told from Grace's point of view. Things change for Gracewhen she finds Dillon's biological dad in her operating theatre. There's a few back stories to the characters. he oace is steady and there's plenty of twists but the revelation didn't shock me.I wasn't keen on any of the characters. I would say this is more family drama than a thriller.

I wouldlike to thank, #NetGalley, #AmazonPublishingUK and the author #LynneLee for my ARC in exchange for an honest review.

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SO many lies and secrets in this tale of a woman who wanted to do the right thing. Grace took in her sister Hope's little boy Dillon when Hope died of a brain tumor chiefly because of what Hope told her about Aidan. Now, years later, Grace and her family are living happily, albeit having moved to help her mother, who has dementia. Grace, a physician, is shocked when she discovers that the man whose arm she amputated after an accident, is Aiden. This sets off a series of events that she could not have predicted (although you might). Grace narrates and she guesses a lot about others. That said, she's an interesting character and one you'd like to protect from Aidan's hateful mother in particular. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. It's a bit slow in spots but still a good read.

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