Carys married Bill after his first wife, Alice, committed suicide. She is trying to be the best stepmom to Bill's daughters, Sara and Lucy. Lucy is unfortunately troubled and Carys thinks she has found the perfect person to help her, named Ajay, a hypnotherapist. When Lucy starts her therapy, memories begin to form and now she thinks her father, Bill, killed her mother Alice. What really happened to Alice? Was she murdered or did she really commit suicide?

There is a lot going on in this story. It is filled with many secrets and lies and I really didn't know what to believe. I think the less you know about the story before starting it, the more entertaining it will be. So I won't reveal too much. It was quite a twisty story, fast-paced and an easy read. I think many people will enjoy THE DAUGHTERS.

Many Thanks to NetGalley and Bookouture for my ARC in exchange for my honest review.

This review will be posted to my Instagram Blog (@coffee.break.book.reviews) in the near future.

The Daughters by Julia Crouch was an engaging book with solid characters and a good storyline. I was unsure who to trust while reading, but I enjoyed trying to sort out the actual truth and see what was going to happen next.

I would recommend this book, and I would read more from this author.

#TheDaughters #NetGalley @bookouture

The Daughters By Julia Crouch.
My husband says his first wife’s dead.
His daughters say he killed her…
Omg. A brilliant read. Lots of twists. Read in one sitting. 5*.

Immersive, Engaging….
Bill says his first wife killed herself. Now Carys, Bill’s much younger second wife, is working hard to keep the family together and to care for her stepdaughters, Lucy and Sara, as well as her own child. When Sara discovers that her mother’s coffin was empty, and that a body was never found, suspicions rise to the surface. What did happen to their mother? And what secrets does ‘The Wilderness’ hold? An immersive and engaging read with a well crafted cast of characters and a tense storyline leading to an explosive denouement.

Thank you Netgalley, Julia Crouch, and Bookouture for my gifted copy!

Synopsis:
After her husband's first wive's death, Carys has done everything to be a worthy replacement, for him as well as for his daughters Sara and Lucy. But when Sara finds out that their mother's body was never found, she asks herself if Carys has something to do with the disappearance. And after Lucy tried to kill herself, it becomes obvious that the answer might just be in her surpressed memories...

My thoughts:
I literally had to read the first chapter three times - the names of almost every character, as well as their relations to one another, are thrown at the reader at once, and I found it really confusing to keep up. After that, though, I found this to be a quick and fun read where you don't know who to trust until you reach the very last page. The characters did lots of stuff that seemed untypical for them and therefore unrealistic to me, and the red herrings sometimes felt too deliberate. I finished the book in two sittings, though, and it kept me entertained throughout.

This was my second book by this author, and it is my favorite so far.

No matter how old you are, loosing a parent is always devastating. But it is a lot worse when you are a child, a child who thinks they know more about what happened. Is it real what they remember or is it something they imagine because they want to believe it?

The remaining parent has a lot to deal with. They should always be there for their children. They should be their first priority, but what if that parent cannot handle it because they suffer to much themselves?

Thank God for a loving stepmother who is there to make everything better and come up with the best solutions, isn’t she?

Well, well, I did not know who to believe here. Most of the characters seem to have a hidden agenda, but who is the worst? Who inflicts the most pain? Who is the best actor?

I kept changing my mind several times during the course of the story until finally the author puts me out of my misery.

It’s a story where a family is ripped apart following a great sadness and once the cards are on the table, they can start rebuilding. Nothing is the same again, but the bonds are strong.

I loved the strength of Sara, my heart bled for Binnie and Lucy and I admired Carys for trying to do the right thing but approaching it in the wrong way. 5 stars

Thank you

Good book! This book had suspense, intrigue, and a great who done it! The storyline was very interesting and flowed nicely! I will definitely recommend reading this book! It was well worth reading! Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for sharing this book with me!

Julia’s books just get better! I was so excited to read this and i wasn’t disappointed! I enjoyed it from the first page right up to the brilliant ending! The characters were so believable and flawed. I can’t wait for the next one.

I loved the twists. The second guessing from what chapter to the next. You think okay I've got this figured out and then the next chapter your like maybe I don't. An enjoyable read.

I liked the ending. It ended the way I thought it should.