This is a fascinating book about sisters. It explores how far we will go for a perfect family and the intricacies of these bonds. I really enjoyed it.

This is a pacey domestic noir page-turner with a compelling title that completely delivers. A fantastic premise with a potentially tricky narrative to navigate authentically, but which Alison Stockham achieves. I was desperate to find out how the story could end...

This is a fantastic debut. An emotional read that pulls you in all directions where you can't decide who you're rooting for from one chapter to the next.

Maggie is struggling as a full time mum to two young children and has lost her identity with little support from her workaholic husband Stephen. After an accident at home, Maggie flees to Scotland, realising she is unable to cope and her mental health is suffering. She believes she can no longer safely look after her children and that they deserve better. As a reader and a mum your heart breaks for this all too real character.

She believes she is leaving her daughter Emily and son Elliott in the capable and loving arms of her sister Rose, who she hopes, will assist Stephen in taking care of them whilst she gets better.

What starts with Rose filling in for Maggie slowly becomes the norm with the children relying on her. Rose falls in love with family life, consumed with love for the children and a growing attraction for Stephen she believes Maggie will not return and has implanted herself as their mother and wife.

When Maggie returns it becomes a fight for what is rightfully hers and what Rose refuses to let go.

I found myself seeing both plights equally, feeling for Maggie obviously but also for Rose too. Very well written, I was absorbed from the first page.

This book comes with a killer hook - what would you do if you entrusted your children to your sister and she slowly but surely began to muscle in on your place in your life? It's a brave, compelling book that slowly reveals how a person's moral compass can be swayed off course. As in life, changes happen incrementally until they build up and Maggie's sister Rose goes beyond the point of no return. Sibling relationships, post-natal depression, marriages with cracks that turn into fissures and the nature of friendship are all explored via a pacy storyline. An impressive debut from Alison Stockman and I'm already looking forward to seeing what she writes next.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the ARC for an honest review.

Maggie never intended to have children but now she has two kids and a marriage that really should have never been. When an accident sends both her children to the hospital because of something she caused, she feels like it's better if she just leaves. When that occurs, her sister Rose takes her place and starts raising the kids with Maggie's husband. This is everything Rose has ever wanted, to have a family to care for, but what if Maggie decides to return?

I really enjoyed this book. It was such a page-turner and the characters were written so well! I feel for all of the characters and what they are going through and the twist at the end really surprised me. Highly recommend this book!