Mar 2, 20227 min read

'The Baby Shower' by S.E. Lynes

Title: The Baby Shower

Author: S.E. Lynes

Publication Day: March 1st 2022

Description:

She doesn’t know I’m there, watching her in the mirror. She slides her hand under her blouse. And then I see something impossible. She isn’t pregnant… She bursts into my life like a storm, and nothing is the same again. She seems so perfect, with her lilting laugh and her beautiful face. One by one, I watch as my friends fall under her spell. Only I seem to suspect something. Only I see that her smiles don’t reach her cold, furious eyes. And when I’m accused of things I didn’t do, when my home is vandalized, I know she’s behind it. But she only lets her mask slip when no one is looking, so if I say anything, I’ll look crazy. So when the baby shower comes around I’m there, sitting on a velvet sofa in a posh hotel room, surrounded by balloons. We share gifts, we pour small glasses of champagne, and she beams, her bump just visible under her bright red shirt. But that afternoon, I finally learn the unbelievable truth. There is no baby… A stunningly twisty story of toxic female friendships, guilt and lies from S.E. Lynes, author of the no.1 bestseller The Housewarming. If you like Lisa Jewell, Gillian Flynn and Paula Hawkins, you’ll be glued to The Baby Shower.

BLOG TOUR REVIEW

Review for 'The Baby Shower' by S.E Lynes.

Read and reviewed via NetGalley for S.E Lynes, Bookouture publishers and Bookouture anonymous

Publication date 1st March 2022.

This is the fourth book I have read by this author. I have previously read 'The Housewarming', 'Can You See Her?' and 'Her Sister's Secret' which I highly recommend.

I was originally drawn to this book by its gorgeous eye catching cover and its intriguing synopsis and title. The synopsis stated that ' If you like Lisa Jewell, Gillian Flynn and Paula Hawkins, you’ll be glued to The Baby Shower.' I am a huge fan of Lisa so am looking forward to seeing if this lives up to this statement. I am also a huge fan of S.E Lynes and if this is as good as 'Can You See Her?', 'The Housewarming' and 'Her Sister's Secret' it is sure to be an epic read. I must admit I was also biased due to the publisher being Bookouture. I have yet to read a book published by Bookouture that I haven't enjoyed. Hopefully this won't be the first... Watch this space! (Written before I started reading the book).

This novel consists of a prologue, 52 chapters and an epilogue. The chapters are short to medium in length so possible to read 'just one more chapter' before bed...OK, I know yeah right, but still just in case!

This book is based in London 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 , UK 🇬🇧 . I always enjoy when books are set in the UK as I'm from Wales and have sometimes visited areas mentioned in the book. This makes it easier to picture where the scenes are set at times. I have in fact visited London on many occasions including going there on holiday last and this year so am looking forward to possibly recognising name places.

This book is written in a mix of third and first person perspective and the protagonists are Jane, Frankie and an unknown speaker. The benefits of books written in first person perspective are as long as they are well written it makes you feel that you are being spoken to by the protagonist and it can create more of a bond between yourselves and them. If there are several protagonists you also get to see more of what is going on. The benefits of third person perspective with multiple protagonists are that it let's you see the bigger picture of what's going on and you get to know more characters more, what they are thinking and what they are doing. It feels like you get to see the whole picture and not miss out in anything. To have the benefit of both first and third person perspective ensures you don't miss out on anything.

'The Baby Shower' discusses some topics that may trigger some readers or may not be suitable for others. I like to point this out ahead of time in my reviews so you can judge if this book is for you or not. In this book S.E Lynes discusses/includes loss of a child, rape and bullying.

OMG!!! JUST WOW!!! Yet another fantastic psychological thriller that will keep you hooked and on your toes throughout!! Well done S.E Lynes!!!

This book is extremely well written with descriptions that leave you hearing the nightlife and feeling your heart pounding away. The storyline is filled with suspense, friendship, deceipt, love, secrets, loss, lies and a shocking ending!!! I was completely gripped throughout this page turning thriller. I enjoyed seeing what was going on through both Jane and Frankie's eyes and I love at the end how everything is wrapped up neatly for the reader I must admit a pet hate of mine with books is unnecessary loose ends. I absolutely loved the explosive ending which I was not at all expecting!!! I was completely invested throughout the storyline and addicted throughout. S.E. Lynes covers so many topics in this book and she has done it extremely well weaving them perfectly through the storyline. The main one she explores is friendships and what it is like to lose and gain friendship groups. I found this to be very unique and strangely enough just a few days ago I seen someone asking for a book based on friendship for their 2022 book reading list. I will be trying to find that post again and definitely recommending this book. You see so many books that are filled with romance and couples but not many that explore the love and bond that goes into friendship groups and how it feels to have that ripped away. The book also covers topics of adult bullying and male rape which, again, are topics not often found in fiction or even non fiction books yet should be spoken about more regularly to help the victims of these events. A HUGE congratulations to S. E. Lynes for covering these topics and for the research that would have gone into them. I am sure your book will make a few readers feel better or seek help needed after reading this and maybe coming to the realisation that what has happened to them can be talked about and help is out there. Again to cover such unique topics in books and weave them into an addictive storyline could not have been an easy feat but SE Lynes has done it perfectly!!! It also covers in how our pasts can change and mould our futures and how we can sometimes linger on something that has happened which then fester into a posion or even low self esteem. I've said plenty in how many great topics have been covered in this book so I won't say anymore as I don't want to bore you but it definitely leaves you with food for thought and is a book that will stay with you for a long time after!

AN ADDICTIVE BOOK THAT I WOULD ABSOLUTELY LOVE TO SEE MADE INTO WHAT WOULD PROMISE TO BE A BLOCKBUSTER MOVIE!!!

The characters were all very strong and realistic and there was a good range of personalities throughout. I became completely invested in Jane and my heart absolutely tore in half for everything that she was going through. Just the fact that her and Frankie were struggling with trying for a family while watching all your friends becoming parents must be hard enough but to do all that while your support network is being torn away from you and your feelings and confidence is being torn down must be soul destroying. It was lovely to see how she slowly build herself up bit by bit and came to realise what was important in life. It reminded me of a coming-of-age but with an adult. Another character my heart truly went out to was the lovely Frankie who was such a hard working man and you could see him falling into a crevice of depression which was just absolutely heartbreaking. I had mixed feelings about Lexie and although 90% of me thought she was absolutely horrid and an evil person there was the 10% that actually felt for her but I won't go into that as I don't want to give anything away. I quite liked Sophie at the start but my feelings for her changed throughout the book. I definitely agree with Jane's description of her being a collector of friends and I definitely believe she got what she deserved at the end. Although we didn't see a huge amount of them I really liked Kath, Hils, Carla and Penny and would say that these are a group of ladies I would get on with well, true friends. A great mix of characters to love and hate that made the book perfect.

A MASSIVE CONGRATULATIONS SUSIE ON AN ABSOLUTELY ADDICTIVE MUST READ. YET ANOTHER SUCCESS AND HERE'S TO YOUR NEXT ONE 🥂

THIS IS EXACTLY WHY YOU ARE ONE OF MY FAVOURITE AUTHORS. EACH BOOK IS UNIQUE AND I HAVE NO IDEA WHAT YOUR SECRET IS BUT YOU JUST KEEP GETTING BETTER AND BETTER!!! CONGRATULATIONS!!

Overall a must read, absolutely addictive gripping thriller filled with friendship with an explosive ending that will stay with you for a long time.

Genres covered in this novel include Psychological thriller, Suspense, Thriller, Mystery and Psychological Fiction amongst others.

I would recommend this book to the fans of the above as well as fans of Lisa Jewell, Shari Lapena and anyone who loves an addictive book with an unexpected twist!

360 pages.

This book is just £1.99 to purchase on kindle via Amazon or free on kindle unlimited which I think is an absolute bargain for this book!!!

Rated 5 /5 (I LOVED it ) on Goodreads, Instagram, Amazon UK and Amazon US and on over 30 Facebook pages plus my blog on Facebook.

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Author Bio:

Former BBC Producer, S.E. Lynes is the Amazon best selling author of 'intelligent and haunting', 'beautifully written' psychological thrillers, VALENTINA, MOTHER, THE PACT, THE PROPOSAL, THE WOMEN, THE LIES WE HIDE, CAN YOU SEE HER? and her latest novel, THE HOUSEWARMING, available for pre-order NOW. After completing her MA, Lynes taught creative writing at Richmond Adult Community College for over ten years. She now combines writing, mentoring and lecturing.

Author Social Media Links:

Facebook: S E Lynes Author

Twitter: @SELynesAuthor

Instagram: @S E Lynes Author