Title: The Playdate
Author: Victoria Jenkins
Publication day: May 21st 2021
Description:
Arranging the playdate was easy. Child’s play. Preparing the house was more difficult. It was only now she realised how many photographs there were: the picture-perfect unit. Wife, husband, child. All of it a lie.
I made a new friend at playgroup today. She’s different from the other mothers. She feels like someone I can trust. Someone I can confide in.
But there are some things I can’t tell her. Things I can’t tell anyone.
Because I have a secret that no one else knows. One that still haunts my dreams, wakes me up in a cold sweat at night.
Even another mother would never understand. Unless, of course, she’s hiding something too…
BLOG TOUR REVIEW
Review for 'The Playdate' by Victoria Jenkins.
Read and reviewed via NetGalley for Victoria Jenkins, Bookouture publishers and Bookouture anonymous.
Publication date 21st May 2021.
This is the first book I have read by this author.
I was originally drawn to this book by its colourful and interesting eye catching cover and its intriguing synopsis and title. It also stated in the synopsis that 'Fans of Friend Request, The Silent Patient and The Girl on the Train won’t be able to put this down'. I am a fan of 'The Girl On The Train' so am looking forward to see if it lives up to this. 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 and 43 chapters. 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 near Cardiff, Wales 🏴 UK 🇬🇧. The bonus for me of books that are partly or fully based in the UK is that I live in the UK and have sometimes visited places mentioned in the book which makes it easier to picture. I actually only live about two hours from Cardiff and have been shopping and stayed there on several occasions so am looking forward to seeing if I recognise anywhere mentioned.
This book is written in third person perspective with the main protagonists being Dani and Adele. 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.
'The Playdate' 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 Victoria discusses/ includes suicide and loss of a child.
Wow!!! What a rollercoaster ride of a read!!! Fantastically written with vivid descriptions throughout making me feel like I was in the storyline. The synopsis, title and cover suited the plot perfectly.
I could not put this book down and read it in one sitting!!! I absolutely LOVE the fact it is set in Wales and written by a Welsh authour being Welsh myself. There were several places mentioned that I don't live that far from including Cardiff and Swansea along with Carmarthen which is only 10 minutes away from me. I definitely think that it being set in Wales was a huge bonus for me. The storyline was absolutely gripping and kept me up until the early hours of the morning as I could not put it down!! I must admit I wasn't hugely surprised when one of the mysteries was revealed but there were several other things I hadn't worked out so that didn't spoil it for me. Those who read my blogs know that it is extremely rare that I give 5/5 to a book where I've worked out who did what but in this case I will definitely be giving 5/5 as I was absolutely gripped throughout and loved reading it. There were points where my heart was in my throat and I was on the edge of my seat, and then the edge of my bed as I was not putting this book down until I finished!!!
The characters were all very well developed and although I had a feeling about one I was completely blindsighted when it came to another of them, I completely got the wrong end of the stick. I think I felt sorry for each of the characters at certain points throughout the book, well apart from the playgroup clique, this is something I have experienced on several occasions myself as a mum. The plot and characters were all very realistic which I think makes it scarier in more ways that one.
I absolutely loved your book Victoria and I would like to welcome you to my top author list. I cannot wait to read more of what promises to be heart stopping reads. This would also make a great heart stopping movie!!!
Overall a heart pounding, page turning, edge of your seat psychological thriller that will keep you up late at night.
Genres covered in this book include Suspense, Thriller, Psychological Fiction, Domestic Fiction, Psychological Thriller and Crime Fiction amongst others.
I would recommend this book to the fans of the above as well as fans of 'Girl On The Train' and anyone looking for a non stop page turner!!!
289 pages.
This book is just £1.99 to purchase on kindle via Amazon 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.
Feel free to add me on Goodreads or follow me on my website or Facebook for more reviews
@VictoriaJenkins @Bookouture @Bookworm1986 @bookworm86
Author Bio:
Victoria Jenkins lives with her husband and daughter in South Wales, where her series of crime novels featuring Detectives King and Lane is based. Her debut novel The Girls in the Water is an Amazon UK top 30 bestseller, and top 5 bestseller in the Amazon US chart. Her first psychological thriller, The Divorce, was published in July 2019. The second, The Argument, was published December 10th 2019 and The Accusation was published June 9th 2020. Her latest novel, The Playdate is out now.
Author Social Media Links:
Twitter: @vicwritescrime
Buy Links:
Amazon: https://geni.us/B08XWFWZMHsocial
Apple: http://ow.ly/1l3v50DOGlR
Kobo: http://ow.ly/OonD50DOGim
Google: http://ow.ly/vEKn50DOGoU
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