Jessica Clarke had the perfect life. Until someone stole it.
Jessica Clarke has the perfect life. She’s married to the man of her dreams, they’ve bought a house in white picket fence suburbia, and she’s just adopted a new baby.
Everything is as it should be.
Until she gets home to find her keys don’t work.
When she knocks, a woman who looks a lot like her answers while holding Jessica’s baby. When Jessica screams, her husband comes –
And insists that he’s never met Jessica before.
He calls her an imposter.A fraud.A liar.
But Jessica knows he’s lying.
Someone has taken her life. Her husband. Her baby.
And she wants it all back.
Replaced is the first psychological thriller from the best-selling team of Nolon King and Lauren Street.
Nolon King writes smart psychological thrillers designed to leave you on the edge of your seat. His stories are dark, twisty, and often decidedly close to home.
He’s not afraid to explore the darker side of human nature through stories featuring families torn apart by secrets and lies. If you enjoy reading authors like Darcey Bell and Harlan Coban, movies like A Simple Favor and The Hand That Rocks the Cradle, or shows like Ozark and Dead to Me, you’ll love Nolon King.
When not writing you will find Nolon drinking black coffee and observing humans in their natural habitats.
Imagine coming home one day and finding out that you have a double. A double who has your name, your face, and your family. A double who claims to be you, and that you are the impostor.
That’s the nightmare that Replaced, a novel by Nolon King and Lauren Street, plunges you into. You follow the lives of two women, both Jessica Clarke, and both telling the truth. But how is that possible? And who is the mastermind behind this twisted game?
The story starts with a bang and never lets go. You get to see both sides of the story, as each Jessica tries to unravel the mystery of the other, while facing their own challenges. One has to verify her identity, while everything that proves who she is has been erased or destroyed, and no one believes her. The other has to protect her family, while convincing her husband that she is not insane.
What I liked about this book is that the authors have a realistic explanation for everything that happens. They don’t resort to cheap tricks like paranormal or supernatural elements, like The Outsider or Behind Her Eyes. It’s annoying when authors take the easy way out and make up something unbelievable to explain their complex twists, turning the book into a nonsensical mess. The authors do a great job of creating tension and mystery, making the book impossible to put down from the very first page, as well as exploring the themes of identity, murder, deception, mental illness, and drug addiction.
The book is not flawless, though. It’s pretty easy to figure out who the bad guy is, and there are not many plot twists to shock you. But plot twists are not everything. There are also some minor plot holes, but they don’t affect the overall story much.
Replaced is a gripping psychological thriller that will challenge you to think about who you are and what makes you unique. The novel is clever and original, as the authors create a scenario that is both terrifying and intriguing, without relying on paranormal or supernatural elements. It's not a perfect book, but it's a very entertaining and satisfying one. If you enjoy stories that are suspenseful, thrilling and make you curious how the authors will untangle the knot, you will love Replaced by Nolon King and Lauren Street.
Okay, this started well and had me ready to keep reading, but there are several inconsistencies that prevented me from being fully engaged. I also felt like this was leading up to some big revelation and was waiting for the climax, but instead the plot was figured out early on (cheating husband found a look-a-like for his wife so he could use her to adopt them a baby because of the wife’s drug history) and no twist came. It has potential, which is why I’m giving it 3 stars. But it needs work.
I did receive this as an ARC and my review is voluntary.
Jessica and David have adopted a new baby and are relocating to Dallas from NY. Since Jessica is terrified of flying, David flies to their new home while she drives the U-Haul. Excited to reunite with her family in their new home, Jessica is confused when her key doesn’t work and her husband won’t answer the door. But then, a woman named Jess who looks like her comes to the door instead. Both women are confused, David denies knowing Jessica, and the three begin a spiral of unraveling David’s lies. David is unlikeable from early on and is clearly a narcissist. At one point, he even makes Jess feel insane because he swears he can’t see Jessica standing on their front lawn when she clearly was. Jess and Jessica are both likeable characters who fell for David’s lies, and are confused while they try to decipher what is happening in their lives while alternating between being smart and reacting on straight emotions. I enjoyed the ending, however, needed some kind of twist that I had not already figured out and needed the plot holes and inconsistencies tied up.
“So she went upstairs and sat in front of her computer,”- the stolen computer from a few chapters before? Where did this come from? There was no mention of replacing it.
“Bella clapped.”- this baby is less than a month old and her reactions to them speaking to her are simply not possible. She most definitely did not clap.
“Then Jessica got out her knife. Cleaned the handle. Then set it in David’s hand.”- She just discarded this across town a few chapters ago.
“They’ve concluded that Peter was trying to find a hitman to off me,”- wouldn’t this be David? Peter WAS the hit man.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
This thriller got me hooked right from the first page. Though the suspense was moderate, the plot developed interestingly and I even became an armchair detective, trying to guess who had taken over the role of Jessica. I feel that there should have been more thrills and suspense during the journey to build up the tension. Further, I would have wished for the character-building to have gone a little bit deeper. However, the book was an easy and fast read with an interesting angle of a girl trying to be somebody else. In terms of improvement, I would recommend penetrating deeper into the atmosphere of suspense and elaborating more on the secondary characters. Nevertheless, I was impressed by the story.
Thank you to Sterling & Stone and NetGalley for allowing me to read and review this book.
Thank you Net Galley, the publisher, and the author for an E-ARC of this book.
I received a complementary copy of this book and opinions expressed are strictly my own.
It started out with a great concept and really kept my interest for about the first 50% but then it became extremely convoluted , confusing , completely ridiculous and even though I finished the book I found it to be a total waste of time. Also the abilities given the age of the child made no sense through the entire book.
The authors’ use of profane language and descriptions was not necessary for the story. One description in particular was just completely uncalled for and degrading.
An intriguing read from the start that will keep you guessing and unable to trust anyone. The pacing was a bit slow for the genre and content, but still a good read.
This is an excellent psychological thriller. I was turning pages as fast as I could to know what was going on! This would have been a 5 star except for a few inconsistencies that maybe will be fixed before publication. You drive across country to move you and your husband’s belongings to your new home where he is waiting with your brand new adopted baby. You excitedly get to the house only to have a woman who looks exactly like you answer and say she is you. Your husband denies knowing you. You can’t get in your new home, can’t see your baby and your husband has another wife. Are you crazy? Is he? Who is this strange woman claiming to be you? This book was such a wild ride. I couldn’t read fast enough to answer all my questions. I highly recommend this book. Thank you to net galley for my advanced copy!
Description in a quick blurb (my version): Jessica and her husband David adopted a baby girl and decided that NYC would no longer be home for them. They decided to move to Texas. Since the baby was only a week old Jessica decided it would be best that david flew to texas and she drove the U-haul across country. After the long drive and many bumpy situations along the way - Jessica finally made it to her home in the suburbs. When she walked up to her front door and put the key in the door and it wouldn’t fit properly she thought she was at the wrong house. Until the light upstairs came on and someone came downstairs to open the door. When another women opened the door and said she was David’s wife - Jessica’s life would never be the same.
My Thoughts: I absolutely ate this book up. It was a mild suspense, but it had me hooked from the beginning. I loved how everything unfolded and I was able to “play along” and try to determine who the replacement Jessica was. I would have love to see more suspense thriller in it and would have loved more character development across all characters but especially Jessica’s (Amber) mother. overall I think it was a wonderful and easy book.
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️.75
*I was given this book as an ARC. While I did not pay for this book these thoughts and reviews are 100% my own*
I had mixed feelings about this book. It was immediately intriguing. I had to know how the authors would make this story work. For the most part it worked out nicely, but I did have several moments of confusion and misunderstanding. The plot seemed to go on a little too long for my preferences. I did like the way it concluded.
I would consider reading more from these authors in the future.
I really enjoyed this, but there were many inconsistencies in plot that could’ve been resolved with a more thorough edit. Looking forward to reading book 2!
Thank you to @NetGalley and Sterling and Stone Publishing for my free copy of “Replaced” for my honest review.
I LOVED this suspenseful, TWISTY, thrilling read! I could not put it down until I read the last page! It was a fast read too!
Jessica Clarke is on her way to meet her newly adopted baby girl and husband at their new home in Dallas, Texas all the way from NYC. All that she owns is stuffed in a u-haul as she navigates the lonely highways. She arrives at her new home where she discovers that she has been replaced by a new Jessica Clarke (Jess), her very own doppelgänger and her husband denies knowing who the hell she is!
Frustrated, confused and outright flabbergasted, Jessica tries to push her way into the home and their lives, where she is met by the police and danger. No ID, her personal belongings somehow stolen and everyone calling her Amber, which she claims was her name before she married 3 years ago.
Jessica goes on a mission to discover why her husband is denying her and who the other Jessica Clarke really is.
So many TWISTS and an amazing, very surprising ending! This book keeps you gripping the edge of your seat! HIGHLY RECOMMEND to ALL thriller lovers!!
What an excellent read! You are driving across the country to relocate with your husband and Newley adopted child. Everything is going smoothly until you arrive at your new home. Your husband and child are inside waiting for you … except when you go to put your key in the lock, it doesn’t fit. You knock on the door, and a woman opens it, and she looks a lot like you, but obviously it isn’t you. Then you husband come up behind her and asks you what is going on (it’s late at night and you’ve woken their baby), but he says he doesn’t know you. You laugh and try to go inside to comfort your crying child, but they won’t let you in, worse then that the call the cops! You start questioning who that woman is in your new house with your husband and child, and why does he say he doesn’t know you? Why are the police saying your husband has always lived here? What is going on? 4 stars because i felt the story dragged on a bit in the middle and it got confusing with the Jess/Jessica, I didn’t always know who was speaking. Overall a great story with enough mystery and twists to keep me up reading past my beadtime.
Replaced is my first read by these two authors and I found it to be compulsively addictive read. So cleverly written, this story explores themes around identity, deception, stuff addition and mental illness. An original plot with compelling characters and some crazy twists and turns, I was immediately drawn in and couldn’t put it down. The structure allowed for a slow suspenseful burn. I was a little bit disappointed with the reveal, but you just gobsmacked with that ending. Well played!!!
I look forward to reading more from these authors!
A hearty thank you to authors Lauren Street and Nolan King, NetGalley and Sterling and Stone Publishing for the opportunity to read an advance digital copy of this story. This is my honest review and the opinions expressed are my own.
Opinião: Começo já por vos avisar que assim que começarem a ler, já não conseguem largar, por isso arranjem tempo para esta leitura! Narrativa pelos pontos de vista de Jess, Jessica e David, que são as personagens principais desta estória. Imaginem o seguinte cenário… encontram o homem da vossa vida, casam com ele, adotam uma bebe e estão prestes a mudarem-se para uma casa de sonho em Dallas. David vai primeiro com a filha bebe, Gwen para Dallas e Jessica fica encarregue de seguir viagem e abandonar Nova Iorque para sempre rumo a uma vida sonho. A viagem foi atribulada e com vários percalços (incluindo um mega acidente na autoestrada onde Jessica seguia, que é importantissimo para o desenvolvimento na estória) mas finalmente ela chega à sua nova casa, cheia de saudades da sua filha. Mete a chave que David lhe deixou à porta e nada. Roda a chave e roda de novo e nada. Bate à porta, insiste e eis que… Aparece uma outra mulher, com a sua bebe ao colo e David diz que nunca viu Jessica na vida, que não a conhece de parte alguma, muito menos é casado com ela. Que sempre viveu ali com a sua esposa Jessica Clarke e com a sua recém adotada filha Bella.
Como assim minha gente? Pois é. Jessica a partir daqui é completamente desacreditada em tudo, ninguém acredita nela, e até mesmo a misteriosa mulher que tem o mesmo nome que ela e que carregava ao colo a sua filha, começa a ter sérias duvidas se David não conhece a Jessica que lhes bateu à porta.
Só vos digo que isto é uma loucura até ao final, com reviravoltas e segredos desvendados e não dá para parar de ler até sabermos afinal quem são estas duas mulheres com o mesmo nome, casadas com o mesmo homem e com a mesma filha? Porque raios Jessica foi substituída por outra mulher, praticamente gémea dela fisicamente e com o mesmo nome?
Só vos digo que termina bem. Muito bem até. E que vale mesmo muito a pena esta leitura! Fiquei muito fã!
Eng Review: I'll start by warning you that once you start reading, you won't be able to put it down, so make time for this reading! Narrative from POV of Jess, Jessica and David, who are the main characters of this story. Imagine the following scenario... you meet the man of your life, marry him, adopt a baby and are about to move into a dream home in Dallas. David goes first with his baby daughter gwen to Dallas and Jessica is in charge of going right after them and leaving New York forever towards a dream life. The trip was bumpy and had several setbacks (including a huge accident on the highway where Jessica was traveling, which is extremely important for the development of the story) but she finally arrives at her new home, missing her daughter. He puts the key that David left for her in the door and nothing. Turns the key and turns it again and nothing. She knocks on the door, insists and ... Another woman appears, with carrying her baby and David says that he has never seen Jessica in his life, that he doesn't know her from anywhere, much less is he married to her. That he has always lived there with his wife Jessica Clarke and his recently adopted daughter Bella. What the ... Jessica from now on is completely discredited in everything, no one believes her, and even the mysterious woman who has the same name as her and who was carrying her daughter , begins to have serious doubts if David doesn't know the Jessica who knocked on their door. I'm just telling you that this is crazy, almost insane until the end, with twists and turns and secrets revealed and you can't stop reading until we finally know who these two women with the same name, married to the same man and with the same daughter, are. Why on earth was Jessica replaced by another woman, practically her Doppelgänger and with the same name? I can only tell you that it ends well. Very well indeed. And it's really worth reading! I became a big fan!
she is driving a uhaul from ny to tx her husband and infant daughter they adopted flew there they are moving and starting new life there
she has a long journey, another uhaul was tailgating her. she pulled off at a rest stop she got back on and got stuck in another traffic jam. she walked to see what was the hold up and it was the other uhaul, he had been hit by a semi and died
she finally gets to their new house. her key doesnt fit in the lock. her husband stops answering his phone she rings the doorbell and a woman who looks like her, with her same name jess (her first name is amanda but her husband uses her middle name jessica) comes to the door and says its her house, her husband and her adopted baby (baby has different name) the husband comes to the door, it is her husband and he claims he doesnt know her
she finally leaves and goes to a park. a cop asks her whats wrong, she says her husband wont let her in the house. they go back to the house , the cop arrests her. she has no id as she forgot her wallet in the diaper bag her husband took. she has a new credit card that the other wife claims is hers
she is arrested but they finally let her out with out charging her. she is warned not to go back she goes back there and breaks in. she gets the wallet the other wife forgot at home and took a back pack, some clothes, laptop and the $2,000 her husband has hidden in his slipper
the neighbor tells the wife that another neighbor was hit by a semi in a uhaul and died
she calls her husbands work but he still claims not to know her. she calls his boss the neighbor calls the cops about the break in but she is gone she went to his work and took his car with the spare keys she found in the house she goes to the tow yard and gets in the back of the uhaul to get her marriage license all the boxes back there are empty
she has no idea what is going on and neither do they
she is staying in a dump motel
they got a security system. the wife is ticked the husband asked if she was using and staged the break in. he had been unfaithful so shes not sure he didnt cheat on her again. or if its the mother of the adopted baby come back
turns out the husband had the second wife in ny just to adopt the baby since he couldnt with his first wifes record
she was supposed to die in the accident on the freeway on the way to tx but the hit man got the wrong uhaul
then he was supposed to kill her in the park, but she killed him
the husband put the hitmans body in her motel room, but she got rid of it and cleaned up good
she finally got with the first wife and they compared stories
they lured him to the site where the dead hitman was in the trunk, shot him and set him up there in the car
they moved in together to raise the baby and moved to fl
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
I was intrigued by the premise of this book and the writing was good enough to hold my interest.
Jessica Clarke has the perfect life with husband David. And now that David has a new job, and they've bought a new house, things are even better. What makes their life even more perfect is that they've just adopted a baby girl. All of one week, she's their joy, and they've named her Gwen. Jessica, afraid of flying, drives a U-haul with her belongings from New York to Dallas. David has already flown to their new home with Gwen. Tired and exhausted, Jessica reaches the house only to find that the keys that David has given her don't work. What's worse, there's another woman, a lookalike of hers, in the house, and she's claiming to be Jessica Clarke, David’s wife, who is bonding with her baby, who she calls Bella. The worst thing is that David claims he doesn’t know her, that he has never seen her before. Now David and the other woman have called in the police and Jessica is hauled in. How will she ever get her home and baby back?
The story is written in the 3rd person PoV of both Jessicas in alternate chapters. In order to ensure clarity for us readers, the authors refer to the first woman as Jessica, and the second as Jess. It’s not hard to figure out the plot, but to the credit of the authors, they make us feel invested in spite of that. The action just doesn’t let up.
The only problem lies in their description of Baby Gwen/Bella. The authors clearly don’t know anything about babies. Earlier on, Jessica things she hears the week-old baby chuckling. When the baby is still just a week old, she is shown to sleep calmly through the night for many hours straight. In Chapter 44, the baby is still less than a month old, and yet she plays with blocks and stuffed animals while still an infant. Any parent will tell you that playing with blocks is not a newborn’s thing. The baby claps too. Either it’s an issue that will get corrected or the authors have no idea what babies can or cannot do.
I LOVED this book until I didn’t. There were several inconsistencies throughout the book that I thought maybe could/would tie in towards the end, but they never did.
When I had maybe like 20-ish% left in the book, it started to feel like when you’re telling a story, get sidetracked, forget where you’re going with it and just throw something together to get it over with.
**Spoilers!!** A few of the inconsistencies that seemed important to me— —His phone being left in the car that was stolen (which was obviously done on purpose)…but then he texted Jess the next morning from his phone and it was never questioned where that phone came from or mentioned that he had to get a new phone because it was lost/stolen. Like, oh I had to go get a new phone today because I left it in the car that was stolen…but also not reported. —The why on David being the one responsible for Gwen/Bella’s adoption instead of both he and Jess…and then why a plane ticket was ever only purchased for him and not both of them with their belongings being shipped or retrieved when they could travel together? —Who was the man staring at her when she woke up after dumping Peter’s body? —Jessica/Amber called her Mom towards the end of the book and said she needed help…but then she never actually went to her for help. —Were Jess and Jessica/Amber actually twins? Maybe if Jessica/Amber following through with getting help from her Mom had been included, a conversation could have been added in to clear that up? —WHYYYY were the details of the conversation they had when they met up left out??! I feel like that’s possibly the most important part of the entire book. —When Jess and David opened the trunk in the garage and she was attempting to gaslight him about not seeing Jessica/Amber, I understand the reason—but it fell flat.
There were several more details that were contradictory, but those are most important to me.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
"Jessica Clarke has the perfect life. She’s married to the man of her dreams, they’ve bought a house in white picket fence suburbia, and she’s just adopted a new baby.
Everything is as it should be.
Until she gets home to find her keys don’t work.
When she knocks, a woman who looks a lot like her answers while holding Jessica’s baby. When Jessica screams, her husband comes –
And insists that he’s never met Jessica before.
He calls her an imposter. A fraud. A liar. But Jessica knows he’s lying.
Someone has taken her life. Her husband. Her baby. And she wants it all back."
The Review:
A MASSIVE thank you to NetGalley and Sterling & Stone for allowing me to read this book ahead of its publication date today!
This. Book. Was. Wild. It was a crazy adventure and I loved every minute of it! It took just under 4 hours to read it after work today, cover to cover, and I literally couldn't put it down. I even carried it into the kitchen with me while I cooked dinner!
The storyline was intense (in a good way). The characters were flawed and vulnerable and believable - together as an ensemble and individually too. There were a few typos, (like glove instead of globe), but honestly, I didn't even care.
I kept waiting to figure out what was really going on with these people and what was going to happen next... But each time I thought I figured it out, the next chapter completely upended my theory! There were several times I yelled out, "WHAT?!" as events unfolded. I felt like this crazy scenario could really happen to someone, and it's terrifying to imagine. I genuinely couldn't wait to see how this one turned out - and I wasn't disappointed!!
This was a riveting, page-turning thriller and I'm going to tell everyone I know that they HAVE to read this book!
Thank you to NetGalley and Sterling & Stone for providing this book, with my honest review below.
Replaced was a great thriller! I honestly didn’t know whose side to take in things initially and even after it became clear I wasn’t sure how things could get resolved or how the main plot point came to be.
We follow Jessica Clarke as she heads from NYC to Dallas in a Uhaul, exhausted after the long trip and eager to be reunited with her husband, Dave, and their newly adopted baby. When she gets to her new home her keys don’t work and the door is answered by what could be her twin, also Jessica Clarke, and her husband. Is Jessica (the original one) crazy? And if she isn’t, how could this possibly happen, and how can she resolve things?
I love reading about resourceful and clever protagonists versus those who have the readers screaming at them for their (fictional) stupidity and this book fit the bill. We get to know both Jessicas quite well which enhanced the enjoyment (and mystery). My only critique is that due to some editing opportunities (which I feel justified mentioning as this has already been released) and the already confusing scenario of following two MCs with the same name, this got a little hard to follow at certain points in both dialogue and thought process when both were in the same scene.
Recommended for lovers of thrillers and mysteries, I haven’t read a book with this exact premise and I felt it done well. Kudos to both authors.
Replaced follows the story of Jessica, who is moving across the country to be with her husband and new baby. The trip from New York to Texas was long and hard but Jessica knows when she arrives it will be worth it! Except when Jessica arrives late at night to the address given by her husband, another woman who looks an awful lot like her answers the door. Standing behind her, is her husband who claims to now know her at all.
This was a pretty good story. The concept is really good and there was a lot of suspenseful moments. The twists were great, especially near the end. I really liked the back and forth between the women. The only thing I found a little confusing, and yes I fully see why it is this way, is the fact they are both named Jess/Jessica. Once the story moves along a bit it is easier to differentiate between the two, but at the start it was a bit confusing. There were a few :what the heck is happening' moments when the husband was insisting that he didn't know the woman at his door. It was pretty jaw dropping at times.
I would recommend this book for a quick read with a few great twists. The pace at which the story moves is really good. I really enjoyed it and would like to read more from these authors.
Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher and authors for the chance to read this for free. This was my honest review.
Jessica Clarke and her husband, David are moving to Texas. He is flying, with their newly adopted baby and she is driving the U-haul. Delayed by a nasty accident, she arrives at the address she has been given late at night and is faced with a woman that looks exactly like her, with her name, and a baby that looks like her child. David claims that he does not know her.
She has to get to the bottom of this mystery, her life has been stolen.
Very fast paced, mysteriously suspenseful and gripping. Many things went through my mind while reading this. Time warp - another dimension - all the science fiction explanations I could think of. But no, it was none of those. It was a plot by a diabolical user of women, a gaslighter, a psychopath... I really did not like David. I felt sorry for the two Jessica's.
I do recommend this book, it was a fast read and a page turner.
Thanks to Netgalley and Sterling and Stone for the opportunity to read this book.
While this book was fast paced, I felt there were some discrepancies throughout. I feel like this is a 3-3 1/2 star book for me.
Jessica Clarke is on her way to Dallas to start a new life with her husband and their one week old baby they’ve just adopted. When she arrives in Dallas, Jessica finds her husband, David, living with another woman and her baby. The woman is a spitting image of Jessica, whose name also happens to be Jessica Clarke, referred to by the author as Jess (that’s the only way readers can tell the two women apart). It’s up to Jessica to figure out what has happened to her life. Is this Jess the replacement wife, or is she? And what exactly is David’s intention in all of this mess?
There is no shortage of drama. The story is far fetched, but it worked for this book. I’m confused by the baby, as we know she is a week old, but the author has written her like she is much older. I may read more books by this author in the future, but I’m not set on it.
I received a copy of this e-ARC. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own. The narrative flows easily enough in the beginning then becomes a complex, convoluted plot with multiple inconsistencies making it unbelievable. I was hoping the ending would tie it all together but it didn’t. By end it was just ridiculous in my opinion with Jessica’s knife reappearing after being thrown in a random dumpster earlier, the police stating Peter was trying to find a hitman (wouldn’t that be David?), the ladies telling the new neighbor they were twins but they have the same name. What a disappointing book.
Also, it was never explained why Whiskerface was Peter on Jessica’s phone and supposed to be David. Not to mention the fact that a newborn child doesn’t do any of the things mentioned throughout the book.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Jessica Clarke and her husband, David are moving to Texas. He is flying, with their newly adopted baby and she is driving the U-haul. Delayed by a accident, she arrives at the address she has been given late at night and is faced with a woman that looks exactly like her, with her name, and a baby that looks like her child. David claims that he does not know her and in fact has never even met her.
What is happening? Is he lying? Why?
I loved the premise of this book and thought the first half was very interesting. Then the book became a bunch of inconsistencies and plot holes. I wasn’t expecting a believable plot but the plot twist and ending were almost laughable. Still, I enjoyed reading it. It’s a fast-paced and exciting read.
I would definitely read something else from this author.
I received this book through Netgalley but it has not influenced my review.
Thank you NetGalley and Sterling & Stone for the copy of Replaced by NolonKing and Lauren Street. If I had known that I wouldn’t want to put this book down, I would have had some snacks close by! From the very beginning the story was intriguing, and I couldn’t wait to see what happened next. Which Jessica was the real wife? Was someone lying? I didn’t really connect with any of the characters and no one was very engaging, but the narrative more than made up for that. The big reveal wasn’t a huge shock, but what came next was. It was a little hard to follow some of it, and I’m not sure I understood or loved the very end. But, most of the book was really compelling and was a joy to read, so if you’re looking for a fast, gripping book, pick up this one!
The book had me from the opening. Great story line, unique and different. Always a plus for me because I read so many books in this genre , HOWEVER, this book needed a warning! Starting with chapter 10 and EVERY chapter to the end(47) you will find the word G*****n at least once and some chapters the word is used many times. I felt the overuse was unnecessary and offensive and have never read a book before where this word was used so frequently. I did finish the book in order to leave a review. The storyline was good to the end a bit predictable. Unfortunately I will not be reading any more books from this author.
This was a 3.5 star book for me. The plot was fairly engrossing, albeit totally over-the-top unbelievable. I really didn't know the direction it was going to take for most of the story. Was Jessica/Amber an unreliable narrator? was Jess? as the story unfolded it was like watching a plot driven movie rather than an exploration of character. Right until the end I was curious as to what the motive was going to be and when it's revealed, it was not something I predicted. It deviated from the usual cliches found in most of these stories. So not a great story but entertaining enough.
It was almost a DNF for me from chapter one. I told myself if I read the sentence “just 6 more hours” one more time, I was done. So unnecessarily repetitive. It thank goodness stopped, so I persevered. I will say it kept me intrigued until the end, I had to know the reasoning behind it all. Of course when you finally find out it falls so flat. No way is that remotely believable that he would go to those lengths for that. Another thing that bothered me the entire book.. a baby that is less than a month old, cannot purposely smile, laugh, and definitely cannot clap their hands🤦🏻♀️
3.5 stars…For the most part this story was quite enjoyable. I was very entertained by the plot and the characters. It definitely kept me on the edge of my seat most of the time and I couldn’t wait to see how it all came together. The only thing I could really say about the experience was that the ending was a bit of a disappointment. I would have loved to have seen David get tortured just a tiny bit. However I love a good revenge story and this delivered 100%. Would definitely recommend this one. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read and review this ARC.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
This book was amazing,it was thrilling from the very first page. To imagine how one man could deceive two women,for yrs.was indescribable. Both women looked exactly alike & both wanted a child,but only one could fulfill that destiny. They were destined to meet under unimaginable circumstances & what circumstances they were. The characters & situations are box office worthy.A real gem to read. Thank you to NetGalley for the opportunity to review thus book & to Nolon King and Lauren Street for their writing
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
This had so many holes and the premise just way too unbelievable that I had difficulty sticking with it. Even the initial setup, the wife deciding to drive the u-haul the whole way across the country for their move - I mean come on, all by herself and why should she do it?? - and without any identification or personal papers or purse or anything with her? It just made no sense whatsoever. And put that on top of the larger mystery premise, and for me it didn't work. I didn't like it and felt no relief or closure or anything at the ending.