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3.94 AVERAGE
3.94 AVERAGE
I’m so tired of books being marketed as ‘thrillers’. This was not a thriller. Literally the tag line for the book is the most ‘thrilling’ part. It was dull, boring and went no where.
Playing Nice or just Playing?
J.P Delany books are one of the few books on any book platform that I recommend to anyone without even needing to think. If You love thrillers or an outside of the box concept these books are truly for you. I started my reading love with The Girl Before and never really stopped. Now lets talk about Playing Nice. The story begins with Pete and his partner Maddie have an adorable and precocious (get into everything) son named Theo. Pete is a stay at home dad after his job as a freelance reporter disappears. Miles and Lucy Lambert are the wealthy parents of little David, not precocious, in fact barely aware of his surroundings. Pete and Maddie don’t believe any of this until they decide they go to the home of the Lamberts and meet David.
After meeting they make a pact not only to try and have a good relationship for the sake of the kids but also to make an alliance against the hospital who made the mistake. The more pages I turned the more I realized that I wasn’t sure if the hospital had made a mistake or there was another evil entity that is at play here. I love the couple dynamic that occurs with Maddie and Pete. I also have a soft spot for both kids they are innocent in this whole story. This was a very good slow burn book for me. It gave me the creeps and was layered with deception and questions all the way through. I want to apologize to NetGalley and everyone involved in my delay with this review I did actually finish it in July just never realized my review never went through. Hands down a five star review I can not wait to see what is next.
J.P Delany books are one of the few books on any book platform that I recommend to anyone without even needing to think. If You love thrillers or an outside of the box concept these books are truly for you. I started my reading love with The Girl Before and never really stopped. Now lets talk about Playing Nice. The story begins with Pete and his partner Maddie have an adorable and precocious (get into everything) son named Theo. Pete is a stay at home dad after his job as a freelance reporter disappears. Miles and Lucy Lambert are the wealthy parents of little David, not precocious, in fact barely aware of his surroundings. Pete and Maddie don’t believe any of this until they decide they go to the home of the Lamberts and meet David.
After meeting they make a pact not only to try and have a good relationship for the sake of the kids but also to make an alliance against the hospital who made the mistake. The more pages I turned the more I realized that I wasn’t sure if the hospital had made a mistake or there was another evil entity that is at play here. I love the couple dynamic that occurs with Maddie and Pete. I also have a soft spot for both kids they are innocent in this whole story. This was a very good slow burn book for me. It gave me the creeps and was layered with deception and questions all the way through. I want to apologize to NetGalley and everyone involved in my delay with this review I did actually finish it in July just never realized my review never went through. Hands down a five star review I can not wait to see what is next.
Switched at birth plot with psychopaths and court cases? Sign me the hell up!
Pete Riley was just having a normal day taking care of his son when Miles Lambert and his lawyer came knocking on his house, introduced themselves, and turned Pete's life upside down. Miles and Pete's sons were switched at birth and they're trying to compromise to spend time with each kid. However, we soon find that not everyone is as innocent as they seem and there's a psycopath in their midst.
This book explores the emotional, as well as legal, aspect of having two babies switched. It's an underlying fear of every parent and this book details it so clearly. The characters are all pretty fleshed out and the one I find the most interesting was Miles. I wouldn't go into details but I just find the complexity of his character as a part of why I was able to read this book pretty quickly. As a student who is majoring in Psychology, there are many intriguing aspects in the book that tickled my stock knowledge on psychopaths and parenting styles. The legal part of the book actually takes up a lot of pages but it's evenly fleshed out with the plot, and it's informative to see how these cases work in England as someone who doesn't live in said country.
I just didn't like how the book ended, to be honest. It felt a bit rushed and vague to me, plus it was a bit of a let-down. I expected more of a 'BANG!' kinda type of ending, like how most thrillers do where the endings leave readers gasping for breath. The ending just felt a bit 'meh' for a thriller.
Anyway, I'll probably read this book somwtime again in the near future. 4 STARS FOR MILES! ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Pete Riley was just having a normal day taking care of his son when Miles Lambert and his lawyer came knocking on his house, introduced themselves, and turned Pete's life upside down. Miles and Pete's sons were switched at birth and they're trying to compromise to spend time with each kid. However, we soon find that not everyone is as innocent as they seem and there's a psycopath in their midst.
This book explores the emotional, as well as legal, aspect of having two babies switched. It's an underlying fear of every parent and this book details it so clearly. The characters are all pretty fleshed out and the one I find the most interesting was Miles. I wouldn't go into details but I just find the complexity of his character as a part of why I was able to read this book pretty quickly. As a student who is majoring in Psychology, there are many intriguing aspects in the book that tickled my stock knowledge on psychopaths and parenting styles. The legal part of the book actually takes up a lot of pages but it's evenly fleshed out with the plot, and it's informative to see how these cases work in England as someone who doesn't live in said country.
I just didn't like how the book ended, to be honest. It felt a bit rushed and vague to me, plus it was a bit of a let-down. I expected more of a 'BANG!' kinda type of ending, like how most thrillers do where the endings leave readers gasping for breath. The ending just felt a bit 'meh' for a thriller.
Anyway, I'll probably read this book somwtime again in the near future. 4 STARS FOR MILES! ⭐⭐⭐⭐
JP Delaney is such an amazing writer, this book is like nothing I have ever read before. I read this book in one day, I just couldn't get enough.
"What if you found out that your family isn't yours at all? How far would you go to protect them?"
Peter and Maggie have a 2 year old called Theo. After full time dad, Pete, comes back from dropping Theo off at nursery theres a knock at the door. The man, Miles, is standing at the door and looks exactly like his 2 year old, accompanied by a private investigator. They explain, with a DNA test that Theo isn't actually their son. Miles explains that there has been a mix up wile the two children were being transferred to the NICU. This means that Peter and Maggie's biological son, David is living with Miles and Lucy Lambert.
This runs smoothly at first and it looks like the families will come to a mutual agreement regarding the children, choosing not to swap them but have an active role in both of their lives. Unfortunately after some boundary issues from Miles it's clear that things are going to be complicated.
This type of storyline is not one i would normally pick up, but after reading another by the same author that I couldn't put down, I was intrigued. I just couldn't put the book down, I wanted to know how everything would unravel and the fate of the children. Such a perfect blend of posological thriller and family drama.
Thank you to #Net Galley for a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.
"What if you found out that your family isn't yours at all? How far would you go to protect them?"
Peter and Maggie have a 2 year old called Theo. After full time dad, Pete, comes back from dropping Theo off at nursery theres a knock at the door. The man, Miles, is standing at the door and looks exactly like his 2 year old, accompanied by a private investigator. They explain, with a DNA test that Theo isn't actually their son. Miles explains that there has been a mix up wile the two children were being transferred to the NICU. This means that Peter and Maggie's biological son, David is living with Miles and Lucy Lambert.
This runs smoothly at first and it looks like the families will come to a mutual agreement regarding the children, choosing not to swap them but have an active role in both of their lives. Unfortunately after some boundary issues from Miles it's clear that things are going to be complicated.
This type of storyline is not one i would normally pick up, but after reading another by the same author that I couldn't put down, I was intrigued. I just couldn't put the book down, I wanted to know how everything would unravel and the fate of the children. Such a perfect blend of posological thriller and family drama.
Thank you to #Net Galley for a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.
I have been in a bit of a book rut lately and I was really hoping that a good J.P. Delaney thriller would be the ticket for a turnaround. Unfortunately, this fell very flat for me. The premise of the book was great and had so much potential; however, I didn't feel like the author did a great job of using that premise to his advantage. I found the story to just be very blah and slow moving and on top of that, I didn't connect with any of the characters or, for that matter, either of the children involved. This was definitely not one of his best and I feel there are plenty of other mediocre mystery/thrillers out there if that is what you're looking for!
JP Delaney is easily one of my favorite thriller authors. Ever since I randomly snagged The Girl Before at an airport bookstore in Taiwan, and then read the entire thing on the flight home - finishing it while standing in the mile-long customs line at O’Hare - I’ve been obsessed with his books. Believe Me remains my favorite...but Playing Nice is a CLOSE second. Swipe for that synopsis and thanks to @netgalley and the publisher for an ARC - apologies for such a delayed review. Forgive me since I clearly bought a copy for my library!
Anyway. Playing Nice has everything I want in a domestic suspense: the constant doubt of who the bad person(s) actually is, the ongoing jaw-dropping WTF moments, and the ever-present question, “what the heck would I do if I was in this situation?”
I flew through this book. I honestly don’t think I set it down more than once because the drama just kept building and building and building. I never hit a “stopping point” where it was easy to set it aside for awhile, which is what I love about all of Delaney’s books. I can’t wait to read what he comes up with next - in the meantime be sure to snag this one from your local bookstore or library!
Anyway. Playing Nice has everything I want in a domestic suspense: the constant doubt of who the bad person(s) actually is, the ongoing jaw-dropping WTF moments, and the ever-present question, “what the heck would I do if I was in this situation?”
I flew through this book. I honestly don’t think I set it down more than once because the drama just kept building and building and building. I never hit a “stopping point” where it was easy to set it aside for awhile, which is what I love about all of Delaney’s books. I can’t wait to read what he comes up with next - in the meantime be sure to snag this one from your local bookstore or library!
This is a fast-paced thriller that asks the question – what would you do if you find out your child is not actually yours? I thought the book handles the idea deftly, balancing the seriousness of the issue with enough juicy drama to keep the plot moving. It brings up questions of nurture vs nature, and the legality and morality of taking away a child from his family based on biological reasons.
Pete and Maddie are interesting protagonists who are hiding secrets from each other, but they are united in their fight to keep their son, Theo. Miles Lambert and his wife Lucy are the other couple who have raised Pete and Maddie’s biological son, David. The book shows both couples dealing with the painful possibility that they might lose the only child they have ever known. The book feels plausible for the most part and it’s obvious that the author has done his research. However, I thought the ending is too neat and wishful. There’s a psychological aspect to the story that I didn’t find thoroughly convincing.
Overall, Playing Nice is a thrilling family drama that asks interesting questions on what it means to be a family.
Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for a review copy.
book blog | twitter | instagram
Pete and Maddie are interesting protagonists who are hiding secrets from each other, but they are united in their fight to keep their son, Theo. Miles Lambert and his wife Lucy are the other couple who have raised Pete and Maddie’s biological son, David. The book shows both couples dealing with the painful possibility that they might lose the only child they have ever known. The book feels plausible for the most part and it’s obvious that the author has done his research. However, I thought the ending is too neat and wishful. There’s a psychological aspect to the story that I didn’t find thoroughly convincing.
Overall, Playing Nice is a thrilling family drama that asks interesting questions on what it means to be a family.
Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for a review copy.
book blog | twitter | instagram
**I received and ARC Kindle edition from NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review**
Peter is a work at home dad who cares for his 2 yr old son Theo while his wife Maddie earns most of their money working away from home. When Peter's doorbell rings one morning he is horrified to discover that Theo may not be his after all. A man named Miles tells him that their sons were actually switched at some point during their NICU stay. As the two families try to come to terms with what this all means and work out arrangements, Peter and Maddie start to get the feeling that Miles has a very different agenda for how this will all play out. At first amicable, Miles starts to become hostile and threatening. Peter and Maddie are soon involved in a court case and find their every move scrutinized and investigated. How far will Miles go and will he be able to be stopped?
I was excited to see a new book from Delaney and anxious to read it. This is the 4th book I've read by this author and they are all consistently good. This story was a departure from previous styles, which focused a lot on futuristic and technological aspects, and instead focused more on relationships within families. As with some of the other books this one took off right from the beginning and sucked me in, and then seemed to lose some steam towards the middle. There were a few loose ends that I felt were tied up a little too neatly (the car, the fact that Peter definitely should have called the police when Miles took Theo from the grocery store) It still held my interest and I will still continue to read books by Delaney.
Thank you once again to NetGalley and the publisher.
Peter is a work at home dad who cares for his 2 yr old son Theo while his wife Maddie earns most of their money working away from home. When Peter's doorbell rings one morning he is horrified to discover that Theo may not be his after all. A man named Miles tells him that their sons were actually switched at some point during their NICU stay. As the two families try to come to terms with what this all means and work out arrangements, Peter and Maddie start to get the feeling that Miles has a very different agenda for how this will all play out. At first amicable, Miles starts to become hostile and threatening. Peter and Maddie are soon involved in a court case and find their every move scrutinized and investigated. How far will Miles go and will he be able to be stopped?
I was excited to see a new book from Delaney and anxious to read it. This is the 4th book I've read by this author and they are all consistently good. This story was a departure from previous styles, which focused a lot on futuristic and technological aspects, and instead focused more on relationships within families. As with some of the other books this one took off right from the beginning and sucked me in, and then seemed to lose some steam towards the middle. There were a few loose ends that I felt were tied up a little too neatly (the car, the fact that Peter definitely should have called the police when Miles took Theo from the grocery store) It still held my interest and I will still continue to read books by Delaney.
Thank you once again to NetGalley and the publisher.
This was viscerally distressing. I didn't want to put it down. It moved slowly, though, to keep the tension up and I did start to get frustrated. I'm bumping it up a star for the unrealistic but very satisfying ending.