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3.94 AVERAGE
3.94 AVERAGE
hopeful
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
This book gripped me from the start. If I had my own kids, there are times this may have been too much. Imagining someone knocking on your door telling you that you have their child. You got the wrong baby at the hospital. At times the story gets a bit far fetched (especially the ending) but it will keep you a bit confused over who is good and bad until it all comes together.
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This book was so boring, I lost the will to live. It was supposed to be a thriller but it was really slow and uninteresting and I didn’t care to find out if it gets better.
I went into this expecting something great because of all the great reviews. But y’all, I was so bored. Just when I thought the plot was getting suspenseful and thrilling it would just let me down again and again. I did really enjoy the ending though, I think?? I’m tired of reading mediocre thrillers.
Another twisting and turning tale from the masterful JP Delaney. This one had me flying through the pages. What was going on? How were the babies switched? Are the birth parents up to something? Are the other parents up to something? Stop!!! My brain is hurting!!!
I’m fast becoming a huge fan of this author and Playing Nice confirmed why. Pete and Maddie are parents to 2 year old Theo who was born prematurely and spent a number of weeks in the NICU unit in one of London’s busy hospitals. Maddie has since returned to work in advertising and Pete, a freelance journalist, is relishing playing the role of stay at home dad to his young son.
Life is meandering along pretty nicely for them both bar the slightly too often behavioural issues that Theo displays when at day-care. That is until one morning there is a knock on the door and a complete stranger drops what can only be described as every parent’s worst nightmare onto Pete. Sorry, but I believe you have my child. Yep, apparently there was a bit of a mix up at the hospital and we each have the wrong kid. . What the?
Enter Miles and Lucy, the parents of little David, who as it turns out is actually Pete and Maddie’s son. Wow, confused yet? Don’t be. The storyline alternates brilliantly between Pete and Maddie and their take on the situation and all that unfolds…..and boy, is there a lot of unfolding.
Both families try to work through not only how this could have happened, but what it means for the future of their children, while trying to find the most amicable solution possible.
Agreeing that both boys should stay with the parents they have spent the first two years of their life with, while still being a part of the other family’s life, it really seems like all could work out. Wrong!! Instead life for Pete and Maddie soon turns into a terrifying world of betrayal and fear.
I found myself screaming at this book so many times, almost like you do in a horror movie when you know something really bad is about to happen!! The suspense was first rate. A carefully constructed domestic/psychological suspense thriller is how I would sum this one up and a really really good one at that.
And of course I always love to see my hometown of Adelaide referenced in a novel J
Another review where I’m not going to say too much about the plot, the less you know the better the ride.
I’m fast becoming a huge fan of this author and Playing Nice confirmed why. Pete and Maddie are parents to 2 year old Theo who was born prematurely and spent a number of weeks in the NICU unit in one of London’s busy hospitals. Maddie has since returned to work in advertising and Pete, a freelance journalist, is relishing playing the role of stay at home dad to his young son.
Life is meandering along pretty nicely for them both bar the slightly too often behavioural issues that Theo displays when at day-care. That is until one morning there is a knock on the door and a complete stranger drops what can only be described as every parent’s worst nightmare onto Pete. Sorry, but I believe you have my child. Yep, apparently there was a bit of a mix up at the hospital and we each have the wrong kid. . What the?
Enter Miles and Lucy, the parents of little David, who as it turns out is actually Pete and Maddie’s son. Wow, confused yet? Don’t be. The storyline alternates brilliantly between Pete and Maddie and their take on the situation and all that unfolds…..and boy, is there a lot of unfolding.
Both families try to work through not only how this could have happened, but what it means for the future of their children, while trying to find the most amicable solution possible.
Agreeing that both boys should stay with the parents they have spent the first two years of their life with, while still being a part of the other family’s life, it really seems like all could work out. Wrong!! Instead life for Pete and Maddie soon turns into a terrifying world of betrayal and fear.
I found myself screaming at this book so many times, almost like you do in a horror movie when you know something really bad is about to happen!! The suspense was first rate. A carefully constructed domestic/psychological suspense thriller is how I would sum this one up and a really really good one at that.
And of course I always love to see my hometown of Adelaide referenced in a novel J
Another review where I’m not going to say too much about the plot, the less you know the better the ride.
This book both excited me and infuriated me in equal measure. Two vastly different families facing the same dilemma, the child they have raised for two years isn’t theirs…..
Let me start this review with what is in my opinion the books strongest and weakest point, the characters. Peter, who his own partner nicknames Saint Peter, is now both a stay at home dad and freelance journalist. This is where I struggled (you’re a journalist but yet you take people at their word and don’t ask the right questions). Plenty of eye rolling went along with perfect Pete. His partner Maddie suffered with severe post natal depression and went a bit crazy having hallucinations and used the microwave to block out messages that her mind had created. She’s finally in control or is she? They are the parents of Theo, who Maddie still struggles to connect with, they also have financial troubles.
Then there is Miles and Lucy the other couple and parents to David who suffered brain damage at birth and now has physical and learning difficulties. Miles is a controlling, manipulative narcissist with the cash to pay for David’s care so thinks it’s best that the children remain where they are. Lucy does whatever Miles tells her.
But what happens when you clap eyes on your biological child and it looks like you? Would you then want both? Things certainly didn’t go the way I thought they would and some of the revelations left me gobsmacked.
I’ve purposefully avoided too many plot details as this is a book that the less you know the better. It made for a brilliant bookclub read as there was plenty of plot points and ethical decisions that led to great discussion. How far would you go to protect your child? And which child are you choosing to protect, the one you gave birth to or the one you have raised?
Let me start this review with what is in my opinion the books strongest and weakest point, the characters. Peter, who his own partner nicknames Saint Peter, is now both a stay at home dad and freelance journalist. This is where I struggled (you’re a journalist but yet you take people at their word and don’t ask the right questions). Plenty of eye rolling went along with perfect Pete. His partner Maddie suffered with severe post natal depression and went a bit crazy having hallucinations and used the microwave to block out messages that her mind had created. She’s finally in control or is she? They are the parents of Theo, who Maddie still struggles to connect with, they also have financial troubles.
Then there is Miles and Lucy the other couple and parents to David who suffered brain damage at birth and now has physical and learning difficulties. Miles is a controlling, manipulative narcissist with the cash to pay for David’s care so thinks it’s best that the children remain where they are. Lucy does whatever Miles tells her.
But what happens when you clap eyes on your biological child and it looks like you? Would you then want both? Things certainly didn’t go the way I thought they would and some of the revelations left me gobsmacked.
I’ve purposefully avoided too many plot details as this is a book that the less you know the better. It made for a brilliant bookclub read as there was plenty of plot points and ethical decisions that led to great discussion. How far would you go to protect your child? And which child are you choosing to protect, the one you gave birth to or the one you have raised?
What if you found out that your family isn't yours at all? How far would you go to protect them?
Pete Riley answers the door one morning and lets in a parent's worst nightmare. On his doorstep is Miles Lambert, a stranger who breaks the devastating news that Pete's son, Theo, isn't actually his son--he is the Lamberts', switched at birth by an understaffed hospital while their real son was sent home with Miles and his wife. What seems to start as an amicable arrangement to ensure both children get to remain in their home, while also getting to know their biological parents. It all seemed good. Until it wasn’t.
JP DELANEY DOES IT AGAIN!! Another absolutely brilliant book! While it was a LONG book (compared to some of his others), I could not put it down, particularly from about half way through. Entering a legal battle that is so uncommon, it explored some of the challenges of the ‘rightful’ parents rights, all while breaking your heart. The moment you realise something isn’t quite right in the story line, it just spirals out of control. It made me angry, broke my heart and also left me so inquisitive about what really happened.
While I had theories about the ending, I didn’t quite expect it. Delaney took me on twists and turns and left me a little gobsmacked by what really happened. I CANNOT, repeat CANNOT recommend this book enough!
Pete Riley answers the door one morning and lets in a parent's worst nightmare. On his doorstep is Miles Lambert, a stranger who breaks the devastating news that Pete's son, Theo, isn't actually his son--he is the Lamberts', switched at birth by an understaffed hospital while their real son was sent home with Miles and his wife. What seems to start as an amicable arrangement to ensure both children get to remain in their home, while also getting to know their biological parents. It all seemed good. Until it wasn’t.
JP DELANEY DOES IT AGAIN!! Another absolutely brilliant book! While it was a LONG book (compared to some of his others), I could not put it down, particularly from about half way through. Entering a legal battle that is so uncommon, it explored some of the challenges of the ‘rightful’ parents rights, all while breaking your heart. The moment you realise something isn’t quite right in the story line, it just spirals out of control. It made me angry, broke my heart and also left me so inquisitive about what really happened.
While I had theories about the ending, I didn’t quite expect it. Delaney took me on twists and turns and left me a little gobsmacked by what really happened. I CANNOT, repeat CANNOT recommend this book enough!
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes