The Adoption by Jenna Kernan
Genre: Psychological thriller, Domestic thriller, Suspense
Read: 5th May 2022
Published: 11th May 2022
★★★★ 4.5 stars
DESCRIPTION:
Your little girl is all yours… isn’t she?
Dani and her husband Tate’s life together is almost perfect. But Dani is haunted by guilt for causing a terrible car accident that left her unable to have children. She can’t remember why she was driving so fast that day or where she was going. Her therapist says she should try to move on.
So when their application to adopt is accepted, Dani sobs with joy. As perfect little Willow nestles in her arms, Dani looks at Tate’s loving smile and knows he will always provide for his family, no matter what.
When Dani sees a woman staring as she pushes Willow’s stroller around the safe, gated Florida community where they live, she tells herself it’s simply an admiring passer-by. After all, Dani herself used to watch the local moms and wish she was in their shoes.
But when Dani wakes in the night to find Willow’s crib empty, their perfect life becomes a nightmare.
In her frantic distress for her daughter, Dani’s memories of the accident flash through her mind. And with a jolt she realises: everyone around her has been lying about that day.
Will Dani find out the truth before it’s too late for her baby girl?
Or will facing her own dark secrets tear them all apart?
A totally addictive and heart-stopping read with a truly mind-blowing twist. Fans of The Woman in the Window, Gone Girl and The Wife Between Us won’t be able to put down this incredible thriller from bestselling author Jenna Kernan.
MY THOUGHTS:
I am excited to be taking part in the #BooksOnTour #BlogTour for Jenna Kernan's captivating thriller THE ADOPTION.
Excuse me while I dry my eyes and stop sniffling. OMG...that was so heartbreaking! It was just positively sad. There really are no other words for it. But it didn't start out that way...
In the beginning, THE ADOPTION starts off with a very slow and steady climb...like when you are riding a bike up a never-ending hill and you are pacing and forcing yourself to keep at it, that you'll get there. Then throw in the repetitive commentary as the reader is told the same thing over and over, sometimes in the same paragraph or page. Some of it was even unnecessary and could have been edited down to make an even tighter tenser thriller. And yet...it is still one heck of a thriller! But only when you get past all the aftermath of the accident which set this entire ball rolling and the repetitiveness...only then do you begin to see the cracks. And it is then you begin to wonder just exactly what is going on here.
Dani has an almost perfect life. She has an adoring husband Tate who has just been nominated as a circuit judge, they have a beautiful house in an exclusive Florida gated community and thanks to her parents' trust, she never wants for anything. The only thing missing from their lives is the pitter-patter of tiny feet and the joyful sound of a baby's laughter. And now that will never come. Because three days before Christmas, Dani was involved in an horrific car accident that left her with a brain injury, face blindness and unable to have children. Not only that, Dani is plagued with guilt for crippling her twin sister Shelby, now a paraplegic as a result of the accident. But as haunted as she is, Dani cannot remember why she was driving so fast that day or where she was going.
After six months in hospital then a psychiatric unit, Dani is finally going home. But it's not home as she knows it. She's only seen staged pictures of the house Tate is bringing her back to as she has no memories of this palatial home in a gated community. And every time she sits at the kitchen bench or underneath the crystal chandelier or on the plush leather sofas, Dani cannot help but long for their old home. That felt like home. This...is more like a display home. She may have views of the water and Tampa Bay but she doesn't have the stillness of nature with the variety of songbirds she used to enjoy. Just noisy jet skis and motor boats and squawking seagulls.
Dani's greatest wish is to be a mother. But it's a wish that will never come true now...that is, until Tate gets off the phone one afternoon to say their adoption application has been approved and that they will be getting a baby the following day. A week after being out of hospital? Red flag, much. But Dani blinks any doubts away and delights in the wonder that she is actually going to be a mum! She is so thrilled she shares excitement with Shelby while she and Tate deck out their new nursery with every-baby-thing they could find. Their child will want for nothing.
And then Sunday arrives...with their new baby daughter she names Willow. And Dani couldn't be happier.
But then strange things begin to occur. A wild haired, wild eyed woman barefoot in their backyard bashing at the windows screaming to be let in. But with her prosopagnosia (face blindness) means Dani could never identify the intruder...even if she saw her again. And she does see her again. This time, the woman makes a specific demand of her. And Dani is left wondering...has Tate been lying to her? Is everything she perceives in fact real...or is it just in her head? How can she decipher truth from fiction? And just who can she trust?
As I first stated, the story does start off slow and to be honest I do feel some of it could have been edited down to keep the pace moving a bit quicker and keeping the plotline tighter. The repetitiveness does get a little monotonous...I lost count of how many times we heard how much Dani preferred their old home to this sparkly new one or the brand new SUV Tate had bought her "that she would never drive". These were mentioned over and over that it drove readers nuts...and I wasn't alone in that, I noted. But it was alluded to that maybe this repetitiveness was intentional to give readers an insight into Dani's confused state of mind. Because to be honest, Dani was forever second guessing herself and questioning everything she thought or did or may have done. I guess, this could be true. But still, it felt as though this bogged the narrative down a little too much.
However don't despair, readers, and don't give up. Because it does get better. Boy, does it get better! I found around the 30% mark, the pace began to pick up as did the plot and I began to notice some anomalies to the narrative. Not in a bad way but more like what exactly is going on here? Are we getting the full picture? Or are we only seeing what we are meant to see? It began to feel as if Dani was being gas-lighted but with her fragile state of mind who would believe her?
I love the fact that the story focused on the protagonist having a brain injury because right away that makes her an unreliable narrator, making us question everything she says, does or thinks. The focus on mental health was very sensitively done and made for some heartbreaking reading. I found my heart just breaking for Dani as she struggled with her own reality as opposed to actual reality. The narrative, though in the third person, was twisty and sometimes confronting. But it was clear from the beginning that there was something so much more going on that none of us had any clue about.
Given the fact this was a twisted thriller, I began to pick holes in everything and create my own narrative as to what I thought was going on. Imagine my surprise by the end to discover how right I was! Although it was clear where the story was heading, it wasn't so clear as to what was actually going on. I just decided to delve deeper and seek out clues and piece bits together. An address (is all I'll say, so no spoilers) was a big one that jumped right out at me from the first moment. After that, everything fell into place.
Despite the beginning making a slow start off the mark, I do feel it played a big part in the bigger picture but could have been edited down and still been as paramount to Dani's story. My advice is to stick with it because it truly does get better and then it's a race to the end as the tension mounts and the twists are revealed.
I loved the ending. It was sad, poignant and even heartbreaking but it was fitting. That final twist that turned everything on it's head was a perfect touch.
Filled with betrayal, lies, deception and secrets, THE ADOPTION is a domestic and psychological thriller that is unique in its originality and plot that keeps you guessing throughout. If it wasn't for all the excess and unnecessary repetitive features, this would most definitely be a 5 star read. Once I reached that point of no return, I could not put it down and I devoured every twisted minute of it.
I would like to thank #JennaKernan, #NetGalley and #Bookouture for an ARC of #TheAdoption in exchange for an honest review.
MEET THE AUTHOR:
A critically acclaimed and award-winning author, Jenna Kernan’s novels have reached Amzon’s Top 100, been twice-nominated for the RITA award, won the Book Buyer’s Best award, nominated for the Silver Falchion Award and been selected for a Top-Pick by RT Book Review. Readers describe her stories as heart-stopping, imaginative, thrilling, gritty, action-packed, fast-paced and flat-out good.
She lives on Florida's west coast with her family.
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