Family drama and secrets make for a page turning book. Easy and fast read. Thanks Netgalley for the audio eArc.

I'm a sucker for a road trip thriller. Starting at her estranged father's funeral, Layla goes on a road trip with her half-sister. Her father, and his ties to the mob, are at the forefront of the danger in this thriller, but we also get a hefty dose of the drama that comes with all families, all of the feelings involved in family trauma, and the love of a father that might not look like you expect it to. Decently fast paced and action packed, I really enjoyed listening to this one. The narrator was great and the pacing and inflection were well done. I feel as though the author did a nice job of creating tension, and illustrating the trapped nature of being in a car with someone hurtling toward a necessary destination. I enjoyed it!

I wasn't able to download but I was able to read this book. I had DNF this half-way through. I felt that it was a little bit everywhere. I just couldnt get into this one.


Thank you, NetGalley and publishers.

I was excited for this book, but I ended up not being able to get into it. It just wasn't the book for me.

4⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
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Thankyou #netgallet #bethcastrodale #imbrifexbooks for a audiobook copy for a honest review .
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Murder and revenge was the main plot of the story. It’s suspenseful and quite gripping story .
Quite fast paced but up till the end of the chapter it’s getting flat on the main subject.


❤️Shaye.reads

Hi! Honestly, I don't know what to write in this review considering I DNF'd it in the fourth chapter. It wasn't that the writing was bad or I didn't like the narrator, it was just.. uninteresting. This book was just not for me. I'm guessing since I prefer thrillers that are a bit dark and/ or twisted with a hint of foreboding at the very start, I found this one sluggish and not likeable. It seemed too mundane with nothing- not even one line that brought chills down my spine or gave me goosebumps.

Since I didn't even reach the halfway point in this book, 'I Mean You No Harm', I cannot give it a complete rating nor can I recommend it to people who I think might like this book. All-in-all, not something I would recommend.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for my free audiobook copy of this read!

This book was not at all enjoyable. I didn’t know what I was getting myself into as I didn’t know this was a thriller at first - the cover just doesn’t make sense.

This was a good book with an interesting story line.  I listened to the audiobook and loved the narrator.  She really made the book come to life. Unfortunately I kept losing concentration while listening.  This rarely happens to me. It's a slow build up book and is more of a mystery book than the thrillers that I am more into. I enjoyed the story-line with the main character learning about herself while trying to discover her fathers past. The story just failed to capture my imagination.  This book will be brilliant for those who love a good mystery book. You could always try a sample of the book before you buy it to see if it is more your type of book or better still get it from your local library.  Please remember my point of view is personal and the book although not the best for me might be just what you love. I just didn't really connect with the characters. Let's hope it is perfect for you.
The above review has already been placed on goodreads, waterstones, Google books, Barnes&noble, kobo, amazon UK and my blog https://ladyreading365.wixsite.com/website/post/i-mean-you-no-harm-by-beth-castrodale-imbrifex-audio-3-stars
Under either name ladyreading365 or lady Reading365

Truly, I was very confused during the first few chapters of this book. I trusted the process and just kept listening, trying to make the connections, and overall felt the story did come together.

This book felt a little all over the place. The timeline felt a bit out of sorts, which made it hard to get into. If you're able to move past that the story is unique and interesting.

The timeline on this book does not make sense to the reader. If the main character is the younger sister, did she ever live with her dad and half sister? If she did, why did she not know such basic things about her sister on their second road trip? If she didn't, how was she so comfortable and familiar to Bet and Vic during the first road trip? What happened in the decades between the road trips?

Also the dialogue between the sisters was incredibly unnatural.

Specially to the audiobook, the accents were cringe worthy. Why did Bet have a southern accent? She was from Ohio.

This was an entertaining read! The main character, Layla, an artist, carries complicated baggage from her mother’s death—suspiciously labeled a suicide—and her father Vic’s abandonment. His funeral is an occasion to see her half-sister Bette and learn that he’s left her a gift: cash that she doesn’t want, because she suspects the source is unsavory. Bette and she embark on a road trip to pick up some of dad’s stuff. Most of the novel takes place on this road trip, with flashbacks and stories exchanged between the sisters. Mysteries abound: the unknown facts around the mother’s death, the nature of Vic’s work, a stalker-by-mail who sends packages to Layla, a drawing their mother made of an unknown man. Because the flashbacks impede forward motion of the story, what kept me turning pages was the unfolding of these mysteries and the character of Bette, who has a brash streak, wears cowboy boots, and keeps her secret close. Full disclosure: I was given a review copy of I Mean You No Harm.

3.75 ish stars

Fast-paced, fun, tense, and a bit cliché, but also including a few interesting characters and plot elements, even if I did find my thoughts wandering off a bit at times. It kept my interest pretty much from the very beginning. I wasn’t familiar with the author’s work before now, but I’ll have to consider other books in the future.

I Mean You No Harm is a novel that centers around half sisters Bette and Layla who reconnect at the funeral of their father, Vic Doloro who was a career criminal. Bette grew up with Vic and Layla grew up with her grandparents after her mother died. Together these sisters set out on a road trip where they get to know each other and try to solve some family mysteries along the way. There is action, revenge, art, and money that all makes for a nice balance of thrills, mystery, and character development.


The audiobook is narrated by Christine Williams. She did a fairly good job distinguishing between the various characters - aside from the voice for Bette which seemed like a weird combination of Jersey, Chicago, and a default "southern" accent that pulled me from the story many times.


ARC provided by NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.

A good mystery book! This is my first book by this author and I really enjoyed it. I found it fast paced and entertaining.

This was my first book by this author. I liked it and would read another book by her in the future. It had murder, mystery, and deceit going on which are all things I love in my books! My favorite part of the book is the bond she develops with her nephew via their mutual love of art. You can see how hard it was for her to open herself up to that bond but how much she gained from doing so.

I am not sure if it was the NetGalley app or the actual audio recording but there was an annoying echo going on for the entirety of the book. Hopefully, they can get that worked out in the future.

#IMeanYouNoHarm
#NetGalley

Good narrator and a quick listen, but the book fell flat for me. It did not find it thrilling and it did not hold my attention.

I really enjoyed this book. It wasn't my favorite book I have ever read but definitely worth the read/listen. I was not a huge fan of the narrator but it wasn't so bad that I couldn't listen.

This listen was a bit hit and miss with me I found I had stopped listening on a number of occasions but even so when I went back I found I hadn't missed anything
The storyline was dragged out and the ending too fast . I must admit I didn't realise who the baddy was until nearly the end but I think that was down to the build up not being as good as it could have been rather than my losing interest this is no thriller or page turner

Thank you NetGalley for accepting my request to listen and review I mean You No Harm.

This is a fast paced story. Two sisters re-connect after the loss of their father. I liked getting to know the sisters as they reconnect. The story flow was easy to follow as it flipped back and forth from current to the past. I was a little bummed we find out the twist well before the MC does but I enjoyed how it all played out. Fast read, very entertaining.

A huge thank you to the author and publisher for providing an e-ARC via Netgalley. This does not affect my opinion regarding the book.