e Sloane is there when her mother passes away, but she was asleep. Jessie has not slept since. she decides to listen to her mother's dying wish to find herself so she gets a new apartment and applies to college. Her social security number has raised a flag and she should sort out the misunderstanding. The only problem is that they are not going to believe her without a license she never got and a birth certificate she doesn't possess. Jessie goes on a hunt for the truth while sleep deprived which blurs the lines between reality and imagination. Intertwined with Jessie's story is the story of a woman from twenty years earlier and how the decisions she made then affects Jessie's present.

Jessie's adventures in finding out the truth bordered between sleep deprived hallucinations and weird predictions. Eden's story starts out full of love and promises young newlyweds make at the beginning of their story. You slowly watch obsession and disappointment take over their lives and the decisions they make because of it.

If you are a fan of Mary Kubica's previous works, you will enjoy her latest as well. It is for the fans of Gillian Flynn. Just a word of warning: You will either love it or hate it once you get to the end. It was a page turner and I was very excited for her to solve the case of the mixed up social security number, but it turned into disappointment when the case was finally solved.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own. I would like to thank NetGalley and Harlequin - Trade Publishing for this privilege.

#NetGalley #WhenTheLightsGoOut

Jessie has spent years taking care of her mom Eden who has cancer. After her mom dies, Jessie tries to move on with her life by applying to college and moving to a new apartment. The college informs Jessie there is a problem with her social security number, it belongs to a dead 3 year old child. Jessie starts questioning her entire life. As she searches for answers, the reader is taken on a thrilling ride! The book is told by Jessie and her mom Eden. Eden's chapters go back in time and follow until the latest years. I truly loved the characters as they are flawed and real. I felt for Jessie in every step she takes to find herself. I received an advanced readers copy from NetGalley and Harlequin Hanover Square Press. All opinions are my own.

Good story! I always enjoy reading books by this author! She keeps her stories fresh and interesting.

WOW! When the Lights Go Out left me speechless. Mary Kubica did a brilliant job at character development, description, and with the story line. This book is one that will be read in one sitting. You will not want to put it down as you follow Jessie through this thrilling read.

I first want to start by thanking Netgalley and the publisher for the advanced readers copy!! I think this is truly an awesome service for those of us who LOVE and ADORE reading! Warning ⚠️!!! If you have NOT read this book, please skip to the last paragraph!
I really want to rate this book a 5 but, I'm so conflicted by the story. Or rather, how the story played out. Waking up and the entire story being a dream is one thing but, SO much of the dream didn't even make sense. I think this will be my first 2 star review sadly. Where did the old lady fit into the story? The seeing her "father" in the old ladies attic? I get the Liam/Jack angle but, the rest just had me so puzzled.
Sorry it's been awhile since my last review, I just haven't been able to stay up late like normal and read all night. I'm always tired and it stinkssoooo bad because, reading gives me such pleasure!! It's truly the one thing I could do for a living and yet now, I just can't stay focused. (BIG ugly tears) Maybe it's my new side hustle selling Younique, I may work from home but, dang y'all, it's actual work haha!! However, I'm really having fun and it's really made my confidence level increase so much! So many things that I would have never done before, I'm doing! I've always been super shy and the last thing I would have done would be to go live on Facebook or Instagram and yet, I find myself doing it 2-3 times a week.
Thanks for reading y'all!! Tell me what y'all are reading right now!!

I couldn't get into this book, and felt the twist, and ultimately the story, was silly. I think Mary Kubica's writing is just not for me, as I know plenty of people who enjoy other books by her. This is my third and her writing just doesn't resonate with me.

Review by 2shay..........

Well. Hell. How does a book, beautifully written and flawless, go from this reviewers rave 5 Star rating to a pretty ho-hum 3 Stars? The ending. If the book wasn’t so well written, I would have dropped it further.

I’m going to keep this short. I was completely invested in Jessie’s story, and more so in her mother’s. When I reached the twist at the end, I said a long string of pretty foul swear words, startling the dickens out of my dogs. Are you kidding me? What a lazy waste of a story with amazing potential.

My advise? Skip it. If you have to know why, message me.

ARC graciously provided by Harlequin and NetGalley for an honest and voluntary review.

Let me preface this review by saying, I love Mary Kubica. Her books are amazing, she can do no wrong. However, When the Lights Go Out was my least favorite of her books. It was definitely a departure, as it wasn't really twisty suspense like she normally writes. It was more of a drama with a little mystery thrown in.

It was well written for sure and I enjoyed the slow reveal of the stories of each of the narrators until they were woven intricately together. But I just didn't love the story as much as usual.

Jessie is a young woman who after caring for her ailing mother is a little lost without her. She is trying to move on--apply to college, get a job and find an apartment. But somehow, she doesn't seem to know a thing about her past. Then she discovers her social security number is a fake and she really starts to wonder what is going on.

The other narrator is a woman who struggles with the constant desire to be a mother and the heartbreak of infertility.

Both women are slowly (or not so slowly) losing their minds and each of them tumble further and further down their own rabbit holes. Neither know how to move on, both are stuck in the same place.

Sound pretty good, right? I just thought that if Jessie had a super close relationship with her mother, that her mother would have prepared her to be independent, especially if she knew she wouldn't be there to help her out. That part baffled me. Even if her social security number was a fake--wouldn't it be worth it to come clean and help her daughter move on?

I also was somewhat maddened by Jessie's behavior. I just didn't feel her character was completely believable. And although I hate to completely judge a book by its end...that's all I'll say!

Special thanks to Netgalley and Harlequin Park Row for a free e-galley in exchange for my honest review.

I say if you are a Kubica fan, it's definitely still worth checking out. My opinion is only mine and I hope many of you disagree! This one is out September 4, 2018. This review will be published on my blog, WomeninTroublebookblog on August 14, 2018.

Let's be honest, I love Mary Kubica. I have enjoyed her books that I have read, and I am always excited to get my hands on on of her books. She is SO talented. I'll be honest, this wasn't my favorite.

Let's start with the good. The writing, in typical Mary Kubica fashion, was beautiful and brilliant. It was a stray from her usual books, and hey, we can't fault anyone for that. I enjoyed how Kubica alternated the narrators, between Jessie, and the past version of her mother Eden. Both characters are well-developed, and it is easy to form an attachment to both of these women. Mary Kubica is an author that I typically with forego sleep due to being caught up in her stories, and the beginning of this book did that for me. For that first 30-30%, I was in. Hook, line and sinker. The story of Jessie dealing with her mother's death, and Jessie coping and beginning to focus on herself. Jessie enrolls in college, to find out her social security number is invalid, her birth certificate rules her deceased. Wwwhhhattttttt?

But then there's the bad. Does anyone ever get invested in a story, only to feel cheated by the ending? Yea... that happened.

I give this book 2.5 stars, rounded up. 5 for the beginning, 0 for the end.

Thank you to NetGalley and Harlequin/Hanover Square Press for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

Jessie Sloan has grown up as an only child with her mother and has never known her father, and now her mother is on her deathbed and time is running out. While Jessie struggles with insomnia at the same time she tries to unravel and understand her past, we read excerpts from her mother’s journal to see if we can figure out Jessie’s history before Jessie does. I’ve liked Mary Kubica’s books, especially her first one, The Good Girl. I personally don’t think the others have been nearly as successful with the “twist” she did so well in that book, but this last one was a huge miss for me. Not even halfway through, I thought I had the whole story figured out. I was wrong, but that doesn’t necessarily mean Kubica’s story was better than my theory. When I flipped through that last page all I could think of was that I felt cheated; cheated and majorly disappointed that the author chose to take this route. I can’t say any more without spoilers, so all I can say is that I hope her next book is better.

This was a very slow going book and I truly felt like the ending was the author saying gotcha or just kidding! I was starting to get a headache trying to figure out what was real and what wasn’t and then that ending came along. Let’s just say that it made my rating very clear to me after that.

Being a fan of Kubica, I was super pumped to get approved for this title. However, it fell a tad short for me.

The plot took a bit too much time to move. At times, I felt it was too repetitious. What kept me moving was just needing to know the answer.

Then I got to the answer and it felt very anticlimactic. As much as I love Kubica, this one just fell short for me.

First of all, I have read and enjoyed several of Mary Kubica's novels. As a native Chicagoan, I love that they are often set in Chicago and I love her particular style of suspense. This one, too, did not disappoint.

This novel follows Jessie and Eden, through a few different periods of time: Jessie in present-day, as she is caring for her terminally ill mother (Eden) and in the case of Eden, through various periods of time, one in which she struggles with infertility and another in which she cares for Jessie. In the present day, Jessie struggles with insomnia and has difficulty discerning what is real and was isn't. She finds out that she doesn't have a birth certificate and that the only Jessie Sloane on record is dead. Who is Jessie? Why doesn't she have any record of who she is?

This is a thriller/suspenseful book, but in the end I found it moreso about family, grief, the struggle to motherhood and mother-daughter bonds. Some will find the ending predictable but I found it redeemable because there was so much heart present in the last few pages that made it satisfying.

Interweaving two characters who at first glance have little in common, Kubica manages to connect readers to each woman's heartbreaking journey through loss. As the story unfolds, the characters' motives and thoughts became a puzzle that had me up at all hours of the night trying to envision. Each new revelation had me rethinking what I knew previously. As Jessie and Eden both work through identity, loss, and redemption, I found myself rooting for them; No matter the compromising situation that arose. The "never saw it coming" finale brought sweet resolution to the major crisis' of the story and bookended Eden's story beautifully. However, I felt that the ending did not do justice for Jessie and the journey she was on through much of the story. I became so attached and invested in the identity crisis Jessie was on, that I felt like it was cut short in the name of a happy ending. After reflection, I give this novel a solid 4 stars because of Kubica's masterful characterization and realistic portrayal of how grief transforms and changes the trajectory of your life.

First of all, thanks to NetGalley for the ARC for my Kindle.
I've purchased and read Mary Kubica's first 4 books and loved them all- 5 stars- but this one wasn't a good one for me. When I finished the book, I went back and reread the last 10 -15 percent of the book because I couldn't believe it ended as it did. Had me interested in the story until the end.....

Oh, Mary, I love your writing style and I will continue to crave your books like a fix. But you let me down with the ending of this one. I thoroughly enjoyed the ride; I stayed glued for the entire day off and don’t regret a minute of the suspense. But the twist was a bit of an insult. I literally flipped back thru to try to find the clue I missed. There were just too many items left dangling that remain unclear.
But I forgive you because it was an enjoyable read. I anxiously await your next project!
(I received an advance copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an unbiased review. Thank you to Harlequin- Hanover Square Press for making it available.)

I received an advanced copy of this book through NetGalley. This book had me from the very beginning. I love that it kept me engaged the entire time. I couldn't wait to see how it ended. I would highly recommend to all my fellow readers. Thank you for the chance to review this book!

When the Lights Go Out is a very well written mystery. Enjoyed the plot that kept me on the edge of my seat. Mary Kubica has woven a great tale. I highly recommend this book. I received an arc from the publisher via Netgalley and this is my unbiased review.

I was gripped by this novel from the beginning until the very end. The twists and turns were captivating, and I read late into several nights and every chance I could get. I couldn’t wait to start reading again to see what would happen next! The ending completely surprised me, which I didn’t expect because I thought I had everything all figured out. I can personally relate to many of the things that Eden had to endure and I found myself reliving some of the pain, loss, and frustrations she did, and I felt so bad for everything that Jessie was feeling and going through. The writing was superb, as were the topics, storylines, and characters - typical of this author... I definitely enjoyed this book and recommend it!

I really liked this book, until the final twist at the end. The story moved along, told between two characters and time periods until about the last 20% of the book. The ending might be a pleasant surprise for some readers, but for me it was a disappointment. I did enjoy the rest of the book, and read it quickly to see how it all tied together. The writing was excellent.