I received this book "Emily, Gone" from NetGalley and all opinions expressed are my own. Sometimes it's the title of the book that catches your eye, sometimes it's the cover or the author. For me with the book "Emily, Gone" - it was all three. I loved this book and the characters were amazing. Extra points for the German Shepherd "Bruno" in the story (my favorite dog). This book was just what I needed to read. I can always count on Bette Lee Crosby to write an amazing story. An amazing heartwarming story that you won't want to put down until the last page is read.

Somehow I keep picking up stories of children being kidnapped told from multiple points of view recently. This book however, really stole my heart. It was so interesting to hear the story from the different viewpoints of the parents and the kidnappers. To learn what made them do it in the first place. I don't want to give anything away but this story truly brings you on a roller coaster ride and the ending is so worth it.

I received an advanced copy in exchange of an honest review.

Emily, Gone by Bette Lee Crosby is an intensely emotional story, four tissue boxes for sure. Relatable characters, easy paced, descriptive narrative. Recommended.

Thank you to the publisher, author, and NetGalley for the opportunity to preview the book.

Thank you for the opportunity to read this book prior to publishing date!
Emily Gone was such a great book and I couldn’t wait to get back to reading when I wasn’t reading.
It starts with a baby, Emily who on one late night early morning a desperate woman sneaks into the home of Emily’s pArents and she. She sees Emily she believe it is destiny that the baby is hers so she quietly sweeps her up out of her bed while the parents are sleeping, sleeping so sound because they haven’t been able to rest with the musical festival in town. .
When they wake up to find Emily gone they are in shock and have no clues to where she is. Rachel Emily’s mom never gives up hope that she will see Emily again. This is a heartbreaking story of loss, family, strength, desperation.
It gripped me from each page and brought me to tears at times. This was a good book and I want to read more from this author. Again thank you for allowing me to read this early.
Publishing date is April 30, 2019.

Emily, Gone is the perfect remedy for a book hangover. This seemingly heart-breaking tale turns into a heart-warming tale. At times, it is predictable, other times, quite surprising. Gone, Emily is a story of heartbreak, incredible grief, and a strong faith that leaves you with a smile.

There are some details that are simply unbelievable but this is a work of fiction and the story asks you to look at the best in people as opposed to finding the negative in our world. Go ahead, read this book - I think you'll be glad you did.

In a small town, where everyone knows everyone, and citizens don't worry much about locking their doors in the night, George, Rachel, and baby Emily Dixon drift off asleep to the sounds of the ongoing music festival just up the road at a nearby farm and welcoming the thunder in hopes that the festival will dwindle. Exhaustion takes over, an neither George nor Rachel hear the sounds of the nightmare yet to be revealed.

Numb to reality because of the loss of her baby Lara and a few many hits of marijuana, Vicki Robart sways to the music succumbing to her grief. Her beau, Russell Murphy sees the telltale signs in her eyes and suggests they hit the road and find something to eat. Vicki demands he stops a the up the road from the festival, so she can find something to eat. The house is dark, the inhabitants clearly asleep on this stormy night. But, what she finds inside satiates a greater void as she slips back into the night...

Vicki's choice alters their lives... This book is about grief, hope, and finding forgiveness in the most difficult of times.

Thank you to Bette Lee Crosby, Lake Union Publishing, and NetGalley who provided me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Oh my gosh! I so loved reading this story! Emily, and all that went on in her life were so real to me. As a mom myself, I felt all the fears, and heart aches of these moms. I fell in love with Mama Dixon, even if I didn’t like her in the beginning. She was an integral part of the story. Bette Lee Crosby has once again written a brilliant, heart filled story for us, her readers. Have been recommending this book as I’ve enjoyed reading it. Thank you Bette for this amazing book. Thank you Net galley and Bette Lee Crosby for allowing me the privilege of an early read.

This is a story that tugged on my heartstrings in so many ways. The lives of so many people were altered on one summer night as a sad and grieving woman stole something that was not hers and disappeared into the night. What happens from there is a whole lot of grief, growth, love, and forgiveness as the story unfolds.

Emily, Gone is a very moving story of hope. The twists and turns in this book hooked me from beginning to end, and I experienced every emotion while reading this book. I love the way the book flowed, and the stories of each character had me wanting to know more. Bette Lee Crosby is an amazing author, and I highly recommend this book!

I really really liked this book. I loved how it should both families journeys, and especially Rachel’s growth. It flowed flawlessly. Great book.

There is nothing like the feeling of picking up a Bette Lee Crosby book to read. When I do, I know I'm in for a deeply emotional and heart tugging story that will take my emotions all over the feelings map. As I opened the pages of this book, I felt like I was meeting with an old friend and she was going to take me on a storytelling journey and she sure did! Emily, Gone is a book I couldn't put down.

If this book doesn't tug at your heartstrings, I don't know what will. Each progressively turned page brought me deeper into the heart of the story that drew rawness to my emotions. The horror of waking up in the morning finding little Emily gone was excruciating. Who would have taken her and why? The self blaming for not being there for Emily broke my heart. The yearning for a lost child was heart wrenching. This book took me on that proverbial roller coaster ride from heartache, to desperation, to despair, to a shocking turn of events, to hope, to forgiveness, to faith no matter what the situation or outcome.

Ms. Crosby has such a great way of putting wisdom in her books that reach into my heart. I come away from her books with words that I can apply to my life and use to be a better person. I love that. Her works feel personal and I feel connected to them. Each character has flaws just as we all do. Each character has emotions that in ways I could relate to. Ms. Crosby developed each character completely to create a story that pulled me in.

I'd like to share a couple passages that are indicative of Ms. Crosby's gift of writing:

"People make mistakes, and things happen-not because we want them to or don't care, but because life is a whole lot less than perfect."

"Fear settles in your heart the day you learn you're gonna be a mama, but somehow you stumble through doing the best you can, always hoping it's good enough."

I came to the end of this book knowing and feeling I had a true Bette Lee Crosby book experience. I loved it! I want to thank Ms. Crosby, Lake Union, and Netgalley for the absolute honor of getting to read this book.

I am sure this book will stay with me the rest of my life. It left a tattoo on my heart. What a compelling story and so scary for any mom or grandma. Ms. Crosby has created a masterpiece with this book. Loved it!

I received an ARC of this book and just finished reading it. Bette Lee Crosby is an amazing story teller. This is a story about family, love, and survival through heart breaking events. It tells of an act of impulse that touches so many lives. It is a great tale of compassion and forgiveness as well. I loved this book. The characters will stay with me for some time to come.

This book tells the heart wrenching story of a mother's horrific reality nightmare and her most fervent prayer. It is powerful, amazing, and memorable. I highly recommend it!

Vicki and boyfriend Murph are at a music festival in Georgia in 1971. It's on a farm near the Dixon's little farm and the music is so loud that George, Rachel and 6 month old Emily are having trouble sleeping. They are all exhausted. On the last night of the festival, Rachel finally gets Emmy to sleep and falls into bed and into a dead sleep. Leaving the grounds, Vicki and Murph are going home. Vicki is smoking pot quite heavily. She is missing the baby that was stillborn a few months before. She's hungry and tells Murph to pull over in front of the Dixon's house so she can sneak in and steal some food. As she enters the kitchen, she sees baby items and goes to Emmy's room and kidnaps her.

This is a hard book to read because of the subject matter. You feel for Vicki but you are agonized over the loss for George and Rachel. Bette is a master at pulling at your heart strings for both the parents and having sympathy for Vicki. The writing is very well done and makes you feel that you are going through the issues that the characters are dealing with. Keep tissues handy. Very good read.

This was such an emotional ride - I finished this book in just t a few days and it is still on my mind. Rachel Dixon is devastated, as any mother would be, when her baby daughter, Emily, was kidnapped. Ms. Crosby did such an amazing job in writing the character that I felt like I *was* Rachel - I was going through the emotions as she was mourning the loss of her daughter. This is a book that keeps you intrigued and involved the whole way through and you won't want to put down once you start. I held out hope for Rachel and Emily to be reunited. The way Ms. Crosby told both sides of the story and got you invested in the characters was wonderful. I highly recommend this book!
Thank you to Bette Lee Crosby, Lake Union Publishing and NetGalley for the ARC of this fantastic book!

a story of grief, resilience, and healing is compelling and well written. It was a tissue book, it was beautiful and full of pain, full of anger and forgiveness. BEAUTIFULLY written.

Overall, the book was fine. I didn't love it, mainly because several of the characters and plot points were a little too overdone and somewhat saccharine. Also, the ending required a complete suspension of disbelief of how the families end up involved with each other and how they reconcile all the issues of Emily/Lara.

The people of Hesterville knew the music festival in the summer of 1971 was going to be trouble with a capital "T". And when the music's over, and the people roll out of town, Rachel and George Dixon awaken to find their baby Emily is gone, too.
Murph brings Vicki to the festival on the hopes it can bring back the woman he first fell in love with. Vicki's been in a vortex of grief and longing for her dead baby, Lara. As they head out of Hesterville, Vicki makes Murph stop so she can she can see if there's some food in the remote house on the outskirts of town - as luck would have it the back door isn't even locked. A peek in the kitchen and Vicki sees baby bottles in the sink, and is drawn to the faint night light of the nursery. She is elated to see a baby with same blond hair and blue eyes as Lara's . Thinking only of intense longing for Lara, Vicki grabs the baby, wraps her in a blanket and jumps back in the car. When Murph realizes several hours later that the bundle Vicki carried out of the house, he knows the baby belongs with her parents. The problem is, Vicki has already convinced herself that the baby is actually Lara and won't listen to any talk of bringing "her" baby back. Vicki eventually leaves Murph, reconnects with her sister and finds that no one doubts the baby is hers. Angela and Kenny push aside any questions they have when Vicki dies and Lara becomes theirs to raise. Since they've never been able to have children, Lara's given all the love they have for a child.
Several decisions, 18 years, and car trouble lead to the families ending up in each other’s path. When the group realizes that their lives are going to irrevocably changed fear, hope, love, and family are faced head on and where it leads them might surprise even them.

I received an ARC from NetGalley and am sharing my honest opinion.

Stories by Bette Lee Crosby just keep getting better! How can a book about a kidnapped baby end so beautifully? -- just read it for yourself! As I read one of her books, I feel like I actually know her characters, as she describes not just how they appear, but how they feel and react to what they are going through. At the end of this book you can feel the blended love the two families have for Emily\Lara.

Emily is taken from her crib in the middle of the night by a woman grieving the loss of her own baby. From there, Vickie expects everyone to believe, as she does, that Emily is really her Lara. Her boyfriend tries to work with her while figuring out how to make things right, but Vickie is still savvy enough to know she will lose the baby if she doesn't run. Desperate, she reconnects with the sister she hasn't seen in years, working enough guilt on Angela to ensure her version of events isn't questioned too closely by her or her husband, Kenny. While Rachel and George work desperately to move forward while holding their lost Emily in their hearts, Angela and Kenny work just as hard to welcome Vickie and her child into their home, especially after unexpected events lead them to become parents to Lara. When a chance encounter years later brings the kidnapping to the surface, two sets of parents must wrestle with the legal and emotional aspects of what Vickie set into motion on a rain-driven night 18 years ago. As a lawyer and a mother, this novel held my interest from start to finish. Crosby captured the nuances of every emotion the characters faced, allowing the reader to wonder how she would react if faced with similar events.