This book was supplied by Netgalley, free of charge, in exchange for an honest review.

2 1/2 stars. I was on board with the initial premise of this book but the twist was such a let down. The plot continually disappointed me and by the last quarter, I just wanted to get through it. None of the characters had much depth but Terra was a great unreliable narrator. I enjoyed Stolarz writing style but the plot felt rushed in places and the characters underdeveloped

This is going to be pretty short, since no matter how many times I picked up this book I was never able to finish it. I tried multiple times to read this title, but it was never able to capture my attention and keep me invested in the plot, characters or the story.
I liked the premise and how this is a stand-alone, but still in the Jane Anonymous world, but it just failed to deliver for me. It might be because I prefer my thriller/crime books to me more gritty and less “maybe-maybe not”, but this book was not for me.
I did appreciate that there was a site for survivors to tell their stories and help one another, but I also felt the main character less than reliable and not particularly interesting. Maybe you’ll greatly love this book, but for me it was a DNF.

A mystery thriller that pulls you in right away but then seems to slack off a little as the main character is basically telling the story and it gets a little confusing time wise. Terra has gone through two dramas, a house fire where only she survived and an abduction that no one now believes happened as no evidence can be found. She's a very confused and mentally ill in dealing with trying to find evidence. Her aunt isn't supportive and her only support seems to come from an online chatroom of victims, on which is her abductor. Twist in the end makes it worth the read.

She's eighteen and people think she's crazy. She knows she was kidnapped and held In a deep well for four days. Nobody believes her. The well hasn't been found. The book that was in the well with her has apparently never been written, even though she had read the book many times.
So many questions and not an answer to any of them.
Interesting, thought provoking read.

A twisted thriller that keeps you guessing until the end. What happens when you’re the only one who believes your trauma?

The main character, Terra, experiences not one but two traumatic events. She reaches out to an online help group for souls such as herself to share her feelings and  support from likewise victims. Maybe I am being too critical about the character, but doesn’t everyone know not to believe what you read and the feedback from these websites? I was yelling at her to exit the website as I was reading the back and forth texts in the story In spite of her traumatic history she certainly didn’t have many people in her corner and so was forced to look elsewhere for support ( the web page). But I couldn’t see her character in the final chapters thinking so clearly as to get OUT of the next violation as her behavior was so bizarre and out of her mental control. I did continue reading the book in spite of all my reservations and it certainly provided an interesting turn of events with the confessions of some of the characters.

I had completely forgotten about the wonderful world of Netgalley until the other day. What is Netgalley? Well, it's a website that lets you read electronic ARC (advanced reader copies) for free, as long as you review them on their website (and in theory, on your own). You are not guarenteed to read each and every book that you request, but you are able to read a lot of them.

My most recent fine was "The Last Secret You'll Ever Keep" by Laurie Faria Stolarz


["Four days…

Trapped in a well, surrounded by dirt, scratching at the walls trying to find a way out.Four days of a thirst so strong, that when it finally rains, I drink as much as possible from the dripping walls, not even caring how much dirt comes with it.

Six months…
Since my escape. Since no one believed I was taken to begin with – from my own bed, after a party, when no one else was home…
Six months of trying to find answers and being told instead that I made the whole incident up.

One month…
Since I logged on to the Jane Anonymous site for the first time and found a community of survivors who listen without judgment, provide advice, and console each other when needed.
A month of chatting with a survivor whose story eerily mirrors my own: a girl who’s been receiving triggering clues, just like me, and who could help me find the answers I’m searching for.

Three days…
Since she mysteriously disappears, and since I’m forced to ask the questions: will my chance to find out what happened to me vanish with her? And will I be next?"]

It was really good. Definitely a little traumatizing. And a lot confusing (though that could be mostly a craft choice due to the narrative being 1st person and the narrator being unreliable due to her trauma).

And, like any perfectly orchestrated (YA) psychological thriller, there was a really great plot twist (or a few) that kind of blew me away. I'm pretty darn skeptical and can be good at pointing out different twists, but I really, really didn't see that one coming.

Trigger Warnings: suicidal thoughts, murder, death threats, violence, psychological torture, death, starvation, medicalization/institutionalization

#thelastsecretyoulleverkeep #lauriefariastolarz #netgalley #psychologicalthriller #books #bookstagram #bookphotography #ilovebooks

This book started out so strong and I was actually sucked in and ready to embark on her journey with her. I'll admit the premise of the book was very enticing and I was captured in the first few chapters...after that it gets kind of bumpy and very confusing.

Trying to keep up with an unreliable main character was difficult, but not impossible. I would have preferred to have an alternating point of view from a side character. Just a way to see outside of the main character to try and build our own timeline. We weren't able to access the whole situation which led to some moments of .... okay and that matters, why? Then you find out those very FEW mentions were important.

Too much emphasis on specific details while other scenes lacked detail all around. With a heavier hand in editing this story could have been so much better.

Thank you netgalley and publisher for providing an eARC

Thank you for my copy through NetGalley. This is a psychological thriller with a questionably reliable narrator. I did get a little confused between the timelines and the various trauma that the narrator suffered, which was further complicated by the narrator's online friend telling a similar story. Although I suspected the ending, it was a fun and anxious journey with an interesting and sympathetic main character.

Special thanks to NetGalley and St.Martin for providing me with ARC.

I loved this book and the story well written, i am not a big fan of YA but this one is different. This is the first novel by Laurie but will not be the last.

This book was very interesting and the plot was unique. First time reading from this author and would like to read more

The Last Secret You'll Ever Keep by Laurie Faria Stolarz
Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
***HIGHLY HIGHLY RECOMMEND
To start off, this is one of the BEST mysteries/thrillers I have EVER read (haha, sorry other books and authors :p)
Imagine this.
Your house was lit on fire, you manage to escape, but your parent does not. How much guilt would you feel? Then you move in with your Aunt, who doesn't seem to "want you". You get abducted for 3 days in a water well(which nobody believes exists), escape, and return home unharmed, only to return to nobody believing your story. Not even your aunt. Not even the people you thought were your friends. Everyone just thinks you are crazy. EXCEPT for a small community on the Jane Anonymous Site. People who have had similar experiences. Take Peyton for example, she was also abducted. You relate to her, you befriend her, but she has secrets and she disappears, yet nobody does anything. What would you do? What would you say? Who would you trust?

The Plot:
The plot was PHENOMENAL! It was so plot twisty and turny. It gave me the perfect amount of confuzzlement and excitement. I felt so many different emotions. I felt sadness, anger, excitement, confusion, happiness, loneliness, chilled, comforted, disturbed, and most of all ... like I was going crazy. (In a good way of course.) Obviously, I can't say too much about the plot without giving vital parts away, so I'll try my best. It's just, the plot DRIVES YOU CRAZY. IT WAS AWESOME. AND IT WILL SURPRISE YOU BIG TIME!!!

The Characters:
If you know me, you'll know that characters are extremely important in books and mostly what I look for and enjoy about them. Good characters=good book. Characters>plot. Soooo, the characters in this book did not disappoint. I couldn't relate to them, but they felt so real and I felt for them. I could empathize with them. Again, they were so full and REALISTIC (for once, haha)
Charley though... I won't say too much, but dAng WHY ARE YOU DOING THIS?!?! AHAHA
And Peyton...Don't even get me started!!
And the character development was there. It was there, and it was AWESOME!

My ONE complaint:
The only slight complaint I could come up with is the ending. Similar to We Know it Was You, in the end, the problem wasn't fully solved. I mean, it was solved, but after, the characters didn't do too much to capture the victim. HOWEVER, unlike We Know it Was You, this type of ending worked for The Last Secret You'll Ever Keep. It works, somehow. It leaves you thinking and it LURES YOU. It's driving me insane, I really want a sequel...

I would like to thank NetGalley for providing me with an E-ARC in exchange for an honest review :D

Overall, I loved this book. I 100% recommend it. A definite 5 star read. And I will definitely be watching out for Laurie Faria Stolarz from now on!!

This was one of those books that, a few chapters in, I felt like I was going to love. Unfortunately, though, it ended up falling short of my expectations.

The most enjoyable aspect, for me, was the fact that Terra was an unreliable narrator, as it added to the tension in the story and made it difficult to predict the ending. However, the ending itself felt quite rushed, and I found it particularly difficult to grasp the motivations of certain characters, which left the story feeling somewhat lacking.

Furthermore, although this title had an interesting enough plot to keep me turning pages -- overall, the book fell pretty flat. I found the writing to be awkward in a lot of places, with attempts at metaphors and similes that felt quite try-hard, which really impacted my reading experience.

I really wish I could have liked this one more. Maybe with some more polish, it would be a better read. However, as it stands, it just wasn't the book I hoped it would be.

Thanks to Netgalley for the opportunity to read this book. I never read Jane Anonymous but that did not spoil the story for me. It took a bit to get into the flow of the book. It was a hard book to read, my heart hurt for these girls.

Terra’s parents died in a house fire and Terra survived. She blames herself for getting out alive and not saving her parents. Add being abducted and kept in a well for days to her list of traumas. She is vague on some of the details when talking to the detectives and her aunt. Her online chat group is some support but not everyone is helpful. People are beginning to doubt she was ever taken; that she just ran away for the attention. She is fortunate to have a friend who does believe her. Good characters and enough action to keep the reader guessing.

“And I burn a little crisper.
And I feel a little lonelier.
And I remain as silent as snow.”

This is a companion novel to Jane Anonymous.

Terra was abducted and trapped for four days before she managed to escape. The story begins months after she has returned home, and it flashes back to ‘Then’ and ‘Now’.

Terra is an alright character. There’s nothing that stands out about her, and likewise there’s nothing that’s terrible. She lives with an aunt since both of her parents died (that most hated YA trope of parentless teen popping up yet again!). Luckily they didn’t leave her with nothing. A nice element to Terra is her always repeating the ‘rules of survival’ her parents drilled into her. She’s almost paranoid about obeying them and doing everything the right way according to those rules.

I honestly don’t like the way the story was formatted. All the exciting parts; the kidnapping, the escape, the police interviews, the unbelief; all happened in the past and are only shown in flashes. Instead for the most part we have a teen girl chatting on the internet. I feel like we’re still missing most of the story.

An element of the story I loved was Terra’s past with mental issues. Because of the loss of her parents so young, of course Terra had a history of being mentally unstable at points in her life. This pops up and starts to make her question herself and if she truly was making everything up. For me the scariest thing in the world is something like this; not being able to tell reality from something that’s just in your own head. It’s scary stuff!

Another major element of the story is victim blaming. Family, friends, media and even law enforcement dismiss her accounts of the kidnapping because of her ‘history’. This kind of stuff puts enough fire under me to set my poor little reading corner on fire.

Overall, The Last Secret You’ll Ever Keep is an easy, quick read with a couple of hard-hitting topics and enough going on to keep you entertained until the end.

If you have triggers associated with being in enclosed spaces and being held against your will, be careful while reading this book.
This is a story of survival that is very well told. It also gives a voice to the voiceless when no one believes them or wants to believe them. I was sucked in from the beginning and the story kept me guessing and wondering what was real or not. The layout is similar to Jane Anonymous

Rating: 3.5 / 5

Engaging
This novel is a quick read and is very engaging. It wasn’t only a mystery—we don’t spend the whole book only wondering if Terra survives the situation, because the story goes back and forth in time (before and after the incident). These mystery elements are still there (as you learn more details about what happens and why), but there is more to it than that.

Main Character
Something that the book highlights well is the trauma response Terra is experiencing in response to the events of the book. This was a nice shift from other mysteries, because it really showed how painful it was for Terra, and it creates so much empathy and compassion for her.

Mental Health
This novel showed the lasting effect of trauma on Terra. Additionally, it showed the power of a strong support system, as well as the damage of a poor support system (as many doubt her story). One complaint I have is WHO the characters were that doubted Terra (e.g. therapists). The author suggests their doubt of Terra is damaging, but also I think it is important to keep in mind when therapy is viewed that way (as a place where someone won’t be believed and can’t receive support). I get why it happened in this storyline though.

Also, Terra is portrayed as an unreliable narrator, but this stems partially from genuine trauma symptoms she is experiencing. Her memory difficulty of the events is critiqued as unreliable, but in reality, forgetting details of a trauma should not be a reason to doubt someone’s experience and is a frequent response to trauma. But again, some around her show that belief and others do not (and are viewed negatively as a result).

Victim Blaming
This book suggests the victim blaming narrative by some characters, while highlighting how problematic these characters are. Terra also shows the victim blaming attitude towards herself at times. However, the book also shows how a better support system can be created through trusting victims and their stories.

Overall, I recommend this book, while also considering how people view trauma in everyday life.

What a remarkable thriller! A kidnapping victim nobody believes and her search for the person that took her and is now endangering another young woman. Exciting and surprising all the way!

Holy unreliable narrator batman!

tw: discussions of trauma, kidnapping, enclosed spaces, death by fire. If any of these things bother you, I would avoid this.

The Last Secret You'll Ever keep is a completely bonkers YA psychological thriller that had me turning pages back and forth just to make sure *I* was keeping the story straight. because this was a RIDE.

18-year-old Terra is a survivor. From her odd upbringing, to the tragedy that took her family, and the kidnapping she escaped and of which no one even believes happened—this girl has a lot going on.

Traumatized, paranoid, and carrying a deep pain, Terra tries her best to maintain in a world where most people think she is a freak and a liar. She takes solace in an anonymous chat room for survivors of various situations and befriends a user named Peyton, who encourages and comforts her when no one else will. They bond through the safety of the internet, but Terra has no idea who to really trust. Not her aunt, not Peyton, not the handsome Garret—maybe not even herself. As she tries to find any shred of proof that would show her experience was real, Terra starts to unravel not just her story, but the story of her kidnapper.

I have to say: This book was bizarre. Twists and turns abound, plenty of oddity and inconsistency to keep you turning the pages, if nothing more than to find out WHO was actually telling the truth. I had a hard time relating to Terra in any facet, as I wasn't even sure how sane she was half the time based on how often she went back and forth in her own mind. This is a past-future jump type situation which, while labelled, still managed to bring confusion to what were really facts. While it certainly held its intrigue, I have to admit it wasn't my favorite usage of any of these tropes.

I did, however, truly appreciate the way this story touched on victim-blaming and its effects on the victim themselves. This is something that needs to be talked about more in-depth, and to see Terra suffering through not only her trauma, but the disbelief of everyone around her was a very poignant note in an otherwise erratic text.

My thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for gifting me with this ARC in exchange for an honest review!