Thank you to Penguin Dutton Books, @NetGalley and the author for the #gifted copy of the book.

Safe in My Arms - Sara Shepard

If you love lots of drama, quick paced reads with lots of twists and turns plus multiple POVs then this book is for you. Overall, this was an entertaining read.

What was really interesting is that Shepard made this book seem like it was post pandemic.

Three women meeting for the first time at their kiddos new preschool become fast friends on a mission to figure out what shady things are happening at Silver Swans. Its not cheap and these ladies feel like they don't fit in with the other moms. They each have their own secret and it is about to be blown wide open.

I've been a Sara Shepard fan since I first sunk my teeth into the twisty ride that is her Pretty Little Liars series, raced through The Lying Game series and recently enjoyed Influence, so I was eager to get my hands on Safe in My Arms, since it seemed to be geared more toward adults.

Shepard tackled some really dramatic and relatable situations and feelings in this book! Without allowing for spoilers, I'll say she writes about postpartum mental health, the realities and struggles of parenthood (plus the joys), and abusive family members. As her books often seem to do it is rife with secrets. Everyone has something they're trying to hide and keep buried. Whether it's trying to keep your past hidden as a transgender woman, trying to keep your job hidden in the topless dancer industry, or trying to keep your postpartum struggles hidden as a new mom, each of our main character is struggling to only let others see what they WANT to portray.

When the blackmail starts showing up, each character is put under pressure, realizing their secrets are not as locked away as they had hoped. It's only when these three women, Andrea, Lauren, and Ronnie, witness an attack on the principal of their children's preschool do they start to confide in one another. Out of necessity to protect themselves and their children, they come together and end up tackling the question of WHAT did they witness and WHO could possibly have a vendetta against a school principal.

Shepard is a master at weaving together the smallest details and playing on your nerves. You're kept in a state of anxiety as the situation unravels and the stakes get higher.

I really enjoyed this and felt that Ms. Shepard did a great job tackling a slew of relatable and intense situations!

Secrets, secrets, and more secrets! Safe in My Arms had my mama bear instincts coming out. I identified with at times feeling like an imposter or outsider. I appreciated as suspicions heightened friendships built between Andrea, Lauren and Ronnie and they banded together. Each mother had a compelling story of her own. I found myself caught up in all the secrets and lies and fully satisfied with the conclusion.

Safe in My Arms kept me interested, surprised, and left me reflecting on myself. I highly recommend.

All Lauren, Ronnie, and Andrea want is to be a good mom. They have enrolled their kids in the prestigious preschool Silver Swans, one that they may not have even been considered for except for the economic downturn that left openings in enrollment for them to step into. They’re not exactly like the other mothers though, the ones who have had kids there for years. The ones standing together at the welcoming breakfast. The ones judging them.

Lauren was once a programming whiz, inventing popular game apps and selling them for big money. But she got pregnant and married quickly, and while her husband Graham is supportive, Lauren has been struggling with her hormone levels, leading to incidents of postpartum rage.

Ronnie is beautiful, but with an edge. She is a single mother dating the preschool’s male kindergarten teacher Lane. Ronnie’s daughter Esme is 4 and is a very happy child. But that’s probably because she doesn’t remember how it was that she and Ronnie came to live in California. It’s a secret that Ronnie hasn’t yet shared with Lane, but it means that she’s always looking over her shoulder for her past to catch up.

Andrea is still getting used to being a mother to Arthur, who is also 4. She’s talked to Arthur a lot about the changes in their family, and he seems to understand. Andrea wished that it was that simple for the rest of her family. But her father, a wealthy man with strong ideas about what he wants of his children, will not listen. It took a lot of time and a move to the West Coast for her to become comfortable in her skin. But not everyone would feel the same if they knew more about her family, about her past.

But after that first day, the short day for the kids to meet their teachers and classmates, while school principal Piper talked to the parents about the opportunities their children will have being at Silver Swans. She introduces her assistant Carson, who Andrea, Ronnie, and Lauren take an instant dislike to. But while the three moms and fast friends share a little Bailey’s in their coffees, someone else is putting notes for the moms in their kids’ backpacks.

Notes that tell them they’re not welcome at Silver Swans.

And when they go to the school to talk to Piper about the notes, Piper is attacked, and the three moms are questioned by the police. They say they were just in the wrong place at the wrong time and worry about their individual secrets. But the investigation reveals that there are a lot more going on at Silver Swans than just childcare and early education.

Sara Shepard’s Safe in My Arms is a look at an upper class preschool and the hidden lives of the parents. From domestic violence to financial shenanigans, from hormonal changes to disowning family, these mothers bring with them a variety of issues and reveal even more. This thriller is filled with secrets and twists, surprises and lies, all wrapped up in the exclusive neighborhoods of the ultra wealthy.

I really enjoyed the story of these women. Safe in My Arms is a fun read for summer. As someone who never felt like I fit in with the crowd, I loved the characters of Lauren, Ronnie, and Andrea. Seeing the moms from the perspective of outsiders brought a lot of texture to the story, and the secrets that they kept and uncovered showed creativity and compassion for those who feel like they are outside of the norm. Safe in My Arms is a beautifully written look at motherhood in all its inherent messiness, making it a great book for anyone who has ever had kids or parents.

Egalleys for Safe in My Arms were provided by Dutton through NetGalley, with many thanks.

I featured this title here as part of a mystery, suspense, and thriller roundup: https://www.bethfishreads.com/2021/07/22-mysteries-thrillers-suspense-novels.html and promoted to twitter and facebook and instagram.

I have a special spot in my heart for [author:Sara Shepard|93970]. I love Pretty Little Liars and The Lying Game. So I was pretty excited when I spotted this new one.

And I loved it. I like that you have Lauren, Ronnie and Andrea's each separate POV. It helped give us the whole story and give more clues. I loved each girl separately for what they brought to the story and their own struggles. I love how they found each other (spiking the drinks was hilarious!) and I love how they found a friendship in the midst of all the craziness.

I thought the bad guy was a little obvious but I didn't mind going through the story. I did find a lot of the ending a surprise though - and the twists I didn't see coming. It's almost set up like there could be more story here and, if there was, I would definitely read it. I love these three!!

<i>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.</i>

Safe in My Arms is a drama-filled thriller with rich parents all competing to be the best. Each parent has a child that attends this prestigious elite preschool.

This follows many different points of view. I enjoyed that we got to see the story from different people. At times, I was confused about which POV I was reading from. I felt like this book was dragged most of the time and it was predictable, I also feel like they put a Transgender character in the book just to say it has a Transgender character.

I definitely recommend this for people that love drama-filled books!

I've always enjoyed Sara Shephard's books, and Safe In My Arms is a solid read that manages to hit all the buttons required without being too standard. I keep hoping is that her adult novel career will take off the way her Pretty Little Liars books have and I definitely recommend this for collections where she is popular.

It definitely had all the ingredients for a fun, entertaining suspense read. However, there just seemed to be too many characters and none felt strong enough for me to become invested in. Thanks Netgalley for the arc.

Full of secrets, lies, betrayals, and drama, this book will have you hooked until the very end. An enjoyable read that you will devour, you must go grab this book now.

Three Outsider Moms at a Posh Private School

Parents want to give their tots the best possible start. In this Southern California community that means the Swan School. However, three moms are not the average sophisticated parents the school caters to. They meet at the Welcome Breakfast and quickly bond. Each has secrets that they fear will be exposed. Andrea is running from her East Coast life, Lauren has a postpartum depression that her husband wants her to hide, and Ronnie is hiding from a man who could ruin her life.

The women get notes in their children’s backpacks warning that they’re not wanted in the school. They decide that they need to meet with the school’s director, Piper. When they arrive at her office, she’s been brutally attacked. The three women are also knocked out making at least one of them the prime suspect. Now they must solve the mystery

I found the characters in this book difficult to like. Of course, they all want the best for their children, but their own egos and manipulative strategies made them seem most interested in themselves. As they strive for acceptance, as well as self-acceptance. they come across as mostly deceitful.

I thought the first part of the book was interesting. The setting in a posh school that I couldn’t imagine ever sending my children to was well done. However, after the attack and the subsequent quest to prove their innocence, the story became more diffuse. I’m used to reading mysteries and this wasn’t a hunt to solve a complex crime.. It seemed more like a voyage of personal discovery by rather unlikable women.

I received this book from Dutton/Plume for this review.

Blog:
Sara Shepard is most famous for writing Pretty Little Liars, the series the hit tv show is based upon. In Pretty Little Liars the threat is text messages. Here it’s old school notes. Only this time, it’s the moms twisted into secrets and lies.

The three moms are at the center of the book, and I only actually liked one. Andrea is a trans woman who moved to California to be able to transition and live openly, away from her elite and judgmental family. Now, I will note I am a cis woman, and I would like to hear what a trans woman thinks of the representation, but I thought Andrea was written very well. I appreciated the realism of having to deal with some transphobia in her family but also being warmly welcomed by the other two women – both as a friend and as a woman. The author’s note at the end makes it clear she sought out a sensitivity reader for Andrea, and I could tell. If only the same efforts had been made for the other two women….

Lauren is struggling with postpartum rage (a symptom tied to postpartum depression). I just felt she was quite two-dimensional, and I just couldn’t bring myself to care about her.

Ronnie is a topless maid, formerly a stripper, who moved here from Pennsylvania with her daughter. It at first appears she did so to get away from an abusive man. I can’t talk about Ronnie without revealing a slight spoiler (it’s revealed about 1/3 of the way into the book), so be warned.

Ronnie’s “daughter” is actually her niece. Her sister was in a relationship with an abusive man and was addicted to something. It’s vaguely explained as drugs. Ronnie, after a violent fight with her sister’s significant other that ends with her discovering her sister wounded on the floor, takes the baby and runs with her. She never follows up to see if her sister is ok. No, no, she just steals her daughter, changes her daughter’s name, and decides her daughter is better off with her anyway. I just simply could not empathize with the child abductor here. Ronnie had other options to help her niece. She had never even tried anything else (beyond living with her sister to “protect” her). I’m ok with a book featuring a less than ideal character. I’m not ok with the whole tone of the book being that I should empathize with her or that what she did was a mistake.

Because that’s the thing. The book kind of wraps up with the message that all moms make mistakes and it’s ok to not be perfect. I mean, sure, within reason. But there’s it’s ok to not be perfect and then there’s you’re only in the mom club because you stole someone else’s child.

Also as someone who cares about addiction and recovery, I found the depiction of Ronnie’s sister Vanessa to be heartless. She isn’t given the same chance and possibility to recover and change and learn from her mistakes as the other mom’s. In fact, the whole “moms don’t have to be perfect” scene features the moms describing all the reasons their children make them drink alcohol. The hypocrisy of this scene sickened me.

Contemporary books are approaching the pandemic in a variety of ways. This one chose to set the story “post-pandemic.” I’m fine with that optimistic choice, and I understand why it was made. But the strange thing is it mostly seems to acknowledge the impacts of the pandemic as purely economic – there’s a lot of talk about economic challenges from when we all stayed home but almost zero mention of anything else. I think there was one mention of face masks? This is set in California. There was way more impact than just economic. It rubbed me the wrong way how it made it out to be all about economic issues, and also how things just immediately snapped back to normal. If one wants a normal contemporary book, fine, just don’t acknowledge the pandemic at all then. Include an author’s note that this is for escapism and move on. Don’t acknowledge it as an economic downturn like 2008 and nothing much else…..

Beyond this, the actual main issue going on at the school was interesting and twisty. I had my suspicions early on, but I still enjoyed the twists. What really saved the book for me, though, was Andrea. We need more positive trans rep in psychological thrillers, and Andrea was very well-done.

GoodReads:
I want to lead by saying that in my opinion Andrea, the trans-woman character, was well-done. I liked that she was quickly welcomed into the circle of mothers and that the only transphobia seemed to come from a couple of members of her family of origin.

I thought Lauren's story was a bit expected.

I got very hung-up on Ronnie's story. I had no problem with her being a stripper and topless dancer. Someone can be those things and be a good mother. But, her dark secret, well, it is dark! And I didn't like how the book seemed to be trying to get me on her side. To be happy for her. For more details, click the spoiler. [Ronnie is in fact Esme's aunt and abducted her away from her mother. I really didn't like how, in a book where we're supposed to be understanding of mothers who are not perfect, Vanessa is so demonized. Was she struggling with addiction and refusing to leave an abusive man? Yes. But that doesn't mean she's forever incapable of being a mother. There were also ways for Ronnie to deal with that, as a loving aunt, that don't involve stealing her sister's child and then moaning years later how it will traumatize her to go back to her mother. (What about the trauma of abducting her in the first place? Early childhood trauma still impacts people). The right way to handle the situation would have been to report to CPS about the neglect. It's possible Ronnie would have ended up caretaking Esme anyway (whose name given to her by her real mother was actually Taylor, by the way). In any case, the book tries to make you take Ronnie's side - that Ronnie did the right thing because Vanessa was addicted and always will be. I can handle a character making bad choices. I can't handle the book trying to make me take her side. Oh, and after all of that judgment, in the Epilogue they gather their mommy friends together and talk about all of the reasons their children make them drink. Hypocrisy much? (hide spoiler)]

This book tries to take place "post-pandemic." But the strange thing is it mostly seems to acknowledge the impacts of the pandemic as purely economic - there's a lot of talk about economic challenges from when we all stayed home but almost zero mention of anything else. I think there was one mention of face masks? This is set in California. There was way more impact than just economic. It rubbed me the wrong way how it made it out to be all about economic issues, and also how things just immediately snapped back to normal. If one wants a normal contemporary book, fine, just don't acknowledge the pandemic at all then. Don't acknowledge it as an economic downturn like 2008 and nothing much else.....

Trigger warnings: [dead-naming, domestic abuse, domestic violence, death of a child, violence, child abduction (hide spoiler)]

Instagram:
QOTD: Do you want your contemporary reads to acknowledge the pandemic or pretend it doesn’t exist?
Safe In My Arms by Sara Shepard takes an interesting approach - it puts the book post-pandemic. I’ve also read books with an author’s note that they’re pretending it doesn’t exist for the escapism. I’ve gotta say - I found I enjoyed the pretending of the latter more than the former. Imagining post-pandemic felt strange to me. But maybe that’s just me. 🤷🏻‍♀️ What do you think? Link to purchase the book in my profile.

Safe in My Arms is the new novel from Sara Shepard.

The Silver Swans preschool is the place the yummy mummys want to send their children. Three moms have just enrolled their children. But they don't fit the mold and it seems someone doesn't want them at the school. Vitriolic notes are found in their kid's backpacks telling them quit the school.

The three meet each other and band together - they're determined not to be drummed out of the school. The thing is though....Andrea, Lauren and Ronnie all do have secrets that they don't want brought to light. And the person leaving the notes seems to know those secrets....

I quite liked the three moms, although I admit to having a soft spot for Andrea.
Each of the women bring a different mindset and skill set to the friendship. The reader becomes privy to what their secrets are as the story progresses and three new plot lines are added to the book. Things at the school escalate and the three friends seem to now be suspects. So.....they decide to investigate on their own. I did find I had to suspend disbelief in a number of situations, including the police investigation into the crime at the school.

Shepard is the author of the successful teen series Pretty Little Liars. I'm not aware of any other adult books that she's penned, but I could be wrong. For me, I found this book to have a simpler style of writing. The tone was what I would call light suspense, not the edge of your seat suspense. Shepard does throw some turns into her tale as the end draws near. And kudos for doing it for all four plotlines. I did find the wrap up went on too long for me as the explanation for everything that has gone on is detailed in the run up to the final pages. And she throws in one more twist. Not sure that last one worked for me.

In the author's notes at the end, Shepard says that "As I wrote this story, much of the world felt unstable, uncertain and in flux, though as a result, I felt even more inspired to acknowledge the struggles of motherhood and how it's not always about being the 'best' or 'perfect", but accepting where you're at and cutting yourself some slack." Safe in My Arms was an interesting vehicle to carry this message.

A good book for the beach, but not as suspenseful as I had expected.

From the mind that brought us Pretty Little Liars comes a new thriller about a what a group of misfit moms will do to protect the secrets they hold when their fancy preschool director is attacked.

If you are a mom who fell in love with PLL pre-kids you’ll love this grown-up story by Shepard.. it also has a “Big Little Lies” quality to it you’ll really enjoy!

Can’t say much else without giving away precious secrets. Just expect to not put it down after you pick it up!!!

5 ⭐️

Andrea, Ronnie, and Lauren meet at the Welcome Breakfast for their children's exclusive preschool. All of them are hiding big secrets. They each receive a threatening note implying that they and their children aren't welcome at the school. When they break into the school director, Piper's office to try to find out what's going on, Piper shows up and ends up being attacked. Andrea, Ronnie, and Lauren are the prime suspects. However, Piper may have been hiding secrets of her own. This intriguing mystery will keep you wanting to read. Even though they are a lot of characters, and there is quite a lot going on, the characters are very well-differentiated, and it's easy to keep track of them all. The characters are unique and interesting. Andrea is a mother who used to be a father, Ronnie is a mother to her own niece whom she kidnapped, and Lauren is a mother who is suffering from a particularly violent form of postpartum depression. The ending has a loose end or two that doesn't make complete sense but is mostly it's satisfactory. Over all, it's a fun read.

Safe In My Arms is written in the third person narrative with alternating chapters of 4 different women: Lauren, Ronnie, Andrea, and Piper. Set in a fictional affluent California beachside town called Raisin Beach, the story revolves around an elite preschool called Silver Swans and the events following a violent attack against the school's director. Lauren, Ronnie, and Andrea are all new to the school and form a friendship at the Welcome Breakfast as outcasts amongst the quintessential wealthy parents. Each woman has their own shady past and secrets, willing to do anything to keep the truth from coming out. Can they trust each other when they all become suspects in a crime?

Safe In My Arms reminded me of Big Little Lies except... it was nowhere near as good. The synopsis was promising but I found the plot to be dull and too predictable, which is just sacrilegious for a thriller. I love multiple POV in a 'whodunit' mystery but there was almost too much going on in this one, so I never really got invested into any characters despite them individually being interesting. There were promising elements and I would've enjoyed it more if it wrapped up differently but that ending was a huge disappointment. Sara Shepard is the author of the Pretty Little Liars series and The Lying Game series, I can't compare much since I've never read them. If you're a fan of her YA novels, I'd say give it a shot but this one is a pass for me

Synopsis: After the principle of an elite preschool is attacked, three mothers must uncover the truth. However, each mother is hiding her own secret that must not come out.⁣
⁣⁣⁣
My thoughts:⁣⁣⁣
-Gave me all the Pretty Little Liar vibes, which I love. ⁣
-A little anti-climatic as I saw most of the twists coming or felt like I was led to them. ⁣
-I was rooting for the characters throughout and really liked them.

I was very interested in this book in the beginning and glued to it for the first half but then it slowed down and I found myself not as interested in picking it back up. The ending was also not as satisfying or shocking as I like in thriller books.

Lauren, Andrea, and Ronnie have all enrolled their children in the prestigious Silver Swans Nursery Academy. The school’s Director is Piper Jovan and Assistant Director is Carson Dillard. New to the area, the three women meet at the Welcome Breakfast and immediately bond. All three of them are carrying secrets. When they learn that the children will be part of a documentary being filmed, they are not happy about it. At the same time, each of them receives a note someone has placed in their children’s backpack letting them know they are not wanted. They become angry and worried deciding to meet up with Piper to discuss the situation. Getting in to see her is difficult, but they manage to sneak in. That’s when Piper is attacked by someone and the three women end up knocked out beside her making it look like one of them is responsible for the attack.

The story centers mostly around these three women, but there are lots more characters involved as well. Due to the over abundance of characters, at times I found it difficult to keep up with all of them. The three women all have baggage to some degree. The emphasis on how difficult motherhood is almost makes me chuckle. Being a mom simply means you are busier than before but I don’t understand how some of these woman can hardly cope. This is the first book I have read by this author and, quite frankly, I wasn’t that impressed.

Copy provided by NetGalley in exchange for a fair and honest review.

#SafeInMyArms #NetGalley
Absolutely brilliant with a mind blowing twist.
Andrea, Lauren, and Ronnie all see themselves as good, loving moms who are trying their best, but they each arrive at the Silver Swans preschool Welcome Breakfast with something to hide. Andrea is running away from a past on the East Coast, which she cannot afford for the other parents to discover. Lauren is recovering from a postpartum condition her husband has warned her not to disclose. And Ronnie is hiding herself and her daughter from the one man who could at any moment appear in their lives and ruin everything she holds dear. They already feel like impostors among the school's community of polished parents. But then notes appear in their children’s backpacks after the first day at school. Notes that indicate that someone knows their deepest, darkest secrets and needs them gone. Does someone not want them in the community? Or is it something more menacing—does someone know everything? When the principal of the school is the victim of an almost-fatal attack, it quickly becomes clear that the Silver Swans community is not as flawless as the brochures and website would have you believe. The three moms must band together to uncover the school's many secrets before the other suspicious parents and town police close in and use their outsider status to blame them . . . and before they lose what they have worked so hard for..
What are you waiting for? Go and grab this book. It's brilliant.

Loved this book! I’ve been a big fan of Sare Shepard’s since PLL and I’m so happy her books have aged with me. It was so interesting with twists and turns throughout that I genuinely didn’t see coming. Such a fun read!