Sara Shepard sure knows how to write a drama-filled mystery. If you’ve read Reputation by her, this one is similar in that it’s in regards to drama surrounding a school and filled with lots of good twists. She did an amazing job of persuading the reader to think one thing when and then throwing in a big twist! This book had the perfect amount of suspense and I thought the plot super well-written and unique. The characters were also great - I wasn’t sure who to believe and I didn’t predict the ending!

A dark twisty tale of secrets and lies that can harm not only four women, but their childcare community. I found the story started out slow, however the pace picked up within a quarter of the book. Great characters with lots of depth that were not only relatable, but sympathetic as well. I felt bringing in the troubling economic times of COVID made the plot and conflict surrounding The Silver Swans Nursery Academy more relatable and convincing. The tale is told mostly through Lauren, Andrea, Ronny, and Piper as the children begin their first day at Silver Swans Nursey Academy. Each of these women are going through some personal difficulties and are downing in secrets. As someone begins to threaten to reveal these secrets, what will these women be willing to do to keep their families and livelihoods safe, this question keeps the reading guessing until the end. The story’s conclusion was satisfying and a little tragic. The tale deals with many of today’s issues of Post-Partum Depression and the lingering effects of Complicated grief.

Trigger warnings: Postpartum depression, domestic violence, and loss of child

Thank you to Netgalley and Dutton (Penguin Publishing Group) for the ARC.

🌟🌟🌟💫 3.5/5 stars

Safe in my Arms is a fast-paced, twisty story about three moms dealing with the fallout of a scandal at their high-end nursery school. When the preschool director is attacked, attention immediately turns to the mysterious moms and they have to work together to find out what really happened.

I always enjoy reading a quick domestic thriller, especially in the summertime. Sara Shepard is great at writing characters with all of the secrets that make you want to scream at them (Ladies, so much could be avoided by just telling the truth) and also root for them to get away with their lies. Safe in my Arms is definitely one of her darker mysteries, but I enjoyed it just as much as her previous books.

Overall, Safe in my Arms is taut, twisty thriller that is hard to put down.

ARC was provided by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

A twisty novel about secrets and who you can trust. Three mothers enroll their child in a prestigious preschool and find themselves being questioned by the police when the director is attacked.

The pace was a little slow for me and it read more drama than thriller. So if you like your thrillers without the heart stopping moments but still unpredictable, you’ll like this book.

3.5/5

I’ve been a big fan of the author since her PLL books and have enjoyed a couple of her adult thrillers as well but her books always seem to be missing a little something for me in the end. It’s kind of weird because while I’m reading I’m usually engrossed and entertained but when I finish I often find myself thinking, that’s it? So I’m not sure but I do know that I always end up finishing her books, I just find them to be a little lacking in some way.

I’m a sucker for any book that explores motherhood, even more so if the book is a thriller so I was hooked from the start here. The setting of a ritzy private preschool also appealed to me and then three women with secrets is basically my catnip. Like I said earlier, I’m always reeled in enough to read SS books quickly, but I think what was missing for me here was a more mature quality to make this feel like an adult thriller. I think where this author shines is her YA books so maybe next time I read her I just need to remember to go into it pretending it’s YA and I’ll like it more? Who knows honestly, I’m sure I’ll read her books in the future she does come up with some interesting premises. I think if you don’t mind a juvenile feeling “thriller” this may work for you, because her style is compelling for sure and while some parts of this were easy for me to predict I definitely didn’t see everything coming either. Clearly I have mixed feelings.

This one was a page turner for sure! I read it quite quickly, wanting to know what was going to happen to Piper, Andrea, Lauren and Ronnie. Soon after I really got into the first third of the book, I was getting major Big Little Lies vibes with the California seacoast setting and mom drama, except add more about a special preschool. I am giving this one three and a half stars if I could, as I felt like there were a few more minor characters who I could use a random chapter or two about to understand their background and story line. I felt like this could have played out a bit better if using information about them. Overall, I wasn't super surprised by the ending as I had figured part of it out, but was pleasantly surprised about how each of the main character's story lines played out. I was almost going to rate the story lower as I was not into the characters "flaws". There was a little bit of gaslighting, a little bit of unreliable narrator, a lot of secrets that should have just been told from the start, but it all was done well and weaved into the ending quite well.

Thank you to Netgalley and Dutton Publishing for the opportunity to read this in exchange for my honest opinion!

When the school director at an elite pre-school is attacked, three new moms try to take on the mystery. However all three of them have secrets of their own.

I love dramatic books about elite school moms! The main characters were all so likeable and friendly. Usually I like these type stories where I get to know the bitchy moms instead. The best part ended up being the mothers though. I want them as friends! I wasn’t very invested in the mystery and it was a bit predictable, but still an enjoyable read. I also loved that there was a trans main character!

“Plans are in place. Weeds are going to be pulled. You’re this close to coming out of the woods, to reclaiming your kingdom. And you’re not about to let it slip between your fingers.”

Safe In My Arms comes out 7/27.

Andrea, Ronnie, and Lauren have all enrolled their children in the affluent private school called Silver Swans. They soon find themselves in a web of mystery after an attempted murder of the principal of the school occurs. Each woman clearly has secrets from the past and someone begins threatening to expose each of them. Who is threatening them and who is responsible for the murder attempt?

Sara Shepard is a #1 best selling author and it shows in her latest novel! The writing is fantastic and I suspect this book will be very successful. The storyline feels very current is executed flawlessly. I think this book would appeal to a similar audience as “Pretty Little Liars” did. I would recommend this book.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Penguin Group Dutton for my ARC in exchange for my honest review.

This review will be posted to my Instagram Blog (@coffee.break.book.reviews) on July 27, 2021..

DNF @ 20%. I have been trying to push through this one for 4 days now, and I think it's me and not the book. Definitely give this one a try if you enjoy secrets and mommy drama.

I really liked how this was written - alternating perspectives, secrets that aren't overly teased, characters with really interesting backstories. I REALLY liked how these women were more than just mothers. I feel like so often stories like this get stuck on that aspect of a woman's identity, and that's all that she is. These women were really complex and while their children were part of their lives, they weren't the sole part.

I also really enjoyed having a trans woman as one of the main characters. I haven't seen reviews on her yet, and how accurately she was portrayed, but I enjoyed her story and her relationship with the other women.

I didn't rate it higher because some of the twists I thought were pretty obvious, and when revealed were handled really melodramatically - so it became more like a soap opera and less realistic. I also thought the exposition at the end went on forever, so after the big reveal it definitely dragged.

But overall I really enjoyed it, and am glad I got a chance to get an early copy! Thanks #netgalley and #dutton!

3.5 Stars. After Piper, the principal of an elite preschool, is attacked, three of the mothers are suspects. Andrea is single mom, who has run away from her east coast family. Lauren is secretly struggling with postpartum rage, and Ronnie is in hiding with her daughter from a dangerous man. Together, they begin to investigate in hopes of figuring out what Piper is hiding, and who is actually at fault for the attack.

Each character in the story has secrets, and they are committed to keeping their secrets hidden. It took me a little while to get into the story, but I was intrigued by the mysterious notes these seemingly “outcast” mothers were receiving. As the book continued, there was a lot going on, so the story felt a bit jumbled and chaotic at times. I liked the different points of view of the various main characters, and the elite nursery school setting was an interesting one. Overall, while I did not think any of the “twists” were too shocking, it was an enjoyable read.

Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Group Dutton for an advance copy of this novel in exchange for my honest review.

This is the first book I've read by this author, so I wasn't sure what to expect. I just finished it and based on the epilogue and author's note, I deduced that the author's message is that it is hard to be a good mother, but I just didn't feel like this book portrayed that in a relatable way. The characters all had flaws, which is understandable, but they also all had way too many secrets. While I was compassionate to these flaws, I honestly felt like it was too much. There were too many secrets and too much going on to really be believable. I liked that the three main characters became friends because they were new to a posh preschool and felt left out. As a mom, I remember how hard it can be to fit in with other moms, so I appreciated that aspect of the book. I'm having a hard time rating this book, but am going with three stars because it was suspenseful and the story was good. Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Penguin Group Dutton for gifting me a digital ARC of the latest book by Sara Shepard - 4 stars!

Silver Swans Preschool is THE place to send your child - if you can afford the up to $20,000/year tuition. And of course everyone from Piper, the director, to the moms are all instagram perfect. But three moms - Andrea, Lauren and Ronnie - meet at the welcome breakfast and each find kindred spirits. They are each keeping secrets - although notes in their kids' backpacks the first day make them wonder if those secrets are out. When the director is attacked and the three friends are suspects, the moms really need to trust each other.

This was a good mystery to sit down with on a rainy day - there were lots of twists and plenty of goings on in this neighborhood. It was also a great look into parenthood - the struggles especially in the days of social media. We as women are too quick to put blame on ourselves and hold those feelings and secrets close. Would be a great book for a mom's book club!

This would be my pick as Sara Shepard's best work for adults yet. Three moms with big secrets end up coming together at their kids' nursery school orientation... and drama is to come. I found all three main characters really interesting, and the whodunit aspect of this had excellent and reasonable suspects.

I unfortunately couldn't get through this one. I really enjoy Sara Shepard, especially her adult novels. This one however, I just couldn't find my stride. I had a hard time picking it up and getting into the story. I read a good 5-6 chapters. I may go back and give it another go. Hopefully others find it more to their liking. :)

In Safe in My Arms, Shepard throws out too many red herring characters right out of the gate that are impossible to keep track of, and the story never quite recovers. She relies on the exhausted, overdone, and familiar trope of a woman who can't rely on her memory and comes off as hysterical and unreasonable. And although this is a high-drama type mystery, the characters are exaggerated and unlikable, with the exception of Andrea (refreshing to have a trans character as one of the main characters in a novel).

Based on the Epilogue and Author's Note, the theme of the book is that it is a challenge to be a mother, to be the "best" or "perfect," but that you should accept where you are and cut yourself some slack. But it is confusing that the vehicle for these messages are characters that could not only benefit from hearing this, but are terrible role models.

Unfortunately, Shepard misses the mark with this one. (But I love her writing and will definitely read anything she publishes.)

It took me a little while to get into Safe in My Arms. But once I got to know the characters a bit, they actually were a pretty interesting group of ladies. We have Lauren, who left a successful career to be a stay at home mom, who now suffers from postpartum rage (who knew that was a thing???). Then we have Ronnie who makes money by kind of cleaning people homes (or just pushing a vacuum cleaner) topless. Also interesting. Then we have Andrea, who was probably my favorite of the ladies. And she hasn’t always been a lady.

Of course we still have all the other pretentious parents and from the start it seems like both the other parents (and the principal) kind of hate this trio. And they start getting threatening notes. And really the anonymous notes is where any parallel to Shepard’s Pretty Little Liars stops. These women may be offbeat, but they are confident and they know who they are. Together, no one can touch them.

Safe in My Arms was a refreshing spin on the same old story of the women who don’t quite fit in with the perfect PTA moms at school. I appreciated all the characters and they felt genuine. There’s not a ton of mystery here, but a bit of intrigue. I would have given it a slightly higher rating, but the ending felt the tiniest bit Scooby Doo to me.

Special thanks to Netgalley and Dutton for an advanced e-galley in exchange for my honest review. This one is today, July 27.

I really wanted to like this book but found myself ditching it half way through. I just couldn’t get into the storyline and didn’t care for any of the characters. I usually love Sara Shepard’s book’s but this one was just a miss for me.

Piper left a toxic relationship, moved to Raisin Beach with her young son. Struggling, she stumbled upon a nursery school in need of a Director - and she never looked back. Until her attempted murder.
It's one of those painful school events - a brunch to start the new school year at the swanky, super expensive Silver Swans Nursery. Moms already established in cliques. Andrea takes out some Bailey's for her coffee. Ronnie and Lauren drift over - also looking lost and alone. Each has her own secrets.
Lauren struggles with post partum rage; Andrea is transitioning; Ronnie escaped Jarrod.
These women - each have something to offer; we can all sympathize, seeing ourselves in their issues and complex lives.
This plot is well written, great suspense and the ending was well done.

A thank you to Netgalley for sharing the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Fact: Pretty Little Liars was one of my go-to guilty pleasures back when I was a Teen Librarian and I totally binged. Perhaps that, coupled with the fact that I also totally binge on psychological thrillers, my expectatons were a tad too high and I've become more critical over time. There's nothing wrong here and it's a fast, easy, and entertaining enough beach read, but there's nothing really new here nor were any of the characters a real standout. Don't regret reading it, but hoped for a bit more.