After We Were Stolen is an absolute MUST READ. It was heavy, powerful & gut wrenching, but also so riveting, beautiful, and redeeming. My heart is full. I could not put this down.

Thank you SOURCEBOOKS Landmark and NetGalley for allowing me to read this early!

What a SOLID 4 star book. What a gut wrenching story from the first to the last page. Every twist and turn took me in different directions. The writing was right to the point with the right amount of detail. The characters were well written though I wish there was more backstory on all of the family members. I found myself flying through this book because I just wanted more, more, more.

Beautifully written, heartbreaking story.
I was really pulling for Avery the whole time. Great character growth. Likable characters. Amazing plot, good build up and climax.
The writing was a little jumpy or choppy at times, which made me need to go back and re-read certain paragraphs but could’ve been because I was distracted or reading an e-book.
Thank you to NetGalley and Sourcebooks Landmark for my ARC

Terrifying. Avery grew up in a cult and didn’t know anything else. She was brought up to believe her family were the chosen people and the people on the outside were dying. When a fire helps her and her brother Cole to escape everything changes and nothing is as it should have been.

This book will have you hooked from the very beginning and asking yourself how cults like this really exist, because apparently they do. While their escape is traumatic it is also a triumph of overcoming all that could have destroyed them.

I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own. Thank you NetGalley Brooke Beyfuss and Sourcebooks Landmark for this edition and hearing my honest review. Looking forward to reading more with you
#partner

*Thank you to Sourcebooks Landmark, Brooke Beyfuss, and Netgalley for providing me with an E-ARC of "After We were Stolen" in exchange for an honest review *

I REALLY love cult books. People escaping cults, attempting to escape, ect. LOVE ALL OF IT. So of course I requested "After We Were Stolen". This was a binge-read book, so for sure set aside time to devour this!

After We Were Stolen is an absolute MUST READ. It was heavy, powerful & gut wrenching, but also so riveting, beautiful, and redeeming. My heart is full. I couldn’t put this one down. ❤️

I knew after the first two pages that I needed a hard copy—so I pre-ordered a physical copy!

I am amazed at this perfect debut by Brooke Beyfuss! Both stunning writing and thrilling originality. I already cannot wait for her second release!

Full disclosure: I have this weird obsession with cults. I have no idea why, I just find them absolutely fascinating. So, of course, when I heard about this book, I knew I had to read it. I thought the concept was brilliant, and I loved seeing Avery and Cole after they escaped from the cult and tried to make sense of the world around them.

With that being said, I thought the execution needed a little bit of work. Cole's family shows up, and he literally leaves that day to go with them. There's no mental health professionals or social workers there to help him, he's immediately thrown from the cult to a family he doesn't even remember. It just wasn't realistic. Additionally, I felt very indifferent when it came to the twist at the end. I should have been shocked, I wanted to be shocked, but I found that I just didn't care. I'm not entirely sure why, I wish I could be more specific, but it just didn't do anything for me. It is worth noting that this is the author's debut book, so I honestly think with time, these issues will be worked out in future books.

Oh. Em. Gee. First off, I'm so thankful for being able to read an ARC of this stellar novel thanks to NetGalley.
I couldn't put this book down and I think I've told all of my friends to preorder this book immediately, before I even finished the book.
It's about a young woman, Avery, who grew up on a compound with people she's always called her family. One fateful night, the compound burns to the ground, Avery and Cole escape into the woods. Being raised to fear everything and everyone from the outside, they hid and survived on their own. Eventually being picked up and it's discovered that they had been kidnapped 15 years earlier by cult leaders. This story is that of Avery as she figures out how to survive in the modern world, as she figures out what really happened the night of the fire and if her and Cole were the only ones that survived. This book was an absolutely thrilling read and I can't believe it was a debut novel. I am definitely looking forward to future books by Brooke!

Thank you to NetGalley and Sourcebooks Landmark for this digital ARC.

The book hooks you from the very beginning. Who doesn't enjoy reading about cults? Fascinating book.

4 stars
I went into this book blind, only relying on the title and cover for my interest.
This hooked me from the very first page. It is very well written and very emotional. I will definitely be keeping an eye on this author.

This review will be posted on June 19 to Goodreads, and to retail sites on the publication date.

Most teenage girls don’t live outside all alone, but most teenage girls aren’t like Avery. Along with the rest of her family, Avery’s main focus in life is on survival. Avery tries to support her family’s cause—until the cost seems too great. Fortunately, it seems that there is a way out for Avery and one of her brothers, Cole. Together, Avery and Cole learn things that their parents never wanted them to discover.

If I had to sum up this novel, I would describe it as chilling. The ideas are grief-laden and intriguing. Brooke Beyfuss begins the novel with a content warning, which is a respectful move that allows her to dig into the darkness her fictional world creates responsibly, which I greatly appreciate.

I thought about this book for days after I read it. The questions it makes you ask about Avery aren’t fun to answer, but they are engaging. This book was almost 5 stars for me; the only thing that held me back where a few scenes that I felt were just too confusing. I think Beyfuss wanted them to be confusing, but I was a bit too lost in those few moments. I read and re-read to try and get my bearings, which ended up temporarily taking me out of the story. Overall, I think this is a compelling read, and I want to read more of Beyfuss’s work in the future!

Thank you to NetGalley and Sourcebooks Landmark for an advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review.

Damn, this story was heart wrenching.
A new strong, emotional debut novel that had my emotions all over the place!
I don't think I can properly describe just how powerful this story truly is.
Survival in the truest form. Recovering from hell,
I couldn't stop reading Brooke's words. The way she wrote this remarkable story, it was spell binding.
How she made this her debut is brilliance!
This is one I will be recommending to everyone who is will listen to me.

Sourcebooks Landmark,
Thank you for this eARC!
I will post my review to B&N, platforms, blog and Waterstone close to pub date!

This ARC was provided to me via Kindle, SOURCEBOOKS Landmark and by #NetGalley. Opinions expressed are completely my own.

I couldn’t put it down from the moment I started reading. I didn’t put it down until I finished.

Riviting and emotional. Had me routing for Avery every step of the way. Tells the story of a young girl born into cult life and the struggle to escape. Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read and review.

This book hooked me from the start. Who isn't fascinated by cults? I enjoyed the character development and the strength that was shown in the main character Avery. I (surprisingly) enjoyed that the ending wasn't tied up in a nice little bow. All your questions were answered but I also wanted more. Ultimately this is a story about resilience. What we will do to survive. Finding the strength to push past fears that were long engrained in our soul.

I love a book that hooks you right from the very first page. Books about cults will ALWAYS interest me but this one was way more than that. Exceptional writing, well thought out, I REALLY enjoyed this book and will be making everyone I know read it once it’s released!

What a fresh book, emotionally written from the perspective of Avery who grew up in what she lated learned was a cult. She knew she wanted to leave and then an unexpected fire made that possible but only Avery and her brother Cole escaped. They were taught that they were the chosen ones but soon learn that everything they were taught was a lie. Caught stealing after weeks on the run their whole world changes in the blink of an eye.

They learn from police that their parents kidnapped them as young children and sadly for Avery, her parents cannot be found and she is left in case to basically learn how to live in this world. She is separated from Cole whose birth mother says cannot have any contact with her.

It's well written and just shows the aftermath of finding out everything you thought to be true was a lie. Having to be a part of the world where you know nothing and have no one. Her world was shattered and now she has to learn to live. It's a story of resilience, vulnerability and redemption.

I absolutely loved this book from the moment I picked it up. Usually books can take anywhere from 50-100 pages to actually pick up and hook you, but this one got me right away! I felt for Avery from the very beginning. I did find myself craving more of life on the compound, but once Avery starts to navigate life outside the compound, we learn more and more about the truth. Finding out the truth about the fire did surprise me! I really liked Cole’s character, but was sad to see how Noah evolved. I guess there’s really no great happy ending for these characters. They suffered great trauma and I loved reading their journey. Thank you for the ARC!

Nineteen-year-old Avery grew up in a family of survivalists who believed they were “the chosen ones” who would survive after the rest of the world was gone. They spent their days preparing for the end in their compound in the woods. But when the compound mysteriously catches fire one night, Avery and her brother Cole manage to escape the cult and find civilization outside. After they are caught shoplifting, the police discover they were actually kidnapped as children by the cult leaders who they believed to be their parents.

Because Cole is underage, he is reunited with his biological family across the country, and Avery is taken to a women’s shelter to begin figuring out life on her own. After realizing everything she’s ever known was a lie and unsure who to trust, she endures the memories of her physical and emotional abuse alone. The details of the fire haunt her waking and sleeping hours as she tries to untangled the truth about what really happened that night.

Deeply emotional and suspenseful, Brook Breyfuss has written a captivating novel that stands out amid other cult/survivalist fiction. It didn’t surprise me to learn that the author received her BA in psychology—the narrative is strongest when exploring the characters’ emotions in the aftermath of the fire and discovery of their true identities. The book is an exploration on how we define love and family, the forms loss can take, and how wildly our perceptions of truth can differ. I especially admire how Breyfuss handled delicate issues of physical and sexual abuse. It felt appropriately jarring but never unnecessary or for shock value.

I did feel that there were some plot holes in the story and some details that required me to suspend my disbelief. For example, the issue of inbreeding is referenced in the novel as something the cult “parents” want to avoid, but this issue doesn’t make logical sense once we learn that the children were actually kidnapped. Also Avery’s seeming knowledge of what might be outside the compound based on what she learned to read as a 5-year-old seems like a stretch, but because the plot is less of a focus than the characters and their emotions, I was happy not to scrutinize these discrepancies too hard.

Be prepared to read this book in one sitting and then think about it long after you finish.

Thank you SOURCEBOOKS Landmark and NetGalley for an ARC E-book in exchange for an honest review.

Avery and Cole live with their "prepper" family in an old warehouse compound in Kansas. Avery is tasked with a new role by her parents, however shortly after the compound is destroyed in a fire, with Avery and Cole narrowly escaping. They scrape by on the streets until eventually being caught by police, where it is discovered they were both kidnapped by their so called parents. Cole is swiftly taken back to his parents with Avery left behind to pick up the pieces of her life, figuring out who she really is while simultaneously dealing with severe PTSD.

This book did a really good job of presenting what it would be like to be part of a cult and surviving on the outside after its destruction. The psychological trauma Avery was dealing with was well presented and very realistic feeling. I appreciated how the book didn't elaborate on everything about the cult and didn't wrap up everything neatly by the end, while still leaving the reader hopeful that Avery will have continued success on her road to recovery.

Of course this book deals with some heavy topics but the author thoughtfully included a trigger warning preface.

After We Were Stolen leaves the reader with a lot to process and worth through, and is certainly a strong debut for author Brooke Beyfuss. There were a few details I'd have preferred a bit more elaboration on, which is why I rated it 4 stars, but this is a worthwhile read.

Thank you to Sourcebooks Landmark and NetGalley for the electronic ARC copy of this novel for review.