read if you're looking for:
-Maine setting
-debut author!
-a little mystery
-short, bingeable read

Thank you NetGalley for sending me a copy in exchange for an honest review. Karla jones is a debut author, and I would read her next book..
This book, Cartwheels in the Dark was a poignant story of a girl who was from a poor family in Maine. Her mother gave her up when she was ten by driving her to the center of town and told her don’t ever come back home, you need to get a new mommy.
Fast forward decades later, is quite a tale that you should read. I gave it 3.5 stars but rounded up to 4 since it’s a debut author. The plot and storyline were not always plausible, but then again families are dysfunctional and the unbelievable can be the truth.

Cartwheels In The Dark by Karla Jordan

This story pulled at my heart from the beginning to the end of the book. Kallie Douglas is on her way back to Maine to go to a funeral for the women who saved her at 10 years old. Kallie emotional is not ready to return because her past is there and she is not ready to face it. Everything goes out of control soon as she lands in Maine from Virginia.

This book is about family despair,trauma, alcoholism, abandonment, reunions, and finding the strength in oneself to do the unthinkable to face your past head on putting your life in danger. Kallie learns a whole lot about herself her family and new friendships develop as the pages turn. This story will grip you from the start pull you in and the pages flip so fast to get to the end. Some of what occurs is predictable but the beautiful part and the most important part is watching Kallie push through everything to bring justice to her past.

This story is believable and in my mind possible. I know some do not think this but all kinds of secrets happen in dysfunctional families and what one might perceive as normal until you dive in and see the ugly truth of what lies in the story that traumatized adults recall about there childhood.

I love books that make you feel something that grips you so hard that you pray for the best possible scenario for the MC in a story. You may find a kernel of truth between the words you read. I honestly cannot wait to see what else Karla Jordan will write in her next book.

I recommend this book to anyone who loves a good story that pulls you in and has you flipping pages fast because you are racing to get to the end to find hope in the mist of despair.

Thank you Netgalley and Karla Jordan for a free copy of the book for an honest review.

Cartwheels in the Dark is a dramatic and emotional novel dealing with dysfunctional family life. This is a page-turning mystery you will not want to miss, First book, Karla really knew what she was doing. Her characters came through as real people. Her story flowed and was easy to read. She caused me to be emotionally entwined with Kallie's anguish and her predicaments. Can't wait to read more from this Karla.

Thank you NetGalley for the opportunity to read in exchange for an honest review

I thoroughly enjoyed this book! What a fabulous debut novel. The characters were very well written and I felt invested in them. Looking forward to more reads by this author.

Cartwheels in the Dark is Karla Jordan’s debut novel. This is a story of family dysfunction, especially with alcoholic parents, the people it effects and how those children are capable of becoming functioning and contributing members of Society. As most others that reviewed this book have stated, one critical theme is you must confront your past to be able to move forward and heal.

This is a book full of action with mystery sprinkled in at the end. The interactions between the protagonists versus the antagonists was a little too exaggerated, and for me personally as the reader, it took something away from the story.

I found the story a bit too convenient with certain events and too unrealistic to be believable. With that being said, I truly believe that this author will continue to find her writing voice with each new book she writes and I do plan and hope to read the new book she’s working on.

Thank you to #netgalley and to #KarlaJordan for allowing me to read an ARC of this book. All opinions expressed above are my own.

Cartwheels in the Dark is a dramatic and emotional novel dealing with dysfunctional family life. This is a page-turning mystery you will not want to miss. Thanks to author Karla Jordan, publisher Independently Published, and to NetGalley for the opportunity to read a copy of this book.

What a great debut novel!!!! I would be lying if I didn't say I was a little hesitant and a lot intrigued and so, so glad I picked up this book.

This was an emotional, heartbreaking road to the ultimate redemption. I don't want to give anything away, so I will say there are some wonderful characters, a couple truly evil/twisted characters, heartbreak, happiness, tears, friendship, and the best part, a bond that never should have been severed, but was ultimately repaired.

I look forward to more of Karla's books.

#CartWheelsInTheDark #NetGalley #Kallie #Amy #Adam #Cam #Family #TwistedMama #PerfectEnding

My thanks to the publisher, as well as to @NetGalley, for the opportunity to read and review an early copy of Cartwheels in the Dark.

"soon it becomes clear that in order to move on with her life, she must find the strength to confront long-buried family secrets - and come face to face with her past."

I'm afraid I'm going to be the outlier for Cartwheels In The Dark. I just checked Goodreads and every written review (18 at this point in time) is five stars. So, take this review with a grain of salt because it might be a case of "It's not you ... it's me!!"

I struggled with the effusive way the characters consistently spoke to each other. It felt odd to have ALL of the good guys ALL speaking in the same manner, complete with an exclamation point after many of the sentences. It also felt odd having ALL of the bad guys seeming to speak in the same "white trash" manner, as well. Lastly, the ending of the book felt unrealistic to me.

Having said all of that, however, Cartwheels In The Dark was a nice effort from debut author, Karla Jordan, and I think Ms. Jordan's heart was in the right place!

This was an amazingly good debut novel. I was literally hooked from the first chapter when we get a look into what happened when kallie was ten . Twenty years later she's headed back to Maine and confronts the nightmares she has about her early childhood when her "mother" abandoned her. I couldn't put this book down once I started reading. I couldn't stop

After twenty years, Kallie Douglas is headed back to Somerfield, Maine, the one place on earth she promised herself she'd never return. She isn't staying long, just long enough to say goodbye to an old friend who has passed away and to take care of the estate left in her care. But when an old newspaper clipping surfaces detailing a missing person's case near her family's home, Kallie suddenly finds herself haunted by a series of dark memories and unsettling questions she can't answer.

This was a fabulous book, I did not realise this was a debut novel and I will definitely be following this author from now on. Wonderful characters that bring the whole story to life. I really felt I got to know them as the book progressed and I really cared about what happened to them. The story takes you on a journey that create many emotions in you as a reader and that is what made this book so special.

I highly recommend this book, absolutely brilliant and encourage all to take a chance on this, I am sure you will not regret it. Thank you to Netgally and the publisher for allowing me to review this book , it was a pleasure.