When I normally listen to an audiobook, it takes me about a week or so to complete as I only listen to it whilst doing other activities. However, when I started to listen to The Girl From The Sea, I was immediately hooked from the first chapter and had to listen to it as quickly as possible to find out how the story concluded and I completed the book in little more than 24 hours! It is fair to say I thoroughly enjoyed it, and would highly recommend it.
Mia wakes up on a beach and does not recall who she is or how she got there. She is soon claimed by her boyfriend, Piers, who has reported her missing. But what will she uncover about herself, her past and how she came to be on the beach, will her memory ever come back in full? Will she like what she discovers?
A riveting read which deserves to be rereleased and read by so many people.
Thanks to NetGalley for an audiobook version of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I'm picky when it comes to audiobooks, mainly because a lot of narrators don't get the inflection the same as how I read, or the pace is much too slow. This was right on point, which made it enjoyable, especially because the plot did drag a little in the beginning. There's enough mystery there that my interest was engaged from the start, however, and I finished within a couple days.

I'm not quite sure how I feel about the end and the revelations, but I'm still thinking about it, so that makes it effective to me. I'd still recommend it.

Did not see the end coming!! Even though the story started off kind of slow I was very much engaged in the main characters life and her trying to get her memories back after losing them in an accident. We got to learn along with her about her life and the important people in it and those who might try to squeeze their way back in. What I thought was the end I really enjoyed and probably would have rated around a 3.5 but then…….there’s more! Definitely worth the read!

Thank you Net Galley for an audio ARC of The Girl from the Sea by Shalini Boland. This book was enthralling from the first sentence. It drew me in, Mia wakes up in the hospital with total amnesia. She doesn't even recognize herself in the mirror, Enjoy this book as the story unfolds.

Who to Trust?

A psychological novel about amnesia and remembering.
A young woman discovered on the beach wet, and unable to talk, by a dog named Poppy and an older lady. She tries to remember who she is but cannot. She is taken to the hospital and her body recovers but her mind does not. She cannot remember who she is, where she lives or any other detail about her life.

A boyfriend claims her at the hospital and takes her home. Apparently she is rich, has a beautiful home and a boyfriend named Piers. Looks like she has an ideal life...then she starts having flashbacks and remembering little bits.

She meets her mother and sister who apparently are not fond of her over her inheritance, her boyfriend Piers is becoming annoying and she is falling in love with Jack the rowing instructor. Her neighbor hates her and she doesn't know why.

If she could only remember! Be careful what you wish for.

The narrator did a good job. It was well enunciated and the voice was pleasant to listen to.
The story is a bit slow in spots and also a bit predictable. The character is a bit of a drama queen. The ending was a bit of a twist, but rather hurried compared to the first part of the book. It was an okay read but it was not the best I have read from this author.

Thanks to Shalini Boland for writing the story, to Katie Villa for doing a good narration, to Bookouture audio for publishing it and to NetGalley for making it available to me to listen and review.

3.5 stars

A woman washes up on a beach, with no idea who she was or how she got there. Retrograde amnesia was what the Doctor's told her. Amnesia which was most likely caused by trauma. When a man shows up and claims he is her boyfriend, everyone is relieved. The woman with no name now has one-she is Mia James.

When Mia gets home, she has no recollection of living there. People/friends are happy to see her, and her boyfriend is attentive, but Mia still is uneasy. Imagine how strange and unsettling it must be. To have no memory of your life or people in your life. Everyone knows you and has stories about you, shared memories, but you have no memory of them.

As Mia begins to adjust, she learns that there are those in her life with secrets. Those who like that Mia does not remember the past. Those who hope she does not regain her memory.

This was a fast read which quite a few twists and turns. I listened to the audiobook, and it made for interesting reading/listening. This book was a great escape! I quite enjoy escapism reading (who doesn’t). This was an entertaining fast paced ride. This book kept my attention, had me invested in wanting to know how things were going to end and wondering if Mia would ever get her memory back.

Boland doesn't disappoint.

Thank you to Bookouture Audio and NetGalley who provided me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All the thoughts and opinions are my own.

Charting the story of Mia James, a woman who's found on a beach, unable to remember her name or the events leading up to her discovery, the narrative follows Mia's journey as she tries to rediscover who she is and what happened to her.

Filled with plenty of characters who you will love to hate, or at least wildly distrust. The author turns things on their head towards the end, showing a completely different perspective to the events of Mia's accident, as well as perfectly tying in the haunting imagery of a woman who provides much tension throughout.

Offering an interesting look at familial and romantic relationships and the impact large inheritances have on them. This is a great story that'll make you question your initial opinions about the key characters and what it is acceptable to do for love.

A great thriller, filled with many gripping twists and turns, I heartedly recommend this book, especially listening to it as I did.

This was a twisty tale and I seem to be on a roll with these twisty ones. This one was about a woman who was found after she was apparently either attacked or had an accident and in the water and now she when she wakes up in the hospital she has amnesia. When a man comes to claim her and he says he is her boyfriend and gives her name as Mia she doesn't recognize him but she goes home with him, or to her home, but still has no memories. Slowly she starts to piece things back but she never feels comfortable with him and when she does start to remember she doesn't like what she does remember. Who was she really and who hurt her?

5⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
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Thankyou #netgalley #shaliniboland #bookcoutureaudio for a arc copy of the book for a honest review.
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⚠️Obsession
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What a page turner. It was a slow pace at first, of course being Mia forgot what happen to her and finding herself again .
I thought it will be some kind of ‘I know the ending will be’ as when she went to her parent and doesn’t show any photos of her when she was little but I was wrong .
The end was a quite of a twist .
Mia’s character was like she doesn’t know if she is bad or a good person and you can’t judge easily till the end.
This is a great book🙌
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Oh yes! And the narrator was spot on too! She just share the story like she was in there not like just reading it.
A whooping 5⭐️ For her:)
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❤️ Shaye.reads

A young woman is found washed up on a beach, she has no idea how she got there. Even worse she has no idea who she actually is. Following a police appeal she is identified as Mia James. As Mia tries to piece her life back together she is repeatedly frustrated as her memories refuse to return and she has a strange feeling that something in her life isn't quite right.

Shalini Boland has written a mystery story that covers a wide range of emotions and these are conveyed well by the narrator Katie Villa. Initially you understand Mia's nervousness when being introduced to her boyfriend, the fact that he knows everything about her and she knows nothing about him.

Mia's frustration and anger come across very well, being constantly molly-coddled when she doesn't class herself as being ill. Alongside this are the constant questions that she knows she should know the answers to but her mind is simply blank.

As the story progresses uncertainty creeps in as Mia isn't sure who she can trust. Do the people around her have her best interests at heart or are they simply using her? There is a growing sense of unease that leads to a shocking conclusion.

Mia James comes to on the cold, wet sand of a beach in Christchurch, fully clothed, soaking wet and freezing cold. She is found by a dog walker and subsequently taken to the hospital. Mia doesn’t know what happened to her, but for that matter – Mia doesn’t even know her own name, how old she is, where she lives… And when she finally takes a look in the mirror – all she sees is a stranger staring back at her! Retrograde amnesia is the official diagnosis from the doctors due to a head injury. As the police begin to investigate to get to the bottom of what happened and who this woman is – a man eventually comes forward to claim her after a social media campaign manages to confirm Mia’s identity. Apparently, he’s her boyfriend – and it turns out Mia James is a very wealthy woman – very wealthy, with a luxurious apartment and a gorgeous boyfriend, Piers. Piers does his best to fill in the blanks for Mia, but she feels she just can’t connect to him now and things don’t seem to be adding up. The more Mia finds out about her life, the more she doesn’t know who she can trust.

I was lucky enough to be gifted the audiobook for this one and the narrator, Katie Villa did an excellent job! The story moves along very quickly, building suspense steadily as it goes. I found myself not being able to switch off from listening and finished the book in record time. The double twist at the end really sealed the deal for me and made this book the first five star read I’ve had in quite a while.

My thanks to the author and Bookouture Audio for my advance copy to review via Netgalley. This book will be available for purchase from 13th May 2022!


Five ‘unforgetable’ stars

I am absolutely speechless... The author completely and utterly bamboozled me and herded me exactly the way I was meant to go. I thought I was clever and had everything figured out but was proven wrong time and time again— in the best possible way.

From the beginning, everyone is a suspect and the main character is sympathetic. As a victim of nearly drowning and suffering amnesia, you root for her and want her to be protected from anything or anyone that might cause her harm. Whether it be her pushy boyfriend, greedy sister, estranged mother, cold neighbor... Who is it that knows the truth of the fateful night? Who is the cause of all this trauma?

Even to the very last page, I was completely reeled in to every word. This was a wild ride with an ending that kept my heart palpitating and wondering if there is even a "side" that is completely in the right.

"I finally know who I am."

Note to future readers: Accept new beginnings as a gift and do not look back.

I received a free review copy from the publisher, via Netgalley - thank you!

I loved this, and certainly did NOT expect the ending. Mia wakes up with amnesia. She was found in the sea and
has no idea who she is, or who any of her family and friends are. Oh, and she's also super wealthy. I thought I saw the direction the story was going, but I was absolutely wrong - talk about red herrings.

This was a super fast read (listen). I'm not sure if it's a short book, or whether the writing, the story and the narrator made it so easy to listen to that it felt like it was a short book. Just the type of book I love - a fast paced, twisty psychological thriller.

t started when a young woman washed up on the sand with no memory of how she got there. She has no memory of who she is or where she’s from. Then Piers claims her as his girlfriend. He introduces her to her life. She doesn’t recognize herself or Piers. She goes through the motions of trying to be Mia, but she’s haunted by hallucinations of a woman. The truth is her dreams.
Her case was ruled an accident, yet Mia has unsettling feelings of danger.
Mia sets out to jog her memories when she visits her mom and sister. It’s when she meets Jack that she finds pieces of herself.

This is a character driven story with Mia trying to trigger memories by interacting with people who know the old Mia. It’s a case of Mia trying to regain her memories and get on with her life.

I listened using the Netgalley app. This is an unabridged audiobook perfect for readers who like to follow along with the ebook.
Katie Villa narrated the entirety of The Girl From the Sea. Her performance of Mia and Jack was superb. I enjoyed how smooth she changed her tone to match that of a male character. While this was a solo performance she narrated in a way that had me feeling as if it was a duet.

Finding out who the old Mia was thrilling and exciting. This was quite the page turner.
Ever since Shalini Boland switched to writing psychological thrillers I’ve become obsessed. I always enjoyed her writing voice, but she shines bright in this genre.
It’s hard to believe I read this book in 2018 and I’m just now revisiting it because Shalini made an audiobook. My first introduction to Shalini Boland was in 2014 where I read Outside her post apocalyptic book.

Name of Book: The Girl from the Sea
Author: Shalini Boland
Publisher: Bookouture Audio
Genre: Psychological Thriller
Pub Date: May 13, 2022
My Rating: ⭐⭐⭐.5 Stars!

This is my fifth novel by author, Shalini Boland. I read "The Family Holiday" in March about six weeks ago and loved it ~ so was delighted when I saw that this older novel has been rereleased.

Story starts whenMai James was found on the shore of Beach in Dorset. She has no idea what happened, in fact, she doesn’t know who she is. While recuperating but ready to leave the hospital a handsome guy named Piers comes to take her home and states he is her boyfriend.

Her memory comes back in bits. She remembers she likes to row.
Although she doesn’t recognize her mother and sister, she meets with in hopes of getting back childhood memories. The only thing that happens is she discovers there was a big fall-out and they don’t like each other. Additionally she finds she really is not connecting with Piers. However, when she goes to the Rowing Club she feels an attachment to the Rowing Coach Jack Harrington.

Yikes! I was having a hard time with Mia and the other unlikeable nasty mouth characters
(I am a dinosaur and the nasty language gets annoying.)
Both Jack and Mia’s neighbor Matt seem nice.
~ Hmm but what’s with Suki?
I read enough psychological thrillers to know:
 Trust no one!
 Be suspicious of everyone!
 Expect twists and turns!
 There will be many secrets!
 The most obvious person didn’t do it ~ I know this author has not disappointed me in the past and she does a bit of manipulating and doesn’t give everything away too soon!

Although I am giving 3 stars, the ending was very interesting! Not completely satisfying but sure close to deserving 4 stars.

Want to thank NetGalley and Bookouture Audio for this audio eGalley. This file has been made available to me before publication in an early form for an honest professional review. Publishing Release Date scheduled for May 13, 2022.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for the opportunity to listen to this audio book in return for an honest review.
Synopsis
For fans of Gone Girl and The Girl on the Train

A chilling suspense story of wounded hearts and dark secrets.

Washed up on the beach, she can’t remember who she is. She can’t even remember her name. Turns out, she has an idyllic life – friends and family eager to fill in the blanks.

But why are they lying to her? What don’t they want her to remember?

When you don't even know who you are, how do you know who to trust?

So it didn’t come as a shock to me when I requested this title that I’d already read it, I love Shalini Bolands work, so of course I had. Normally that’s a disappointment right? Not this time. I was every bit as gripped to the fast paced thriller as I was the first time and still the conclusion of the story had me totally hooked. This is a must read you’ll love it if a psychological thriller is right up your street. #jorecommends

I loved this book! Shalini Boland just knocks it out of the park. As usual the storyline was fast and furious and made me feel like a part of the story. Characters were rich as well as amazing. Highly recommend.
Thank you NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this book

Who doesn't love a great amnesia story?!

The novel has a dark, stalking vibe to it, and I didn't trust anyone. Mia wakes on the beach after nearly drowning with no memory. It's apparent because of the bump on her head that foul play was at work, but everyone seems to think it was an accident.

Piers, her boyfriend, is almost right away a bit of a tool, and she has to deal with a boyfriend who isn't respecting the fact that he's become a stranger to her. She has no memories, except the image of a scowling, ominous woman that keeps showing up as a hallucination.

And things move on from there. Mia was a protagonist that didn't do much, and I wanted her to do more, but then that sort of wound itself into the mire of the situation. This story was a solid four, then started diving into three-star territory, but the ending bumped it to a five for me.

I liked the development and the twists.

Thank you NetGalley, the author, and the publisher for letting me read this ARC for an honest review.
This was a gripping story that sucked me right in and got me out of a reading rut. The setting was great and I like the descriptions of the water and rowing etc. The twist was good but didn't WOW me. Not that the twist itself wasn't clever, it was just the writing to reveal the twist didn't have that build up that could have made it even more juicy. Still loved it though and would recommend to lovers of thrillers and mystery.

Mia, Mia, Mia ….. What a twist!

Mia is found on the beach not knowing who she is, where she is or what happened. Her boyfriend Piers collects her from the hospital and takes her home even though he is nothing more than a stranger to her.

Mia takes her time to remember who she is, who her family and friends are and most importantly, what happened to her. She begins to get flashbacks, snippets of what may have happened to her and as her memories slowly return, the shocks keep on coming.

I tried to figure out what I thought was going to happen and I had so many theories, none of which were what actually happened at the end. This is a cleverly written story, a great thriller with many twists and shocks.

I read this book via audiobook and was gifted a copy from @bookouture via @netgalley and I found the audiobook very easy to listen to, so much so, I listened to it in a day! Perks of working from home, getting to listen to audiobooks whilst I work away.

This was my first experience of reading a book by this author and I would definitely pick up another!