Supernatural and spooky - "Wait for Me" is a great new addition to Sara Shepard's world! I've been a huge fan since Pretty Little Liars and will be recommending this title for YA readers.

Reincarnation is a topic that's always fascinated me, and that's what drew me to this novel.

Casey is an easy character to like. As a college sophomore at the age of seventeen, it's clear she's an intelligent girl. She hasn't had an easy life and has worked hard to get where she is, so it's understandable she feels out of her element dating a guy from a prominent wealthy family. Her initial glimpses of Becky's life intrigued me, but then everything fell into place quickly and conveniently. I felt like chunks of pages were missing.

While it's an interesting plot and has received loads of positive reviews, this book just wasn't for me.

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me to read an ARC of Wait for Me by Sara Shepard!

I have read a number of books by this author and I found this one a quick, easy read. The main character Casey is 17 and a sophomore in college. She starts hearing voices and travels to another town in order to rest and relax. There she meets a boy that she instantly connects with and feels as though she already knows him. There are twists and turns like with all of Shepard’s books and while I didn’t love the ending, I would recommend this book to young adults.

I enjoyed the authors other books. I could not get into this one. This book wasn’t for me.

ARC received via NetGalley.

#netgalleyarc I really enjoyed this book. It was a quick but thrilling read that kept my attention through out its entirety. There were a lot of twists and turns and this was definitely an attention grabbing story.

Wait for Me is a book whose genre is hard to define, part-romance, part-supernatural, part-mystery. These elements all work really well together and delivery something that I haven’t seen a lot. The elements of past-lives add something fresh and exciting to what might have otherwise been just another mystery. I found this story heartwarming, sweet and a whole lot of fun to read. I didn’t know what to expect going and only picked this up as I’m a fan of the Pretty Little Liars tv show and wanted to read something by the author. I’m really glad I did as the author has a lovely writing style and weaves a clever, tender and yet still thrilling story. Thank you to Sara Shepard, Union Square & Co and Netgalley for an advanced e-book.

✨Book Review ✨

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.5/ 5

*I was provided this book free of charge by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review*

When I was approved to read Wait for Me on NetGalley, I was thrilled! I am a huge fan of Sara Shepard so I did not take this responsibility lightly. So let’s get right to the review!

As always, SS’s narrative style was top notch. She is able to weave a story that has just the right amount of build up for a firework ending. I always feel that SS leaves so many clues to pick your way through on the way to the solution but no matter how closely you read, you probably won’t be able to figure out “who dunnit”. In this case, the ending was so fast paced that I finished the last 1/4 of the book in under an hour- unable to put it down because it was moving so quickly.

A bit spoiler-y ahead:
As some one who loves a good car chase and some amnesia, this book hit all the right notes. I loved the piece by piece memory that Casey had. The only thing I think that could have been added was memory moments from Jake. There were times when I really thought he didn’t have the best intentions and that he might be the bad guy just because of how little we get told about him. Obviously, given the times the events took place, it didn’t make sense, but there was just enough doubt to make you think, which could have very well been Sara Shepard’s goal. While I think Casey was well developed, for how important Jake was to the story, I think his character could have been built out just a tiny bit more. Overall, I think this is a 4.5/5 stars just because I think Jake needed to be just a tad more fleshed out because of how important he was in the story.

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I loved Reputation, but this book was too young adult for me. I probably should have checked to see if it was billed as YA, and it is. This is a love story mixed with a reincarnation story. If you like YA, this is a good read. Good writing, but the story was a bit eye rolling for me.

Wait For Me is an extremely unique story that combines a few genres. It is a Young Adult book (the heroine is 17, however she is in college). It has romance. It is a mystery. It is a thriller. And it also looks at the possibility of past lives.

I sort of loved that this book was not one specific thing. The narrator is Casey (1st person POV). And she was such a fascinating heroine. She is only 17 years old. But she's a sophomore in university (NYU) and mostly on her own.

The book is divided into two parts. Casey starts hearing voices and having flashes of memories. I found this so interesting. I was just hoping that it would all make sense by the end.

I was mostly riveted by the first half. I was intrigued by the mystery. Although I was unsure about the romance aspect.

I like that the author included ideas about past lives. And the last parts of Part One were very strong.

Part Two really focuses on the mystery. And the story really went in places that I was not expecting. This was really such a unique story. And I actually found the ending to be really good and very original. Overall I really enjoyed this book!

CW:
⚫ Drowning
⚫ Car accidents
⚫ Discussions of personality disorders
⚫ Familial loss
⚫ Cancer

“Wait for Me” follows Casey, a gifted college student, as she struggles with a mystery she must solve that comes from her own mind. She doesn’t know what or who is pulling her in that direction, but what she finds out will change the course of her life forever and help her understand her past.

This is a significantly more nuanced book than what I know Shepard for. As someone that read “Pretty Little Liars” and “The Lying Game” in high school, I was excited to see a new book from her and was intrigued by the synopsis.

It was unpredictable and a wild ride from start to finish. I could never pinpoint where it was going, and if I even had a clue, the plot immediately went in a different direction. This all worked well, surprisingly. Usually, when this happens, a story feels cluttered, but every bit felt important. Everything had its place, even if it didn’t make sense until the final pages. While the ending completely makes sense, I didn’t see it coming, which was a welcome change.

Casey was a complex and dynamic character that I couldn’t help but root for. Her experience navigating the unknown is relatable, even though most haven't faced what she is facing. Her journey shows how much your past can affect your personality and state of being, even if it's entangled with something else.

“Wait for Me” is a great read for teens and adults. Despite being in the young adult category, I do think individuals in their twenties can relate to Casey’s journey and her struggles. Everybody can connect with her in some way, whether they are overachievers, under immense pressure, or just trying to understand what's going on in their heads.

Casey Rhodes wears many disguises, each one a costume for a different situation. Casey feels it is easier to assume a persona than to be her true self. When she is with her rich, cultured boyfriend, the most eligible bachelor in New York City, she's well-dressed, gorgeous, sure of herself Casey. A crack apppears in her perfect life when she hears a menacing voice in her ear, "You've been a bad girl." Casey begins to feel uneasy and can't understand where the voice is coming from and why does she get flashes of herself in places she doesn't know and who is the mysterious stranger lurking at the edge of her memory? To clear her head and study for finals, Casey chooses an unknown to her shore town and is further confused when the townspeople seem to recognize and know her.

Shepard has created an amazing blend of mystery, romance, and a hint of past lives. Best known for her Pretty Little Liars series, this novel captures your attention from the very beginning and leaves you guessing as to what is really going on with Casey. Mystery follows her in the handsome stranger, Will, who seems so familiar and comfortable, however, she loves Marcus, doesn't she? Well-crafted, the reader will be guessing until the very end. The intended audience is Teen and Young Adult, however, as a mature Adult, I enjoyed it. I read it in two days, and it is the perfect escape read.

"Drowning in déjà vu...

Who is Casey Rhodes? Is she a no-nonsense realist or a hopeless romantic? A just-getting-by scholarship student or a sometimes-Cinderella dating the cool, cultured heir to a media empire and New York City's most eligible? At seventeen years old and already in her sophomore year at NYU, Casey sheds disguises effortlessly. It's how she navigates school and avoids the second-guessing that's plagued her since she and her boyfriend Marcus got together.

But then Casey starts hearing voices that terrify her so badly she flees to the remote beach town of Avon where she can sort through her thoughts and reset. But the voices only get more intense and are now accompanied by visions of places she's never been and people she's never met, like Jake who's lived in Avon his whole life. There's no way Casey could know him, yet she feels an immediate connection. And, crazier still: he feels it too. Together they search for answers, finding only questions - about their connection, Avon, Casey's memories... And whose voice is she hearing inside her head?"

Yes, yes, voices in your head and memories that aren't yours... or are they?

Though I wouldn’t say Sara Shepard is the best author, I’ve definitely read and enjoyed a few of her books. They can be a little ridiculous, but they’re generally easy reads. Wait For Me is a different type of story for Shepard. It is a reincarnation story, so I was definitely intrigued.
Thank you to Union Square and Co for allowing me to read this early through NetGalley. This was a quick read and the perfect break with all the fantasy I’ve been reading recently.

Casey Rhodes has many disguises, but as a 17-year-old sophomore in college and girlfriend of a highly eligible bachelor? She has to. So when she starts hearing voices, she runs to the seaside town of Avon, hoping to rest and reset without worrying anyone. But as the voices get worse, she starts to think she recognises people there, including Jake. They’ve never met before, but she swears there’s a connection, and he thinks so too. Casey and Jake decide to look into her memories together and to find out whose memories she actually has.

I’ll be honest… I didn’t actually like this book as much as I’d hoped. As interesting as the idea was, I didn’t really care all that much for the characters. I felt for Casey, she had some sucky things in her life, but it didn’t really feel like I got to know her. She likes writing, is very clever and apart from a few other random facts…that’s about it. Maybe in part, it’s tied to the fact she’s a reincarnation. But I didn’t feel like I knew Becky or any other characters either. Everything felt kind of surface-level.

And that, in turn, meant that the twists weren’t as shocking as they should’ve been either.

Were they interesting? Kind of? Not sure how I feel about the use of DiD in this. That’s rarely used well in media, but again, we see so little of it so maybe it doesn’t matter. But I expect it would to people who actually have it. The book did lose even more points there. Though the twists were enough for me to go oh? It was more like oh, that’s dumb, than oh, I wanna know more.

The writing itself was decent. It was what you expect from Shepard, and it was easy to read. I can see big fans of her loving this as it is filled with drama and intrigue. I just didn’t really like how she went down the reincarnation route. I don’t know what I’d been expecting, but sadly it didn’t work for me.

I will say that there was something that I appreciated, and that was actually the attitude towards romance. With the drama in these sorts of books, you expect betrayal or hurt and everything along those lines. But the characters in this book all actually cared for each other. When the girls moved on to different boys, the boys they were with understood. They just wanted them to be happy, and they could’ve continued to be friends afterwards. It was actually really nice to see.

Admittedly the ending kind of threw that aside as it didn’t matter, but I still enjoyed that.

Overall though, it was far from my favourite book by Shepard, but others will love it.

I found this one a bit of a slow burn. Once it got going I did enjoy it. The murderer was predictable yet it played nicely. I did enjoy the ending. I feel it was done perfectly for the characters

this one was TOTALLY not what I was expecting, and I … kind of liked it? 🤔 still undecided …

first off, I have to applaud the artist who designed the cover because WOW 🥹 I would seriously promote this book just for the cover

the story itself, however, felt like a mish-mash of too many different tropes and genres together. I loved reading sara’s author’s note at the start of the book, which explained a bit about where the story was heading and why she wrote it the way that she did, but sadly, I still found myself thinking that it could have been trimmed down and edited a bit.

nonetheless, despite the length, everything wrapped up fairly neatly, and while there was no big reveal or twist, I did find myself asking more questions than it was worth.

thank you to the publisher and netgalley for the advanced copy in exchange for an honest review!

rating: 2.5 stars
wine pairing: new zealand sauvignon blanc

ARC REVIEW

Wait for Me
by Sara Shepard

RATING: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5

Publishing date: 11/1/2022

Casey is a 17 year old college sophmore. She has always been smart ( obviously...I mean, 17 and second year college student?!) but suddenly she starts hearing " voices." It almost like they are trying to send her a message. The voices and feelings become so strong, she has retreated to the beach side town of Avon in hopes to figure out what this means. Casey can't explain the pulls she is feeling....it's almost as though she has been here before......has she? Or is this all happening inside her mind?

Ive left the summary pretty vague because I don't want to spoil ANY of the book!

Ill be honest, after I received the ARC, I regretted requesting it. I didn't feel the pull to read it. But once I started....I WAS SO GLAD I DID!

This books has multiple twists and turns and gave me a few " GASP"  moments! This story deals with, multiple personalities, past lives, and even romance. The romance was so beautiful and the ending.....* CHEFS KISS!*

Again, I really don't want to give to much away with this one...but add this to your TBR! It releases November 1st, and it was such a great adventure!  It' such a unique read and so happy I took a chance on this one. I'd love to hear your thoughts after you read it!

This was also my first @saracshepard . Kudos!!!!

Thank you so much to @netgalley
And @unionsqandco for the ARC!

Casey’s world is a mess. It might seem like she has the perfect boyfriend and the perfect grades, but a past trauma lingers beneath the surface. Then she hears a voice. Spooky and threatening, Casey runs to a beach town to collect her thoughts and study, but the town feels so familiar. And the people, too. Then Casey meets Jake- has she met him before? As memories pile up, Casey has to know who is the voice in her head? And what do they want from her?

This book is definitely a shift away from the usual Sara Shepard style of story. Part love story, part mystical, part mystery, it’s a combination of so many different vibes, but somehow together it all works.

I’ll try not to give too many spoilers, but I really enjoyed how this book flowed together. The back and forth between Casey’s world and the memories was really interesting, especially when certain things cued the memories.

In the end, I gave this book 4 stars! It was a solid, unique read for sure.

Thanks to NetGalley and Union Square and Co. for the ARC in exchange for my honest review!

Thank you NetGalley for the Arc. I tried to read this and get into it because I usually love Sara Shepard books. After trying multiple times, I just couldn’t and gave up. Very disappointing.

This was an interesting story and I enjoyed the past life aspect of the book, but overall I couldn’t get into the story. When Casey Rhodes keeps getting deja vu feelings of a life a Becky, she starts to wonder if these imaginings might be real. Jake is having the same types of feelings, but his past life is a da boy names Will, Becky’s love. When Casey and Jake meet and team up, will they find the answers to the past?

When I saw this was written by Sara Shepard I knew I had to give the book a chance and I have to say it was different than anything else I’ve read before. I have mixed feelings about this book, I like the general storyline and idea behind this book, but I just couldn’t connect with the characters and was never fully pulled into the story. I did enjoy this book, but it definitely wasn’t what I had expected. I think there are many people out there who would really enjoy this book, I just couldn’t fully connect with it.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC of this book!

Actual Rating 0.25 Stars

I was extremely excited to read Wait for Me by Sara Shepard. I loved the Pretty Little Liars series growing up, but was disappointed in the harmful representation of Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID), which the main character did not have. DID was used a tool to explore past lives. Additionally, even if the main character had DID why would you captialize off of someone's severe childhood trauma? Furthermore, if the MC had DID this experience should be written by someone with DID. Lastly, Sara Shepard is a big enough author to have sensitivity readers.