This was a very intriguing book about toxic friendships that was hard to put down! The author kept me in suspense until the very end; I didn’t know who was lying or being truthful and I really wasn’t sure how things were going to end up. Some events seemed a little too contrived and the main character was a bit too gullible, but I did enjoy this story overall. I’d have loved a longer epilogue, but was satisfied enough by what was provided. I don’t know, maybe a sequel or prequel could be coming.

Thank you to NetGalley for the advanced copy of Nowhere Like Home. Sara Shepard is a must-read author for me. I devoured every Pretty Little Liars and Lying Game book (but the TV shows were a hard pass). I am still waiting on edge for The Heiresses sequel. The premise for Nowhere Like Home makes it a book that I would not have picked up if Ms. Shepard wasn't the author. In short, this a book about a "mommune" for mothers trying to escape something at home. While I love thrillers, I am growing tired of the moms with questionable friendships. What mother would willingly take a leave of absence from her husband, yet take her infant, to a remote desert property in hopes of rekindling a friendship with someone who was not that great of a friend? I liked the blog chapters, which helped add a much-needed interruption to the back-and-forth of the main characters. I struggled with connecting with and or actually liking any of the characters. I liked that a lot of the relationships were open to interpretation based on how each character perceived events as they unfolded. This book had a fast-paced finish, which was appreciated after a slow start. Sara Shepard will remain at the top of my must-read author list but this book just fell short of my expectations, mostly due to the subject matter.
#NowhereLikeHome #NetGalley

Thank you Netgalley and Penguin Group, Dutton for an advanced copy of the book. This review is my opinion.
Told in dual timelines there are four main characters:
Lenna suffers from anxiety and OCD
Rhiannon because of her upbringing feels unloved
Gillian suffers from social anxiety
Sadie is desperate to have a baby
These four women’s lives cross each other and they will never be the same. Controlling toxic relationships, secrets, lies, and a slow burn lead to a climatic end.
I had not read any of Sara Shepard previously, but was aware that this was her first adult novel. Unfortunately, I found the characters to be more immature than adult. Also the slow burn was tedious. I was sure something climatic was going to happen, but it just took to long to get there for me. The premise was good. I just was expecting better. 3.75 stars.

Thank to PRHAudio for the ALC and Netgalley and Dutton for the ARC!

New mom Lenna is surprised to hear from her old friend Rhiannon; it’s been years since they spoke and Rhiannon had disappeared without a trace. She is even more surprised to hear that Rhiannon has a son and is living off the grid with another group of women and children called Halcyon. They consider themselves a “mommune” where they all raise their children together and help each other. It really gives new meaning to “it takes a village”. Lenna has been struggling herself, so when Rhiannon invites her to visit, she decides to go for it. Hoping to repair her friendship with Rhiannon, Lenna is also hoping this will be a chance to recharge and find some support. But as she gets closer to Halcyon, her cell phone signal gets weaker and she sees the gate to the community is padlocked. Just what type of place is this and why did Rhiannon invite her here?

I am not sure what I was expecting with this book, but I was absolutely floored with how much I LOVED it! The whole idea of moms working together and helping each other raise their children appeals to me (though maybe not to such an extreme!) Lenna and Rhiannon both had interesting back stories, and I was eager to see how they finally converged. I also loved the aspect of the IG posts in between too and trying to figure out how they played a part. There were many moving pieces here, and it could have easily gone wrong but everything worked perfectly - the final twist was one I didn't see coming (and I love when that happens! Lol) If you enjoy twisty, character-driven thrillers, give this one a shot! The audio was also narrated by Brittany Presley, who perfectly captured these characters and brought their crazy story to life.

“Nowhere Like Home” releases February 2024, 2024! This review will be shared to my instagram blog (@books_by_the_bottle) shortly.

I did enjoy the cult element as well as the multiple points of view and dual timelines. The storytelling was interesting, and the final twist was clever. However, I did have some difficulty getting into the plot, and I just didn’t really connect with the characters. I enjoyed the read, but sadly not as much as I’d hoped to.

My thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this book.

Years ago, I watched Pretty Little Liars and decided to give one of the author's other series a chance f as a read. It went fine, but I wasn't convinced, so I chose this newest one to see if I'd want to read more. Overall, it was good... just didn't pull me in as much as the tv show. I think watching a show first spoils the ability to go back and read a book. That said, the plot here was good, but I kept thinking along the path... go here.... make this happen.... what if this person is actually this other person... and so, it was the kind of books where I enjoyed some but couldn't stay deeply connected. Everything was fine, nothing bad or a turn-off. It was so vague and never really explained why people behaved the way they did, which meant the author was contriving more that creating. I did really like how we thought something was playing out in one scene but then you get the perspective of the other person chapters later and realize key things you were missing. All in all, readable and something to make you think a lot, just not one I'd rush out to grab.

This book grabbed my attention right from the prologue. It gave me a cult vibe and most of the book had this looming sense of doom. However ultimately the way the story unraveled fell a bit short for me, which is why I couldn't quite give it 5 stars.

I enjoyed the multiple povs later in the book, and the alternating timelines. I tend to think that adds layers of complexity and makes for a quicker, more engaging read.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC!

I have received this ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Nowhere Like Home was interesting. In it, you will meet Lenna who is an okay character. A little too easy to persuade and maybe a little gullible. Then again, people will sometimes do anything to find their person or to be well-liked. It also doesn't hurt that she's going through a sort of depression after having her baby and seeing her husband being a little distant at the same time. So, she did what any normal new mother would do - she leaves and goes to a community filled with other women hoping to find some inner peace and learn how to become a better mom.

Which, sure, sounds great and all but ever since she stepped a single toe in this place, I've been highly suspicious. Between the past and the present point of views, things weren't always adding up and just confused me endlessly. I had so many questions forming and was eager to get a glimpse at any sort of answer along the way.

Eventually clues and reveals came my way. I'll admit that I didn't expect one of the twists but then again, it made sense in a weird way. It's hard to explain at the moment but I'm sure other people might mention it once they read it.

In the end, I'm happy that I got the chance to dive into this. It's just a little sad that I'm not even sure how I feel after reading the last page. Might have to simmer some more on this.

I've been struggling with this book now for weeks and it finally came time to just say I'd DNF it and maybe come back to it in the future. As a reader, I just did not connect with the story or the characters (in particular the motherhood aspect) and the mystery aspect was not compelling enough for me to disregard the total lack of connection I had with the story. I've always enjoyed Sara Shepard's writing - both her YA book series as well as her YA and adult standalones - so I will continue to read her work, but this one just didn't work for me and rather than force it to give it a bad rating, I'll just respectfully say it wasn't for this reader and hope it others enjoy it.

This was a DNF for me. I made it 30% and just couldn’t take it anymore. This is suppose to be an adult but it reads so YA and that’s not my genre.
The three main characters are 28, 29 and 33 and they act like they are 18. Also weak woe is me females just make me grind my teeth. I’m sure there’s an audience for this but it isn’t me.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for the advanced copy in exchange for a honest review.2⭐️

"You might be fooling some, but you're not fooling me."

I love author Sara Shepard. She writes great female friendships and the drama that can be laced within them. This story is about friendships - how they can be good or they can be toxic. How it can be hard to start making new friends in your 20's.

The story has dual timelines - so there's a story of before a story of now. Now, they are older - with significant others and kids. Previously, they are new friends to new co-workers. It's a few friendships and it takes a minute to see how they all fit together.

This story did reach a point, however, where I had to suspend my disbelief but I just didn't things would work that way. But it was a nice mystery, an interesting look into these friendships and fun twists and turns.

A huge thank you to the author and publisher for providing an e-ARC via Netgalley. This does not affect my opinion regarding the book.

Nowhere Like Home is the first book for adults that I’ve read by Sara Shepard. I’ve been a huge fan of her Pretty Little Liars series since high school. PLL was one of the series that inspired me to write YA thrillers. I was lucky enough to receive an eBook ARC from NetGalley. Thank you to the author and publisher for the free copy.

In this book, the main character, Lenna, is invited to a “mommune” called Halcyon by her old friend Rhiannon. Lenna is overwhelmed with her new life as a wife and mom of a newborn, so she decides to go.

As Lenna gets to know the other women and has flashbacks about her friendship with Rhiannon, the puzzle pieces begin to connect for the reader.

This thriller was so compelling that I didn’t want to put it down. I highly recommend it! I’ll definitely be reading Shepard’s other books.

Nowhere Like Home is available for purchase on February 20, so pre-order it now!

This book started out with so much potential. I really was reading it and thinking, “man I haven’t read anything like this before. “
Then it just got kind of weird and twist. I didn’t hate it, but I can’t say I loved it either.
The book mostly follows Lenna (however there are two other POVs). I’m nervous to go into too much a synopsis so I don’t ruin anything. But basically this is a tale of friendships gone wrong and communes.
It’s was an interesting read for sure. ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC

As this story goes back and forth between 2 years ago and now, you are able to slowly put together this twisty tale. Definitely a surprise ending!

Honestly I didn't finish it. I was so confused with all the back and forth between tense and characters. It drug on forever and just didn't grab my attention.

So many secrets equals lots of drama in this story.
In this book, you follow Lenna and her story flips from present and past. However, it doesn't get confusing the way that it is written.
Lenna gets a call from her old friend, Rhiannon. She's surprised that she called her because she disappeared years ago. She's also surprised to learn that she has a son.
Rhiannon lives in an all women community that is off the grid. She invites Lenna to come visit them. Lenna decides to go because she's a fairly new mother whose baby cries a lot and she feels like a change will help her. She also goes because she hopes to repair her relationship with Rhiannon.
As they drive to the desert and her cell service gets weaker, she starts to wonder if she made the right choice. A padlock gate with a code and being in the middle of nowhere has her trapped.
She stars wondering if she made the right choice. She's also worried that secrets from her past will come out.
I really enjoyed this book and I liked the way it all came together in the end.

DNF @ 50%

This takes no new friends to a whole new level.

I was initially drawn to this because of the cult/commune aspect and I was excited when anxiety and mental health was talked about in the beginning. But it quickly became clear that anxiety was just a crutch to blame the unhinged behavior of some of the characters on. It was also a bit repetitive and I only made it to the 50% point.

Thank you Netgalley and Dutton for providing this ARC to me!

This book had an interesting concept based off of a cult-like environment called a "mommune", which is a great concept for single women, who want to thrive and not need to be in a relationship. Sara Shepard has two different times that allow for backstory for the characters and current events that they are dealing with.

Lenna and Rhiannon started their friendship rather quickly and become major parts of the other's lives until it slowly begins to unravel and events lead to mistakes that continue to haunt both women. Due to Lenna's past mistakes she is not able to live her life with her husband and new baby so when her old friend reappears and wants to fix their relationship it's all Lenna can think about. She decides to leave her husband with their child and look at this "mommune" and see if this solves all her issues.

When she gets there it begins to show that there is something wrong with the commune and all the women that reside within. Lenna can't figure out why it feels wrong but begins to be suspicious of why she was brought to the commune.

Shepard shows her ability in creating twists and turns within a story that lead to an overall understanding of why things happened. This story looks at the complicated relationship between friends and the trauma that can affect those relationships especially into adulthood.

This parts that I found difficult to completely love this book was the lack of connection with the characters, and these full adult also behave like young adults. I struggled with this aspect since the beginning of their relationship and behaviors seemed to be high school-esque, but they are supposed to be working women.

I am excited to see what she writes next and how much more Sara Shepard will grow as a writer as she continues to write adult thrillers. I love seeing authors, who I read in my youth, moving up in the age categories to grow themselves.

Thank you to NetGalley and Dutton for the early review copy!

I received a gifted galley of NOWHERE LIKE HOME by Sara Shepard for an honest review. Thank you to Dutton, PRHAudio, and Netgalley for the opportunity to read and review!

NOWHERE LIKE HOME follows Lenna, a young mother who is struggling with a fussy baby, an unsure future with the baby’s father, anxiety, and guilt. Her old friend Rhiannon reaches out to her after she had suddenly disappeared from Lenna’s life a couple years back. Rhiannon now has a son of her own and she lives in a commune of women completely off the grid.

Lenna needs a change in her life, so she accepts Rhiannon’s offer to visit. The commune of women seems welcoming, but the locked gate with an unknown code, the remote location in the middle of the desert, and some strange occurrences quickly raise Lenna’s suspicions. Still, she also has secrets and a need to unburden herself to repair the relationship with her old friend.

I didn’t know much about this book going into it, but I enjoyed Sara Shepard’s thrillers in the past, so I was excited to check this one out. It promised complicated friendships and big twists and it did deliver. We are following Lenna in the present and the past, learning about how she and Rhiannon met and how they separated all those years ago. We are also getting snippets from a third woman sharing her interactions with the main characters on an online forum which provides an interesting different perspective on what we’re reading.

I didn’t especially like any of the characters right off the bat, but that didn’t make them any less interesting to read about. There were plenty of moments where I got frustrated with the decisions the characters were making while appreciating that them getting themselves into awkward situations made for a more interesting read.

Overall this book took me a bit to get into as it slowed down a bit after the really strong prologue, but it did keep calling me to pick it back up. Once the action really starts, then it was hard to put down. The author does well at peppering in hints about what is really going on beneath the surface to up the intrigue and there were some twists I didn’t see coming which I really appreciated.

I had a lot of trouble getting into this, it just could not keep my attention. The storyline was a bit confusing because of the back and forth time lines and the fact that I kept putting it down from disinterest. I wanted to love this but it just wasn’t there for me.