"Nowhere Like Home" by Sara Shepard is a captivating exploration of small-town secrets, family dynamics, and the quest for redemption. Shepard, known for her gripping storytelling, crafts a compelling narrative as her characters return to their hometown, where buried truths resurface. The plot weaves together mystery, romance, and intricate relationships, keeping readers hooked with its twists and turns. Shepard's skillful character development adds depth to the story, making the struggles and triumphs of the protagonists relatable. "Nowhere Like Home" is a page-turner that combines suspense and emotional resonance, showcasing Shepard's prowess in creating engaging tales of intrigue and self-discovery.

This was my first read from the author and it…did not make me want to read any others from her. The entire cast of characters was very unlikable, I truly struggled to get through the book. Everyone was behaving like bad teenagers and it really did not cast a good light on these women. Wouldn’t recommend.

Thanks to the publisher for a gifted ARC

This was my first read by the author and I was instantly hooked! What started out as a super close, almost soul mate friendship turned into a journey of self discovery and personal growth with a nice revenge mystery and dash of murder thrown in. Lenna, in the midst of a bit of a life crisis gets a random call from a friend whom she thought long abandoned her after she betrayed her and their friendship. Rhiannon was the perfect friend, until all of a sudden she left on a mysterious trip, lenna thought she had abandoned her so she decided to get a little revenge with the encouragement of a new so called friend. Lenna figures out too late this new friend isn't quite who she seems. After a brutal confrontation, lenna thinks she has done something unthinkable. After trying for quite sometime to put her past behind her, rhiannon pops back into her life with an inviting offer to get away to a secluded but supportive group of women. But the minute lenna arrives, she knows something is off. By a few days end, she could never imagine how wrong she has been about her past, her friendships and even a secret she's been keeping from everyone. I never saw that ending coming even as I was reading it! And I absolutely loved how in the end lenna and rhiannon did clear the air about their friendship, but lenna had grown enough to know she needed to move on from this friendship and from her first love. This was one of the best thriller/mystery I've read in a while and can't wait to read more by Sara shepard

The author of Pretty Little Liars, yes please! Took me back to my teen years of reading. I actually did like this book, it was pretty good!

Nowhere Like Home
by Sara Shepard
Pub Date: Feb.20, 2024
Thanks to the author, publisher and NetGalley for the ARC of this book.
Nowhere Like Home tackles themes of complicated friendships and trauma but all with Sara Shepard’s expert This was a slow start for me and unfortunately, I never got into the book. I think it would work better for her target audience though. I felt the writing could have been improved and the ending was whack.
3 stars

I’ve been in the cult chokehold here lately between twin flames and mother god. So this book got in perfectly.

This book is about a woman (Lenna) who has had a falling out with her good friend. So when she gets an out of the blue call from said friend she's thrilled. She’s been having a really hard time with her new baby so her friend asks her to come visit.

Her friend lives on a compound in the middle of the dessert and says the fresh air shoukd help her and her baby. So Lenna decides to make the trip, but she’s barely arrived anf things are already going awry.

Who can she trust when lies are on everyone’s lips.


I loved pll growing up and Shepard is still going strong with the toxic characters. She’s also still great at the carrot bit, giving us just enough to keep us reaching for the next chapter.

This book was so good and I loved it because I loved the pretty little liars series and it reminds me of that. It was so fun to read.

As someone who loved the PLL series, I was excited to read Sara Shepard's newest "adult novel" Nowhere Like Home. Overall, I loved the plot and the setting. Sara Shepard did an excellent job of fully developing the characters -- it truly hooked me until the very end. A great way to cap out my 2023 ARCs!

Rating: 4/5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

This book was good, so so good …it sucked me in and I couldn’t put it down. There was some less descriptive writing and dialogue that would be fitting of a YA novel, but I was able to look past that. This was on its way to 4.5 stars (lost points for the writing)…. But the ending, oh the ending.
While creative…the execution lost me.
Then there was the never ending epilogue of verbal information that was not imperative whatsoever.

All in all, I enjoyed this book despite what I believe to need improvement.

This one was a bit all over the place. Don’t get me wrong - it kept my attention - but the resolution as well as the chronology were a bit whack. The crazy reveal at the end felt very much in line with how absurd the reveal was at the end of the PLL liars book series; like yeah sure I guess that makes sense but cmon. If you like crazy explanations and stories of misplaced female friendship, this books for you!

Started a bit slow and confusing but when I figured out who each character was and how they related to one another, I was very into it. The concept is different from other thrillers, which I enjoyed. The whole communal life situation. Very much potential for thrills.

How desperate would you be to keep or gain a new friend? That is all that Lenna, Rhiannon, Sadie, and Gillian think about as their lives intertwine and revolve around each other. This book made me think of the Peter Gabriel song, 'Games without Frontiers'--"Rhiannon plays with Lenna, Lenna plays with Gillian, Gillian plays with Sadie, and Sadie is happy again."
Sadie and Lenna are lured to a 'women's only' commune in the desert of Arizona for new and existing mothers who just want to get away. Because, lets face it, who doesn't at that stage of your life. Believing this will be a new way to bond with their children, and share in the child rearing duties with other exhausted like-minded mothers it turns out to be just that at first. Then they find out they have something in common about their past, a past they want to keep hidden. But whoever brought them here knows what really happened and they must be punished.
So many of these characters were unlikeable and made really bad decisions when put in these circumstances. However, I went along with it as the author is very good at increasing the level of suspense as each new twist is revealed, more shocking than the last, and some not so believable. This does read like a young adult book, which some of her earlier books are. The women in the this book are in their 20s I would guess but act as if they are trying to win over the popular girl in high school. Most women that age would not go to the extent that some of these girls do, just to be back in touch with their alleged best friend. So many red flags go unseen that when the final pronouncement came, I thought 'well what did you think would happen ladies!!!'. Still a good thriller with several surprises so kept me entertained throughout.

I couldn't get into this story. I think the target audience could like it though! I was thrown off by the main character almost having my name and one of my good friend's name. The story didn't grab me. I know the author is popular for teen stories, so I wanted to give it a try. It wasn't working for me, unfortunately.

I really enjoyed this book, despite not having known much about the author beforehand. With thrillers, for me, trying out a new author can be a test of faith! I really enjoyed this book, especially given the fact I have been watching documentaries about cults, etc., recently, and this book definitely was in line with that as well. The story follows a young woman who goes to a commune to meet up with a friend who she had lost touch with. Every one of the twists was interesting, and not predictable in the least, and was very well written. As someone who enjoys thrillers, this was not at all formulaic, and I felt the writing was fresh and the characters relatable. I would highly recommend this book to someone looking for a really fast read [even though it was not a short book!].

This ebook was provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Thanks for the review copy. This mom community was very interesting. This book is centered on friendship and trauma. Shepard did an amazing job.

Lenna is running from a traumatizing event and new mom anxieties when her estranged friend Rhiannon invites her to visit a commune. The women she meets there all have a troubling past and the commune is said to have healing magic. After a couple days Lena find herself questioning her friends motive for bringing her there.

Plot twists, multiple POV, toxic relationships and lies. I enjoyed reading this book.

#netgalley

I had a really hard time getting into this novel. I was really more interested in reading more about the cult / woman's commune, but this book fell kinda short on delivering that. This was more focused on toxic friendships, jealousy, and mental health. Overall, it was just OK to me. I feel like it was more targeted for younger readers and that's probably why it just was not one of my favorites. I did enjoy the plot twist at the end. Unfortunately, I do not recommend this one.

Thank you for this opportunity NetGalley!
I may be one of the only people on this page who hasn't read or watched Pretty Little Liars, so I came into Sara Shepard completely blind.
I enjoyed this. Told in alternating now and then timelines and 3 total POVS, this follows Lenna as she goes to a woman's commune to attempt to run away from a huge mistake in her past. You meet a cast of women who are at this commune including her best friend, Rhiannon, who never really has clear motives. Lenna is really well written: you can feel her anxiety bleed into the pages, and the author does a great job of keeping you guessing what happened in her past. Rhiannon is also really well done: before you get her POV characters you are truly guessing who she is and what she is doing. Add in a mystery with a missing woman, weird happenings at the commune, a stalker, and you've got a pretty good mystery/thriller on your hands.
I gave this 3.5 stars (rounded up to 4) because I did truly enjoy it: I found myself coming back really quickly. I didn't love Sarah/Sadie's point of view: I think I could have used more Rhiannon / Lenna, or even a point of view from Gillian, but it was still good overall.

Ok… you got my attention👀
This book is twisty and fun to read, it was also a quick read for me. As soon I started I had to finish to find out what happens next.
The characters were well developed and it was a wild read. Friendship issues, drama, tension, dark secrets, a good thriller package and very enjoyable.

Thank you @isabelrosedas @netgalley @duttonbooks for the invitation to access this book early for an exchange for my honest review.
Coming out 02/20/24

Loved It and couldn’t put this one down!!

Thank you to the publisher for the ARC of this new thriller from the author of the Pretty Little Liars series.

This is fresh, timely, and kept me up reading past my bedtime more than one evening.

Exploring complicated friendships, the lies we tell to fit in or hide the things we like the least about ourselves, this book makes you feel for each of the characters and the journey they are on. Even those who end up being the villains or have done things that are beyond the pale, you find compassion for due to their backstory and motivations.

Preorder a copy today because this should be on your TBR for February.