I have always been a Sara Shepard fan, who doesn’t love PLL!?! SS has a way of making you feel like you’re a part of the group, the friend on the outside. I truly enjoyed the journey of new friendships with old ones and watching the twists and turns unfold. The only reason I gave this book a 4/5 is because the ending did not make an explosion like I thought it would. It was predictable. However, the story did have some interesting moments. I think regardless, this book is a great read.

Thank you Net Galley and Sara Shepard for this Arc for review.

I didn't love this but the more removed from the book I am, the less I dislike it. I think I thought that this was supposed to be largely about a cult. It felt like there was more emphasis on the past than the women in the community. The pacing was also a little slow for me and I felt myself getting bored. I do love Sara Shepard so this doesn't change my willingness to read more from her in the future. Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Random House for an advanced copy of this book.

I was really excited by this concept, a bunch of moms banding together to to raise their kids sounds idyllic after all. But the word "mommune" should have set off alarm bells. The author did an excellent job of conveying a deep sense of dread and anxiety. However, ultimately the plot felt convoluted, especially mixed with the un-healthy dose of flashbacks. This almost aimed to be a one-off, grown up version of Pretty Little Liars, but it missed the mark.

Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Group Dutton for this ARC. I am leaving this review voluntarily and all views expressed are my own.

I really enjoyed this book and its twists. I didn’t see all of them coming, which I also enjoyed. I had a hard time putting this book down; it was paced nicely and had lots of clues hidden throughout. I found some of the characters to be simplistic, but overall it was a fun read with lots of suspense and some nice moral lessons at the end. It was a fun read, and I recommend it!

Nowhere Like Home was a fun read! I enjoyed the story of the two old friends who reconnect in a commune and try to navigate their friendship. Lenna arrives at a women's commune after the encouragement of her friend Rhiannon. But the visit becomes anything but pleasant as Lenna finds she must conform to the commune's strange ways and is upset by the other members. As her visit continues, she finds herself unable to leave and becomes suspicious of what the commune may be hiding.

This book kept me guessing and I couldn't put it down! This was my first book from Sara Shepard and won't be my last! Thank you to the publisher for an advanced copy!

I hate that I took so long to read this book. It was a really fun tasty book. I loved the cultish vibes of this book. Lenna gets a call from an old friend who disappeared years ago and she's shocked. Rhiannon invites Lenna to the community where she now resides and its for mothers and their children. Lenna goes out there and on her way she loses cell service and wonders what the heck is going on and why did Rhiannon invite her here. It was so good, it had me at the edge of my seat. I didnt want this book to end.

This book was very suspenseful but very juvenile. I liked the setting and it had potential but it was all over the place. The lies and deceit were also very juvenile for these adult characters.

From the author of Pretty Little Liars, Nowhere Like Home follows Lenna as she goes off to a desert commune in an attempt to escape/start anew/figure things out away from her husband. I found this setup to be really fascinating, and I have no doubt places like this exist--little encampments, for only women, an escape, a community. Right from the start there are serious creepy vibes. Something is not right with everyone here, or the setup it self--I mean, the women are all LOCKED IN, and only one person has the key. But they are okay with that!? This was a f un, dark, twisty thriller.

I love a good thriller, especially ones about cults. The two timelines threw me off a few times, but I always struggle with them. Parts of this book felt so unbelievable, but I supposed that’s what makes it a book.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for granting me free access to the advanced digital copy of this book.

A twisty, do you know who your friends really are thriller from the famed writer of Pretty Little Liars, Sarah Shepard. Nowhere Like Home follows Lenna as she follows her friend Rhiannon into a desert commune, desperate for help with her spiraling, ‘I’m a bad mom’ thoughts and her non-stop crying son. Except, Rhiannon and Lenna haven’t been friends in a couple of years and Lenna is hanging onto a secret. As Lenna tries to settle in, her paranoia takes us into the past where we learn about her friendship with Rhiannon, Gillian, and the ever-obsessive Instagram thoughts of Gillian, who is nothing like the girl they know in real life.

I love cult-like thrillers and Shepard’s first chapter sucked me in instantly. The friendship between the girls, the insecurities and desperation, is so relatable. Of course, everyone has secrets, and the ones these women hold onto are terrifying. Similar to Shepard’s prior works, there’s a sinister other that amps up the fear, the characters are left questioning each other and even their trust in themselves. While it’s not entirely original, it’s fun to read, and ultimately ended unexpectedly for me. I wish the commune life had been more fleshed out, as well as the secondary characters’ pasts, but ultimately enjoyed this one.

Quick synopsis: Lenna has a best friend Rhiannon who gets in contact with her a few years after they abruptly stopped talking. R has found a “community” of women/mothers who need help getting pregnant or with their children. She recruits Lenna, but Lenna has a husband. Unsure, Lenna goes with her baby and leaves her husband at home. Why did R bring her here? Is something more sinister going on?

This book constantly had me stressed. There are SO many secrets to uncover! I do recommend this book to anyone who loves a good mystery/thriller. If you have a new baby… I don’t recommend this one. I definitely had some nightmares 🙈

I did also listen to this one. Brittney Presley is the narrator and she did a fantastic job at changing her voice for the different characters and keeping the listener engaged in the story. Her inflections and reading were spot on. I definitely want to listen to more books that she narrates.

Thank you to NetGalley and Dutton for the free ARC in exchange for an honest review.

It didn’t keep my interest super well and I felt like twist was a little out of left field, and didn’t make much sense. But it definitely gave off pretty little liars vibes so that makes sense.

SYNOPSIS
- Lenna has always been a bit of a loner & somewhat anxious. One day, she hits it off with a woman, Rhiannon, and they become friends. At some point, Rhiannon went MIA and they stopped being friends.
- About two years later, Lenna is married to Daniel, and they have a baby boy. Out of the blue, Rhiannon reaches out to Leena and invites her to coffee. Rhiannon explains that she also has a son now, and she has joined an all-female community named Halcyon located in a remote location. Rhiannon asks Lenna to join her at Halcyon. Initially, Lenna declines, but she has a change of heart, and she ventures out to Halcyon with her baby.
- When Lenna arrives at the location, it is in the middle of nowhere, and there are lots of rules. There is also a barbed-wire fence and a locked gate.
- As she continues to stay, she wonders why Rhiannon wants her to come here. There also is clearly some underlying tension and unspoken past event that lies between Rhiannon and Lenna.

MY THOUGHTS
- Overall, this felt very juvenile to me. I can suspend belief for a lot of things, but there were way too many unbelievable aspects to this book.
- None of the characters are very likable, and I wasn’t a fan of the ending.
- I liked the different timelines and POVs, but ended up not being the book for me.

TL;DR: ⭐️⭐️⭐️juvenile. reads more like YA. way too many unbelievable aspects to this book.

Thanks to Penguin Group Dutton and Netgalley for this digital ARC in exchange for an honest review. This book is out now.

ARC provided in exchange for an honest review.

I really liked how this story was presented as a momune of women helping women. Nothing is as it appears to be when friends reunite after losing contact years before after a traumatic event. I really enjoyed hearing from all the main female characters point of views and loved the twists that I didn’t see coming! The characters are all complex and the scenes built to make you feel like part of the story. I would recommend to anyone who likes psychological thrillers with unreliable narrators!

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for providing me with this e-ARC! I do my reviews on my social media platforms. I am currently working on getting through my reviews so stay tuned! Leaving a rating as a placeholder for me and to not effect the books rating in order to post this. Thanks again!

When Lenna receives a call from an old friend, she is invited to join a community of new mothers... just the support she is needing. She's hoping to repair her friendship with Rhiannon and enjoy time away, until she learned about the rules she must follow and the locks keeping her inside. Why are they here? Who can be trusted? If you are a fan of locked-rooms and cult stories, you will enjoy this book!

Mommume, mom community with lots of secrets. Not really cult vibes for me.

Told in two characters perspectives from the past and now timelines. Easy to follow. No issues there.

It’s a bit over the top with the social anxiety push and the characters behaviors. Also had to believe some unbelievable things to make this story work. Lots of references about not judging others with certain characteristics but then weaves it some of its own judgemental agenda.

Not sorry i read it, wouldn’t read it again.

Thanks to Netgalley and Penguin group for my advanced electronic reader copy in exchange for an honest review.

When I learned that Nowhere Like Home was written by Sara Shepard, author of the Pretty Little Liars series, I knew that it was going to be dramatic and twist-filled. I was not disappointed in that regard. This women-centric suspense novel follows a group of ladies who get wrapped up in a “mommune” - that is, a commune for moms. As they form a feminist community and learn to rely on each other for their needs, secrets from the members’ pasts start to come to light. It quickly becomes apparent that even those pulling all stops to escape their past too often find it catching back up with them, as we see in the dark and dangerous Nowhere Like Home.

I was wholly surprised to see middling ratings for Shepard’s Nowhere Like Home. I, fortunately, did not take as much issue with this novel as others apparently did. I found that it is a great fit for the modern suspense genre, and was a tightly woven and gripping tale. I appreciate the work that Shepard put into the three main women’s backstories, providing them with unique distinguishing characteristics and giving them each their own authentic voice. However, when it came to the mommune characters, a lot of these women melded together for me, which is my greatest issue with this book - I don’t like to be introduced to a lot of characters who I can’t tell apart.

Wholly focused on the modern day female experience, Nowhere Like Home examines motherhood, career, and friendships, and will speak to women from all walks of life. Throw in some juicy gossip and twists, and you have a page-turning suspense thriller on your hands!

This book was a reminder on how people can be drawn into something they don’t need to be in when they are feeling alone