Thank you NetGalley, Sara Shepard, and Penguin Group Dutton for this e-arc in exchange for my honest review.

I had such high hopes for this one, but to be honest it fell a little flat for me. I didn't love the main character, to be honest she kind of drove me nuts. But I loved the cult vibes this book had, and all the crazy twists and turns that left me saying WHAT?!

3.5 star read for me.

This novel is wild. You have to suspend your disbelief to such a high level in order to enjoy the plot of this book, that it becomes almost impossible to ignore all the elements of it that are just ridiculous. However, I really did try to do that, and for the most part, I enjoyed the ride here. While it makes absolutely no sense that Lenna would pick up and leave her entire life at the drop of the hat because of ONE meeting with her old friend Rhiannan, as the plot moves forward, Shepard does a decent job showing the reader Lenna's motivations for her decision making. That being said, it's such a stretch, and what happens through the rest of the book is even more of a banana pants impossibility that it becomes almost comical. And there are zero characters here that you can root for as a reader, because they are all either completely nuts (unbelievably so) or so naive as to be silly (in Lenna's case). But again, I had fun with this one. I still found myself invested in the story and the characters enough to continue even as I was laughing to myself at the ridiculousness throughout. So, enter at your own risk I guess, but I did enjoy it.

I was intrigued by the premise of this one and ultimately did not fully predict the twists and turns this novel would take.

Meh, I wanted to like this more than I did. It was promising with the cult like feel of it all! I couldn’t get with the main character Lenna. She kidnapped her baby she shares with a partner because the baby cries a lot, and he doesn’t help as much, to escape to a cult. Whhhaaattttt. It was hard to get past her general look on everything.

That said, I enjoyed all the twists this novel did have after the midway point. The final twist was a huge surprise and I enjoyed that greatly. This was a good book. If you like cults and can get past Lena’s behavior, I recommend this!

Nowhere Like Home by Sara Shepard is all about that drama drama and gave me serious cult vibes. Told in 2 timelines, this slow burner didn't take me long to get into and held my attention the entire time. I loved Shepard's Pretty Little Liars series, but I have been really enjoying her adult novels as well, and this was a great little addition to her body of work. I wasn't a huge fan of any of the characters but that didn't stop me from being excited to see what would happen next, and I loved that we dug into their lives a decent amount. There were some great twists and turns in the second half of the book and things went from almost mundane to full throttle when we get to the very end.

I will shout from the rooftops that the audiobook is the way you should read this book, and Brittany Pressley killed it with her narration of all of the various viewpoints. She is one of my favorite narrators and even as the only narrator for multiple POVs, she is perfection. There is an obsession aspect to the story as well that gave me female friendship You vibes, and who needs anything else when you have friends like the ones in this book? Nowhere Like Home may have not been a 5-star read for me, but it was completely enjoyable, and if you like Shepard's other adult novels (like me), you should definitely like this!

Have you ever been so enamorate of a friend that you would follow them anywhere? Yeah, me neither. But I know there have got to be people like that and Lenna is one of them. She has no qualms picking up an leaving her husband, infant son in tow, to head to a commune-like community in the middle of nowhere to reunite with Rhiannon, her girl crush.

At first, it seems nice, almost relaxing, to be surrounded by only women, off the grid. The food is good, and she can actually rest and has help caring for her infant son --a far cry from life with her husband. But the longer she stays, the more it becomes clear that she's not allowed to leave on her own. Nothing is as it seems.

Nowhere Like Home is a twisty story where absolutely nothing is as it seems. Shepard does a great job creating an ominous retreat that's both homey and terrifying all at once. This one is available now!
Special thanks to Netgalley and Penguin Random House for an advanced ebook in exchange for my honest review.

This story revolves around two friends, Lenna and Rhiannon, unfolding in three parts spanning both past and present. Rhiannon extends an invitation to Lenna to join her at Halcyon, a community known for offering a fresh start devoid of past identities.

As Lenna reminisces about another friend named Gillian during her stay at Halcyon, memories of their past encounter resurface, raising questions about Gillian's fate. Lenna feels compelled to confide in her husband, Daniel, about Rhiannon's influence, Gillian's lies, and her own susceptibility to manipulation by both women.

With its wild ride, twisty narrative, and gradual buildup, this book earns 3.5 stars in my rating.

Many thanks to NetGalley for providing an advanced copy

I loved this one probably my favorite book I've read this year. I would highly recommend it to anyone looking to thriller and lots twist and turns. Keeps you guessing until the end. I would give it 5 put of 5 stars

I wanted to like this one. I was excited to read this thriller, But I struggled to get into this book period. It took me such a long time to read, I didn't really like any of the characters and couldn't grasp the plot

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC. This seemed like a book right up my ally w the cult aspect. But I found it to fall a little sort. These 20 something fight about everything and all have bad relationships. The main character gets amnesia and can't remember what's going on. It just wasn't for me.

This one was just so-so for me. It was written well but I just wasn’t drawn into the story like I thought I’d be. Thanks to NetGalley for the privilege to read and review this book.

i think i aged out of the pretty little liar's universe awhile ago and this book should have gone with it. nowhere like home as a story didn't grab me like the tv show or the books (PLL) did.

I give it 3.5 stars out of 5.

Lenna is a young mother with a small child who seems to cry constantly. She is anxious and distraught. When an old friend, Rhiannon, who she hasn’t heard from in a couple of years, reaches out and tells Lenna of this wonderful “mommune” she lives on and suggests Lenna come for a visit to experience having help for a few days. Lenna thinks about it, and after a couple of days decides to take her son and leave early in the morning to go visit. She leaves her husband, Daniel, a note with not much explanation and never talking to him about it and never disclosing things from her past that affect her decision.

As Lenna and her son travel to the commune in Arizona, she realizes how isolated it is and how she’ll be cut off from cell service, etc. Her anxiety is further heightened by the locked gate on the property that requires a code to open and only one woman seems to have the code. The women on the commune appear friendly, but Lenna is wary of the rules and how no one is supposed to talk about their pasts or ask questions of others’ pasts. Lenna desperately wants to talk with Rhiannon, to try and clear the air about their past, but never seems to be able to get her alone to do so.

Someone else from Lenna’s past shows up at the commune and Lenna feels strongly that something else is going on here and decides she needs to leave - but can she?

The story moves along well. It was a quick read and had me interested to see where it was all going. The characters were not very likable, I have to admit it was hard to cheer for any of them. It was difficult to understand the draw different characters had for one another when there were so many red flag moments.

Thank you @netgalley for the e-arc of this read!

3 ⭐️⭐️⭐️

First I want to thank NetGalley, Penguin Group Dutton and Sara Shepard for a digital ARC of Nowhere Like Home.

Nowhere Like Home is a pretty good mystery/thriller book. When I finally found out what was going on I was stunned, didn’t see it coming whatsoever! It kept me on my toes.

Lenna is a first time mom to Jacob who cries constantly and doesn’t seem to have much help from her husband, Daniel. Lenna gets a call from her old friend, Rhiannon, who previously disappeared into thin air without a word. Rhiannon lives off the grid at a women’s only community or “mommune” called Halcyon and invited Lenna to join the community.

Lenna takes Rhiannon up on her offer and is a state away via airplane before her husband is even awake. When she arrives, she’s not sure what to expect and has regrets about going. It isn’t until Sarah arrives back at the community from her IVF treatments that Lenna desperately wants to leave and never return.

Nowhere Like Home is read in a past/present format and in three parts so you get to know Lenna, Rhiannon and Sarah. You find out what got them to where they’re at now and why.

Ooooooo...I love a great locked room (or in this case locked hotel) mystery where the ominous weather is its own character. There are so many people not to like in this story and they all pretty much have the potential to be the bad dude(s) of the story. Oh, I figured out most of what was going on pretty easily, but that's because I read lots of thrillers/mysteries and I can now pinpoint why a character has been included. It was fdefinitely un to see it all play out anyway.

I was really excited for this book after I read the description - a mysterious friend, living on an all women commune, reaching out to her old friend out of the blue - sign me up! I enjoyed the book, especially the first few days when Lenna, the protagonist, arrives at the commune and we’re introduced to the eclectic clan that lives there. However, the book becomes a bit tedious with flashbacks and over-explaining character backgrounds. I do love a good twist, but found the plot and twists in this book to be so far fetched and unbelievable that I quickly lost interest in the story.

The commune itself is an interesting setting for a book, and I was looking forward to reading more about it, but the author included too many flashbacks and focused on trying to create too many twists and suspense. The opportunity to build a super cool setting around the commune was missed entirely. And I found the author wanted to raise awareness about social anxiety in a book but over did it with Gillian’s character, which paints social anxiety in a very negative and skewed way. I also found the constant paragraphs about Lena’s child constantly crying very odd too. If you want a book to distract you, this might be for you but don’t expect it to be a fulfilling read. Thank you to Sara Shepard, Penguin Group Dutton, and NetGalley for an advanced reader copy so I can provide an honest review.

I love a good thriller, especially one about "cults," so I was immediately drawn into this story! It was my first novel by Sara Shepard and definitely won't be my last. While the main character Lenna was pretty unlikable for me, I couldn't help but root for her to find a solution for her little family! I thought all the characters were very intriguing but quite a lot to keep up with throughout the story. While the ending was wild, there was one particular part of it that I found kinda strange and unnecessary? I enjoyed it overall, but it wasn't a love!

The author of pretty little liars, yes please. This book is written from four different characters point of views. It’s a thriller featuring unhealthy toxic friendships and an interesting take on a commune/cult. This book was suspenseful and had a couple of good twists. Our fmc Lena takes her son and leaves to visit her friend when our story is beginning. Things are a little more complicated as Lena is visiting her friend at this commune.

I gave this book 3 stars.

This one started out strong for me--addictive! I loved the story line and thought it was unique--but about two-thirds in I started losing interest. The book felt like it was dragging on a bit--but again, solid start!!

Thank you to Dutton Publishing for letting me read an early copy of NOWHERE LIKE HOME. This one is out now!

I really devoured this book and it kept me entertained for hours. Did I like all the choices the characters made? No. Did I enjoy the twist? No. Did I see it coming? Yes. Overall did I still enjoy the book? YES. I never read PRETTY LITTLE LIARS but I did gobble up the TV series so I was excited to pick up a book by Sara Shepard. This book wont change your life, but it will entertain and distract you from the real world for a little while.