this one was VERY twisty! everytime I thought I knew something I was wrong! I liked the dual timelines + multiple POVs. Overall the story was interesting + kept me guessing. The only thing I didn't like was the ending. I felt like it was so open ended! the epilogue was wrapping everything up so nicely + then the ending just opened it up again!

I love culty books. While this one doesn’t feature a true cult, the commune is quite culty with its rules and aversion to letting anyone leave. Brittany Pressley is one of my top five favorite narrators so I was ecstatic to have the opportunity to listen to this one!

Lenna and Rhiannon used to be thick as thieves until Rhiannon seemingly vanished. Imagine Lenna’s surprise when Rhiannon shows up unannounced with an invitation to join her at a “mommune” in the desert of Arizona. This invite comes at the perfect time because Lenna could definitely use some help with her inconsolable newborn. She decides to join Rhiannon for a weekend to see what the place has to offer. It seems awesome at first! Mom’s helping moms, a group of children who learn and play together…until a new woman shows up. A woman from Lenna’s past. A woman who knows all of her darkest secrets. Now, Lenna realizes she was brought here for a reason and she has no interest in finding out what.

The toxic friendships, secrets, and desert setting all aid in the tension buildup but the twists at the end are what really threw me for a loop! So many pieces fall into place in the last 20% of this book and I couldn’t press pause at all! The icing on the cake is Brittany Pressley’s cool crisp voice that is both sweet and menacing. Definitely add this one to your listening list if you’re looking for a quick heart-pounding read!

I received a gifted copy. All thoughts are my own.

Sara Shepard’s newest psychological thriller Nowhere Like Home explores female friendships and toxic relationships all surrounded by the glittering world of print media and a remote women’s commune.

About the Book | Nowhere Like Home

Told in two timelines, the story follows a woman named Lenna who is a new mother. In the present timeline, Lenna receives a call from a former friend Rhiannon, who she had a close but troubled friendship with, she can’t help but feel relieved. Rhiannon and Lenna haven’t spoken in some time after a falling out; Rhiannon later disappeared in the wake of their fight and Lenna has never known what happened to her.

Rhiannon invites her to come to a women’s community called Halcyon where Rhiannon (also a new mother) has been staying. Lenna leaves without talking to her husband (she does leave him a note but takes their baby) and arrives at Halcyon which is in the middle of the desert. It doesn’t take long for Lenna to be suspicious of this “mommune”. There is barely any cell service and the commune operates on a firm set of rules that include no phone calls, no texts, and no asking about the other members’ pasts. The latter rule is particularly strange, since it seems that most of the women have a secret they are hiding. Lenna is also keeping a secret from her past that she hopes no one discovers…

The past timeline follows Lenna and Rhiannon’s friendship and falling out. Lenna also had another close friend around the same time named Gillian. We aren’t aware of where Gillian is in the present timeline (however, when Lenna’s story from the past catches up to the present we learn a lot more about Gillian). Sprinkled throughout the book are social media posts from Gillian’s Instagram account and responses from some of her followers. Gillian shares about her life and friendships as well as her struggles with anxiety. What happened between Lenna, Rhiannon, and Gillian in the past? Where is Gillian now? And why has Rhiannon reached out after so long to invite Lenna to this commune?

Review | Nowhere Like Home

Many know Sara Shepard from her young adult books (hello, Pretty Little Liars fans!), but her adult novels have been making a splash in the psychological thriller world over the past several years. Having read both her young adult and adult books, her adult books still have a young adult charm that I can’t quite explain since the characters are grown ups. The best way to describe her adult books are that they feature stories about adults who have never fully shed the insecure teenager inside, and explore how that influences their lives and relationships as adult women (I can relate!).

This story has plenty of twists and turns along the way, particularly in the past storyline (which I personally found more interesting for most of the book). Lenna is not honest with us in the present day with what exactly happened with her friendships with Rhiannon and with Gillian. This made me sometimes question Lenna and how reliable her narration is. She’s keeping a secret and eventually we learn what that secret is and how it influences everything that is happening.

Initially I was most interested in Rhiannon, but the further I got, the more I was fascinated by Gillian. She is a very different character and her social media posts enticed me. They sometimes seemed at odds with the person in Lenna’s past. The characters in the present timeline are all struggling with the fallout of whatever happened to fracture their relationships, and this was an enticing premise. It is human nature to wonder what would happen if we could replay a moment and make a different choice. Would we always end up in the same place, or would it change everything?

If you’ve read any of Sara Shepard’s work, she writes toxic friendships that are captivating and terrifying in equal measure. One of her skills is getting the reader to root for the friendships to work out, no matter how unhealthy it may be. Another thing I’ve noticed in her writing relates to how the reader perceives the characters. Shepard is able to change how we feel about a character multiple times throughout the book, and that means that the reader is always kept guessing on where the story will end up and who is responsible for everything that happened.

A twist-filled psychological suspense novel that will have your mind spinning.

Thank you to Dutton Books for my copy. Opinions are my own.

I thought this one had quite a bit of potential, but it fell a bit flat for me. I thought the ending was slightly convenient, and I mostly just felt puzzled by most of the characters' decisions. Overall though, I didn't hate the story. It was an easy, fast read.

My opinion: Would Recommend
Level: Medium Low - 3/5⭐️

I really love Pretty Little Liars so I had high hopes for this. Unfortunately, this one didn’t really work for me. While I enjoyed reading about toxic friendships, the pacing felt off. There were times when the story was moving too slow. I also had to check to make sure this was an adult book because it felt more YA to me. The biggest positive to this book were the twists that kept me entertained.

I have to start by saying this book had HUGE shoes to fill because Pretty Little Liars was my entire personality for years! IYKYK! I can honestly say this is the adult equivalent of the first PLL book for me. It was well rounded in its offering in trauma evaluation, testing the bounds of friendship, drama, and some wicked twists! There is such an intriguing blend of characters in this book, all uniquely messed up in their own way and trying their best to survive. I definitely recommend to those who enjoy a suspenseful read!

TWs: loss of a loved one, dr*g ab*se, ab*se, abandonment, c*lt behavior, @ssault, bl*ckmail, st*lking, more

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️✨ - 4.5/5

If you’re looking for a culty commune mystery suspense, this book is for you!!!

I do have to say that this read a bit younger for an adult book but it was a fun ride nonetheless 💕

3.25⭐️

⭐️NOWHERE LIKE HOME, out NOW!⭐️

Special thanks to @duttonbooks for the review copy in exchange for my honest review

This was my first book I’ve read by this author. While I do like the writing style, I felt that this story was a very slow burn with not enough action to keep me interested. It took me awhile to get through this one, but all in all I would recommend to others due to strong character development and enough suspense to make the reader need to finish it to know how everything turns out.

This was not the first book I've read by this author, but I think it's the highest one for me.

I like the dynamic and power play of this book. That's what drew me to it, and I wasn't disappointed. An obsessed friend? I live for that trope in thrillers. Live for it. Especially when they disappear.

Was I blown by the twist? Meh, not really, but was it way better than some of my other reads this month? Yes. It really was!

So, all in all, solid 4.2.

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

To say I was shocked would be an understatement! I definitely did not see that ending coming. I loved how the author jumped from past and present every other chapter because it helped me understand exactly what was going on. I really didn’t like Rhiannon’s character, but I felt for Lenna. Gillian was just the worst. i wanted to feel some sympathy toward her, but she was unlikable from the very beginning. The setting of the book was interesting as well. It was cool to read about a community of women who are totally reliant on one another for their survival. Overall, it was a thrilling and different story!

I really enjoyed this story. First of all, the cover is absolutely stunning. That is what grab my immediate attention. I loved the multiple viewpoints. There was also JUST enough cult life for my liking!

This book started out so well, and I was intrigued by the premise. But the longer everything went on, the less I could take it seriously. By the time Lenna and Sarah/Sadie are in full cahoots, the story becomes almost incredulous. The novel promised one premise but then meandered away from that and went into a completely different direction that didn't really make sense. Worse, when I got to the conflict, I was completely underwhelmed. I felt like I'd spent a lot of time for very little payoff.

Others may like this one, but it's definitely not for me. There are other books out there that are much better when it comes to cults/communes.

Three women end up on a mom-centered commune, but they're surprised know each other from their past. Is it a coincidence, or does someone know their secret? This was an uneven story. Some of it felt like a slog, then some of it was a page turner. It was hard to finish.

I love Sara Shepard. The PLL series was amazing for me. But this one just fell very flat for some reason. I think it started off really good, but lost itself somewhere along the way. It was very nicely paced, but I couldn't seem to really want to root for Lenna. She wasn't my favorite MC and so I think I disconnected from the story a bit.

“𝘐𝘵’𝘴 𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘢𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘱𝘰𝘯𝘴𝘪𝘣𝘪𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘧𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘱.”

Thanks Netgalley and Dutton Books for the eARC!

So I didn’t realize when I requested this one - the cover caught my eye and the premise was intriguing - is that this is the author of Pretty Little Liars! Not gonna lie, learning that made me cringe. I never read the books, did watch some of the show before it got way too out of hand but never liked it, so I was wary starting this one but it is far less problematic in content. It does have strong themes of motherhood, toxic and controlling friendships, anxiety issues and mental health. You’ll find unreliable and unlikeable characters, eerie foreboding, a nonlinear timeline with multiple POVs, psychological suspense, twisty plots and revelations. Content and trigger warnings do include manipulative/controlling relationships, mentions of a rape and murder, some profanity, drugging, and mental health struggles.

All in all, it was a decent thriller and I didn’t predict the outcome. 3.5 out of 5.

I had a good time and that's all that really matters. Sometimes we just need a quick thriller to make us cozy. This one is perfect!

I love a good thriller and was very excited for this one! I got very into the first 2/3 of it - but the rest fell a bit flat for me. The ending felt quite convoluted. In an attempt to really shock the readers with a big reveal, it felt a bit undercooked to me.

It was enjoyable enough but I wanted to like it more.

Thank you @netgalley and @randomhouse for the advanced copy of Nowhere Like Home, this book released on 2/20. This was a ⭐️⭐️⭐️💫 read for me, it was good but not great. My main flaw was that I really couldn’t connect with the main character Lenna. She felt a little flat to me, this was also lacking in cult details. I was expecting a full blown thriller escaping a cult but it just lacked a lot of what I wanted. However I really enjoyed this one, I loved unraveling the mystery but just found myself wanting more! I also just realized that this author wrote pretty little liars and mostly YA so maybe that is why it felt a little lacking in detail!
*

🔲NOWHERE LIKE HOME by Sara Shepard was a fast-paced friendship suspense that had me guessing!

The book starts out with Lenna and her baby heading out to an intentional living community of all women, or a "mommune." As the story unfolds, we meet Rhiannon, the friend Lenna followed out here and their spicy history shown in chapters from two years ago. There is clearly more going on in this sketchy group, but Lenna isn't sure who to trust and it all comes barreling at her one fateful night.

I had a difficult time with Lenna. There was a weird dependency about her that made me as uncomfortable as the other characters by whom we are supposed to feel unnerved. I was glad that this changed by the end, but it took a bit.

I did enjoy the tension and suspense that built throughout and maintained even in the end. It was a bit far-fetched, but by the time I felt this, I was being entertained enough that it didn't bother me a bit! It felt like the dramatic ending was fitting and would make for great television.

I would recommend this story to those looking for a quick, friendship centered suspense/thriller. Thank you to @netgalley & @duttonbooks for this entertaining read that was published February 20th, so it is out now!

I picked this book up for two reasons: the premise sounded interesting and I'm drawn to books with cult-like communities, and Sara Shepard. I loved Pretty Little Liars -- both books and TV show. This started out promising with the three women characters all displaying a little unreliability. I wanted to see where it was going to go. The middle of the novel dragged for me quite a bit. I knew more was going to happen, it just didn't happen fast enough for me. Once the action started, it rolled on like a snowball down a hill -- gathering speed until the crash ending. What an ending it was. I gave it less stars because the middle made me want to give up. I'm glad I didn't though.