I received an Advance Review Copy of this book. All Opinions are my Own.
A family drama with lives torn apart and brought back together when one sister brings a young girl back to her hometown and unexpectedly leaves her in the care of her younger sister without any explanation. Only the directions to keep her safe. And so begins the story of Little Broken Things. I liked this one. The storyline was good. The characters were well developed. The twists were good. Although I must say that I did figure out the real twist right in the beginning. That did not affect my rating of the book in any way. This was my first book by this author, but I would read more Nicole Baart books.

Little Broken Things is the first book of author Nicole Baart's that I have read. I really enjoyed this book so I will definitely reading more of Baart's books!

I loved the setting of a Minnesota resort town, that swelled with people in the summer and was quiet the rest of the year. I loved the characters Baart created in this book. I found them all to be convincing and real. I liked the how the story went back and forth between the women in the tale.

I enjoyed this contemporary tale. I didn't find it scary but found the situation to be scary. The story was filled with emotions and filled with family drama. The story took place over a few days which made the story more suspenseful. One detail in the book I kept changing my mind about but I was right in the first place...cannot tell what it is or I would give the story away.

Great book. I really enjoyed it. Hard to put down. Highly recommend.

I have something for you. When Quinn Cruz receives that cryptic text message from her older sister Nora, she doesn’t think much of it. They haven’t seen each other in nearly a year and thanks to Nora’s fierce aloofness, their relationship consists mostly of infrequent phone calls and an occasional email or text. But when a haunted Nora shows up at the lake near Quinn's house just hours later, a chain reaction is set into motion that will change both of their lives forever.

Nora’s “something” is more shocking than Quinn could have ever imagined: a little girl, cowering, wide-eyed, and tight-lipped. Nora hands her over to Quinn with instructions to keep her safe, and not to utter a word about the child to anyone, especially not their buttoned-up mother who seems determined to pretend everything is perfect. But before Quinn can ask even one of the million questions swirling around her head, Nora disappears, and Quinn finds herself the unlikely caretaker of a girl introduced simply as Lucy.

While Quinn struggles to honor her sister’s desperate request and care for the lost, scared Lucy, she fears that Nora may have gotten involved in something way over her head—something that will threaten them all. But Quinn’s worries are nothing compared to the firestorm that Nora is facing. It’s a matter of life and death, of family and freedom, and ultimately, about the lengths a woman will go to protect the ones she loves.

I have read a few of Baart's back catalogue and this new title by her does not disappoint. An engaging story, interesting and diverse characters and a wonderful ending. I was quickly drawn in and the pages kept turning quickly. I will be recommending this book to lots of people and I can't wait to see what Baart has next.

Key Lake, Minnesota, is as small town as small town gets. Everyone knows everybody else, and as much as teens promise they’ll leave and never come back, they always do. At least Quinn Cruz, formerly Sanford, does. What she was expecting was a return to a comfortable life she knew. But that’s not what she gets.

When her estranged sister Nora shows up at her door with a little girl named Lucy, Quinn’s peaceful life gets thrown into chaos. Nora makes Quinn promise to keep Lucy a secret from everyone–including their mother, who lives directly across the lake from Quinn’s cottage.

One look at Lucy tells Quinn everything she needs to know about whose daughter she is. What Quinn can’t figure out is why Nora needs Quinn to hide her here, in Key Lake. But as the truth slowly starts to reveal itself, the Sanford women are forced to face the truth about who Lucy’s parents really are.

Told from multiple points of view, Little Broken Things touches on the bond between sisters and between mother and daughter, and overcoming grief, wrapped up in elements of a domestic thriller. For fans of Big Little Lies, Baart has written is the perfect novel to spend an afternoon getting lost in.

Wow this book was fantastic! I was at the edge of my seat with this one and was turning pages all through the night! I really enjoyed this author’s writing and multi-layered characters. This was a book that can show you how quick family secrets and deceit can spiral down into chaos! I give this book 5 out of 5 stars and would definitely recommend checking this book out.

I received an advanced readers copy of this book from the Great Thoughts Secret Ninja Review Team. All opinions are my own.
What would you do if your mostly estranged sister showed up on your doorstep with a scared little girl and told you to take care of her, tell no one she is with you and that "she is one of us"? This is the premise of the Little Broken Things.
I really enjoyed this book. It's a beautifully written tale of family drama with just enough suspense to keep you reading for hours. I was a little surprised at the twist at the end, but I feel it was just right for the story.
This is the first book I've read from Nicole Baart; I look forward to reading more from her.
I would recommend this book to fans of Liane Moriarty, Sally Hepworth and Diane Chamberlain.

I was completely engrossed in this beautifully written book and enjoyed every moment being caught up in the lives of this family. Nora and Quinn were so full of secrets, their mother was equally trying to live with her own, and then here comes little Lucy into the midst of all of this family angst with drama and mystery surrounding her as well.

I loved unraveling the mysteries, finding out the secrets that united and divided all of them. The ending tied it up quite nicely and I came away glad I’d spent time on the lake with this family.

I recommend this book to lovers of family drama, great mysteries and well written characters. I enjoyed this one very much.

I received an advanced review copy of this book from the Great Thoughts Ninja Review Team and the author. All opinions are my own.

I received an ARC from Netgalley and Atria Books in exchange for an honest review. This did not affect my opinion in any way.

Quinn receives a cryptic text message from her estranged sister: "I have something for you". Nora certainly does, as she drops a 6 year old girl into Quinn's lap to take care of for an undetermined length of time.

This story covers a four day span of time and cuts between several character's perspectives. The beginning and last quarter of the book are deeply engrossing, with a bit of slower pacing in the middle.

The characters are not all entirely likeable, but they do become much more developed throughout the novel.

Read this book if you enjoy domestic dramas, character studies of mother-child relationships, both conventional and unconventional. I did guess one if the twists fairly early on, but still found the ending of the book satisfying.

LITTLE BROKEN THINGS is a fantastic read for fans of women's fiction. Baart is particularly strong with creating multi-dimensional characters we want to root for. The dynamic interplay between the women who populate the novel is both believable and compelling. I like how the issue of domestic violence is handled without resorting to cliches or graphic scenes. I also enjoyed the author's treatment of guilt and the impact it may have. Although the pacing is not on par with a high octane thriller, the story moves along nicely and some of the background or set-up is included to provide a full picture of the characters, which I appreciate.

I wasn't sure if I was going to end up liking Little Broken Things when I started. It's been compared to Lianne Moriarty books and I have never been a fan of hers. I was pleasantly surprised at how much I enjoyed the story of the Sanford family and their secrets. The story opens with Quinn receiving a text from her estranged sister Nora saying she has something for her. It turns out to be a little girl she calls Lucy. Who is Lucy and where did she come from?

The story did suck me right in from the start. I wanted to know more about Everlee (Lucy) and why Nora was hiding her with Quinn. The story is told through the points of view of multiple characters adding a unique perspective from multiple voices. I enjoyed the way it was told. At the heart of the book is a little girl whose story ends up being heart breaking. I found myself rooting for her the most. While I did call the ending.it didn't take away from my enjoyment of the book. I definitely recommend giving this one a try. As this is the first book I have read by this author, I am curious to go back and seek out her previous works.

I'm usually not a fan of suspense, but this one made me want to keep reading more. The storyline kept me trying to figure out what was going on..

When a frantic Nora drops a watchful six-year-old off with her estranged sister Quinn, she insists that the girl's existence be kept secret. Quinn is certain that Lucy-- who looks just like her older sister--is family and promises to keep the traumatized child hidden. Steeped in menace, Baart’s latest is a race-to-the-finish family drama.

An engrossing book of secrets, lies, forgiveness, and family that will definitely keep readers enthralled until the very end. From the opening lines, I was captivated by this story and its complex but fascinating characters. Full of mystery that had me guessing until the surprise little twist at the end. A very well-written book that I thoroughly enjoyed and recommend. This is the first book by Nicole Baart that I have read and it has left me wanting to read more by her.

I received an advance review copy of this book from the Great Thought's Ninja Review Team via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

Favorite Quotes:

Children are not my specialty, but somewhere along the way I learned that they’re just like adults in one regard: they purr when petted just so. It feels wrong to use kindness as a tool, but I’m doing what I have to.

The list of my weaknesses is long and varied, but none so great as my tendency to inertia. At the moments I most need to go, I find myself crippled and terrified.

Damn it, Nora. She could be such a drama queen. A black hole of a woman, the kind of person who drew people to her dark gravity and sucked them in before they realized what was happening.

Liz was a good, God-fearing woman and a regular at the First Reformed Church of Key Lake, but she wasn’t the quintessential parishioner. She was fond of Jesus, not so much his people. And they seemed to love Wal-Mart more than seemed strictly conventional.

Anger and affection made awkward dance partners, and Quinn couldn’t decide whether she loved her sister in that moment or hated her just a little.


My Review:

I was immediately yanked into this intriguing and lushly written tale from the onset. I became an instant fan of this highly skilled and phenomenally talented author and now greedily want to read every word she has ever scribbled. Each character was uniquely quirky, cleverly devised, well fleshed out, and multifaceted. They were flawed, frustrating, endearing, exasperating, enticing and well-drawn, and I wanted to know every little thing about them. I was engrossed, totally engaged, intensely curious, and half-crazed to know all the secrets.

Ms. Baart is a richly gifted wordsmith and kept me on edge, on the hook, deeply entrenched, and riveted to her richly detailed and tantalizing tale. I felt the urgency and was often taut with tension, my skin prickled in anticipation with so much left unsaid and lurking beneath the surface of this maddeningly paced and well-crafted story. The writing was superb, observantly insightful, and a treat. The plot was deviously crafted and densely populated with several cunningly devised subplots running in different directions while bending back at the same time, and all of which were deeply intriguing and lavishly detailed. In short, it was brilliant.

Duinn had got a text from her older sister Nora with a cryptic message of “ I have something for you”. This immediately frightens Quinn. Quinn’s family is successful and lives in a quiet neighborhood. Quinn lives near her mother and with her husband walker who is an artist. Quinn wonders where Nora has been for so long. Nora was the older sister and the wild child of the two. Nora took off right after HS graduation. Liz was Nora and Quinn’s mother and she had tried so hard to be the perfect wife and mother to Nora and Quinn that neither daughter could really connect with or trust their mother. Quinn and Nora had never been close. Quinn never in her wildest dreams thought Nora’s summons would involve Nora dropping off a six year old little girl she called Lucy but who was in fact Everlee. Everlee’s mother was Nora’s best friend- Tiffany’s daughter and Nora is determined to protect Lucy from Tiffany's nasty husband. Nora comes and drops off Lucy and tells Quinn not to tell anyone especially Liz with no explanations why. Quinn is to hide Lucy. Nora does promise to come back and get Lucy then Nora disappears. . But it isn’t easy to hide Lucy. But everything Nora cares about is being threatened. Secrets are revealed as time goes on and tells about the damage to the family.
I had mixed feelings about this book. I loved how Quinn did step up to take care of Lucy especially since she really didn’t have much of a choice. I felt this book was filled with emotion, suspense, secrets. Hurt. family drama, tension, and so much more. I did like the different POVs shown. I really enjoyed the twists and turns of the book. But I did have problems connecting with some of the characters most of them really. It did drag for me at times. This was also fairly predictable. Also at times I had problems keeping my attention to the story and to want to finish the book. As i said I had mixed feelings but I am sure others got more from this book than I did.

How do you write a review for a book that chokes the breath out of you? Hope and despair sums up the emotional impact along with fear and love. Family. I received an advance copy from Great Thoughts Ninjas and all opinions are my own.

I mostly enjoyed this book but found parts of t confusing and parts of it really disturbing. I loved the matriarch of the family. She was by far my favorite character.

I received an advanced review copy of this book from The Great Thoughts Ninja Review Team. All opinions are my own. I have to be honest that in the beginning this book dragged for me. I couldn't get into it. I wasn't getting to the point where I can't stop reading until the very end. This little sleeper of a book surprised me and became fabulous. And yes I reached that point where I couldn't stop reading. It's a strong plot with fluid writing. You become emotionally invested in the characters and can't wait to see how everything turns out. So yes pick this up and be prepared to be as pleasantly surprised as I was. Looking forward to reading more books from this author. Happy reading!

This is probably more of a 4.5 stars. But it gets the benefit of the doubt because how good it was surprised me. At first, there were too many loose ends, and I was getting a little annoyed with all the plot twists. And yes, I did see the big reveal at the end coming. But I found all the characters so interesting, and the language so poetically beautiful for a book of this nature, that the fact that there wasn't as much suspense as there could have been didn't faze me. (I'm not someone who enjoys surprises well enough to savor them anyway.) The small Minnesota lake town felt real to me (as someone from a small Midwestern town myself) as did the characters and their motivations, and even though it was a pretty long book, my engagement in it didn't flag along the way. Very well done and I hope others enjoy it as well.

I received an advance copy of this book from NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

Two sisters are the heart of the book and after reading the synopsis I was ready for Quinn to tell the full story, but I was so pleasantly surprised when chapters from her sister Nora and her mother Liz appeared in the book.

A book that focuses on sisters is usually a book that will get me hooked in the beginning. The sister relationship will always be a complicated one, two females and usually there are similarities and differences and those impact how each sister sees themselves, the other, the family, and the world. Its hard to see the world through someone who is similar and different and grew up in the same home that you did. I love when a book presents sisters as real - hard work and rewarding.

After reading the book, I read reviews that said the book was predictable and I could see that. I could have guessed some of the endings bits, but I still enjoyed the journey to get there. Without giving away the ending, I would say that this book is a good read for the time that we are in now. With an emphasis right now on females having strong relationships with the other females in their lives; this book reminded me that there are safety in numbers, but we have to be honest with one another.

I would gladly read another by Nicole Baart. Her writing was interesting and had a good flow. Her characters were easy to get to know and easy to get invested in and I wanted to know what would happen and that is an A+ in my book!