***4-4.5 stars ***

WHATTTTTTTTTTTT Mary Kubica.... what did you just do to me!!!? I'm so confused and speechless over what I just read. The ending, the twist, WOW. Jessie's mother is dying in a hospital room from cancer and Jessie is by her side. I don't want to give any details away because it makes it makes this story that much better. Everyone do yourself a favor, don't read any details, just go into this with an open mind. I went from thinking this was so predictable and that I had it all figured out to being jaw dropped, almost to the point of confusion. This was my first Mary Kubica read and I will be reading more from her in the future, guaranteed. I really enjoyed the ride and couldn't put this book down.

Special thanks to Netgalley and Park Row for allowing me an advanced read copy in exchange for an honest review. Highly recommend!

Kubica's books are hit or miss for me, but they definitely never fail to bring about many thoughts!
There are hints throughout this book to help you figure out what is going on--but you have to read carefully to get them (that's all of the spoilers I'm going to give)
It's decently short, so it is a fairly quick read, although it kind of drags. The sleeplessness and the hallucinations/paranoia/what have you get a bit cumbersome and boring to read after a while. By far I liked Eden's linear story much more than Jessie's convoluted one, but you need both to give a complete picture.
The end is satisfying, which elevates the book above ho-hum and puts it into the decent read category.

After reading some early reviews for <I>When the Lights Go Out</I>, I was prepared for a twist that maybe quite disappointing. The reviews seemed to be mixed so I went in with low expectations but hoping to have them be exceeded. And I admit I was pleasantly surprised by the book.

Because I expected a twist, I figured out what the twist was but I wasn't bothered by it. I thought the writing made up for everything. Mary Kubica has a way with words. I felt like I was right there in the story, trying to put the pieces together along with the characters. Was Jessie so sleep deprived that she is hallucinating? Did her mom string together lies of her childhood and make her believe things that aren't true? Did Eden really do the unthinkable when she gave in to the fact that she might not be able to conceive...ever?

The pain then both felt throughout was palpable. This is the reason why I could not be disappointed with this book. If you enjoy a psychological thriller than you can feel a part of, even if you think you know the outcome, jump right into this one.

This was my first Kubica novel to date and I understand her fan following now. This was an exceptionally emotional tale. The novel is told in a dual timeline featuring alternating mother/ daughter first person points of views. The big reveal at the end seems to have follow good readers split down the middle but I loved it!! I always like when an author can trick me. Well done Kubica, I'll have to get your other books now. 4 huge stars!

3.5 Stars

I adore Mary Kubica. She’s a super talented author, and I love her writing style. I own (and love) all her previous books, so I was all excited to read When the Lights Go Out. I’ve wavered back and forth on what I thought about this book since reading it, and I might as well go ahead and say something about the ending before I go on! It’s definitely an ending that some will love, some will hate and others will be somewhere in the middle about. I didn’t hate it, but I didn’t love it either although I do see why some do love it.

I love a smooth, smoldering, slow burn novel, and that is exactly what you get with When the Lights Go Out. It’s not Kubica’s typical psychological thriller style, and that’s okay. I enjoy it when an author tries new things. This book is more domestic suspense and there’s plenty of that in this drama filled novel!

The story is told from the perspectives of Jessie in the present day and her mother Eden in the past. Jessie’s mother has just died after a long bout with cancer, and she’s promised her mom after years of taking care of her that she’ll start a new life. There’s one little problem though-when Jessie applies for college, her social security number comes up as the same number as a little girl who died years ago.

This information sends Jessie, who is grief-stricken over the loss of her mom and suffering from severe insomnia and its crazy symptoms, looking for answers about who she is. No birth certificate can be found, she has no idea who her father is, and without her mom, she has no one to ask. On record, Jessie doesn’t exist, so she begins to question her real identity and because she hasn’t slept in days, her sanity.

In flashbacks to Eden’s story, we learn how desperately she and her then-husband wanted a child. How she wanted to be a mother so badly that she went through every kind of fertility treatment and in-vitro until they had no money or marriage left between them. What would Eden’s desperation drive her to do to be a mother??

Because of Kubica’s stellar writing and characterizations, I felt like I was right there with Eden and Jessie. And because I’ve experienced the agony of days spent awake with no sleep because I have severe insomnia, I completely empathized with Jessie. Jessie’s insomnia and feelings of going crazy give the book an almost manic air at times. I felt like I was sitting on the edge of my seat the entire time I was reading because the tension was just so palpable!

Then there is the infamous ending that just threw me for a loop! My goodness that ending! Wow, it was a shocker and honestly, it frustrated and drove me crazy! It was a brave but risky writing move by Kubica since it has certainly had its share of lovers and haters.

Yet no matter how I feel about the ending, I’ll always be a fan of Kubica’s writing and do recommend you read When the Lights Go Out to check out the ending that has everyone talking! I can’t wait to see what surprises Kubica has planned in her next novel!!

**Thank you NetGalley and Harlequin-Park Row for an ARC to read in exchange for my fair and honest review.**

Park Row and NetGalley provided me with an electronic copy of When the Lights Go Out. I was under no obligation to review this book and my opinion is freely given.

Told in a dual timeline and perspective format, When the Lights Go Out involves two women whose connection may be based on a foundation of lies. Jessie Sloane loses her mother and finds out that her own past has inexplicable holes. Will a lack of sleep usher in paranoia and poor judgement for the young woman? Eden is newly married with a new home, hoping to start a family with her adoring husband. Will fertility issues lead to a decision that will change the course of Eden's life?

The author relies too much on writer's tricks to build suspense, which cheapens the overall affect of the book. I love when suspense thrillers and mysteries use misdirection to surprise the reader at the eventual reveal, but When the Lights Go Out employs a cheap trick to accomplish that goal. This novel represents a missed opportunity by the author to give readers a good mystery, so I would be hesitant to recommend this book to others.

This wasn't a fast-paced read, but it was still enjoyable and kept you interested in the story. The ending was just a total let down. I was left with questions and no answers.

I LOVED how this book started, and actually really enjoyed how it ended - it was a very sweet ending. However, from about 35%-90% in the book I really didn't enjoy it. I definitely enjoyed Eden's story much more than reading Jessie's. Jessie's was a bit too repetitive and just strange with her visions / hallucinations from lack of sleep - and to be honest really just didn't seem that believable.

I have read a few of Mary Kubica's books and was very excited to read this one - unfortunately it was a let down for me. It took me a lot longer to finish than I expected it to. I think if Jessie's sections weren't so out there the book could have been much more enjoyable.

This story revolves around Jessie Sloane, a young woman who loses her mother to cancer after many exhausting years battling the disease. Jessie feels alone in the world and pushes herself to focus and move forward. While applying for college, Jessie stumbles across a mysterious detail from her past that she can’t understand or accept. She becomes solely focused on figuring out the missing pieces of her childhood hoping to get answers that will help her move forward in life. This mystery sends Jessie down a rabbit hole of sorts as she searches tirelessly for the right answers. Sleepless nights and unanswered questions lead to her judgement being blurred until she can no longer tell the difference between hat's real and what's in her head. review: As a fan of Mary Kubica, I was SO excited for a new release from her! I have always enjoyed her books and her impeccable writing style, but this book just fell a bit flat for me. It didn't have the same gripping story or twists that her other books have had. The story is told during two different times and by two different POV, and the timelines and descriptions were a bit confusing and hard to follow at times. The last 15% of the book was one big "huh?!" and I felt like it totally ruined it for me. rating: 2.5 out of 5 stars  ⭐️

Wow. It’s hard to reviews this book because there isn’t much you can say beyond the synopsis. Jessie can't sleep, and her mind is playing awful tricks on her. She is grieving the loss of her mother, Eden, a mother that was her whole life. We also learn in flashbacks about Eden, what drove her to changes in her marriage and life, the desires that consumed her days. Learning about how these stories cross is wild and amazing. Each chapter leading to more questions. I loved Eden and Jessie. I was torn and wanted to reach out at different times and help them both. Dual story lines and narration are some of my favorites and Mary Kubica does it so well.
Grab this book it’s not a long read and grabs you right away. Thank you Park Row and Net Galley for my free copy.

Jessie Sloane's mother just died after a long battle with cancer. She is trying to piece back together her life without her mother, but with a few problems with financing for college she gets dropped into her own mystery. Another storyline that runs parallel to this story, is a woman named Eden who desperately wants a child and is doing almost anything to get one. The stories collide at just the right moment and then bounce back and forth in just the right rhythm.

I sit on the fence with books with unreliable characters. As the story progresses and the reader knows that Jessie isn't sleeping you keep wondering if what she is seeing and saying is anywhere near the truth. You want so much for her to not be losing her mind after everything that has happened to her. There were moments when I didn't enjoy the unreliableness of her, but I loved all the other aspects of the story so I could forgo and forgive this part.

And then the ending happened. As always, I won't say much to spoil anything. But right at the end something happened and it made everything else make sense. I am waffling on if I like how it all ended or not, but I can say it made me think and want to go back and reread the book to see if I could have picked out the ending earlier.

I am a Mary Kubica fan and only have two of her books in her backlist that I haven't read, so I look forward to seeing what is next from her.

For Jessie Sloane, it's always been her and her mom against the world. She's lived a pretty isolated life, and when her mom passes away, she doesn't know what to do next. When she applies for admission to community college, she's surprised to find out that her social security number was added to the death index when she was only a toddler. She tries to figure out what happened and who she really is as she stumbles through her days filled with grief, insomnia, and anxiety.

Mary Kubica can build suspense like no one else. The writing and character building in When the Lights Go Out is so strong that I can't give this book less than four stars. I was on the edge of my seat for the whole spooky, frantic crescendo, but I can't say that I love the twist. This was such a great set up, and I think it could have been resolved in a much more interesting and satisfying way. But! I still thoroughly enjoyed reading it, and it was the perfect creepy book to kick off fall reading.

I have been a fan of Mary Kubica since her first book, and have read them all (many in one day as I can’t put them down.) I’m not going to lie and say that this one was like that for me. About half way through I was feeling a little meh about the story. Enjoying it, but not loving, nothing super stand out in my opinion. But then the last quarter of the book.....oh my! I couldn’t stop reading! The book COMPLETELY redeemed itself and I ended up ABSOLUTELY loving this one too!!

I received a copy of this book from Netgalley. Thank you to Netgalley, to the author and to the publisher. I have read all of Mary Kubica's books, and am sad to say that I was disappointed in this book. I felt like the book was building into a really good book, but then the ending was just ok. I feel like there are still a number of unanswered questions.

I was excited to read this book because I loved Every Last Lie, Good Girl, and Pretty Baby written by Mary Kubica. The book started out great. It was very engaging and a unique storyline with interesting characters. About midway through I started to lose interest. Jessie’s battle with insomnia was too dramatic and drawn out for me. The book started to have a repetitious groundhog day feel to it.

I didn’t like the ending. I don’t want to spoil it by saying what I didn’t like. Many of the reviews said they didn’t like the last twist and I think they are having a hard time explaining what they didn’t like without giving a spoiler. Let’s just say, if Mary Kubica turned this book into her High School English teacher she would have lost points for breaking one of the main rules in writing a short story.

There were also a few loose ends in my opinion. When I finished the book I was questioning some of the things that had happened and don’t feel a conclusion was provided for it. I thought maybe I missed something and tried to look back to find my answers but wasn’t able to.

This was an enjoyable read. However, I expected more from Mary Kubica. If you haven’t read her books before I highly suggest starting with one of the others mentioned above. They were much more consistent all the way through. I will still look forward to her next book.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book courtesy of NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

WHEN THE LIGHTS GO OUT by Mary Kubica's a gripping psychological suspense novel. I have loved every single one of Kubica's novels, and this one is just as good. Keeps you reading late into the night, that is for sure.

I consider myself a fan of Mary Kubica's writing, giving 5 star reviews to both Pretty Baby and Don't You Cry, so I eagerly dove into her latest book When the Lights Go Out. I found myself in a real dilemma because on one hand, I was compulsively reading each page and holding my breath to find out what was going to happen, but then when I did get to the end and found out what happened, I felt completely deflated. I'm all about unexpected twists and turns in a plot line, but this one just fell flat for me. I simply couldn't get past the ending, so I rated this book three stars. I received this book courtesy Harlequin through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I have a strong relationship with Kubica as an author, I’ve really enjoyed all of her previous books and I’m always super excited when she comes out with a new book. She’s a master at that slow burning style of suspense and her writing is just outstanding, and I although I enjoyed this one I know it can and will divide readers.

This follows Jessie right when her mom passes away and then it also flips back to 1996 and follows Eden as she marries and wants to start a family. Jessie is suffering from severe insomnia and Kubica captured her sense of desperation and paranoia perfectly. Seeing inside Jessie’s head while she was suffering so greatly from a serious lack of sleep gave the book a crazed, frenzied feel that I liked, the suspense and tension ran at an all time high and no one writes slow boiling suspense like Kubica does. On top of that, her characterization is always on point and this was no exception.

I said earlier that this is dividing readers and it’s all about that ending. THAT ENDING!! I won’t say much more, but I can see why some love it and also why some were frustrated and I fell somewhere in the middle. Was it surprising? Absolutely! Was it my favorite big reveal of all time? Unfortunately no, but I am such a huge fan of Kubica that I wasn’t too bothered. If you’re already a fan of hers I urge you to read this for yourself and see what side of the fence YOU land on. No matter what, she’s an assured and bold writer that’s unafraid to take big risks and I have mad respect for that!

When the Lights Go Out by Mary Kubica is an excellent mystery. Jessie's mom has recently passed away from cancer. Jessie is all alone with no other family. Her mom would never tell her anything about her dad and actually seemed upset when Jessie would ask about him. Now that Jessie is alone she starts wondering about where she came from. She gets a call from the financial aid office at the college she is applying for to let her know her social security number comes up as her being deceased! This starts Jessie on a winding path to discover her history. Intertwined with diary excerpts from a woman named Eden from 20 years ago, Jessie's search takes her places she never expected. How are Jessie and Eden connected? There is a big twist that I did not see coming and it turns everything upside down! I definitely recommend this book to fans of mysteries and alternate timeline stories. Thanks to the publisher and Net Galley for a copy of this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I finished this wordy and very descriptive book trying to find out how the two narrative characters are connected and then it extends even further to make the reader find out how this relationship originated. I admitted connect with one of the main characters, Eden when she begins in the story describing her life starting, her marriage and then trying to conceive a child. But as the story gets deeper and attempts to get darker, I started to lose so much interest. Jessie is the other main character and is trying to move past her mothers death and try to find out secrets that her mother has been keeping from her but is against sleeping and insists that she will not sleep until she dies to be reconnected with her mother. As the reader, you have to reach the very end to completely understand what has happened but I admit this was not the book for me. It is an emotional fiction that tries to have dark moments but it is not very suspenseful as it is a tangled story that you try to untangle and understand.