I loved the set up of this book and really enjoyed the reading experience. I thought the characters were well-drawn and I liked the incorporation of the backstory through transcripts and interviews and news articles. I thought for the most part the story was fast-paced and there were enough suspicious threads to keep me reading.

I wanted to know what happened and read more about the dynamics between all the characters and I had major suspicions about what really happened to the main character when she was a kid, which turned out to be somewhat right and somewhat wrong. So overall it was a fun read!

However, one big issue I had was that I didn't think the general public would be as invested and swept up in a little girl who disappeared during a storm only to be rescued 3 days later as the book would suggest. While I was whipped into the story and was very much into all the present drama, I couldn't quite get over that the big dark secret of the book had to do with something that happened 20 years ago to a little girl in a small town. At the conclusion of the book it didn't quite track to me that the main character wouldn't want the truth to be known of what really happened, once she herself knows what the truth is. Like the secret itself wasn't actually terrible in the grand scheme of things, and it was pretty unbelievable that the main character would capture the public's attention to the point of being hounded for decades and thus want to keep it a secret, if that makes sense.

It was also interesting because this book wasn't exactly full of twists and turns, but more like waiting for one big twist to reveal itself while mired in small town drama, which I actually liked a lot. And I didn't manage to guess the major twist, but the reveal made sense and looking back it wasn't totally out of left field. So it was a very satisfying final twist.

This one was a tough one, because while I didn't believe in the overall concept of the story as mentioned above, I really enjoyed every other aspect of it. So, if you're the kind of person who can suspend your disbelief and still enjoy a story, you should dig in.

I received an ARC of this novel from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Olivia Mayer, a hospital administrator, left behind a troubled past to start life over only to have her past resurface. Very compelling novel.

This book will release June 2020 and I'd definitely categorize it as a pretty good summer thriller. I am a fan of Megan Miranda's writing; however, I didn't find this novel as "thrilling" as some of her previous works.

The plot centers around Arden Mayor, a young woman who changes her name to Olivia in an attempt to disassociate herself from her childhood. Arden was involved in a horrific incident as a child that made national headlines when, while sleepwalking, she was swept away by a heavy rainstorm and found alive, clinging to a storm drain. This incident becomes the framework for the rest of her life. In order to escape it, she changes her name, attends college, and stays far away from the town (Widow Hills) where it happened. Everything seems to be going well for her until she finds out her mother is dead and receives a box in the mail with the last of her belongings. Olivia begins sleepwalking again and everything unravels from there.

One thing that I liked about this book is the storyline itself. I feel like it's very interesting and I'd love to hear more from Miranda about how she even came up with it. Olivia herself is pretty one dimensional until she starts sleepwalking again and I like how Miranda brings her past to life in the pages. I would love to have seen more interesting characters alongside Olivia in the novel. Maybe it's because she's kind of a loner that she doesn't have many friends, but the ones that she does have fell flat to me. Without spoiling the novel, aside from Olivia's mother and the guy next door, I couldn't figure out the purpose for having them there as they didn't seem to really fit into the storyline.

There's definitely a plot twist at the end, which I highly enjoyed, but I just wish there were more along the way.

What is this book about?
Ardan was 6 years old when she was sleepwalking and was swept away in a flash flood. She was missing for three days until she was found alive clinging to a storm drain. She was the girl from Widow Hills, a miracle. While Ardan remembers nothing from those three days, she was the girl that bet the odds. She was famous. Twenty years, later she goes by Olivia and has been able to keep her past hidden but with the twenty year anniversary coming up she is worried the media will renew their interest in her. Soon, Olivia feels like someone is watching her and she starts sleepwalking again. One night she walks up to find a person from her past at her feet dead. Now, the girl from Widow Hills will be the center of attention again.

What did I think?
I really enjoyed this book! I thought the plot was good and it kept me guessing the whole time. I feel like the storyline is not one I’ve seen before and I didn’t see the final plot twist coming. I have read other books by this author and this book is by far my favorite. I would classify this as your typical thriller/mystery. I’m glad I was approved to read it. Definitely worth the read.

http://ramblinhamlin.com/the-girl-from-widow-hills-review/

I received a free e-copy of The Girl from Widow Hills by Megan Miranda from NetGalley for my honest review.

Arden, who is 6 years old, sleep walks. One morning, her mother wakes to find Arden is gone. Arden was sleepwalking and walked into a rain storm that swept her away. She was finally found 3 days later in a storm grate by Sean Coleman.

This story was so big that her mother was able to write a book about it and sell their story. Now,
20 years later, Arden has changed her name to Olivia Meyer to escape the past of being Arden "the girl from Widow Hills". But she is sleep walking again. This time when she wakes up she is standing over a dead body.

Now, Arden is trying to remember what happened the night the man was killed. Will she also discover what happened 20 years ago as well?

Going into reading this, I wanted to be able to answer one question: “Does this book live up to its hype on Bookstagram”? My answer is Yes, a resounding yes.

Arden Maynor has a miracle story. One night while sleepwalking, she was taken by a storm. For days they searched, and finally she was found. The fame, the notoriety of the incident was too much. She changed her name to Olivia Meyer and never looked back.

Coming up on the 20th anniversary of the incident, her sleepwalking started again. She literally trips over a dead body. Olivia has been trying to keep her past a secret, but it looks like she’ll have to figure out the truth of this dead body before it’s too late.

I really enjoyed that Olivia worked in Hospital Admin. I also work in that sector, so I related to her so much. The gossip, the HIPAA regulations, the lengths people go to protect themselves from infractions are things dealt with on a daily basis, so it was nice to see my profession (which isn’t very common) come to life in a book. I also get random surges of dejavu and have no idea why, so me and Olivia, we’re friends.

My mind raced through the last 100 pages. I always try to guess what is going to happen next. Is this person bad? No. Did this person do that? Nope. Oh I bet it’s this person? WRONG.

I enjoyed this book! I enjoyed Olivia’s dynamic with the other characters. I keep trying to see what their role was in the book, and I appreciated the true element of surprise. The last 5 pages usually have you winding down off a rollercoaster of a thriller. However, the last 5 pages of The Girl From Widow Hills had me looking over the edge of the coaster just before you jolted to the bottom.

This is a definite 5 star read. Thank you NetGalley, Simon & Schuster for the ARC in exchange for an honest review. The Girl From Widow Hills comes out 6.23.2020 and I am so excited for others to read this. I truly believe many thriller book clubs will have this as their July BOTM.

I had high hopes going in based on the premise of this book. How could a story about a sleepwalking woman with a traumatic past waking up to a dead body not be thrilling? And yet, for the majority of the book I found myself totally disinterested. I didn't care who the murderer was, I just wanted them to get on with it. The conclusion and plot twist later in the book did finally get some excitement going., butut it still wasn't enough to redeem the book. It wasn't bad, just not particularly good either. A fine read. But in such a popular genre, a reader can definitely find better. I preferred Miranda's The Last House Guest.

3.5 stars, rounded up!

I feel like I read this book at a weird moment in my life. I started this book in the midst of the start of the Coronavirus spread and was looking for something to escape the news. What I found instead, was that my mind was elsewhere when reading this book, that I couldn't fully commit to the story.

I'm curious how this book will be rated by others. It's clear the writing is strong, and the author is great at building suspense and wonder. Yet, I still couldn't fully engage in the story and I'm not sure if that was because my mild was filled with anxiety of what was happening IRL, or if the story just wasn't demanding my full attention.

I'm also unsure if the story had to be as long as it was. Granted, it's not a long book, but parts of it felt fairly drawn out and repetitive. The ending was somewhat of a surprise for me and I did find that the closer I got to the end, the more invested I became in the story.

Maybe this is a book that's better read as a binge read. An all night reading sesh opposed to my four day sporadically reading session.

If you enjoy thrillers, I would recommend this. It's got an interesting story and the writing is very good!

A big thanks to NetGalley and Simon & Schuster for the ARC and wanting my honest opinion!

I’m a huge fan of Megan Miranda’s books and I was so excited to get the ARC of this one (thank you NetGalley!).

This time the story centers around Olivia, who survived a traumatic event in her childhood —caused by her sleepwalking—that made her “famous” for a while. The book starts when she sleepwalks again and wakes up next to a dead body.

The Girl from Widow Hills is pretty similar to Miranda’s other books — unreliable female narrator, small group of questionable characters, and enough twists and turns to keep you guessing. A solid suspense/thriller that will leave you satisfied at the end.

Generally a hit or miss for me with this author.
This unfortunately is a miss.
I am 40% in and it feels like it’s just dragging. Very character driven so far and I can not get passed it. I tried several times to pick up and I’m not enjoying it.

Thanks NetGalley and Simon & Schuster for the opportunity to review The Girl From Widow Hills.

Megan Miranda is known for her thrillers and ability to keep the pages turning. This creepy book did just that. Similar rural themes, strong female characters, and so many questions continue to lead Miranda’s books.

Short, sharp plot line that kept me guessing until the end. It was definitely wild and definitely kept me reading.

I anticipate this title will be a hot summer read and possibly a popular book club title!

Don’t miss this one out on June 23!

Thanks netgalley and Simon & Schuster for this ARC! Megan Miranda has done it again! This is an awesome page turner! Just when I thought I knew how the story was going to end I didn't. A part of the story I didn't think was very important ended up being huge and an awesome way to tie everything together!! I love Megan Mirandas work and this didnt disappoint!! ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

As a young child, Arden sleepwalked out of her house in the middle of a rainstorm and was swept away. Search parties were led by people in and out of town, and the event made the news well beyond the town of Widow Hills. Against all odds, Arden was found days later, alive, clinging to a storm drain. Ardens mother capitalized on the publicity, writing a book and going on talk shows. Arden gained fans and stalkers. The scrutiny became too much and as soon as she was old enough Arden changed her name to Olivia, moved and disappeared from the public eye. As the 20th anniversary of the rescue approaches Olivia feels like she's being watched and begins sleepwalking again. Then late one night Olivia wakes in her yard - next to a dead man. A man she knew when she was Arden.

At first the idea this miraculous rescue would remain in the minds of a nation, and continue to be worthy of a news story on it's anniversary, seems outrageous. In the 24-hour news cycle, how could something like this - something positive - be this enduring? Yet, I can see it happening. If you watch the news, or spend time online, you know that there is a need for a break from horror; a miracle survivor story has the power to provide that, particularly if there is name recognition likely to get a lot of "clicks". Also, if you consider some of the famous people in the world, they are famous for nothing. Famous for existing. Famous for a mistake that might have been intentional. Et cetera. The plot of The Girl From Widow Hills was intriguing, as was Olivia. I recommend it for fans of psychological suspense.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the ARC. The opinions in this review are honest and my own.

Good story, with a short, sharp plotline and just enough mystery and whodunnit-ness to keep me interested. The ending was somewhat abrupt after such a long lead up, but it was still an enjoyable read and full of atmosphere.

This book was such a wild, rollercoaster ride. I loved it much more than the other Megan Miranda books I’ve read.

I don’t want to give too much away, but I’m predicting this will be a hot summer thriller that many book clubs, famous and small, will clamor for.

A great thriller. Enough red herrings to keep me guessing up until the end. I would like Olivia to go to therapy though. She needs some support. Highly recommend to adults who like thrillers.

Thank you to NetGalley and Simon & Schuster for the advanced copy!

Another twisty, turny, shut-your-mouth…whaaaaat? novel from Megan Miranda that kept me reading waaaaaay past my typical bedtime (which will not be disclosed here as my feelings are delicate at the moment).

Arden Maynor was once known nationwide. The little girl from Widow Hills who was swept away in a torrential rainstorm while sleepwalking, missing for days while the community searched high and low, praying for a safe return. Miraculously, no spoilers here, she was found safe, but life proved to be one obstacle after another from that point on. Crazy, right? Yeah, it be’s that way sometimes.

Now living as Olivia, the girl from Widow Hills has worked hard to hide her past, completely disconnecting from that story, that life. However, Miranda reminds us we can never truly escape the past as Olivia finds herself sleepwalking again, experiencing time lapses, and uh-oh, finding the bloody body of a man (he dead) in her backyard. Just like that, her two worlds collide as she’s forced to face her past while surviving her present.

I cannot tell a lie here: although I knew Arden/Olivia would be forced to remember her past, discover those secrets she’d been repressing all these years, I did NOT see the ending coming, and I’m typically on my game with these things. For that, Miranda gets so many, many kudos! I highly recommend this one to anyone who enjoys those “The girl who…” did something books and loves a good surprise here and there.

Incredible. Everything about this book was incredible. The characters, the descriptions, the twists and turns. I became invested in each character's life and cared so deeply for the main character.The main character, Olivia, was so easy to like and root for as a reader. She wanted nothing more than to know the truth. I was totally immersed into this story from beginning to end. Megan Miranda has a very unique writing style that completely grabs the reader's attention from the very first page. The plot is one of a kind and will keep you on the edge of your seat all the way through. This was unlike anything I have ever read before. It deserves five stars completely.

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The Girl from Widow Hills was very suspenseful and kept me guessing until the very end. I wish there had been more of a connection between some of the characters but I think that was just part of the story. Would recommend!

Ok, well I enjoyed the story overall. The plot was creative - a six-year old gets swept away in a flash flood and then goes missing for 3 days. Her rescue puts Widow Hills on the map. The attention that she receives after causes her to change her name in order to escape her past, which she can't seem to remember anything about. Her past then starts to catch up with her in her new life.

I never knew which characters were good and which characters were bad. That part kept me on my toes - I was always guessing. But, overall, I felt like nothing really happened. Once Arden/Olivia's history was explained, we seemed to be brought through her day-to-day life happenings. Yes, tripping over a dead body in your yard isn't something that happens in anyone's day-to-day life, but I didn't feel like there was any "wow" factor. Instead, I was waiting for everything to wrap up so that it would end.