I was quite interested in the initial plot and premise of the book. The writing was good however I lost interest halfway and was unable to finish it. But it was interesting the way the author explored the family dynamic and brokenness of it. From a psychological perspective, it was initially interesting.

This is a gripping YA read, perfect for readers who love thrillers and alternate realities. Protagonist Laney’s world fell apart when she caught her dad cheating. He begged her not to tell, but she did. Her family fell apart and she is filled with regret, especially when she learns every decision she makes spawns a new universe for the opposite choice. So in this case, we get to see what happens to the Laney who didn't tell. When a news story of two murdered girls blurs the lines between worlds, Laney has some decisions to make.

With the different realities, the narrative skips around a bit, and this can become a bit confusing if you're not a fan of this style. I didn't mind it so much. I really liked the character development here, and found the story pretty gripping. An enjoyable read.

3.5 stars.

I loved how detailed each chapter was and I wanted to crawl into the world and expereince it first hand which is terrifying because it is not a perfect work to say the least.

Honestly I don’t have an interest in reading this book anymore and I want to be more selective with what I request.

I have to admit at first, I was excited to read this book as sounded like a murder mystery, especially when two tween twin skeletons were found but then the book took the weirdest turn and I have to admit it was one of the most confusing books I have read in a long time. It did take me a while to connect with the book and slowly wrap my mind around the book and story as a whole. In this book, we have lots of parallel universes and in one universe we have Laney and of course in multiple universes Laneys and when an incident occurs, the universes start to collide and split, and soon things from the other universes are coinciding and crashing into the main Laney's universe and she is losing time and feels like she is going crazy and I have to admit, you do feel that as the reader too that you are going crazy as I seriously tried hard to stay on the same page as the author but several moments I was like Huh? I am so confused. In parts of this book, it reminded me of a cross between Lovely Bones and the Time Traveller's Wife. If you love science fiction crossed with mystery and you understand the sciencey background of universes and split parallels etc, then you may enjoy this but for me, it was just a tad too much - therefore it is a borderline 3Ps read for me.

SO GOOD. Imaginative, interesting, mind bending. Everything I want in a novel. I will never stop recommending this book, I wish it got more hype. Just very fantastic.

Intriguing premise, but in execution the story ended up difficult to untangle and ultimately lost my interest. I generally love a story with missing pieces, however the holes were filled in haphazardly making it an unnecessarily challenging read.

here's the thing, i've never been more confused with reading a book. and i don't mean and for most of this book i was like holy shit what the fuck is happening. but, it was so confusing it almost made sense, in this really weird way. but, there was also nothing amazing or groundbreaking about this book. like, it was a mess, but it was nothing that i'd write home about or anything. this was still a good book, but, i mean i might read the second book, even though it was tied up pretty good in this book.

trigger warning- drug abuse, kidnapping, rape, sexual harassment, underage sex video, violence, suicide, murder.

thank you so much for an arc of this book!

I was really intrigued by the premise of this book, the bizarro world, sliding doors factor really appeals to me but unfortunately this story was just too confusing and bizarre for me to enjoy. Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for an egalley.

I honestly loved the premise, but I couldn't get past the unrealistic dialogue. Sometimes a book just isn't for you.

I really liked the setting and the character development; however, the ending was a bit confusing for me. It was good, but I don't know if I would read it again. They are about 3 stars for me.

I've had this book on my to read list for literal months and finally, this morning, I got around to starting this book.

Some Laneys Died follows Delaney West, a 17 year old girl who keeps having visions of alternate lives based on the choices she could have made.

I have to say, anything to do with multiple universes/alternate selves is always going to be confusing unless done exceptionally well. This book was confusing and I can't honestly say the things that happened made sense, even if what occurred was feasible.

While the plot was engaging and I wanted to figure out what happened, I was let down by certain aspects. The first was what was essentially insta-love. Laney's love interest was way too perfect and convenient. And while the book does warn you about sexual content, I found a lot of it unnecessary and unnecessarily graphic, especially the earlier mentions. My final gripe is the ending. It felt quite rushed and for me, didn't feel completely satisfying.

I have to give this book 3.5 stars rounded up to 4 because while I had issues with it, I was compelled to read it all in a day.

This book was such an interesting concept! It was a gripping read that I could not put down. I adored Skipstone's writing style and look forward to reading more of her works!

ARC kindly provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review

In all honesty, this book messed around with my head. With its discussion of parallel universes and alternate realities where things did and did not happen, Some Laneys Died made me question my own existence and the reality of our universe. I often had to do a double take to work out what did and did not happen in book's main storyline and I had to reflect back on what I previously read. All in all, it was definitely a learning experience and I don't think I ever received such a throwback to my physics lessons since this book came into my life.

Some Laneys Died follows main character Laney who, after walking into a very intimate moment with her father and his lover, regrets causing the collapse of her family. If only she could turn back time and change that moment and everything that happened afterwards. The only way she can escape her misery is through discovering more about a murdered body, killed not so far away and at the same time as where she caught her dad. Somehow, Laney cannot shake the feeling that those bones are somehow connected to her and the sister she always wanted. Laney takes a trip across multiple universes to discover the truth and uncovers dangerous secrets that threaten to change the whole world that she knows.

And what a trip she took. With all the time jumps and the alternate realities, I'm not going to lie, I did get confused a bit with what actually happened in conjunction to what didn't happen. As a result, that really did make it hard for me to fall in love with this book. I just couldn't get into the feel of it easily neither with the alternate realities nor with the characters.

Characters are usually easy for me to fall in love with if well-written and well-rounded. What I found was that there were so many characters that, although flawed, didn't really stand out on the page for me. Rather than feel sorry or empathetic for the dad, I felt rather annoyed by his actions throughout the entirety of the novel. The same thing goes with Gibbs, I was meant to feel remorse for her after everything she has been through but honestly, as bad as it may sound, I didn't feel anything for her character either. I suppose this was the result of my lack of connection with story line though, I wish I could find something to relate to, something that would've made me enjoy reading about her more. I must admit, the sad backstory for her was what really bumped my review rating up though and made me enjoy reading about her narrative arc. She has gone through hell and back but her resilience really shone through. I wish the same could've been said about the main character. I found her to be probably the most mature out of all the characters since the adults all had messy and complicated lives that they seemingly couldn't return back to normal.

It kind of annoyed me though, why did Laney have to be so mature? These were adult problems that the adults honestly should've been able to deal with rather than a teenage girl who can open up universes. If I'm being completely truthful, the whole plot could have been resolved if the adults just took more responsibility for their actions rather than enact short-term and ignorant solutions. It wasn't on Laney to solve or fix but she did it anyway because her mum, dad and Gibbs just couldn't have a meaningful and open conversation about it with one another. That's what annoyed me the most out of everything I reckon, which definitely dampened my thoughts and opinions about Some Laneys Died

All in all, great story idea but the characters really let me down.

ACTUAL RATING: 3.3 STARS

Not the book that I expected! Not my type of book so I didn't really enjoy it. The ending seemed rather rushed which was a shame.

Sadly my phone which I was using to read this book screen had broken and so sadly I couldn't finish the book because it was past the archive date and I couldn't download it onto a different device. I only got a chapter or so read but the storyline was hooking, I really wished I could of finished this book.

The drama, the thrills, the twists and turns and pace and parallel universes... It has everything I love in these types of novels and it executes the ideas and concepts perfectly. I love when the plot revolves around time travel, and although this isn't strictly speaking time travel, the parallel universes thing is equally, if not more, intriguing. The possibilities are practically endless and the author uses that wisely to build a sense of urgency and imminent dread if something goes wrong. I like how the emphasis is not on the sci-fi and technobabble but actually on interpersonal relationships and the inner struggles of main character, a girl Laney who helds herself responsible for her parents divorce and everything that came afterwards. Really great novel.

The Review
The Title/Cover Draw:
Duh… It’s about Laneys.

What I liked:
The concept seemed really unique and I respected what the author was trying to do.

What I didn’t like:
Sometimes it was disjointed and repetitive. Also - because I am highly analytical by nature, I spent more time trying to figure out the holes in the space/time continuum more than I did actually enjoying what I was reading, sadly. If you don’t really care about the “HOW” of it all, you will probably like this book.

What kept me reading:
I really wanted to see how it ended and what was going on.

The Characters:
They were empathetic but sometimes I felt like I still didn’t get a handle on them.

The Ending:
It was ok. I think towards the end, it seemed to rush more than it needed to, almost as it if didn’t know how to not give it all away before the second book.

Consider if you like:
Sciency Time Travel you don’t have to try to pry into to enjoy.





You can see my video review here:
https://youtu.be/Vw4xx2vtXYY

I tried reading this one but need to DNF. It has a unique plot and storyline, but not just for me. But I will surely read this in the future if I got into a mood for this book. I am so sorry.

Thank you yo NetGalley and Skipstone Publishing for an e-arc of this book in exchange for an honest review.

3.5/5 Stars

I want to start with content warnings which will allow future readers to make an informed choice before reading this book: alcoholism, cheating, death, drug addiction, kidnapping/abduction, mental health, miscarriage/loss of pregnancy, murder, self-harm, sexual assault, suicide, torture, rape. It's possible I'm missing some, this is an intense book that deals with a lot of issues.

Some Laneys Died is a story about the "what ifs" in life. What if I made this decision or that one; what if I went home, what if I stayed; all of the what-ifs that make life difficult to handle when you fixate on them. Laney sees her father cheating on her mother and decides to let her mother know. After her father leaves, Laney spends her time thinking about "what would have happened" if she never told, if she never went to the park, if she went down a different trail, if she called out beforehand and never let anyone know what she saw; and then she becomes obsessed with the idea of alternate realities where those "what ifs" did happen. In many of her alternate realities, she is seriously harmed before jumping into a new reality. The book is generally about family, wanting to reconnect and make the best out of the relationships that you have. At times it was really difficult to keep up with the book and I'm still not sure I understand the ending. Overall it's not a bad book, but there are a lot of really heavy topics addressed and I wish the ending was flushed out a little bit more.