When I read the blurb for this I was really looking forward to it but it fell a little flat for me, I think I was expecting it to be a bit more gripping and have a few more twists.

The Runaway is the first book in the Bane Island Trilogy series. I like Lisa Childs but this book fell flat and I didn't enjoy it was much as I thought I would. I was disappointed that the book didn't live up to blurb, which was the reason why I chose to pick up the book to review.

When I read the blurb, I knew I had to read it. I'm fascinated by all things asylum That means I had high hopes and expectations. Sadly, the story couldn't quite life up to those.

I loved the characters and the storyline development of this book. It was absolutely one of my favorites so far and I can't wait to delve in to the next one that this author writes. The storyline was simple, enjoyable, and entertaining.

In Lisa Childs' The Runaway, the first installment in the Bane Island romantic suspense trilogy, this would keep you hooked on a wild and twisted journey. It all started for Rosemary Tulle when she received a phone call from her half-sister Genevieve in Maine. That propelled her to search for her in Halycon Hall, formerly known as Bainesworth Manor, where bad things happened to young girls. During a winter storm, her car had trouble driving across the bridge when she met Sheriff Deacon Howell who encouraged her to go home since it was too dangerous for her. When she reached the hall, she's been denied entry since she wasn't on the list. So she needed to figure out a way to help her get to the truth...and that was Whittaker Lawrence, someone she met at a party twenty years ago. But the real truth was Genevieve was Rosemary's daughter she had given up for adoption to her own mother and step-father. While she searched for the truth on who fathered her child, it sent chills across her spine when someone's been wanting to take her out multiple times. The closer they get to the truth on who's been killing people on the island, it makes her more desperate to find out if her daughter's dead or alive and to find out if she has a future with Whit in the end.

Usually the couple is clear quite quickly in a romance, but here it’s not the case: the male characters don’t seem interesting nor interested, and for once in a romance the heroine isn’t guided by her hormones. When some (feeble) feelings appear, they don’t override her quest for her sister. It’s rare enough to be noticed, even if I was looking at this relationship with raised eyes as it seems unlikely.
<spoiler> The heroine visits the man she believes is her rapist to ask his help in entering the clinic to find her sister who’s in fact her daughter, he follows her to the island, and during a confrontation he tells her he never touch her because she had been drugged. It’s enough to disturb 18 years of certainty, and bam, feelings begin to surface. OF. Course…..</spoiler>
What’s more they finally have few interactions, so I thought the final declaration of love came from nowhere.

On the plot side, the author probably wanted to spike up the mystery about the clinic, its past, and its inhabitants, perhaps to incite to read the next volume, but it didn’t work with me as I spent too much time grumbling because a lot of information was lacking. If at least the whole had been gripping, but no, it’s too slow to make me want to read more. I didn’t appreciate the multiple POV changes, we go in the head of the heroine, the woman at whose place she’s staying, one of her father’s friends, the “hero”, the sheriff, the director, his brother, and of course the bad guy. That’s a lot of people to follow, especially as we don’t have a lot of information about each of them.
What’s more I thought totally unbelievable that after having refused several time to let the heroine enter the clinic to look for her daughter, the director would finally accept to hire her (she’s a psychologist) wide opening the door for her searches.

On the positive side, we see Rosemary’s evolution; at the beginning she’s a little lost, and she ends up affirming herself, first by recognizing her sister is in fact her daughter, then by confronting her mother when she learns the truth about what happened 18 years ago through a hypnosis session. I actually must say the mother is as despicable as can be.
Second positive point, I was wrong about the bad guy’s identity, even if I had roughly understood the motivation. Well, on the other side, I have some excuses as we had just glimpsed him for 3 seconds.

All in all it’s a novel I didn’t appreciate and that I don’t recommend. It left me with too many questions and I don’t intend to read the sequel to have answers.

In this exciting new read from Child's we meet Rosemary Tulle. Rosemary gets a upsetting phone call from her younger sister Genevieve asking her to come get her. Genevieve was sent to Halcyon Hall by their parents, they hoped her stay there would help straighten her out. Once she gets there she isn't allowed in because she is not on her sisters visitors list. Once she does finally get in the staff tells her that her sister ran away. Rosemary truly doubts her sister ran away, especially after she called her asking her for help. She soon asks for help from a man from her past who she had hoped would stay there but with her sister missing she is willing to do anything. Soon secrets are uncovered that Rosemary had hoped would stay in the past but finding her sister is more important. Follow along as a sordid tale from the past is exposed. Will Rosemary find her sister and will her past come back to bite her in the end?

A Disturbing History....
Halcyon Hall sits on a secluded island off the Maine coastline. The Hall is now an exclusive spa resort. But, the Hall has a history. A disturbing history. A fully intriguing premise. A slow burn suspense with the secrets of the past catching up with the present.

I received a complimentary copy of this ebook from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Well, I definitely sped through this book because I really wanted to know what had happened to Genevieve at Halcyon Hall after she leaves a worrisome voicemail to Rosemary. There is lots of action and thrills in this story with Rosemary on the search for the missing Genevieve. The one thing that bothered me was the switching of the point of view from character to character. I don't mind that in books, but this one did the switching from paragraph to paragraph and it would throw me to have jumped from Rosemary to Elijah and then Whitt. I think it did not need to have that many points of view and definitely not with the constant switching.

I also wish that more of the history of Halcyon Hall had been added for the creepy factor. That was pushed to the side by Rosemary's history. The ending felt a bit rushed too with the mysterious attacker and the reason why he was doing what he did.

I think it was a fairly good thriller that suffered from too many side characters though I think those were setting up for the next book.

"The Runaway" by Lisa Childs is a gripping, fascinating tale about the lengths someone will go to just to protect their family. This novel is suspenseful, chilling, and unpredictable right until the end.

When Rosemary Tulle receives a chilling phone call from her younger sister, begging her to rescue her from Halcyon Hill, an insane asylum, Rosemary's sole focus is doing whatever she can to rescue Genevieve. Except, Rosemary's name is not on the visitor's list and nobody will let her inside. Rumors about Halcyon Hill's past and the locals' fear of the place have Rosemary questioning what goes on behind closed doors and what is being done to her sister.

"The Runaway" by Lisa Childs is a novel to look out for. Spooky, suspenseful, and full of dark secrets, this book is guaranteed to take readers down winding twists and turns that leave them with more questions than answers. I really enjoyed the dark, gothic vibes of a mysterious asylum that has a twisted history and a lot of secrets. When I started this book, I was worried it would be another cliche, but Childs' writing is evocative and whimsical while keeping a hold of those darker themes that run throughout the novel. The author really impressed me with their ability to keep the truth of what was occurring at the asylum from the reader, along with complex characters with their own secrets and hidden agenda.

I highly recommend this novel for those who enjoy suspenseful, gothic novels and being surprised at every sudden twist that gets thrown their way. Cannot wait to read more books in this series, as well as novels by this author.

Thank you Netgalley and Kensington Books for providing me with the opportunity to read this novel and write a review.

I enjoyed this book. It was an easy read with characters you empathised with.
Rosemary has come to spring her younger sister Genevieve from Halycon Hall, which is the go to place for the rich with problems. Rosemary's problem is that Genevieve has apparently runaway. Rosemary tried to get the local police involved in locating her sister but someone else is trying to stop her.
Thanks to Kensington books and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

There is a lot of potential here for a great series. The characters are interesting. There is a healthy dose of suspense. I did find myself skimming parts, but I had to finish it because I really wanted to know how it ended. I will definitely give the next book a try.

Rosemary receives a very distressed call from her sister to come get her out of the facility their mother put her in. When she gets to Bainesworth she is not allowed on the property.while trying to get in to see her sister she finds out that she is missing. The sheriff thinks she has runaway but Rosemary insists something is not right and that her sister did not runaway. Thank you for the ARC copy.

When I read the blurb, that this book was about an old asylum, I knew I had to read it. I'm fascinated by all things asylum and the mentally ill. That means I had high hopes and expectations. Sadly, the story couldn't quite life up to those.

A eerie, creepy building that once housed those that society didn't want has now been "renovated" to become a health spa that offers "treatments". When her sister leaves a phone message asking for help, Rosemary arrives at the spa to protect her. She is unable to see her sister, she's not on the visitors list. A visitors list at a spa? But then, she's told her sister has run away leaving no idea where she might have run. This starts the frantic investigation by Rosemary to find her sister and figure out exactly what is happening. She must accept help from a man from her past. The two of them will run through some daring events to find the evil that has never left the asylum/ spa.

A great read....the building itself helps set the atmosphere leaving us wondering exactly what could have happened there before.

Thanks Netgalley for allowing me to read this book. Rosemary travels to Halcyon Hall to pick up her sister. Because Rosemary is not on the visitor list she is turned away. Halcyon hall used to be a haven for the insane. The more Rosemary learns about the hall, the the worst she feels This book kept me interested until the end.

I have mixed feelings about The Runaway. It was a very slow start for me and I struggled to get into it. I will say that it definitely picked up in the middle and I read the second half pretty quickly. The synopsis makes this sound like a super creepy thriller or a romantic suspense but it’s more of a mystery. The main focus of this book is Rosemary’s search for her sister and her developing love story.

There is A LOT going on in this book with so many story lines. I felt like it jumped around a bit too much and the ending left me feeling confused without all of the answers. However, as I said, this book did get me hooked in the middle and kept me flipping pages until I finished. I will also say that it’s listed as the first in a series and I would definitely read subsequent books to find out what happens.

The characters were interesting with various issues from their pasts and many complicated relationships. There are really strong characters who have overcome tragedy and heartbreak. There are also hints that some of these characters are. hiding skeletons in their closets and we've only scratched the surface of this story.

The Bainesworth Manor/Halcyon Hall setting definitely gives off some bad vibes and I think there's so much more to the story than we explored in this book. It's possible that the author threw so much into this initial installment because she is laying the foundation for the story going forward. We are left with so many questions at the end about who has been involved in horrible things during the manor's history so I am looking forward to finding out the truth.

Overall, there is a lot of potential here and a really great premise for a story. If you go into it understanding that it's not a creepy thriller but rather a slower-paced mystery, you will enjoy it.

Thank you to Kensington Books and Zebra Books for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Review featured at www.books-n-kisses.com

2.75 Hearts I had a hard time with this book. The dark storyline was more than I wanted to read. I mean the synopsis had me thinking this would be a suspense thriller but it was very dark with violence and rape.

I think the writing itself was fine but the characters were hard to connect to and again the dark storyline made me have to force myself to read it.

I really think the writer could have done so much more to this story and made it a winner, the potential was there it just didn’t come through in this story.

Disclaimer:
I received a complimentary copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

Great read. The author really draws the reader into the story. Will definitely read another book by this author. I felt like I was part of the story. I couldn't put the book down, seemed so real.

I fall in the middle on this one. Rosemary's sister Genevieve has called her and begged that Rosemary rescue her from the treatment center where their parents sent her. She's not there, though, when Rosemary finally arrives at Halcyon Hall. Did she run away or did something else happen? Rosemary has had a twisted relationship with Whit, who is meant to be the romantic interest but he's the only one who can help her. There are secrets and lies. The perspective shifts, as does time. Its got potential as a Gothic but it isn't romantic suspense. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC.