Well, hot dancing dang!! Lindsay and I are doing a little dancing because we finally read a book together that we both enjoyed!!! Well not a perfect read for us it's one of the better books we have read in awhile!!!

My first book by Lisa Jewell was I Found You and I have loved every one published after that. I was a bit worried about whether I would like The Truth About Melody Browne because it's Lisa Jewell's older work, and she has developed more of a darker side to her stories and characters now. Well, I am happy to say even though I didn't enjoy this one as much as her latest books because I have also developed a darker side to me as a reader, her signature writing style won me over. She has grown more as a writer with layering those signature reveals, twists, and turns that come just at the right time to figure things out with her characters, and she has moved forward with developing her plots and characters as times change.

I was pleasantly surprised to see Lisa Jewell take a darker turn in The Family Upstairs with the storyline and the characters. The Truth About Melody Browne has some similarities to it but is a lighter, easier read with colorful, rich, likeable characters. While there is a little dark to the story, drama drives the story forward, and it has a heartwarming tone to it with the likeable characters. I thought it was a refreshing change of pace that still had suspense and tension to keep me engaged in the story.

I started off reading this one and then decided to switch to the audiobook. I thought the narrator did a great job pulling me into the story. I think I enjoyed the story more by listening to it, and I found it an easy one to get back on track with the story when my mind wanders away a bit. I highly recommend listening to it.

I read and really enjoyed quite a lot of Lisa Jewell books but this one was a miss for me.

Melody Browne has no memories before she was nine. Now she's in her 30's with an 18 year old son and after a hypnotist show, she begins to remember and piece together her traumatic past. I liked the format of alternating present and past chapters and thought that worked well in letting her past seep back in. However, I thought the writing wasn't very good and it was very slow and boring. This is an older Jewell book (2009) that is now getting a US release. This book will do her reputation no favors. I will still read Lisa Jewell's future books and I can appreciate how her work has grown. This book is the perfect example of how reading a current beloved author's backlist is tricky.
Thank you to NetGalley for the copy for review.

Thank you for the advanced copy of this book! I will be posting my review on social media, to include Instagram, Amazon, Goodreads, and Storygraph!

This book was weird. I am not even sure I enjoyed it. It was just that odd. I have tried a few titles from Lisa Jewell but I have to say that this one just I don't even know how to talk about it. It was weird. The suspense was great and I loved how evil this kid was. It reminded me of another book that was YA. This book was very dark! I would say check this one out at the library.

I enjoy Lisa Jewell's writing, especially her thrillers. This book is one that was originally published in 2009, and although it is not a thriller, it is still an enjoyable story involving family, friendship with a bit of a mystery. Melody Browne's family home had a serious fire when she was only nine years old. It destroyed all her possessions, pictures, toys etc. and at the same time, she lost all her memories. As she grew up, she went through a period of rebellion, culminating in getting pregnant and leaving home when she was only fifteen. She is now in her early thirties with a seventeen year old son. She was recently hypnotized at a show she attended and something triggered in her brain, causing her memories to begin coming back. This is Melody's story of rediscovering what happened in her first nine years of life.

The story is told in both the past and the present. The chapters alternate with Melody remembering something and heading somewhere to see what else she can find out, the next chapter would be from that place, but in the past. It works well, a lot better than I make it sound. The chapters meld seamlessly and I was anxious to see what else happened in this poor girl's past. Melody did not have an easy life when she was young. It was sad to see how it unfolded and she had to try hard to continue her search with all she was uncovering. As the story ended, I was glad she had made the trip into the past as it brought some people back into her life that had left holes, even if she didn't realize it at the time. This is a story of hope, perseverance, friendship, family (both natural and chosen) and self-discovery.

Thank you Netgalley, Atria Books and Lisa Jewell for free e-ARC in return of my honest review.

Melody Browne in her mid-thirties finds out that she is not Melody Browne. She is Melody alright, but the last name she was born with is not Browne. She started to remember things and finds her story.

What a story! What a character development! Melody evolves through her past and her present inquiries. She meets people from her past that share their stories about her as a child. The quest of her story is intriguing and captivating. It is hard to stop to follow Melody's steps in revealing her life.

One downside was that by the end, I felt it was a bit drugging. However, Melody-s life was presented form different angles and her new story was no less important as her past. I might have been just to eager to learned what had happened before.

TWENTY Must-Read Books of 2021 that You Need On Your Bookshelf
In 2020, I read a crazy amount of books. I doubt I will ever top the amount I read!

I’m trying to read as much as I can and just plowed through some of the best novels I have ever read. I didn’t think another year could possibly compare, but there is an absolute plethora of books that are SO GOOD coming out now and in the next few months.

I cannot stop reading! As soon as I finish one I pick up another.

Here are TWENTY books that you will want to read as soon as they are published.

These are books that will entertain, make you think, make you laugh, some will have you biting your nails in suspense. Take a look now and let me know what you will be reading!

18. You should read The Truth About Melody Browne by Lisa Jewell because…duh, Lisa Jewell!
When she was a child, Melody Browne’s house burned down, destroying all her family’s possessions and her memories. Ever since this tragic event, Melody Browne has had no recollection of her life before she was rescued from the flames.

Now in her early thirties, Melody is a single mother, living in the middle of London with her teenaged son. She hasn’t seen her parents since she left home at fifteen, but Melody has no desire to reconnect until one night, while attending a hypnotist show with a date, she faints. When she comes around, she is suddenly overwhelmed with fragmented memories of her life before that fateful fire.

Slowly, she begins the arduous process of piecing together the real story of her childhood. Her journey takes her up and down the countryside, to seaside towns to the back streets of London, where she meets strangers who seem to love her like their own. But the more answers she uncovers, the more questions she is left with, and Melody can’t help but wonder if she’ll ever know the whole truth about her past.

First published in 2009, out now.

Loved this book!! I enjoy writers who can tell a story in two different time periods and weave those timelines together seamlessly! Lisa Jewell is such a joy to read. She keeps the story moving and makes it so you can't put the books down!

Melody Browne has no memories of her childhood. Her earliest memory is of her house burning down and being rescued from the fire. Fast forward to Melody's life in London. She attends a hypnotist show with a guy she has just recently met. She is called up on stage and is hypnotized. She faints, and when she wakes up she starts having memories or flashbacks that she does not remember. Melody then goes on a quest to recover all her memories and her life. Lisa Jewell tells an amazing story with great characters that will keep you up late reading. Definite page turner! 4⭐
⭐
Thank you to Netgalley, Atria Books and Lisa Jewell for the eARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Between The Family Upstairs and The Truth About Melody Browne, it's been a pleasure having Lisa Jewell force me to abandon my expectations. Jewell has proven to be more genre-bendy than she gets credit for, and here we're confronted with something new (if you haven't read this backlist title) yet again: A character driven story!

That's the sound of thriller lovers gasping in silent horror. Not me, though. Dark character driven stories are my favorite and while it's difficult for readers of the genre to grasp that guessing what happens is, in fact, NOT the point, I enjoyed this dark and emotional story and would love more of *this* in the future.

Melody Browne's earliest memory is that of being rescued from a house fire by the people she's called mom and dad for her whole life.

But after being called on stage as a volunteer during a hypnotist's show, flashes of memory begin to unlodge themselves and Melody is determined to discover the truth. She follows the clues-- from the city life she's known to a quaint seaside town she's sure she's never visited before-- until the memories begin flooding in along with even more questions.

I couldn't put this book down-- from the moment I picked it up, I couldn't put it down until I knew the truth!

Ever since reading The Family Upstairs, Lisa Jewell is one of my now favorite authors! I saw this book on Netgalley and had to request it, I knew it was published a while back, but available as a promotion to Invisible Girl, which I loved by the way!

This book started out a bit slow and jumped around, explaining about little Melody Brown and her lack of memory before the age of 9. After going on a date to a hypnotists performance and being selected as a participant, bits and pieces of the past start coming back to her. Now Melody wants to know the full truth about her childhood and why she can't remember any of it.

I enjoyed this book and felt that the characters were well developed. Thank you Netgalley and Atria books for a digital copy of this book to review!

The Truth about Melody Browne caught my interest quickly. Melody is tenacious and stronger than she realizes and I enjoyed her bringing me along as she untangled the life she had no memory of.

What a great book! I really love love Lisa Jewell so I was beyond excited to get The Truth About Melody Browne!!! This book was amazing in true Lisa Jewell way!!!

I so enjoy the author's work and requested this not realizing it was a re issue of one of her earlier works. The story is riveting as the author seamlessly moves between two time lines. Thank you to the publisher and to Net Galley for the opportunity. My review opinion is my own.

This is the story of a woman who suffered a terrible trauma early in life and lost all her memories. When she attends a hypnotist show with a date she faints and wakes up with memories she is not familiar with. As she progresses with her memories she realizes she must face her childhood and her fractured memories. Her journey takes her across the decades to face what she long had buried .

I enjoyed this suspenseful story . The story is interesting and held my interest to conclusion. I like the authors writing and look forward to further books by this author.

Absolutely love Lisa Jewell; this wasn't my favorite of her work that I have read, but still thoroughly enjoyable.

{Thank you to Atria Books for my gifted copy}

I have been a long-time reader of Lisa Jewell and was excited to see when one of her earlier novels from 2009 was rereleased this year. What I love about her suspense books is her ability to have intricate and multi-faceted characters within her fast-paced storylines. The Truth About Melody Brown takes us back to Jewell's earlier writing days and is an a compelling coming of age story combined with family secrets and a bit of mystery and intrigue.

The dual timelines worked well for this storyline and provided the much anticipated details I wanted when unraveling Melody's past. I have always appreciated Jewell's ability to write page turning novels that also have complex issues and characters and The Truth About Melody Browne is no different. I really enjoyed this one and highly recommend picking this up!

I have read several of Lisa Jewell's books over the past few years and I was excited to read this book when it came up on NetGalley. When I was looking at this book in GoodReads, I found out this book was published in 2009. This is fine however it explains why this book has a totally different feel from her more recent books. I do not always read the summaries so I was expecting a psychological thriller with a twisty plot but that is not this book.

The Truth About Melody Brown is a good book that flows very well between two time frames. Melody does not remember her life before she was 9 years old. The book goes through Melody life as her memories come back to her and her current life. You can't help but to root for Melody and wish her the best at the end of the book.

The book is a fun read and I would recommend this book. I finished this book in a couple of days so it is a fast read. I would like the thank NetGalley for a copy of this book for an honest review. #NetGalley #AtriaBooks #LisaJewell #TheTruthAboutMelodyBrowne

Who would you be if you forgot your childhood???
Melody Browne had a falling out with her parents, left home and became an unwed mother all at the age of fifteen. Eighteen years later she has spent her life working as a school lunch lady and raising her son into a wonderful young man, with no time for dating or thoughts of what she will do with her live once he moves on.

On a whim she accepts a date to see a hypnotist show and is called up on stage to participate, unlocking memories that have been deeply buried of her time before a tragic house fire when she was young. As recollections slowly begin to surface, Melody begins to dig into her past and is confronted with a history that is totally unexpected. Through the pain she begins to get a sense of completeness about her life.

Lisa Jewell has created a wonderfully compelling story of self-discovery in The Truth About Melody Browne. Melody’s slow recollection of a time in her life that she has absolutely no memory of is a gradually peeling back of the layers in her mind and leads the reader on an intriguing journey that is totally unexpected. Just like her plot, Lisa’s characters are multi-layered and reveal a depth of understanding of humanity that made, what appeared to be a mundane story from the synopsis, a page turner from beginning to end.

Lisa’s exploration into the workings of the mind and memories, especially how the mind processes traumatic events is fascinating. Her portrayal of mental illness is also painfully accurate with regards to the hardship that it inflicts on a person and those around them. Her inclusion of Melody’s point of view as a small child is extremely realistic and heartbreaking while the discovery of her past and a new sense of worth is uplifting, leading the reader on the same roller coaster of emotions that Melody was experiencing on this journey. The Truth About Melody Browne is hidden gem you do not want to miss.

Always love Lisa's books. She is a terrific reader and always keeps me engaged. A great story and a great escape for a pandemic afternoon, and hopefully a beach read this year

I am a big Lisa Jewell fan so I was excited to see a new one which turned out to be an older title I had not read. In any event, it was the Lisa Jewell I know and love. A quirky story with characters full of flaws and a big bang ending