Beautiful. Heart rending. A lovely read, brilliantly written. Five solid stars. Very highly recommended.

Leah Mercer's A Mother's Lie is about Ali who will do everything to protect her unborn child even leaving her husband who says he doesn't want the baby. Ali moves into the seaside cottage that her gran, Violet, left her. While there, Ali meets her neighbors, and as she starts to feel safe again, she realizes that this is the place where she will start a new life. Told in both Ali's and Violet's point of view, A Mother's Lie is a page-turner full of secrets, second chances, and unexpected twists and turns. You will not want to put this book down. Outstanding read!

Ali knew love. She knew joy. She knew contentment. However, Ali's life fell completely apart when her husband Jon coldly told her that he did not want their baby. Ali felt like she was drowning. Being washed away at sea. She feels to keep herself and her baby safe that she must leave, to go to her grandmother's cottage. Maybe after some time apart Jon will change his mind. If not, Ali will make it on her own.

It is a difficult move to be sure. The cottage is falling apart. It has been at least ten years since Ali set foot in the cottage. But, she has time and she will use the time to make the place as livable, as beautiful, as possible. Her time is made a bit easier when she befriends new neighbors Meg and Michael, especially Meg. They have a beautiful baby girl named Jem and from Ali's point of view they are living an idyllic life.

In a parallel story from a short time before, the story is told from Violet's point of view. Violet was Ali's grandmother and passed away a year ago. Violet lived at the cottage alone and the reasons she has chosen to live at the broken down cottage are those of grief and sadness.

A Mother's Lie is the touching story of three women - Ali, Violet and Meg. Each of them is holding a secret close to their hearts and how these women become tied together is for the reader to see as this story is developed.

This is a story of friendship and courage. However, it is far more than that. In fact, it touches of a few subjects that are rather deep, but since they are explored later in the story, I don't want to give spoilers. I was fully immersed in this story as the drama each woman was living played out. For an amazing story that will grab the reader and not let go, whether it is due to heartache, pain and sadness that shift to bonds of friendship, strength, courage and hope, then A Mother's Lie the perfect book to read.

Many thanks to Bookouture and to NetGalley for this ARC for review. This is my honest opinion.

This is a story about love, loss and redemption. For some of us it is too late while for others it turns on a dime. Leah Mercer has written a touching story about wishing for what you don't have while it may have been right there the whole time. It also speaks of generations holding on to secrets that are so harmful. A really good read!

Many thanks to NetGalley and Bookouture for this ARC!

Thanks NetGalley, Bookouture and Leah Mercer for a copy to review.
Get prepared for an uneasy emotional heartbreaking ride thought there is a slight Hope at the end of the road.
Ali retreats to her grandmother's seaside cottage to spend her pregnancy months after her husband refused to continue the journey with her, abandoning her and her unborn baby, reminding her of her childhood's issues.
When she ran into what appeared to be the perfect family next doors, she fell in love with the picture perfect family with the supportive husband, the capable mother and the cutest little baby.
Going between current time Ali and her grandmother's last year in the cottage, we are introduced to a journey of loss, grief, hope and strong determined women.
I absolutely loved it.

I found some of this book confusing with too much going on in some parts. But everything smoothed out and made sense with all the twists and turns. It ended up being a pretty good book with a decent amount of suspense. I would definitely read more from the author!

What a unusual, different storyline. Somewhat confusing at times.
Safe from Harm is a psychological thriller with so much going on you start to wonder what the heck is going on.
Without giving anything away, I was quite surprised with the ending.
Certainly a story FULL of twists and turns!
Many thanks to NetGalley, the publisher and author for the opportunity to read this book for my honest opinion. All opinions expressed are my own.

Ali's husband Jon tells her he can no longer share her pregnancy journey with her. Heartbroken, she leaves for her grandmother's cottage for a few days, hoping he will change his mind and follow her there. Ali has time to reflect on her other disappointments in life. Divorced parents, leaving her with a distant father and an angry and bitter mother. Her grandmother, who left her the cottage, was the only warmth in her life. She spent many holidays at there with her, until her father stopped her going - something she never forgave him for.

Settling into the dilapidated cottage, she meets next door neighbours Michael and Meg with their baby Jem. Invited over to dinner, Ali soon finds friendship with what she sees as the 'perfect' couple. She is soon helping out with baby Jem, being schooled in the art of being a new mother and given clothes Jem no longer needs. But are this couple all they seem to be?

Written from the viewpoints of Ali and her grandmother Violet, whose own personal tragedy saw her living alone in the cottage for many years, Safe From Harm delivers on many levels. It's more than a psychological thriller, it's about relationships, and family secrets too - a total emotional roller coaster of a read! I loved that Ali kept fighting against all the odds - she really had a tough time of it - but I was with her all the way! A well thought out plot with some unexpected surprises along the way.. Many times I thought I knew what was about to happen, only to find the story took a completely different direction. A great read and one I would give more than five stars to if I could!

Thank you Bookouture, Leah Mercer and Netgalley for an ARC of Safe From Harm in exchange for an honest review.

This is an emotional and addictive page turner, brilliantly plotted and full of suspense. It's a must read!

I was granted an advanced copy of this text by Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. This book was a wild ride! It offers a look into relationships that fall apart, single motherhood, and a mystery to boot. A bit of a trigger warning for readers who may have lost a child, but otherwise it is a great story. Looking forward to reading more by Mercer.

What a beautiful story. As I read the book the title found so many meanings. It’s a story of a pregnant woman who moves to her grandmothers house on the beach after a huge fight with her husband. Living next door is a young family with a one year old daughter. The neighbors become closer and find out things are not always as they seem.

My favorite part of the book was the slow unravel of the plot. I found out so many things in the middle and end of the book that I did not see coming. I highly recommend this book if you like stories that unfold themselves in a perfect way, giving you a little bit at a time.

This is a novel about a woman going somewhere to heal after an argument with her husband and finding something else totally different. The story is told from two viewpoints one from Ali which is the present day one and then one a year earlier from Violet who is Ali's grandmother. I have to say I found this more than a little confusing at times and wondered what was going on. You really do have to keep reading till the end to understand why it's there but once you get it, it's like one of those light bulb moments, it all makes sense.

I loved the fact that you could not guess anyone's agenda, I was reading and asking myself what are you up to or what are you about and I thought the author did an amazing job of keeping you guessing whilst reading.

Overall this is a suspenseful read that deals with some quite tricky and deep situations but I thought they were dealt with really well. Definetly recommend if you are after a more suspenseful women's fiction novel.

I am finding it hard to define this book.
It’s classified as Women’s Fiction and has the ubiquitous “emotional page-turner” tag line. There was certainly a lot of emotion in it.
But there were also family secrets and a hint of mystery as well. I guess you could say that it’s a well-rounded book.
As I mentioned in a recent review of another book, there have been a lot of female characters who run away from their problems to live in a small cottage on the coast. Ali is no exception. More on her in a minute.
I found myself thinking about how healing the sea can actually be for some people. Is it the waves and tides going in and out that allow people to imagine their problems being swept out with them? Is it the isolation that allows for introspection and the ability to take a deeper look at an issue?
Is it just those negative ions that make our brains happier?
I don’t know, but it’s a popular location.
In Ali’s case, we know that she is pregnant, and her husband has said some things that have caused her to escape to her grandmother’s cottage on the coast. There she meets neighbors Meg and Michael (and baby Jem) who seem like the perfect family.
Emphasis on seem.
In fact, nothing is as it seems in this book. Ali has secrets that she doesn’t share with Meg, even as their friendship grows. Meg keeps secrets from Ali – it’s quite apparent that there are some hidden issues, the extent of which only fully come to light late in the story.
As Ali comes to grips with her pregnancy (also late revelations about this), she does a lot of thinking. And I mean a lot.
I hate to admit it, but I was gripped by her musings. I was fascinated with how she pieced things together in her mind to justify her actions, and how her perception was clouded by what she actually wanted to be true.
Interspersed here and there are flashback chapters with Ali’s grandmother, Violet. I found the parallels between her and Ali to be interesting as well. Violet’s self-imposed exile made sense in the larger context.
Her interactions with Meg also showed that you never know when someone is going to touch a chord in you, allowing you to forgive yourself and move forward. I liked that message. A lot.
The aforementioned late revelations didn’t all work for me, especially in relation to Meg and Michael. They felt too convenient. A blast from Ali’s past also seemed manipulative and didn’t seem to fit the story. Maybe I just missed the point of that one.
What I really liked, however, was how Ali came to her conclusions about her husband’s attitude and realized what was really important. Sometimes it’s hardest to forgive, but only after we put ourselves in someone else’s shoes can we truly understand their point of view.
Because of the way Jon is written, I spent most of the book not understanding him and thinking he was a cad. It was amazing how the author got me to switch that opinion with a few simple words. Well done on that.
This is certainly an emotional book, and there may be some issues that other readers find difficult to manage. Not having any relatable experiences, I was able to read it and really take in the characters. I definitely recommend this book.

I’d like to thank Bookouture and NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read ‘Safe From Harm’ written by Leah Mercer in exchange for my honest and unbiased review.

Ali Lawton and her husband Jon are delighted that she’s pregnant but when he tells Ali he doesn’t want the baby she moves back into the derelict ‘Sunshine Cottage’ that her grandmother Violet left her when she died the previous year. An overnight storm causes rain damage to the cottage and Ali’s invited by Meg her closest neighbour to move in and keep her and baby Jem company while Meg’s husband Michael is away. As the two women form a close friendship Ali realises that Meg’s behaviour is becoming erratic.

‘Safe From Harm’ is told through the eyes of Ali and those of her grandmother Violet and tells how Ali at twenty weeks pregnant has to move away from London and the husband she loves so that she and her unborn child can have solitude and peace. This is a well-written novel, poignant and thought-provoking, with a lot of surprises and unexpected twists and turns along the way, culminating in a sad but heart-warming ending affirming that Ali is strong enough to cope with all that life throws at her and come out the other end a stronger person. This is a touching story that’s chilling at times but written in such an easy manner that I couldn’t stop reading until I’d reached the end.

Leah Mercer is a writer to watch! Her absolute talent for producing compelling page-turners with gripping stories that leave readers constantly guessing is impressive.

Get ready to be emotionally and mentally wrecked. I have such a love-hate relationship with Leah Mercer because whereas I love her writing, I hate how I feel after. Not to say the stories are bad, nothing could be further from the truth, it's just that after reading her stories I am always emotionally spent at the end. How could someone pack such devastation and anguish alongside such blinding hope? She is a pro at enticing readers with a seemingly simple story that morphs into something bolder, darker, and entirely unexpected

Safe from Harm is a psychological thriller that transports readers into the lives of two women, Ali and Violet through which the story is told from their respective points of view. Ali’s husband tells her the last sentence any pregnant woman wants to hear, “I don’t want this baby. I can’t be the father you need me to be. I can’t be the father this baby deserves.” This prompts her to return to her grandmother's house (Violet) in Fairview where she meets Meg and Michael, a seemingly perfect couple with their baby girl.

While the premise may seem simple, a woman trying to come to terms with being a single mother while trying to make friends with her new neighbors, there is such an engrossing, contemplative, and heart-wrenching backstory, made up of intricate details that are shrouded in secrecy. As the narratives collide, readers are left speechless at the deceptively clever and unexpected revelations.

Safe from Harm is a thought-provoking story that effectively explores the negative yet realistic truths of marriage, pregnancy, and raising children. It explores several darker themes of mental illness, physical abuse, and the overwhelmingly crushing feeling of grief, heartache, and loss. It begs the question, “Is there life after death? Can you move on?”

While there are no happy endings in this story, Leah Mercer stays true to her core with a hauntingly realistic yet traumatic ending that will leave readers questioning their mental fortitude.

Thank you to the author, Bookouture, and NetGalley for providing me with an arc in exchange for my honest review.

This will be posted on my blog and bookstagram- @JessicaReadsIt on pub day (24th June 2021).

This book has it all - female friendships, family secrets, a family next door with their own secrets.
Violet lives in a small cottage by the sea - alone for many years after distancing herself from her family to keep them safe. She refuses to make close connections - until Meg and Michael move next door. Something seems amiss - but Violet clings to her distance.
Ali moves into her grandmother's cottage, having inherited it after her death. After her husband, Jon, admits he cannot be a father to their child, Ali gives him space to change his mind. Her pregnancy progresses as Meg takes her under her wing, bringing Ali back into the world. Together, they start working on Ali's nursery at the cottage.
As the story progresses, it becomes quite clear both Violet and Ali have secrets - Violet deserted her family and life; Ali is hiding from her husband, trying to give her baby a safe haven to grow in her uterus.
I loved the female friendships and unquestioning desire to help in any way. The support and kindness, lifting each other up, the resolution.
If you're a fan of women's fiction, this is a must read for you!

I was delighted to receive an early copy of Leah Mercer’s next release, Safe From Harm, a psychological thriller that explores a range of tensions and worries surrounding pregnancy and new parenthood.

Ali Lawton’s marriage crumbles with the strain of her pregnancy and she escapes to a cottage, left to her by her grandmother, which sits by the coast. Meanwhile, next door neighbours, Meg and Michael, appear to have it all, juggling interesting artistic careers with caring for baby Jem. When Meg takes Ali under her wing, Ali believes she has made a friend she can rely on. But all is not as it seems.

It’s hard to review Safe From Harm without creating a spoiler, as there are so many unexpected twists and turns. This novel gave me the chills from the outset, as there was something far too perfect about Meg and Michael’s relationship, who appeared to find life with an infant a breeze. The addition of the voice of Violet (Ali’s grandmother) adds poignancy and I very much felt for the older woman who, like Ali, chose to settle by the coast to escape pain. Mercer tackles a host of serious issues sensitivity. However Safe From Harm also focuses on the dramatic plot line, offering a wild escapist read.

Look out for my chat with Leah tomorrow, over on the blog. Safe From Harm is available for pre-order now, released here in the UK on the 24th June…

Safe From Harm had several twists and unsettling elements that kept my mind occupied during a long and otherwise boring flight. Pregnant and newly separated from her husband, Ali gets tangled up in the lives of 'perfect' new neighbors Meg and Michael while also searching for answers about her grandmother's recent death.

I thought the length, author's voice, and character development were all strong points. Reveals came shortly after lulls, and while I think the end could have been tightened up just a bit, I didn't have any major criticisms. For someone looking for an entertaining story that isn't too dense, Safe From Harm is a good choice.

Note: I received a free eBook copy of Safe From Harm from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Safe from Harm by Leah Mercer - I loved it! The characters were great; emotional, developed, interesting...and their numbers didn't overwhelm the plot!

Pregnant Ali has run away from her life in London for some thinking time and space while she reflects on her husband's rejection of her and their unborn child. She is distraught, yet determined, to do everything she possibly can to protect her baby.

While she stays in the East Sussex cottage, left to her by her gran after many happy summers there as a child, Ali meets her neighbours Meg and Michael, and their young daughter Jemima. Initially reluctant to engage, Ali soon warms to Meg and her perfect family, and they become friends, bonding over their shared motherhood experience.

This is a thought-provoking book which reflects deeply on rejection and how one's upbringing can impact on our adult lives. It explores guilt, and it's destructiveness in relationships, and how one's mental health or ill-health can influence our actions and decision making processes.

Most of the story is about Ali, told from her perspective, with occasional snippets from gran's voice from the past.

This is a truly great read and will keep you up long after bedtime.

I love Leah Mercer's writing style and have enjoyed her earlier books. I particularly how she creates a feeling through her writing without explicitly having to state it--in this case it is a sense of menace or danger, seen in the perspective of both Violet (the grandmother) and Ali (the granddaugther, pregnant, who moves in with the neighbors). A lot to think about in terms of isolation and grief and the challenges of motherhood. Recommended!