What a fabulous overall read! Lucy, Rayne and Erin will all come face to face with past event where not everything will be what it seem. Twist and turn will grip you in these three novellas where tragedy occurred either at St Cecilia's or was the reason they were sent there .

I have voluntarily read and reviewed a copy of this title given to me via NetGalley. I really enjoyed this book. It was really well written and it just had you trying to solve the mystery. I look forward to seeing what’s next from this author.

I typically never read novellas. But, I made an exception. I am so very glad i did! The three stories tied in perfectly. I love that some of the characters showed up in all, even if just a mention here and there. I was totally hooked from the very start. The authors are very talented, the stories amazing. Thank you!
Also thanks to netgalley and the publishers for the chance to read the advanced copy.

Having really become a thriller lover more so in the last year that this was a gem. Several of authors in it that I enjoy the thrills and suspense that go with the stories. The girls in this pull out all the stops. The anxiety that comes from someone after you. The secrets that come to light. Anticipation from the turning of the pages to follow what comes next.

I really enjoyed this book. Had me from the start. The characters were described so that you can invision what they look like. I would recommend to anyone who likes Lisa Jackson.

Afraid is a 3 story book by 3 different author's that are interconnected in that all 3 of the women in the stories were in St. Cecilia’s School for Girls in Strasberg, Austria at the same time, and became friend's while they were there.

Retribution by Lisa Jackson is the first story. In it we meet Lucy who was sent to the school after she testified against her mother's boyfriend and sent him to jail. That man vowed to make her pay no matter what, and he has just been released. Which sends her back to St. Cecilia's in the hopes of hiding from him, along with her daughter. I had a really hard time with this story as I couldn't really connect with the main character or even like her that much. The plot and suspense in the story were good, I just really didn't like the character.

Ghosts by Alexandra Ivy is about Rayne. She was roommates with a girl named Natalie, who committed suicide the day they were graduating. Rayne has gotten some items from Rayne, and in one of the boxes she comes across a note. Because of this note, she gets into contact with Natalie's brother to try to find answers to what really happened to her. I think this one was my favorite of this whole book. The characters drew me in, but so did the story and plot. I wish it had been longer because I felt like there could have been so much more to this story, but honestly it was good even as a novella length!

Alone by Lisa Childs is about Erin. Erin was sent to St Cecilia's after her and her sister were kidnapped-she was found and her sister never was. Erin has gone home for her father's funeral and a body is found-which in turn reopens her sister's case. This one was probably the one that I struggled with the most, and not because there is anything wrong with it. But just because it creeped me out a LOT! I am not a fan of horror type movies or the like and this one just has that feel to it. But honestly, I still liked it better than the first book.

All in all, this book was definitely well worth the read-some I struggled with but on a whole I did like them even if I did love one way more than the rest! And I really think that is just due to personal preference than anything else. The plots are well written and the stories are good. I would read them again!

This is an anthology by the 3 authors mentioned. Each has a story to tell and the only connection between the stories and the FMC’s is a boarding school; St. Cecilia’s in Austria.

First story is about Lucy Champagne. 2nd is about Rayne Taylor and the 3rd is about Erin MacDonald.

A really good read. All the stories are good but I did like the 2nd/3rd stories slightly more than the first.
I honestly couldn’t tell who dunnit and that’s always a great thing for me. I love not knowing and guessing. I do feel like the characters, suspicious of everyone and that to me is a sign of a fantastic book.

I was given this e-ARC by NetGalley and Kensington Books in exchange for my honest review.

EXCERPT: The sounds of the party lulled her to sleep until she awoke to the darkness. The light was off. The bed was warm.

Anna Beth was talking in whispers; maybe trying not to wake her. 'What are you doing here? Get out . . .'

Who was she talking to?

'Who's there?' Erin asked.

'Don't hurt -'

Then that flash of pain - that agonizing flash of pain - before all the darkness. The never-ending darkness . . . of oblivion and ignorance . . .

ABOUT 'AFRAID': LUCY
Lucy Champagne was sent to St. Cecilia’s after her movie-star mother was brutally attacked by her sleazy boyfriend, Ray Watkins. Lucy’s damning testimony landed Ray a twenty-five-year sentence. But now, Ray is free. And he’s going to find Lucy and make her pay, no matter how far and how fast she runs . . .

RAYNE
Rayne Taylor found unexpected happiness at St. Cecilia’s, until her roommate, Natalie, committed suicide. Only when Rayne finds a box of mementoes from that time does she realize how wrong she may have been about Natalie’s death—and how far someone will go to keep the truth hidden . . .

ERIN
Erin MacDonald remembers little about the long-ago night she and her sister, Anna Beth, were kidnapped. While Erin was found safe, Anna Beth vanished forever. Now Erin has reluctantly come back to the family estate, where Detective Rafe Montego hopes to finally crack the case. But as flashes of Erin’s memory reemerge, she learns how deep the danger goes . . .

MY THOUGHTS: There are three stories in Afraid, each written by a different author: Retribution by Lisa Jackson; Ghosts by Alexandra Ivy; and Alone by Lisa Childs. The stories are connected by the main characters having been friends at boarding school, St. Cecilia's in Strasbourg, Austria.

Although Lucy, Rayne and Erin barely keep in touch, all three have some significant trauma in their pasts, which occurred either at St Cecilia's or was the reason they were sent there.

These are novellas so not quite as fleshed out as a full novel would be, yet I enjoyed each of the three very different stories equally.

The characters, particularly Lucy, are not always likeable but, especially in Lucy's case, I could understand why she was the way she was. Her guilt would be a terrible thing to live with. And if she can't like or trust herself, then who can she like and trust?

All three stories have varying elements of romance in them, but not enough to qualify them as romantic suspense. All three stories centre on individual tragedies, but the themes of loss, guilt, family dynamics and the quest for justice run through all three stories.

Three satisfying reads.

⭐⭐⭐⭐.2


#Afraid #NetGalley

I: @readlisajackson @alexandra.ivy @lisa_childsauthor @kensingtonbooks

T: @readlisajackson @AlexandraIvy @Lisa_Childs @KensingtonBooks

#contemporaryfiction #crime #familydrama #murdermystery #thriller

THE AUTHORS: (Amazon)
Lisa Jackson is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of over ninety-five novels, including Liar, Liar, You Will Pay, After She's Gone, Deserves to Die, Running Scared, and Shiver. She is also the co-author of One Last Breath, Last Girl Standing and the Colony Series, written with her sister and bestselling author Nancy Bush, as well as the collaborative novels Sinister and Ominous, written with Nancy Bush and Rosalind Noonan. There are over thirty million copies of her novels in print and her writing has been translated into twenty languages. She lives with her family and rambunctious dogs in the Pacific Northwest.

Alexandra Ivy is the New York Times, USA Today and Wall Street Journal bestselling author of romantic suspense, paranormal and erotic romance. She has also written Regency historicals under the name Deborah Raleigh. A five-time RT Book Award Finalist, Ivy has received much acclaim for her Guardians of Eternity, ARES Security, Immortal Rogues and Sentinels series. She lives with her family in Missouri.

Lisa Childs is an award-winning and international bestselling author of more than seventy novels. She was born on Halloween, which may have fated her predilection for spinning dark and twisty stories. In addition to romantic suspense, she also writes women’s fiction, paranormal and contemporary romance. Lisa loves to hear from readers.

DISCLOSURE: Thank you to Kensington Books via Netgalley for providing a digital ARC of Afraid by Lisa Jackson, Ivy Alexandra and Lisa Childs. All opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own personal opinions.

For an explanation of my rating system please refer to my Goodreads.com profile page or the about page on sandysbookaday.wordpress.com

This review is also published on Twitter, Amazon, Instagram and my webpage

Three fascinating reads that will have you guessing - and most likely guessing wrong - on what really happened.

Reviewed by Annetta Sweetko for Fresh Fiction

Complete review: https://freshfiction.com/review.php?id=76703

In the first story we meet Lucy Champagne who as a young girl saw her mother get attacked by her boyfriend. The two were both injured and the boyfriend ended but in jail. Lucy was sent to St. Cecilia's school for girls where she remained until she graduated at eighteen. Lucy's life moved forward and she was doing well until she learns that her moms ex Ray is getting out of jail. She's worried that he will come after her and ru s away trying to give herself time to figure out just what to do to keep herself safe.
In story two we meet Rayne Taylor who was sent to St. Cecilia's but actually likes being a student there. She makes friends and all is going g well until she finds her roommate dead in their room. It looks as if Natalie committed suicide and Rayne hates that she didn't trust her enough to help her. As an adult Rayne returns home to look through a box of mementos that she left there after finishing school. While looking through the box she finds some of Natalie's belongings and a threats I g note. She begins to wonder if Natalie might have been murdered. With the help of Natalie's brother she hopes to find out.
In story three we meet Erin MacDonald as a child her sister and herself were kidnapped but she was the only one found alive. Her sister was never found and Erin was sent to St. Cecilia's to keep her safe. All grown up and living g her life she returns to the family estate when her father dies. There is a detective who is still looking into her sisters disappearance and wants to find out what she remembers from that night. The longer the she is there the more memories begin to surface from that long ago night.
This was a wonderful read with the great stories told by three different authors who connected them very well.

I enjoyed this collection of stories. This book consists of three different stories. All are about three girl that went to a private boarding school in Austria. The first story, by Lisa Jackson, is about Lucy, sent to the school after her mother is brutally attacked. I enjoyed it. It was fast paced, and kept you guessing. While it wasn’t one of my favorites from this author; it was still a solid, enjoyable read. The second, by Alexandria Ivy, is about Rayne. Who gets sent to the school her mother is remarried. This story was enjoyable, and fast paced. And I feel it was my favorite of the three. And the last story by Lisa Childs, about Erin, sent to the school after her abs her sister were kidnapped ans only she returned. It was another enjoyable story, but I found the main character, Erin seemed almost childlike at times. But the mystery was good, and the story did keep you guessing on what was going on. Overall all the stories are worth a read, and I’d recommend this book.

I enjoyed the stories and the fact that they all three of the female main characters attended St. Cecilias School for Girls. I found the characters engaging however I could not find any love for Lucy. I found her decision making quite questionable and her personality too flighty. Her daughter Renee had quite the spunk.

Afraid – Three Riveting Stories of Suspense

A private boarding school for girls in Austria is where all three of the female lead characters of this collection were sent by their families. Each one of the girls experienced something that impacts them and lingers long after they leave St. Cecilia’s School for Girls. Stayed up till 2am and continued reading in the dark when we lost electricity to find out how it all ends…

What I liked:
* RETRIBUTION by Lisa Jackson: Lucy and a pair of scissors may have saved her mother’s life. But, she can’t remember the details, or hasn’t been able to. She is a bit damaged, fearful, and anxious but then…she may have reason to. I really liked her daughter and her ex-husband, Ian, and wouldn’t mind hearing more about them in the future.
* GHOSTS by Alexandra Ivy: Rayne was inconvenient so was sent away by her mother. I liked her strength and independence. I enjoyed the way she and Niko, her deceased boarding school roommate, worked together to find out what really happened to his sister. This one had me guessing.
* ALONE by Lisa Childs: Erin was young when she and her beautiful older sister were kidnapped. She finally returns “home” to the scene of the crime for the funeral of her father. I had a feeling I knew who the bad guy was early on and was validated BUT there were many red herrings that could have been the baddie. I really liked Montego and the epilogue of this book.
* I liked that all three stories overlapped
* I enjoyed the past-present timeline of the story with flashbacks as it built suspense
* I enjoyed the twists and not always knowing for sure who was the real bad guy…not till the end
* I liked that the three women were strong, capable, educated, and did what needed to be done.

What I didn’t like:
* The traumas each woman experienced and how it impacted them
* Who and what I was meant to – the evil people and what they did

Did I enjoy this book? Yes
Would I read more by these authors? Yes

Thank you to NetGalley and Kensington-Zebra for the ARC – This is my honest review.

5 Stars

I really enjoyed this series of novellas. They were interesting and fast-paced. Each novella is its own and they have elements from the other novellas, but they are not tied together like a series. I really enjoyed that. I thought this was a great way to spend an afternoon. Well done.

(3.5) In desperate need for a short read to take you our of your head? Win! Three short reads, loosely connected by an all girls school , in Austria. Lisa Jackson - Retribution, Alexandra Ivy - Ghosts and Lisa Childs - Alone.

Retribution pretty much gave me the creeps. I get the trauma, the loss of memory, but really, the doll heads *shuddering*. I had t work at liking Lucy as a person, but she had it together as a mom.

Ghosts - The twist here came out of left field for me . Not the who done it, that kind of made sense.. What a sad messed up family, but kudos Rayne you kept it together.

Alone - Erin got the feels from me. All she endured, her strength and her compassion for forgiving, absolutely loved the epilogue on this one.

Three reads, one sitting, or take your time. Thank you Zebra Books for the arc, I freely volunteer my thoughts and opinions.

3.3 stars
"Afraid" is a collection of three short stories featuring three girls have in common St. Cecilia’s School for Girls in Salzburg, Austria.

~Retribution ~ by Lisa Jackson is the first story by and features Lucy Champagne. Lucy was sent to St. Cecilia to hide from an attacked who Lucy testified against when she was only eight years old. He attacked her mother and is now being released from prison.

~Ghosts ~ by Alexandra Ivy features Rayne Taylor whose roommate at St. Cecilia’s Natalie commits suicide

~Alone ~ by Lisa Childs features Erin MacDonald. When Erin was seven years old and her sister Anna Beth was fourteen they had been kidnapped. A ransom was demanded however when paid only Erin was returned.

Quick read~ all three stories have a twist.
I usually am not a fan of short stories but I liked that these three had a connection.
The Epilogue was good!

Want to thank NetGalley and Kensington Books for this eGalley. This file has been made available to me before publication in an early form for an honest professional review.
Publishing Release Date scheduled for February 22, 2022.

Three novellas all focused around one place, St. Cecillas. Three amazing authors coming together to write their own story. Afraid being three stories in one book is great and I love reading how each story comes together.

All three face tragedies and run from their pasts. All three girls have to revisit their past tragedies, they discover secrets they never knew before.

Each story is a fast read and the perfect length to keep my interest.

Thank you Netgalley and Kensingtonbooks.zebra for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Now this is different: a trio of never-before-released novellas, all linked by St. Cecilia's School for Girls. Dark secrets, revenge, the rich and famous. Sounds just life a movie promo? That’s probably as much excitement I gleaned from ‘Afraid”. There are three novellas, all focused on a different character: Lucy, Rayne and Erin. Lucy is trying to escape the man who murdered her mother. But what really happened on that fateful night, and why is her killer adamant that he is coming for her? This was a twisted tale, and the build up around Lucy, her sister, and her mother was very exciting. Then we move to Rayne who is struggling after her roommate, Natalie, committed suicide … but did she? Maybe there is something else at pay here, another murderous connection, perhaps? I am still not quite certain. Lasty we meet Erin who was kidnapped with her sister, Anna Beth. Her sister disappeared while Erin was found, with not a lot of memories. However, her memories start to return as she returns to the family estate.

These stories were not in chronological order, there was no overlap and they could easily be read separately, with the connection being St Cecilia’s. I didn’t find a lot of connection with the second and third novellas. And it seemed the connection and resolution in the third story were far-fetched, almost trying too hard to resolve all the loose strings. The whole idea of three authors coming together and writing three different stories with a connections is brilliant though, and I’d love to read more of these.

Thanks to NetGalley for the opportunity to review.

Afraid is a trio of short stories. Each story is connected by the fact that each of the female protagonist attended St. Cecilia’s School for Girls in Strasberg, Austria and are from wealthy American families. All three stories involve dual timelines exploring each woman’s past and present.

Lisa Jackson’s story involves Lucy Champagne. Lucy was sent to St. Cecilia’s after a tragedy involving her mother. Alexandra Ivy’s story involves Rayne Taylor, she’s sent to St. Cecilia’s because her mother is more interested in her new husband than having a daughter in her way. Lisa Childs’ story involves Erin MacDonald who arrives at St. Cecilia’s after she and her sister were kidnapped and only Erin returned.

As each of the women revisit their past, they each seek answers in the present for what happened. Each experiences a danger and finds answers they never expected.

Each short story is extremely well written and I truly enjoyed the stories. I would recommend this book. It was a fast and easy read through each story and each story kept me turning the pages.

Thank you to #netgalley and #kensingtonboooks,zebra for allowing me to read the ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I always love Lisa Jackson books I couldn't put it down I can't wait for the next book thanks to netgalley I got the opportunity to read it early.