The novel started at a good pace and then it exploded. So well written and very hard to put down. A young woman with Congenital Insensitivity to Pain with Anhidrosis (CIPA) travels home to search for the missing child of her first love at high school. The story has many twists and turns and fits together brilliantly bringing home a surprise ending. Highly recommended read and a well-deserved five (5) stars.

This ARC was provided to me via Kindle, Crooked Lane Books and by #NetGalley. Opinions expressed are completely my own.

I found this lackluster at best.

This book was like if the stupidest character in a bad horror movie doesn't actually die at the beginning... You would spend the whole movie yelling at the character to stop being so stupid right? That's this book. The main character was completely unrelatable. Nothing she did made any sense. The CIPA element was intriguing to me because I appreciate tree representation in books. Unfortunately, even there it didn't quite feel real. I understand that she doesn't feel pain but she was able to endure more than seems humanly possible.

Girls without tears was. . . something. This girl Noa goes back to her shitty small hometown to help find a missing girl Skye. Skye’s dad is Noa’s ex who basically cheated on her in high school. I thought it was interesting to read about a character who has CIPA as I’ve never encountered that before, but it was just sort of used as a torture method that made me sick to my stomach. The main character is just stupid in this book, managing to get kidnapped not once but twice by the same guy and then running right back to him as if it weren’t super obvious that it’s him. Also, I found the amount of injuries she sustained and what she was still able to do very unrealistic. This reminded me so much of the woods are always watching in that way. This book was scary but frustrating. I was literally screaming NO at my phone. Lastly I really don’t get the point of the end with Zack thinking Hector isn’t real. The whole book was spent with everyone questioning her mental health and he’s still doing it.

This book was sent to me electronically for review by Netgalley. This is a story of mystery and intrigue...murder...surprises...friends and family...one that is difficult to stop reading...however, there are times when the book is so suspenseful that one must stop reading, for awhile...the theme of the "no pain" is a surprise and something I had not heard about. Enjoy this one...the story does move, at times, a little slowly.