I have always been a massive Sara Shepard fan and LOVED Pretty Little Liars - but this one didn't hit me in the same way that the PLL series did. Shepard is a mastermind and dives into a more paranormal and reincarnation tale. Our main character, Casey, brings us along as she tries to understand and identify who she is, and why these voices in her head are telling her she's someone else.

The idea of the story is a super neat concept, but I felt like it dragged SO much! This was a mix of a romance and an add of murder mystery, but it felt like I knew exactly who was the culprit throughout the book, making it less suspenseful.

This book felt just okay - my expectations were set super high, since I'm a huge Sara Shepard fan, but I felt like it was missing the mark, with a lot of the potential staying on the cutting room floor.

I’m not sure how I feel about this one still. I liked it while I was reading it but I found it very forgettable. I did really like the characters and the story line.

Super good book that keeps the reader glued to the pages. Loved the main character and the storyline.

I love anything Sara writes. She is an auto-buy author for me and this one is no exception! Please pick this up and read it! Highly recommend!

When starting this book, I found it boring with how the author chose to build the backstory of who Casey was and I was going to set it down a few times and start something else. A lot of other book reviews have said the same thing, so hang in there I promise it does get better and then you’ll find yourself not being able to put it down and needing to know what happens. The author gave so many twists and turns it was hard to keep up at times. At one point in a chapter, she was told she did see visions of her past life as Becky since she was little and then a few pages later she’s in a mentally Ill hospital being treated for personality disorder having made the whole thing up to cope with trauma, and then she’s told no she wasn’t making it up again. It was like woah wait slow down. It was also very far-fetched and maybe that’s why I didn’t enjoy it as much as I would have. Is this a great YA thriller? No, but it is worth a shot if you're looking to read a YA book about past lives or you love the authors' previous books. 2/5 stars.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for allowing me to read an early readers copy in exchange for an honest review.

I ended up dnfing this book because I realized very quickly after picking it up that it wasn’t what I had thought it would be and it wasn’t going to be something that I liked.

This was a new adult/leaning toward YA thriller. There was a lot of drama and the romance part was cute. The ending did not leave me satisfied .

Honestly, the first thing that drew me into this book was the beautiful cover. Then the description...a 17 year old flees to a remote coastal town due to hearing voices...that also got me.

But then, I started reading and unfortunately, was immediately confused. I really don't have many things to even say because I literally had no idea what was happening throughout my read.

The reason I gave this book three stars was because I really do love Sara Shepard, the cover is amazing, and while confusing, the words were pretty....but the story just didn't quite work for me.

So much thanks to NetGalley and the Publisher, Sterling Publishing/Union Square & Co. for sharing this e-ARC with me in exchange for my honest opinions

Full review to come on Goodreads and Amazon. Thank you to the publisher, author, and NetGalley for a review copy.

This is not the type of book I usually read. I tend to stay away from suspense. However I did end up sticking with it to the end. It was a very interesting and kinda odd premise where the main characters have memories from "spirits" inhabiting them and a mystery that has to be solved before they can move on. What was really odd to me however was the main characters on again off again memory of her own life. It was really odd to me that she would end up with these huge breaks where she remembers nothing of what happened. Overall this one was just kinda odd for me. It was fine but not one I will be going back too.

As a new(ish) Pretty Little Liars fan, I was eager to read Sara Shepard's newest book. I went in blind, with no expectations, and it was certainly a wild ride!

17-year-old ultra-smart Casey is in her second year of college at NYU. She's got a super eligible boyfriend, a great job, and a super fun best friend. When she starts hearing voices, however, she knows something's wrong. She feels drawn to Avon Shores, New Jersey, and begins to understand that she may have been another person in a past life.

I am fascinated by the idea of past lives and remembering who we were before. I just don't know if I bought it in the context of this book. I do think teens will love this, as there are so many moving parts in the book--friendship, romance, mystery. I loved the world building in the novel. I just think it could have been a stronger novel all around. The writing style wasn't the strongest.

This is much different than the author’s other books and I didn’t like it too much. I feel like there was A LOT of rambling from the MC and the person she believed was living inside of her that didn’t seem necessary. I feel like the meat of the story could’ve been condensed into a novella. And I have no idea what genre this would actually fit into - it’s part thriller, part mystical/supernatural, maybe new adult…? This one just wasn't for me.

Thank you Netgalley and Union Square for an eARC of Wait for Me by Sara Shephard.

Casey is a sophomore at NYU at just 17, and with new boyfriend Marcus on her arm, she disguises her constantly second guessing of herself for the world. Casey starts hearing voices and flees to Avon, a beach town, where she’s now met with visions of places she’s never been and people she’s never met.

This was a quick, enjoyable read for me. I sometimes struggle with a book that really requires you to suspend reality quite a bit, so that’s something to keep in mind when picking this one up. What you’d expect from a YA read!

This book really frustrated me. I found it to be really uncreative, unimaginative and uncreative. There was a plot twist at 50% that was completely unnecessary and a waste of time, as it was more of a trick and not a real plot twist - we ended up back where we started. I also felt like the author was not at all knowledgeable about past lives and hadn’t done basic research when there is so much information available. So much of what she said just didn’t make sense and wasn’t accurate, which bothered me greatly as past lives are a passion of mine and what drew me to this book in the first place.

This book really just took me for a ride. I loved the build up, the character development, and the writing. I would definitely read more from this author!

Thanks to Union Square for providing me with a free e-ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

I read most of Sara Shepard's books when I was younger, and I was eager to see if I would enjoy her new book now that I'm older. Spoiler alert: I didn't. And it's not because it's a YA book, because most of the books I read are YA. It's just that I had so many issues with this book.

The one good thing I can say about it is that it was compulsively readable. I would sit down to read a chapter, and then I'd end up reading 50% of the book. But like I said, that's about the only positive thing that I can say.

This book follows Casey, who is having doubts about her boyfriend, Marcus. She ends up going to coastal town when she starts hearings strange voices in her head, and it's here that she meets Jake, who she believes was her lover in a past life.

From there, the book takes a turn. I can't say too much without spoiling it, but one of the "plot twists" deals with a sensitive subject and I just don't think it was handled appropriately. I was definitely intrigued to see where the story was going, but the final reveal felt incredibly far-fetched and I was left with so many unanswered questions.

There were also so many writing errors in this book. Now, I am aware that it is an uncorrected proof copy, and most of these will have a few issues here and there, but with this one, it seemed to be on nearly every second page, and it was a very jarring read because of this.

I think this book had a lot of potential but sadly, it didn't live up to it for me.

Thank you so much Union Square & Co. and Netgalley for sending me an advanced copy of Wait for Me.

I think everyone knows Sara Shepard for Pretty Little Liars! But this was a very different novel which focuses on the supernatural.

And of course a mystery.

Deja vu plays a massive role in the novel as our main characters are able to relive their past lives...sort of...And those past lives have a very traumatic ending. In an attempt to find justice for their past selves they go on a journey into what really happened that night.

I was GLUED!

I enjoyed every moment while reading this . Casey is brilliant, excelling in her studies and in college at 17. Her mother died tragically when she was about 12, They both crashed into the water off the bridge and only Casey survived. With some memory loss. Her stepmother, Fran has kicked her out into the college dorm, while her father is going thru cancer treatment. Is Casey crazy or haunted? Voices and memories haunt her.
New boyfriend, Marcus is rich and too good to be true. The voices frighten her, so she escapes to a beach town. Only to discover everyone knows her- but she’s never been here before or even crazier she meets Jake and feels an instant connection. She is Becky and Jake is Will- a tragic love story gone wrong. Is she crazy? Confused between Marcus and Jake and Becky and Will…….a great wrapup of love lost and found.

This book was intriguing and reminded me of how much I loved Sara Shepard's books when I was younger, but it did feel a bit like "everything and the kitchen sink". I also wasn't really expecting the supernatural elements and probably wouldn't pick up the book had I known to expect them. An easy but decent read.

I was so ready for a new novel from Sara Shepard, especially with the promise of a part-romance, part-supernatural mystery. Like her previous novels, I expected a character-driven, twisty story from Shepard, but unfortunately Wait for Me let me down. We follow Casey as she escapes to the shore, led by a feeling about her boyfriend and a desire to get away from the "acting roles" she forces herself to fill with every setting she places herself into. She's incredibly self-aware, cognizant of her unique position at NYU as a 17 year old dating the most well-known boy at school. Ultimately though, her youthful naivety outshines her genius brain and we dive into the deep end as the voices in her head take over.

We're given some of the story's twists too early, the reveal of voices in ones' head given away much too soon. I love stories about alters, but this one is a miss. The plot is quickly lost, the characters given the bare minimum of attention, and the book is just far too fast to get into. Truly, it's a blink and you'll miss it sort of read. I think some readers might enjoy this one, but I can't recommend it.