The book is poorly written. The characters were boring and annoying. The plot is far-fetched and predictable. I did not enjoy the book.

The plot sounded great but unfortunately I didn’t enjoy this book as much as I thought I would. The characters were irritating and not realistic. The story was very far-fetched. It just wasn’t enough to keep me hooked.

I have to say the writing of this book was super engaging. I also loved that it’s primarily set in Portland Oregon since I live near there. I didn’t love the characters. Rosemary was interesting but hard to connect with and she seemed naive at times. As much as this made it harder to read a book from her perspective it did feel right for a character who had been through the trauma she had been through. I am not a huge fan of the instant love thing so Sam was a bit hard to believe. I thought Leo wasn’t as complex as he could have been. He was a creep, but I just thought it could have been more developed. It was a lot of he’s out of town and then weird interaction then out of town for a chunk of the book and then he was an emotionally abusive jerk. I didn’t find this book to be as much of a thriller as I was expecting. I saw the red flags that led to huge problematic behavior that I had pretty much predicted. It was an interesting psychological suspense story and the writing showed potential so I’ll definitely check out future books.

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/5232136184

No One Knows Us Here by Rebecca Kelley. Thanks to @tlcbooktours for the gifted copy ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Rosemary fell into offering her services as a call girl. When she meets high-tech billionaire, Leo Glass, he sets her up. All she needs is to pretend she’s his girlfriend. Then she meets her new neighbor, Sam, and feels an instant connection. Meanwhile Leo is getting more and more demanding and controlling.

I wasn’t exactly sure where this book was going on what genre it would fall into, but I was pleasantly surprised. While not quite a suspense or thriller, it got exciting at the end and had interesting social commentary. The ending really made the book for me. The main character was a little whiny and annoying for me, but she grew on me.

“Do any of us understand the truth of our lives, of the very best and worst that we’ve been through? Probably not. We all have our own filters, our own personal perceptions and misperceptions.”

3/5 stars! Let me start with the good...the intro to this book was perfect. I was so excited to read this story. But everything from the intro onwards was a letdown. The main character was hard to root for when she kept making the most unrealistic decisions. I finished the story but it dragged in the middle and the ending had an unsatisfactory resolution. I would be interested to see what else this author could do.

I received an advance review copy for free through NetGalley, and I am leaving this review voluntarily

Desperation, control, and fear of losing self & family make for a super fun and fast read! A - What would you do in this situation- makes it relatable. The ending is wild and it was AN AMAZING READ! Totally unputdownable and read it in one sitting. Made me forget I was sick with Covid!

No One Knows Us Here by Rebecca Kelley was an interesting and honestly quiet an amazing read.

I found Rosemary and Leo to be intriguing characters.
Their story I couldn't reading. It hooked me almost immediately and I was off. Couldn't stop.
Rebecca Kelley did a great job at setting the scene and creating well developed characters.
I did find the characters to be disturbing, controlling and very dysfunctional.
But that's what made this story.

My first time reading Kelley's work and I'll definitely pick another up in the future.

"I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own."

Thank you to NetGalley and Lake Union Publishing for my ARC in exchange for my honest review.

When Rosemary’s thirteen-year-old stepsister Wendy shows up unannounced at her apartment asking her to let her stay for two weeks, Rosemary has no option but to let her sister stay.

So she starts making plans on making more money to afford a bigger apartment. With her job in retail that’s not paying much Rosemary is worried that she may not be able to afford it.

Seeing the dilemma Rosemary is in, Mira Rosemary’s roommate introduces her to The Girlfriend Experience where she’d get paid to sleep with a guy who’ll in turn take her places and buy her things. But Rosemary rejects the idea saying that she’s in no position to take care of her sister.

Soon after Rosemary gets a call from Wendy’s grandmother 👵🏻 who tells her Wendy’s been behind in school and matters worse, she stabbed her wrist. Seeing how close she came to losing her sister, Rosemary decides she’d do whatever it takes to provide for her sister.

Rosemary soon gets a message from someone asking her out to lunch. The number doesn’t show up on Mira’s contact. So who’s the mystery guy?

He says he’s Leo Glass, and asks Rosemary to meet with him at his office later for a job offer. She has no idea who Leo is until she learns through her housemate Marjorie that Leo is an American computer programmer and internet entrepreneur and also Forbes world’s most eligible billionaire bachelors.

Leo wants the “girlfriend experience”—someone contractually obligated to love him—and he thinks he’s found the perfect match in Rosemary.

What started out as the perfect arrangement ends in Rosemary willing to do anything to protect Wendy, to protect herself, and escape it all.

Thank you to Rebecca Kelley, NetGalley and Lake Union Publishing for the arc of this book.

I wanted to love this. I really did. I was super intrigued through a lot of this book. I was eager to finish it up and wrap up all my questions and theories…after finishing, I’m feeling pretty disappointed.

My takeaway. This chick is crazy. Leo is crazy and controlling. Wendy - we don’t ever really know her too well, but she’s probably crazy too…Sam & Alejandro - seem like normal good guys!

I kept waiting for the prologue murder to make sense, but it didn’t. He’s not a good guy. He’s a scary, creepy, abusive bad guy…but it was a premeditated murder that didn’t need to happen…And what the hell happened to Rosemary in France that made her so sick?! How did Leo never find out about her relationship with Sam? Why was she such a terrible caregiver to her sister? And why couldn’t she keep information and timelines straight?! I kept waiting to find out that he was poisoning or medicating her or something…

I did feel bad for Rosemary, getting herself into a situation she didn’t feel she could get out of, and always wanting to do right by her sister. She carries so much guilt from her childhood trauma, I spent the whole book wishing she’d seek therapy and get away from Leo.

This book had potential to be 4 stars for me, but ended up being more of a 2.5 star rounded up due to my genuine interest through 75%.

I absolutely flew through the first 20% of this book and loved it all then suddenly the author seemed to go off piste altogether @nd the rest of the book seemed not just unlikely but also so disjointed as to make following it too much like hard work.
On the positive side it’s a very quick read so you find out quickly if you enjoyed it or not.

A really unique thriller for those who love a dash of speculative fiction with their gripping stories!

Rosemary Rabourne is at a loss. She is unable to get ahead and lives basically in a closet as she works a shift job. When her half sister Wendy shows up unannounced. Rosemary realizes she has to do something, anything, to help the young teen get out of the house. When her housemate suggests a high end escort job, she is willing to try.

Somehow she is chosen by billionaire Leo Glass. He wants to keep her as a kept woman and have the "Girlfriend Experience." Rosemary is willing to give a try but doesn't take into account that she will be constantly surveilled. Before long she understands she may have signed a contract with the devil and it's one that she cannot escape!
If you like domestic thrillers, this is a unique idea and fun story for you!
#LakeUnionPublichsing #NooneKnowsUsHere #RebeccaKelley

“Make it look like an accident.
Make it look like self-defense.
Never get caught.
I didn’t kill him, but I felt like I could, if it came to that again. It comforted me, knowing what was possible.”

Rosemary Rabourne is struggling to get past her traumatic childhood and make ends meet at her dead-end job when her recently orphaned half-sister, Wendy, shows up at her door. Determined to help Wendy in a way no one helped her, Rosemary will do anything to provide her a stable home. Enter Leo Glass, a billionaire social app creator that wants her to be his “girlfriend.” He is happy to pay well and provide her with a paid for apartment in a safe neighborhood in order to make this happen.

But then Rosemary has an instant connection with her new neighbor Sam. She falls for him hard and fast, but Leo Glass doesn’t take no for an answer. Rosemary, tired of the mistreatment from the men in her life, is willing to do whatever it takes to secure freedom for herself and her little sister.

Talk about a great first sentence to suck you right in. Wowza! This book features a strong female character put in the most dire of circumstances and I loved watching her claw her way out. But the book felt a bit disjointed to me and I struggled to like any of the characters. It is like the book didn’t know what it wanted to be. It’s female empowerment, yes. But also a billionaire app creator who is controlling and abusive but in the most bizarre way, in a way that almost doesn’t even make sense. I ended up skimming the last 1/4 of the book unfortunately.

Thank you to @rkelleywrites, @netgalley, @amazonpublishing, and @mbc_books for the #gifted copies in exchange for a feature.

Special thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for a free, electronic ARC of this novel received in exchange for an honest review.
Expected publication date: January 1, 2023
Rosemary Rabourne left home after the death of her mother, leaving her half-sister, Wendy, in the care of her paternal grandmother. Now, Rosemary is struggling to make ends meet after the dissolution of her relationship when Wendy shows up at her door, begging Rosemary to take her in. Although Rosemary knows she can’t financially support Wendy, she also knows that she has a responsibility to Wendy, especially after leaving her behind. So when a friend introduces her to the world of high-end escorts, she can’t say no, and this is how she ends up as “girlfriend” to tech billionaire, Leo Glass. But Leo is not all that he appears to be, and Rosemary starts to wonder how far she will have to go to ensure her sister has a safe place to live.
Trigger warnings for: child molestation, prostitution, emotional abuse, controlling behaviours
“No One Knows Us Here” by Rebecca Kelley is absolutely unputdownable. Right away, I felt for Rosemary, and all of her choices had perfectly logical explanations, which made this novel’s plot all the more believable. After a childhood of abuse, Rosemary feels responsible for her younger sister, and is desperate to keep her from foster care, and each subsequent decision she makes is toward this goal.
This novel, in my opinion, was similar to “Fifty Shades of Grey” with the “rich billionaire and hired girlfriend”, although there was nowhere near as much BDSM (which is always a good thing in my books) and far more psychological dysfunction (if that’s possible). Something is wrong with Leo, and it’s evident right from the first page, but his true nature isn’t revealed until farther into the novel, which further cements his character as despicably unlikable.
“No One Knows” is narrated by Rosemary, and although there are deep, disturbing themes, the ending is delivered with a feminist, rallying battle cry that had me cheering. Kelley is a new author for me, but her previous novels have immediately been added to my “to read” list. “No One Knows Us Here” is compelling, addicting, and disturbing, while still managing all the feels.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own. I really enjoyed this book and the bond between Rosemary and Wendy. SO many twist and turns I could not put it down.