This book had all the ingredients for a really suspenseful page turner. Somehow, and I am not really even sure how, it just didn't quite come together. Maybe it was too long and too many narrators and too many characters missed obvious problems? Maybe it was the too pat out of the blue ending that felt more forced than a twist? Whatever it was, I could have used a tighter story with a less bouncing timeline and narration.

I received at complementary ARC of this book from Netgalley on behalf of the author and the publisher.
This book was okay. The part about the women's community in the desert sounded interesting to me. It has some parts that were a little slow. The build up was a little creepy, as the women in the community all had their weird quirks and were full of secrets. The make character Lenna was a person who suffered from anxiety and questioned every move she made and everything that she did after the fact. All in all I liked it.

I haven't read anything by Sara Shepard since the first few Pretty Little Liars books years ago, but I remember not being able to put them down, so I was intrigued to pick up Nowhere Like Home. Though there are similarities, this book was as enjoyable for me. It was incredibly slow and I didn't come to care for any of the characters. Still, I thought the premise was interesting and I appreciated some of the twists.

Nowhere Like Home - Sara Shepard

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

"It's kind of a funny expression. Blowing something up. We toss it around all the time. My phone is blowing up. Her career is blowing up. We talk about it like it's something getting bigger and bigger-I've always wonder how that got misappropriated. Because in essence, blowing something up is eliminating it. Making it cease to exist. Turning it into nothing."

After her close friend Rhiannon disappeared two years ago, Lenna was shocked to hear from her again, and even more shocked when Rhiannon asked her to come live with her at Halcyon, a women’s commune in the desert. At a crossroads in her marriage and motherhood of a new baby, Lenna gets off with her son in tow. But when she arrives at Halcyon, she starts to see things may not be as picture perfect as Rhiannon described. What secrets are the women in the desert hiding, and will anyone discover Lenna’s own secret?

My first ARC book, thanks to NetGalley for the early copy of this one. “Nowhere Like Home” was very reminiscent of the author’s Pretty Little Liars series, but with set with older women at a women’s commune with cult vibes. I’ve always loved Shepard’s twisty style of writing complicated women and while many times the situations seem incomprehensible, they are still interesting to read. Unraveling the past and breakdown of Lenna and Rhiannon’s friendship was only the first step into the secrets, where it seemed everyone brought to this commune had an invisible string connecting them. I really enjoyed this one and love seeing that one of my favorite authors as a teen still hits home as an adult for me!

Honestly, when I first saw this book being promoted and having LOVED Pretty Little Liars as a teen, I knew I had to get my hands on it. However, I think I put high expectations on this book and I was not impressed. I typically enjoy multiple POV/different timelines but at times I found myself confused between the past and present. I wasn’t very interested in the very cult like story line either. Overall, ⭐️⭐️⭐️. I found myself putting the book down and picking it back up but I DNF at about 50%.

Thank you NetGalley and Dutton for the opportunity to explore an advance reader copy of this text in exchange for an honest review.

This was a slow burn with a completely unexpected ending! I found myself holding my breath, just waiting to see what would happen. I loved the connections given throughout the characters and the storyline itself was one I don’t read about often, so it was very intriguing for me. There were a ton of twists throughout the book, making it hard to put down. Definitely an enjoyable read!

I really tried to get into this… I was so excited b cause the PLL series was a favorite of mine but I just could not bring myself to finish this book. The pacing was too slow for me and it just wasn’t for me.

Thank you to the publisher and to NetGalley for providing an e-ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This book was good but there were a lot of characters to keep track of and I found myself forgetting a lot of what happened and who was who because of that. It was a bit distracting. But overall the story was good and kept me interested. The twist was a little bit of a let down but overall I enjoyed the read.

I love Sara Shepherd, and I did quite enjoy this book, but it wasn’t a favorite. I enjoyed the twists and premise, however some of the characters were unlikeable (and not in the good way) and it drug in several places. I would read it again and would recommend to a friend.

Difficult pasts and unhealthy friendships are featured in Sara Shepard’s Nowhere Like Home . This psychological drama and crime novel features several women and is presented from the perspective of four of them. Lenna Schmidt is the main character. She is surprised when she gets a call from an old friend, Rhiannon Cook. Rhiannon had disappeared a few years ago and now has a son. After meeting her, Lenna learns she is living in rural Arizona with a group of women and children in a community called Halcyon Farm. They’re mostly off-the-grid and Lenna is invited to visit.

Lenna’s five-month-old son Jacob cries constantly and her husband Daniel doesn’t seem to help. Maybe getting away for a few days and repairing her friendship with Rhiannon is what she needs. Upon arrival, Lenna learns that the community has rules about outside phone calls and asking questions about the women’s pasts. Additionally, the gate is padlocked and only the leader knows the codes.

Lenna believes in omens, is unsure of herself, craves feeling needed, experiences anxiety, hates being out of control, and feels uncomfortable initiating conversations. Rhiannon desires a community of some sort, not a romantic partner. She can also be manipulative and has secrets, but so does Lenna. The other characters are also well developed. It was great to see Lenna mature and grow more dynamic as the story progresses. Through the perspectives of Lenna and Rhiannon, as well as two other women, Gillian and Sarah, readers see how each views the others and their relationships. This added depth and complexity to the characters.

The story imbues in the reader a feeling of deep anxiety for Lenna as she tries to make sense of the circumstances she finds herself in. However, I kept wanting her to be stronger and take control of her life. The book has a deeply involved plot and good character development along with a remote desert setting. However, the writing style used is not my favorite. There are continual flashbacks to two years ago and this adversely affected the pacing. Additionally, while most items are successfully concluded, there is one thing that was not fully resolved. I wanted full closure on that item. Themes include friendship, family, relationships, social anxiety, lies, secrets, support, and much more.

Overall, this is thought-provoking with complex characters and plenty of angst and suspense along with a couple of action scenes. It kept me guessing what would happen next throughout the novel. The book has a great premise and has some unusual twists.

PENGUIN GROUP Dutton and Sara Shepard provided a complimentary digital ARC of this novel via NetGalley. All opinions expressed in this review are my own. Publication date is currently set for February 20, 2023. This review was originally posted at Mystery and Suspense Magazine.

While I normally love Sara's books, I wasn't impressed with this book. I feel like her best work was already done and nothing can compare to the PLL series.

As someone who struggled with the isolation of motherhood when I had my first kid, I was drawn to this premise of a group of women joining a ‘mommune.’ Unfortunately, this book was far too slow of a burn for me and I did not care for the characters or the relationships between them. I had a hard time staying invested in what was going to happen. The end had a few twists so if you like a slower paced book you might enjoy this more than I did.

Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Group Dutton for the advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.

Pretty Little Liars is one of my favorite shows but the concept here just didn’t gel with me like PLL did. I found the concept bizarre and not as interesting to get through.

Ooo this Sara Shepard novel was a fantastic read!! I really enjoyed the storyline and all of the characters that she writes about. This had a great thrill/suspense aspect to it and I am a big fan of her writing, must read!

This is my first Sara Shepard book, however I was a huge fan of Pretty Little Liars, the tv show. The book was fast paced and had such an element of mystery, throughout the whole book they kept mentioning what the MC had done that nobody knew about. While I found it intriguing and easy to keep up with, I wouldn’t say that I loved it. It was a good. I enjoyed it

I’m not normally one who goes in for stories about communes but the synopsis drew me in. I should have stuck with my gut and skipped it because this one dragged at so many points and I never really got invested in any of the characters, which makes for a challenging read, especially for a thriller.
Lenna decides to join a “mommune” of other mothers when she finds motherhood challenging and she hopes to heal her relationship with her old friend who is part of the community at the same time. But the commune has some super sketchy rules and the other moms are Sus to say the ,east and the main characters real reason for being there is revealed.
I have to admit that the ending did pick up and there were a couple of twists that I didn’t expect but it overall lacked enough depth to call it a thriller for me.
Thanks to Dutton Books and NetGalley for this eArc in exchange for my review.

What a twisty read. This book is set in now and two years ago.
Following Lenna, who is a new mother with a baby who cries constantly and a husband who became distant. When a friend from her past, Rhiannon seems her out and invites her to a commune (mommune) for women and mothers, she writes a note to her husband and leaves for a few days with her baby.
There is also Gillian who has an online presence for having social anxiety and writes posts about her crazy roommate and wanting to befriend Lenna and Rhiannon. She has many secrets of her own.
The women at the commune help each other and raise kids together. They seem a bit odd and have sketchy rules. But Lenna wanted to come to work things out with her friend. Weird things are happening , secrets come out and Lenna wants to leave but the commune isn’t ready to let her leave.

This one was a really pleasant surprise. The first few chapters were a bit slow but honestly the story picked up really well after that. There are several major characters in this with Lenna being the main lead. I really enjoyed this tale of secrets, lies, hidden agendas and betratyl. Things aren't always what they appear and sometimes no matter how hard you try, you just can't hide from your own past.

I really try my best not to DNF ARCs but I just couldn’t take this one. I couldn’t connect to any of the characters, since none of their decision making processes made any sense, which is one of my least favorite characteristics in a main character. The dialogue also felt so unnatural and clunky, which I can’t stand to read. It read like a tween book, but was marketed as an adult thriller, which is just inaccurate. I also kind of found the interpretation and implementation of social anxiety so inaccurate it was almost laughable. Nothing about the plot or the characters kept me interested enough to keep reading, and I decided to DNF at 25%.

Thank you to @netgalley and @duttonbooks for this free eARC.

Thank you so much for this ARC!

This premise was EVERYTHING. A tired mom looking to rekindle with a mysterious friend from the past, anxiety, social media and my favorite - cults.

This book was written in three parts, past and present with multiple POV's. What a fun ride. I honestly did not guess what was coming! I love when you cannot trust a single character and this delivered. The Mom-Cult group was a unique perspective and definitely not at all what I expected.

One critique - this felt very long and at some points drawn out. However, you cannot help but be invested and see it through to the end.