I loved how this story started off but as I got to about half way I started getting a bit bored. It seemed like some details were being repeated. I always love multiple pov stories but I don’t like when information is repeated by each character. I like a more fast paced thriller that keeps me entertained all the way through. Overall it was an okay read. Not a must read.

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

I was intrigued with the "mommune" premise since I haven't read many books with that plot.

I enjoyed the multiple POV, past/present timeline, and ending. However, it was a slow burn and I didn't like or connect with any of the characters. The dialogue was weak and did not seem like it was meant for adults. The book dragged on at times.

Thank you NetGalley and Penguin Group Dutton for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley for allowing me to read and ARC of this book. I really liked this book for the most part, I loved the mystery of why Rhiannon invited Lenna to the community since their friendship seemed to fall apart. It seemed like a darkness was over the community, I wasn't sure exactly what was going on. I found this book to be a decent read, the ending was just OK in my opinion, but, it kept me entertained and I did enjoy it.

I'll start by saying, I did not love this book. I was drawn to the commune aspect, the women supporting women. It all felt a bit YA to me except they had babies. I'm struggling on this for a review, but hope some of my reading community can give me a different perspective!

I had high hopes for this book. Sadly, it was a bit disappointing. It took far too long to get to the "issue" that the main character had. Then when this was revealed, it sort of flopped and nothing much happened with it. Meanwhile, a bunch of other things were going on and it just felt chaotic and all over the place. The author tried to do too much and didn't really end up doing it all as well as it could have been done. I couldn't wait to get to the end ... to just be done with it, not because I was at all invested in the ending.

This review was also posted on Goodreads.

I loved Sara Shepard's Pretty Little Liars series, so I was thrilled to receive an ARC of her latest thriller! The story follows four women, Lenna, Rhiannon, Sarah, and Gillian, all of their complicated relationships, and the surprising ways in which their stories intersect. The "mommune" was such an interesting concept and setting, but I particularly enjoyed the themes surrounding toxic friendships, social media, and mental health. I thought Shepard did a fantastic job of setting up the dual timelines, alternating between the past and present. She establishes a great balance between flashbacks and the current day, slowly revealing more twists and turns throughout while also developing the characters and their motivations. None of the characters are necessarily likable, but Shepard makes sure that readers are invested in their journeys nonetheless. And, as always, her writing style is so engaging and compulsively readable! I didn't want to put the book down, and needed to see what would happen next.

However, I did feel a little let down by the ending. There were lots of fascinating layers to it, but I found the twists in the book to get progressively more far-fetched and less believable, culminating in an ending that I thought was a little disappointing and rushed. I also think some of the characters could have used slightly more depth—even with the main characters, it felt like we didn't get a full sense of their personalities and only really got to know them on a more superficial/basic level. While I found Nowhere Like Home entertaining and compelling overall, I did want more from it in certain areas! Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Group Dutton for the ARC.

If you're looking for a fast paced thriller about MOMs (I love thrillers like this) then make sure to grab this one. Sara Shepard is a great author and can write both adult and YA novels that all readers will love.

I received an ARC copy of Nowhere Like Home by Sara Shepard from Netgalley.

I really enjoyed this book! I felt like a huge mystery was hanging over the whole story the whole time and i kept wanting to know more! The setting was great, as I am so interested in people who get themselves involved in communes/cults. This book has everything .. from friendships, manipulation, fear, love, hate .. it kept me on my toes the whole time wondering what was going on. I also enjoyed the different perspectives we got because we got to see how the other characters were handling the same situations but from a different point of view and how they all came to be where they were in life.

I would definitely recommend this book (and have already!) to friends and family!

Friends, enemies, betrayals, and secrets is how we meet Lenna, Rhiannon, Gillian, and women in a woman’s compound that lives off the grid.

I didn’t like the thoughts of this compound from the start and wondered why Rhiannon came back into Lenna’s life and talked her into giving the remote commune a try.

Lenna left her husband early in the morning and took their baby without telingl him where she was going. Once Lenna contacted her husband Daniel, he was furious and didn’t understand why Lenna did this.

If he knew what Lenna had done before they met and never told him, he would be more furious.

We follow all the characters and try to figure out what is going on. It is a bit confusing and mysterious until the book gets going and things become clearer.

You won't be able to put the book down as things get intense and secrets are found out.

Don't give up too soon….it is a wild ending. 4/5

Thank you to the publisher for a copy of this book. All opinions are my own.

I initially grabbed this one because of the setup, I loved the idea of a mommune and hadn’t read a book with that exact premise before. I also loved the PLL series so that may have influenced me too, but the authors adult novels have been hit or miss for me and those fell somewhere in the middle. Like I said, a great setup and if you like a slow burn that has a slight literary feel that’s exactly what this one is. I don’t have as much patience with thrillers as I used to, I need something that a bit faster and more gripping but I never contemplated dnfing so there’s something to be said about that. I just feel like things got a little drawn out and convoluted at times and while the ending was more exciting, it was also a bit silly and far fetched so I’m not sure it was totally worth it. Fans of slow burns about toxic friendships and who like stories with cult like vibes may enjoy this one.

Thanks to Dutton and Netgalley for the eARC!

I love Sara Shepard's writing, I really do. That being said "Nowhere Like Home" didn't really do it for me. And I think it's because it would have worked better for me as a YA novel. Some of the motivations are weirdly petty for grown women and honestly, I couldn't really connect with the characters which is strange because Shepard excels at creating protagonists that aren't necessarily the most likable people.

It's not terrible but I do feel it could be better.

#NowhereLikeHome #NetGalley
Awesome. 5 ⭐
When Lenna gets a call from her old friend Rhiannon, she is startled; Rhiannon disappeared years ago without a trace. But Lenna is even more startled to learn that Rhiannon has a son and that she lives off the grid with a group of women in a community called Halcyon. Rhiannon invites Lenna, a new mother herself, to join them. Why suffer the sleepless nights by yourself? It takes a village, after all.
Lenna decides to go and hopefully repair her relationship with Rhiannon, but as she drives into the desert and her cell service gets weaker, she becomes suspicious. Who are these women and why did Rhiannon invite her here? And that is before she learns about the community's rules (no outside phone calls, no questions about people’s pasts) and the padlock on the gate that leads out to the main road. But Lenna has other concerns, secrets from her past she is terrified will come out. When a newcomer arrives in the community, Lenna’s worst fears are confirmed—she was brought here for a reason.
Loved it
Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Group Dutton for giving me an advance copy.

NOWHERE LIKE HOME was a great story. I thought it was well written and suspenseful. It's definitely a book I can recommend to read.


Many thanks, to NetGalley and Penguin Group Dutton for my gifted ARC!

I wanted to like Nowhere Like Home. I am a new mom myself and thought I would relate more to Lenna, and I did--the fussy baby who can't be soothed, feeling overwhelmed and overstimulated almost all of the time--but I often found her unlikeable. There are a handful of twists in the story that almost seem to intentionally overwhelm the reader rather than have one big, believable reveal, but coming from the author of Pretty Little Liars, I should have expected this.

Overall, an entertaining read, nothing to take too seriously, but its flash-in-the-pan plot makes this a forgettable book.

Unfortunately, I DNF this book at 30%. I couldn’t really get into the story and everyone annoyed me so much. I couldn’t get over Lenna and her husband’s constant complaining that their newborn baby was crying all the time. Well duh! What did you think little babies do – they cry! It was not for me.

Thank you NetGalley, PENGUIN GROUP Dutton, and the author for an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I was so excited to get my hands on this book because the pretty little liars series was one of my favorites in middle school. Unfortunately I wouldn't say it was one of my favorites. I usually enjoy books about cult culture but I just couldnt get into it the way I was expecting.

Sara Shepard is one of the authors I credit with developing my love of reading, back when I was in middle school reading Pretty Little Liars as one of my first series books. So, you can only imagine my excitement when I got an advanced copy of her latest, Nowhere Like Home! Nowhere Like Home focuses on the female friendship of Lenna and Rhiannon, which started when they were younger but the story takes place in present day. In present day, Rhiannon finds a way to reconnect with Lenna and tell her about this commune in the desert where moms all work together to raise their children. Lenna, currently feeling overwhelmed with new motherhood and the secrets of her past, agrees to do this primarily because she feels there's still things her and Rhiannon need to workout from the past. Once Lenna makes it to the desert, though, she realizes that this invitation may not have been entirely innocent... and Rhiannon may of had ulterior motives, too. This was such a fun book and I love when I'm surprised at every turn along the way. Highly recommend!!

This book was very different than my normal genre. It’s about 20 year old moms who live in like a combine and I didn’t love it. I just can’t imagine living like that - all in one big space with a bunch of other moms?

Nowhere Like Home is a thriller about friendships, lies and the cult like commune. This book I enjoyed reading but I could not connect to the characters like I would have liked to and it was just a fun page turning read for me. The author did a good job writing this and I would recommend this to other readers especially if they like thriller books. Thank you to NetGalley and Dutton publisher for this ARC read in exchange of my honest review for this book.

Sara Shepard, known for her masterful storytelling in the Pretty Little Liars series, weaves a suspenseful tale in "Nowhere Like Home." The story unfolds when Lenna receives a startling call from her long-lost friend Rhiannon, who vanished without a trace years ago. Intrigued and hoping to mend their fractured relationship, Lenna embarks on a journey into the unknown, driving into the desert to a mysterious community called Halcyon.

The premise, initially suggesting a utopian escape for new mothers, takes a sinister turn as Lenna's suspicions grow amidst the community's peculiar rules and the padlocked gate. Shepard skillfully builds tension, prompting us to question the true nature of Halcyon and its secretive inhabitants. The sense of unease escalates as Lenna discovers the hidden motives behind her invitation, unraveling a web of secrets and lies that threaten to expose her own haunting past.

The exploration of complicated friendships and trauma adds emotional depth to the narrative, creating a multifaceted story that goes beyond surface-level suspense. Shepard's trademark twists come into play, keeping us on edge and ensuring that the unexpected revelations continue to captivate.

"Nowhere Like Home" adeptly combines psychological intrigue with themes of trust, betrayal, and the impact of past traumas. As Lenna grapples with her own fears and the unraveling mysteries of Halcyon, the novel navigates the complexities of human relationships and the lengths to which individuals will go to protect their secrets.

In true Sara Shepard fashion, this book delivers an engrossing and unpredictable narrative that keeps us hooked until the very last page. It is a compelling exploration of the darkness that can lurk beneath seemingly idyllic facades, showcasing Shepard's skill in crafting thrilling stories with unexpected twists and turns.