This story centers around Lenna who had friendships with Rhiannon and Gillian. The friendships were troubled and codependent but surprisingly Rhiannon reaches out to reconnect with Lenna. Lenna jumps at this chance because she has been having difficulty adjusting to motherhood while holding a dark secret. Lenna goes to the commune where Rhiannon lives and enjoys spending time with the other mothers but something doesn’t feel right there. The story unravels with the past’s secrets finally being revealed along with a current secret.
I felt like this book was lacking character depth, Lena’s anxiety seemed to be to blame for everything. I do like the choice of having the commune be a place for moms to live together and share their motherhood journey and advice. Overall the final twist just didn’t add anything to the story for me.

A thrilling adventure into the desert with a bunch of women, who all have secrets that they are keeping from one another. Only when one tries to leave is when secrets are shared and everyone turns out to someone they weren’t.

If you're interested in reading about an intentional community (and the weirdness therein), this isn't exactly what you're after. The characters are interesting and it does take a few surprising turns, but be warned-- the community is the least interesting aspect of the whole novel.

Lenna gets an invitation from Rhiannon, a friend who disappeared years ago. She wants her to come to a women’s community called Halcyon. Lenna believes she has hidden motives. Secrets and lies are revealed.
This story alternates between past and present and was a thrilling read. Thanks NetGalley and Penguin Group Dutton for this ARC that will be released February 20, 2024!

Thank you to NetGalley, Sara Shepard, and Penguin Group Dutton for an early copy of Nowhere Like Home in exchange for an honest review.
I was so excited to get my hands on a copy of this one because I absolutely adored this authors PLL series! As always, Shepard delivers a twisty story full of secrets, suspense, and drama! I enjoyed the dual timeline and the different POVs we got while reading the story.
The concept of the story was newer to me (which I always appreciate) and the ending had me questioning what really did happen out in the desert.
Be sure to put this one on your TBR as it comes out on 2.20.24!

This is about two friends, Lenna and Rhiannon. The book is told in 3 parts, both past and present. Rhiannon
invites Lenna to stay with her at a community called Halcyon. People go to this place as a rebirth, a fresh start. People don't talk about who they used to be.

There is another friend named Gillian. Lenna remembers Gillian while at this community. The two of them, standing on that ravine, the gray morning drizzle. Her twisted smile. Her sneering laugh. The pebbles, scuttling beneath Lenna's feet. And then, her scream. What really happened to Gillian?

Lenna needed to tell her husband, Daniel everything. She needed to tell him the hold Rhiannon had on her, the lies Gillian told her, but also that she'd bought into those lies, that these two women had pulled at her arms like she was a rag doll, manipulating her one way and they another.

Wild Ride, Twisty Story, and a Slow Burn! 3.5 stars!

Thanks to NetGalley for the advanced copy! This book is set to release on 2/20/24.

2.5 stars

New mom Lenna has recently reconnected with her old friend Rhiannon, who is now living in an off the grid commune in remote Arizona. Lenna decides to join Rhiannon for a trip to the commune. Once she arrives, her past with Rhiannon, socially awkward Gillian, and others emerges it’s ugly head.

I thought this book was rather slow. I was waiting for things to happen, and nothing really happened until the end. There is a pretty big twist. Prior to that, though, it was pretty predictable.

Thank you to Penguin Group Dutton, Sara Shepard, and NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this novel

Thank you to netgalley and PENGUIN GROUP Dutton, Dutton for allowing me to read Nowhere Like Home
by Sara Shepard. Shepard is one the best when it comes to writing thrillers and this one didn't disappoint.

I really loved this one and didn’t figure out the twists until the very end! Such a great setting at a commune out west. Every has secrets and no one is telling. Great storytelling. The ending felt a bit rushed to me but other than that I thought it was fantastic!

I was so excited to receive an ARC of this book from NetGalley and Dutton. The concept was something that really interested me as I'm always saying that I want to buy a huge plot of land and make my own little commune.

I’m going to start with the negatives. There wasn’t much focus on the ”mommune”, which was the reason I was so excited for the book. Also, the twist, while unexpected, was not as jaw dropping as I have grown accustomed to.

Positives: it definitely held my interest, and I loved the way the author wove together the past and the present, as well as multiple character POV’s.

All in all I really enjoyed this book, and now I want to read more by this author!

This is my first return to Sara Shepard since Pretty Little Liars and I loved it. The toxic female relationships, the lies and secrets. I was hooked from the start and it flowed easily with alternating povs between past and present. It was a game trying to figure out who I could trust. I highly rec adding it to your tbr!

I really wanted to like this book, but I just couldn’t get into it. I finished it and the ending does help, but this wasn’t for me.

Interesting premise focusing on women that have joined a cult-like farm. Is it their saving grace or worst nightmare?

First off, thank you to Penguin Group Dutton and NetGalley for the advanced copy in exchange for my review! For fans of Big Little Lies and of course, Pretty Little Liars, this is for you!!

Nowhere like home had me HOOKED!! Definitely not a lot of downtime while reading this book, so naturally I finished in a day. There were so many mysteries, you never know which character you can trust. The setting is unique and the non-linear story line worked strongly in the plot’s favor.

While this is definitely a thriller, it’s also a story about women, motherhood, and the extremes people will take to find security. 4.5/5 stars!

New mom Lenna receives a call from her estranged ex-best friend Rhiannon, inviting her to a “womans only” commune hidden in the Nevada desert. Lenna, still puzzled over her breakup with her friend, accepts the invitation, hoping for a fresh start. But when she arrives, she starts getting strange vibes from the other women at the commune, and when a familiar face arrives, Lena’s terrified that long buried secrets will come to light. Nowhere Like Home has a soap-opera feel to it, not surprising considering the author, but the story flows nicely with enough suspense to keep you engaged, despite some of the heavy doses of drama and Lena’s constant angst. A few interesting twists and surprises fuel the plot and make this a recommended read. I received an ARC of this book from the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This Arizona desert mystery definitely requires some thinking! The plot was twisty and sometimes a bit far-fetched but aren’t the best thrillers sometimes a little wacky? I found this novel enjoyable and I think it will be a hit spring/summer book for thriller folks.

Intriguing and suspenseful! Lenna travels with her fussy baby to the middle of the Arizona desert in search of an escape retreat with a women’s community She is drawn to this commune by an old friend, Rhiannon, and Lenna is anxious to patch up and rekindle their friendship. But Lenna will soon learn that not is all as it appears and her “mom break” becomes quite sinister when someone is murdered and everyone seems to be lying. Thank you Netgalley, Penguin Group Dutton and the author for this eARC in exchange for my honest review. This book will be available for purchase on February 20, 2024

The author of Pretty Little Liars brings us her next adult book. Lenna get a call from a childhood friend who had disappeared years ago, inviting her to come live with her and a group of women in their community. As she approaches the community, she wonders who they are and why she was invited? Next comes the rules she must follow to stay and another new community member. Is Lenna and her child in danger?

Not at all what I expected, Nowhere Like Home focused much more on “home” than the creepy mom-commune in the Tucson desert. Focusing on complicated friendships, motherhood, and family dynamics, this was a fun twisty read. I did feel like the commune setting was underutilized and (spoiler-ish) didn’t factor into the story as much as it could have. Ultimately it had very little to do with the story at all! But it was a unique and engaging setting, so points for that. Overall this was a fun read, would certainly recommend to others. 3.5 stars.

2.5 stars. This thriller focuses on the complicated relationship between two women, as they are brought back together to reconcile at a women’s only commune in rural Arizona.

Short chapters, multiple POVs, and different timelines make this a quick and engaging read, but ultimately the plot got too convoluted and hard to follow. I’m not even sure if some plot points were genuine twists because it was challenging to keep track of so many characters. There were some interesting ideas in here about motherhood, adult friendships, and social media but they got lost in a book trying to do too much.

Many thanks to Dutton and NetGalley for sending the ARC in exchange for my honest review.