Such a wild ride of thrilling suspense and mysterious events.

Lenna is married to Daniel and they just had their first child who is crying non-stop making her anxious and more suspicious about her friends from the past.
Gillian suffers from social anxiety and appears to be quite obsessed with Lenna.
Rhiannon was great friends with Lenna but she disappeared and now 2 years later reappears offering Lenna an escape to get away or take a break from her life at this women's community in the Arizona desert.

Hold on for this wild ride of events that happen in the desert making you truly wonder who's who, who's real, crazy or what's going to happen.

WOW!!! This one had me hooked from the beginning. I loved how unique this storyline was about a "mommune." The twist was unpredictable and it really had me questioning everyone at the mommune. I loved how everyone was connected in some way and found all the characters intriguing. The writing was great and easy to read through. Highly recommend this book!

I completely devoured this book. I started it at an airport, continued on the plane even though reading on planes gives me headaches, and just finished it on my lunch break at work less than 24 hours after I started it.

The story goes back and forth between two years ago and the present day, so the chapters kept ending on cliffhangers that would make it impossible for me to stop reading. You really get to learn about the beginning of Lenna and Rhiannon's friendship while simultaneously learning about this new commune that Rhiannon's joined in the years since she went MIA.

In typical Sara Shepard fashion, I thought I had it figured out and something came out of left field (while still making sense when you think about it) and shocked me. I think the few things I did have figured out were just because I love all her books so much.

This kept me on the edge of my seat the whole way through! I highly recommend this to any thriller book clubs out there!

Four women,Lenna,Rhiannon,Gillian,and Sarah’s lives intersected, and the results were not good. Told in the past and the present,Lenna received a phone call from Rhiannon and takes off with her baby, but not her husband to spend time with her old friend. The place where Rhiannon now lives,Halcyon is basically a cult were only women and children are allowed.
Soon Lenna realizes it was much easier to get in then it will be to get out. Everyone has so many secrets! Not just the main characters, but also all the women that live in this isolated desert location. I didn’t really get sucked in until the halfway point, but then I was furiously flipping the pages. Did I like how it ended? Mostly but there were a couple of things that I wish had turned out differently.

Lena has a dark secret and she’s on a quest to clear her conscience. Alternating between past and present this book is a fast paced read with twists you don’t see coming. Although this was a quick read, I didn’t find it quite fascinating or overly enjoyable. I found it a little predictable.

Three ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Overall this was a good book! It follows 3 different people in past and present - it’s about lies, secrets, toxic friends, and a cult mommune. Lots to unpack but it was pretty easy to follow even with multiple POVs and two different timelines.

We meet Lenna, who is desperate to get away. She goes to meet up with an old friend, Rhiannon, who had disappeared a few years prior. We meet Gillian who suffers from severe social anxiety and really wants to befriend Lenna and Rhiannon. Enter Sarah - Gillian’s roommate and yet another character with secrets of her own! Rhiannon recruits Lenna to come to the mommune only to find that things may not be as they seem…

Like I said - it’s a lot to unpack! It seemed a little far fetched that so many people with all of these problems found their way to each other but it mostly makes sense by the end. The first half was a bit slow but it did pick up in the last half!

I LOVED Pretty Little Liars when I was younger so I was excited to read Nowhere Like Home. While it’s an adult novel, it really reminded me of PLL with the twisty and an unexpected ending. I would have loved more backstory and detail about the MCs lives. I felt like there could have been a bit more character development but it was a good story with a twist I did not guess!

Thanks so much to Netgalley, Sara Shephard and Penguin Group Dutton for the ARC!

Thank you very much @netgalley for the Advanced Reader Copy of Nowhere Like Home by Sara Shepard. This is a psychological thriller that tells the story of female friendships that are not what they seem. It goes back and forth with women getting to know each other in California, and forming friendships that even starting out are based on lies, and the same women meeting up a few years later at a “mommune” (all female commune) in the rural desert. Everything is toxic, and everyone is lying. Oh, there is also a murder. It was definitely fast moving, sometimes also hard to keep track of who was who, and very hard to guess who you could trust, if anyone. I liked this okay, probably 3 ½ stars? #netgalley #nowherelikehome #sarashepard #advancedreadercopy #bookstagram #readersofinstagram #bookloversofinstagram #takeapagefrommybook #lovetoread #psychologicalthriller #toxicfriendships #readallday #booknerd

A remote setting, suspicious characters, and toxic relationships. This book had it all, including past and present perspectives and multiple P.O.V's. This was quite the page turner and is great for a fun, quick read. I didn't necessarily care for most of the characters here though, especially the main protagonist. She was, with lack of a better word, annoying. While the story is a serious one, the ending was a little eye roll inducing with some explanations that were given. With that said, I don't mind books and stories like that and is great for an in-between, fast read and I would still read more by this author.

This book was good - very different from what I'd expected out of Sara Shepard. It was suspenseful and thriller at times but there were some confusing moments in the plot as well.

Really really enjoyed this novel! It was thrilling and well written. Kept me guessing till the end! Would definitely recommend!

This book gave me Pretty Little Liars vibes. If you are a fan of that show, then you will really enjoy this book. It's an easy fun read and would recommend to someone looking for a quick burn book. Thanks, Netgalley for the ARC. I will be recommending this book once its released.

What a great book! This book has more than just a thriller aspect to it in my opinion. This book touches on how difficult it is to make friends, even as adults. How we always want to fit in and share our lives with people that are important to us. The book grabs you right from the start, which is a huge selling point for me. I immediately wanted to to find out what happened and it didn't stop just at the first few pages; it was like this throughout the whole book.
The story is mainly between four woman, Lenna, Rhiannon, Sara and Gillian. The story has three parts and focuses on a few main characters in each part. Right when you think you figured out what is going on and who back-stabbed who, there is a plot twist. I also enjoyed how the author tied up the ending and it wasn't as I expected. This made me appreciate the story line even more.
I highly recommend this book for anyone that enjoys a thriller that will keep you turning page after page until the very end.

Thank you NetGalley and Penguin Group for a this ARC in return for an honest review. I will definitely be reading more from Sara Shepard.

Nowhere Like Home didn't grip me in the way I was hoping it would. I felt the characters and storyline was a bit immature (perhaps better suited to Shepard's Pretty Little Liars series). That said, I enjoyed the description and remained invested enough to finish.

Toxic friendships, lying liars, and murderous stalkers with far-fetched, convoluted schemes for vengeance--does this sound eerily, excitingly familiar, and quite possibly AWESOME to fans of Pretty Little Liars who were hoping for an adult version of all that nonsense where if one person told the truth, even once, the whole story would fall apart? Throw in cults, communes, and kidnappings and it sounds like you'd have a winner, right? And you more or less do with this story of intense friendships and women trying to either fit in or find family ...and how it can all go so very wrong. Told from multiple perspectives in past/present timelines, we are introduced to Rhiannon and Lenna whose friendship burned fast and bright and fizzled unexpectedly when Rhiannon disappeared. Enter Gillian, whose social anxiety keeps her on the outside looking in, until she catches Lenna vulnerable after Rhiannon's disappearance. And then Sadie, Gillian's roommate, who Gillian describes to Lenna and all of her social media followers as unstable to the point of becoming threatening...but is it Gillian who is actually the problem? Fast forward to a few years later, Lenna is married with a child, desperately unhappy and haunted by a mysterious incident. Rhiannon resurfaces and invites her for a visit to a serene desert commune, where she will have a chance to recalibrate and spend some time with like-minded women. Or ...is there an ulterior motive to Rhiannon's timely reappearance in Lenna's life? Why did Rhiannon disappear in the first place? Whatever happened to Gillian? What sorts of weird shenanigans are going on at this isolated commune? Will anyone ever utter one true thing, clear the air, or fess up to anything? Eventually yes, but unfortunately the book doesn't quite stick the landing. Still, it's so much fun getting there.

This was a different one and I have a soft spot for books about cults and communes! Lol. Liked all the flashbacks and the twist at the end.

This book is a mystery/thriller with different point of views from the characters and beautifully written. The timelines were also very well written.

I read this book in a day and I never looked back! The twist and the plot were pretty easy to identify but the different POV's kept me intrigued to see how everything was going to unfold. A couple of the characters were so unlikable that it made it hard to feel bad or connect with them in any way. I do wish that the ending would've given a little more, I wanted to know how the characters dealt with the aftermath.

Overall I give this 5 out 5 because it really was a great book and I will definitely read more from this Author. I enjoyed the thrill of the plot and its twists.

*I received a copy of this eARC via NetGalley*

In college, I was obsessed with Pretty Little Liars so I was pretty excited when I came across this new adult book from Sara Shephard — especially one that follows a group of mothers living in a mysterious “mommune.”

Nowhere Like Home is a slow burn that alternates between past and present timelines through multiple points of view. In order to drive the plot, the first half of the book is focused on character development and backstory. I struggled to stay engaged, and I had to pause and come back to finish reading. The pacing shifts in the second half, and I sped through the rest of the book.

I enjoyed the book’s exploration of themes of betrayal, broken friendships, and motherhood. The character development was also well done. Overall, I’d rate this 3.5 stars.

Thank you NetGalley and Penguin Group Dutton for the advanced reader copy. Opinions are my own.

This book was a pretty quick read. The main character was easy to connect with.tou get a hint of the mystery to come already in the first chapter which is captivating.

Lenna gets a call from an old friend, Rhiannon, to join her group of women community in the desert. It’s great to start but she begins to wonder if her invitation had a darker intent having to do with their past.

While an adult novel with adult characters, I felt the writing style was better suited for a younger audience. I wasn’t able to fully connect with the characters and most of the present time line was not very interesting to me. I did like the past chapters but a lot of struck me as not realistic. The final twist was unexpected and added some extra drama, but this still wasn’t my favorite read.

“You’re out in the desert… alone. And I’m waiting for you. Because out in the desert, friend, no one can hear you scream.”

Nowhere Like Home comes out 2/20.