I know Saras work, i of course watched PLL. I dont typically like books that are centered around cults. Its just not my favorite trope. Then the FMC gets amnesia, a trope i HATE. i DNF around 40%

I really enjoyed this one. I loved how to POV jumped between the characters and the past and present to fully form the story from all perspectives. I did not see the ending coming but thought it was a decent ending. This really had me gripped from the very beginning and kept me wondering about these women and this group until the very end. I really enjoyed the contrast between the remote community and the women's lives before joining the commune. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I had high hopes for this since I loved PLL and a few other books by Sara Shepard, but this fell short for me. It could have been super good with motherhood, communes, living cut off from the general public. The characters didn’t really have substance to them. Twenty something friends fighting over being friends. I didn’t want to get attached to them. The plot was interesting but not anything gripping. It was slow at times too which made it drag and hard for me to finish. I expected more twists and turns from the author of PLL. Still an enjoyable read but nothing I would probably read again unfortunately.

3.5 As soon as I saw that this book was about a cult/ mommune I was sold. While I was hoping for more I had a fun time with this one. This book follows a few POV but for most of the book we follow Lenna a young mom who reconnects with an old friend and decides to start her life over at Halcyon Ranch a commune for women empowering women and helping them become mothers or a mommune as they like to describe it. While this seems too good to be true for Lenna soon finds out it might be.

This was an interesting thriller the plot wasn’t that surprising but I still had a fun time with this book. I enjoyed the extra POVs that were added later in the story but the first part felt a little long just following Lenna. I will say it did have a pretty good twist at the end and I enjoyed the writing. I would like to thank NetGalley and the publishers for a chance to read this book for an honest review.

Nowhere Like Home is an adult thriller novel from author Sara Shepard who is best known for the popular young adult Pretty Little Liars series. The story in Nowhere Like Home is one that changes timelines and is told from multiple points of view.

Lenna is new to motherhood and of course like most a bit overwhelmed by it all. Out of the blue Lenna receives a phone call from her old friend Rhiannon who she hasn’t spoken to in two years. Rhiannon is also mother now and is staying in a remote women’s only community called Halcyon.

Lenna is hesitant when Rhiannon invites her to come stay with them at Halcyon but what better time to repair their friendship but no sooner than she arrives Lenna becomes suspicious of the many rules of the community and being cut off from the outside world when Lenna herself has her own secrets she’d also like to protect.

Nowhere Like Home is actually my first read from author Sara Shepard so I didn’t quite know what to expect going into this one but was certainly curious since she written books that became such a highly popular series. For me the whole cult like type of setting isn’t exactly my favorite and of course everything there was what you’d expect with being cut off so that didn’t exactly stand out until further on. The ending was also one that you may need to suspend disbelief but certainly picked up the pace and action a bit more. Overall I’d say this one landed in at a solid three stars, not my favorite but an alright read in the end.

I received an advance copy from the publisher via NetGalley.

Wow! This one kept twisting and turning. I thought the author did a great job crafting this world around LA and the commune, and developing the characters to a point where I really cared what happened, but also didn't really know who to trust. I'm recommending this to all of my thriller loving friends because I could not put this down.

Nowhere Like Home is flat out WEIRD! Not in a bad way, but definitely not what I was expecting. Lots of twisted friendships, unusual dynamics, and a random secret "mommune" make it interesting and enjoyable, but it still feels a little off the wall to me.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with this book in exchange for my review!

Title: Nowhere Like Home

Author: Sara Shepard

Publisher: Penguin Group Dutton

Pub Date: February 20, 2024


Brief Summary: A woman reconnects with an old friend who is involved with a mysterious group.

I really enjoyed this book. I read the book and also listened to the audiobook narrated by Brittany Pressley. Brittany Pressley once again does not dissapoint with her amazing narration. I thought that the story was very clever and unique, and super addictive -- I finished the book in a matter of a couple days. I hope Sarah Shepard writes more books for adults in the future. I recommend listening and reading this book at the same time for the best experience of this mind bending and crazy story!

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This was certainly an interesting read. I love the cult premise and examining female friendships, but I also didn't really like any of the characters..?! I am left trying to figure out exactly how I feel about this book. It was truly middle of the road. Some of the twists were great, but I also saw some of the coming from a mile away. I truly could not stand the main character of Lenna. She seemed extremely childish in nature and I just cannot fathom how a young mother can decide to up and leave her husband to live in a cult like environment. I just wasn't really buying it. I did enjoy the book while reading it, although it was truly a slow burn. Again, I almost don't completely know how I feel about it as a whole. Interesting but potentially forgettable. That being said, I'm sure that there are other readers who would appreciate this book.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for an advanced copy of this book. All opinions within this review are my own.

I really enjoyed this at the start, and I loved the premise of a wellness cult with nontraditional parenting. However things just got too campy near the end, and I felt all the action was just distracting. Certainly not a bad book, but not one that will stick with me.

This was an interesting thriller. Touching on toxic friendships and navigating past traumas, it was heavy but very intriguing. I enjoyed the way this book was formatted where it started as single POV but at the start of part 2, it starts a multiple POV format. The chapters were long which isn’t something I usually enjoy because I feel it tends to make the book drag a bit. The ending made it worth it because I definitely didn’t see it coming.

Friends, enemies, betrayals, and secrets is how we meet Lenna, Rhiannon, Gillian, and women in a woman’s compound that lives off the grid. Thank you netgalley and the publisher for an arc in exchange for a review

When Lenna abruptly leaves her husband, taking her young son along, she embarks on a journey to reconnect with her estranged friend Rhiannon. To her surprise, Rhiannon now resides in an off-grid commune called Halcyon, alongside her own son. Lenna's main intention is to mend their friendship and confess a secret in hopes of reconciliation. However, Rhiannon seems elusive, always out of reach whenever Lenna seeks her out. As the plot unfolds, it becomes evident that there's more to Halcyon, Rhiannon, and their past than meets the eye.

While a bit lengthy, Nowhere Like Home by Sara Shepard offers a bit of mystery emphasizing on the complexities of adult friendships intertwined with secrets. I'm giving it 3 stars because, although the book held my interest throughout, I found the ending to be too implausible for my taste.

I would like to thank PENGUIN GROUP Dutton, Dutton & NetGalley for providing an ARC of this book in exchange for my honest and fair review

Don't get me wrong here. I grew up with PLL and I ate the shit outta them books. So I'm not a hater of this author. I have enjoyed her books.
This one however was a dud for me. The writing was good. The plot had me for a minute but the drama and characters were not it.
The mystery/thriller part was not it. I got bored and wanted to put it as a dnf so many times.

A captivating read that will appeal to fans of mystery and family drama alike. Shepard's masterful storytelling and compelling characters make this novel a must-read for anyone looking for a gripping and memorable story.

This one didn't entirely hit the mark for me, but I think others will really enjoy it.

I liked the idea of the book. Lenna gets a call one day from an old friend of hers, inviting her to live with essentially a cult of mothers. Things go downhill quickly as Lenna starts to suspect the group's real motives.

Thoughts -
I can't put my finger on it, but the story felt a little slow to me. Things were happening, but I kind of got lost in the cattiness of the women and it felt more about friendship drama than a deeper foreboding issue for too long. I liked the way the book was told with dual timelines and multiple POVs but I got a little lost in it all and was kind of confused by the end.

Overall, it wasn't really for me, but I would be interested to know what others thought because I didn't altogether dislike it.

I am usually not a fan of cult type books but this one had me hooked. Quick, easy read that fits all boxes of a good thriller.

Nowhere Like Home is another recent thriller that ended up being largely underwhelming to me. Lenna is a new mom who is struggling with probably post partum. She gets a call from an old friend. Rhianna who invites her to join a community of women in the desert. When she gets there, she quickly realizes, something is not right about the place.

As I said, I was fairly underwhelmed by this one. First, I think maybe I am in the minority here, but I am getting tired of reading about female characters who only whine and don't ask for help. I couldn't get behind Lenna and her choice to just leave her husband. It wasn't fair to him. If she needed time she should have told him before leaving. Maybe I got the wrong impression, but he didn't seem like a bad guy. The entire first half of the book was really slow and I probably should have DNF'd it. The ending was satisfying and I did like the twists, so I'll give it that. But they weren't enough to save it for me.

Thank you to PENGUIN GROUP Dutton and Sara Shepard for providing a digital ARC of this novel through NetGalley!

As a huge fan of Sara Shepard's "Pretty Little Liars" series, I was excited to jump into the story of these new women. The character development of Rhiannon, Leena and Gillian went deep and I found myself not wanting to put it down.

The premise of a commune for women in the desert with culty vibes is a genre that will always peak my interest and this was one of the main draws for me to start this book. The mystery and intrigue surrounding the women on the commune kept me reading.
I usually very much enjoy a flashback sequence through the story, but there was quite a bit back and forth through this one, as it was essentially two full stories written in tandem. It was a bit odd to move through two different spaces of time so much. It took some time to get used to but I see why it was written this way because it did give us information that we needed as the storyline continued.
The ending was frustrating to me, as I felt like we had such a huge work up to a great ending, then it fell flat. I was hoping for more.

Overall, I was grateful to have been given the opportunity to read this ARC!
#netgalley #somewherelikehome

Nowhere Like Home by Sara Shepard is all about that drama drama and gave me serious cult vibes. Told in 2 timelines, this slow burner took a long time to get into and was hard to stay attentive to it.

Thanks NetGalley and Penguin Group Dutton for this ARC in exchange for an honest review