5 ⭐️ read

Synopsis:
A teen wakes up on the side of the road cold and bleeding, with no clue who she is or how she got there. A cop passes by and takes her to the local police station to find out what happened and who she is. Her father shows up frantic looking for her, and provides several documents of her identity, including her school ID, birth certificate, and family photos. Her name is Mary, and they are on vacation while their house is being renovated, or so he says.

Drew and Lola get into an argument, and she leaves to walk home. He leaves to give her time to cool off before they talk. However, the following day, she did not make it home. Everyone believes that Drew killed her and isn't cooperating. Drew believes she is still alive and must find her before it's too late to prove his innocence.

What I liked
- Dual POV
- Feeling of impending doom
-Short read
- Fast-paced
- Action packed

Honestly, I loved everything about this book. I could not put it down. I cried at the end of this book, and I did not expect the ending. The author did a fantastic job creating the frightening atmosphere and the feeling of impending doom, never knowing what will happen next.

Thanks to Netgalley for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you NetGalley for a copy of That’s Not my Name! This is my final read of 2023 and it did not disappoint! This is such an easy 5 star to give, I was on the edge of seat the whole time and the plot twist at end saying “NO, it can’t be true” highly recommend checking this book out

A teenage girl wakes up on the side of the road with no idea how she got there or who she is. A passing police officer discovers her and takes her to the station with him. There, a man shows up frantic with proof that she is his daughter, Mary. Meanwhile, Drew’s girlfriend Lola is missing. She got out of the car late one night to walk home after they had had a fight. The whole town is convinced Drew murdered Lola, but Drew will stop at nothing to find Lola.

Wow! What a wild ride! Both stories are compelling and have fully developed characters you come to care for. I was completely captivated from start to finish. The twists and turns and pure suspense had me up listening way past my bedtime. The narration was perfect with Sophie Amoss narrating for Mary and Robb Moreira narrating for Drew. It was very easy to determine who was talking and when. This one will keep you guessing until the very end! I highly recommend it to anyone that enjoys twisty thrillers! I give it 5/5 stars.

I thought the suspense and pacing was superb. I was hooked from the beginning and didn't want to stop listening. I could have very easily binged this one. I also liked the MC as well as other characters in the story. The book also didn't suffer "bad writing" (e.g. there wasn't some long-winded confessional, a Jason Bourne stand off; the author trying to flip the tables with a twist at the 13th hour or in the epilogue; no character said cliches or other lines that made my skin crawl...) AND I found the characters and stories mostly realistic...

What I can say is the premise was fantastic and I would recommend this to people who enjoy YA.

This was a fantastic fast-paced YA thriller following a girl who can't remember who she is and a boy who searching for his missing girlfriend. I was so captivated from the start that I listened to this from start to finish in one sitting. I thought the narration was great and fit the characters perfectly.

Wow! This book got my attention immediately and had me continually wondering what was happening next. This author did an amazing job with keeping the audience engaged and just with her writing style with this book as a whole. It was one of my favorite reads this year and I have definitely added this author to my watch list for future books.

NetGalley let me listen to this audiobook and it was fun hearing the story from the two narrators: Drew is the suspect when his girlfriend disappears so he feels like he has to look for her, since the police aren't being effective, and Mary wakes up battered and with no memories.
There is constant tension as the two storylines start to come together.
I don't think we know either one of them well enough to like or not like them, but we cared that the girl could be saved.
The ending was a little predictable but okay and the performances were great.
Thanks to NetGalley for letting me read this

Very well written, excellent storyline, great twists, and perfect narration. I cannot wait for this to be released so I may put it in our library. Thank you NetGalley for the advanced preview.

This book blew me away! I actually spent the entire day listening because there was never a good place to stop. It moves along at a good pace so I really wasn't aware of time passing. I liked most of the characters. The story, along with Drew and Mary/Lola, captured me. The twist was one I did not see coming. The narration was great. I finished the book impressed as this is a debut book. The author knocked it out of the park! Definitely one I would recommend.

Wooooow! I listened to this book in one day!! I couldn't get enough! With many books, I can see the ending coming, but I was surprised by this one. As the final pages approached, I found myself holding my breath, caught in the emotional whirlwind that was expertly woven. The resolution was both satisfying and bittersweet, leaving me with a sense of awe at the author's ability to craft a story that transcends expectations.

Mary Boone wake up on the side of the road with no memory of who she is or what happened to her, but fortunately her dad has everything to show the police that she is, in fact, his daughter. Meanwhile, Drew's girlfriend, Lola, has disappeared, and he's the number one suspect in her murder. Only they've never found a body, and Drew is convinced she's still out there.

There's a sense of impending dread throughout this book. Lally does a good job of creating this atmosphere. Like you know something isn't right, but you don't know exactly what that is. You can't help but feel for Mary, the girl who's just trying to puzzle together the pieces of her life. Drew's resolve for trying to find Lola is pretty great too.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for this ALC. Sophie Amoss and Robb Moreira were great narrators. They really brought life to Mary and Drew.

Man o man! This was such a twisted story and I absolutely didn’t see the end coming!

This was an intense and captivating thriller that keeps you hanging on til the very end! This is definitely a must read !!!

Thank you NetGalley & RB media for the copy of the audiobook. Now to go grab a physical copy!

Finished this book in 10 hours! It’s all I did all day! It helped me do all my chores clean my whole house! Wow! What a book! Best book I’ve read in a long time! Lola is missing and her boyfriend is the suspect.. but did he do it? Is she still alive? This book has you guessing the whole way through until the end!

Wow! I am still reeling from this one!

What an amazing story. Heartbreaking, and yet so sweet with all her friends, family, neighbors, and her boyfriend.

Lola is a HS student. She goes missing after a fight with her boyfriend. When she doesn't turn up, the police are looking at him as the prime suspect.
They live in a small town in Oregon (I think...) and the sheriff is a small town guy whose daughter was best friends with Lola. And it seems that no matter what he is told, he only sees her boyfriend (Drew) as a suspect.

SOOOO...he decides that HE is going to have to do SOMETHING in order to find her.

The story that follows had me gasping, crying, tearing up, and then laughing too. Needless to say, my heart was RACING multiple times!!
Such an awful, sad storyline, but with such beautiful sweet characters.

Thanks to #NetGalley and #RBMedia for an ARC of the audiobook which was just released.

4 1/2 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫 for me! (Rounded up to 5)

#ThatsNotMyName by #MeganLally

Follow me on IG @ #BookReviews_with_emsr or on FB at Book Reviews with Elaine

Happy Reading! 📚📖

Pub Date: December 26, 2023
Published by: Sourcebooks Fire
304 pages
4.5🌟

I received this ARC via NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.

This YA/Thriller is a very quick read and it kept my attention from the first page. The POV of each character flowed nicely. Drew the missing girl's boyfriend is the prime suspect in her disappearance. He is treated awfully by everyone in the small town of Oregon. Drew is determined to find Lola through any means necessary. Drew, Autumn, and Max will stop at nothing to find their friend. Who is she?
The ending took me by surprise and I didn't see it coming. Kudos to Megan Lally on her debut novel.

I was drawn in from the very beginning! I finished this book in one day! Definitely a fast-paced thriller that keeps the reader engaged!

4.5 stars
Wow, what a ride!
This book is told from 2 POVs, Mary (?) and Drew. Mary is found by the police one night covered in blood on the side of the road. She can't remember who she is, but shortly a man comes in claiming he is her father. He was pictures, a birth certificate, everything to prove it. The police release her, but after a few days, not everything is adding up. Drew is devastated because his girlfriend Lola has gone missing and the police aren't taking it seriously and only looking into him as a suspect. He will do anything to find her.
Drew and his friends Autumn (Lola's best friend) and Max were characters I really came to like. Drew was absolutely not the suspect and once Autumn and Max realized that, they were all in on trying to find her and they worked so well together as a team. Mary was obviously kind of a conundrum. She was just trying to remember things and her father Wayne was shoving opinions down her throat (you can't wear the v-neck shirt, it is too low cut, you are the type of girl who HATES leaving the house). He was obviously a little coocoo, but then he would do something that seemed to prove he was really Mary's father and really loved her.
The dual POV was very effective, it really built up the suspense because it was obvious that something was wrong and Mary might be Lola, but Wayne had so much proof that she really was Mary. It was fun watching Drew follow clues days behind Wayne and Mary because we already knew they had been these specific places.
There were 2 narrators, a male and female for each POV and I thought they both did a fantastic job. They really brought the story to life.
The ending was a twist I didn't see coming and the epilogue almost had me in tears.
This was a really fun debut and I can't wait to read more from this author in the future!

The twist at the end of this book left me shook.

I had the opportunity to listen to this audio book while I read along, which is my favorite way to read a book. The narrators for this book really brought the story to life. The narrators were for the main male character, Drew and main female character, Mary. I thought both did such a great job. Drew had the vibe of an angsty teenager, just like his character was portrayed. Mary's character was scared and hesitant at first, and the narrator did such a good job in reflecting her demeanor as she grew more sure of herself and emboldened.

A teen wakes up bruised and beat up on the side of the road, she can't remember anything about herself. A seemingly nice man who claims to be her father takes her home and tells her that her name is Mary, but something doesn't seem quite right. At the same time, teenage Lola has gone missing. Local authorities presume she we murdered, but her friends believe she is out there somewhere and are determined to find her.

I loved how the book alternated between two separate stories. I was waiting on the edge of my seat for them to clash.

Mary's story is so unsettling. As the days go on, she keeps noticing little things about the life she is told she's lived and her father that just don't add up. The author did a fantastic job not necessarily making her blind to all of the red flags, but instead reacting how you would expect a teenager would.

The story of Lola's friends and the search also keeps you engaged because her boyfriend is the main suspect in her disappearance and things feel tense because they are running out of time.

Although this is a YA book, be warned that the ending gets pretty dark. I can't say enough about the plot twist at the end. I thought I knew exactly what it was, but it caught me so off guard that I actually gasped, and then felt for all of the characters.

This was an easy 5 star read, and I thought the author was so talented in taking a YA book, where authors can be looser with the plot holes, and created a brilliant storyline.

😳 STILL PRYING MY FINGERS FROM THE EDGE OF MY SEAT!! 🤯‼️

Wow, if you read just one new book and new author, let That’s Not My Name be it!

This gripping thriller is about the disappearance of a high school senior, and the quest of her boyfriend to find her, while also being the small town police chiefs main suspect.

A girl with no memory, whose father has claimed her as being his daughter, and taking her to live in a cabin in the woods.

You know these story lines are destined to cross paths but you’ll NEVER guess the true ending!!

Twists and turn along the way, and great character development. Bonus was finding out this new author comes from the PNW. ❤️

This was takes the cake for me, and jumps right to the top of one of my favorites. Great way to close out 2023.

Thank you to NetGalley and RB Media for this advance audiobook in return for my honest opinion.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Pub date: 26 Dec 2023

💕Thank you so so much to @recordedbooks for the free audiobook!

Title: That's Not My Name
Author: @megan_lally_
Audiobook length: 9 hr 1 min
Narrators: @sophie_amoss_vo_actor, @robbmoreiravo
Book publisher: @sourcebooksfire
Pub date: Dec 26, 2023

🎧Wow! I started this audiobook and truly did not stop until it was over. I had it playing on over 2x speed because I was that desperate to know how it would end!

🎧This book is told in dual perspectives with two incredible narrators. Sophie Amoss is the voice of a teenage girl who wakes up bruised on the side of the road with no idea who she is, where she is, or what has happened to her. Robb Moreira is the voice of Drew, a teenegae boy desperately searching for his girlfriend who has been missing for weeks. He feels he is the only one left who cares what happened to her.

🎧If you're new audiobooks or are thinking about giving them a try, this would be an incredible choice to start with. It will hook you within seconds, It's easy to follow, and it never slows down until the shocking end!

🎧It's technically young adult, and I actually really love that the characters are younger and more naive/innocent, it definitely helps the story feel more authentic!

🎧I don't want to give anything away but the way Megan wrapped everything up really blew me away! What a truly phenomenal debut!!