I was so excited when I first learned about a novel featuring an MC with POCD, perhaps the most taboo type of OCD there is. There are not nearly enough literary depictions of OCD that feel real and relatable, that might give readers accurate insight into the battles our brains insist on having. While the writing style wasn’t my favorite and could’ve been a bit more polished, Eliot and her story pulled me in and propelled me forward. I sobbed at the end, which is the surest sign that a book has found its way into my heart. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for giving me access to this book, I can’t wait to share about it on IG and TikTok.

This book approaches many sensitive subjects like death of a family member, psychosomatic illness, grief, mental health, etc. The way the author brought it into this book was perfect, I loved how she wrote it. And also I have to say that I learned a lot.

this was a really hard book for me to get into, by no means do i find it to be a bad book but it’s definitely not at all what i assumed it was going to be… i was so interested in this book because of the OCD aspect, it is something i have always struggled with and this book is actually how i found that what the character goes through is in fact a type of OCD. i assumed that obviously it would be heavily revolved around this topic but at the end of the day i was expecting it to be more romance based and i dont quite personally think it should have been marketed as a romance book.

the then and now chapters were a bit chaotic but not terrible, i felt that the plot gets kind of lost in between the two and easy to get confused on what is going on. i think the OCD representation was done wonderfully, it helped me with myself quite a bit actually but other than that i didnt really feel connected to the story 🥲

This is yet another ARC that is hard for me to discuss... similar to when I came here to review the latest from the favorite, Elissa R. Sloan.

I read the chapter sampler of this that was included in Guy's Girl, and I really thought that I was going to love this because I loved Guy's Girl and this book was going to have more of what I loved which is a rich family coming back together. Now I also thought that maybe this would be a romance given the publisher, and that would work its way into the narrative a little. The further removed from this the more willing I am to see the romantic elements at play, they just don't work for me as a reader.

This is the story of Eliot, the youngest daughter of a wealthy family. She's been estranged from her family for a bit, in part because she's never really fit in. Her mother is her father's third wife and the chasm in ages between Eliot and her eldest siblings is pretty big and she didn't necessarily grow up with a lot of her siblings. The sibling that she was the closest to in age died when Eliot was a child and it was that life event that led to her family eventually realizing that Eliot had OCD and that's some of the past storyline of this book. It also chronicles her relationship with the new kid at school and friend that gets sort of adopted into her family shortly after the passing of her brother.

In the present the family is reconvening in their usual summer vacation spot for the wedding of one of the siblings.

The wedding plays a bigger role than I would have initially given this book credit for. Similar to the romance that didn't work for me. There was also just some reveals late in the book that were... not my favorite?

Ultimately this book felt very claustrophobic. Despite the big cast of characters it felt pretty limiting in how our main character connected to them. I constantly was wishing I was reading a different book, one that made use of them. This was a plot point of the story, but because we were also making so much time for these flashback chapters to really establish this romance with Eliot and the friend she made that sort of replaced her dead brother in some memories the stuff in the present sort of suffered as a result. Some of it managed to be enriched, but that's debatable. I probably wouldn't have minded if I cared about the romance, but this was really giving general fiction with a romantic afterthought.

I would definitely still be interested in another book from Noyes because the goodwill I have from their debut hasn't been completely eroded. I also think that if I had come into this book understanding what this book was actually going to do I probably would have had a better time and not been as disappointed as I was when I finally did manage to finish it.

This was a well written story about family, grief and coping with mental illness. I went in expecting more of a romance, and while there was a romance, it felt like a secondary story. This tale was a little heavier than I anticipated based on the synopsis. I also found it hard to connect with the characters, mostly because I wasn’t expecting such a weighty story.

Short synopsis: Eliot Beck returns home for her brothers wedding after being away for the past 3 years. She immediately runs into Manuel her childhood best friend that she also ran from.

My thoughts: Emma Noyes is an author that knows how to make the reader feel uncomfortable, but not in an uncomfortable way (if that makes sense). More a “I need to learn” way. My perception of OCD was obviously wrong, I had no idea people live with these thoughts.

I adored Manuel, everyone needs a best friend like him. He was nothing but supportive and loving towards Eliot. I thought the fact that Eliot having such a big family added such a unique element to the story.

This book has a lot of heavy topics, mental health, loss of a sibling, complicated childhood and family dysfunction, substance abuse and addiction to name a few. But there are also so many silver linings and happy moments throughout the pages!

Read if you love:
- Mental health rep
- Childhood friendships
- Weddings
- Large families
- Silver linings and growth

This was a really amazing debut. This had such great representation for someone who has to deal with ocd. This book felt so real and raw. I look forward to reading Emma Noyes future work!

Painfully good. It hurts and you like it and you want to see Eliot grow into the person she's meant to be with the people she's meant to be with.

I was captured right from the start, and read this in as close to one sitting as you can get with two small children, and I definitely stayed up a little past my bedtime to finish. This resulted in my husband coming to bed to find me crying, but he didn't even question it. He's seen it too many times. But I will say, this book earned my tears. I was happy to give it every single drop because the end was so full of hurt and the recognition of grief, but also a door being blown off the hinges that finally allows Eliot's family in to her struggles and lets her show them her love.

This is also Eliot, recognizing that her Person, her best friend Manuel, never let her go.

Eliot is a character with OCD, and the book is very careful to show the spectrum of experiences that entails. Emma Noyes based it on her own experience, and I think it's important to respect her experience and that she is sharing it, and that disability of any kind is experienced differently by everyone. I valued her vulnerability here.

CW for: sibling loss, grief, intrusive thoughts, mental health struggles and spiraling, mentions of past drug addiction

Raw, vulnerable, and real. This book will resonate with you if you've lived with or experienced anxiety or OCD. I appreciate the author sharing another side of OCD as it is different for everyone. Most people don't realize that OCD (or any mental illness for that matter) is not one size fits all, it's truly a spectrum. A must read in my opinion. Obviously loved the mental health rep, but I did knock off a star because the FMC was very unlikeable (sorry)!

Thanks to NetGalley, Berkley Pub, for the complimentary book. All opinions are my own.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️✨ (4.25/5)

Eliot has OCD, but different then what we are use to seeing. She leaves her tight knit family at 18, including her best friend Manual, to forge a path by herself. She returns after 3 years for her brother’s wedding, and finds so much more than she expected. And the walls she built come tumbling down.

This was a harder book to read, slow in some parts, but so eye opening. I only know about OCD from what I’ve seen on TV. This book gives a whole other side of the disorder. Heartbreaking and hopeful at the same time. I loved all the quirky characters. Manual, the hunky best friend, who saw the real Eliot. Protective, the kind of best friend we all need. The large family, trying to be supportive and not quite realizing the depths of Eliot’s pain. Eliot, trying to protect herself and those around her, shutting out the people who love her. This is a character drop oven book with an important message.

I applaud the author for shedding light on this disorder and sharing her story. This book is honest and raw This was a slower read for me, but I learned so much and it will stick with me for a long time. We need to make mental health a priority and remove the stigma attached to it. Thanks to Berkley and NetGalley for this ARC. This is my honest opinion.

⭐️⭐️⭐️💫(3.5)

Thank you @berkleypub for the gifted book 🩵#BerkleyPartner

When Eliot Beck returns to Canada for her brother’s wedding, she hasn’t seen her family in three years, hiding from the OCD that once consumed her. Facing a four-day celebration, she’s thrown off balance when her childhood best friend, Manuel, reappears. As old feelings resurface, Eliot must protect the walls she’s built—or risk unraveling completely.

There’s natural, witty dialogue between dysfunctional family members and a merging nostalgic friendship, all fostered on a private Ontario island. All told through the spiraling thoughts of Eliot. Exhausting, heavy, and—heartbreakingly—authentic. The plot is solely driven by her obsessive-compulsive disorder—a brain she cannot trust. And in Eliot’s case, the intrusive dictations of identity are sexual in nature, building upon each other as she grows up, reinforcing the belief that she is a horrific human being.

My biggest qualm with this book is not the focused content or the graphic narrative style; it’s that I wish I knew what is fact and what is fiction. The author has mentioned a large part of the OCD perspective is from her life. If that’s the case, I’d like a memoir with her exceptional writing instead please 🙋🏻‍♀️

Perfect for you if you like:
Unique perspectives + mental illness insight
Dysfunctional families
Ethereal romances

I don’t normally feel the need to defend my similar titles, but—hear me out! If you take the unique + unreliable + articulate POV/voice from Yellowface, mix it with the authenticity + childhood family dynamics of the memoir Between Two Trailers, and set it on a nostalgic lake in Ontario with the melancholically charged childhood friends-to-lovers coming-of-age angst from Every Summer After, you get HTHIPS.”

Similar to:
Yellowface by R.F. Kuang
Between Two Trailer by J. Dana Trent
Every Summer After by Carley Fortune

⛔️chapters 26 & 27 contain explicit romance scenes (open door)
⚠️explicit language, graphic depiction of OCD mental illness, death of a family member, grief, underaged drinking, family with drug abuse history

I don't think this book should be under the romance genre, as it is more a subplot to the family saga and the main characters OCD. The chemistry was just NOT there for this to be a believable romance, and the spicy scene was cringe.

Thank you, Berkley Publishing Group | Berkley

I liked this but didn’t love it. It took me a really long time to get invested in the characters, and by the time I did, the book was more than halfway done. I wanted to connect earlier on. I definitely enjoyed this author’s style of writing. I would like to read more of her books. I feel like she can joke about topics while skirting around difficult topics.

This was a very interesting book that is a very bracing view on mental illness and the impact it can have on someone. I’m not sure I would agree that this book is a romance, yes there is some romance but it’s more a bump in the road than the plot of the story. Eliot hasn’t been home since she left at 18 to move to New York on her own. She has barely talked to her family and she completely cut off her best friend. Eliot has OCD, but it isn’t the type of OCD that is all over the media she gets these thoughts or worries as she calls them that she cannot make go away no matter how many facts disprove them. She’s never shared the full extent of her struggling with anyone and coming home to her entire family for her brother’s wedding makes it hard to continue to hide her struggles. This book was raw and open and honest and it was even more powerful after reading the author’s note in the beginning about their struggles.

first and foremost, I absolutely love this author’s storytelling!! her writing is so raw and open, and I about cried after reading her author’s note and knowing the baseline of this story is based on personal experience 🥺🫶🏼

the story is very character forward and surrounding eliot, the youngest in a very large family suffering from PTSD of her brother’s death when they were young as well as chronic OCD. the stereotypical OCD that you see in movies and books is not what’s featured here, and I applaud every sentence written, allowing the readers the privilege of being in eliot’s head ❤️

and as sad, beautiful, and tragic as eliot’s story was, I wished there was more to hold the entire plot together. I wanted more from eliot’s family, I wanted chapters from manuel’s POV, I wanted a deep insight into how the family felt when eliot left them all high and dry… and as much as I loved eliot alone, there needed to be more than just her telling the story…

friends to lovers normally isn’t my favorite, but I absolutely loved how manuel and eliot’s dynamic was perfect for each other 🩷 again, I just wanted more from manuel’s side because from eliot’s POV only, it was hard to tell what occasions were warped due to her own trauma and OCD.

a huge thank you to berkley and berkley romance for the advanced copy of this one in exchange for an honest review!! I’m glad I took my time with this one!

rating: 3.5 stars
wine pairing: niagara-on-the-lake sparkling vidal

I was hooked on this book from the opening scene. Returning home to Cradle Island for her brother's wedding, Eliot Beck is forced her to confront some unresolved situations with her family and with Manuel, her former best friend she abandoned and someone she has deep feelings for.

The opening brought back my own memories of returning home after years away and how much things can change and yet remain the same. I was immediately engaged with Eliot's voice. This is a very emotional book, and it had me choked up a few times.

Eliot has OCD. She deals with intrusive thoughts on a daily basis and finds it easier to do that away from her family. Going back home was a big lift for her, but thinking she can handle four days, she drives herself home to find her former best friend waiting for her. She has much to deal between Manuel and her family.

There are some difficult themes here that are handled with sensitivity and realism. Mental health, particularly OCD which surprised me as I thought I knew about this disorder, the death of a family member, and family dynamics in a large family unit -- There's lots to unpack here and the story is rich with situations that I found familiar in my own life, which made the book relatable. Everyone's grown up and has adult problems, not just Eliot.

Like most family drama, this story can be hard to read at times because there is quite a bit of realistic family drama going on here. I actually liked that about it as it was central to my connection with this story. I appreciated the realism of both the family dynamics and the mental health issues.

Overall, I liked this #ownvoices story, especially the tough parts. Learning new aspects of OCD was a surprise, as was finding out just how much the author was connected to this material. There's a nice bit of romance too, but I felt the ending was a bit rushed.

I would definitely call this one a romance+ book. This definitely falls into the romance category, but I wouldn’t classify it as a rom-com; This is as much about family dynamics, mental health, and grief, as it was about a second-chance romance. It was MUCH heavier than I thought it would be but I enjoyed it all the same! I’ll be thinking about these characters for a while.

At first, I was frustrated with Eliot’s choices, but as I spent more time with her, I began to understand the way her brain works. I’m so grateful to the author for sharing the way her brain works with Eliot - she really addressed some of the common assumptions people have about those with OCD.

I loved the flashback style of the writing, and getting to know Eliot’s entire dysfunctional family in the process. I was a big fan of Manuel - he seemed to be so patient with Eliot but also held her accountable for her actions.

This book is emotionally heavy we are following Eliot as she returns to her favorite place for one of her older brothers' wedding. She hasn't seen her family in years believing the only way to hold her OCD at bay is to stick to a rigid work schedule leaving no time for her thoughts to start cycling down the dark never never-ending spiral.

While I really loved the OCD rep and thought it was handled in a great way, the way the story was told made it hard for me to connect with Eliot. Although I could definitely relate to her trying to just be okay for her family even though she is anything but. Every time I started to get interested in what was happening the story would switch to the past, and by the time we got back to the present I had lost the feeling that was drawing me in. I
I did like Manual a lot but didn't really buy their romance, I thought they made great friends, but the chemistry was lacking between them for me.
I liked how real this felt, and while this is a diversion from what I consider my normal reading material I did overall enjoy it and would recommend this if it sounds even remotely like something you would like.

How to Hide in Plain Sight by Emma Noyes is a beautiful and heart wrenching story of Eliot and Manuel. This author knows how to tug at the heartstrings in wreck a reader. The topics are heaving with Eliot having OCD and intrusive thoughts following the loss of her brother. Manuel is always there for her but she tends to push him away. This is not your typical love story but it is written in a way where readers will relate and can learn from these characters. I really enjoyed this book as it was not at all what I was expecting going in.

Thanks for the free audiobook @PRHAudio #PRHAudioPartner and to Netgalley, Berkley Publishing, and the author for the ARC in exchange for my honest thoughts.

“I know what you’re thinking. 𝙄𝙛 𝙮𝙤𝙪’𝙧𝙚 𝙖𝙣 𝙖𝙙𝙙𝙞𝙘𝙩, you’re thinking, 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙢𝙚𝙖𝙣𝙨 𝙮𝙤𝙪’𝙧𝙚 𝙖 𝙡𝙞𝙖𝙧. 𝙃𝙤𝙬 𝙘𝙖𝙣 𝙄 𝙗𝙚𝙡𝙞𝙚𝙫𝙚 𝙬𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙨𝙖𝙮?
It’s a valid question. And I’ve got the answer for you.
We addicts don’t just lie; we believe, too. If you aim to deceive others, the first person you convince is yourself.” 🥺

Oh my. I now feel so much more informed and educated on the different forms of OCD, and just how debilitating it can be. And boy oh boy did I love Eliot! I wanted to jump inside these pages and squeeze her tight.

The last few chapters of this book I felt viscerally. Like literal chills. I am so moved and overwhelmed I am not even sure I have proper words. Thank you, @emmanoyes, for laying your most personal thoughts and feelings bare and for making those that suffer, AND the ones that love them, feel a little less alone. I tip my hat to you. I cannot possibly give this book enough praise.

The audiobook is absolute superb. I could feel Eliot’s angst and fear through the narration. I felt the wind whipping though her hair as she frequently ran away. Wow. I wish I could listen to this again for the first time.