Ugh. This book. A bunch of unlikable people, all of whom are carrying secrets and are prone to massively overreacting about anything at all. I feel like I've read books with similar premises before, and every single one of them was better. It didn't feel believable, I didn't relate to any of these people and frankly I couldn't have cared even the tiniest smidgeon less what happened to them.

At the core of this story are teenagers, Sophia and Georgia, cousins and best friends who share everything but - guess what? - each is keeping a huge secret from the other. One night they are walking home from a friend's house when a car appear out of nowhere and tries to run them down. Georgia is uninjured but Sophia is in hospital unconscious. Their frantic parents are trying to understand what happened and at the same time Georgia's parents Anya and Callum are trying to cope with the fractures in their own marriage.

I just found this book tiresome. It's tiresome when Georgia is telling her parts of the story and she keeps gradually remembering parts of the big secret but it's just too painful to continue with the memories so she has to stop thinking about them - it's so contrived! It's tiresome when Anya and Callum are supposed to be the grown ups but keep acting like overwrought teenagers and making stupid decisions that make NO SENSE other than to try to stretch out this ridiculous story. It's tiresome when Georgia's young brother Zac stumbles onto her secret and also makes silly decisions that again are just there to feed an unlikely storyline. It's tiresome when Sophia is desperate to keep her secret from her parents and then immediately tells them 5 minutes later because...oh who cares why...I didn't, I was just glad it meant that the book was nearly over.

I've read other books by Sara Foster and I've liked them. I thought the central premise - the secret that Georgia is carrying - worked, but in order to pad it out to a full book, the author had to throw all this other stuff in there and have her characters consistently make silly choices. I can't recommend this book.

3.5 stars. This is one of those books that makes you feel grateful your own family is not as dysfunctional as this. The characters here are all pretty awful, but at the same time very realistic. I understood the mother’s want to hover over her teenagers and her sadness at their growing apart, but at the same time she was stifling. The mystery relationship was obvious to me – I was reminded of Riley Redgate’s Seven Ways We Lie because the setup is almost identical – and the red herring side story was a little weird. Overall, just okay.

***Disclaimer: This e-ARC was provided to me by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. Huge thanks to them. ***

(I received a free copy of this book from Net Galley in exchange for an honest review.)

Seventeen-year-old Georgia has a secret – one that is isolating her from everyone she loves. She is desperate to tell her best friend, but Sophia is ignoring her, and she doesn’t know why. And before she can find out, Sophia is left fighting for her life after a hit and run, with Georgia a traumatised witness.
As a school psychologist, Georgia’s mother Anya should be used to dealing with scared adolescents. However, it’s very different when the girl who needs help is your own child. Meanwhile, Georgia’s father is wracked with a guilt he can’t share; and when Zac, Georgia’s younger brother, stumbles on an unlikely truth, the family relationships really begin to unravel.
Georgia’s secret is about to go viral. And yet, it will be the stranger heading for the family home who will leave her running through the countryside into terrible danger. Can the Turner family rise above the lies they have told to betray or protect one another, in order to fight for what matters most of all?

*3.5 stars*

You know when you read about a book, hear a lot about how great it is and can't wait to get started on it? You know when you have read books by the same author and really enjoyed them, so this should be a walk in the park for you? Yeah, me too...I also know about those books that start off with so much promise and just fail to deliver completely for me...

The pros: a premise that seemed really interesting. A shocking accident, teenage issues, family breakdown, friendships, and mystery. Also, the setting was stunning. Mountains, trees, rivers...sounded fantastic. And, for some part of the novel, I was really interested in the secret Georgia was carrying around with her, and who had attacked her and her cousin on the road one night...

The cons: aside from the opening accident, nothing really happens. Georgia's brother, Zac, finds out about her secret (which he doesn't disclose) - he then shares it with someone who puts it on the internet (we still don't know what it is.) Then, we have the overwrought drama of Anya being a helicopter parent and endlessly complaining about her husband. We have the husband trying to get out of a relationship with a workmate. But all of those transgressions that lead to the behaviour of Anya and Callum happen "off-camera" - so all we get are like tendrils of story that have no weight.

Overall, I think trying to combine the family drama of this story, along with the mystery aspects just didn't work for me. But I can see why others have been taken with it. If these kinds of stories interest you, go head and give it a go - lots of others enjoyed it!


Paul
ARH

A thrilling book that keeps you on the edge of your seat throughout the entire book.

I remember reading this novel what seems ages ago and recall enjoying the story. With so much going on at the time, I had totally overlooked leaving a review.

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