A review by minimicropup
Nowhere Like Home by Sara Shepard

dark mysterious tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

2.5

This was okay and mostly entertaining. It started off fun and campy but took itself too seriously at the end. 
 
Energy: Melodramatic. Forlorn. Pragmatic. 
 
🐺 Growls: How it excused toxic, abusive behaviours as a product of social anxiety and loneliness. 
 
🐕 Howls: The epilogue oversimplifies things. The preachy moralizing read like it was saying ‘being nice’ means letting people trample your boundaries and force you into friendships? I lost interest after finding out who the Big Bad was and all the convoluted scheming involved.  
 
🐩 Tail Wags: The ‘Then’ chapters about how everyone met and how they did or didn’t become friends and why. Easy listening while multitasking (once you know who all the characters are, I just had to pause to take notes). 
 
Scene: 🇺🇸 A desert community and Los Angeles, California, USA
Perspective: Our main character has recently had a baby, and their partner has become distant and unhelpful. They eagerly seize the opportunity to reconnect when an old friend they have a complicated past with unexpectedly reaches out with an invite. 
Timeline: May. 2020s. Then (2 years ago) & Now. ☀️ Hot and dry. 
🔥 Fuel: What is this compound? Who started it and why? What’s the friendship background and how did the characters meet? What happened leading up to the visit to the compound? Why does one character want to insert themselves so desperately in their lives? 
📖 Cred: Suspended disbelief to unbelievable
 
Mood Reading Match-Up:
Barbed wire. Adobe walls. Water misters. Caves. Phone pings. Lunch invites. Clothes shopping. 
  • Invisible in the room, overhearing character thoughts (third person limited)
  • Dramatic, simplistic writing style
  • Mix of naïve, questionable, unhinged characters
  • No-Men-Allowed Mommy commune
  • Obsessive, stalky female frenemies
  • Women behaving badly
  • Cling wrap friendship
  • Betrayal, confession, doubts, dysfunction, manipulation, and secrets
  • Slow burn, light popcorn thriller
  • Unhinged mastermind villains and scheming
  • Who to trust, who betrayed who
  • Insular desert community
  • ‘My Baby!’ suspense
 
Content Heads-Up: Bomb threat, explosion. Childless (wanting a baby). Confinement, kidnapping. Guns. IVF, fertility. Obsession. Murder. Panic attack. Parental rejection, neglect, substance abuse. Physical attack. Sabotage. Stalking. Suicide attempt (brief moment).
 
Rep: American. Cis. Hetero. Freckled, sunburned, tan, ivory, and pale skin tones.  
 
📚 Format: Library Audio
 
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