e-Audio, 09:31:43
Narrated by: Jade Wheeler & Kimberly Woods
Release Date: October 3, 2023
Published by: Simon & Schuster Audio
Read from: October 6-9, 2023
Stand-alone
Source: Libro FM (I received a copy of this audiobook from Libro FM and the Publisher in exchange for a just and honest review. This did nothing to influence my review.)
TW: Car Accident, Death, Gaslighting, Lying, Toxic Family, Child Abuse, Gun Violence, Abandonment, Emotional Abuse, Body Shaming, Homophobia, Panic Attacks
For Readers Interested In: Thrillers, Romance, Realistic Fiction, Suspenseful, Mystery, LGBTQ+ (Queer), YAAfter her mother’s death, a teen pieces together the truth of her family’s past and what her mom was hiding from in this thriller that’s perfect for fans of Courtney Summers and Tiffany D. Jackson.
Harlow Ford has spent her entire life running, caught in her mother’s wake as they flit from town to town, hiding from a presence that Harlow isn’t even sure is real. In each new place, Harlow takes on a new name and personality, and each time they run, she leaves another piece of herself behind.
When Harlow and her mom set off on yet another 3 a.m. escape, they are involved in a car accident that leaves Harlow’s mother fatally wounded. Before she dies, she tells Harlow two things: where to find the key to a safety deposit box and to never stop running. In the box, Harlow finds thirty grand in cash, life insurance documents, and several fake IDs for both herself and her mom—an on-the-run essentials kit. But Harlow also finds a photograph of her mom as a teenager with two other girls, the deed to a house in a town she’s never heard of, and a handful of newspaper clippings discussing the disappearance of a woman named Eve Kennedy, Harlow’s grandmother…relics of a part of Harlow’s life she never knew existed.
With these tantalizing clues about her mother’s secrets and the power to choose her own future for the first time, Harlow realizes she has two choices: keep fleeing her mom’s ghosts or face down the nebulous threat that’s been hanging over her for her entire life.
*MY THOUGHTS*
I don’t know the last time I clicked on Want to Read so fast. All I had to see was that it was being comped to Tiffany D Jackson and I was all in. It didn’t matter at all what it was about. And still I stand by that lol Unfortunately it wasn’t what I thought it would be, but it was still good enough for me to stay up till like 2 am trying to finish it lol
I always hate reviewing thrillers because I feel like I’m going to accidentally say something and spoil it. So I try to just go bit by bit in the hopes that I don’t talk too much lol So first off, the “thrilling” part of this was weird af. It was absolutely amazing at the beginning when they were still running from people and things. But when her mother passed away, it slowed down considerably. I chalked it up to her being sad about her mom. She just wasn’t the same person. And although I did understand it, I thought it hindered the book too. I think I would have liked it better if she had spent more time on the run. Or at least stopping in where she did and then going back on the run. Her being in the same spot was what made it feel stuck.
As a character, I think Barrow’s writing of Harlow nailed it. She seemed scared but also tired. Definitely also anxious about what she was going to find out. And when she did find out stuff, she was back to scared. This book was a mix of emotions, but they felt very real. I did think she was too trusting, but I think that had to do with her being like sheltered and never really knowing how to be a friend. She was always too busy trying to make them.
But even though the plot was a little slow, all the stuff happening had me actually saying WTF. Like the end with the big reveal? Like the actual person she should have been mad at? The one person who revealed themself to be the person chasing them? It was a lot going on in this book, I just wish it had been a little more like, idk, exciting? It didn’t seem like she had anything making her do these things in a hurry anymore. Because she very well could have just left before she found out any of these things lol
The audio was great too. I LOVE Jade Wheeler. I’ve read A LOT of books that she narrated and one of them is even one of my favorites of this year. And then I saw there was another narrator, and y’all know how much I love dual narration books. The other was Kimberly Woods. Even though this is my first narrated by her, I have several of them on my TBR. I can’t wait to listen to more of her work.
This wasn’t exactly what I thought it would be. I thought she was going to be on the run a lot longer than the first few paragraphs. And I thought her mom’s secret was going to rear it’s ugly head a lot sooner too. But this book was all over the place, just like I liked it.
Overall, I give this,
