The Family

I thoroughly enjoyed the book. It is well written and kept me interested with every page turn. I will say that, for whatever reason, the lack of communication between Leah and Walker the week he was away bothered me. LOL. I honestly don’t know why but even now as I write this I feel angst 🤷🏽‍♀️. Anyway, apart from that, this was an excellent read.

I couldn’t put the book down. It was well written and the ending was great. Pretty good and didn’t disappoint!

This book was great! The characters were alive before my eyes. To say I loved it would be an understatement.I was very happy that unlike most books, they just end. Your left with so many questions. The Family didn’t do this. You know how it is so much further into the future.If your looking for a page turner here it is!

This was a new author for me and when I read the book description I was excited to get started. I didn’t even notice that it was only 148 pages, otherwise I probably would’ve set my expectations a little bit lower. I was ready to sink my teeth into a book abt cults, abuse, the aftermath… and an author can’t really do that justice in 148 pages.Here’s the good: Again, very good topic if you find these sort of sociological experiments interesting… especially the part abt how punishing for NOT conforming affects the group members. The other piece that the author did really well was to literally say “I know most of you are asking WHY don’t we just leave? Well the answer is just as simple, HOW?” It’s so easy for a person on the outside of any abusive/controlling situation to say… just leave! But it is never that easy and I think if an author or playwright or film director is going to raise the topic of abuse, they have to pose the question and the answer to make it clear that it’s not easy to get out whether it’s physical, emotional, sexual, financial, or whatever abuse. So great job on that here.Lacking: I feel like we were just getting to the good stuff!! lol. I was just starting to relate to Nyla, to cheer for her, to be emotionally invested in her and her kids, her friend, her relationship with her mom, her future…and then it was over in a 4 page last chapter that just said “3 yrs later”Then there was this random epilogue 10 yrs later that was 2 pages and supposed to be a “could this be?” But very poorly done.I think that was part of the overall issue is that every chapter was 4-5 pages, when they could have been 10-12 without being overdone, and still rounded out the characters so much better. It was kind of more like a heavy outline than a book. Maybe this comes from writing YA books too.Lastly, this is a grammatical issue that is my own personal issue. This book appears to be written from multiple POVs, in that it alternates between Leah chapters and Nyla chapters. But typically in books told in this style, each chapter is told in the first person, from that character’s POV. This book is only told in Leah’s voice. So the Leah chapters are in first person, e.g., “I did some work while Nyla worked in her garden.”. But the Nyla chapters are told in third person, e.g., “On a brisk November morning, Nyla gave birth to her first baby and she was so pleased.” If it was all going to be written from Leah’s perspective then it could have been a more chronological timeline instead of jumping back and forth in years. Again, this may not have bothered many, but I didn’t understand the format choice.If I had a Sunday afternoon to kill and didn’t want to start a longer book, I might read another book from this author just to see if a second book is any different.

Great read. This story kept me wanting more. With communes being very real, the story has a scary side as well. I was hooked from the beginning.

I liked the back and forth in time and I also didn't. But I got used to it. Horrific story but hopefully no more Cult problems as people become aware

This book was difficult to put down. I love how the author depicted multiple perspectives and I appreciate how the story started when the book did - there was no verbose, unnecessary character and plot building - this, she intermingled throughout the story.Suspenseful and fascinating - I REALLY enjoyed it!

I am drawn to cult related content and this story did not disappoint. It demonstrated how cults are known to intensify over time.While I enjoyed it, I do wish it went into a little more detail in some parts. For example, the 3 year jump could have included more story. I don’t want to give spoilers so I’ll leave it at that.

I loved this book. I like the way the author writes also. The storyline kept me going. I read this in one sitting.

What a read. Gripped me from the very first page through to the last and I couldn't put it down. A brilliant storyline about communal/cult living. Quite sad knowing these things actually happen to people. A must read for everybody who likes a gripping read

Enjoyed it

Was an okay book. Probably should be geared to a younger audience. Small book read it in a day. Not worth what I paid for it.

First time that I have read anything by this author and can happily say I wasn't disappointed. Only downside is that it was a quick read.Plus side is, I shall now purchase another book by her.