Adrienne Vogt and Harper Penny were closer than sisters, until the day a tragedy blew their seemingly idyllic world apart. Afraid that they got away with murder and unable to accept who they had lost—and what they had done—Harper and Adri exiled themselves from small-town Blackhawk, Iowa, and from each other. Adri ran thousands of miles away to Africa while Harper ventured down a more destructive path closer to home.

Now, five years later, both are convinced that nothing could ever coax them out of the worlds in which they’ve been living. But unexpected news from home soon pulls Adri and Harper back together, and the two cannot avoid facing their memories and guilt head-on. As they are pulled back into the tangle of their fractured relationships and the mystery of Piperhall, the sprawling estate where their lives first began to unravel, secrets and lies behind the tragic accident are laid bare. The former best friends are forced to come to terms with their shared past and search for the beauty in each other while mending the brokenness in themselves.

Review:

When I finished with this story, I made several notes on some key points I want to share. When I came across this book on Netgalley, the cover captured my attention. It gave me an impression of a literary feel to it. When I began reading the first chapter, the feelings I had going into the story was not my first impressions. In that I was a bit disappointed. As I read on, none of the characters really stood out to me. I wanted more character development. I did not get the impression that Adri and Harper were closer than sisters. Their struggles and turmoil were well written. Through the whole story it deals with their guilt and Harpers abusive relationship that she was trying escape from, so the author did a good job building tension there.

What bothered me the most is that it took the whole entire story to get to the part of what happen to David when he was killed. But I guess I can see the authors intentions for that.

When Adri and Harper reunited, it felled flat to me. I was expecting a more powerful scene than what was written. Another thing I want to mention is that there needed to be more dialogue in the story. There were too many descriptive paragraphs about things that really didn’t matter or really help the overall character development or plot.

However, having said all this. I think it’s a great premise, I enjoyed it somewhat but I believe this story could have had greater potential. I am sure others have had a different experience with this story so I have rated it three stars.

Stephanie M. Hopkins