I had a really hard time getting into this story. It was very slow and didn't grab my attention. However, I thought that narrator was great.

Thank you to Bookouture and NetGalley for the advanced listening copy.

Why She Left is a very well read intense family drama. I'd guessed the bare bones of where the plot was heading about a third of the way in but it still kept my interest. Sadly all of the characters, with maybe the exception of Isaac, were less than pleasant. The end of the story was a very clever series of twists which I didn't really see coming so I wasn't quite as clever as I'd thought.

15 years ago, Isabelle left her family and all she knew without looking back. Her mother, Ruth, has never known the reasons behind her daughter’s escape and, with time, she has come to terms with the idea of never seeing her again. When Isabelle comes back home after 15 years, together with her teenage child Isaac, Ruth can’t believe it. Since she is the headmistress of a very prestigious school that has belonged to the family for generations, she immediately sets off to enrol her grandson as a student and to offer an admin job to Isabelle. Her daughter accepts out of sheer desperation, because she is running away from a violent partner and she has no other place to go to. Nevertheless, she knows very well that that school is not safe. Something that happened in that school is the reason why she ran away so many years ago. And now, something is going to happen to her son…

I have to say, I was very intrigued by the premise of this book but, unfortunately, it ended up being only an ok read. We know everything too soon, there is no real suspense here. And when we know what’s happened, we are not really surprised because we had been expecting that “twist” all along. I would have liked to see a better characters’ development, whereas these people just go from feeling nothing to be absolutely obsessed about somebody/something. There is no gradual progression in anything that they think and experience. It is overall an ok read, but unfortunately not much more than that, at least for me.

I listened to the audiobook and I did enjoy the narrator’s way of reading and interpreting it.

•thanks to #netgalley and the publisher for the ALC in exchange for an honest review•

The narrator of the audiobook does a great job of providing some life to the story. Overall it was entertaining, but some of the character"s choices are annoying. It was a quick read and pretty enjoyable.

This book was more of a 3.5 star book for me. It was interesting enough and moved fairly quickly. However, again, we have a female character who jumps to fairly dumb conclusions throughout the book. That just gets under my skin every single time and gives me reason to reduce my rating.

On the upside, the narrator for the book was interesting. Her voices were good - and not forced or annoying like many other audiobooks tend to be!

This review was also posted on Goodreads.

A tense family drama where everyone has secrets they don’t wish to reveal, until they have to. The story is based around mother who loves her children, but also loves her school. At what lengths will she go to protect her school over protecting her children? Not only is the mother keeping secrets, her two daughters have their own secrets as well. Isobel left at 16 cutting all ties to her family, but now she is desperate with no other place to go and is forced to return home with her teenage son Isaac. Isobel’s sister, Cecily has given up her dreams to help her mother run the school and is distant when Isobel returns. Can this broken family move past their secrets and mend their relationships? Will the mother, Ruth, put her school above her family?

At some points the story was predictable, however the plot twists were surprising and took the story in an unpredictable direction. The suspense and drama between the family members was well built.

The blurb caught my interest and seemed intriguing. I was looking forward to getting to know the characters and there different relationships but it just didn’t follow through for me. It’s portrayed as a mystery/thriller but it’s more of a family drama with a bit of a twist. I found it very predictable and convenient. The characters weren’t particularly likeable. Isobel’s character I did take to a little but Ruth’s character not at all to the point of dislike and even more so the narrators portrayal of her really grated on me. It was a bit of slog to listen to her constant inner thoughts and it really got on my nerves to hear about “the school” constantly. I do like this authors style of writing and would be interested to read more of her work but this one just didn’t follow through and I found I knew what was coming before it did.

2.5/5 🌟🌟/🌟

Thanks to Netgalley and Bookouture Audio for the opportunity to listen to and review this ARC that due to be published on the 13th of Dec.

3.5 ⭐️
This was about a family and they had a mystery swirled in with selfishness and greed. For me the biggest problem with this was that no one every had a proper conversation. Why doesn’t anyone try to figure out what’s going on? And I thought the characters were unlikable. I didn’t want to hang out with them or really find out anything else. I just wanted to give up on the whole big giant mess.
It reminded me of some of Lisa Jewels books that also had yucky characters. But having said that, I was grateful it had a decent ending and there was indeed a mystery.
I chose to listen to this book on audio and Mira Dovreni and she was great.
Thanks Bookouture via Netgalley.

#WhySheLeft #NetGalley

Isobel fled Burlington Square as a teenager and now when faced with an staying in an unhealthy relationship or leaving, the only place she can think of that he won’t find her or her son Isaac is home to the school her family has run for generations.

Ruth lost her daughter fifteen years ago without an explanation. When she returns randomly on her doorstep with a teenage son she knew nothing about, she is shocked, but relieved they have come home. Isobel was supposed to be the one who took over after she retired, and Ruth is determined for that future to happen. She immediately enrolls her grandson Isaac into Burlington Square and does what she can to reinsert herself in their lives in hopes they stay.

As Isobel and Ruth get to know each other again, we slowly find out what caused Isobel to flee Burlington Square in the first place, and we learn more about Ruth as a mother and headmistress.

Though parts of the story were somewhat predictable if you have read enough of this genre, it was still a suspenseful tale of love, loss and what one will do to save face.

Thank you NetGalley, Bookouture Audio, and of course Leah Mercer for the advanced copy. All opinions are my own. Why She Left comes out on December 13th!

When Ruth's estranged daughter, Isobel, turns up on her doorstep with a son Ruth never knew about, she jumps at the opportunity to mend the relationship. She genuinely wants to heal her broken family and will do anything to keep them together with her . . . well . . . maybe not absolutely anything. Ruth must balance what she believes is good for the private school she has spent her life building.

Isobel fled the school and her mother as a teenager without ever telling her mother why. Now she must face her fears head-on to do what is best for her son.

There were plenty of twists to keep me interested and I found the novel an enjoyable, light read. I thought the main characters had some depth to them but could have had more. Isobel carries a lot of guilt and pain but I didn't see as much inner turmoil from her as I would have expected and her son isn't well-developed at all. For such a prominent character, I know very little about him. The book is more plot-driven but I feel like the subject matter lent itself to a character-driven book more.

With those caveats, I did like the book and will try some more novels by this author.

What a story! I was drawn in from the start! I loved the unexpected twist. Characters were brought to life with such conviction, it was a pleasure to listen to

I received an advanced reader’s copy in exchange for an honest review

I loved this one. Very fast paced, had my heart racing as I listened to it – I had to see how it would end. The characters were well rounded and the narrative felt believable. Gave me chills. Solid five

Thank you NetGalley for this advanced copy. I was on the fence about this one to begin with, but thought perhaps it would grab me. It didn't. The beginning was interesting but it became very slow. I even skipped to the end a little bit, but still couldn't get into it.

I really wanted to love Why She Left, the premise sounded great but in reality I found the storyline quite flat and slow. The twists were expected long before they happened and the ending was predictable. I did still enjoy listening to the book, the narrator was fantastic, the characters well developed and the story was still good. It just didn't quite hit the spot for me this time.

Thank You to Netgalley and the publisher for an advanced audio copy of this book in return for my honest review.

I loved this audiobook! I am not always great at keeping my mind on fiction audiobooks but this one sounded so good I had to give it a try and I'm so glad I did! The narrator was so perfect and the story was so engrossing I couldn't wait to turn it back on. I had to find ways to make time for it, that's how much I wanted to know what was happening. Initially, I couldn't quite understand Isabel's hatred of all things related to the school that belonged to her family but as the story unfolds you get a good idea of what drove her away and ultimately, how she and her mother were able to come together again, So so good!! Thank you to the publisher and author for letting me have a chance to change my mind about audiobooks!

Thank you Net Galley for an audio copy of Why She Left by Leah Mercer. This was a family drama that I couldn't really get invested in.

I am really sorry but I just could not get far in this audiobook. I found it quite slow to start and the characters just didn't grab me. The narrator was very good.

This was very fast paced.
Family drama! I am here for it!! Isobel was running from her past as a younger girl and running from her life as a woman,

The drama mixed in this family of two daughters and their mom is sure to make you think what mom does that.

Worth the read!!

Out of options Isabelle shows up at her mother’s door step with her teenage son Issac. One would think their mother’s home is the first place one would go when they need help, unfortunately that’s not the case for Isabelle. Isabelle left home when she was a teenager taking a terrible secret with her. Isabelle’s mother, Ruth runs a very upper class, prestigious school in London. She has a great reputation as does the school. Initially she is shocked at her daughter and grandson on her doorstep but she is excited to get to know the child she didn’t know existed. Isaac is enrolled at the prestigious school immediately and suddenly disaster strikes. Isabelle worries the reason she left in the first place is back and finds herself desperate to leave again.

This was supposed to have been a mystery/thriller, unfortunately it was a family drama. There was a small aspect of mystery but definitely not a thriller. The topics in the book are so mainstream now it was hard to be shocked by it. If my daughter suddenly showed back up after being gone for fifteen years I think I’d have have questions but it was not in the story line.

Thank you NetGalley for the advanced copy in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

Interesting but not really my cup of tea. Well written I just personally couldn’t get into the story. I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.