Wow! What a great read!

Read if you like:

👧 Unexpected female friendships
🏫 School Scandals
😱 Domestic Psychological Thriller

Anna, Maggie, and Rhea all join a team to host a gala for the prestigious school that their children attend. What follows after this is a scandal that none of them were expecting to uncover. Will their friendship last and how many secrets will be revealed along the way?

The chapters switched between our three MC. The POVs are so well written and give so much information without becoming overwhelming. The book was so hard to put down because it kept you wondering what other secrets will come out. I also was so invested in each of the characters' lives and was wishing for good outcomes throughout the book.

Thank you to NetGalley and Storm Publishing for this gripping and wonderful arc in return for an honest review. ❤️

Read if you like stories of scandal and unlikely friendships.

Anna, Rhea and Maggie are thrown together on a PTA project. What follows is an unexpected friendship that’s tested when they discover a scandal within the prestigious school. They have to decide on how to expose this scandal that will have an impact on all of their seemingly-perfect families, whilst dealing with secrets of their own.

The chapters alternate between the three characters. I found myself quite invested in there three main characters. You can see how the project meetings allow the women to space to break away from trying to maintain the image of a perfect life, and how their friendship grows from that.

As you discovered their secrets early on, I found that the book became less about the different secrets and scandals. Instead, you read more about how the different women try to deal with their secrets and why they’re keeping them hidden. As a result, you’re kept guessing until the end whether they will expose the scandal that they discovered, which makes you want to keep on reading.

Overall, a very good story that had you wanting to continue reading to find out what happens, with likeable main characters that you wanted to support.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for my copy of this book.

Anna is the wife of English Jerry who is the head of Civitas Upper School in Atlanta, the parents of the students reads like a list of Who’s Who. Anna is very quiet, troubled and harbouring the darkest of secrets. Meet Rhea Connelly, President of the Parents Association, who despite her glossy and expensive appearance also has troubles that are buried deep in her past. Finally, there’s Maggie Reed, a relationship specialist with a marriage that’s floundering. The most unlikely threesome are thrown together to organise the Civitas Centennial Gala. Ill suited to friendship? May be not, only time will tell. Whilst working on the build up to the gala, they stumble upon information that may well detonate the seeming perfection of their world. How will it all play out? The three main characters tell their stories in turn.

This is an engaging, compelling and engrossing domestic psychological thriller which is well written. There is plenty of suspense as the plot navigates the despair, the highs and lows of the lives of Anna, Rhea and Maggie. I find myself becoming involved in their stories and hoping for good outcomes even when the tide seems to have turned against them. It’s well paced with authentic characters who I feel very unsure of at the start but who I end up liking and even admiring, especially their growing friendship.

It shines a spotlight on marriage and relationships, it has scandal and how, there’s corruption, lies and cover ups that keep on coming. At times it makes me gasp in shock, at others it’s moving and emotional and in addition, there are moments where it’s heartwarming. The storyline builds well and progresses to a good ending.

This novel is about facades, how often we judge books by their cover. People are not always what they seem, sometimes they put on a show but underneath who knows what is going on. None of us know what goes on behind closed doors either.

This is two for two from Caitlin Weaver for me and she will be an auto read from now on.

With thanks to NetGalley and especially to Storm
Publishing for the much appreciated arc in return for an honest review.

Maggie, Rhea and Anna. Are not friends but are all connected by the same school. They are thrown together to organise a gala for the school and their friendship starts to develop along with the uncovering of secrets about the school and themselves.
I really really enjoyed this book, it was well paced, the characters were interesting and had depth and I especially was rooting for Anna.
I am now going to look for any other books by Caitlin Weaver as I enjoyed this one so much

3.5 ⭐
An enjoyable book.
It's obvious from the outset that nearly everyone in this book is hiding something.
I don't think any of them were hard to guess, but I enjoyed the reveal non the less.
Three main characters, each dealing with their own problems in their marriage/family, and working together for the greater good.
Good plot, good pacing, good read.

read if you like:
🧍‍♀️ books about parent drama
👯‍♀️ female friends
😱 private school scandals

summary:
Wow this book was such a needed surprise! I had read Caitlin Weaver’s other book, SUCH A GOOD FAMILY, and I loved it, so when I got this ARC, I was psyched.

This book is about three women - Anna, Rhea and Maggie, whose children attend a prestigious prep school, Civitas. They come together to plan the school’s centennial gala, each involved for their own reasons unrelated to the others. Soon, they find themselves friends, and through their volunteer work, come across a resignation letter and several NDA’s that lead them to wonder — what happened at the school? Each with their own secrets, they begin to trust each other as they try to expose the truth, while grappling with their own realities. Their picture perfect lives are hardly as perfect as they appear, and exposing the school may bring down everything they worked so hard to protect.

The description does not do this book justice! The POV alternates between all three women, all of whom are dealing with their own challenges. We get to know each of them well through their stories, understanding their vulnerabilities and the impact of them on their relationships. The depth Weaver goes into with each of them also helps us empathize with their struggles, and I found myself rooting for their relationship with each other.

The book moves quickly, with moments of tension and revelations that keep you hooked. There are also heavier and lighter moments — with warnings of domestic violence. I couldn’t stop reading, feeling excited, happy, sad and heart broken all in equal measures — it’s a true rollercoaster.

Caitlin Weaver has become one of my favorite authors, and I'm thrilled I got to read this. Thanks to NetGalley and Storm Publishing for the ARC. Be sure to check out this book when it releases on September 27!

Rhea, Maggie and Anna form an unexpected friendship when they are appointed to the Centennial Gala Committee, a major fundraiser for their children’s private school. Anna is Jerry, the headmaster’s wife. She is a quiet woman who gave up her career as a lawyer when she married and had a daughter. Maggie is a therapist and author, happily married to Dan. Rhea is devoted to her husband Brooks and their two teenage boys.

There you have it. On the surface, a PTA trio meeting to drink wine and talk about a gala. Now leave that picture behind because these women are nothing like they appear to be. All three are hiding secrets - major secrets - that they know will destroy their families. They’ve kept these secrets for a long time but as each woman realizes that she’s supported by her new friends, secrets are disclosed. Yes, marriages, families and careers will change, a major crime will be revealed but their friendship will keep them together.

Things We Never Say is a quick read with a well organized plot and three strong female characters who you want to succeed. The problem each woman faces makes you wonder how you would handle it in your own life. 5 stars.

Thank you to NetGalley, Storm Publishing and Caitlin Weaver for this ARC.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

After reading ‘Such a Nice Family’ by Caitlin Weaver and I saw the opportunity to read ‘Things We Never Say’, I took it immediately. I tried to preserve this book for a few days for a long drive, but I couldn’t. Once I opened it I didn’t get back up until it was done.

Caitlin did it again with this tragically beautiful novel surrounding three women and their personal lives coming to light in ways they never imagined. As these three moms come together for what should be a quick committee adventure, we witness their assumptions of each other dissolve and be replaced with curiosity, but also the realization that we don’t know what happens behind closed doors.

I strongly recommend this book, but I’m really at a point where I’d recommend anything Caitlin Weaver writes. She’s officially an auto-buy for me!

This author is becoming one of my favorites! We are introduced to three mothers who come together to work on a fundraiser committee for their teenager's schools. They are all an unlikely trio to be friends but they start to lean on each other once they discover a shocking secret in their committee work. The characters are extremely layered and are all struggling with new truths and losses. This was a page turner! I enjoyed it!

Name of Book: Things We Never Say
Author: Caitlin Weaver
Publisher: Storm Publishing
Genre: Women's Fiction
Pub Date: September 27, 2024
My Rating: 3.6 rounded up
Pages: 394

It is the beginning of the school year at Civitas prep school which is a top private day school in an upscale area in Atlanta. The students are children of wealthy parents.
The head master Jerry is excited this year’s centennial.
A Gala is being planned for the last week in November.

Rhea Connelly is the President of Parents Association and is in charge of the Gala (much to Jerry’s displeasure as he is not fan of wealth parents who can be very demanding.)
There are two other moms who have volunteered or were assigned to work with Rhea -.
Anna, Jerry’s wife and Maggie Reed a relationship therapist and the author of a best-selling book “Reconnecting Between the Sheets”.

Rhea, Maggie, and Anna start out with their interest only in the organizing of the Gala. They haven’t nothing but the school in common. However, after several meetings they discover they have a lot in common ~ true the wine helped. As their meetings continue their friendship grows and they start to share some secrets regarding their perfect lives.

Story had me curious and as the secrets were revealed I couldn’t stop turning pages. I was totally glued; there are up and down emotions, At times my heart was truly breaking. I was hoping for a HEA ending or at least something close.

Want to thank NetGalley and Storm Publishing for this early eGalley.
Publishing Release Date scheduled for September 27, 2024.

I hadn't read the author before, so I had no preconceived notions about what to expect. Happily, I enjoyed reading this tale of suburban drama at an elite school. Once I was able to differentiate between the three main characters, I was able to appreciate the issues each of them faced individually, as well as what they faced together. My main criticism would be the seemingly rushed ending, but overall, I enjoyed this.

I'd read more from the author.

I received a complimentary copy of the novel from the publisher and NetGalley, and my review is being left freely.

Thank you, Storm Publishing, for the advance reading copy.

I will say the writing is good and the characters very realistic.

However, the plot seems to have some issues in pacing towards the second half. The ending would have been much more interesting with the main adult characters resolve issues like adults but we know we adults are actually clueless about a lot of things. And that’s where the book is really good.

I went into this book thinking it would be a mystery thriller but well I would say it is domestic general fiction dealing with adult relationships and secrets.

Thank you to Netgallery and the publisher for this ARC. The publication date is the 27th Sept. This was an emotional rollercoaster of a read I felt many emotions whilst reading it. I really felt sorry for the character Anna throughout the book.

It was a compelling plot with spine-tingling suspense and I loved the ending it made me cry!

Overall, a great book which will tug at your heart strings endlessly whilst reading it! 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 stars!

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for my copy of this book.

Anna is the wife of the headmaster of a prestigious school. Rhea is head of the PTA, a rich housewife with two sons attending the school. Maggie is a therapist who’s daughter goes to the school. All three have secrets. When they are forced to work together for a school event they come across a big secret.l and set about exposing it.

What a book! Couldn’t put this down and devoured it. Chapters alternated between each of the three main characters. Their secrets are exposed early on in the book, but the other characters don’t know. The tension and suspense therefore created was really strong. This was written about three strong woman. I count help but like them and root for them. I really enjoyed it and I am genuinely gutted to be finished! Highly recommend.

This book was great, I couldn't put it down! It held my attention and I read this book in record time. I can't wait to read other things from Caitlin Weaver.

Overall I enjoyed this story, however, I do wish it was shorter, as it felt long winded at times. I do like how the story ended, and was so happy for Anna. I also really liked that it as there completely different women who got throw together, yet found friendship anyway. I would recommend this.

An incredible book with wonderful characters and a beautiful setting. It will keep you guessing until the end.

This was a strong character read featuring three very different women with little in common other than the fact their children go to the same school and they’re thrown together planning an event. When the women stumble across some paperwork that suggests something is amiss one of them can’t resist investigating it a little and what she finds out convinces the others to join her in uncovering the secrets of the school. Alongside this each woman is struggling with a personal dilemma and is surprised to find the other women could be the friend and support network they need.

This was an engrossing read which was at core a relationship read both in terms of the relationships the women have at home and between themselves. Each were facing a very real issue in their life and I enjoyed reading each of their perspectives where they balanced private pain and their public face. The scandal within the school was a great storyline which tied them together but I most enjoyed getting to know the women as their personalities developed during the book and their individual storylines.

Thanks to NetGalley and Storm Publishing for this Advanced Reader’s Copy of Things We Never Say by Caitlin Weaver due to be published September 27, 2024.
I had previously read Such a Good Family by Caitlin Weaver – I was thrilled to read this book by her!
Anna, Maggie, and Rhea are thrown together to work on a PTA project, and slowly truths come out with their “picture-perfect” lives. Each of them has a secret of their own and uncover a scandal at the prestigious school where Anna’s husband is the headmaster. Will they uncover the scandal but still keep their own secrets?
This book was excellent – it kept me riveted from the first page, and I devoured it in one afternoon. The secrets and lies kept coming from all three friends, and I could not wait to see what happened at the end – it did not disappoint!
Definitely one for your TBR list!
#NetGalley #CaitlinWeaver #StormPublishing #ThingsWeNeverSay