A story which has received a number of wonderful reviews, this book ended up not totally hitting the mark for this reader (who may be in the minority here).

Julia, the main protagonist and third person POV narrator, begins our tale as a psychologist, working as an executive for an IT company run by a magnetic CEO, Bob. Julia is married to James, with two young boys Ollie and Milo, and a life that is filled with stress and busy-ness, as any working mother can relate to.

When an opportunity arises, consisting of a dream job for James and a new life for the entire family, Julia agrees to a relocation to an exotic unnamed location, which will require a (temporary) career lull for herself. And that’s where the trouble begins.

The plot now unfolds into a far-away paradise of incredible splendor in a high-end gated and extremely remote community. With what feels quickly like sci-fi vibes of control and technological wizardry, the author does a great job creating a drool-worthy lifestyle that is immediately riddled with the dark and ominous. The development of this part of the story was intriguing and clearly the best part of the book.

No spoilers here, but needless to say, as the story moves on, Julia is in for some major trouble. The choices she makes, the women she befriends, and how (and if) she will manage to emerge intact (with her family) is the premise the rest of this novel will address.

An interesting mashup of mad-scientist vibe with more than a hint of “Desperate Housewives”, this book, unfortunately, ended up requiring a little too much suspension of disbelief for this reader, as it features a formerly professional heroine (who is also a well-trained psychologist) who falls far too quickly into completely unrelatable behavior.

A great big thank you to #Netgalley, the author and the publisher for an ARC of this book. All thoughts created are my own.

*** Three and a half shiny stars

This was a strange read, but kept my interest throughout. James and Julia have moved to the haven, lovely houses, beautiful landscaping and everything you could really want, but something is not right. Julia wants to find out what, but this might not be a good idea. A chilling read that I really enjoyed, The characters are perfect for their roles and I liked the twists at the end. A very well written book. 4.5 stars. Thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for a copy.

A present day, dystopian, stepford-wife-esque commmunity? I’m honestly not sure what to rate this. It kept my attention, that’s for sure. I wanted to figure out what on earth was going on. But also, this is not a genre I’m typically drawn too, so if you like dystopian commentary about society, this might be for you. It’s a 3.5 for me, bumped to a 4 since it did keep my attention.

Thanks NetGalley for the ARC.

I started reading this book with the intention of putting it down after I had finished my coffee, but couldn't resist reading on. I wanted to find out who was responsible for all the strange happenings. On the surface things seemed almost too good to be true, but under the surface? A good book to read

This novel is a psychological thriller with a dystopian slant. Think Stepford wives meets handmaids tale.
Julia’s husband James is offered a new job and it comes with a house in a specially built neighbourhood, the Haven.
The Haven is meant to be everything you could wish for and should be perfect for Julia, James and their two young boys but something doesn’t feel quite right to Julia from the outset.
As a woman she doesn’t have a job and has a housekeeper, this leaves her with lots of free time to look for the truth.

The pace of this novel keeps you gripped as you keep turning the page to find out what is happening and if Julia and her two sons will be safe. The reveal is well done and you never quite know who to trust and root for.

Absolutely loved this book, would highly recommend.

I really enjoyed reading Where You Belong. I found it an interesting and unsettling story about living in a dystopian society. As these gated communities exist around us, this story feels completely conceivable. Which helped to build tension and suspense throughout.

You follow Julia as she moves into this idyllic community with her two boys after her husband James was offered a job in one. Everything seems too good to be true and not quite real. It's full of perfect families, clothing, shops, and activities, and the whole lifestyle is perfection. A place where the more you put in, the more you get back by earning gratitude points and thriving. Everything runs through an app and is measured through a bracelet. You are always being monitored and tracked.

I liked Julia's character. She always questioned things and didn't take everything at face value. She was strong, determined, and resilient. Always wanted what is best for her boys. I was never sure about the other characters they all felt off, and you didn't know whether to trust them. Everything seemed not quite right.

I didn't work out any of the twists. I constantly had no clue what was really going on, and there were parts where I was questioning why Julia acted in some ways. It all came together at the end and answered the parts I was unsure about. It had me gripped from the start.

Overall, for me, it was a great debut book. Full of paranoia, anxiety, I always felt uneasy and on the edge reading it.
It gave slight Handmaid's Tale and Stepford Wives vibes, mixed with big brother is watching.

Thank you to Storm Publishing for my advanced copy.

First off I want to thank Storm Publishing and Netgalley for a copy of this amazing book in exchange for an honest review.

<i>"You'd never find a willing driver or get permission to go through those gates and you'd be an idiot to even try."</i>

Wow Just wow! This book had my head spinning. I truly thought I was watching Stepford Wives meets The Sims in real life. Well, you know when you have the one person who wants to make The Sims perfect but have one bad guy in the mix. I will be thinking about this book for a long time because it totally took me by surprise. I loved Julia and I thought she had amazing determination. She tried is all I care about, and I didn't feel like that I was watching some "bimbo" being controlled. Well maybe for like 2 chapters towards the end. I still cannot tell you who was the good guys and who all the bad guys were. But that doesn't matter. When this book comes out: <b>YOU NEED TO READ IT</b>

This book reminds me of a 50's sitcom where the women are dressed in beautiful dresses covered by an apron while the men go to work and provide for their family. Where boys and girls are slotted into the roles they are expected to play and punished if they choose otherwise. However, behind the idyllic life of the Haven, is the true story of how this community is constructed. How Radiance is merely a facade. It is a high-tech cult led by the biomarker bracelet. Where said bracelet glows amber, red or green dependent upon your "mood" and if it continues in such a certain way, that behind the fringe is blood. When Julia first arrived with Ollie and Milo to join James, she immediately questioned how this life could be sustained at such a level of perfection. How based upon where you ranked determined what you could and couldn't do. She tried to fit in and join Petra in attending events and being satisfied in a life filled with parties and sipping champagne. How having jasmine permeate through the air was normal. She wanted to escape. This book is captivating as she really finds out what was going on as the true leaders of the cult intentions were that all had no issue with decimating society. She thought she knew James and Bob. Its sad how she had to change her whole life including her identity to escape. She was finally free.

I was excited to get an arc of this but the first half of the book was very slow going. The second half picked up and I ended up rating it 3 stars.

Julia and James are going through a rough patch in their marriage. They have two boys and James decides he wants to love them all to a gated community. By a gated community I mean they can’t leave without permission. Julia isn’t happy about this but she’s trying to keep her family together.

Things are far from perfect in the gated community because people around Julia and James are being murdered but they don’t know who’s doing it.

Honestly, this wasn’t a favorite of mine but it kept me guessing up until the end.

Thanks Netgalley and publisher for a chance to read this for free in return for my honest opinion.

Thanks to Netgalley for the advanced copy of this book.

This was… something. The first half is painstakingly slow.

When Julia first arrives, things are weird off the bat. There are snippets of some big disappearance she was involved in, hints of an affair and because of this she becomes unbearably submissive to her husband.

My main issue for the first half is the unbelievability of so much of it. This independent, self assured, career woman just… doesn’t question any of the odd things happening. I understand this is later half explained by the weird gasses everywhere, but even still. It’s a stretch.

The ending was fine. I wish there was more explanation about how the embassy rescued the boys and what happened to the rest of the community.

The social aspect at the end was a nice touch.

All in all, this was half way between a domestic novel and a sci Fi book and didn’t hit the spot for me.

What an incredible debut! This book felt like Stepford Wives meets a lighter version of The Handmaid’s Tale, set in a twisted dystopian world obsessed with achieving the perfect life—no matter the cost.

What a thrilling ride this was with Julia! There were moments when I had to put the book down because my heart was racing and the adrenaline was pumping. Just when I thought I knew where the story was headed after the incident, it completely took me by surprise.

This was a fantastic read, and I’ve already recommended it! Set to be released on March 4, 2025, so if you love psychological thrillers, make sure to grab a copy. I can’t wait to see what SJ writes in the future.

A huge thank you to **NetGalley and Storm Publishing

I love a good dystopian thriller, and Where You Belong delivered. Fast paced and tense, I couldn't put it down! Perfect for fans of John Marrs. I'm excited to read more by S.J. King!

Thank you NetGalley and Storm Publishing for the ARC!

From the beginning it is clear that the The Haven isn't as perfect as it wants to make you believe. This luxurious self-sustaining gated community is hiding something _ but what? And who is in on it?
Big brother is watching you - with anything new technology might provide.
The writing was good, the doubts about everybody and everything grow with each chapter, but the end is a bit disappointing and it's not clear where the help comes from, how and why.

This was a good book, but also extremely far fetched and a bit too unrelatistic for the genre. I think it would be better suited as a sci-fi type of drama as opposed to a thriller. Saying that, I did enjoy the book, I just found it difficult to connect with the storyline or escape into the book fully as it was just on the outskirts of realistic and enjoyable and fully unrealistic escapism to be enjoyed on either side of those.

3.5 Stars
Where You Belong was a very interesting book that made you question so many things.

Julia is a working mom of two with a fairly high profile career but her home life isn't as great as it used to be. When the chance comes along for her husband James to get a new job she decides to uproot the family in hopes that a change is exactly what they need.

While the haven seems like it may be the perfect reset for their marriage Julia quickly starts to see many strange and unusual things that quickly set her on edge and make her question why James so desperately wanted this move.

This book was very intriguing and suspenseful, keeping you hanging on the edge of your seat.

I did feel that it seemed to be missing something. Like there was a loose thread that wasn't tied into the story. I don't know what it is but there felt like a piece missing to the story. Something that would have just rounded it out a bit more.

There were some parts that did drag a bit while some other parts were too fast.

Overall a great read and an author I will be keeping an eye out for.

**Received ARC through NetGalley. Voluntarily reviewed**

It sounds perfect. Since her husband James was laid off, Julia Ford has been spending long hours supporting her family. Now not only has James been offered the job of his career with a double signing bonus, that job comes with amazing benefits.They’ll be given a house in The Haven, a corporate community. They’ll have a housekeeper, a gardener, excellent schools for their young sons and a driver to take them wherever they want to go…as long as it’s in The Haven, that is. You see, things are far from perfect here.

Where You Belong is both creepy and compelling. A deliberately slow paced plot until the final chapters makes you feel Julia’s growing reservations about Haven life. Paranoia becomes real as she begins to understand how dangerously isolated her family has become. In Julia, S.J. King has created an intelligent, sympathetic character who tries to stay one step ahead of the unknown. This is a hard thriller to put down and deserves all of 5 stars.

Thank you to NetGalley, Storm Publishing and S.J. King for this ARC.

In "Where You Belong" by S.J. King, the Julia and her spouse James relocate to a picturesque gated community known as The Haven, aspiring for a rejuvenated existence alongside their two young sons. Initially, this transition appears to be an idyllic opportunity, enabling Julia to escape her high-pressure career and a tumultuous marriage. However, as she acclimatizes to this seemingly flawless setting, Julia begins to perceive underlying disquiet.

As Julia investigates the disturbing truths of The Haven, she confronts escalating feelings of isolation and manipulation from those in her vicinity, including her husband, who pressures her to maintain silence and acquiescence. The storyline unfolds with a taut pace, compelling readers to remain vigilant as Julia endeavors to safeguard her family and expose the reality behind the idyllic veneer. King’s adept narrative craft instills a persistent sense of disquiet throughout the unfolding events.

"Where You Belong" is a thrilling psychological suspense novel. It delves into themes of control and conformity and scrutinizes the intricacies of familial dynamics. The unanticipated plot twists and multi-layered storytelling kept my engagement, rendering it an enthralling read that provokes contemplation regarding the essence of utopia and the extent to which individuals will go to preserve the façade of a perfect existence. Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the advance review copy in exchange for my review.

"Where You Belong" by S.J. King is a fast paced story that keeps you guessing. This book was hard to put down and made you want to find out what happened and who was behind it.
Julia and her family are surviving in life. Julia works a high powered job while her husband James is working from home. When James got his dream job he moves his family overseas to a haven. When Julia and the kids get to the new house Julia starts to notice just how weird the new community is. When Julia starts to fight against the system things start to happen that she would never have guessed.
Highly Recommend this book for fans of psychological thrillers.

This book reads like a Black Mirror episode, giving major Don’t Worry Darling vibes with its unsettling, too good to be true setting. A fresh start in a perfect gated community was supposed to fix everything, but when a neighbor turns up dead and whispers of a missing family surface, one woman begins questioning everything—including her own husband. With technology embedded in daily life through apps, wristbands, and automated doors, the story explores how easily tech can be used to control and manipulate.

Themes of guilt, motherhood, and the lengths we go to for family drive the suspense, while the male dominated, highly regulated community adds an eerie sense of control. But is the narrator unreliable and is she being paranoid, or is something truly sinister at play?

I was fully invested for the first three quarters of the book, but the final act lost some momentum for me. Still, if you enjoy psychological thrillers that keep you questioning reality, you may want to check this one out.

3⭐️

The concept was interesting and I liked the unsettling vibes. It started off really good, then lost my interest in the middle, then got better closer to the end but the actual ending fell flat for me. I do, however, think would be a great movie or show!
Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.