All Fall Down

by Megan Hart

In the midst of a chaotic midnight assembly, Sunshine is forced outside into the darkness. Holding a scrap of paper scrawled with a stranger's name and address, Sunny grasps the hands of her three small children and begins her escape.

Liesel Albright has dreamed of starting a family. She never bargained on inheriting one already in progress…or one so deeply damaged. When nineteen-year-old Sunshine appears on the Albrights' doorstep claiming Liesel's husband, Chris, is her father, all they can think to offer is temporary shelter. The next day, they're stunned by the news that the Family of Superior Bliss, led by a charismatic zealot, has committed mass suicide. Sunny and her children haven't just left the compound—they've been left behind.

Now, instead of a baby of her own, Liesel must play mother to the four survivors, while Chris retreats into guilt and denial. For Sunny, however, a lifetime of teachings is not easily unlearned. No matter how hard she tries to forget, an ominous catechism echoes in her mind, urging her to finish what the Family started.

Genres: Fiction, Contemporary, Romance, Book Club, Womens Fiction, Novels, Adult Fiction

386 pages, Paperback

First published December 27, 2011

About the author

Megan Hart has written in almost every genre of romantic fiction, including historical, contemporary, romantic suspense, romantic comedy, futuristic, fantasy and perhaps most notably, erotic. She also writes non-erotic fantasy and science fiction, as well as continuing to occasionally dabble in horror.

--from the author's website

Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name.

For Megan Hart, the nutritionist, click here

Reviews

[Vanessa · Rating 2 out of 5]

I really like the basic premise of the plot, but the characterization was weak and often not believable. Was particularly disappointed that the climax of the plot happened so close to the end and just wasn't developed properly. Some of the basic facts were wrong, which irritates me (babies are supposed to nurse until 12 months old without any solids?? And then once they start on solids, they just don't nurse? A small thing that has little to do with the plot, but an error that just throws me out of the story)

[Rose · Rating 4 out of 5]

Initial reaction: I'll likely rate this either 3.5 or 4 stars. Still need some time to think on the whole of it. I really liked the complexity of the characters and the various trials they went through in this novel. It's a bit of culture shock for Sunny and her kids moving into her father's family after leaving their old lives behind after a horrible set of events. It's a multidimensional eye to many difficult subjects, though I felt the ending was a bit quick for the jarring conflict that happens toward the end. Still, I appreciated the entire read.

Full review:

I read this book in its entirety back in March of 2020, but I'm only now just returning to give my full reflections on the novel. Originally, I had received this novel as an ARC from NetGalley back in 2011, but the galley expired before I could ever finish it (hence why on Goodreads my reading dates are so far apart).

It's not a secret that Megan Hart is one of my favorite authors for the level of depth and nuance that she gives the the stories she tells in any genre she's writing in. The tale of "All Fall Down" centers on a controversial portrayal from the very beginning, trading between dual perspectives that have so many complicated layers that I found it hard not to be taken in by both of them.

Liesel is a woman who's always wanted to start a family with her husband, but such an ambition had always been sidelined by her husband, Chris, who didn't want any children. They have had multiple disagreements centering on the matter, and Liesel feels the weight of her fracturing relationship with Chris. At the same time, 19-year old Sunshine (Sunny) flees with her young siblings in the middle of the night at her mother's bidding from a cult-like group in which all of the members die at the bidding of their leader. The intersection of Liesel and Sunny's stories are at the core of this novel, and how the two of them intersect begins a complex, visceral experience of navigating family, relationships, love, culture, and trauma.

Sunny's tale is particularly tragic on the level of having to untangle the life she was taught while in the Family of Superior Bliss and the world outside of the group. Sunny's collective narrative recounts abuse and survivor's guilt in the mix as well, some implied and other mentions overt. It's not that she hasn't had to interact with "Blemished" individuals, as she identifies those outside the "Family." Rather, her interactions were limited and dictated by a stringent set of rules. So it's a very different experience for her to show up literally on Liesel's and Chris's doorstep, recognizing Chris as her biological father alongside bringing her three siblings: Happy, Bliss, and Peace. I did find myself cringing to a certain extent hearing Sunny's continuous naivete, but I understood where it came from. I felt for Sunny in so many moments of the narrative where she struggles to do the right thing by her family and siblings. It's particularly heartbreaking knowing what happens to Sunny through the novel and getting to the point where she feels like there's no path to move forward in what are mutually contradictory lives she's been asked to abide by the rules of. Also having her social and moral expectations meeting up against violations that she struggles to comprehend.

Liesel's journey through this novel has many complexities as well. Suddenly inheriting four children - including a newborn - is a task in itself, not to mention having to adjust to Sunny and her siblings' approaches to the world/teachings. Liesel tries to embrace the experience as much as she can at first, but the weight of responsibility threatens to crush her. Chris's approach and support to his newfound family is sporadic as well, which frustrates Liesel and causes many rifts between them. There were (read: many) times that I thought Liesel was selfish in her approach and assumptions, but I later understood that she was neither prepared, nor fully equipped, to be able to deal with everything. Hart's writing peels back layers of both Liesel and Sunny's psyches, to the point it feels so realistic and jarring when you observe events through their viewpoints. I loved that level of detail and depth in the overarching story, as much as it hurt to read at times.

I thought the ending of "All Fall Down" came a bit too quick given the steady build-up of tensions paced through the novel. Still it ended on a note that I felt could either lend to another story or at least give a hint of progression in both Liesel and Sunny's narratives. I felt it was very much worth the time taken to read and it's a story that I'm glad - among others - to have in my personal library. My recommendation for it is for those who enjoy slow burn, character driven stories, with an eye to contradictory worlds and reckonings between characters who are heavily flawed.

Overall score: 4/5 stars.

Note: I received this as an ARC from NetGalley from the publisher Harlequin MIRA, but I also own a copy of this book in my personal library.

[Gabrielle · Rating 4 out of 5]

A story about a girl forced to leave the cult she grew up in with her 3 small children. She ends up with her biological father and his partner, so lots of drama ensues. I have always had a fascination about cults so enjoyed this book.
The only disappointment was the rather abrupt and unexplained ending.

[☾ Dαɴιyα ☽]

A cult. Mass suicide. Normally, learning that a book has that as part of the story would be enough for me to keep it far away from me. Far, far away.

Megan Hart. Well, that usually makes me go: Okay, I'll give it a try.

So I gave this a try.

I'll say right away I'm not sure whether I'm glad I did or if I regret it. Hence, no star rating. No matter which one I chose, it seemed wrong, so I left it unrated. Hart's writing kept me going, but in the end it left me depressed.

There have been books I read that reminded me of certain weather conditions, and All Fall Down is one of them. You only need to look at the cover and those ominous clouds to guess which one. Incoming storm. The story takes place over a few seasons, but it always felt to me like there were dark clouds in the sky, and a storm was coming. Fitting, really.

The story started with Sunny escaping a cult with her three small children, and finding her father's house as that was what her mother ordered her to do. Her arrival was unexpected, to say the least, but she and her children were welcomed to stay. Very soon the news came that everyone in the compound where she'd lived all her life committed suicide.

That part right there was when I felt relief that Sunny managed to escape in time, and I naively thought Sunny would feel that, too. Instead, Sunny said: They left without us.

They left without us. As Sunny struggled to fit into a new world, new family, new way of life, and struggled to let go of what she was told the people outside the compound were like, and somewhat succeeding, that sentence echoed in my mind.

We're given some flashbacks to Sunny's life in the Sanctuary. I hated it when I got to those parts. They gave me the heebie-jeebies. I never knew what I would find in those parts. By the end of the book, some outside information about the cult is revealed, concerning its beginning. It turned out that it began with a noble idea, but over time it got corrupted. And ended tragically.

As time went by, and Sunny lived with her father and his wife, and worked and studied, and saw her children living like the "blemished", she was finding she no longer belonged with the Family, and not fitting in with the blemished. A disturbing fact to her, which became more pronounced when someone from her past found her. It all cooked up a storm. See, I guessed right there would be a storm.

Besides Sunny, the story's told from another woman's perspective: Liesel, Sunny's stepmother. Liesel's story is full of struggle, too. From trying to become a mother with a husband not so keen on becoming a father, then living with her husband's daughter who'd spent her life in a cult, and living with the fact her husband had a wife before her whom he deeply loved. The arrival of Sunny with her children in a way gave Liesel what she wanted. However, the joy of having kids to take care of was short-lived, when she got over-whelmed by all the work that required. It was a lot. Especially, since her husband kept his distance from the new additions to their family. Liesel handled it like a superwoman, though.

Despite everything, the story ended on a hopeful note.

It still left me depressed.

[Lesley · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thought Leisel was a saint!

[Maggie61 · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the first book that I have read of Megan hart's. I would probably have given it a 4 1/2 but since there are no halves I bumped it up to five.
This book had me from the very beginning when Sunny is awoken by her mother who sends her and her three children away before they "drink the rainbow" which sends them away to everlasting peace through the gates but as we know it, a mass suicide at a time decided by the leader.
Sunny is given the address of a father she never knew existed and he also is unaware of their existence. Sunny arrives on the doorstep of her father Christopher and stepmother who so far have been unable to have children.
Trying to imagine what their new world must seem to them is staggering. When they have been brainwashed to think a certain way their whole lives they as the only survivors are thrown into a new world with publicity and new rules and a whole new way of thinking. From raising her children and living with a father she never knew to getting a job to dating Sunny struggles with the new way of life but has a hard time letting go of her beliefs she has known all her life. Mix that with a stepmother hungry for children who quits her job and discovers this could be way more than she bargained for.
I did find the ending a little abrupt. There isn't a lot of indication that Sunny's decision will happen. Although she does have some repeat exposure to others originally from the compound who left to follow another set of rules the reader is given the impression that while forever scarred by her past she is adjusting to life on the outside. One has to wonder then what her future holds when so many of her thoughts still revolve around her upbringing. I

[Gracie Kathryn · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is based on a somewhat cliche Lifetime-movie-esque premise- a woman (Liesel) whose biological clock is ticking fast opens the door to her husband's nineteen year old daughter he never knew existed (and her three children under four). But there is a twist, the daughter (Sunny) has just escaped a People's Temple like cult, complete with the mass suicide via poisoned juice.

All Fall Down started out strong but eventually fell flat. The first couple chapters were the most compelling, and I was excited to learn more about life at the cult and what Sunny went through there, but most of the book seemed more focused on day to day life between Sunny and Liesel. Liesel's husband seemed completely awful by the way, leaving Liesel to deal with the entire situation and avoiding it as much as he could.

Overall I would have enjoyed this book better if it has expanded on the moral questions raised by the situation rather than how hard it is to deal with three kids. For example Chris knew his first wife was pregnant when she left him, and she claimed her boyfriend on the side was the father. Was he obligated to dig into the truth further, or is it justifiable to just believe her and wash his hands of the situation? Should he have told his wife about the possibility of having a child out there? The characters seemed to completely brush away these questions.

[Mahlon Williams · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love Megan Hart first and foremost. This book had an amazing premise, but I felt like it dragged, and it took me almost a year of picking it up and putting it down before I finally finished it. Overall, 4 stars though, because it was very well written and interesting when it didn't drag. The ending felt rushed, which is my only other issue. Other than that I still think this book is worth picking up if you're interested in some of the topics in this book! I also want to state this is in no way a bad book, I just seem to not have a great attention span at times (lol).

[Miz · Rating 2 out of 5]

Gah, this was such an excellent premise but I couldn't get into the execution of it. Was it poorly written or was I just not interested? It's hard to tell ...

[Shelleyrae at Book'd Out · Rating 4 out of 5]

Exploring the issues of identity, family and faith, All Fall Down is a thought provoking and intriguing novel.

Nineteen year old Sunshine has grown up in The Family of Superior Bliss, whose teachings of environmental sustainability and physical well being have been twisted by the charismatic cult leader to include harsh punishments, sexual abuse and psychological torture. When her mother commands Sunny to leave the compound in the middle of the night to seek shelter with the biological father she has never met, Sunny flees with her three children into the darkness.
The arrival of Sunshine and her children, Peace, Happy and Bliss, on their doorstep shocks Christopher and his wife, Leisel, who nevertheless invite the family into their home. Bewildered and wary, Sunny is devastated when the morning news reports a mass suicide at the compound and she is left to make her way in an unfamiliar world that she has been taught poisons and corrupts. Adjusting to her new life in the home of her father and stepmother proves to be a challenge when the comforting message of the Family continues to beckon.

When there is just enough truth within a lie it is much easier to believe the veracity of what is said in it's entirety, and I think the author skilfully show how cults ensnare it's members and then are able to convince them of less rational notions. Essentially the tenets of the Family of Superior Bliss are reasonable, to recycle and reuse, to be healthy both physically and mentally and to support one another but the aims are more lure than practice, perverted by a narcissist leader whose taste for extremism is allowed to flourish. It is understandable that Sunny would try to hold onto the only 'truths' she has ever known and Hart shows how difficult it is for Sunny to separate the socially acceptable messages she has learnt from the negative ones. It's a very sympathetic characterization of a cult victim, Sunny is both heart breakingly naive and vulnerable and yet has amazing inner strength to examine what she has been taught and adjust to new expectations. That the path is difficult is hardly surprising.
Equally interesting are the repercussions of Sunny's unexpected arrival for Leisel and Chris. The pair had to adjust to not only the practicalities of their household swelling by four new members but also get to know Sunny and her children, and help them integrate into society. Leisel in particular was repeatedly challenged in her own beliefs and choices which I think was an interesting counterpoint to the adjustments Sunny has to make. I was less interested in Leisel's quest for motherhood and felt it to be somewhat of an irrelevant issue that detracted from the story. I didn't think much of Chris, his guilt seemed insincere, though I was glad he eventually made some steps towards supporting both his daughter and his wife.

There was potential for the author to examine the issues in the novel more deeply but I think the story is accessible in a way that a more involved treatment would not allow. All Fall Down is an unusual and fascinating perspective of a compelling subject and is sure to stay with you.

[Tez · Rating 4 out of 5]

This author is a bit hit-and-miss for me. Hit: Precious and Fragile Things, Exit Light. Miss: Order of Solace series. All Fall Down is closer to a hit.

The premise is irresistible - a young mother and her children escape from a cult before those remaining commit mass suicide.

Liesel Albright has always wanted children, though her husband Christopher would prefer not to have any. They don't use contraception, but don't try IVF.

Well, the woman from his first marriage was pregnant when she left Chris to join the Family of Superior Bliss. And now Chris's nineteen-year-old daughter has arrived on his doorstep with her three spawn.

Liesel wanted children, but she wanted hers; not someone else's, and not so many of them. She quits her job to care for the kids while Sunny works in a coffee shop. Soon Liesel learns the awful truth: children don't live up to their theoretical greatness. They actually rather suck.

There's no two ways about it: there's a lot of faeces in this novel. Not smeared on the pages, and not a comment on the story, but...well, with three young children there'll always be lots of vomit and excrement. The sheer amount of bodily...stuff in this novel is disgusting. Really.

Luckily, for the most part the plot is not as whiffy, though there is something that drives me up the frigging wall. SPOILER TIME! Remember how Liesel's wanted to fall pregnant for years? Well, guess who's knocked up with twenty pages of the book left. Same partner, so it's not like she shagged someone more fertile. Surprise!pregnancies as plot points are really freaking annoying.

On the whole, the novel is quite awesome, but when it's bad, it's appalling. Fingers crossed the author's next novel doesn't feature as much poo.

[Francesca the Fierce (Under the Covers Book Blog) · Rating 4 out of 5]

This review was posted at Under The Covers

Thought provoking life story. All Fall Down is not your typical Megan Hart book. At least not so much what I'm used to reading from her, although I know she started out writing this type of fiction. However, it's one of those books that you want to stop reading but you can't put it down.

Extremely well written, it tells us the story of Sunshine. She's 19 years old and has three kids, Happy, Bliss and Peace. Sunny was raised in what you would normally call a cult house. Her mother had left her father to join this "religion" and that's all Sunny has known her whole life.

Until one day her mom makes her run away from the house with her three kids and go find her father. This right before everyone in this cult house commits mass suicide. She is now at the mercy of a father who didn't know about her and who has remarried.

Liesel, his new wife, has always wanted children. Now this seems like a gift that she gets to have 3 little ones to care for. The struggles that every character in this book goes through are deep and heartbreaking. Sunny, living in the world with the blemished. Liesel being a mother. Christopher dealing with a daughter that reminds him of the woman he once loved and left him. Some of them a bit traumatic. Some of them tender.

No happy ending for this story. Maybe a hope it can get better at some point ending. That was the only part I wasn't too happy with in this story, but in a way, it's the only realistic ending for someone that has been through what Sunny has.

[Teneal · Rating 4 out of 5]

Liesel really wants children of her own. What she doesn't want is a nineteen year old girl to turn up on her doorstep with three children and be expected to take all four of them in and start a 'family'. But that is exactly what she has to do as they are her husband's daughter and three grandchildren. Sunny and her three children, Happy, Peace and Bliss have escaped from their cult...the night before the entire cult commits mass suicide.

I really enjoyed this book. It was very good. I liked the way the difficulties of raising three children (who aren't your own) plus a teenager who is basically a child are accurately portrayed in this book. I think Liesel was very lucky to have such a good friend like Becka. Becka was there for Liesel when she needed physical help around the house and with the kids as well as just being there as a shoulder to cry on or someone to talk to. She never judged. I know Becka was hardly even a character in this story so it's strange that I am talking about her but I just really really liked her. I'm glad Megan Hart included her, no matter how minor a role she played. Liesel was lucky to have a friend like her.

I also liked how Sunny didn't easily slip into life with the 'blemished' and how she didn't shun away from it either. I think this book was an accurate portrayal of emotions that would be felt in this situation.

This book reminded me of Room by Emma Donoghue in a way because Sunny and her family had to get used to living outside and the simple things that we take for granted were so foreign to them.

[Michele Coleman · Rating 4 out of 5]

First time reading her and enjoyed her writing. Good characters and I enjoyed the reading about the main characters background in the cult. Very interesting to combine this with her new family. The end could of been tied up a little better and a little more detail bit I did like the end. Will read her again.

[Crystal · Rating 2 out of 5]

Disappointed with this book. Had high hopes for it, having read some of Hart's other books. In addition, I was very intrigued with the religious cult undertones that formed the core of this book's storyline. However, the book was extremely hard to follow, and the ending felt contrived & unrealistic. I wouldn't recommend this to others.

[Doris · Rating 5 out of 5]

Adjustment/maladjustment to the "real" world by former cult member of 20 years of age with three young children. Eye-opening, written as fiction, but with much research on cults and their pull on members. I couldn't put it down!

[Sherri · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book could just as easily rated a four. I gave it three stars due to someone the disjointed flash back sections. Very thought provoking.

[Aude Mouton]

A good plot, very inventive and psychologicaly intersting. Full of complex characters. A bit disapointed by the end that feels short on explainantions

[Heidi · Rating 3 out of 5]

Torn between 3 and 4 stars. I really did enjoy this book, but I felt like I had to guess what happened at the end.

[Erin · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars

[Lois · Rating 3 out of 5]

Maybe 3-1/2 stars.
This book has been on my "books to read" list for years. I finally decided to start attacking those books at the bottom of the list, or delete some of them, instead of always going for the newer ones. So this is one of those. I never read anything by this author previously, and from other reviews I take it this is completely different from her other works, which don't sound like anything I'd probably read.

Anyway....not quite sure what to say about this one. I guess it held my interest, because it was a quick read for me. So basically (and I'm not giving away any spoilers in this review), Liesel is dying to have a baby, but her husband isn't, and he doesn't even like kids. Then, surprise!, who shows up at their door one day but his 19-year-old daughter, with her 3 young kids in tow. He didn't know about her, altho hmmm, his ex-wife was pregnant when she left him, so there's that. Anyhow, Sunshine, his daughter, was forced early one morning by her mother to leave the cult compound she'd lived in her whole life, and told to take her kids and go to her "real father". Shortly after she showed up at his door, news came out that all 100 members of the cult had "drank the rainbow" and committed mass suicide.
So Liesel feels its their obligation to take these 4 in to live with them for as long as necessary, and is actually excited to have this ready-made family handed to her. Her husband is unhappy about it and blames her for that decision every time something goes wrong, which happens quite a lot, and which ends up making Liesel almost regret ever even wanting a child a lot of the time. The 19-year-old is pretty much like a kid herself, because at the cult, she only knew how to clean, pretty much, and take orders from the men in charge (which should tell you something right there). So she doesn't know many basic things, except how to take care of her children, but boy, can she clean! In flashbacks, you find out who the fathers of her children were, except the youngest, the baby. Unless I missed that, the author never got around to telling us about that one. The two youngest haven't been brainwashed long enough to be much of a problem, but Sunshine and her oldest son (who is 3 or 4) think the world they've entered is totally screwed up and wasteful, and they have big problems coping with their new lives, even tho at the cult, they had constant middle of the night practice drills, mostly bad food, no privacy, and on and on.
There's a lot more, and a sort of "surprise" at the end, altho it fit right in with how the whole ending was kind of slapped together and just a little too easy. That seems to be a point made in most reviews, and I agree.

[Summeralism · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the first Megan Hart book I've read, although reluctantly, I super enjoyed it. The issues are so real and heart searing it's painful. The misunderstanding of interpreting our own thoughts, feelings, beliefs and religious grounds are what mixes the stir-fry emotions that we fail to understand in the character's upbringing and own-belief system, Sunny, Sunny, Sunshine.

The reader is definately in for a culture/religious shock after reading this novel. The breadth of this story will take readers on a whole new level of understanding the depth of the a whole other world's beliefs (mind you this is not a Sci-Fi-freaky-alien-take-over-the-world-possess-you novel). The religious shock you would feel after reading this is impressive; I actually looked up cults, Memmonites, satanic worshippers, and hard-core church-goer mass suicides - and what I've discovered [from my perspective] is indescribable in feeling, but after reading this book had taught me to not judge another before at least trying to understand their upbringing.

*Discussion Question taken from the book

Warning!! Some spoilers...

Sunny's mother is the one who decides to send her daughter and grandchildren into the world of the blemished, despite everthing she's always claimed to believe. yet it's likely she knew of the abusive aspects of life within the family, specifically those perpetrated by the man she loved, John Second. Did Trish saving Sunny and the kids negate what she'd allwed to happen for years? What do you think really prompted her to save them?

Ok, first off, we the people who do not have the same beliefs as Sunny, are called blemished. I think because Sunny's mother had a huge Doubt hanging around and the majority of that had to do with the fact that she was already dying of cancer (which according to these believers was impossible if they take super care of their "vessels" - or bodies). I think she followed all the rules and took care of her self, mind/body/soul yet still ended up with something her belief said she can only get from abusing your vessel. I also think there was a huge Guilt there. Guilt that she snatched Sunny away from her real father and a chance a real life outside of pedophilia, abuse, torture, and young motherhood - Freedom.

Liesel has wanted children for a long time, yet she is surprised by the difficulties she faces in taking care of three children under the age of four, as well as a teenager. Do you think most women have unrealistic expectations of motherhood? Did Liesel, or was her situation so difficult because it was unsual?

I think anyone who has all the freedom they can ask for and a loving hot husband thinks they are invincible - because their men and busy-bee mother friends make them feel that way. No one can actually understand motherhood 100% until they have children of their own. It's a feeling you get from the minute you give birth to your own bundle of joy. It's definately harder to have motherly feelings for children when they seem different or strange to you (or their parents for that matter). Yes you want to be a mother, but to your own flesh and blood, not you hunky-hubby's model ex-wife's gorgeous daughter's cute and undeniably diciplined angels. However, that fact plays a huge part of why Liesel feels the way she feels. Also because of Sunny and her children's upbringing and out-of-this-world belief system. Liesel tries, yet she does not comprehend 100% what Sunny has been through, nor does she try to understand why Sunny does what she does. Yes Sunny tries to teach, but Liesel just does not see eye to eye because, I think, of her comfort zone and her own belief system. In the end, Liesel brought this all on herself by spoiling the children. That is a big no-no if you are not the parent, respect their wishes.

Some mainstream religions are criticized for what are thought to be unusual practices or beliefs-plural marriages, living apart from society, shunning technology, publicly "spreading the word." Why are we uncomfortable with some practices? Do you feel some groups have more validity than others?

This is simple. We are simply uncomfortable because we simply do not understand nor do we want to. How many times have there been knocks on your door you avoid? Have you ever decided to open the door and try to understand or accept? Just because one wants to understand or accept another's belies or practices does not mean they are simply going to convert. As a community, we all should at least try to understand one another. This is also a two-way street. If you want your religion practiced or accepted, don't wall it up. No, this is not a popularity contest, but communities need to work together to at least try to give the younger generations the benefit of the doubt for picking and choosing their own beliefs. Yes, some groups have more validity than others, they're the ones who believe this is a popularity contest and want to win the war... Oops, did I type that out loud?

Sunny is wary of Josiah, even though her memories of him are mostly positive. yet in the end, he's the one she calls for help. How did you see Josiah-as a force for good in Sunny's life, or as a potentially dangerous tie to the past?

Ok, to understand Josiah you must understand his role in this story as well as within their Sanctuary: Josiah is the youngest of two sons born from John I: John Second and Josiah. Josiah chose to leave behind the Sanctuary because after his father passed, John Second's practices were too wrong-sided and forcible. Josiah did not wish the pain on Sunny that John Second gave her; he taught her she should love every activity she does and not just do it as an obligation. Josiah also kept an eye out for Sunny, took care of her when she couldn't stand up for herself. Josiah brought reason to those confused about John I and John Second's teachings. This is why Sunny calls for him for help. Because he understands her. The pain and lack of comfort she feels outside her Sanctuary walls. She looks to him because he is the voice of reason for her. Sunny is wise enough to know when to draw the line and not cross it with Josiah (in the end). She definately knows the difference between what's right and what comfortable and uses it (and Josiah) to her advantage to help her cope outside the Sanctuary walls.

[Stormy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I started reading this book a while ago, not sure when. I got about 3/4s of the way through it and...stopped. I don't know why. Life maybe?

I was recalling Dirty and how much I liked it when I realized I never did buy it like I had intended to, but I found this half read book and decided to give it a try. This time I devoured it in two days.

Reflecting back, Liesel mostly just annoyed the crap about of me. Her husband, Chris, really helped bring home one of the main points of the book about how you cannot appreciate what you have unless you have something worse to compare it to. My guy is wonderful, I know that he's wonderful. I have actually altered my whole like because he is wonderful. But reading Chris, I appreciate my guy that much more.

Sunny and her journey was worth the whole book. Megan Hart's writing is tight, as always and the story pulled me forward. I got towards the very end and was wondering how the heck it was going to end in the next few pages. I almost broke down as I read the end...and I had to go kiss my kids and my guy.

Any story that can touch me and move me in real life, is a story that is worth spending my time with.

[Regina · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a very interesting book that kept me up into the wee hours. The author does an excellent job of capturing the long-lasting affects of brainwashing and manipulation. (Even before looking at her bio, I could tell she was a fellow Pennsylvanian!) I subtracted one star because the ending wasn't very satisfying. I also had a love/hate relationship with Chris and Leisel. As much as I wanted them to be likable characters all the time, I'm sure that the author captured a much more authentic version of how our emotions and attitudes change over time regarding difficult situations. Very real, very raw. This one will stay with me for awhile.

[Stacy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Similar to what she did with Lovely Wild, Hart takes a woman with an unconventional upbringing and explores the psychological repercussions of bringing her into society. In addition to showing us Sunny's reaction to living among the "blemished", we get the story of Liesel, a woman who learns the hard way that your dreams are not as dreamy once they become a reality. It was fascinating watching these two learn from and adapt to their situations.

[Tricia Huskey · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was closer to a 4 until the end. It wasn't how it ended or what happened more the way it was written. I felt like I just jumped over too much of what happened. This was an interesting storyline though. Raised in a cult situation and trying to figure things out from the outside. From the outside looking in, it's easy to have an opinion but probably just as easy from the inside looking out.

[Rose · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting read. The thoughts and actions of a religious cult are captured well and the ingrained beliefs left with a survivor are the basis of this story. I enjoyed this book, but it got a bit slow mid way through. Still a four star book for me.

[TinaMarie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not really a romance but a story of survival of a young woman and her children from an occult and her impact on her previously unknown father and his wife

[Elizabeth · Rating 4 out of 5]

Slow read for me. Good just a little dragging for an easy read.

[Belinda · Rating 4 out of 5]

88 percent. This was actually a really enjoyable, thoughtful story.