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ALC provided by Brilliance Audio via NetGalley

Author: Heather Levy

Narrator: Samantha Brentmoor

When Devon Mayes, who’s finishing her training to become a therapist, loses a patient, her supervisor urges her to take time off and work on her own issues as a trauma survivor herself.  That means going back to Arkana, Oklahoma, where she grew up, and confronting her traumatic upbringing as a closeted bi woman in a highly religious and conservative town. She also has to face her own guilt involving the suicide of her best friend Summer and her complicated and unresolved feelings towards Summer and her twin brother, Keaton.

When she arrives run Arkana, secrets buried deep start resurfacing, including ones that may reveal that Summer did not take her own life.

Told in two timelines, the present and 2012, including entries from Summer’s diary, the story grips you from the first chapter and doesn’t let you go. You get deeply involved in the mystery but most of all you get touched by the struggles of a young girl trying to navigate being queer in a very hostile environment.

Devon is flawed, still working on herself. Keaton wasn’t expecting her return and how it would change his life completely.

This book is touching, also full of social commentary without being “preachy”. It’s a journey into acceptance, forgiveness and finally love.

The audiobook is brilliantly narrated by Samantha Brentmnoor who knocks it out of the park. Her ability to show so much emotion and such nuance through her voice never ceases to amaze me. Every single character is unique in her performance. Stellar.

Thanks, Brilliance Audio for the ALC via NetGalley .

Content notes: homophobia, racism, religious trauma, suicide and suicidal ideation, SA (off page), consensual BDSM, toxic relationship with a family member, bullying.