I was excited to be approved for this book because I’ve been seeing so much praise for this author and have never read her. In my excitement, I didn’t realize it was the 2nd book in a trilogy. But, to my pleasure, this book did not feel like a continuation, more like a stand-alone. The author did a great job of referring to the past without it becoming redundant.

What’s it like to start over? Jenna Mason has been looking over her shoulder for years, since before her son Josh was born. Now, she has a successful career, a fiancé she loves and a son asking a lot of questions. Will the past catch up with her and destroy everything she has worked so hard for? Secrets, lies and the past will eventually catch up. Great characters. Satisfying but predictable ending. I’m looking forward to the last book in this trilogy.

Thanks to Ms. Lonsdale, Lake Union Press and NetGalley for this ARC. Opinion is mine alone. ( )

With No More Words, bestselling author Kerry Lonsdale launched her “No More” trilogy. Lonsdale says that at the heart of the series is her attempt to answer this question: “Does a parent’s dysfunction prevent the younger generation from having a normal life, or have circumstances fated them to live with their trauma?”

In that first installment, she introduced three siblings: Olivia, Lucas, and Lily, the youngest. The story focused on Olivia and was related from her point of view. Suddenly, Josh, the nephew she had never met, showed up at her house. Lily, who ran away when she was just sixteen years old and pregnant, consistently sent Olivia a letter and picture of Josh every year, mailed from different locations and bearing no return address. Their father, Dwight, actively sought to destroy the sisters’ relationship, culminating with telling Olivia that the father of Lily’s unborn child was Olivia’s twenty-one-year-old boyfriend, Ethan. Lonsdale explored Olivia’s inability to trust and the various family conflicts and secrets leading up to Josh’s arrival.

Josh was unable to articulate how or why he made his way to Oliva’s house or the whereabouts of his mother. A large scar on his scalp led Olivia to believe he had recently suffered a traumatic brain injury resulting in aphasia (a compromised ability to communicate), and she set about learning what happened to Josh, as well as Lily’s whereabouts. She found herself attempting to piece together a fourteen-year-old mystery: What exactly happened to Lily, and why was she treated differently by their parents than Olivia and Lucas? Is Ethan really Josh’s father? If not, who is? And why did Lily abruptly leave, cutting off all ties with her family?

No More Lies is Jenna/Lily’s story and it opens months before Josh makes his way to Olivia’s home. He and Jenna (formerly Lily) reside in beautiful Oceanside, California, where she enjoys a successful career as an animator. Her YouTube cartoon became a viral sensation several years ago and now “Tabby’s Squirrel” is about to become a movie. Jenna has also signed a four-book contract. However, she carefully guards her identity, never conducting in-person interviews or permitting her photograph to be published. She eschews social media and forbids Josh to use it, which is a source of conflict between her and her adolescent son. For the past eighteen months, she and Josh have enjoyed a stable lifestyle, rather than moving every few months. Josh is approaching his thirteenth birthday, has made a few friends at school — one, in particular, named Anson, whose mother, Keely, has been very kind to both Josh and Jenna — and unequivocally expressed his desire to remain in one place. He is tired of constantly relocating. Jenna even accepted an engagement ring from Kavan, a restauranteur with whom she has allowed herself to fall in love. For the first time since she left home when she was carrying Josh at just sixteen years of age, she has let herself believe that she and Josh might actually be safe, with no need to remain on the run.

But as Jenna arrives at Josh’s school to pick him up, she learns that the other parents are gossiping about her and speculating about her past in a Facebook forum. A reporter for the Oceanside newspaper has discovered her real identity and is seeking information about the circumstances surrounding the death of her friend, Wes Jensen, who perished the night she ran away from home. Ryder, Wes’s older brother, was Jenna’s boss at the local 7-Eleven store where she worked and Jenna believes he stalked her until the point at which he was incarcerated, convinced that Jenna murdered Wes and intent on vengeance. Jenna has been burdened by guilt, shame, and fear since that night, believing that she was, in fact, responsible for Wes’s death and, if the authorities find her, she will be prosecuted and lose Josh. More pointedly, Josh will lose her.

Lonsdale relates, from Jenna’s perspective, the events leading up to Josh’s arrival at Olivia’s house. Jenna’s father, Dwight, from whom she has been estranged since that fateful night, arrives in Oceanside, leveling threats. Jenna is convinced that he is responsible for the disturbing appearance of items from the past, as well as notes meant to intimidate and frighten Jenna. She has never told Josh the truth about the past and when he comes face to face with the grandfather he has never seen before, his questioning about his family history only intensifies, as does his resolve to remain in Oceanside. Jenna has never told Kavan about her past, either, and fears that should he learn the whole truth, their relationship will be over, her chance for true happiness ripped away from her. Worse, she learns that Ryder has paroled.

Lonsdale deftly intersperses chapters detailing Lily’s life as a sixteen-year-old in fictional Seaside Cove (situated up the coast near San Luis Obispo, California), commencing with the night she takes a home pregnancy test. She overhears a nightmarish argument between her parents and, when she refuses to accede to their demands, resolves to leave home for good in order to protect her unborn child. Lonsdale answers all the questions she left pending in No More Words about what Jenna’s life was like from that point forward. Similarly, a few chapters convey Josh’s perspective, supplying deeper context to what readers already learned about his experiences in the first installment.

Of course, readers of No More Words know whether Olivia and Josh are reunited with Jenna, but that does not diminish the emotional impact of learning the rest of the details, some quite harrowing, from Jenna’s vantage point. Because, Lonsdale observes, reading about the same series of events is a completely different experience since “interpretation and reaction can be distorted depending on the person telling the story and what they’re feeling at the time. What they’re protecting, which is usually themselves.”

In No More Lies, Lonsdale grippingly explores Jenna’s emotional tumult and the impact the secrets she has kept for so many years have had on both her and Josh, as well as what continuing to conceal the truth from Josh might eventually cost. “When we own the secrets, they give us the impression we’re in control. We keep them so as not to hurt others, but mostly to protect ourselves. We’re always trying to save our own hides,” Lonsdale explains. And that is a prominent theme in No More Lies. Determined to keep her baby when her parents demanded that she either have an abortion or put the child up for adoption, Jenna’s determination to run away was initially fueled, in large part, by maternal instinct. Lonsdale explores, through Jenna’s intense and fraught journey, whether that remains her prime motivation and, if not, what other factors, including her own desire for a conventional, transparent life, as well as the near-crippling fear she has lived with for thirteen years, have played into her decision-making. Lonsdale's depicts Jenna's increasing maturity, self-awareness, and recognition of how her motives have shaped her life and Josh's, and what she is now willing to sacrifice in order to ensure Josh's safety and happiness.

“And when we’re privy to a good secret?” Lonsdale notes. “Well, that’s a sense of control, too.” Control, manipulation, and retribution are also explored in No More Lies, a tale featuring some very clear-cut villains. The parents of Olivia, Lucas, and Lily were revealed in No More Words to be duplicitous, narcissistic, and willing to achieve their own selfish goals by any means necessary. Lily’s toxic relationship with her parents is further examined in this volume, as is Jenna’s gradual empowerment and refusal to be cowed by Dwight’s menacing reappearance and Ryder's dedication to revenge..

Once again, Lonsdale seamlessly melds domestic drama and psychological suspense into a thoroughly absorbing story that advances at a steady pace. Lonsdale further develops the characters of Lilly/Jenna and Josh, endears readers to Kavan, and cements Dwight and Ryder’s deplorable natures. She also introduces readers to Murielle, who helped Lily when she first left her parents’ home, as well as Keely, who proves to be the first true friend Jenna has had in the ensuring years.

The intriguing and entertaining family saga will conclude in the third volume, No More Secrets, but readers will have to wait until 2023 to hear the story from Lucas’s perspective.

Thanks to NetGalley for an Advance Reader's Copy of the book. ( )

Once again we are going to spend some time with the Carson family. If you don’t remember them, look up “dysfunctional” in the dictionary. And if you think you already know most of this story because Olivia has already told it in the first book, you are wrong. The perspective is very different this time around. While the first book, No More Words, was mostly about Olivia, her recollections of their childhood, and her frantic attempts to reunite her nephew Josh with his mother, this book, No More Lies, is Lily’s story. Or rather Jenna’s story, for that’s who she’s been for the thirteen years since she disappeared. And now that we see things through her eyes we realize that Olivia may not have had enough of the facts to know the truth.

While the perspective may have changed, the horrible Carson parents, Charlotte and Dwight, haven’t. They are still reprehensible. They’ll still do anything – yes, anything – and sacrifice anyone – yes, anyone - to protect themselves, their money, their position. When the parental love and care genes were passed out these two were missing. Jenna was always afraid of Dwight and still is, and when he shows up on her doorstep she has no idea how he found her, and fears what he will do to her and Josh if he doesn’t get his way. We experience that fear with her. Who else knows where they are? What will they do to them? Run? Stay? She is so exhausted by the constant moving, the constant hiding. She and Josh have settled into a pretty good life where they are. Will they have to give up everything again? And then Josh disappears and fear becomes panic.

The story moves between the past and the present. As readers, we see where different choices might have been made, where things weren’t always what they seemed. But as the characters living these lives, they have to go with what they know – and with what they fear. Maybe not all the threats were real, but Jenna’s fear of them certainly was. She kept Josh safe and that was the most important thing. In No More Lies we find out where Lily went, why she ran, what she’s been up to all these years, but that could have been presented in a chapter. What we have, though, is a book full of more twists and turns, secrets, betrayals, astonishing reveals, heartbreak and a lot of fear, justified fear. Once again author Kerry Lonsdale brings a startling, unique perspective to her story. There are many, many ways to look at things, what seems insignificant is sometimes vital, the big event isn’t always the main thing to follow. Lonsdale is amazingly skilled at taking all these everyday, simple pieces and making them into a book where you can’t predict what will happen next and can’t put down until you know.

The characters are well-drawn and believable. As already noted, Mom & Pop Carson are still their horrible selves. Lucas is still living his tragic, bad boy life. We harbor hope that somehow, someday he will turn it around, but who knows. Other figures are angels, like Murielle and her Network of Angels, but potential villains lurk around corners. And what of Tyler, Josh’s father? Her first love? The love of her life? Lily left without telling him where or why she was going. He doesn’t know if she is alive or dead and has no idea that he has a son. Josh knows he has a father, however. How can that work out? The happily-ever-after romantic wish of course is that the danger will cease, Lily/Jenna and Tyler will pick right up where they left off, the sun will come out, bells will ring, and their little family will go on forever. However – Jenna is seeing Kavan. Seriously seeing Kavan. She and Josh have built a comfortable life where they are, a life that has started to include Kavan and his daughter Uma. What about Tyler? Has he moved on? How will he feel if he learns he was deceived? So you know even if they survive the danger there are some tough confrontations and bittersweet moments coming.

As with every book of Lonsdale’s that I have read she delivers an exciting, completely satisfying story, showing us how memories and recollections from childhood can be flawed, leading to misinterpretations and misunderstandings that are very hard to untangle. No More Lies is full of mystery, suspense, secrets, betrayal, danger, but also happiness, hope, love, and the importance of family. Two of the three Carson siblings, Lily/Jenna and Olivia, are slowly finding a way back together. It won’t be easy with everything that has happened and all the time that has passed. But what about their brother Lucas? Will he ever find his way? I can’t wait for the third book in this exciting trilogy to find out.

Thanks to author Kerry Lonsdale and Lake Union Publishing for allowing me to be a member of her No More Team and for providing an advance copy of No More Lies via NetGalley in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own and I recommend it without hesitation. This outstanding author just keeps producing outstanding books. May she never stop!
#TEAMNOMORE ( )

No More Lies is the second book in the No More trilogy about the Carson family: Olivia, Lucas and Lily. Book 1 No More Words is Olivia's story and this book, No More Lies, is Lily/Jenna's story.

Olivia has been hiding and moving frequently since she ran away from her parents house at 16. She was pregnant and her parents insisted that he have an abortion but she wanted the baby and ran away hoping to hide from their wrath. Her son, Josh, is 12 and has started to ask questions about what she is hiding and why they have moved so frequently. She has even changed her name from Lily to Jenna. His questions and his attitude toward his mother are beginning to affect their relationship with each other. When she finds that someone is following her again, she is ready to move somewhere else. But Josh finally feels like they are in a safe place, he's made friends and doesn't want to move. Her agreement to stay where they are creates even more danger for Jenna and Josh and when Josh disappears, she is afraid that her worse fears have come true.

Janna has told so many lies over the years that it's difficult for her to share the truth. She is estranged from her siblings and in hiding from her parents. She is also lying to her fiancé Kavan and most importantly to her son. She's a famous animator but has hidden from the world and doesn't do any book events. Will Josh's disappearance make her face the issues from her past no matter what repercussions it causes? Will she be able to reconcile with her sister?

This book was a real roller coaster ride between the past and her current life. The character that I enjoyed the most was Josh - a young kid who just wants a normal life and to stay in the same place so he can make friends and get some stability in his life. and friends.

I can't wait for the last book in the series which doesn't come out until 2023 when all of the secrets in the Carson family should be revealed.
Thanks to the author of this book for a copy to read and review. ( )