This was a really good read. It was also sad, eerie and mysterious. A story that dealt heavily with mental health issues and what it can do to a family. The circumstances this family went through because of some of those issues is very sad and intriguing.

My eyes bulged and my jaw dropped at times, it was just so crazy unbelievable, yet you know it could happen. The author did a great job with this.

Thanks to Lake Union Publishing and Net Galley for providing me with a free e-galley in exchange for an honest, unbiased review.

Danger, wonder, secrets, family, and forgiveness. This book is a MUST HAVE.

Elle has done a good job of managing life. Her mother is certifiable, and the mood swings can take a toll on her. However, life has a way of taking a detour, and Elle is fixing to stumble on a huge secret - one that her mother has kept buried for years. 

When Anna Marie was growing up, she had a rather dysfunctional childhood. Her father was a long haul trucker and her mother - well her mother lived in a world all her own. Gertie lost many of her children, and they were all buried in the backyard. David would weave stories for his little daughter, weaving a fantasy world that will stay with Anna Marie for the remainder of her life. As much as she loathed her parents, she used that same fantasy world with her daughter Elle. 

Brennley, Elle's best friend and roommate is also a fellow nurse. Together they weather the storm of losing patients and battling the emotions that come with it. Brenn and Elle balance each other out. While Brenn knows the background of Elle's mother, their past is as much of a secret to her. One of her patients, a man dying of cancer, becomes more than just a patient. Brennley is becoming more and more attached to the lonely older man. But as they become closer - a bit of Elle's past is opened. Brennley calls her, reading a letter that David has written. She believes that Elle is the granddaughter of the man in the hospital bed. Elle does not think so, her grandparents are dead - it is what she has always been led to believe. But secrets have way of reaching the surface and this one is about to put her entire family on a roller coaster that is going to take many twists and turns. Buckle your seat belt, and get ready for a story that will literally knock your socks off!

A missing child, an imaginary friend, and the secrets of the past have come back to haunt Elle. As she listens to the stories that David tells her from his hospital bed, she believes that they are made up - at least at first. As her mother becomes more and more unhinged, Elle begins to wonder what really happened, and who Bella really was. 
By continuing to delve into her mothers past, she begins to push against the history that she has been told, and comes to not only love her grandfather, but wonder what her own future is going to hold. But before her world entirely gets turned upside down, there is one major secret that her grandfather has been hiding - and it could entirely destroy her mother.

OH MY GOODNESS. When you sit down to read this book - do not start it late at night! Book hangover material! The twists and turns that Steena Holmes weaves will keep you guessing, and wondering. As the story progresses, you begin to really feel sorry for David. Choosing between a wife or a daughter is not a decision any person should have to make, but when you are hiding an even darker secret - life becomes a torment. Elle is determined to find the truth, but her mother is becoming more and more unhinged. 

This book is one that will make you laugh, it will make you angry. It will leave you horrified and mystified. Ya'll this book has it all! There are no disappointments, no letdowns, just page turning electricity.

If you could have one wish, what would it be? Some of us would wish for health, happiness, for wealth, or any number of things.  For Claire Turner, children's book illustrator, it was to have a child.  She longed to be a mother.  More than anything in the world, she wished to have a child.