No More Trilogy by Kerry Lonsdale ~ a Review

by Susan Roberts

I've read every book that Kerry Lonsdale has written and she just keeps getting better. Her latest trilogy is no exception. If you haven't picked it up yet or like to binge-read series, then now is a great time to start this series as book 3 comes out in March. (If you are a Kindle Unlimited subscriber, you can read the books for free) I'm including my reviews of the first two books in case you missed them when they were originally published and want to know more about the first two books.

Amazon affiliate links are used on this site. Free books were provided for an honest review.

No More Words 

July 2021; Lake Union; 978-1542019057
audio, ebook, print (331 pages); women's fiction

No More Words is the first book in a trilogy about family and love but most of all it's about secrets and how the past affects the future.

The novel begins in the Summer of '95 when the three Carson children get dropped off at the lake home of the Whitman family.  At the time  Olivia is 8, Lucas is 6 and Lily is 3.  Summers at the lake are idyllic and the children spend all of their time outside enjoying the freedom and the time they spend together.  Years later when they are adults, the fun that they had together as children is gone and they are no longer close.   Olivia is an artist, Josh has spent time in prison and Lily has run away and no one has heard from her in years.  This is book 1 in a new trilogy and is Olivia's story.

Olivia is a well-known illustrator and is afraid to get close to anyone emotionally.    Josh is a 13-year-old boy who turns up at her house and she is shocked to find out that he is her nephew.  Lily got pregnant at 15 and when her parents insisted on either an abortion or adoption, she ran away and no one in the family knows where she is.  Once a year she sends Olivia a letter with a picture of Josh but that is the only contact that they've had over the years.  Josh is terrified when he gets to Olivia's but due to a recent accident that caused aphasia,  he is often unable to find the right words to use and is no longer able to read or write.  He isn't able to tell Olivia what happened to his mom except that she is gone!  Josh is an artist with talent beyond his years and Olivia attempts to find out what happened to her sister by using Josh's drawings as a road map.  The more that she tries to help Josh, the more she learns about her family which makes her question everything that they had ever told her.  Will Olivia somehow be able to find Lily so that the three siblings can become a family again?

Warning - before you start this book, make sure that your calendar is clear because I can guarantee that you won't want to put it down until the end.  I can't wait to read the next two books in the series to find out more about Olivia, Josh, and Lily and their quest to become family again.

Buy No More Words at Amazon

(Kindle Unlimited subscribers can read for free)

 

No More Lies

May 2022; Lake Union; 978-1542019071
audio, ebook, print (349 pages); women's fiction

Secrets and lies shadow a woman on the run in the second novel in the No More trilogy

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 she 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 Lily and Josh and when Josh disappears, she is afraid that her worse fears have come true.

Lily 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. 

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.

Buy No More Lies at Amazon

(Kindle Unlimited subscribers can read for free)

No More Secrets

March 2023; Lake Union; 978-1542019101
audio, ebook, print (287 pages); women's fiction

A young man seeks redemption from his past in the third novel from the No More trilogy 

Book 1 in the trilogy was Olivia's story, book 2 was Lily's story and now we finally hear Lucas's story.  

After Lucas spent six months in a juvenile detention center, he returned home as a changed person.  He no longer wanted to be around his family - especially his sisters.  He and Lily had always been close but when she ran away from home at 16, he didn't even try to find her.  Now he's living a lonely and sad life.  He's managing a store and renting an apartment from the owner.  He rebuffs every effort she makes to connect with him and just wants to be alone.  Until he meets Shiloh - who he refers to as Sunshine Girl.  She's homeless and living in an abandoned car in a junk yard with other homeless people.  She reminds him so much of his younger sister Lily, that he wants to help take care of her and provide her with food and a place to stay.  They make up a story that she's his niece and she starts working at the store with him.  He feels like they are becoming friends until she runs away again to meet up with a man she met on the internet who professes to love her.  Lucas runs to her rescue but will he be too late and has Sunshine Girl gotten in too deep?  It turns out that Lucas's sisters are looking for him but so are the police.  Will he able to save Shiloh but more importantly will he be able to save himself and reconcile with his sisters?

No more Secrets was the perfect ending to this wonderful and emotional trilogy about family and love and how secrets can change the entire course of a family's life together and bringing those secrets to the light can redeem a family and make them whole again.

Buy No More Secrets at Amazon

NOTE:  This trilogy really needs to be read in order.  There's too much information and connection between the books that I think they would be difficult to read as standalones.

Susan Roberts grew up in Michigan but loves the laid-back life at her home in the Piedmont area of North Carolina where she is two hours from the beach to the east and the mountains in the west.  She reads almost anything but her favorite genres are Southern Fiction and Historical Fiction.  

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