This was honestly quite boring and i dnf'd at about 60%. Its not a book that i will remember for any period of time. I found the main character annoying

This was a good read it was very fast paced and held your attention through out. A lot of characters to get to know but worth the read

I must firstly apologise for the amount of time it has taken me to provide a review of this book, my health was rather bad for quite some time, something that had me in hospital on numerous occasions and simply didnt leave me with the time I once had to do what I love most.

Unfortunately that does mean I have missed the archive date for many of these books, so It would feel unjust throwing any review together without being able to pay attention to each novel properly.

However, I am now back to reading as before and look forward to sharing my honest reviews as always going forward. I thank you f0r the patience and understanding throughout x

Due to a sudden, unexpected passing in the family a few years ago and another more recently and my subsequent (mental) health issues stemming from that, I was unable to download this book in time to review it before it was archived as I did not visit this site for several years after the bereavements. This meant I didn't read or venture onto netgalley for years as not only did it remind me of that person as they shared my passion for reading, but I also struggled to maintain interest in anything due to overwhelming depression. I was therefore unable to download this title in time and so I couldn't give a review as it wasn't successfully acquired before it was archived. The second issue that has happened with some of my other books is that I had them downloaded to one particular device and said device is now defunct, so I have no access to those books anymore, sadly.

This means I can't leave an accurate reflection of my feelings towards the book as I am unable to read it now and so I am leaving a message of explanation instead. I am now back to reading and reviewing full time as once considerable time had passed I have found that books have been helping me significantly in terms of my mindset and mental health - this was after having no interest in anything for quite a number of years after the passings. Anything requested and approved will be read and a review written and posted to Amazon (where I am a Hall of Famer & Top Reviewer), Goodreads (where I have several thousand friends and the same amount who follow my reviews) and Waterstones (or Barnes & Noble if the publisher is American based). Thank you for the opportunity and apologies for the inconvenience

This was a great thriller book to read, It is not a genre I usually venture into but I am so glad that I chose to with this book. It had me on the edge of my seat and not wanting to stop reading at any point.

Lex Gracie doesn’t want to think about her family. She doesn’t want to think about growing up in her parents’ House of Horrors. And she doesn’t want to think about her identity as Girl A: the girl who escaped. When her mother dies in prison and leaves Lex and her siblings the family home, she can’t run from her past any longer. Together with her sister, Evie, Lex intends to turn the House of Horrors into a force for good. But first she must come to terms with her six siblings – and with the childhood they shared.

This book was heartbreaking in all the best ways, I got so notional having to read the book through the children's lens in particular. Showing how tragedy can shape a life was at times horrified but always needed.

I have read so many good reviews of Girl A so my expectations were quite high and happily, I can confirm they were met! I loved that this is a book that, rather than focusing on the harrowing events in the past of Lex, our main character, it actually looks at the after effects of trauma and abuse. It’s an incredibly well written book that gives a sensitive and layered perspective on horror. I would highly recommend.

I have heard so much positive feedback about this book I was excited to read. It doesn't quite live up to the hype in my opinion, but it is a well written, often harrowing, account of the lives of children post escape from an abusive home. I felt the author struck the right balance of showing the reality of the horrors of the children's childhoods without becoming too sensational about it. It had a lovely pace and I liked the dual timeline, I felt it really helped to have a break from the more distressing parts of the story.

Girl A tells the story of Lex (also known as Girl A) who grew up in what later became known as the House of Horrors with her siblings Ethan, Delilah, Gabriel, Evie, Daniel and Noah. To begin with they live a relatively normal life with their parents, albeit one of poverty, where there wasn't money for clothes or food. Their dad especially is religious and has a dream of opening his own church, a plan which ultimately fails. As Lex reaches her teenage years his behaviour becomes more extreme - first he withdraws the children from school choosing to teach them himself, then he starts restricting baths and food, before keeping them chained to their beds.
Lex is the one who manages to escape, alerts the authorities and the children are rescued and each given treatment for both their physical and mental problems. The children are all adopted by different families and handle their trauma in different ways.
As the book begins their mother has just died in prison and Lex is left to deal with their inheritance - the house they grew up in. Telling the story in both the present day and looking to the past, the narrative gradually explains the horror the children went through and the way they have all dealt with it in different ways throughout their adult lives - with forgiveness, with addiction and with hate. The relationship between the grown up children is also interesting - I would have expected their experience to bond the siblings but there is tension between them.
An addictive book, I often would walk a bit further with the dog so I could listen some more or else keep listening when I got home for as long as I could. The story is horrifying and shocking and although you know from the first few pages that Lex and her siblings escaped, it still manages to weave suspense in it's pages. I'm excited to see Dean has a new book due out in March next year and I can't wait to read it.

This was dark and gritty story. It was very well written, but I did feel there was something missing with the plot.

Enjoyed this one although took me a while to get into it. An interesting style of writing and I wanted to keep reading even though it did fall a little flat in places.
Enjoyed the twist

This has been on my tbr for ages, and I finally got around to it. It's about a house of horrors in the UK. A large family, mum, dad, and seven siblings. It's disturbing and descriptive in parts. Neglect. Power. Abuse. Religion has gone too far, some would say. What those poor children went through. It is fiction, but even as you read it, you know it is probably based on a true story and currently happening somewhere in the world right now. The chapters for my personal liking were a bit long. But we get an insight into each sibling and how they carried on with their life after their childhood/abuse and if they ever really got over how they were treated. This is a fantastic debut though. Gripping. I award four out of five stars.

This was a highly anticipated book for me, I couldn't wait to get started, however it just didn't live up to expectations. I really enjoyed the flashback parts where she discussed her childhood, but the present day felt a little underwhelming. I was not gripped and had to DNF it in the end unfortunately, as I could not grasp it as crime fiction which is what I was expecting.

I really liked the first part of this - the flashbacks to her childhood before she escaped and so on. However the present time story line failed to capture me to such an extent that I ended up DNFing it.

I was really looking forward to reading this.
But the book was not what I was expecting.
I can't say exactly why but for me it didn't read as crime fiction.
Would still recommend to anyone who is intrigued by the blurb.

This book tackles a heavy subject and one in which I haven't delved into before.
Overall it's a very interesting book but it does leave a lot to the imagination and I found parts really confusing.
I think the relationships between the siblings should have been explored/explained more to help with the context of Girl A's emotions. There are parts of the story that are never really explained and that left me feeling a bit dissatisfied.

An incredible book by a very talented author!
Deserves every 5 star review that it receives.
I can’t wait to see what her next book will be as this is a very hard act to follow!

I've gotten to 57% and just feel lost, so going to put the book aside and start over at a later stage. Just not working for me at the moment.

I loved this book so much that I now have my own copy! Girl A is probably the most perfect mystery/thriller I have read in years and truly reminds me why I call the genre my favourite. It is moving and gritty and tense and alive. It really makes all the other crap I have waded through worth it.

I was so excited to read this, it had been one of my most anticipated reads. I have to admit, it was much slower paced than I had imagined it being. The characters were deep and the twist was fantastic. I really enjoyed the storyline and felt for Lexi and her siblings throughout.
I would probably put this down as a crime / family saga rather than a thriller though as described.
Thank you so much for approving me to read this early. I thoroughly enjoyed!

This was a highly emotive but absolutely fascinating read. I really enjoyed the way the author drip-fed information about Lex’s awful past to us and just how much was contained within the pages. It’s a huge story, handled with sensitivity and a light touch that left some mystery at the end. An excellent read that is quite difficult to bear at times.