Because You're Mine by Rea Frey

A special thank you to the author, Rea Frey, Edelweiss, Macmillan, and St. Martin's Griffin for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Lee is a single mother of a child with sensory processing disorder. She is highly protective of her son and spends her days making sure that Mason's routine is always adhered to so that his world stays on its axis. When her best friend, Grace, tempts her to go away for a girls' weekend in the mountains, her first instinct is to say no. But Grace won't let up and convinces her that she deserves time off, to recharge her batteries.

Noah is Mason's tutor—he's handsome, patient, charming, and is the first man that has sparked Lee's interest in what feels like forever. He has agreed to stay with Mason so that Lee can go on the getaway. It's only a weekend after all.

But a lot can happen in 48 hours and someone winds up dead.

Everything is not as it seems and it appears that everyone has a complicated past. Lee is hiding who Mason's father is, Grace has a secret that will destroy Lee, and there's more to Noah than meets the eye. The moral of this story: trust no one.

At the beginning of the book there is a note from Frey to her readers. She shares for the first time publicly about her own experience with sexual assault as well as addresses some very important issues that come up in the story—sexual abuse, alcoholism, and suicide. It is incredibly brave of her to share this personal account with her audience.

Because You're Mine opens with someone falling to their death. Frey uses this to frame her story, alternating between a week before the fall and a week after the fall, from past to present. She deftly weaves the narrative through the perspectives of three unreliable narrators: Lee, Grace, and Noah. Her characterization is so good, readers will find themselves switching loyalties more than once.

This novel is both a character study as well as a layered and plot-driven narrative. Frey also employs some diary entries which are a compelling and effective tool to ratchet up the suspense. Someone is really struggling with a number of issues and emotions.

Through complex characters and strong pacing, this book has it all—secrets, lies, murder, revenge, betrayal, obsession. Frey explores some pretty complex relationships: between mothers and their children, between friends, between siblings, and between men and women. The writing is taut and twisty, and that ending...whoa!

REA FREY is an author (fiction and non-fiction), nutrition specialist, and International Sports Sciences Association certified trainer. She has been featured in Fitness, Ladies' Home Journal, and Whole Living. Her debut novel, Not Her Daughter, was released in August of 2018 and has been optioned for film.

Frey lives in Chicago, IL, with her husband and daughter.