Nell and Lady was a lovely book to read. The story was written well and engaged me throughout. I liked the way that the story was told from the different perspectives of the characters and the different times. The author wove a great interlinked story between all of the characters, and was well worth reading.

This was the first book I have read by Ashley Farley. After reading a few chapters, I started to follow her on Facebook. That is not the customary action for me. I just knew after reading a bit that I truly loved her writing style and had faith that she would bring the story to an end that I would cherish, and she did!

Ashley Farley has wonderful character development, that when I completed the book, I was missing the people I had come to know. The plot is very well planned, flows smoothly and was believable. The heartbreak of various situations that happened in the book was real to me, as an involved observer of the story unfolding.

The story is about love between people that makes a family of the heart. Situations that happen changes the family unit, but the love becomes stronger. Unfortunately, like in life, events occur that causes riffs and separations. If there is enough love and caring, time apart can sometimes help people to reconcile. This does not come about in the story easily. It takes work by all parts to forgive and heal, but it can happen, if there is enough love.

This is a story that warmed my heart and gave me hope for people to come together again in the future.

I want to thank NetGalley and Lake Union Publishing for allowing me to read the ARC of this book. I am so happy to have discovered a new author that I will definitely be reading her books in the future.

Nell and Lady is a story of friendship and family. I found this to be a quick read that I enjoyed. The story is told from alternating views of four individuals. The different POV were interesting for me.

It was interesting and somewhat sad to see how these four different individuals viewed the same situations so differently.

My only complaint about the story is that things wrapped up a little to nicely in the end. It felt like it ended all tidied up with a bow.

Willa and May were like best friends even though May was the housekeeper , Lady and Neil were their daughters and they grew up as best friends . May Died certainly soWillow raised her daughter Neil. Willa adopted Neil the only thing different is that they are different race . Lady and Neil or very close until ladies 16th birthday party . They have no contact for a lot of years even though their kids are friends .Willa has cancer I want to family close so she reaches out to Neil. Lady doesn’t won’t Neil back so the fuss ove thing, a turn of event and lady daughter needs help

Impressive writing.Family relations are portrayed really well.It is nice to read how both the ladies overcome the difficulties in their lives and the way they are dedicated to their kids.

However, plot could have been stronger.Though we cant really understand someone until we actually go through the same thing; I found it strange that Nell had fall out with her family without giving it a fight.So disappointed with the plot but liked author's writing style.

Nell and Lady is my first introduction to Ashley Farley's writing. I enjoyed this novel and look forward to her other titles. Four stars.

This is my first Ashley Farley read and I was pleasantly surprised how much I enjoyed Nell and Lady. Not only is the cover beautiful but the story inside is told beautifully as well. Nell and Lady is a story about family; but this is not your typical family story. This is a story of how best friends (one White, the other Black) became sisters, are torn apart by a secret, & came back together 30 years later. It's a story of love, forgiveness, and communication.

I enjoyed Ashley Farley's writing style as it goes from past to present. Instead of giving all the details of a situation at once, circumstances are presented as memories for the characters. All the characters in the book enrich the story and add depth to Nell and Lady's complicated relationship.

No one is perfect in this book which makes the characters relatable. Nell and Lady is an inspiriting and uplifting read. In the end, it’s always family first and Nell and Lady know that well. I recommend this book to anyone who likes women’s fiction and family reads. Nell and Lady gets 4.5 stars.

This realistic, highly identifiable tale at it's heart and soul is essentially about two sisters, who have a falling out out. A long period of estrangement. Then, after that long span of TIME passes, the story truly BEGINS. Readers Ashley Farley, like in Sweet Tea Tuesdays, crafts an interesting and highly emotional story of FORGIVENESS. Readers get your iced tea or coffee ready, because Farley's tale of what happens after the sisters have a CONFLICT when teenagers really is altogether compelling and interesting; the truth is Ashley captures the soul of LOVE between two sisters, but this tale symbolizes the story of any LOVE, whether it's mother/daughter, father/son, or any heartbreak felt in families. This story lies beneath the heart of any family and Farley breathes life into the conflict within family relationships, and especially the trust between sisters! Farley's story is heartfelt and realistic, and she offers up surprises while catching you in the midst of this compelling story of trust broken and what it takes to repair relationships!

Nell and Lady is one amazing book! The bond that Nell and Lady has in this book was one of a kind! They grew apart but never was to far away. I read about so many life lessons that were important and just life through the eyes of Nell and Lady. loved how the book unfolded through all the years of Nell and Lady’s lives to the ending which I must say alot of love, peace, and happiness was felt. I loved how a beat or corner was never missed throughout the book. It felt sooo real that you felt part of the book. This beautiful well-written book talk about pain, love, forgiveness, acceptance, and the importance of family. Thank you Ashley Farley for this beautifully well-written book!

I really enjoyed this book. The characters were well written and the story was great. I enjoyed the fact that the author told the story through flashbacks as well as in the present. I loved seeing the friends and family work through their difficulties to find their way back to each other. I highly recommend this book.

I enjoyed reading Nell and Lady. I thought it lacked some depth in the race and equality theme that the author was going for. However, it was still an easy and enjoyable read.

⭐️️⭐️️⭐️️⭐️️⭐️️5 shining stars! NELL AND LADY by Ashley Farley has just been released this month!! If you have read and enjoyed any of Ashley Farley's books, RUN (don't walk) TO THE NEAREST BOOK STORE AND BUY THIS BOOK! It is my FAVOURITE NOVEL by her to date! Every book she writes is better that the one before and I LOVED the FIRST NOVEL SHE WROTE!!!
Nell and Lady grew up together in the same house and were best friends until Lady's sixteenth birthday party. They became estranged and avoided each other until over 30 years later when Lady's very ill mother requested her to find Nell and bring her home.
What happened at that party those many years ago?
What could destroy a sixteen year close friendship?
Why had they never patched things up? What has happened through those missed years?
Can they speak to each other?
Will Nell comply with Willa's dying wish?
Before the end of page one I was caught up in this story and the lives of the characters, and wanted to know more about Nell and Lady. Although I wanted the book to last a long time, I also wanted to quickly read what was happening next!
I highly recommend this story of families, loss and forgiveness!

Ive seen the title of this book recommended in other book reads and am happy NetGalley gave me the opportunity to read this book.
Three generations of women living in Charleston SC, earlier times when African Americans were the help in AMerican homes, each one's lives impacted by earlier decisions of keeping a secret 37 yrs, and the heartbreaking impact left for 37 years. Words unsaid and assumptions carried all that time,
Before these issues even began, Willa hires MAyMay,and realizes she is pg. Nonethe less, MayMay and her daughter become like family to Willa and her daughter Lady(who is 4 months apart of Nell) and the circumstances following a motherless Nell, Willa's decisions on Nell's future become her own and her responsibilty to her best freind to make sure Nell continues her education and doesnt do without.
This story shows how one can take being rich for granted,and being poor makes one appreciate the little things that arent always available because of income.
This story deals with racial conflicts ,that keeps the reader glued to an episode and it had me angry at how ignorant society could be,all because of a person's race. The whole story however isnt glued about race, but incidents due to it, cause a silence within the family that has tore and kept them apart so long.
That close bond has always been there, its up to the 3nd generation to bring their family back together how they once were.
A grandmother's strong love for her daughters and grandchildren proves she isnt ready to leave this world until her own eyes can see them bonded back together . The reconsilations they encounter take time and yet forgivness and pushing pride aside, love prevails.
It takes an amazing storyline for me to not put the book down and this is what happened to me, read this book in one day .

First of all, I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book. However, the emotions weren't powerful enough for me. It was more of a gentle read covering difficult subjects such as racism, sexual assault, domestic abuse, and etc. This story focuses on 3 generations of family from the 60's to now. This story consists of friendships, families, betrayal, jealousy, unforgiveness, redemption, loss, and everything. I'm giving this 3 3/4 stars because it was short for me and not as memorable as I'd like it to be but we'll written with all the charcters. Love the cover, though!

An extremely heartwarming story about why family is so deeply important! Ashley Farley has done a wonderful job in bringing these multifaceted characters to life and in the end you just want to see them come back together as a family. Highly recommend!

I am thankful to Lake Union Publishing and NetGalley for my ARC of this fantastic Ashley Farley book. Ashley Farley is one of my favorites. I love her Sweeney Sisters series and this one did not disappoint. She knows how to write deep, caring characters that readers invest in. This story has the title characters of Nell and Lady surrounded by Willa, Regan and Booker as beloved characters with stories of sorrow, regret and joy. This is a touching story that only Farley can write. What a moving history Nell and Lady share as their children try to live in the present day struggles of getting into college. As a parent, I felt this story myself. I love how Farley wove in the majestic setting of Charleston, SC as it brought back memories of my visit to the historic town. I completely recommend Nell and Lady to anyone who is looking for an uplifting read.

One of the reasons I am a fan of Ashley Farley is her excellent character development. I often finish her books feeling like I know all of her characters in real life and Nell and Lady is no exception.

When Willa’s housemaid and best friend, Mavis, dropped dead unexpectedly Willa chose to take in

her daughter despite the disapproval of her other friends and neighbours.

Mavis’ daughter Nell and Willa’s daughter Lady considered each other sisters and best friends until an incident on the night of Lady’s sixteenth birthday tore them asunder.

Now Willa is dying, and her biggest wish is to bring Nell back to the family she cut off all those years ago.

I thought the first sentence of Nell and Lady was great and it certainly made me want to read more.

“Adelaide Bellemore was known to family and friends as Lady, although no one considered her a lady, least of all her mother.”

When Willa asks Lady to find Nell Lady is reluctant to say the least, but she agrees to it anyway to appease her mother.

“Would she recognise Nell in this passing parade after thirty-one years? Nell was her sister, bound forever with Lady by legal documents but not by blood.”

Once inseparable Lady and Nell haven’t been close since the events of Lady’s sixteenth birthday party in the 80’s, something which still causes Lady pain.

Lady’s only relationship with her mother is rocky to say the least, Willa disapproves of how much Lady drinks and feels she is to blame for Nell’s departure from their family. Lady, for her part resents the way her mother clearly favoured, and still favours Nell. Also, she is jealous of her mother’s close relationship with Lady’s daughter, Regan.

Lady is shocked by not surprised when Nell’s only response to news of Willa’s impending death is that she will pray for her.

Whilst reading Nell and Lady I spent most of the time disliking Lady. One of the reasons for this is the selfish way in which both Lady and Willa reacted to the death of Mavis. Willa said to Nell that she wasn’t sure how she could cope without her and Lady reacted in a way that ended with Nell comforting her.

I also felt that Lady almost relished telling Willa Nell’s response.

“She refused to cover for Nell or sugarcoat her words.”

Nell for her part is devastated by the news of Willa’s illness but she feels unsure what her next step should be.

“Seeing Lady again had brought on a torrent of emotions. Guilt, for not visiting Miss Willa or calling or sending her a Christmas card. Shame for taking advantage of Miss Willa for so many years. Regret, for never showing her adopted mother proper appreciation for saving her from foster care. Heartache at the memory of her own mother’s death. Fear, at the thought of having to return to that house. Anger at the atrocities she’s suffered in the downstairs den. Fury, at Lady, for not stopping it from happening. Humiliation, over the whole sordid affair.”

She is dealing with a crisis in her marriage and her teenage son, Booker, will be leaving for college. Besides, she hasn’t told her husband everything that happened in the past and she hasn’t told her son the truth about any of it.

When a chance meeting leads Regan and Booker to realise their families are connected they decide to put pressure on their reluctant parents to find out what is going on. In discovering what happened between Lady and Nell there are ramifications for both their children.

Throughout the book Ashley Farley deals with a range of potentially emotive issues in a thoughtful and compassionate way.

Nell and Lady was an enthralling read and one which shows the author at her best.

Complex, likable characters and a storyline that pulls you in. What more does a reader need? Not much and I can say that Ashley Farley really delivers in this wonderful story fill with long held secrets, family life and pretty much every emotion you can imagine.

This is my first Ashley Farley story, but I'm definitely going to be looking for more.

Thanks to Netgalley, the author and publishers for allowing me an ARC at my request.

Nell and Lady

Nell and Lady grew up together but something happens to Nell that separated them. Nell and her mother lived with Lady and her mother, Willa. Lady has a daughter and Nell has a son. They both play a big roll in the book.

A very inspiring story, a little mystery of what happened to Nell that left her not wanting a relationship with basically her family since Willa adopted her after her mother died. I really loved the book. It is about forgiveness, overcoming past and learning to love one another again. I definitely recommend this book. Hard to decide which was my favorite character. I really enjoyed Regan and Booker, the teen age children. They were good friends but did know their parents knew each other from the past. They really had a lot to deal with.

I received an complementary copy of the book from NetGalley through the author. I was not required to write an positive review.

Nell and Lady is a wonderfully written story set in the deep south in the 1970's. The two girls grew up together, but from very different backgrounds and began to feel as close as sisters.
This book drew me in from the beginning and kept me wanting more. If you're looking for a 5 star book set in the south, I strongly recommend this book.
Thank you to Lake Union Publishing and NetGalley for allowing me to read an advanced copy.