Release date April 2, 2019
Unputdownable...is that an actual word? It needs to be, if not.
This was a crazy, wild ride-the story and the characters grab you and don’t let go until the last page. Claire is the superwoman we moms try to be, terrified that one mistake could cause all to collapse. You will go through so many emotions while reading Little Lovely Things-horror, overwhelming sadness, joy-get ready for a roller coaster!

I really enjoyed this book. This book had me guessing to the very last pages.
Maureen Joyce Connolly gives a psychological spin on the characters involved and it's the understanding of them that makes the read a thriller. You should really go read this book.

Claire has it all - good marriage, two beautiful daughters, and she's finishing up her residency on her way to becoming a doctor. When she gets sick on the drive in to work one morning, she stops to collect herself and her car is stolen with her two children in it.

The first half of the novel packs a gut punch if you're a mother. I have two daughters myself, and the kidnapping scene was heartbreaking from both the kids and parent's POV. The second half was slower, less of a thriller and more of a portrait of a family torn apart.

The characters were well written, especially Jay, who was my favorite. The ending left me wanting a little more resolution. 3.5 stars.

One of the best books I’ve read in a long time!! At times heartbreaking, other times hopeful, this one is hard to put down. Claire and Glen are loving parents of two little girls, and one day Claire makes the split second decision to leave them alone in a running car to go in a gas station bathroom to be sick. What happens next is a nightmare for any parent.
Some of the subject matter is difficult to read, but there is hope as well as love and friendship in this beautiful story.

Absolutely fantastic book. Not your typical "kidnapping" story. From start to finish i was gripped with the storyline and couldn't put it down. Such a feel good story that will stick with me.

This book is heart-breaking.

It tells the story of a woman who, after suffering a reaction and fainting in a gas station bathroom, wakes up to find that her car, with her two daughters in it, has been stolen. It is told from multiple perspectives, including the woman who, with her husband, took the girls. This makes this story more drama and less mystery/whodunit sort, since you are aware of the kidnappers from the beginning.

I did find it compelling, although the woman kidnapper is Irish and uses Irish terminology, which is something I liked in part, but it also felt somewhat unnatural at times. But that was not too bad, nor did it truly detract from the story itself. I also really liked Colly's character. [Other names not mentioned so as to not spoil.]

3.5, rounded up because there were certainly moments that were a 4-star worthy story. :)

Many thanks to NetGalley and Sourcebooks Landmark for allowing me to read this book!

Lovely Little Things by Maureen Joyce Connolly begins with the unthinkable happening. Claire, a mother and physician-in-training has caught a bug going around her hospital and is having an allergic reaction. In her rush to get her daughters squared away at daycare and to make her rounds, she collapses at a gas station. When Claire comes to, the unthinkable has happened: her daughters have been taken right from her car.


This story is told from the perspective of Claire, racked with grief and devoted only to her career, as she comes to terms with both of her daughters' deaths, as well as Moira, an Irish traveler who is responsible for the worst day of Claire and her husband's lives. The two other narrators bring the story full circle, as we understand the deep grief that Claire and her husband Glen are experiencing.


Restless spirits and travelers are an underlying theme in this story; everyone is very unsettled and there is the constant desire to move around and an attempt to outrun the past. I enjoyed the elements of Lakota culture, as well as the backdrop of the Midwest in its most unforgiving state.
This book is Connolly's debut novel, and kept me racing to the finish. I was excited to get to read this book early as part of a Suzy Approved Book Tour in partnership with the publisher, Sourcebooks.

No redeeming qualities, The plot itself wasn't bad. It everything else was sub -par. Writing style,, development of characters, dialogue, mediocre to poor. Cannot recommend

I was incredibly impressed with Little Lovely Things and read it in a day because I was so engaged with this fantastic debut. While technically about a child abduction, the novel is definitely not a thriller (you learn what happened in the first few pages); instead of being about "who done it," it is about "what happens after it is done." Told from multiple characters' perspectives, the prose is gorgeous and the story is compelling. I went through all the emotions reading it, from anger to frustration to sorrow, and truly could not put it down.

***Thanks to NetGalley for providing me a complimentary copy of LITTLE LOVELY THINGS by Maureen Joyce Connolly in exchange for my honest review.***

Claire’s young daughters go missing when she suffers a severe allergic reaction while driving.

I loved the premise of LITTLE LOVELY THINGS and couldn’t wait to sink my teeth into the story. The writing style turned me off, but I figured one I got into the plot, I wouldn’t care as much. Unfortunately, the further I read, the more I distracted I became.

LITTLE LOVELY THINGS felt like a British story set in the United States. I understand and expect that I won’t know all the words and phrases when reading Brit Lit. When I’m reading a story written by an American (or so her biography leads me to believe) set in America, I expect primarily American used terminology. I even wondered if Chicago might also be a town in England I didn’t know.

I did enjoy the characters and plot, but because the reading experience brought me no pleasure, I can’t see rating higher than two stars. If you’re not a reader distracted by what I described, you’ll likely enjoy LITTLE LOVELY THINGS more than me.

Lovely Little Things
By Maureen Joyce Connolly
Just an amazing read. I cried and it was dark and I wondered how do you forgive this? He daughters are taken as she falls ill in a restroom. When she passes out in a restroom, she awakes to find her children are missing. A parent's worst nightmare. Claire just touched me deeply. This heart-wrenching story was beautifully written with well-developed characters that kept me guessing until the very end. Just a story you have to read and have the tissues handy.
Thank you, NetGalley, the Publisher and Maureen Joyce Connolly for the advance copy. Wonderful read.

I was unable to wrap my mind around the story. I didn't like how it jumped to different topics and I was lost several times.

I was completely spellbound by this book...a riveting and heart-wrenching story that illustrates how our lives can change in an instant. One minute Claire is the mother of two daughters, happily married, a busy medical resident, in the next moment she is grief-stricken, a shell of her former self. I was on the edge of my seat throughout, turning pages so quickly it was as if they turned themselves. Along with a compelling story, the characters are so wonderfully written that their emotions became mine, as if I were in their skin. This is a beautifully written story as well, lyrical at times but always keeping the story moving at a fast pace.

This book is so good. As a mom to 3 little ones, it was difficult to read in the beginning because of the heavy topic but I'm glad I stuck with it. It was hard to put down and kept me guessing. It details the stages of grief very well and shows the consequences of tragedy on a marriage. The characters were likeable and the story was well written. Overall a very good book!

Maureen Connoly’s Debut novel is about a couple whose children are abducted from a gas statation while the mother is sick inside the bathroom. It takes a look at how they react to an awful situation as well as what the children go through. She does a great job conveying the emotion of the book. Be forewarned this book is very dark. It keeps the reader guessing wheat will happen next.

Thank you netgalley for the chance to read this book as an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Was beyond thrilled when I got approved for an ARC of Lovely Little Things on NetGalley. Had no idea what I was getting myself into though. Reading stories of parents and tragic heartbreak are the hardest stories to read. Being a parent myself, trying to put myself in their shoes gives me some of the most powerful emotions when reading a book.

Little Lovely Things left me with such an emotional book hangover it was unreal. One particular chapter had my anxiety so round up that my heart was pounding and I couldn’t catch my breath and I don’t know if I’ve ever had such a physical reaction while reading a book. The author did such a good job of detailing scenes and emotions and thoughts that I really felt like I was there, in that moment.

Another note to the detail from the author, she used different backgrounds that require quite a bit of research to include in this book so you could tell this book wasn’t something she took lightly.

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ (5 out of 5 stars) 2019 is going to be a year of powerful debut authors and Little Lovely Things by Maureen Joyce Connolly is definitely going to be a front runner for book for the year.

Was beyond thrilled when I got approved for an ARC of Lovely Little Things on NetGalley. Had no idea what I was getting myself into though. Reading stories of parents and tragic heartbreak are the hardest stories to read. Being a parent myself, trying to put myself in their shoes gives me some of the most powerful emotions when reading a book.

Little Lovely Things left me with such an emotional book hangover it was unreal. One particular chapter had my anxiety so round up that my heart was pounding and I couldn’t catch my breath and I don’t know if I’ve ever had such a physical reaction while reading a book. The author did such a good job of detailing scenes and emotions and thoughts that I really felt like I was there, in that moment.

Another note to the detail from the author, she used different backgrounds that require quite a bit of research to include in this book so you could tell this book wasn’t something she took lightly.

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ (5 out of 5 stars) 2019 is going to be a year of powerful debut authors and Little Lovely Things by Maureen Joyce Connolly is definitely going to be a front runner for book for the year.

I actually really enjoyed this!! I love this genre so I was super excited, and I always get a little nervous reading books that haven't had tons of raving reviews (since it hasn't been published yet) but it really really exceeded my expectations!

A parents worst nightmare. Having your children taken from you in broad daylight. Claire finds herself feeling sick while driving to work and having her young daughters in tow. Having to pull over at a gas station where she ends up passing out and only to wake to what can be her worst nightmare as she realizes her daughters are gone. This story will wrap you with so many emotions

This debut author, Maureen Joyce Connolly hit it out of the park with this story of unimaginable tragedy, hope, love, forgiveness, unlikely friendships, chance encounters, and miracles!

Thank you to Netgalley for the ARC digital copy of Little Lovely Things in exchanged for an honest and unbiased review.