What a fantastic book!! When We Believed in Mermaids is about two sister that have an unbreakable bond that is most definitely tested! Barbara O’Neal has blown me away with her extremely original, emotional, and addictive storyline. Initially, when I started this novel I knew I would like it, but what I didn’t expect was to be so moved by it! There are so many layers and Barbara O’Neal has impeccable timing with knowing just when to lay down another layer at the best possible moment! I think When We Believed in Mermaids would make a perfect book club selection. After you finish reading it you will want to have in depth conversations about it! I have already told some friends to pre-order this book because I am busting at the seams to discuss!!! When We Believed in Mermaids is an absolute must read!

This is a thought provoking book, not just because of the story but because you think about your own childhood through an adult lense.

Kit is a successful doctor and surfer, her life has had many struggles but the worst was losing her sister Josie. One day she is just home from work, while watching a news report of a fire at a night club she notices a woman halfway around the world that looks like her dead sister.

Will Kit find the woman in the video? Is the woman her sister? Will Kit face her childhood? Can she see her childhood through adult eyes?

🌟🌟🌟💫 3.5 Stars for this ARC. Thanks to NetGalley and Lake Union Publishing!

When you read this book, you will feel like you are on vacation! Ms. O’Neal has a way of immersing you in her settings whether it’s in California or New Zealand, not just in her characters lives. Her writing is subtlety descriptive! A lot of issues are being dealt with ...death, grief, abuse, lies, addiction, and always love and forgiveness. I recommend sitting by the beach with your toes in the sand will bring this book to life.

Kit and Josie are not just sisters, they are best friends too. They depend on each other. After a tumultuous childhood dealing with their parents issues and dark secrets, they grow distant. Then Josie is killed. Grief has changed Kit and her Mom. Until the day both swear they see Josie on TV and Kit knows she needs to find out the truth.

I liked the concept of this book but felt that the actions of Mari/Josie were slightly dramatic but understand why she felt the need to die/reinvent herself. I did enjoy how the book was told in the viewpoints of the sisters but it would have been nice to get a bit more of a personal view from mom as well.

When We Believed in Mermaids is a beautiful exploration of the bonds of sisterhood through tragedy, separation, time and fate. At its core, it's a tale of love and family and forgiveness.
Highly recommended.

In When We Believed in Mermaids, Barbara O’Neal reminds us why we wait so impatiently for her next book. But wait we do, knowing full well the wait is worth it. And this may be her best yet.

This book grips the reader from the start, with Kit's identification of her supposedly killed sister half a world away. So starts a journey with tons of question marks attached, and we're gripping on to each one of them. We delve back into the destruction of their family in several different ways that can change you on a cellular level, and we marvel at Kit's strength and motivation to find out the truth. I loved the power in this book's unique concept, and O'Neal knows just how to turn up that dial on the emotional roller coaster that we're on. I loved the plot's energy, the characters' voices, the mystery of what memory is, and the horrific things that addiction can do to a family system. This is a can't put down book, until you get so teary that you kind of have to step away, even though you don't really want to.

Wow what a book.
This is such an emotional book. A real tear jerker.
The author has done an amazing job to pull the story together
A must read book

When We Believed in Mermaids by Barbara O'Neal was a really great book, Her writing is smooth not overly descriptive and her characters come through strong and present.. Enjoyed the plot, the characters and the setting. I could definitely see something like this happening in the world today. I look forward to reading more from Barbara O'Neal.

Thank you to NetGalley and Lake House Publishing for an advance of this book. I was drawn by the title, and I'd thought this would be somewhat of a mystery, but actually it was so much more. It was a story of sisters, and family, and what we do when we've fallen so far we feel we can't get back up. I felt the emotions were well done, as were the characters. Highly recommend this one.

When We Believed In Mermaids
Barbara O’Neal
Published July 16, 2019


Kit Bianci is an ER doctor working through a difficult shift when the TV that is on in the staff lounge breaks with news of nightclub fire in New Zealand. As Kit takes her soda from the machine she sees a close up shot of the announcer. Behind him is a woman who looks amazingly like her sister, Josie. Josie has been dead for 15 years. In her head, Kit tries to tell herself it is only someone who looks like her but when she speaks to their mother after her shift ends, she too caught the news cast and was certain it was her oldest daughter. Suzanne begs her to go to New Zealand to find Josie. Kit argues not knowing how to do such a task but inevitably agrees to take vacation time to visit Auckland. The story goes back to Kit and Josie’s beginning as two young girls living in southern California with their parents. Her father, a chef and restaurateur, her mother much younger and a model did not have the time to give their children the guidance they needed. We are given a narrative of their lives. It’s an impossible task to describe this family’s dysfunctional lifestyle however the account reaches out the the reader and doesn’t let go.
The story line goes back and forth between California and Auckland. This is such a heart wrenching tale. It was one of the best books I have read lately. It was consuming, I’m not certain my words will give it the justice this novel deserves.
I have read most of Barbara Samuel O’Neal’s books and have enjoyed them. This one made me sad, it drew me into Kit and Josie’s story. Whether you have read O’Neal’s work before or this would be a first, I highly recommend When We Believed in Mermaids. It is due to be published on July 16, 2019 by Lake Union publishing.

Thank you so very much to Lake Union Publishing, NetGalley and the author, Barbara O'Neal, for an early read of this book for an honest review.

I thought this book started very slowly, and I had a hard time picking it back up, however once I got to the middle of the book, the read itself picked up, and I thoroughly started to enjoy it. The book is very emotional and will take you on a ride through family, sisterhood and ultimately the love that the sisters have for one another, even though they were raised completely different.

I truly enjoyed this book, once I got through the beginning, and I would pick up another book by this author anytime..

Wow, this is a five star knockout! This is such an emotional story, on every level, a real tear jerker! A horribly broken and dysfunctional family, that appears to have been destroyed, along with the earthquake that left them displaced and homeless, is given a chance to rebuild 15 years later.
Josie, dies in a terrorist attack in France and Kit is left to struggle alone, managing to become a doctor, but so disconnected and unloved. Then she sees Josie on TV, running from a fire in New Zealand, apparently, very much alive, and Kit goes to find her.
Barbara O Neal is a masterful storyteller, and that she was able to pull this together was amazing. Lots of lives broken and damaged by the neglect of uninvolved parents, drugs, physical and sexual abuse, but it shows the resilience of the human spirit.
My thanks to #LakeUnionPublishing #BarbaraO’Neil for the ARC. I hope my review does justice to this superb novel.

When We Believed in Mermaids by Barbara O'Neil.  I have always enjoyed Barbara O'Neils novels and this one is no exception.  Her writing is smooth not overly descriptive and her characters come through strong and present.  I thought this storyline was quite original and meshed well with all that happens in the world today.

The premise is what initially drew me into this story, but the complex relationship between siblings is what kept me intrigued until the end. This a surprisingly "deep" read by an author known for fluffy romances; sexual assault, child abuse and neglect, mental illness, addiction, and suicide are all factors is this novel. Overall, I was pleasantly surprised by this quiet family drama.

I LOVE THIS BOOK. What a story. I was hook from the moment Kit and her mother saw Josie/Mari on TV. It was passionate, and it was thrilling uncovering all the details of the story. It has great romance and love of family.. I love the occupation of the characters and that love conquers all.
It was sad how the parents messed up their children's lives but when you don’t deal with your own childhood it will come out some way.
And finally I loved all the pets and a touch of the supernatural. The story definitely has a touch of your earlier novels(Rainmaker, Jezebel’s Blues) and the young adult series under Lark O’neal

This is a wonderful story of survival and the special bond of sisters. There are different ways to survive and this story shows how two sisters choose their paths. It's heartbreaking to read about the slippery slope of addiction. I loved the characters and the bond that Josie and Kit shared. The book is an emotional rollercoaster of sisterhood, love, secrets and the chance to find forgiveness. I highly recommend this book.

I enjoyed this book; however, I wish that the family's past had been fleshed out a bit more. There were many instances where the main characters alluded to neglect and abuse by their parents, but it wasn't ever fully explained. I kept feeling like there was going to be a big reveal and there never was.

“My sister has been dead for nearly fifteen years when I see her on the TV news.”

With that fantastic opening line, we drop in to the story of 2 sisters, one presumed dead and one barely living.
Two little girls, Josie and Kit, are raised by parents so enthralled with each other that they neglect their children, leaving them largely unattended in a little cove by their home. During a storm, a broken and unwanted teenage boy appears as their door, offering the girls a bit of security and stability but he has his own issues of neglect and abuse.

Josie dies in a terrorist attack, or at least seems to, until 15 years later, when Kit and her mother see her on the news. But Josie isn’t Josie anymore. Kit goes half a world away to track down her sister and get some answers.

The description of the events of these two lives, abuse, neglect, death, catastrophe and ultimately rebuilding of a sort, is like being battered by wave after wave, with periods of calm just long enough to catch your breath.
The ocean is a central theme in the telling of this story but also in how it’s told, the ebb and flow of past and present, the switching narrative of sister to sister.

O’Neal does a beautiful job with language, immersing the reader into the ocean, the atmosphere and even the food.

I could have done with less of the sizzling romance although I realize that it was important to show Kit letting her guard down and being open to reevaluate her life. I feel that this particular bit of story line as the story of Sapphire House detracted from the main plot, turning it from a 4 star to a 3 star for me.

A very moving book with great characters. Really enjoyed the plot and the pace was good. I'd highly recommend it.