Many thanks to NetGalley, Ballantine Books, and Brady Hammes for the opportunity to read his debut fiction - 4 stars for this sibling dynamic story.

Three siblings - Gavin, Jonah and Samantha - are all talented in different ways and have been living very different lives. Gavin, a struggling actor, has been living in LA and working on a cable tv show that was just canceled. Jonah is working on his PhD thesis and studying elephants in the jungle of Gabon, and recently fell in with a bad crowd. Samantha was a rising ballet star until an injury got her hooked on opioids. She thought taking a job with a Russian ballet company would help her but it hasn't worked out. The three meet back in Chicago for Christmas with their parents and discover that they need each other to help solve their problems.

This story is told from the POV of each of the siblings, giving us background into how they got to their current situation. It was a great character novel - I would have loved an epilogue to know how it all turned out at the end!

This is not the dysfunctional family novel you might think it is. This is about three siblings, divided by time, space, and interests, who actually come together to save one of them. No spoilers but each of them has a major issue. Sam, a ballerina, has found herself addicted to heroin and living a dissolute life in Russia- far from her glory days with the NYCB. Jonah has been monitoring elephants in Gabon and he's run afoul of the poachers. Animal lovers know that there are some distressing things here. Gavin's an actor but he's messed things up big time both personally and professionally. While nominally set in Chicago where the three reunite, most of the story is set in the other locations. It might seem a bit farfetched that one set of siblings could end up in these places and circumstances but go with it. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. Nicely written and unlike some authors in this genre, Hammes is empathetic to his characters.

Three grown, estranged siblings living under wildly different circumstances converge at their mother’s home for the Christmas holidays.

Samantha is an exceptional ballet dancer living in Moscow, coping with heroin addiction, Jonah is living alone in the Gabon forest of Africa as a field assistant studying elephants’ communications in their habitat during growing unrest and gory ivory poaching. He is ‘drinking too much and accomplishing very little’. Gaven is an unemployed actor, unlucky in love.

My favorite thread was Jonah’s story which became complex and eye-opening after he gets tangled up with a poaching extortionist thug named Slinky .

Will post to online venues closer to publication.

Three grown siblings are all at a crossroads in both their personal and professional lives. Gavin is an unemployed actor in LA who has just gotten out of a long-term relationship. Samantha is a ballerina who is addicted to opiates. Jonah studies elephants in Africa and has gotten involved with the wrong crowd. They are pulled together during the Christmas holidays while visiting their parents in Chicago. From reading the book synopsis, I thought that more of the book would take place with the three together than it did but that's okay. I really enjoyed reading each POV. I will say that I'm a huge fan of elephant conservation and there were some triggering scenes involving elephants in this novel so beware.
Only criticism of this story is that I felt that it wrapped up a little quickly after all of the build up. I would have liked to have seen an epilogue.
Thanks to NetGalley and Random House Ballantine for an ARC in return for my honest review.

Samantha, Gavin and Jonah are three accomplished siblings. Samantha has the talent and drive of being a ballerina. Jonah has gone to college and has the degrees of his chosen career. He is studying the language of elephants in Africa. Gavin has made his mark as an actor. All seem to be on the road to success. Until life happens. Now all three are forced to he together. Each has a different dilemma they must work through.
Thos book is about siblings. Rivalry between siblings and love and compassion and dedication between siblings. How far would you go to help your siblings?
Great read!

"The architecture of her life began to crumble."

In The Resolutions by Brady Hammes, the architecture of all three siblings lives (Sam, Jonah and Gavin) have begun to crumble. Sam was so full of promise, a talented, skilled ballerina before an injury destroyed her dreams. Salvation came with a Russian dance company northeast of Moscow. Living at “Chàteau Oksana” feels more like a campus, which is exactly what everyone calls it. Meant to dazzle, charm the guests at monthly parties, her life is wearing her down, but nothing more than her old injury and the death of her days dancing with the New York City Ballet when she was only 18. Heroin is an escape from everything that pains her in this place that is a blanket of snow, the perfect place to bury one’s dreams. Isolated though this place may be, such demons can only be tolerated for so long.

Jonah is the intellectual in the family, distanced from his artistic siblings. He feels lonely, ready to attempt to strengthen the bonds. Jonah came to Gabon, Africa to assist his thesis advisor at Vanderbilt, studying the vocalization of forest elephants, planting ARUS (Autonomous Recording Units) to better understand how the animals communicate. It’s important work, but a mountain of pressure when his advisor takes ill, leaving Jonah in the forests of solitude and danger.Just as he is readying himself for a trip home, hoping to connect with his little sister and older brother he falls into an abyss of trouble all because his camera gets stolen. Soon he has the threat of poachers looming over his head, but that is just the beginning. Trouble rises, someone has a plan and he has no choice but to obey. Sometimes it’s the stable, quiet one whose mistakes could cost lives.

Gavin is the actor, but a decent face isn’t always enough to bounce back. Maybe his career was thriving years ago, but now it feels like “making it big”in the industry just isn’t going to happen. What was it all for? His relationship has ended and now, his show. On the horizon there is Marina and a cabin in Taos, but all that glistens isn’t gold. He is too old to feel like he has to start over again, too old to believe his dreams will come true and definitely old enough to know better about… well… everything. Now he is sorely needed at home. Just who needs saving? Maybe they all do.

This novel explores the shifting dynamics within sibling relationships, and how our dreams sometimes have to die to be reborn into something new. The slightest change in our fate can send us hurtling, but what is life but weather? The damage we try to keep close is sometimes best shared with our loved ones, because sometimes they really do have to step in and help steer the wreckage we’ve made of ourselves. Even the perfect, most promising child can trip up. Sometimes saving others saves us too.

Publication Date: May 5, 2020

Random House

Ballantine Books

"The Resolutions" is a readable novel that almost works. First-time author Brady Hammes takes three adult siblings in unusual circumstances and brings them together to save one of their lives. That life does not turn out to be the one that necessarily needs saving, which is what gives this book it's spark.

Sam is a gifted ballerina who jumps at the chance to join a Russian oligarch's private ballet company in Siberia. She hopes to explore new horizons in dance, and to distance herself from her heroin addiction. Jonah is in the bush of Gabon, monitoring elephants. Gavin leaves LA when his series is cancelled to explore a theater opportunity.All three have taken themselves out of their comfort zones to expand their understanding of art or science, and it is all strange and threatening.

As "The Resolutions" comes to a pretty exciting end, I found myself asking "how did these people come up with this awful idea, and how did they pay for it?"

For some reason this novel is being compared to "The Nest," which I do not see at all. If you pick up this book expecting the same kind of thing, you'll be disappointed. Read "The Resolutions" on it's own merits, and you'll be surprised.

Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for the review copy!

~~Candace Siegle, Greedy Reader

Three estranged quirky and somewhat broken, lonely, hurting siblings reunite at their home Chicago to face the demons of their past and test their bonding, working on their resentments.

Resolution is moving, heartbreaking, intense and also emotional story. Mostly Sam’s part affected me the most, made me ache for them. It’s about trust issues, secrets, sadness, dealing with addiction problems, fighting with your own past to overcome the obstacles of your own life, family issues, rebounding, learning to forgive.

Sam, Jonah and Gavin were quirky, unique, flawed characters kept my interest from the beginning. Writing is moving, powerful, heartbreaking and also additional ivory trafficking action packed parts are intriguing.

Overall: I always keen on dysfunctional family dramas and closures. That’s why I enjoyed this book and I keep asking myself why I waited so long to read it.

Special thanks to NetGalley and Random House, Publishing Grouo/Ballantine Books for sharing this remarkable ARC with me in exchange my honest review.

This book was compared to The Nest by Sweeney which I loved. I can see the similarities with the siblings but I didn’t like it as much as The Nest. The three siblings are flawed and real but I didn’t feel much of a connection to any of them. I learned a lot about ivory hunting and the sections describing it were incredibly powerful. The book moved a little slow at times but I did like the resolution (pun intended).
Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group for this advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review!

I recieved an ARC of this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. I loved this book and will recommend it often!

For some reason I couldn’t relate to the 3 siblings at the center of the story. I usually find some character that I can identify with, but these sibs were absurdly distant from my world.

I especially disliked Sam and I find it hard to believe that a ballerina could hide a heron addiction.

So, this book just didn’t work for me.

Thank you Netgalley for the book and the opportunity to read it.

Barabara Kingsolver's THE POISONWOOD BIBLE meets Jonathan's Franzen's THE CORRECTIONS in this strange but addictive tale about three siblings trying to truly know themselves. Beautifully written and believable in spite of the bizarre plot. Definitely one of those books where the reader has no idea what is coming next. I can't wait to see what Hammes comes up with next.

Fascinating tale of 3 siblings living very different lives, each with their own interesting story, and their shared trip to Africa. Samantha is a ballet dancer with a heroin addiction which ousts her from the ballet world. Gavin is a washed-up actor, with broken relationships and no prospects in work or love. Jonah studies elephants in the wild in Africa and gets caught up in an ivory poaching cartel. Their separate lives converge as they return home to Chicago for Christmas, and then venture to Africa for different purposes.

The last quarter of the story becomes violent and criminal, with much action. I did not care for that part, and some seemed implausible. Overall, an entertaining and engrossing read.