Night Music has many of the hallmarks of a gothic novel - big, old house, madness, high emotion, women in distress, and unfortunately, a very slow buildup. There are covetous neighbors, infidelities, secrets, lies, and betrayals.

Isabel is a recent widow with two children. They lived a comfortable life before the accident, with Isabel playing first chair violin in the symphony and a housekeeper/child carer to keep the household running right. After Laurent's death, they discover that he has incurred so much debt, they can't keep the house and lifestyle they have been accustomed to. But a distant relative in the countryside has also passed away and Isabel is the only heir to his estate - acres of land and the Spanish House.

What Isabel doesn't know about the town could fill a book. The dynamics at play had been swirling for years before she arrived to find a dilapidated house with no heat, no bathroom, and her with no money. Relying on the kindness of townsfolk, she agrees to hire Matt McCarthy, neighbor and builder, to do the work, never realizing that Matt and his wife have plans of their own.

The first half of the book was slow-going for me, but once I felt like I knew the characters, the rest of the book flew by. Isabel grows and matures into a strong woman and parent who can stand up for herself and her family. There are twists and reveals and just enough suspense to keep it interesting.

My thanks to Penguin Group and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This is not in fact a new Jojo Moyes book but a rerelease of one of her first books. I was disappointed to see that I have in fact read this years ago. I really enjoy the author and can see that she has made great improvements in her writing structure and general flow. This one, although good, isn't as great as her latest releases. I wish there would have been some sort of notice that this was a rerelease before I requested it. Thanks to Net Galley for the book.

One of my favorites from JoJo Moyes- this is not a period piece, but rather a “location” piece. Rich with interesting, flawed characters, and a huge, dilapidated home that a mother and her two kids are settling into, the novel is fast paced and hard to put down . Moyes’ impeccable, almost sparse writing is addictive, and somehow the everyday lives of people in a small village ends up being a most enjoyable and original book! There was nothing. I didn’t like about this one- time to go back and pick up some of Moyes’ earlier work I haven’t read yet! Night music is short and memorable- loved it!

I was thoroughly disappointed in this book. I was so excited to read this title by Jojo Moyes as I have loved quite a few of her books. The style was very clunky and did not flow smoothly. She introduced new characters frequently and I found it extremely difficult to keep track of who was speaking in certain instances. I received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.

This was just ok for me. I like JoJo Moyes but it just didn’t feel like one of her better books. The characters just didn’t connect with me at all.

Isabel Delancey is grieving the sudden loss of her husband Laurent. She is left financially destitute and unable to support her two children Kitty and Thierry. Coincidentally, Isabel inherits the "Spanish House" from her great-uncle Samuel. The house is large, rundown, and needs much maintenance. Feeling overwhelmed by the renovations, Isabel hires home builder Matt McCarthy to complete the project. Can Isabel fully trust Matt or does he have his own sinister agenda?

I'm a huge Jojo Moyes fan, but sadly "Night Music" felt slightly off key. The book is great, but has many subplots. At times the writing failed to transition smoothly between storylines momentarily leaving me to guess which character I was following.
Overall, I enjoyed "Night Music" and look forward to reading many more bestselling books from Jojo Moyes.

Thank you to PENGUIN GROUP Penguin Books and NetGalley for my free e-book in exchange for my honest review.

I couldn't get into the book at first. The characters and setting were too depressing. But once I got 1/3 into it, I couldn't put it down. The blossoming of the characters, the way that I felt connected to them. I stayed up half the night to finish it and I am glad of it.

Night Music
by Jojo Moyes
Publish date: August 17, 2021
Hodder & Stoughton

Most JoJo Moyes books are just excelllent! For some reason, I don't get the same feeling for this book.
It's just ok in my opinion.
Thanks to Hodder & Stoughton and NetGalley for the ARC.
I'm hoping the next Jojo Moyes book I pick up will be better.

4 star

I've been a long time reader of Jojo Moyes and definitely enjoyed this book. It was a quick read with few surprises. Still not as good as Me Before You but a nice, feel good story.

Joyo Moyes knows how to put a lot of twists and turns into a plot. London-based Isabel Delancey, who has devoted her life to her violin and the Symphonia she plays in, has left the raising of her children to her husband and the nanny. When his sudden death reveals he left more debt than assets, she and her two children are forced to move to rural England and live in a decrepit house she inherited. And into a hornet’s nest she moves. Caretakers for the old man living their until his death assumed they would inherit it. Matt McCarthy had dreamed of the day he could remodel it for his family. He offers to make renovations, but in reality, he’s trying to get Isabel to give up and return to London. Both her son and her daughter have grown to love living “rough” without even finished bathroom. When Isobel wises up to what is happening, its too late to save the house. I enjoyed this book with some reservations about the ending. It seemed to me like there was a publishing deadline and the bits and pieces needed to be tied together.

Night Music failed to hit the right note for me. It follows the story of Isabel Delancey as she tries to navigate her new world as a single widowed mother who has just inherited a pile of rocks she's supposed to make into a home.

The premise is incredibly interesting, and I always love to take a peek at English village life. However, this book just did not get off the ground. The story seemed to plod along and didn't really ever pick up enough pace to spark an interest. Also, I found Isabel a completely unsympathetic character. It was incredibly hard to feel any empathy for her because she was just so hard to like, and I found myself wanting to shake her out of her stupor. I am usually a fan of JoJo Moyes, but this was not her best effort.

I am a huge fan of Jojo Moyes books and this one does not disappoint!!!!!! I love her signature style of how she makes her characters so likable and relatable. It totally makes you fall for them in ways you wish you actually knew them. I highly recommend this book.

'Night Music' is a story about 'The Spanish House' - recently inherited by newly widowed Isabel and her two children. The last place they want to be is in an almost derelict house in a close-knit country village. Isabel is a successful violinist who doesn't get her hands dirty, her daughter Kitty is a sensible 15 year old who misses her friends and son Thierry has not spoken since his father was killed in a road accident a year ago.

The family have to get to grips with country living, with having no money, no water, no bathroom and no fridge. They also have to cope with Matt McCarthy - the local builder who was convinced that The Spanish House would be left to him and his wife Laura.

This is a great story of loss, bereavement and obsession. It has quite sinister undertones in places and the character of Matt is especially well created - starting out as the local friendly builder and gradually getting darker and more threatening as the story evolves.

So glad that this wonderful book is now being published in the States! I have loved all of JoJo Moyes's books, and this one is just as good as the others. Once I started reading it, I didn't want to stop. I look forward to recommending it to our library patrons!

I am a huge Jojo Moyes fan and this book brought me what I love about her stories- unforgettable and unique characters in a compelling story that I happily get lost into during the duration of the read. This book is about grief, greed, hope and healing. Isabel, a classically trained, genius violinist who is not used to dealing with the realities of life, finds herself all of a sudden dealing with these realities and immense grief when she loses her husband unexpectedly. As she struggles to be strong for her two children and face a mountain of bills, she unexpectedly finds out that she has inherited a house from an uncle and decides to move her two children to live in this new town and house. As a reader- we know the bigger picture of the town and the house and watch as she comes into a situation so much bigger and complicated than she could have imagined. I love when a book’s setting becomes a part of the story; it reminds me of books I read in my British Lit course in college. In this book, the house becomes a major part of this story, bringing out the best and worst in some of the characters, and the land that it sits on brings comfort for healing for others. The characters are unique and layered - the good ones are gold, and the bad ones leave no question for the reader that we are not rooting for them! Moyes writes about grief so well. I appreciate her delicacy and realistic portrayal of what it means to lose someone- both women in the book experience loss, and Moyes gives time and space to their grief. I recommend this book to all who love layered stories with rich characters. It would be a good book club read.

A beautiful story of a home remodeling job gone bad- really bad. It is also a tale of love and community, grief, healing and greed. The characters in this story are so well developed that I found myself hurting for them when bad things happen and cheering when they overcome the bad.

3.5
This is an interesting, dramatic family story that revolves around an old and beautiful house. I enjoyed the characters and drama of this book although there is some melodrama to it. The novel has the feeling of an old and mysterious romance novel like Rebecca. It handles greed, grief, love, betrayal and parenting. The house is like a character as well - drawing people in and leading them to act in unexpected ways. While this may not be one of Moyes best works, it is a very entertaining and enjoyable read.

An early book of Jojo Moyes, being released in the US. It starts off a little slow, but it's worth sticking with, in my opinion. Isabel's husband has accidentally died. She can no longer function, and her daughter, Kitty, has basically been keeping their family held together. However, they can no longer live the way they were used to, since it turns out her husband had put them into debt. It's then that they found out a distant relative has left them a house. A house a neighbor had assumed they would inherit. The house was once beautiful, but now it's completely in disarray. The neighbor (who is a contractor) sets about trying to run them out of the house, by running up a number of bills while pretending to fix the house up.

I really enjoyed this book, but could tell that it was an earlier novel of hers. It was still well written and the plot flowed well, but I found that I wasn't as engaged in the story as I have been in some of her previous books.

Was this another reissue of an earlier Jojo Moyes title? I think this was a reread for me...but finished it anyway. Thank you to netgalley for the complimentary ebook copy.