My first book by this author, I quite enjoyed it. A tale of three strong-willed women faced with choices that will change the direction of their lives. Gloria Rose is a retired flight attendant who has become an Instagram influencer, showing the world that being in your seventies doesn't mean you are done living. But when her former lover has been arrested for art forgery, Gloria is worried that her involvement decades earlier will come to light and she will lose the life she loves. Unable to face the possibility of jail, she plans to run, but can she leave the nieces she has cared for since her sister died 25 years ago? Willow is a talented musician who has returned to NYC to live with her aunt after her first album has flopped and her boyfriend has unceremoniously thrown her out of his home. Willow's sister, Sam, is a prodigy game designer with abandonment and anger management issues that are sending her life spiraling. Each is so focused on independence and success that they risk losing out on the happiness that life has to offer them. Well written with layered, engaging characters and a smooth-flowing plot.

A book that is fun and easy to read. Such a unique story. A story of hopes, dreams, love of family and friends. A book that has love so deep that music fills the air.

"Write My Name Across the Sky" is a very good book. It's a tale of how one takes care of loved ones no matter what. A tale about how helping others with a shady business until it's caught.

Read this book and listen to the hopes and dreams, love and lost.

I liked the book’s description. I liked the setting in New York City. However, I just couldn’t get invested in the story. I couldn’t connect woth the story nor any of the characters. This one was not for me.

Write My Name Across the Sky follows three characters, Sam, Gloria and Willow. Willow and Sam are the daughters of late musician Billie, who died of a drug overdose when they were children. Gloria, Billies sister, swoops in to care for the girls in a beautiful apartment in Manhattan.

We follow the three characters as they each struggle with their pasts and present. Willow is trying to create music, Sam is trying to revive her gaming company and Gloria looks back at a past love and the art he created that is possibly forged and/or stolen.

While I read this quickly it wasn’t my favorite type of style of writing or story. I liked the characters enough but I wasn’t blown away. I think it’s maybe just a style preference but the story itself is compelling and I like the female driven narratives.

3.5 stars.

Thanks to #netgalley for the opportunity to review this book.

Told from three perspectives, Write My Name Across the Sky by Barbara O'Neal is an interesting look at family, individual actions, and how it now affects their lives. Two generations of women who have close bonds, aunt and the nieces that she raised are all at a crisis turning point in their lives. A family drama with a strong emphasis on the individual women’s emotions, strengths, and weaknesses.

While she is long passed the younger women’s mother, Billie Thorne plays a large role in this story from her career to her apartment to her role in her daughter’s lives when they were young. Gloria Rose the aunt is the most interesting of the three women. I found her lives to be fascinating. While she does not seem like the wounded love soul that her nieces do, she is still at a major crossroads in her life. Willow is as her name implies but her roots are holding even in the storm of non-success in the music world. Sam (Samantha) was the hardest for me to like, she hides her hurts, anxiety, and loneliness behind sarcasm and criticism. I’m sure that this was the author’s intention.

Overall an interesting if not inspiring story. Realistic and yet fiction too, great fiction at that.

An ARC of the book was provided by the publisher through NetGalley which I voluntarily chose to read and reviewed. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

This book seems quite a bit different that anything else I've read by Barbara O'Neal, but it is just as captivating and the way in which she puts her words together is just as lovely. Her writing style really is a bar higher than that of most authors. I feel like I've normally been transported to different countries by most of her books and this one was more of a transportation to another time in the older character's life.

The plot is different from anything else I've ever read. Gloria is a 70 year old Instagram influencer who did some things in her younger years that could very possibly land her in jail now. She quit the life she had to raise her two nieces after her famous sister died.

Willow and Sam have always had issues, but they will come front and center as the story plays out. Each character is engaging (even if frustrating at times) and the play between them makes for some interesting family dynamics. Willow has her late mother's musical talent and (according to Sam) everything handed to her, while Sam has gone a totally different direction. She is a video game designer who is currently on the outs with her childhood friend and partner. Her business and relationships are all in danger of sputtering out. Only when things get really dangerous for her, does she discover that she needs to let those around her get close enough to love her.

I really loved everything about this book. O'Neal is a master at painting characters and settings and imprinting them on you so that you savor them long after you close the book.

I was gifted a copy of this book via Lake Union Publishing and NetGalley. All thoughts are my own.

Set over a period of several days, Gloria and her nieces Willow and Sam tell the story of the problems they are facing and find, as you might expect, that they are stronger together. Gloria, now in her 70s, is facing possible criminal charges for her involvement in an art heist, raised Willow and Sam after the death of their mother. Willow's last album didn't do well, she feels the shadow of her mother over her shoulder, and her love life is in the tank. Sam's video gaming company is at a crossroads and she's unhappy in more ways than one. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. It's a good read with three unique characters.

Seventy year old Gloria Rose lives in an Upper West side apartment. She finds out that an old boyfriend has been arrested for theft. Willow is a singer songwriter whose life is a mess, they both need to figure out their futures.

Write My Name Across The Sky
Barbara O’Neal
August 10, 2021

Gloria settles herself in her greenhouse putting together a photo shoot for her instagram site. Per usual her tv is on keeping her up to date on news. As always a cup of coffee is at her reach. Pulling it all together she hears a story about the arrest of an old friend on the national news. Halting her photo shoot she is drawn to the announcer’s voice, then hearing Issak Margolis’s name. It has been years since they were together. Years since their art dealings. He was an up and coming painter, so talented. She was a flight attendant. Her international travels lead to their meeting. Together they made a fortune selling artwork to financiers. He would paint the reproduction, she would arrange the delivery. Some of the pieces were authentic. One or the other had found it in their travels. Now as Gloria sits on her stool among her plants she thinks of her life, living in her sister Billie’s apartment. The girls have made a life for themselves. Samantha, a video game programmer, started her own company and lives nearby in New York City. Since her mother’s death, visits have been infrequent. Willow is in LA, just put out her first album recently. She texted not long ago, she would be moving back to the penthouse soon. Plans would need to be made. How could she find out how close the FBI is to finding her. How could she leave the girls? The apartment with her kitties and all of her plants? Her daily feed on insta? Perhaps since it has been so long and she is now 74 no one will know, no one will remember. It’s a risk, time to meet at the Russian Tea Room.
O’Neal’s latest gem, Write My Name Across the Sky is an incredible story of the lives of three women. Gloria Rose, sister to Billie, the girl's mother; Sam and Willow who came to live with Auntie G. when Billie passed. This is a fabulous story written by the talented Barbara O’Neal. She blends the background and its descriptions vibrantly so that we can visualize who she features in each chapter, where they are and what is happening around them. Reading in the silence of the night I am certain that I can sometimes hear Willow’s music as I read. Write My Name Across the Sky will be published by Lake Union Publishing on August 10. 2021. I appreciate their allowing me to read and review this superb novel by Barbara O’Neal. I started reading her novels several years ago and look forward to her latest publishing. If you have not read her books, this is one not to miss; such a phenomenal narrative. By all means enjoy!

I love the title, and, having never read anything by this author before, I was super excited to read this.

Here's the spoiler-free premise: Gloria is a 74-year-old Instagram influencer. She's also a former stewardess who smuggled stolen and forged art with her one great love Isaak before moving back to New York to care for her rock star sister's daughter following their mother's death by drug overdose. Sam is the older of Gloria's nieces who created a very successful video game, but has recently found her company in trouble. She's also got some personal troubles after a falling-out with her best friend and co-creator Asher. And finally, Willow is Sam's younger sister, conceived when their mother cheats on Sam's father. Willow is also a musician, but her album didn't do as well as she thought it would. Neither did her boyfriend, who kicked her out of his LA apartment. When Isaak is arrested, Willow returns to New York thinking she will be house-sitting while Gloria goes on a trip. However, Sam falls deathly ill, Gloria's worry intensifies, and Willow is trying to get her career back on track. They'll all have to make some hard decisions and face the consequences, both personally and professionally.

This book was ever so slightly more than "just okay" for me. But let me start with what I liked. Mainly, I liked that each chapter focused on one of the three women and is written from her perspective. This is obviously a character-driven novel (not necessarily my favorite kind) so we really get to know these characters well -- their thoughts, feelings, memories, hopes, desires, and essentially their personalities. I also liked the characters themselves: Gloria is spunky and wise, Willow is sweet but strong, and Sam is smart and independent. That's not to say that they are without flaws or issues (especially Sam who can be very mean) but they're good people at heart. I also liked Asher and Josiah -- I felt they were great complements to Sam and Willow respectively -- but even Jared and Brittney who are almost not even in the story were enjoyable characters.

I thought the writing was beautiful, but honestly the story-line was just too slow for my personal taste. Considering all that's going on in the story -- FBI pursuit of septuagenarian art thieves, passionate music making that might lead to a passionate romance, and a will-they-or-won't-they between former best friends -- I expected this book to be a bit more explosive. It picks up around 60% but doesn't really take off until about 75% before finally blowing up right around the 90% mark. It also ends rather conveniently, but I didn't mind that part; in fact, I'm actually glad I persevered to get to it. (After all that build up, I needed to know what happened with these people!)

I think you will enjoy this if you generally like O'Neal's books or slower, character-based novels. And even if you don't, you still might enjoy the relationship dynamics between these three women and seeing what they learn about themselves and each other.

Totally enjoyed this story of Sam, Gloria, and Willow as they each face life changes. The actions of the past combine with today's challenges to highlight how each person has been affected by their own choices and the absence of Billie Thorne in their life. I really enjoyed Sam's humanity and her journey to seeing how she's been impacted and the need to change if she's to have the life she wants.
The author makes the tale very readable with an extra layer of depth underneath.

I loved this well-written, incredibly vivid book. It was so descriptive of all the senses, I felt like I could have been there. The familial and romantic relationships, the food, the garden, the paintings, the locations, all if it drew me in and made me wish I could both read it faster to find out what happened and have it never end so I could continue enjoying it. This was a fantastic book and I can't wait to see what the author writes next. Barbara O'Neal is a must-read author for me.

Gloria, a seventy-something, is an aunt and an influencer and living in a great apartment in New York City until events of her past make it into the news and she feels as though her whole life is threatened. She has asked one of her nieces to come home, Willow, who is between gigs and is ready to flee Los Angeles and regroup in New York City surrounded by family. Sam is her older half sister and she is having issues of her own as her gaming company has flatlined without a release that created any buzz and is in jeopardy to lose it all.

Each of these three women take turns narrating chapters and moving the story along and I always love when main characters split duty and get the chance to tell their side of the story, make the whole book feel more full as you see similar events through multiple eyes.

While each of these women had something going on in their lives, it never felt as though one or the other was over the top and anywhere near soap worthy! While their issues may be out of my realm of issues, they never felt as though they couldn't happen to these women at the same time and ridiculous even for fiction.

I loved that a large portion of this book focused on the sister relationship and while they were romance storylines for each woman, the family stories took the focus and were the true journey of the book. Don't get me wrong, I love a good romance, but it is fun to read a book that centers around another personal relationship in one's life.

I was a fan of Barbara O'Neal before picking this one up and will anticipate what she has coming next!

An intimate portrait of three women, grappling with their pasts and unsure about their futures. Add to that complicated family dynamics, fierce devotion, and sibling rivalry. It’s pretty much everything you expect of a family- both real and fictional.

The three points of view alternate to tell this story. Each woman is skillfully created and utterly unique. I adored Gloria, a vibrant woman in her 70s. Her devotion to life and to taking care of Willow and Sam are equally becoming. Willow is a breath of fresh air. She’s absolutely nothing like me…I’m not artistic or a master chef. But she made me want to be, especially with how she uses those gifts to nurture the people she loves. And then there’s Sam. Acerbic and prickly. Full of jealousy and anger. Sam was not my favorite. But I did enjoy watching her evolution.

Overall, this is an easy and enjoyable summer read. Throw this one in your pool bag.

Thank you Barbara O’Neal, Lake Union Publishing, and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review an advanced copy of this book.

This is my second book by this author and at first I do like the relationships in the book but this authors style of writing is just a little too slow paced for me. I do think fans of Womens fiction will enjoy this book though.

This novel tells the story of sisters Willow and Sam and their Aunt Gloria, the surviving family of a famous singer, Billie Thorne, who died young - one of Billie's most famous songs had been "Write my Name Across the Sky," which is where the title comes from. Willow is a talented musician like her deceased mother but her first album tanked while Sam owns a video game company that is in trouble. Gloria, who stepped in to raise the girls after their mother died, is in the midst of some legal problems based on poor choices made years ago. Sam struggles with her abandonment issues and realizing that she is in love with her best friend, Asher. The story, presented in chapters told from the points of view of Willow, Sam, and Gloria, is skillfully woven by the author. These three strong women all make choices that define their lives and they grow through the story, which has a satisfying ending. Highly recommend! Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC of this novel in exchange for an honest review.

A gorgeous story of 3 very different women. I was so excited about the advanced copy of this book, as I loved When We Remembered Mermaids. O’Neal has a real talent for creating deep, interesting, strong female characters. I felt like I knew Sam, Willow and G. Highly recommend!!

The characters - the NYC pre-war apartment filled to overflowing with art, music, memories, and life! - the secondary characters...I fell in love! Love, serious love!

Gloria, such a wonderfully drawn, rich, multi-layered character. A former stewardess, world traveler, and one of the original free-thinking, before her time feminists. I so wanted to have some of Gloria's experiences and just download her memories into mine! She lived such a full life and had beautiful memories of Isaak and to be honest, don't we all wish we had a love like that?

The sisters were such direct opposites that it was great to watch their relationship grow and settle into something more.

There is just so much to love about this book and that makes it tough to write a review because spoilers would be so easy to let slip...but I will say that I enjoyed these ladies so very much that I would love to have them as friends.

This novel is an immersive experience that touched my heart and my senses in many ways. I have really liked all of Barbara O'Neal's work, but I do believe with Write My Name Across the Sky she has moved to another level. I can't recommend this book highly enough. Do yourself a favor and give it a shot.

Thank you to Netgalley, the author, and publisher for allowing at ARC at my request. All thoughts are my own and happily shared.

I suppose I’m prejudiced, because I have loved everything by Barbara O’Neal that I have ever read. This is not exception! I am in awe of her ability, not only to imagine a storyline and the characters to support, but also to do the enormous research that makes a novel like Write My Name Across the Sky come alive with detail and veracity. Did I know it would turn out okay? Yes, I did. But it was so much fun getting there. I was drawn into that magnificent apartment in New York City where most of the action takes place. I felt I knew Willow, Sam and Gloria. I felt I knew Asher and Izaak and Josiah. That actually makes it hard to finish a novel, because you don’t want to say goodbye. But honestly, I can’t wait to find out what O’Neal writes next.

Sam is a struggling video game developer, her first game she made with her best friend Asher was a huge hit but her last game was a major flop. Willow (Sam’s sister) is a budding violinist, trying to fill the shoes of her Rock Star Mother Billie Thorne who died of a drug overdose. Willow moved back to New York from LA in the hopes of growing her music career. Gloria (Sam and Willows Aunt) is Instagram famous, and in the middle of an art forgery scandal. When their struggles bring the women back together they are forced to face their past traumas, ruined relationships l, and find forgiveness for each other.

I felt like each of these characters were well developed and enjoyed reading my first novel by (Barbara O’Neal). This story was told from the different perspective of each character and I quite enjoyed seeing how each of their pasts affected their current relationships, and how they each grew to face their current problems.

Pub date on this is Aug 10, 2021. Thank you @netgalley and (lake union publishing) for an advanced ebook in exchange for an honest review.