Gloria thinks she has made a good and peaceful life for herself until the FBI starts nosing around. Her nieces Sam and Willow seen to have charmed lives also. But the past and poor decisions are always luring in the shadows. Write My Name Across the Sky is a family drama with a little suspense thrown in. I truly enjoyed this book. Thanks to the author Barbara O'Neal, publisher Lake Union Publishing, and NetGalley for providing a copy of this book for an honest review.

Barbara O’Neal never fails to engage me with her emotional standalones, populated with unique characters.

Sisters Sam (40) and Willow (35) have never gotten along, mostly due to Sam’s poor treatment of her younger half-sister. Maybe that’s because their mother, troubled rock star Billie, cheated on Sam’s father while on tour and Willow was the result, leading Sam’s father to abandon the family. Or perhaps it’s because Sam feels everything in life has come more easily to Willow.

Actually, nothing could be further from the truth. A talented violinist, composer and folk singer, Willow was discouraged by the poor response to her first album, and financial problems are leading her to consider less artistic work. At the same time, videogame designer Sam’s company has fallen on hard times, with her most recent release garnering little interest from the public. And their Aunt Gloria, a 70ish, well-to-do lifestyle blogger and former flight attendant, fears she may be in trouble with the law when her former lover is jailed for art theft and forgery. Willow has come to live with her to save money on rent, and Sam, who lives nearby in her own apartment, suddenly faces health issues and the unexpected reappearance of two men who had been major players in her former life.

At times, O’Neal’s prose is downright lyrical, and she excels at expressing emotions while telling a compelling story.

My thanks to NetGalley and Lake Union Publishing for the opportunity to read and review this book.

When I first began reading this book, it took several chapters to understand how all of the characters related to each other. At first I though Gloria was the mother of one of the other characters. Once I got on track, I started to enjoy the story. By the time I was about a third into the story, I started to get involved with the characters and root for all of them in different ways. Even though initially I thought the character development was a bit slow and hard to follow, I ended up really understanding all of the main characters and their different perspectives on their shared past with the Billie Thorne character. I am a reader who loves a happy ending, so I was glad that all 4 of the main characters resolved their struggles and came out on the right side of things at the end.

Do you ever read a book as far as 50% realizing it’s not for you and you don’t connect to any of the characters or the story line? And wonder if you are reading the same book as everyone else did who gave it 4-5 stars? This one is it for me. I tried SEVERAL times to start over and it just didn’t keep me interested enough to finish it. You may love it! Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this early release in exchange for my honest review.

Write My Name Across the Sky is a riveting tale of three women, their journeys and their crises.

Gloria Rose, a popular influencer with scores of Instagram followers, feels her life taking a turn when an ex flame is arrested for art theft and forgery. Given that Gloria was involved in his misdeeds, she decides to flee!

This decision of hers is thrown in doldrums because of her nieces Willow and Sam. Willow, overshadowed by her finger-songwriter mother, needs to cope with a failed album and an unsuccessful relationship. Sam, fiercely independent, is on the verge of losing her gaming company and the man she loves as she can’t keep her anger in check.

With the FBI closing in, each of the three have to deal with their intertwined lives, traumas and the imminent consequences.

This is my first book of the author and I enjoyed the way she has sketched the relationships. Human stories are always relatable and help put our own lives in perspective. The language flows easily and is not verbose. It was interesting to find protagonists of different ages. They were made more authentic as each had shades of grey. The setting of New York City was well described.

Thank you Barbara O’ Neal, Lake Union Publishing and Net Galley for making a digital e-arc available. Opinions expressed are mine.

The book releases on August 10th and I wish it much success.

A brilliant book, I loved reading about the multi generational girls who has their own problems in life brought on by their ambitions and success, insecurities and fear. Everything seemed real to me.

I was quickly pulled into their story, as their hopes and dreams called to me. I loved that the first book by this author was so captivating. A lot of emotions were seeped into the words which showed the power of the author's writing. I liked how the subplots were merged together seamlessly.

This book kept me hooked the whole afternoon in its pages with complex characters, emotional scenes, and engaging prose. Simply beautiful.

Barbara O’Neal has not disappointed with this book! From the moment you meet Gloria, Sam, and Willow, you are drawn into an epic story of a family with its share of heartbreak. From the troubles that Gloria faces from an adventurous past, Willow’s struggles with her music, and Sam’s emotional challenges, this a page turner from beginning to end. You will not be able to put this book down until you reach the last page! Even then, you will long for more about these three remarkable women.

Write my Name Across the Sky is a great story of the interconnectedness of a multi-generational family of talented, ambitious and strong women. I loved reading the hopes, aspirations, failures, regrets and successes of three very different women who were yet so similar.

I appreciate that one of the main characters is in her 70s. Her dreams, fears and desires are not diminished by age. Women everywhere, at least once they reach a certain age, know this, but rarely do we see it reflected in literature.

The story intertwined creativity, talent and genius with insecurity, addiction and abandonment. Past choices (some poor choices) and setbacks merge to simultaneously bring the three main characters to a critical point in their lives. Strength is not always easy and success is a journey.

Barbara O'Neal portrays relationships among women so well. These characters are complex and emotionally full bodied. They approach life with a brave gusto that I envy. I thoroughly enjoyed their story.

Barbara O'Neal has an incredible ability to write family sagas that you immediately get engrossed with. I have loved all of her novels thus far, but Write My Name Across the Sky has been her best yet!

You have sisters that share a famous mother but have different fathers and their aunt who raised them for most of their lives. One sister, Sam, is smart and tech savvy making video games but finds herself falling on hard times. The younger sister, Willow, is much like her folksy singing mother, has also been having and finds herself moving back to New York to start over. Their aunt, Gloria, has a past that is catching up to haunt her, finding herself being questioned by the FBI. All of these women will experience several obstacles along the way that will threaten to unravel their relationships with friends and each other.

O'Neal excellently tells each of these women's stories so that you are both cheering for them and getting angry at them! She grips your emotions and takes you on a rollercoaster ride. I highly recommend this book, as well as all her others. You will not be disappointed.

I received this complimentary book, and the opinions expressed in this review are my own.

Oh how I loved this book. I can’t remember the last time I was so caught up in a story and I adored being caught up in this one. I loved the characters, the suspense and the drama of all of these intriguing women. It was an absolute pleasure to spend time in the pages of this book.

I highly recommend this book to lovers of beautifully written characters and settings. I will remember and cherish my time in this book for many years to come.

//REVIEW// *ARC provided by @netgalley in exchange for my honest review.*

Write My Name Across the Sky

// ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️

What can I say but I absolutely loved this book. It was a quick, fun and engaging read. It is filled with mystery and intrigue, love and relationships, and growth. It follows two generations of women, one a 70-something influencer - Gloria - and retired flight attendant and her two nieces - Willow and Sam - who she raised after her rock star sister died of an over dose.

Perfect for fans of Barbara O'Neal's When We Believed in Mermaids and Taylor Jenkins Reid's Malibu Rising and Daisy Jones and the Six.

A moving piece of women's fiction that is a quick read. Told seamlessly through 3 POV, the characters are well developed and engaging. This is a story that's easy to get drawn into and difficult to put down.

I've been a fan of Barbara O'Neal since I read When We Were Mermaids, so when I saw this come up, I knew I had to read it! I was not disappointed at all. I love the way Barbara writes and it is definitely a page turner for sure! I highly recommend this book to everyone!

What a page turner. I devoured this book!
Gloria is a 70 year old retired TWA flight attendant who was involved with what appears to be an art forger and art thief. Many years later he is arrested and she receives a call telling her “ it’s time to run”!
She has been raising her nieces, now all grown up , since her rock
star sister passed.
Willow and Samantha are complete opposites and don’t really get along, Willow is following in her mother’s footsteps but without the fame... yet ...and Samantha owns her own gaming company which is on the brink of failure.
This wonderfully written book is told from 3 perspectives, Gloria, Willow’s and Sam’s.
This book is written so beautifully, and these people became so engrained into my heart, I laughed, I cried, I screamed and loved them all through their successes and flaws.
An absolute must read!!!!
A huge thank you to NetGalley, Lake Union Publishing and Barbara O'Neal for an ARC in exchange for my honest review .

Another beautiful book that was easy and lovely to read. I was IN NYC up on that rooftop cheering for the family. Beautiful Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher!

Swinging For The Fence... But Not Quite Putting It Over. This was another of O'Neal's works over the last few years where she is very clearly swinging for the fence in attempting to write a masterpiece that will leave you breathless - which she nailed in 2019's When We Believed In Mermaids - that doesn't quite make it over. Ultimately this is a solid double/ stretch triple - powerful and great, but also very clearly not quite what she was hoping for. And honestly, most of that has to do with the ending and particularly the flash-forward epilogue. As at least one other review has mentioned, this could have been better with another hundred pages or so to flesh out that particular area, or perhaps (my own suggestion here) as a duology wherein the resolutions to the varying plot threads are set up, and then executed (with complications, of course) in the second book. Still, truly a solid and compelling read that hooks you in early and makes you want to read all the way through. Very much recommended.

I am a huge fan of the author and have read all of her books. This one is as wonderful as expected. Three women, three unique voices, three fantastic stories. Drawn in from the first page. Art heist? Sign me up.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing a digital copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. Gloria, Sam and Willow are a band of artists in their own right and a tight family unit that rely on each other when the tough gets going. Aunt Gloria is a retired stewardess turned Instagram influencer; nieces Sam, a gaming whiz and Willow, a musician following in the footsteps of their famous deceased mother. All are navigating their own personal dramas when Willow returns home after her album flops, Sam gets unexpectedly sick forcing her to slow down and evaluate her life, while Gloria finds herself in a predicament with a long lost love after he is arrested for art theft and forgery. Each woman's story is filled with love, loss, regret and due to their fierce independence, must rely on each other for support and come to terms with the consequences of their actions.
There is so much more to these characters than the initial plot. I enjoyed reading about their individual stories and thought the author did a good job giving each some depth. Sprinkled with a little mystery and romance, I couldn't read fast enough to find out how the story would end!

As a longtime fan of Barbara O’Neal, I was ecstatic to get an advanced copy of her next novel, Write My Name Across the Sky. Like all of her novels, this one just swept me off my feet. The characters, the setting, the plot– it all combines into a truly an un-put-down-able book that pulls you in and doesn’t let go until you’ve read the last word, and even then you may be tempted to immediately reread it. I always rate my books on how likely I am to want to reread, and this one is a five star, for sure, can’t wait to delve back into their world kind of book.

Gloria, Willow, and Sam are an unconventional family. A flight attendant during the 70s, Gloria rushed home to care for her nieces Sam and Willow when their rock-star mother suddenly died. Now Gloria’s in her mid-seventies, living a full and beautiful life as an influencer and showing the world that age doesn’t limit joy, when she discovers her beloved lover from her past has been arrested. Prickling with fear over her role in his misdeeds, she calls Willow home from California. Willow comes under the guise of house-sitting, but truly needs a place to recover from a failed relationship and a flop of her debut album. Once a prodigy, Willow fears she’ll never outgrow the shadow of her mother’s fame. Sam, a fiercely independent video game developer, is fighting off sharks as her company flounders. As the three women reunite, old tensions flare and all three are forced to face their past and confront their future.

Why is it the books we love the most are the hardest to review? This novel absolutely ensconced me, wrapping me up with its characters, plot, and setting. It had me dreaming of rooftop gardens and far off places while yearning for my own roots.

One of the themes often found in O’Neal’s books, and a primary reason I return to them again and again, is the variety of her characters. Her novels feature protagonists of all ages and stages, side characters so fully fleshed you expect to bump into them on the street and recognize them. I love how Gloria knew what she wanted, a life without children and marriage, and didn’t apologize for it despite the unforgiving expectations of her time. Sam is a woman in a male dominated industry, familiar with the way female gamers are treated and doing something to change it. Willow falters with her own self-worth after an album flops, yet continues to return to the music that fills her and explore how she can follow her heart for music.

Sam’s fierce independence and Willow’s genuine authenticity bump up against each other, different sides of the same coin. All of the characters are truly a study in how trauma can impact lives in different ways, leaving a lasting impression that can continually influence behaviors.

Each character struggles with their own flaws and imperfections, a roiling process that isn’t fixable in any linear way. As the narration alternates between Gloria, Willow, and Sam, the reader is offered insight into their actions and behaviors, given their motivations, and develops an intrinsic understanding for each of them.

I love how each of their passions- gardening and art for Gloria, game design for Sam, and music for Willow- provides insight into their characters. These passions shape how they view the world, and both help them understand and be understanding. Their different ways of coping with grief and its everlasting imprint is insightful and thought provoking.

The New York setting is practically a character unto itself, as is each of the cities Gloria discusses in her flashbacks to her flight attendant days. Where we are can have such a deep influence on who we become, and Gloria exemplifies this. New York City is neither the glossy version nor the gritty side of itself often found in books and on screens, but rather simply presented as home. It is the place where their memories are, where they’ve found important people and experienced the things that shape them. It’s their anchor, their home beacon, and its the place that has the gravitational pull of home.

Write My Name Across the Sky will be available on August 10, 2021 from Lake Union Publishing. Thank you to Barbara O’Neal, Lake Union, and Net Galley for an advanced copy such that I could write this review.

This book is told by three different people. It took me a few chapters to keep everyone straight. Willow and Sam are sisters who each have their own niche but are currently a bit lost. Their Aunt Gloria has her own problems to sort out. It was a good story,more than half way through it really picked and become a page turner.
I enjoyed the story. Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for the early copy