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

I thoroughly enjoyed this novel by one of my favorite authors. Write My Name Across the Sky is a story of two very different sisters and the aunt that raised them after their rock star mother died of an overdose. Told through three points of view, we get to know Gloria, a 70 something influencer whose actions in her youth have come back to haunt her, Sam, a video game designer on the brink of losing her business and Willow, a talented musician still trying to make it big. Each woman is facing their own challenges. The author develops the characters wonderfully and I found them to be realistic and relatable even if not all likable. Set in New York City , the novel pulled me in from the beginning and didn’t let go. I would highly recommend Write My Name Across the Sky to anyone looking for a beautifully written novel about strong, imperfect women and what it means to be family.

Another good book by this author, with a range of quirky strong willed characters that you can’t help but love in all of their imperfections and passions. While the plot was interesting and unique, the true story was in the relationships between sisters, their aunt, and those within their circles.

Barbara O'Neill does not disappoint. This story of family, love and secrets leads you into a world of international flying, musical stardom and the competitive world of computer gaming. All of which colors the lives of the three heroines.. The story travels from past to present as seamlessly as turning the page. Gloria is portrayed as a world traveling stewardess with a dark secret she hoped to keep hidden. When their mother succumbs to her music lifestyle Gloria becomes the unlikely Guardian of her two nieces, Willow and Samantha. One a promising musician like her mom and one a computer game geek. Barbara deftly weaves a "can't put it down" story as the three struggle struggle to live their chosen lives within the family. There is love, there is strife but best of all there are lessons to be learned. Definitely worth reading.

I was lucky enough to receive an advanced copy of Barbara O'Neal's newest book and I was like a kid on Christmas morning excited! I loved every second of this book, within the first few pages I was already hooked and wanting to know more about all the main characters! The way Barbara is able to describe the characters, the setting, different occupations in each of her books is like nothing I've experienced before. I am able to feel like I am in the story, every detail feels so vivid and rich. I loved each character, and as always with Barbara's books I loved how the multiple characters all intertwined together so perfectly.

I am so thankful to my mom who sent me a copy of "When We Believed in Mermaids" last year knowing I would love it just as much as she did, and introducing me to Barbara. Including this new book I've now read five of Barbara's books with two more on my shelf! I have never regretted a single minute I've spent on one of her books, and as a busy mama of four kids ages 8 & under my time is limited and precious. Time spent curled up with a blanket on the couch when my house is finally quiet with a Barbara O'Neal book in hand is my most favorite way to unwind at night!

This may be my favorite Barbara O’Neal book. As in her previous books, I admire O’Neal’s ability to set scenes and deliver beautifully developed characters, using “regular” words. No long, flowery, over-wrought descriptions, yet the settings, people, scents and tastes are easy to experience. More than any of her other books, I felt as though the characters were aware of their surroundings, and the impact of their emotions and health, and that awareness was shared with the reader.

Frankly, I can’t describe why or how I loved this book - I just did. It was an experience.

Gloria Rose, an Instagram influencer, stepped in to raise her two nieces when her very famous rock start sister passed away. Sam (Samantha), the older sister who creates video games, has recently split from her long-time business partner and best friend. Willow is the youngest child who followed in her mother’s footsteps to become a musician, only to have mediocre success and failed relationships. She returns to New York at Gloria's request. Gloria is in trouble.

As this story unfolds, each of these women faces challenges and learns things about themselves and each other. Rich in detail (you’ll feel like you're in each moment with these characters) and AMAZING descriptions, I couldn’t put it down. O’Neal weaves a magical world you’ll want to continue to explore. Even the secondary characters are interesting and intriguing. I hope you enjoy reading this as much as I did!

Having read and enjoyed most of O'Neal's books I think this is the best one yet! Our characters are a pair of sisters , in their thirties, who cannot seem to get along, but are they both at fault or is it only one of them? Their family also includes their seventy-ish aunt who raised them from a young age. When the book begins each of the women are in the midst of a personal crisis and no one wants to ask for help or the love they need.

My only somewhat negative reaction is all of the talk about coding, but it is never explained which means to me it is probably very complicated, but still I wish I knew a little bit more.

Loved the relationship between the sisters and aunt and significant others. A charming read! Utterly unputdownable, read this brilliant book in 2 sittings, and that's only because I made the error of starting it before I went to bed. Had I not been tired, I would have read it front to back in one go. Another fabulous read from Barbara O’Neil.

The only thing I was disappointed about? This book wasn’t longer. I didn’t want it to end. Barbara O’Neal has a way of making every character in this book (and all her other books) come to life. They feel real and you get to live in their world for a while,
I have read many of her books and this one had a little more of a criminal element to the plot. It draws you in because you really care for all the characters and what happens to them.
I don’t want to talk about the plot and the characters, but from the first chapter, you are drawn in.
I truly enjoy the way Ms. O’Neal writes. There is a subtle reveal with every chapter on each character. You don’t get to know the character immediately, yet you want to understand them. So the mystery of each character is slowly revealed as you read, which makes the book even more interesting.
There are times I read and then reread lines or phrases, because I am amazed at the way she words things.
I highly recommend this very enjoyable read. You won’t be disappointed.

Barbara O’Neal has a gift for making the settings of her books come alive, and she’s done it again with the upper west side of NYC in Write My Name Across the Sky. The brownstone apartment and roof garden of half-sisters Willow and Sam, and their Aunt Gloria, a woman in her 70’s with a tangled past, is a character in it’s own right.
Each of these women is at a crossroads in life: Musician Willow’s album tanked, game designer Sam’s business is failing and Instagramer Gloria has to deal with the fallout of past decisions. They will need each other, especially Sam and Willow, to find a way forward into a better future. Willow, a struggling violinist, and Sam, a prodigy who sold an extremely successful video game at 20 years of age, are haunted by the chaotic life and overdose death of their mother, a famous folk/rock singer songwriter, when they were children, two decades earlier.
Each woman’s story is told in alternating chapters that give voice their personality.
Gloria, a young 70 something, still meets regularly with old friends from from her stewardess days at the Russian Tea Room, maintains an IG account with a strong following, and is a source of support to the nieces she helped raise after their mother’s death. With news of the capture of her old lover, an art forger and thief, she worries about living on borrowed time for her complicity in his crimes. And reminisces fondly about her globe trotting life and all consuming love affair she had.
Sam’s chapters are told in a straightforward voice as befits the brilliant, blunt, and too often angry, woman. A serious illness sets her on the path to relooking at her life and repairing past hurts, including with her ex partner and best friend. And strangely enough, the illness leads to jump starting her creative energy. I truly enjoyed her character and would have happily read a whole novel about just her.
Musician and artist Willow sees the word in vivid detail: “The cupboards have so many layers of paint you can see the decades in chips showing through the slippery white top layer”. Her descriptions of the rooftop garden, of food, and of life in general are sensuous and beautiful. Although very talented in her own right, she struggles with the legacy of being a mega star’s daughter. When her album is a commercial failure, she leaves California to go home to New York, hoping to find comfort, but instead is confronted with her sister’s and aunt’ s dilemmas. A nurturer, she gladly steps in to help them, while rebuilding her career with the unexpected aid of a fellow musician.

This is a novel well worth reading. My only reservation is Gloria. Although I loved that she was an independent career woman who’s lived life as she pleased in a time when many women didn’t, I had a very hard time with her apparent lack of remorse for her involvement in the not victimless crimes of art theft and forgery.

Thanks to NetGalley, Barbara O’Neal and Lake Union publishing for the chance to read and review this book.

Write My Name Across the Sky is a deeply satisfying multi-generational story about love, sacrifice, family, and dreams. Each character takes a personal journey that feels organic, timely, and poignant, and while each is unique to that individual character, each resonated with me personally. I found the relationships between the sisters, their aunt, and their love interests highly evocative and compelling, and I thoroughly enjoyed the elements of art, music, and gardening that were woven throughout the narrative. O'Neal's writing is gorgeous, her characters are flawed and lovable, and her plots keep me engaged and guessing. But it's O'Neal's insight into love, family, and what it means to be human that keep me coming back again and again to read everything she writes. This book receives my highest praise and recommendation, right up there with When We Believed in Mermaids.

"Write My Name Across the Sky" is Barbara O'Neal's newest. As a long-time fan, I was excited to be given the opportunity to read and review a proof copy. I was not disappointed.

As always, Ms. O'Neal vividly evokes "place" in her story: in this case, contemporary New York. Also, as usual, O'Neal draws a vivid cast of supporting characters in addition to her main ones, in this book, two very different sisters -- one a struggling musician, the other a successful game designer -- and the aunt who raised them.

"Write My Name" is a multi-generational story of three women, the people they love, and the process of really growing up, no matter your age. Each character needs to decide whether she will own her mistakes, problems, and flaws, and decide whether she is brave enough to tackle the problems in her life. As is often the case, O'Neal's characters are not all as self-aware as we, on our best days, would like to believe we are or should be. That imperfect self-awareness provides some of the book's tension; the rest comes from characters' struggle to accept that sometimes the people we love, and who should love us, are incapable of unconditional adult love. O'Neal's characters grapple with the fact that accepting that lack in others, and learning to trust, is sometimes also part of growing up.

Most of all, "Write My Name Across the Sky" is an engrossing story about family and self-love -- the family we are born with and the families we make. O'Neal's characters are vivid, believably imperfect, smart, and sharply drawn. If there are one or two improbable circumstances, well, the willing suspension of disbelief is an homage we pay to a gifted storyteller. My only real regret was that I finished "Write My Name" too quickly, and will now have to "wait 'til next year" for another book from Barbara O'Neal.

Barabara O'Neal never fails to draw me in completely with her stories. Her novels are not only beautifully written, appealing to the senses with such texture that you feel you are there watching the drama unfold, but also with layered characters that demand that you care about them. I love stories about the complicated relationship between sisters, and those who make up your family whether by blood or by choice (or both). These three women will stay with me for a while. Highly recommend.

Thank you for providing me with an advanced reading copy of this novel, all of my opinions are sincerely my own.

This story is so riveting I read it in one sitting. A woman in her 70's has a past that is mixed up in an art theft/forgery. She raised her nieces, after their superstar mother died from an overdose. Each woman, Gloria, Willow & Sam, have many things to overcome to get to the lives they want. Family secrets, past & present issues & emotions, have to be dealt with for each woman to finally find the happiness that has eluded them & to pull them together, finally, as a family. I highly recommend this book, as well as all of Barbara's books.

This is an enjoyable story about sisters, family, fame, and making one’s way in the world. Also, stolen paintings and the sisters’ grandmother’s part in that. Beautifully woven together, and tied up with satisfying threads at the end.

Thanks to NetGalley, the author and publisher for an advanced reading copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Barbara O’Neal delivers a rich and sumptuous story of three women with very different lives, woven together by fierce loyalty. Each one has a very interesting life of very creative and artistic pursuits, described and detailed in such a way as to almost experience the creative process along with the characters. The sights, sounds, and magical essence of New York comes through and the beloved apartment is written in to the story with such detail and love that it almost becomes another character in the story. A plot twist of mystery and intrigue challenging the strength of family ties, solid friendships and burgeoning love makes for a very satisfying read.,

3.5 somewhat confused stars. Barbara O'Neal (aka Barbara Samuel and Ruth Wind) is one of my favorite Women's Fiction authors. Once again she spins a compelling tale of women at a crossroads while negotiating complex family dynamics. I was especially thrilled that one of the narrators is a 70+ year old woman with a vibrant, full life. Gloria is a former stewardess who is now an Instagram influencer. When she learns that the great love of her life, who she hasn't seen in years, has been arrested for art forgery and theft, she realizes that her days of freedom may be numbered, as she was often his willing accomplice. She's tempted to flee, but she is reluctant to leave her two nieces who need her help and wisdom.

Willow and Samantha are half-sisters whose mother Billie was a famous folk-rock star before her untimely death from a drug overdose. Willow has just arrived in New York after another failed relationship, determined to shed her "manic pixie dream girl" behavior and find success in the music world on her own terms. Sam's once profitable video game company is floundering after several poorly received releases and the loss of its best coder - Sam's best friend Asher, who she pushed away in a panic after they briefly became lovers.

Like most of O'Neal's recent books, there is a lot of plot, and frankly not enough pages to fully flesh it all out. But the focus on the challenging dynamics between the sisters, and Gloria's unique role in their lives, is written beautifully, like one of Willow's compositions. It is so refreshing to find a septuagenarian character in Women's Fiction, especially one who still dreams and desires, albeit perhaps from a more realistic place than her nieces. As Gloria muses:

"The great tragedy of aging is not the loss of the supple body but the illusion we are forced to leave behind, one after the other, like a string of pearls from a necklace. That all will be well, that dreams can come true, that we can always do what we wish, that sacrifice and sorrow are not inevitable."

The reason for my somewhat confused rating is my ambivalence towards the way the art theft is portrayed. Both Gloria and her former lover Isaac had mothers whose lives were destroyed by the Nazis in WWII, and it is briefly mentioned that the thefts were from a hidden cache of Nazi holdings. So does that make the thefts justifiable? Was any attempt made to return them to their original owners? What about the forgeries that were sold to collectors who thought they were the real thing? Gloria doesn't express much regret about her part in these crimes, other than considering them youthful indiscretions. Instead she focuses on not getting caught and protecting her nieces. I realize I'm a judgmental old fart, but even if I didn't want to see such a vibrant individual in prison, I wanted to see at least some attempt at restitutions or atonement for an illegal act.

The more cynical part of me, however, thinks that in today's world where there is so little justice for political crimes (trying to steal a presidential election and so forth), decades-old thefts that didn't harm anyone shouldn't be considered such a big deal. There's very little black and white morality left in the world, so I should probably just chill out and enjoy the story.

TL;dr - Barbara O'Neal has been writing consistently great stuff for 30 years, and she should include more MCs like Gloria for mature readers like me to appreciate.

Uncorrected proofs received from Net Galley in exchange for honest review.